Understanding Painful Hip in Young Adults: A Review Article / 대한고관절학회지

A wide number of disorders, including pathologies outside the hip, can cause and refer pain to hip. However, determining the cause of a painful hip can be a major challenge to orthopedic surgeons. Failure to diagnose and appropriately investigate pathologies of the hip in adults may result in delayed management and prolonged patient morbidity. A systematic approach to investigating the etiology of hip pain in adults (e.g., history, careful clinical and radiographic examination), will help identify the majority of clinically important pathologies which can cause hip pain. Conservative treatment and selective use of injection therapies has proven quite successful for the treatment of most causes of hip pain.

Identification of functional SNPs in human LGALS3 gene by in silico analyses

Background: Galectin-3 protein, an S-type lectin, is encoded by LGALS3 gene. It consists of carbohydrate recognition domain [CRD], collagen like tandem repeats of nine amino acids and N-terminal 12-mer peptide. Its serum levels as well as some genetic variants were reported to be involved in various disease conditions like cancer, autoimmune diseases, heart diseases etc. Being viewed as an important molecule in biological responses and its association with various diseases, the present study was designed. This is the first in silico analyses of LGALS3

Aim: To systematically explore the plausible effects of LGALS3 genetic variants on structure and functions of galectin-3

Material and methods: Both sequence based and structure based approaches were adopted for analyses of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms [nsSNPs]. Putative methylation and other post translational modifications were also analyzed using different tools. Muster and Swiss-PDB Viewer were used for modeling of predicted functional variants

Results: Out of 1130 SNPs reported in dbSNP, only validated SNPs were chosen for analyses. A total of nine nsSNPs which included, 3 of N-terminal region and 6 of CRD encoding region, were found to have deleterious effect as predicted by various softwares. Analyses of regulatory SNPs predicted five functional SNPs in 3?UTR having putative miRNA binding sites and 3 intronic SNPs in potential transcription factor binding sites

Conclusion: Based on these analyses, the present study suggested that the reported functional SNPs may act as potential targets in genetic association studies

Bacopa monnieri extracts prevent hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damage in a cellular model of neuroblastoma IMR32 cells / 中国天然药物

Neurodegenerative diseases are the consequences of imbalance between the production of oxidative stress and its nullification by cellular defense mechanisms. Hydrogen peroxide (HO), a precursor of deleterious reactive oxygen species, elicits oxidative stress, resulting in severe brain injuries. Bacopa monnieri is well known for its nerve relaxing and memory enhancing properties. The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of extracts from Bacopa monnieri against HO induced oxidative stress using a cellular model, neuroblastoma IMR32 cell line. The protective potential of methanolic, ethanolic, and water extracts of B. monnieri (BM-MEx, BM-EEx, and BM-WEx) was evaluated using MTT assay. Although, all the B. monnieri extracts were found to protect cells against HO-mediated stress but BM-MEx showed significantly greater protection. UPLC analysis of BM-MEx revealed various polyphenols, including quercetin, catechin, umbelliferone, and caffeic acid predominance. Further, BM-MEx was found to possess considerable greater neuroprotective potential in comparison to the standard polyphenols such as quercetin, catechin, umbelliferone, and caffeic acid. The levels of antioxidant enzymes were significantly elevated after the pretreatment of BM-MEx and quercetin. The expression levels of oxidative stress markers, such as NF200, HSP70, and mortalin, were significantly alleviated after the pretreatment of BM-MEx as shown by immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the protective effects of BM-MEx, suggesting that it could be a candidate for the development of neuropathological therapeutics.

Vitamin B12 Status of Mothers of Children with Infantile Tremor Syndrome.

Retrospective chart review of 15 patients with infantile tremor syndrome in which mothers had their serum vitamin B12 measured, showed low (<200 pg/mL) serum vitamin B12 in 9 and low-normal (<200-350 pg/mL) in 6. Of the 9 mothers who had undergone complete blood counts, anemia was present in 6 and macrocytosis in 3. Vitamin B12 deficiency appears to be common in mothers of infants with infantile tremor syndrome.

Benign Neonatal Sleep Myoclonus: Frequently Misdiagnosed as Neonatal Seizures.

18 neonates aged 5-60 days with Benign neonatal sleep myoclonus were identified. Fifteen neonates had been misdiagnosed as neonatal seizures before referral. All treatments were withdrawn once the diagnosis of benign neonatal sleep myoclonus was made. Benign neonatal sleep myoclonus should be considered early in the differential diagnosis of neonatal seizures.

Red cell alloimmunization and infectious marker status (human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus) in multiply transfused thalassemia patients of North India.

Background: Patients with thalassemia major are largely transfusion dependent and are thus exposed to a variety of risks such as transmission of infectious diseases, iron overload and alloimmunization. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of human immune defi ciency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and red cell antibodies among multipletransfused thalassemic patients in and around the national capital region. Materials and Methods: The Department of Transfusion Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, conducted this study in collaboration with the National Thalassemia Welfare Society over a period of 1 year starting February2011. Blood samples from the patients were tested for blood group, red cell alloantibody/ ies, anti-HIV, anti-HCV and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by ELISA and for the respective viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by nucleic acid testing (NAT). Results: A total of 462 thalassemics which consists of 290 males and 172 females were tested. The overall alloimmunization rate was 4.1% and anti-Kell was the most common antibody identifi ed. Thirteen cases (2.8%) were positive for HBsAg by ELISA, 107 (23.1%) were reactive for anti HCV and 11 (2.38%) for anti HIV antibodies. Further screening and discriminatory assays by NAT confi rmed the presence of HBV DNA in 11 cases, HIV RNA in 7 cases and HCV RNA in 48 cases. Conclusion: In spite of advances in Immunohematology and infectious marker testing in recent years, the rates of alloimmunization and infectious marker positivity remains high among multiply transfused patients like thalassemics. Provision of safe and adequate blood supply to these patients is a key to improving their quality-of-life and longevity.

Antihistamines quality of life studies to assess the efficacy and safety in allergic rhinitis in Punjab, India

Allergic rhinitis impairs social life, but it is not known whether quality of life may be improved when patient are treated with H 1 blockers. The present study evaluated the comparative efficacy and safety of cetirizine, loratidine and astemizole in patients of allergic rhinitis. The design was open, randomized, parallel group comparison of three active treatment groups over a six week period. Sixty patients of either sex in the age group of 16 - 45 years, suffering from allergic rhinitis were selected randomly. The effect of cetirizine, loratidine and astemizole were observed on various parameters i.e., sneezing, nasal obstruction, watering of eyes, sedation and overall well being of the patients over a period of six weeks. The Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] was utilized as a quantitative measure of symptom relief. An improvement in patient's discomfort as assessed by VAS was observed in all treatment groups, with cetirizine 10mg daily being significantly more effective than loratidine 10mg and astemizole 10mg. Cetirizine resulted in a significant reduction in sneezing and nasal obstruction as compared to loratidine and astemizole [p<0.05]. Cetirizine and loratidine both were equally efficacious in relieving watering of eyes but cetirizine as well as loratidine were more efficacious as compared to astemizole [p<0.05]. Sedation was found to be maximum with cetirizine followed by astemizole and loratidine over six weeks of study period. Cetirizine has been found to be most effective in relieving the symptoms of allergic rhinitis followed by loratidine and astemizole and it can also improve quality of life for patients with allergic rhinitis

Aicardi syndrome

Aicardi syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disease characterised by congenital chorioretinal lacunae, corpus callosum dysgenesis, seizures, polymicrogyria, cerebral callosum, chorioretinopathy and electroencephalogram abnormality. We present a case of Aicardi syndrome with callosal hypogenesis in a 4.5-month-old baby who presented with infantile spasms. Ophthalmoscopy revealed chorioretinal lacunae. The clinical and magnetic resonance imaging features were diagnostic of Aicardi syndrome.