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Pakistan is at intersection of hyperendemic regions for hydatidosis. Current study aimed to determine the prevalence of hydatid cysts and cyst characteristics in different intermediate hosts (sheep, goats, cattle and buffaloes) across the 4 provinces of Pakistan. A total of 991 sheep, 1,478 goats, 1,602 cattle and 1,343 buffaloes were examined for presence of hydatid cysts during 2 years (January 2016-December 2018). Differences in frequency of hydatidosis were observed with highest overall prevalence in buffaloes (11.9%) and sheep (11.5%). Highest prevalence and burden of infection were observed in older age animals (23.8%, 9.78±0.49) and females (26.5%, 12.53±0.67). Data for seasonal prevalence alluded to year-round presence of disease with non-significant statistical difference. Organ predilection indicated liver as the most preferred site of cyst localization followed mainly by lungs. An over-dispersion pattern was observed in all infected animals as majority of cysts belonged <10 cysts per infected host category. Highest percentage of fertile cysts was observed in liver of sheep. Interestingly, solitary form of cysts had higher fertility rate than multiple form. Amid lack of data and wide gap of knowledge, this study would try to fill up the lacunae regarding this neglected tropical disease. Extensive rearing of livestock, unregulated official slaughter and home slaughtering have played role in adaptability of E. granulosus in Pakistan.
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Diabetes mellitus is a world-widely public health issue associated with premature mortality, decreased quality of life and increased health-care expenditures. The aim of the review was to elevate the effect of apple cider vinegar on glycemic control, hyperlipidemia and obesity control in type 2 diabetes patients. Many clinical trials showed the hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effect of vinegar. Proposed mechanisms action of vinegar for the hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic effect are including slow gastric emptying, it promotes uptake of skeleton muscles glucose in the body and acetic acid may inhibit disaccharides activity in the small intestine blocking the complete digestion of starch molecules, suppression of hepatic glucose production and increased glucose utilization. Results of previous studies showed that apple cider vinegar has the potential of anti-diabetic, antihyperlipidemic and antiobesity effects in diabetes mellitus patients. Objective of review: The objective of the current review study was to investigate the effect of apple cider vinegar on glycemic control, hyperlipidemia and control on body weight in type 2 diabetes patients and other therapeutic and commercial effect of apple cider vinegar. Data sources: To collect data for relevant literature PubMed, Google Scholar, science direct and Cochrane sources were used.
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Aim: The aim of the trial was to measure the effect of apple cider vinegar on glycemic control and biochemical parameters in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with poor glycemic control. Methods: A single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted on 110 eligible types 2 DM patients who were selected and allocated into 2 groups. The interventional group was given 15 ml apple cider vinegar in 200 ml water during dinner for 3 months while the other group was placebo. Before and after HbA1C (glycosylated hemoglobin), fasting lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, anthropometrics, and dietary changes were assessed and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20, through statistical tests. Formal ethical approval was obtained from the local institutional review board. Results: Significant mean change was found in interventional group in HbA1c (p<0.001), blood sugar fasting (p<0.001), total cholesterol (p=0.002), triglyceride (p=0.002) and hip-waist ratio (p=0.002). No significant change was observed in the mean of these statistics in the placebo group. No significant change was observed in height, weight, mid-upper arm ratio, and low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein and food frequency in intervention and placebo groups before and after. Conclusion: Apple cider vinegar if used regularly is effective in controlling diabetes, lowering hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia in DM type 2 patients.
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Introduction: The most common childhood orbital malignancy is the rhabdomyosarcoma contributing almost 10% of all RMS cases. The mean age of orbital RMS is 6-8 years and rare case of RMS from birth to the 8th decade was reported. Male are more affected as compared to female. Total 60.4% male were affected with RMS as compared to female was 39.6%. Objective: The objective of the current study was to describe a case of recurrent orbital rhabdomyosarcoma and effectiveness of chemotherapy to RMS in a 2 year old child. Methods: Computer tomography, magnetic resonance images and excision biopsy were done for confirmation of tumor. After confirmation patient was treated with chemotherapy. Results: Excision biopsy showed tumor composed of round blue cells with high nodular cells ratio and hyper chromatic nuclei and finding also presented favors of Embreyonal rhabdomyosarcoma and child was treated with chemotherapy after completion of chemotherapy course this little child was came to his normal life but after 6 months sudden symptoms of recurrence has been appeared and this time tumor was most aggressive and cannot be controlled with only chemotherapy treatment. Conclusion: To achieve a good survival rate of RMS in children and elderly age there is a need to complete surgical tumor resection in anywhere of the body. Only chemotherapy should not be helpful and cannot be preventable from recurrence. Early diagnosis and stared treatment is the best approach and any delay in diagnosis can have a negative effect on health status.
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Due to the toxicity and inefficiency of chemical fungicides to control infestation of Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid which causes charcoal rot in plants, a biotechnological approach using - glucosidase (EC.3.2.1) as the alternative bioactive ingredient in fungicide is hereby, proposed. The extracellular enzyme was isolated from a highly efficient fungal antagonist, Trichoderma harzianum T12. The highly similar molecular masses obtained using SDS-PAGE (96 kDa) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (98.3 kDa) affirmed that the -glucosidase was purified to homogeneity. Consequently, optimum catalytic parameters that rendered the highest enzyme activity were found to be: 45°C, pH 7, inoculum size of 10 % (w/v), supplementation with metal ions Zn2+ and Mn2+ ions, and Tween 80. Addition of wheat bran and (NH4)2SO4 as carbon and nitrogen sources also improved enzyme activity. BLASTn showed the sequence of -glucosidase T12 was highly identical to other -glucosidases viz. T. harzianum strain IOC-3844 (99%), T. gamsii and T. virens bgl1 (86 %) as well as T. reesei strain SJVTR and T. viride strain AS 3.3711 (84 %). Kinetic assessment showed that -glucosidase T12 catalyzes hydrolytic activity is characterized by a Km of 0.79 mM and Vmax of 8.45 mM min-1 mg-1 protein, with a corresponding kcat of 10.69 s-1.
Devido à toxicidade e ineficiência dos fungicidas químicos para controlar a infestação de Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid que causa o apodrecimento das plantas, uma abordagem biotecnológica usando - glicosidase (EC.3.2.1) como o ingrediente bioativo alternativo do fungicida é por este meio, proposto. A enzima extracelular foi isolada de um antagonista fúngico altamente eficiente, o Trichoderma harzianum T12. As massas moleculares altamente similares obtidas usando SDS-PAGE (96 kDa) e espectrometria de massa MALDI-TOF (98,3 kDa) afirmaram que a -glicosidase foi purificada até a homogeneidade. Consequentemente, os parâmetros catalíticos ótimos que apresentaram a maior atividade enzimática foram: 45°C, pH 7, tamanho do inóculo de 10% (p / v), suplementação com íons de metais Zn2+ e Mn2+, e Tween 80. Adição de farelo de trigo e (NH4) 2SO4 como fontes de carbono e nitrogênio também melhoraram a atividade enzimática. O BLASTn mostrou que a sequência da -glicosidase T12 era altamente idêntica a outras -glicosidase viz. A estirpe T. harzianum IOC-3844 (99%), T. gamsii e T. virens bgl1 (86%) assim como a estirpe T. reesei SJVTR e a estirpe T. viride AS 3.3711 (84%). A avaliação cinética mostrou que -glicosidase T12 catalisa a actividade hidrolítica caracterizada por um Km de 0,79 mM e Vmax de 8,45 mM min-1 mg-1 de proteína, com um correspondente kcat de 10,69 s-1.
Subject(s)
Trichoderma , Kinetics , Fungi , Fungicides, Industrial , Glycoside Hydrolases , BiotechnologyABSTRACT
Canola oil has been used in the Pakistan for the treatment of various diseases and skin infections. Oil was extracted with n-hexane from the seeds of canola [Brassica napus L.] and was evaluated for free fatty acid value. Four microorganisms namely; Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas originals, and Klebsiella pneumonia, has known to cause some infections treatable with these oils were investigated. The results showed that all oil shown inhibitory effects against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Pseudomonas originals but no inhibitory effects was found against Staphylococcus aureus
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Objective: To determine the safety and efficacy of N-butyl 2-cyanoacrylate in bleeding gastric varices in children
Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Gastroenterology and Pediatric Surgery in Liaquat National Hospital Karachi between January 2010 and January 2017. Gastric fundal varices were obliterated in pediatric population with single shot of N-butyl-2 Cyanoacrylate 0.50ml diluted with 0.50ml of Lipoidal with use of forward-viewing video endoscope with 22-gauge needle. The primary outcome was primary hemostasis, Secondary outcome was complications, re-bleeding and mortality
Results: Thirty patients was included in the study, 18[60%] were male with mean age of 7.12 +/- 2.9 years. Non cirrhotic portal hypertension was the most common etiology in 15[50%] patients, followed by liver cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis B and D co-infection in 6[20%] patients. Primary hemostasis was achieved in 29 [96.7%], while 3[10%] patients developed rebleeding after 48 hours, and hemostasis was achieved after second session of endoscopic obliteration. Abdominal pain and fever developed in 3[10%] patients which was managed conservatively. Mortality was observed in 1[3%] of cases due to sepsis after shunt surgery
Conclusion: Endoscopic fundal varix obliteration with N Butyl-2 cyanoacrylate was safe and effective in treatment of gastric variceal hemorrhage in children
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Purpose: The purpose of our study was to review outcome of circumcision among children with bleeding disorders at our institution and also to determine the impact of optimization leading to safe circumcision
Methods: Data representing boys [age 0-16 years] who underwent routine circumcision at the Aga Khan University Hospital [AKUH] between1988-2014 was retrospectively reviewed. Children with bleeding disorder were identified using International Classification of Diseases [ICD] Code 64.0. Data was retrieved and confidentially was maintained. SPSS version 19 was used for statistical analysis
Results: During 26 years 13,200 circumcisions were performed at AKUH. Amongst these 8,463 [64.11%] were done by using Plastibell, while 4,737 [35.88%] by open slit method. Only 23 [0.17%] children were identified with bleeding disorder. Two groups were made, Group-A [n:15] children with known bleeding disorders having circumcision and GroupB, [n:8] those in whom bleeding disorder was diagnosed after circumcision. Median age of children in Group-A was 9 years. All children in Group-A underwent open circumcision. 10 patients had Factor VIII deficiency, 2 had Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, 1 had Factor IX deficiency, 1 had Quebec platelet disorder, and 1 had Von Willebrand disorder. Median age of children in Group-B was 3 months. 7 out of 8 underwent plastibell while one had circumcision by open technique. 7 were diagnosed as Factor VIII deficiency and 1 diagnosed later to have Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. Statistical analysis showed significant difference among these two groups' p-value with respect to age [p-value 0.00] and family history [p-value 0.04- Fisher's exact test]. Both groups had similar postoperative length of stay. Overall bleeding complication rate after optimization was 13.33%
Conclusion: With the help of hematologist and adequate Factor replacement, these children can be managed as daycare. We suggest risks and benefit should be discussed with parents before procedure
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Objective: To determine the outcome of wilms tumors among children in our center and compare the results of treatment on the basis of management proposed by the National Wilms tumor study board [NWTS] and the Societe international D'oncologie pediatrique [SIOP]
Patients and methods:- This study includes 49 children who presented to the Aga Khan University Hospital[AKUH] with wilms tumors from January 1988 to December 2015 [aged 0-16 years]. Patients were further divided according to the treatment strategies they received i.e NWTS and SIOP. Data was analyzed using SPSS 10
Results:-.A total of 49 patients [57%male and 43% female] were included in the study. Majority of the cases [56%] were between 1-5 years. The tumors mostly presented on the right side [65%].The diagnostic work up of the patients mainly involved CT imaging [69%].35% of children in the SIOP group presented with stage 3 diseases whereas in the NWTS group 42% presented with stage 1 disease. In the SIOP group 4 [14%] patients had disease reoccurrence and 2 [7%] patients died. In the NWTS group 2[10%] patients had disease reoccurrence and 1 [5%] patient expired. A 5 year survival rate of both groups was calculated to be more than 80%. Mean follow up in SIOP group was 119 months and In NWTS group was 114 months
Conclusions:- Wilms tumors are curable in the majority of the patients even with limited resource as in our country. The NWTS and SIOP treatment approaches are almost equally effective at our center however adherence to a single treatment is mandatory for effective treatments
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This study was planned to evaluate sample wise isolation and antimicrobial resistant trends of Acinetobacter spp in different departments of a tertiary care hospital. This was a transversal descriptive study, carried out in the clinical microbiology laboratory of the Allama Iqbal Medical College/ Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, during the period of January 2015 to December 2016. Every clinical specimen was processed for bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibly testing. A total of 3590 [2015=1780, 2016=1810] clinical specimens were processed. Of the total, only 54.7% were gram-negative, among these Acinetobacter spp were isolated from 10.1% and 16.5% samples respectively in 2015-16 with an overall rate of 24.3%. The highest occurrence of Acinetobacter spp isolates was reported from Intensive care units [ICU] [54%] followed by surgical units [25%] and medical units [16%]. It is noteworthy that ICU and internal medicine showed the highest resistance rates, whereas, lower resistance rate was observed for the outdoor patients [OPD]. Although collistin showed 0% resistant while ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and tigecycline showed 90%, 68%, 66%, 66% and 62% resistance against Acinetobacter spp. respectively. An alarming increase in the resistance rate of meropenem, cefoperazone/sulbactam, piperacillin/ tazobactam, ciprofloxacin, and imipenem was observed from the year 2015 to 2016. This startling resistance acquired by Acinetobacter spp. within a period of one year, represent very limited therapeutic options left for the infections caused by Acinetobacter spp. Unavailability of effective drugs and limited therapeutic options enforce the health care practitioners to prescribe expensive and broad range antibiotics, which may cause harm to the patient. Therefore, it is need of an hour to better understand the antimicrobial patterns and optimize antimicrobial prescription policies for the control of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter spp
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Objective To report the indigenous people's uses of plants from a multidimensional perspective in a remote area where strong ethnobotanical cultural practices prevail. Methods An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the field during 2014–2016. Ethnobotanical data were gathered from 182 informants through oral interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. The distribution of plants was explored using both descriptive and graphical methods. Further, a Multinomial Logit Specification was applied to find out the probability of the occurrence of diverse utilization of plants in multipurpose domains. Results The study identified 202 plant species distributed among 71 families and 156 genera. Ethnobotanical data indicate that there are more medicinal (36.96%) uses of plants as compared to all other use categories. The output from the Multinomial Logit Specifications (MLS) model reveals that perennial and non-woody plants are exploited more for medicinal and food uses than annual and woody plants. In the context of ethnomedicinal uses, aerial plant parts particularly leaves are more extensively used for the preparation of herbal recipes as compared to underground parts. Conclusions The results of the study emphasize the need to create awareness among the local communities about the conservation status of plant species in order to maintain a sustainable resource of plant-derived materials into the future. The novel econometric approach employed in this study adds a new insightful methodology to the existing body of literature in the field of ethnobotany. We strongly recommend conservation measures, alongside phytochemical and pharmacological studies on the useful plant species identified in this study in order to ensure their sustainable and effective utilization.
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OBJECTIVE@#To report the indigenous people's uses of plants from a multidimensional perspective in a remote area where strong ethnobotanical cultural practices prevail.@*METHODS@#An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in the field during 2014-2016. Ethnobotanical data were gathered from 182 informants through oral interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. The distribution of plants was explored using both descriptive and graphical methods. Further, a Multinomial Logit Specification was applied to find out the probability of the occurrence of diverse utilization of plants in multipurpose domains.@*RESULTS@#The study identified 202 plant species distributed among 71 families and 156 genera. Ethnobotanical data indicate that there are more medicinal (36.96%) uses of plants as compared to all other use categories. The output from the Multinomial Logit Specifications (MLS) model reveals that perennial and non-woody plants are exploited more for medicinal and food uses than annual and woody plants. In the context of ethnomedicinal uses, aerial plant parts particularly leaves are more extensively used for the preparation of herbal recipes as compared to underground parts.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The results of the study emphasize the need to create awareness among the local communities about the conservation status of plant species in order to maintain a sustainable resource of plant-derived materials into the future. The novel econometric approach employed in this study adds a new insightful methodology to the existing body of literature in the field of ethnobotany. We strongly recommend conservation measures, alongside phytochemical and pharmacological studies on the useful plant species identified in this study in order to ensure their sustainable and effective utilization.
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Objective: To determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] in blood donors in a tertiary care hospital blood bank and then compared with prevalence in other reported studies in Pakistan between 1988 and 2016. Study Design: Prospective single centre study with systematic review. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Blood Bank, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, PIMS Hospital Islamabad, from Jan 2015 to Dec 2016
Material and Methods: Blood donors were screened for the prevalence of HIV, from Jan 2015 to Dec 2016. Metaanalyses were gathered from the reported HIV incidence in blood donors from across Pakistan during 1988-2016 by searching through Google, Pub Med, and Pak Medi Net [for Pakistani non-indexed journals]
Results: A total of 54,877 blood donors were screened for HIV by Chemiluminescent immunoassay [CLIA], of which 75 [0.13%] male donors were found reactive for HIV. The mean prevalence of HIV from 2006-2016 was 0.06% while 0.13% in 47 studies conducted during the period 1988-2016
Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV in apparently healthy blood donors is steadily increasing in Pakistan. Concerted efforts need to be made to ensure that blood is adequately screened for HIV in every blood bank in the country
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Cannabis sativa [C.sativa] is well-known for its medicinal, industrial and recreational use. However, allergies in relation to Cannabis sativa [C.sativa] are rarely reported. C. sativa is one of the common weeds found in Pakistan and its pollen grains are common in spring and fall season. Although categorized as an aeroallergen, there are limited number of reports regarding allergenic potential in C. sativa. Therefore, the current study is aimed at exploring the IgE- binding potential among the C.sativa pollen in local pollen allergic patients. Initial screening of C. sativa sensitized individuals was carried out by dot blot from the sera of pollen allergic patients. Proteins from the pollen grains were extracted and resolved on 10% gel. Eight bands were visible on gel however only one protein fragment i.e. of 14KDa size was found to bind to IgE as analyzed through protein gel blot analysis. Strong IgE affinity of a 14 kDa protein fragment from C. sativa pollen extract suggests its allergenic potential. Further study is required to find the exact nature of this protein fragment
Subject(s)
Humans , Hypersensitivity , Pollen , Allergens/isolation & purification , Immunoglobulin EABSTRACT
Objective To study the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infections in patients visiting outpatient department of a major tertiary care hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. Methods Blood samples were collected from non-hospitalized patients. Serological analysis was done by ELISA and viral DNA was amplified by PCR. The amplified DNA was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Results Altogether, 946 blood samples were screened, overall percentage of HBsAg-positive patients remained 22.41% (prevalence: 224.10/1 000; CI: 0.197 5 ± 0.250 7) with the highest incidence rates among relatively younger age groups (20–29 years). The prevalence of HBV–HDV co-infection was found to be 46.75/1 000; CI: 0.031 8 ± 0.061 7. In HBsAg-positive patients, anti-HBc-total was detected in 86.79% while 25.00% were positive for anti-HBc-immunoglobulin M. Similarly, among these patients, HBV DNA was detected in 64.13% and 10.85% were co-infected with HDV. Different symptoms were associated with the prevailing infection, including malaise (62%), anorexia (66%) and fatigue (73%). The most commonly associated symptom was abdominal discomfort. Among these patients, certain risk factors, including surgery, visit to dentist and intravenus infusions were frequently associated with the infection (χ
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Nutritional assessment, as a method to identify malnourishment, has long been documented as an essential component of patient management which predicts adverse outcomes. The objective of the study was to find out the frequency of malnutrition and its association with the frequency of complications and deaths postoperatively. This study included all patients who were operated upon in a general surgical unit of Mayo Hospital, Lahore from June to August, 2013. Evaluation of 280 patients showed that 112 [40%] of the patients were malnourished, 90 [32%] were at risk of being malnourished and remaining 78 [28%] of the patients had normal nutritional status, according to the Subjective Global Assessment. Thirteen percent [13%] malnourished and 2 [3%] of the normally nourished patients died within 30 days of operation [p=0.001]. Incidence of complications in malnourished patients was 23 [20.53%] as compared to normally nourished patients [5.12%, p=0.006]. Malnutrition is very common in patients admitted to surgery wards of our hospitals. It adversely effects the outcome of surgical operations by increasing complications and mortality
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Objective: To determine peripheral absolute alcohol nerve block for the management of trigeminal nerve pain and its complication among oral and dental patients
Study Design: Descriptive / cross sectional study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at Dept of Oral and Dental Surgery along with few referral from the Neuro-Surgery at Bahawal Victoria Hospital a tertiary care hospital attached with the Quaid-e- Azam Medical College, Bahawalur in Southern Punjab from January 2013 to December 2015
Materials and Methods: A total of 125 patients have been included Before administering the peripheral alcohol nerve block 1.8ml of lignocaine local anesthesia injection was given to anaesthetize patient nerve involved. The study subjects consists of the patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia diagnosed clinically based on specific signs and symptoms of neuralgia pain. The study variables were duration of pain relief by peripheral nerve block and any complication, duration of re-injection to measure repeated nerve block, study subject age, gender, area of residence, socio-demographic characteristics, patients history of therapeutic treatment. Data was collected on specifically designed questionnaire and analyzed on SPSS 20.0 and presented in tabulated form as frequencies of the above mentioned variable along with their percentages, mean and standard deviations
Results: Total of 125 patient hospital records who received absolute alcohol with history of re-injection has been included in this study. Peripheral absolute alcohol nerve block was effective ranging from minimum of 3 to 17.45 months, the mean duration of pain relief was 8.35 months with standard deviation of 4.5 months and there was gradual decrease in the pain relief after repeated re-nerve block from our study data set. Some of the patients were referral from Dept of Neurosurgery of our institution who were not fit for neurosurgery, so advised for local peripheral absolute nerve block. There was no significant report of complication except mild to moderate pain, swelling, trismus, burning sensation, dysesthesia, fibrosis of soft tissues and only 04 subjects report of injection site infection
Conclusion: Absolute alcohol nerve block to be less invasive in dental office management and relatively more efficacious for neuralgia pain relief to reduce patient morbidity and cost effective for patients who do not have relief on conventional carbemazipine drug therapy and being disease of elderly age who are usually medically compromised as not being fit for surgery or willing for relatively costly and invasive neurosurgery procedure
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Objective: To investigate the role of glutathione peroxidase 1 [GPX1] C/T polymorphism [rs1800668] in modulating the chances of Rheumatoid arthritis [RA] in Pakistani population
Methods:A total of 400 individuals including 200 controls and 200 patients of RA, were genotyped. Detection of rs1800668 polymorphism was carried out using PCR based amplification strategy [allele specific]
Results:The results for Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium [HWE] indicated that the allele frequencies for GPX1 polymorphism were not deviant from HWE in whole population under observation. The statistical analysis indicated that significant association existed between rs1800668 polymorphism and RA [p<0.01]. CT genotype increased the risk of RA development by 1.8582 times [OR: 1.8582; 95% CI 1.2154 to 2.8409]. CC genotype was found to have protective effect against the disease development [OR: 0.5133; 95% CI 0.3403 to 0.7742] while TT genotype was found to have association with RA development but the risk level was marginal [OR: 1.5319; 95% CI 0.6124 to 3.8322]
Conclusion:The present finding suggests the importance of GPX1 C/T polymorphism [rs1800668] in development of RA in Pakistani population. The protective role of CC genotype against the development of RA in local population was also observed
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Amounts of DNA damage and homocysteine [Hcy] in heart patients blood may have strong function in the causation of cardiovascular disease [CVD]. The main objective of this work was to know experimentally the role of total oxidants [produced by Reactive Oxygen species [ROS], clinical biochemical indices, their oxidized products and total antioxidant status [TAS] among such patients to find the association of homocysteine, total oxidation status [TOS] and oxidative DNA damage with other clinical parameters in sixty positive CVD patients compared with those of 60 normal subjects. As compared to healthy individuals, CVD patients had significantly higher concentrations of homocysteine [p<0.0001], total oxidants stress [TOS] [p<0.0001], serum total lipids [p<0.04], malondialdehyde [MDA] [p<0.001], high density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C] [p<0.0001], and low density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] [p<0.01], than those of healthy individuals. Plasma Hcy content, TOS and amount of DNA were positively and significantly associated with cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, urea, and albumin [p values<0.01]. TOS, Hcy and oxidative DNA damage were negatively correlated with HDL-c, TAS and proteins. It is suggested that these parameters have pivotal role in diagnostic process of determining severity in CAD patients. Oxidized products of macromolecules in blood of CVD patients impart major functions in causing CVD disease
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BACKGROUND: Workers in pesticide manufacturing industries are constantly exposed to pesticides. Genetic biomonitoring provides an early identification of potential cancer and genetic diseases in exposed populations. The objectives of this biomonitoring study were to assess DNA damage through comet assay in blood samples collected from industry workers and compare these results with those of classical analytical techniques used for complete blood count analysis. METHODS: Samples from controls (n = 20) and exposed workers (n = 38) from an industrial area in Multan, Pakistan, were subjected to various tests. Malathion residues in blood samples were measured by gas chromatography. RESULTS: The exposed workers who were employed in the pesticide manufacturing industry for a longer period (i.e., 13-25 years) had significantly higher DNA tail length (7.04 μm) than the controls (0.94 μm). Workers in the exposed group also had higher white blood cell and red blood cell counts, and lower levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration, and mean corpuscular volume in comparison with normal levels for these parameters. Malathion was not detected in the control group. However, in the exposed group, 72% of whole blood samples had malathion with a mean value of 0.14 mg/L (range 0.01-0.31 mg/L). CONCLUSION: We found a strong correlation (R2 = 0.91) between DNA damage in terms of tail length and malathion concentration in blood. Intensive efforts and trainings are thus required to build awareness about safety practices and to change industrial workers' attitude to prevent harmful environmental and anthropogenic effects.