Distribution of blood groups in population of Lehtrar road Islamabad

To determine the frequency of various blood groups in the population of Lehtrar road Islamabad and to compare the results with national and international studies. This cross sectional observational study was conducted at Rawal Institute of Health Sciences [RIHS], from Nov 01, 2011 till Nov 30, 2012. A total of 1,739 subjects including both male and females were analyzed. Blood was collected and ABO and Rh blood groupings were carried out by standard tube method using commercially prepared antisera and frequency of ABO and RhD blood groups was determined. Among ABO blood groups the most frequent was B [33.5%], followed by O [31.3%], A [22.5%] and AB [12.41%], group respectively. Among Rh +ve cases, blood group B was the most frequent with 542 [31.1%] individuals; however among Rh -ve individuals the most frequent blood group was O [63[3.6%]]. The current study revealed that blood group B is the most frequent blood group among the ABO blood group system with dominant RhD positivity in this region

Morphological and immunofluorescent patterns of subepidermal autoimmune bullous diseases of skin in Karachi Pakistan

Subepidermal autoimmune blistering disorders [SEABD] are common in dermatological practice. Direct immunoflourescence [DIF] staining is considered gold standard for the diagnosis of these disorders. The study was conducted to determine the morphological and DIF patterns of these disorders. Retrospective Study. This study was conducted at the department of Pathology, Basic Medical sciences Institute, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical centre, Karachi, from January 2002 to July 2007. Morphological and DIF patterns were recorded and categorical diagnoses of these disorders were established. Bullous permphigoid [BP] was found to the most frequent disorder with a relative frequency of 60.71% and mean age of 54.82 years. Relative frequencies of childhood bullous pemphigoid [Ch BP], dermatitis herpetiformis [DH], chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood [CBDC] and herpes gestationis [HG] were 10.71%, 14.28%, 10.71% and 3.57% respectively. Direct immunofluorescent staining is one step procedure that should be done in all cases of SEABD. Use of salt split technique and immune electron microscopy would further enhance the level of certainty in SEABD

Evaluation of protective role of benzodiazepine in noise stress induced activation of hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis in albino rats

Noise, whether pleasant or not, is ever present in nature. Not much work can be done without noise, in the industries, fish market, social gatherings; it is constantly in the background. Thought it seems harmless loud and or prolonged exposure to noise can cause health problems to the populace. Noise, as a recognized stressogenic factor, has been postulated to stimulate the HPA axis leading to the release of stress hormones. The present study was designed to assess the changes occurring in the level of stress hormones [ACTH and Corticosterone] in albino rats when acutely [24 hrs] exposed to loud noise with subsequent ameliorating effects of benzodiazepine [Valium/ Diazepam] which will given to the rats to alleviate the symptoms of stress. Prospective Experimental Study. This study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, JPMC, Karachi from Jan 2006 to June 2008. Three groups of 10 rats labeled A, B and C serving as control [no noise], noise stress [24hrs] and noise stress [24hrs] with diazepam [5mg/kg] respectively. The groups B and C were exposed to white noise at 100 dB. At the end of study the animals were sacrificed and their mean plasma concentration of ACTH and corticosterone were measured. A highly significant increase in mean plasma concentration of ACTH [150.90 +/- 14.71 pg/ml] and corticosterone [5.72 +/- 5.75 pg/ml] and corticosterone [1.75 +/- 0.25 micro/dl] concentration of control animals. This increase was significantly ameliorated by pre treatment of diazepam. Our study shows the protective role of diazepam in stress induced by noise

Use of direct immunofluorescent microscopy in the diagnosis of vesiculobullous disorders of skin

To determine the relative frequencies of various vesiculobullous disorders of skin in our patients and the morphological and direct immunofluorescent patterns of these disorders. This retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, Pakistan on all the cases of vesiculobullous disorders of skin diagnosed in the department from January 2002 to June 2007. All the skin biopsies received during the study period were reviewed and cases of vesiculobullous disorders were selected for detailed study. Direct immunofluorescent [DIF] staining was done on these cases using fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugate [FITC] labelled antibodies for IgG, IgA, IgM, C3c and Fibrinogen. The data was analysed statistically using SPSS software. A total of 62 DIF proven cases of vesiculobullous disorders of skin were studied. Pemphigus vulgaris [PV] was found to be the most frequent disorder [32.25%] followed by bullous pemphigoid [BP] with a frequency of 27.42%. The relative frequencies of pemphigus foliaceus [PF], dermatitis herpetiformis [DH], childhood bullous pemphigoid [CBP] and chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood [CBDC] were 20.96%, 6.45%, 4.83% and 6.45% respectively. One case each of IgA pemphigus [IgAP] and herpes gestationis [HG] were seen. IgA pemphigus can only be diagnosed after having observed the immunofluorescence pattern of this disorder. Definitive diagnosis of certain blistering lesions of skin requires the DIF microscopy. However, in special circumstances it needs to be reinforced with either salt split skin technique or immune electron microscopy