Biochemical and antioxidant alterations in fresh water bivalve, Lamellidens marginalis exposed to malachite green dye

Aim: To determine acute toxicity (96 hrs) of malachite green for Lamellidens marginalis and to assess it’s biochemical consequences and antioxidant response against control. Methodology: Fresh water bivalve, Lamellidens marginalis were collected from Rajaram tank, Kolhapur and acclimatized for 7 days. To ascertain the acute effect (96 hrs) of malachite green dye, static bioassay was conducted at 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 ppm on fresh water bivalve, Lamellidens marginalis. The rate of mortality was recorded and LC0 and LC50 values for 96 hrs were calculated. Estimation of biomolecules like protein, glycogen and lipid and antioxidant activity in different tissues of the organism was estimated. Results: The LC0 and LC50 values were determined by static bioassay method. The effects of LC0 and LC50 concentrations of MG were evaluated by examining the biochemical profile and antioxidant response against control in different tissues like gill, mantle, hepatopancreas and gonad. The maximum significant decrease in glycogen (-29%) (-40.86) and protein (-31.73%) (-43.63%) content was observed in gills at both the concentrations LC0 and LC50 respectively as compared to other tissues. There was highly significant depletion in protein content of all the tissues. Lipid content in all tissues at LC0 concentration showed moderately significant depletion (p <0.01), while at LC50 concentration highly significant depletion (p< 0.001) was recorded. From SOD, CAT and GPx enzymes, SOD enzyme activity increased significantly (p < 0.001) in all tissues at LC50 concentration. Gill and heptopancreas showed significant increase in antioxidant enzymes response at both, LC0 and LC50 groups. Interpretation: Malachite dye induces toxicity, by lowering biochemical content and inducing antioxidant enzyme activity.

Macular ganglion cell complex parameters by optical coherence tomography in cases of multiple sclerosis without optic neuritis compared to healthy eyes

Purpose: To compare different macular thickness parameters and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness between recently diagnosed cases of multiple sclerosis (MS) without optic neuropathy (ON) and healthy individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed between June 2014 and June 2015. All subjects underwent ocular and retinal examination. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used to measure the thickness of different layers of the retina at macular and peripapillary regions and at different quadrants. Between groups comparison was performed with P < 0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: There were 32 eyes in the MS group and 74 eyes in the control group. The MS group was significantly younger than the control group (P < 0.001). The mean ganglion cell complex (GCL++) thickness in superior macular area was 64.1 ± 8.9 ? in the MS group and 71.1 ± 5.9 ? in the control group. The thickness of the RNFL did not statistically differ in each of the quadrants between groups. Despite controlling for age, the macular thickness parameters were significantly thinner in eyes with MS compared to healthy eyes (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC) parameters were significantly reduced in recently diagnosed cases of MS as compared to healthy individuals.

Cadmium and hypertension.

Hypertension is a very common and important disease of modern civilised life. There are comflicting reports about cadmium, a trace element in the genesis of essential hypertension. The present study was conducted to estimate the cadmium levels in whole blood in the normal group of thirty subjects who were normotensive and the same was compared to that of thirty hypertensive patients and the levels were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Sources of lead exposure in urban slum school children.

A school based study was undertaken to trace various sources of lead exposure in urban slum children. Two cases with elevated venous blood lead (PbB) levels were detected and confirmed in 100 consecutive Bombay school children, referred to a hospital school clinic for clinical pallor. A common source of lead exposure in one suburb, was implied by the significantly higher PbB levels here. Systematic family and environmental studies identified the source was a nearby factory manufacturing lead storage batteries. Similar studies for the other index case traced the source to the dust produced by small scale foundries and secondary lead smelters. This study indicates that large scale screening studies are necessary to establish the magnitude and epidemiology of this problem in Bombay.