Morphological Study of Accessory Foramina in Dry Mandible and Its Clinical Significance

Background: To provide anatomical information on theposition and incidence of accessory foramina in mandible asthey are important for dental surgeons and anesthetists inachieving complete nerve blocks and for avoiding injury toneurovascular structures passing through them.Objective: To study the incidence of accessory foramina in drymandible in population of Bihar & compare it with incidenceamong various races of the world.Materials & Methods: Present study is a cross sectional studywhich has been carried out on 56 dried fully ossified adulthuman mandibles, which were examined in the Department ofAnatomy and Forensic Medicine of Indira Gandhi Institute ofMedical Sciences, Patna, Bihar. The age of the bones used inthe study was not predetermined. Only fully ossified dried,macerated and thoroughly cleaned mandibles which werecomplete in all respects, in order to give the correctobservations, were included in the study while the mandibleshaving any deformity or pathology were excluded. Theaccessory foramina and their positions were observed.Results: Accessory mandibular foramina were found in 55.36%, accessory mental in 23.22 %, and retromolar in 17.85% ofthe cases. The accessory foramen observed most commonly inright side (39.28%) followed by bilateral (37.5%) then left side(19.65%).Conclusion: The anatomical variability of incidence andposition of accessory foramina should be considered as theymay be used to give additional locoregional anesthesia in caseof failed mandibular blocks. Knowledge of the commonestpositions will be beneficial for oncologists and oromaxillofacialsurgeons in planning graft implants.

Scaling up Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation in Jharkhand, India Minimizing Challenges, Maximizing Opportunities.

Objectives: Jharkhand is a predominantly tribal Indian state. Home to 3.5 million adolescent girls, two-thirds of Jharkhand's adolescent girls were reported to be anaemic. In 2000, the Government of Jharkhand launched the Adolescent Girls Anemia Control Programme (AGACP) in five of its 24 districts with technical support by UNICEF. This presentation summarizes a decade of experience in scaling up Jharkhand's AGACP. Methods: In its initial phase, the programme covered around 250,000 school-going adolescent girls in 2800 schools. The intervention included weekly iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation, bi-annual deworming, and nutrition counselling. The second phase was launched in 2009 to cover two million adolescent girls. During this phase the programme faced important challenges due to a break-down in the supply chain of IFA supplements and deworming tablets. However, weekly nutrition counselling sessions continued. The third phase of the programme was inaugurated in 2012 with the advent of the National Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) programme implemented in a convergent manner by the Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, and Education. Results: The programme has been universalized across all 24 districts, by the state government. Currently, the programme covers 3 million adolescents. Conclusions: Approaches used for stabilizing the programme are valuable lessons (do's and dont's) in piloting, stabilizing and scaling up a large scale programme for the control of anaemia in adolescent girls in resource-constrained settings.

Serum uric acid level in newly diagnosed essential hypertension in a Nepalese population:A hospital based cross sectional study

Objective:To develop the missing link between hyperuricemia and hypertension. Methods: The study was conducted in Department of Biochemistry in collaboration with Nephrology Unit of Internal Medicine Department. Hypertension was defined according to blood pressure readings by definitions of the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee. Totally 205 newly diagnosed and untreated essential hypertensive cases and age-sex matched normotensive controls were enrolled in the study. The potential confounding factors of hyperuricemia and hypertension in both cases and controls were controlled. Uric acid levels in all participants were analyzed. Results:Renal function between newly diagnosed hypertensive cases and normotensive healthy controls were adjusted. The mean serum uric acid observed in newly diagnosed hypertensive cases and in normotensive healthy controls were (290.05±87.05) μmol/L and (245.24±99.38) μmol/L respectively. A total of 59 (28.8%) participants of cases and 28 (13.7%) participants of controls had hyperuricemia (odds ratio 2.555 (95%CI:1.549-4.213), P Conclusions: The mean serum uric acid levels and number of hyperuricemic subjects were found to be significantly higher in cases when compared to controls.

Clinical presentation of patients with seasonal influenza and pandemic influenza A (H1N1-2009) requiring hospitalisation.

Background. A sudden increase in the number of novel influenza A virus (pH1N1-2009) infection prompted us to compare the clinical presentation and outcomes of patients infected with pH1N1-2009 and seasonal influenza A virus during the postpandemic phase. Methods. During the period August 13 to September 27, 2010, case records of 106 patients with severe influenza like illness (ILI) and respiratory complications who underwent diagnostic testing by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for confirmation of pH1N1-2009 were retrospectively studied. Results. Nineteen (17.9%) patients were tested positive for pH1N1-2009 and 78 (73.6%) were tested positive for seasonal influenza A virus. The mean age of patients infected with pH1N1-2009 was 45.2±15.3 years (range of 22 to 80 years). Common presenting symptoms included fever in 17 (89.4%), cough in 16 (84.2%), myalgia in 15 (78.9%) and breathlessness in 10 (52.6%) patients. The most common comorbidities included bronchial asthma/bronchitis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 4 (21%); followed by hypertension in 3 (15.8%) and diabetes in 3 (15.8%) patients. Overall, of the 97 influenza infected patients, 9 (9.3%) needed hospitalisation to the intensive care unit (ICU); one patient with COPD died due to multi-organ failure. Conclusions. Both the pandemic and seasonal strains were found to be co-circulating in the community. Patients with severe hypoxia, hypertension, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock required ICU care.

Resolution of immune response by recombinant transforming growth factor-beta (rTGF-β) during influenza A virus infection.

Background & objectives: Replication of influenza A virus in the respiratory tract leads to cell damage and liberation of cytokines and chemokines. The in vivo cytokine induction and modulation by recombinant transforming growth factor- β1 (rTGF-β1) has not been studied. Therefore, in the present study the effect of rTGF-β1, a potent immunomodulatory cytokine which has anti-inflammatory properties and downregulates the release of inflammatory molecules, against influenza-virus infection in the airway of mice was investigated. Methods: rTGF-β1 was administered intravenously to mice with concomitant intranasal infection of influenza A/Udorn/317/72 (H3N2) virus, and the survival rate, virus titre, histopathological changes and levels of factors regulating inflammation in the airway fluid were analysed. Result: The immune response to influenza A virus was characterized by an influx of both macrophages and lymphocytes into the lungs of the infected host. rTGF-β1 significantly suppressed virus multiplication and improved the survival rate of mice. rTGF-β1 downregulated infiltration of neutrophils and the release of inflammatory molecules, such as interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) and stimulated release of IL-10 that potentiates anti-inflammatory response into airway. Interpretation & conclusions: A generalized pulmonary inflammation does not contribute to viral clearance but represents an immunological background within which antiviral immunity operates. Treatment with rTGF-β1 reduced macrophage count and neutrophils influx in lungs of infected mice.