Mid upper arm circumference cutoffs for identifying underweight and severe underweight among infants less than six months: A Hospital Based Cross-Sectional study

Background: Prevalence of undernutrition among infants <6 months are very high in India. WAZ is the most sensitive predictor of mortality among infants <6 months as compared to other anthropometric parameters. However, taking weight and calculating z-score in the community setting have many challenges. Taking mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) is more feasible in a field setting. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 419 infants <6 months in a tertiary care hospital in India to identify appropriate MUAC cutoffs for identifying underweight (WAZ<-2) and severe underweight (WAZ<-3) among infants <6 months by calculating sensitivities, specificities and Youden indices. Cohen kappa coefficients were calculated to assess agreements between MUAC and WAZ cutoffs. Results: The MUAC cut-offs for underweight and severe underweight were calculated as 11cm (Youden Index: 0.503; sensitivity: 83.4%; specificity: 66.9%) and 10.9cm (Youden Index: 0.504; sensitivity: 76.3%; specificity: 74.1%), respectively. Kappa coefficients to diagnose underweight with MUAC<=11cm was highest at 0.48. Conclusions: The MUAC cut-off of 11cm could reliably be used to screen infants <6 months with underweight and severe underweight for providing appropriate care in the Indian settings.

Effect of spirituality, exercise, music, and engagement with nature on intelligence, stress, and cognition

Background: Spirituality is recognition of a sense that there is something greater than myself. Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances physical fitness and overall health. Music is a universal language to express mind through tone and emotions. Nature is the physical world or the universe. Intelligence is the global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand one’s own emotions and emotions of others. Adversity quotient deals with ability of a person to deal with adversities in life. Aims and Objectives: The present study was designed to study the effect of different interventions on intelligence, stress and cognitive functions. Materials and Methods: The present study was performed on 144 subjects in age group of 30–39 years. Their basal level of intelligence quotient (IQ), emotional quotient (EQ), resilience score (RS), acute stress score (ASS), perceived stress score (PSS), isometric handgrip (IHG), and stroop tests was recorded. The subjects were divided into four groups of 36 each. Four groups were allotted different interventions of spirituality practices, moderate intensity physical exercise, receptive music, and engagement with nature respectively for 1 month duration. Statistical analysis: ANOVA and post hoc tests along with student t-test were used for computing the results. Results: IQ, EQ, RS, ASS, IHG, PSS, and stroop subtests yielded mixed results with four interventions at different levels of significance. Conclusion: Although every intervention had different and positive impact on parameters, overall spiritual practices exhibited better response on parameters.

Effect of spiritual practices on higher brain functions, psychological health, and stress response

Background: Spiritual beliefs include the relationship to a superior being and recognition of a sense that there is something greater than myself. Psychological health is not just absence of mental disorder but a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his/her own abilities, can cope up with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his/her community. Aims and Objectives: The present study was designed to analyze the impact of spiritual practices on memory, cognitive functions, psychological health, adjustment level, and stress response. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in two phases on 150 subjects. In the first phase of study, subjects were divided into low, average and high spirituality groups on the basis of spirituality scores. Each group was required to perform memory test, stroop test along-with assessment of psychological health, and adjustment level. Their basal level of stress parameters was recorded. A stressor was introduced and stress parameters were again assessed. Subjects were asked to perform spiritual practices for 1 month duration and the parameters were again assessed. ANOVA and post hoc tests were used for inter group comparison. Student’s t-test was used to analyze data between baseline values and post spirituality values for various parameters. Results: On comparison of parameters in low, average and high spirituality groups, significant and non-significant results were obtained at baseline level and after 1 month practice of spirituality. Conclusion: Spiritual practices have positive effect on parameters studied.

Distribution pattern of ABO and Rh (D) blood group system among 1st-year medical students

Background: Clinical studies, reliable geospatial data, and blood bank management all require an understanding of blood group trends. The prevalence of ABO in the blood group varies from one community to another. Every transfusion center/hematology lab is required to keep a statistical record of the blood group among their population, staff, and students. Aim and Objectives: Determining ABO and Rh blood group and study the pattern of these blood groups with an estimation of gene frequencies among first phase medical students of GMC Jammu. Materials and Methods: 250 medical students were recruited for the study. The finger-prick technique was done to obtain blood. On clean glass slides, a drop of monoclonal anti-A, B, and D was added to a drop of red blood cell suspension made from finger-prick blood and normal saline and thoroughly mixed. The agglutination results were subsequently recorded. Percentages were used to represent the data. Results: ABO blood group prevalent in this study was B, which accounted for 39.6% of all cases (36.8% B+ and 2.8% B-) followed by O with 34% (33.2% O+ and 0.8% O-), A with 21.2% (20% A+ and 1.2% A-), and AB with 5.2% (5.2% AB+ and 0% AB-). Among Rh group 95.2% were positive whereas 4.8% were found to be negative. The gene frequency for IA (p) - 0.1599, for IB (q) - 0.2571, and IO (r) - 0.5830. Conclusion: The B blood group is more ubiquitous than the others, with the AB blood group being the least common. Rh-positive is more common than Rh-negative blood types. Gender had no effect on the ABO and Rh blood groups.

Role of Intact Parathormone Levels as Early Predictor of Asymptomatic Hypocalcaemia after Total Thyroidectomy.

Asymptomatic hypocalcemia is one of the complications of total thyroidectomy. The symptoms of low calcium levels are sometimes evident only after about 48-72 hours after surgery. Serum calcium levels are not reliable in identifying these patients, because a large number of them are only those with transient hypocalcemia. This study was carried out to evaluate the role of intact parathormone levels in predicting asymptomatic hypocalcemia.METHODSThis cohort study was carried out among 43 patients, who underwent total or completion thyroidectomy. The serum ionized calcium & creatinine levels were measured preoperatively, to rule out pre-operative hypoparathyroidism. Following surgery (one-hour post operatively), the patients’ serum PTH levels and serum ionized calcium levels were measured. Simultaneously, hypocalcemia was clinically evaluated.RESULTSOut of 43 patients, 30 patients had low hypocalcemia (<1.1 mmol/l) one hour postoperatively. The incidence of initial asymptomatic hypocalcaemia post-surgery was 70.5%. All patients with low iPTH, except one, also had hypocalcaemia initially. The patient with normal calcium subsequently had hypocalcaemia at 6 hours.CONCLUSIONSWith the prediction of asymptomatic hypocalcemia in the early post-operative period, it is possible to start timely treatment and thereby prevent the complications of hypocalcemia.

Usefulness of Modified Alvarado Score in Acute Appendicitis Incorporating Ultrasound.

Acute appendicitis affects human beings irrespective of age, nationality and region. Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical cause of emergency laparotomy. Considering the difficulties and challenges involved in accurate clinical diagnosis, there is a need for a validated, objective protocol for enabling the diagnosis. This study was carried out to validate the modified Alvarado score (MASS) and correlate with ultrasound and post-operative histopathological examination.METHODSThis cohort study was carried out among 100 patients who were suspected with acute appendicitis. Upon clinical evaluation and ultrasound evaluation, Modified Alvarado Score was computed, and patients were taken up for laparotomy/ laparoscopic surgery. The resected specimens were sent for histopathological examination.RESULTSMajority of the participants had a score >7 (74%) of which 51 were males, 21 were females and two were children. Ultrasound detected positive cases in 90% of the participants, while acute appendicitis by histopathology was present in 54% of the participants. There was a statistically significant correlation with Modified Alvarado score (p<0.0001). Negative appendicectomy was prevalent in 21% of the participants.CONCLUSIONSModified Alvarado Scoring system is ideal for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis since it is simple to use, easy to apply and relies only on history, clinical examination and basic lab investigations.

Epidemiology of animal bite reported at animal bite clinic during 2015-16 at a tertiary care centre of Himachal Pradesh.

Background: One health approach for rabies prevention in humans can be done only by targeting the animal source of the virus. Animal bite is the most common mode of transmission of virus to human being. Objective: to describe the epidemiology of animal bite among those attending the animal bite clinic of a tertiary care center of district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Methods: This hospital based descriptive study was carried out from March 2015 through February 2016 at Animal Bite Clinic of Department of Community Medicine, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Govt. Medical College, Tanda, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. A preformed and pre tested closed ended questionnaire was used. World Health Organization’s category of animal bite was used to categorize the patients. Results: Males outnumbered females and around 30% were below 20 years of age followed by third decade. Majority of victims were students (31%) and in 61.1% the wound was localized in the lower extremities. Dogs bite was reported in 86% cases. Stray animal bite resulted in 94.2% of category III bites. More than half of the victims were aware of local remedy to be done after bite and practiced it within 30 minutes of bite. Conclusions: Agent, host and environmental factor of animal bite studied in this study indicate that vaccination of animal, abolishing environment favorable for stray animals and awareness of early management of animal bite cases can lead to goal of elimination of rabies.

Study of etiology, clinical features and outcome following treatment of hyponatremia in elderly in intensive care unit

Background: Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte disturbance in the hospitalized elderly sick patients. Objectives: To study etiology, clinical features and outcome following treatment of hyponatremia in elderly hospitalized patients. Materials and methods: All elderly patients being admitted to ICU were screened for hyponatremia and 100 patients with severe hyponatremia (<125 meq/L) were included in this study, these patients were investigated as per the protocol and were treated as per the standardized regimen. Results: 100 patients with severe hyponatremia (<125 mEq/L) were studied. There was female preponderance of cases (55%). The common causes of hyponatremia were SIADH (30%) and drugs (24%) of which diuretics (79%) was a major chunk. The common CNS symptoms were drowsiness, lethargy and irrelevant talk. The common co-morbid conditions were hypertension (62%) and diabetes mellitus (51%). Females tolerated hyponatremia better than males with mortality of 9.09% in females and 33.33% in males (p=0.0026). 20 (20%) patients succumbed to their primary illness with a possible contribution attributable to hyponatremia or its treatment. M. Krishna Naik, Md. Yousuf Khan, D. Prathima Raj, D. Venkatesh, Krishna Kumar T V. Study of etiology, clinical features and outcome following treatment of hyponatremia in elderly in intensive care unit. IAIM, 2017; 4(11): 144-152. Page 145 Conclusion: Hyponatremia is common in females and they seem to better tolerate it than their male counterparts. Early detection, strict adherence to treatment protocol is required. Diuretics should be used with caution in elderly.

Exogenous application of putrescine at pre-anthesis enhances the thermotolerance of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Antioxidant enzymes, besides being involved in various developmental processes, are known to be important for environmental stress tolerance in plants. In this study, the effect of treatment of 2.5 mM putrescine (Put), heat stress (HS -42°C for 2 h) and their combination on the expression and activity of antioxidant enzymes was studied at pre-anthesis in the leaves of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars — HDR77 (thermotolerant) and HD2329 (thermosusceptible). We observed that 2.5 mM Put before HS significantly enhanced the transcript levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), cytoplasmic and peroxisomal ascorbate peroxidase (cAPX, pAPX) in both the cultivars. However, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX and GR), as well as accumulation of antioxidants (ascorbic acid and total thiol content) were higher in HDR77 than in HD2329 in response to the treatment 2.5 mM Put + HS. No significant change was observed in the proline accumulation in response to HS and combined treatment of 2.5 mM Put + HS. A decrease in the H2O2 accumulation, lipid peroxidation and increase in cell membrane stability (CMS) were observed in response to 2.5 mM Put + HS treatment, as compared to HS treatment alone in both the cultivars; HDR77 was, however, more responsive to 2.5 mM Put + HS treatment. Put (2.5 mM) treatment at pre-anthesis thus modulated the defense mechanism responsible for the thermotolerance capacity of wheat under the heat stress. Elicitors like Put, therefore, need to be further studied for temporarily manipulating the thermotolerance capacity of wheat grown under the field conditions in view of the impending global climate change.

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis in Indian Children with Cystic Fibrosis.

Objectives: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a common complication in patients with cystic fibrosis. This crosssectional study was planned to determine the prevalence and risk factors for ABPA in Indian children with cystic fibrosis. Methods: Clinical evaluation, spirometry, chest radiograph, sputum, total IgE, specific IgE for Aspergillus fumigatus, IgG precipitins and skin prick tests were done in 33 CF patients. Results: Prevalence of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis was 18.2% (95% CI 6.9% - 35.4%): allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis was higher in patients with low cystic fibrosis score, age >12 years, atopy, and eosinophilia. Conclusion: Prevalence of ABPA is higher in Indian children with cystic fibrosis.

Measuring Interesting Amino Acid Patterns for Alzheimer's Disease Related Studies Targets on the Binding Site Using Association Rule Mining.

Data mining techniques are used in various areas like stock exchange, education, bioinformatics, health care etc. The main purpose of data mining techniques is used to extract the useful and interesting information. Association Rule Mining (ARM) associates the different attributes and gives the most suitable rules from large database. Protein ligand binding is an important step in enzymatic mechanisms and in drug discovery. This research work gives the association rules for amino acid residues which are present in the binding site of Alzheimer’s Disease Related Studies targets. The data are collected from Protein Data Bank. Association rule mining is applied in the Alzheimer’s Disease Related Studies protein and the interesting rules for the amino acid residues present in the Alzheimer’s Disease Related Studies are formed. Ile and Ser are the amino acid residues which are having major role in the precedence of association rules of Alzheimer’s Disease Related Studies. This research work may support in identify new binding protein-ligand pairs and predict protein ligand binding in particular diseases.

Characterization of differentially expressed stress-associated proteins in starch granule development under heat stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Abiotic stress causes abrupt increase in the expression of stress-associated proteins, which provide tolerance by modulating the defense mechanism of plants. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) and anti-oxidant enzymes are important for environmental stress tolerance of the plants. In this study, two full-length cDNAs encoding small heat shock protein (sHSP) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), designated as TasHSP and SODI were identified and characterized from C-306 (thermotolerant) and PBW343 (thermosusceptible) cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). An alpha crystalline domain was observed in TasHSP and manganese/iron binding domain in case of SODI. Quantitative real-time PCR showed very high transcript level of TasHSP and SOD in C-306 compared to PBW343 at different stages of growth and against differential heat stress (HS). Under differential HS at milky-dough stage, the fold change in transcript of both TasHSP and SOD was observed maximum in C-306, compared to PBW343. Protein profiling and isoenzymes analysis showed the expression of several heat-stable proteins and prominent isoenzymes of SOD in C-306, compared to PBW343. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of starch granules showed globular, well-shaped and more numbers of endospermic cells in C-306, compared to defragmented, irregular shaped and shrunken granules in case of PBW343 under HS treatment (42°C for 2 h). Diurnal change in soluble starch synthase (SSS) activity showed an increase in the activity during afternoon (35°C), compared to morning (29°C) and evening (32°C) in both the cultivars. Under heat stress (42°C for 2 h), a drastic decrease in the SSS activity was observed, due to the thermal denaturation of the enzyme. Thermotolerance capacity analyzed using cell membrane stability (CMS) showed significantly higher CMS in case of C-306, compared to PBW343 at different stages of growth. Findings suggest that abundance of TasHSP and SODI during milky-dough stage plays a very important role in starch granule biosynthesis. The mechanism may be further exploited to develop tolerant wheat cultivar with high quality seeds.

Genome Wide Identification of Target Heat Shock Protein90 Genes and Their Differential Expression against Heat Stress in Wheat.

Aims: To study the genetic and transcript profiling of the genes specifying cytosolic HSP90s in Triticum aestivum. Study Design: Random sampling. Place and Duration of Study: Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, between August to December, 2011. Methodology: We include C-306 (thermotolerant) and PBW343 (thermosusceptible) cultivars of wheat for the study. Total RNA was isolated using Trizol method and gene was identified and isolated using RT-PCR. In silico characterization was done using different bioinformatic tools. Quantitative real time PCR was carried out using BioRad CFX96 platform and Pfaffl’s method was used for the comparative change in fold expression of the gene. Results: Here, we report cloning of an HSP90 gene from C-306 wheat cultivar having an ORF of 700 amino acids. Genome Blast identified 3 different clusters of reference sequence on chromosome no 4, 8 and 9 having LOC 100125696 and showing maximum homology with HSP90 reported from Triticum aestivum. Pure amino acid composition revealed highest composition of glutamic acid followed by lysine and leucine whereas, cysteine composition was lowest. Protein characterization showed the existence of 10 networks of coevolved amino acids. Quantitative real time PCR showed 1.5, 4.5, 5 & 7.4 fold increase in expression of HSP90 in case of C-306 compared to 2.5, 6.4, 6.9 & 5.6 fold increase in case of PBW343 at vegetative (root & shoot), pollination and milky dough stage. Multiple co-chaperones of HSP90 were observed by immunoblot assay in response to differential heat shock. Conclusion: This investigation proves that HSP90 is one of the key components of defense mechanism in wheat against heat stress which requires the formation of cochaperone complexes with HSP70 for its functional activity. There is a need to exploit the transcription factors associated with HSP90 and its regulation and differential expression in order to use it for developing thermotolerant wheat cultivars.

Preliminary morphological and biochemical changes in rat liver following postnatal exposure to sodium arsenite / 대한해부학회지

The effects of sodium arsenite exposure on the hepatic maturation period of cellular and functional reorganization in developing rat livers were evaluated. Animals received intraperitoneal injections of sodium arsenite (1.5 mg/kg body weight) or distilled water on days 9 to 28 after birth. On day 29, the animals were sacrificed either by cervical dislocation or by perfusion fixation. The perfusion fixed liver tissue was processed for paraffin embedding, sectioning and hematoxylin and eosin staining. The fresh liver tissue was processed for cryo-sectioning followed by Sudan Black B staining and for biochemical estimation of reduced glutathione. Microscopic observation revealed comparable preserved hepatic lobular patterns and distributions of uninucleate and binucleate hepatocytes in the control and the experimental groups. The mean nuclear area and diameter of the hepatocytes was increased in the experimental group. Lipid droplet distribution pattern in Sudan Black B stained sections revealed higher staining intensity towards the centrilobular area in both groups. Semiquantitative estimation of staining intensity showed lower mean gray values in zone 3 than in zones 2 and 1 (suggestive of the setting in of the adult pattern) in both groups. The reduced glutathione levels in the liver tissue and the altered nuclear size of the hepatocytes in the experimental group suggested the impairment of morphological and biochemical processes induced by arsenic exposure during the postnatal period.

Analysis of the risk factors predisposing to fungal, bacterial & Acanthamoeba keratitis in south India.

Background & objectives: Infective keratitis is rare in the absence of predisposing factors. The pattern of risk factors predisposing to infective keratitis varies with geographical regions and also influences the type of infection that occurs. The present study was aimed to identify the specific risk factors that predispose the infective keratitis (non viral) and to determine the association between the risk factors identified and the microbial aetiology of infective keratitis in a geographic region (south India). Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients clinically diagnosed infective keratitis (non viral) presenting between September 1999 and September 2002 was performed to identify risk factors. After diagnosing infective keratitis clinically, corneal scrapes were performed and subjected to microscopy and culture. Results: A total of 3295 patients with infective keratitis were evaluated, of whom, 1138 (34.5%) patients had fungal growth alone, 1066 (32.4%) had bacterial growth alone, 33 (1%) had Acanthamoeba growth alone, 83 (2.5%) had mixed microbial growth and the remaining 975 (29.6%) had no growth. Corneal injury was identified in 2356 (71.5%) patients and it accounted for 91.9 per cent in fungal keratitis (P<0.0001) (OR: 73.5; 95%CI: 61.3-98.5), 28.1 per cent in bacterial keratitis and 100 per cent in Acanthamoeba keratitis (P<0.0001). Injuries due to vegetative matter (61.2%) was identified as significant risk for fungal keratitis (P<0.0001) (OR: 15.73; 95%CI: 12.7-19.49) and mud (84.85%) for Acanthamoeba keratitis (P<0.0001) (OR: 16.52; 95%CI: 6.35-42.99). Co-existing ocular diseases predisposing to bacterial keratitis accounted for 724 (69%) patients (P<0.0001) (OR: 33.31; 95%CI: 26.98-41.12). Bacterial pathogens alone were recovered from all 35 patients with contact lens associated keratitis (100%). Co-existing ocular diseases (78.3%) were frequently documented among patients older than 50 yr (P<0.0001) (OR: 27.0; 95%CI: 25.0-28.0) and corneal injury (89.7%) was frequently recorded among patients younger than 51 yr (P<0.0001) (OR: 72.0; 95%CI: 70.0-73.0). Interpretation & conclusions: Corneal injury was found to be the principal risk factor for fungal and Acanthamoeba keratitis, while co-existing ocular diseases for bacterial keratitis. Corneal injury with vegetative matter was more often associated with fungal keratitis and injury with mud with Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Effect of Commiphora mukul extract on cardiac dysfunction and ventricular function in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction.

In present study, hydroalcoholic extract of C. mukul significantly improved the cardiac function and prevented myocardial ischemic impairment manifested in the form of increased heart rate, decreased arterial pressure, increased left ventricular end diastolic pressure, and altered myocardial contractility indices. C. mukul treatment additionally also produced a significant increase in lactate dehydrogenase levels and prevented decline of protein content in heart. C. mukul preserved the structural integrity of myocardium. Reduced leakage of myocyte enzyme lactate dehydrogenase and maintenance of structural integrity of myocardium along with favorable modulation of cardiac function and improved cardiac performance indicate the salvage of myocardium with C. mukul treatment. Guggulsterones which are considered to be responsible for most of the therapeutic properties of C. mukul may underlie the observed cardioprotective effect of C. mukul against cardiac dysfunction in isoproterenol-induced ischemic rats.

Pharmacological and Nonpharmacological Prevention of End-Stage Renal Disease

Slowing of the rate of deterioration in renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is feasible; but requires a combination of pharmacological and non pharmaco- logical interventions. Pharmacological interventions of proven efficacy are the following: a. Blood pressure control using angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angioten- sin receptor blockers as the first line agents because these drugs have beneficial effects on glomerular haemodynamics and proteinuria in addition to their antihypertensive actions b. Strict blood glucose control in patients with diabetes mellitus c. Use of lipid-lowering agents (statins) d. Pharmacological control of hyperphosphataemia e. Prevention of anaemia with the use of erythropoietin and f. Pharmacological management of the underlying renal disease Non-pharmacological interventions are of equal importance and include maintenance of euvolaemia; prevention or prompt treatment of urinary tract obstruction and infection; hypercalcaemia and hypocalcaemia; and avoidance of nephroto- xins and smoking. The management of CKD is multifaceted and requires diligence and a team approach. Patients and their families should be active members of the team

Optimal cyclosporine therapy--an Indian experience.

Thirty consecutive adult patients who underwent renal transplantation were prospectively studied. The immunosuppression consisted of cyclosporine, azathioprine and prednisolone. Oral Cyclosporine CyA was initiated at a dose of 7 mg/kg/Day and reduced by 1 mg/kg/month. Blood level of CyA was monitored by monoclonal RIA (Cyclo-Trac-NS) method on 3rd, 10th, 30th, 60th, 90th and 180th days. The dose was titrated according to the blood level and the renal function. In spite of progressive reduction in the dose of CyA, the blood level did not show any significant change, probably because of increased absorption or decreased metabolism. Though the percentage change in CyA dose was significant, the CyA level and serum creatinine remained relatively stable during the follow up period. Our patients required relatively lesser dose to achieve optimum blood level. Though the blood level of CyA ranged between 387 and 2120 ng/dL. There was no evidence of rejection or irreversible nephrotoxicity.

Myoinositol and peroxidation--an in vitro study on human cataractous lens and human erythrocytes.

The effect of myoinositol on in vitro peroxidation induced by hydrogen peroxide in human erythrocytes and human cataractous lenses has been investigated. The lipid peroxidation was monitored as levels of thio barbituric reacting substances (TBARS). Addition of myoinositol decreased the peroxidation effect of hydrogen peroxide in a dose dependent manner. The results suggest a new antioxidant property for inositol.