Cytogenetic Analysis of Down Syndrome Patients in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Introduction: Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 is the mostcommon type of chromosomal abnormalities in new-born.There are three types regular (Free) Trisomy 21, Translocationand Mosaic Trisomy 21. One third cases of Down syndrome,clinical diagnosis may not be confirmed. Therefore, in thisstudy we aimed to confirm the suspected Down syndromepatients by a cytogenetic analysis and also evaluate the riskfactors associated with Down syndrome.Material and methods: Total 30 suspected Down syndromepatients with aged between days 2 to 20 years old wereincluded in this study, on the basis of well-defined inclusioncriteria. The cytogenetic analysis, karyotype was carriedout for all 30 suspected patients from peripheral blood andstaining with Giemsa (G-Banding).Results: Total of 30 children were included in which 16patients with Down syndrome and 14 with normal. Regular(Free) Trisomy 21 was found in 93.75% patients andtranslocation was seen in 6.25% case. Whereas Mosaicdown syndrome was not seen in any cases. Among Downsyndrome, 10 (62.50%) were males. The mean maternal ageat birth was significantly higher (31.94±3.04 years) in DownsyndromeConclusion: Our results suggest that regular trisomy 21 ismore common in Down syndrome cases. Moreover, highermaternal age was the major risk factor for Down’s syndrome

Role of serum procalcitonin as a marker for diagnosing neonatal sepsis

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a continuing problem causing significant burden on health care, especially in developing world. As blood culture has low sensitivity in diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, strong clinical suspicion along with combination of different laboratory tests is required. The data available for extensively studied acute phase reactant, procalcitonin (PCT) remains controversial. This study was done to assess role of PCT alone and in combination with different tests for diagnosing neonatal sepsis.Methods: Blood samples of 275 neonates (>35 weeks of gestation) admitted to NICU, with suspicion of neonatal sepsis were collected for bacterial culture, serum procalcitonin level and sepsis screen (CRP, mESR, I/T ratio, Total Leucocyte Count, Absolute Neutrophil Count).Results: Blood culture was positive in 30.5% of enrolled neonates. At a cut-off value of 0.5 ng/ml the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV of serum PCT in neonatal sepsis cases was 73.8%, 47.1%, 48%, 80.4% respectively. Serum PCT was found raised in 60 (48.8%) clinically suspected cases of neonatal sepsis where sepsis screen and blood culture both were negative, also it was not raised in 17 (32.7%) of clinically suspected cases of septicemia where both blood culture and sepsis screen were positive. Amongst other individual tests, CRP was found to have best sensitivity (79.7%) and NPV (85%) followed by PCT (73.8% and 80.4%) while best specificity was found for I/T ratio (93.7%) followed by mESR (89%) for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis with positive blood culture. Best NPV was seen for combination of PCT+CRP+I/T ratio (95.6%) for the suspected cases of neonatal sepsis.Conclusions: Thus, we conclude that serum PCT can play a useful role when combined with other test markers but may not find its way as a sole diagnostic marker for diagnosing neonatal sepsis in term/near term babies.

Ziziphus jujuba: A Phytopharmacological Review.

In the last few decades there has been an exponential growth in the field of Herbal medicine. It is getting popularized in developing and developed countries owing to its natural origin and lesser side effects. One such medicinal plant is Ziziphus jujuba Mill, a member of the family Rhamnaceae, commonly known as Bor, grows mostly in Europe, southern and eastern Asia, and Australia, especially the inland region of northern China. Jujuba has a long history of usage as a fruit and remedy. The main biologically active components are vitamin C, phenolics, flavonoids, triterpenic acids, and polysaccharides. It is used traditionally as tonic and aphrodisiac and sometimes as Hypnotic-sedative and Anxiolytic, anticancer (Melanoma cells), Antifungal, Antibacterial, Antiulcer, Anti-inflammatory, Cognitive, Antispastic, Antifertility/contraception, Hypotensive and Antinephritic, Cardiotonic, Antioxidant, Immunostimulant, and Wound healing properties. The aim of this paper is to scrutinize the available literature related to the restorative activity of the ber plant as a herbal medicine on mammalian physiology and to accumulate those scientifically valid data in a nut shell in the form of a mini review.