Evidence of age-related changes in the antennal glomeruli of Drosophila melanogaster using monoclonal antibodies.

As a tool to better understand the organization of the olfactory pathway three monoclonal antibodies have been isolated and characterized each having a unique staining pattern in the antenna and antennal lobe of Drosophila melanogaster. Monoclonal antibody F14-2D6 stains sensilla coeloconica and thick sensilla basiconica in the funiculus, Y1-3D10 stains only a few sensilla especially in and around the sacculus, while F15-12E8 stains all the sensilla. All three antibodies stain a subset of the glomeruli in the antennal lobe, of which 11 glomeruli are stained in common by all three antibodies. These antibodies could be used to study projection patterns of the sensilla into the antennal lobe. Glomerular staining was observed at different developmental times with the different antibodies. F15-12E8 stains all the glomeruli at eclosion, Y1-3D10 stains only a few glomeruli at eclosion but most glomeruli are stained by the first day after eclosion. F14-2D6 stains all glomeruli only after eclosion. F15-12E8 also stains the mushroom bodies. The antigen recognized by F14-2D6 in the glomeruli shows an increase with age of the flies, measured as increased intensity of staining. These observations suggest that age-related changes continue in the antennal lobe of the flies even after eclosion. These antibodies could therefore serve as unique markers for other studies on the development of the olfactory system.

Red cell distribution width as a measure of severity of iron deficiency in iron deficiency anaemia.

Of the various red cell parameters used for distinguishing iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) from beta-thalassaemia trait BTT, red cell distribution width (RDW), which is an objective measure of the degree of anisocytosis, was examined by us for its discriminating value. RDW was measured in 55 patients of IDA and 56 patients of BTT at presentation with the help of an automated haematology analyser. The mean RDWs in IDA and BTT patients were 18.2 +/- 3.8 and 15.1 +/- 1.2 respectively (P < 0.001). In IDA, RDW showed an inverse relationship with the haemoglobin level (r = -0.543; P < 0.001), while no such correlation was observed in BTT patients. An inverse relation was also observed in IDA between RDW and transferrin saturation (TS). Patients with high RDW had low TS and vice versa. The latter finding, although statistically not significant, suggested that the degree of elevation of RDW in IDA could reflect the severity of iron deficiency. Our study revealed that red cell count, which was significantly higher in BTT patients (P < 0.001), the RDW, and the discriminant function (DF) calculated from these two parameters could be useful in distinguishing IDA from BTT. A RDW above 17.1 strongly suggests the presence of IDA. For RDW below 17.1 the DF can be applied for further discrimination. RDW has the advantage of being obtained directly from the analyser, while DF is a calculated value.

What ails the present medical care?

In spite of the vast amount of medical data at our disposal, there are limitations and drawbacks of medical care. This is due to the defective medical knowledge - the restricted narrow concepts of human being, illness, etiology and treatment. This has resulted in undue emphasis on physical aspect of human existence ignoring the mental and spiritual aspects in understanding the illness and treating them. There isa) Unnecessary medicalisation while the other methods of treatment remain underused.b) Only symptomatic relief, rather than a cure by removal of the cause, with likelihood of recurrence or syndrome shift.c) Incompleteness of treatment which tackles only the external cause without rectifying the inherent susceptibility leaving the possibility of recurrence.d) Overspecialization and unnecessary referrals, and non-individualisation of treatment causing avoidable side-effects.