Role of Lipid Indices in the Assessment of Microvascular Risk in Type 2 Diabetic Retinopathy Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in diabetic patients worldwide. Lipid indices (LI) such as atherogenic coefficient (AC), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), and Castelli risk index (CRI) I and II may be associated with bio-physiological changes of DR even when traditional lipids are within normal limit. Hence, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the LI and examine the LI predictive role in assessing the microvascular risk in diabetes patients with and without retinopathy. METHODOLOGY: This case-control study was conducted for six months at a tertiary care hospital and included 90 subjects divided into three groups. Group I had 30 age and sex-matched healthy controls; group II and group III had 30 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cases without DR and with DR, respectively. Plasma glucose and lipid profiles including apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I) and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) were measured in all subjects. LI such as AIP, AC, CRI-I, CRI-II, and non-HDL-C were calculated from the lipid profile values. ANOVA test was used to compare the means of three groups. RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants was 51.44 ± 11.72, 53.95 ± 12.43, and 57.16 ± 7.96 years for groups I, II, and III, respectively. Triacylglycerol (TG) showed positive correlation with all LI, AIP (r = 0.768, p < 0.00001), AC (r = 0.363, p = 0.048), non-HDL-C (r = 0.372, p = 0.042), and CRI-I (r = 0.363, p = 0.048), except for CRI-II in group III. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) showed a statistically significant positive correlation with non-HDL-C and CRI-II in diabetic subjects with and without retinopathy. CONCLUSION: The study showed that LI were raised in diabetic patients with or without DR, suggesting the significant role of LI in assessing microvascular risk in T2DM, particularly when the lipid profile values seem to be normal or not disturbed markedly.

N-Aryl iminochromenes inhibit cyclooxygenase enzymes via π-π stacking interactions and present a novel class of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX1/2) have been widely studied and noted for their role in the biosynthesis of inflammation-induced proteins, prostaglandins and thromboxane. Multiple anti-inflammatory drugs have been developed to target these two enzymes, but most of them appeared to have notable adverse effects, especially on the cardiovascular system and lower gastrointestinal tract, suggesting an urgent need for new potent anti-inflammatory drugs. In this study, we screened twenty-two previously synthesized N-aryl iminochromenes (NAIs) for their anti-inflammatory activity by performing COX-1/2 inhibitory assays. Five compounds (1, 10, 14, 15, and 20) that gave the best in vitro anti-inflammatory results were subjected to an in vivo anti-inflammatory assay using the formalin-induced hind rat paw oedema method, followed by in silico studies using indomethacin and celecoxib as standard drugs. Among them, compound 10 stood out as the best candidate, and the percentage reduction in paw oedema at the dose of 20 mg kg-1 body weight was found to be substantially higher with compound 10 than that with indomethacin. This is mostly due to the excellent suitability of the chromene-phenyl scaffold with a highly concentrated area of aromatic residues, which produced good π-π stacking interactions. Taken together, this study strongly suggests compound 10 as a potential candidate for anti-inflammatory drug research.

Unprecedented Concomitant Formation of Cu2O-CD Nano-Superstructures During the Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols and Their Catalytic Use in the Propargylamination Reaction: A Simultaneous Catalysis and Metal Waste Valorization (SCMWV) Method.

Copper-cyclodextrins (CDs)-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols under aqueous conditions and a concomitant formation of Cu2O-cyclodextrin nano-superstructures (Cu2O-CD nps) during the reaction are reported. The use of affordable copper and cyclodextrin combination for aerobic oxidation precluding organic solvents makes it a benign methodology. Intriguingly, a diverse array of Cu2O-CD nps with unique morphologies was obtained by varying copper salts, cyclodextrins, and bases. The nano-superstructures were characterized by different techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, time of flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy to confer their authenticity. Interestingly, the nano-superstructures showed promising catalytic efficiency for a one-pot three-component propargylamination reaction. The used particles were found to be recoverable and recyclable for propargylamination for up to three cycles, with no loss of catalytic activity. Moreover, the concomitant formation of Cu2O-CD nanostructures and their self-segregation during an aerobic oxidation reaction under homogenous conditions is a first-of-its-kind method depicting simultaneous catalysis and metal waste valorization (SCMWV). Overall, this new approach of reaping the benefits of homogenous metal catalysis and simultaneously sequestrating the metal into a high-value product might pave the way to develop many such SCMWV protocols in future.

Recyclable heterogeneous iron catalyst for C-N cross-coupling under ligand-free conditions.

An efficient and ligand-free C-N cross-coupling of aryl halides with various heterocycles using Fe/C(g) as a recyclable catalyst is reported. The yields are excellent to moderate.

The outcome of varicose vein surgery at 10 years: clinical findings, symptoms and patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Data on long-term outcomes of varicose vein surgery are sparse, and 'success' rates vary substantially depending on the method of assessment. This study used a variety of methods to evaluate patients 10 years after operation. METHODS: A consecutive cohort of 100 patients was identified, of whom 70 (151 operated limbs) were reviewed--50 by clinical and Doppler examination, and all by structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A few months after operation, symptoms were 'cured' or 'much better' in 89% of patients, and remained so at 10 years in 77%. Only 30% patients were completely free of recurrent varicose veins at 10 years (both by self- and clinician-assessment): 44% had 'just a few' varicosities while 26%, had varicose veins 'as badly as before'. Only 24 patients (34%) were not 'generally pleased' at 10 years, because of continuing symptoms (3), recurrent varicosities (13), and other miscellaneous reasons. CONCLUSIONS: Although some recurrence of varicose veins is frequent 10 years after operation, surgery provides long-term relief of symptoms in the great majority of patients.