Lung cancer in the older population:Interactive effects of angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism (rs 4340 ID) and tobacco addiction in risk assessment.

BACKGROUND: rs4340ID polymorphism of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) correlates with serum ACE levels in many known cancers. This study analyzed ACE rs4340 ID polymorphism in lung cancer (LC) in older patients of North India and correlated it with addiction status. METHODS: The study enrolled all subjects aged 60 years and above with 154 LC and 205 healthy controls. Genotyping was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and validated by sequencing of 10% of the sample. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS Statistics 21. RESULTS: Genotype II was observed to have a significant 2.21-fold increased risk of LC as compared to the DD genotype and 3.43-folds enhanced risk with interaction of I allele with tobacco consumption habits as compared to D allele in LC was seen. CONCLUSION: The risk of LC was higher with II genotype as compared to DD genotype. Interactive effect showed that I allele with tobacco habits may increase the risk of LC.

Implementing and validating a care protocol for older adults with cancer in resource limited settings with a newly developed screening tool.

BACKGROUND: Cancer in the aging population presents manifold challenges. In the resource-limited settings of developing countries, concrete steps to optimize care for older adults with cancer are required. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This prospective, observational study was divided in two parts. In the first part, older adults (≥60 years) with a tissue diagnosis of cancer underwent a preliminary, detailed assessment of relevant geriatric domains. The patients were followed up at 4, 12 and 24 weeks, and their survival status was recorded. In the second part a newly developed screening tool, "SCreening of the Older PErson with Cancer", Version1 (SCOPE-C) was validated on patients with similar characteristics. RESULTS: 419 participants were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the participants was 66.6 ± 6.2 years, 75% had functional impairment, 35% had malnutrition, and 64% had more than one co-morbidity. The median survival time was 22 weeks from the index visit. Male gender, functional decline, cognitive impairment, malnutrition, and treatment modality were found to be independently associated with survival. Individual Scores on the SCOPE-C Version1 scale were correlated with survival status at 24 weeks, and a cutoff score of 64 had a 72.2% sensitivity and 77.3% specificity for better prognosis. CONCLUSION: The present study is a comprehensive attempt to assess older adults with cancer with limited resources in a busy health system. A preliminary assessment with a prognostic screening tool may streamline care in resource-limited settings and aid clinicians in making treatment decisions.

Old age-associated enrichment of peripheral T regulatory cells and altered redox status in pulmonary tuberculosis patients.

Aging influences the susceptibility and prognosis to various infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB). Despite the impairment of T-cell function and immunity in older individuals, the mechanism for the higher incidence of TB in the elderly remains largely unknown. Here, we evaluated the age-associated immune alterations, particularly in effector and Treg responses in pulmonary TB patients. We also evaluated the impact of redox status and its modulation with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) in elderly TB. Higher frequency of Treg cells and reduced IFN-γ positive T cells were observed among older TB patients. The elevated number of Treg cells correlated tightly with bacillary load (i.e. disease severity); which declined significantly in response to successful anti-tubercular treatment. We could rescue Myobacterium tuberculosis-specific effector T cell (Th1) responses through various in vitro approaches, for example, Treg cell depletion and co-culture experiments, blocking experiments using antibodies against IL-10, TGF-ß, and programmed death-1 (PD-1) as well as NAC supplementation. We report old age-associated enrichment of Treg cells and suppression of M. tuberculosis-specific effector T (Th1) cell immune responses. Monitoring these immune imbalances in older patients may assist in immune potentiation through selectively targeting Treg cells and/or optimizing redox status by NAC supplementation.

Nordic walking training and nutritional supplementation in pre-frail older Indians: an open-labelled experimental pre-test and post-test pilot study to develop intervention model.

BACKGROUND: Identifying and treating people in a pre-frail state may be an effective way to prevent or delay frailty and preserve their functional capacity. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of, and compliance with, a 12 week individualized nutritional supplementation (INS) and Nordic walking (NW) program in pre-frail older Indians. The primary measure is physical performance, as indicated by Fried's Frailty scale. Other measures include: cognition, as indicated by the Hindi Mental Status Examination; mood, by the Geriatric Depression Scale; and nutritional status, by the Mini Nutritional Assessment. METHODS: This is an open-labeled experimental pre-test and post-test study, which took place from October 2012 to December 2014. The study was approved by Institute Ethics committee (IEC/NP-350/2012/RP-26/2012) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Participants were sixty-six pre-frail elderly, who were randomly allocated into three subgroups, namely: A (NW only), B (INS only), and C (NW and INS). One-way ANOVA was used to statistically assess differences in baseline characteristics for quantitative variables, with the Chi-Square/Fischer exact test utilized for qualitative variables. Paired t-tests were used to assess pre and post intervention difference within the group for quantitative variables, with McNemar's Chi-Square test used for qualitative variables. Kruskal Wallis test was used to assess significant intervention effects among the groups. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: There was significant effect of intervention in gait speed in group A (p = 0.001) and C (p = 0.002), but not in group B (p = 0.926). While there was no significant change in grip strength in Group A (p = 0.488) and B (p = 0.852), a statistically significant increase was observed in group C (p = 0.013). Mood significantly improved in group B (p = 0.025) and C (p = 0.021). No significant difference was noted in cognitive status across groups. Following the interventions, a total of 18.18% of pre-frail participants were classified as non-frail. CONCLUSIONS: Combining NW and INS provides a simple, pragmatic intervention with efficacy in the management of functionally vulnerable older adults, and allows their maintained independence. Future studies should replicate this readily applicable intervention in a larger cohort with a longer follow-up period. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trial Registry-India CTRI/2016/05/006937 [Registered on: 16/05/2016]; Trial was Registered Retrospectively.

Unusual presentation of tuberculosis in an elderly male: a case report.

Tuberculous liver abscess is an extremely rare condition, even in tuberculosis endemic countries. A 68-year-old male presented with 2 months of fever, significant weight loss, and hepatomegaly. Ultrasonography revealed a right hepatic lobe abscess. Guided aspiration of the fluid showed tubercular bacilli. He had no evidence of active Tuberculosis elsewhere.

Reversible ototoxicity: a rare adverse reaction of liposomal amphotericin-B used for the treatment of antimony-resistant visceral leishmaniasis in an elderly male.

Amphotericin-B, a broad spectrum antifungal agent, has been known to cause adverse effects such as nephrotoxicity and infusion-related side effects such as fever, chills, rigor, and arthralgias. However, ototoxicity as an adverse effect of Amphotericin-B has not yet been reported in medical literature. We here report a case of a reversible form of ototoxicity induced by liposomal Amphotericin-B (L-AmB).

An unexpected cause of orbital apex syndrome in an immune-competent elderly male.

Invasive aspergillosis causing orbital apex syndrome (OAS) in an immune-competent individual is a very rare phenomenon, scarcely reported in medical literature. A 68-year-old male presented with progressive loss of vision in the right eye, starting after a cataract surgery. Neurological examination suggested OAS. Imaging was suggestive of mass lesion causing destruction of ethmoid bone. Biopsy of the lesion could not be done initially in view of its proximity to the major neuro-vascular bundle in the orbital apex and cavernous sinus and the major risk involved in the procedure relative to its yield. There was no response to empirical therapy with antibacterials, steroids or Amphotericin-B. Gradually the mass increased in size and was amenable to biopsy. Endoscopy guided biopsy revealed invasive aspergillosis. Switching over to voriconazole lead to successful management. This case highlights the importance of early diagnosis and selection of an appropriate antifungal therapy in the management of invasive aspergillosis.