Association of Hypertension with Serum Estrogen Level in Postmenopausal Women.

Hypertension is a chronic and debilitating disease. Its complications give rise to cardiovascular diseases, stroke in Postmenopausal women. Estrogen deficiency that develops during menopause is likely the etiological factor for development of hypertension in postmenopausal women. Increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women may be due to hypertension caused by lower level of estrogen hormone. The study was carried out to observe the association of hypertension with serum estrogen level in postmenopausal women. This cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, during the period of January 2011 to December 2011. A total number of 90 female subjects were selected from different areas of Dhaka city. Among them, 60 postmenopausal women with age ranging from 50 to 60 years were taken as study group and 30 apparently healthy premenopausal women with age ranging from 20 to 30 years were included as control group for comparison. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were recorded in both groups. Serum estrogen level was estimated in order to assess the hormonal level of both groups. Data was analyzed by Unpaired Student's 't' test and Pearson's co-efficient (r) test as applicable. The value of systolic blood pressure was higher in postmenopausal women than those of premenopausal women and result was statistically significant. The level of diastolic blood pressure was also significantly (p<0.001) higher in postmenopausal women in comparison to those of premenopausal women. In postmenopausal women serum estrogen level was lower than premenopausal women and serum estrogen level showed negative correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. All these correlation were statistically non significant. Present study revealed that there is association of hypertension with serum estrogen level in postmenopausal women.

Correlation between Histopathological and Endoscopic Findings of Stomach Growth.

This study was carried out in the Department of Pathology of Islami Bank Hospital, Barisal to correlate between histopathological and endoscopic diagnosis of suspected malignant gastric lesions. A total of sixty six endoscopic biopsies were studied retrospectively, during the period from February 2011 to January 2014. The biopsies were retrieved using video-endoscope. These were transferred to a bottle containing 10% neutral formalin, processed and stained routinely with Haematoxylin and Eosin. Out of 66(100%) gastric endoscopic biopsies, 29(44%) were malignant. The correlation of endoscopic and histopathological diagnosis of these gastric lesions was 44%. Endoscopic examination and biopsy is a convenient procedure for accurate objective assessment of patients with symptoms of gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopy is incomplete without biopsy and histopathology is the gold standard for the diagnosis of endoscopically detected lesions.

Role of cyanobacteria in the persistence of Vibrio cholerae O139 in saline microcosms.

Recently, a new strain of cholera, Vibrio cholerae O139, has emerged as an epidemic strain, but there is little information about its environmental reservoir. The present investigation was aimed to determine the role of cyanobacteria in the persistence of V. cholerae O139 in microcosms. An environmental isolate of V. cholerae O139 and three cyanobacteria (Anabaena sp., Nostoc sp., and Hapalosiphon sp.) were used in this study. Survival of culturable V. cholerae O139 in microcosms was monitored using taurocholate-tellurite gelatin agar medium. Viable but nonculturable V. cholerae O139 were detected using a fluorescent antibody technique. Vibrio cholerae O139 could be isolated for up to 12 days in a culturable form in association with cyanobacteria but could not be isolated in the culturable form after 2 days from control water without cyanobacteria. The viable but nonculturable V. cholerae O139 could be detected in association with cyanobacteria for up to 15 months. These results, therefore, suggest that cyanobacteria can act as a long-term reservoir of V. cholerae O139 in an aquatic environment.