A study on body mass index (BMI) and some biochemical parameters of the medicos with family history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

Increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), coronary heart disease (CHD) is alarming; risk factors are fairly stable, passing fairly well from childhood to adulthood; genetic factors play a role. This is important to know the status of some biochemical parameters viz, fasting plasma glucose level, fasting serum insulin (FI), serum triglyceride (STG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) among the medicos with family history (FH) of DM, HT or CHD and the relationship of biochemical parameters with body mass index (BMI). Mean age of the sample (n=67) was 22 years with 76.12% males and 23.88% females; 44.78%, 29.85% and 19.40% had FH of DM, HT and CHD respectively; 8.96% had the FH of three diseases. High BMI was seen in 62.69% cases; it was significantly high among those with FH of DM (p<0.05) but not significant against HT (p>0.05) or CHD (p>0.05). All had normal fasting plasma glucose level. Positive association existed (a) between BMI with FI, LDL and HDL, FI with LDL and HDL, TG with TC, TC with LDL and HDL, LDL with HDL among those with FH of DM; (b) between BMI with FI, STG and HDL, FI with LDL and HDL, TC with LDL and HDL, LDL with HDL among those with FH of HT; (c) between BMI with FI, STG and HDL, FI with TC, LDL and HDL, TC with LDL and HDL, LDL with HDL among those with FH of CHD. Multiple correlation coefficients (R) also indicated moderate association.

Correlation between human papillomavirus DNA detection in maternal cervical smears and buccal swabs of infants.

Acquisition of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in buccal mucosa by the infants at birth has been investigated. Presence of HPV DNA was evaluated in cervical smears of 30 pregnant women before delivery and in buccal swabs of the corresponding 31 infants (1 set of twins). HPV DNA was detected among the 40% of women, 16% of infants an the detection was concordant in 23 mother-infant pairs. HPV DNA was demonstrated in buccal mucosal cells of 41.6% of the infants born to HPV positive mothers. Maternal-infant transmission was highest for HPV 6/11. Assessment of the risk of developing HPV related oral lesions in children at later life owing to acquisition of HPV during perinatal period may help in determining a strategy to combat the disease.

Health profile of two social groups living in a squatter settlement in Calcutta.

Health and well-being of individuals largely depend on socioeconomic and environmental conditions. The low socioeconomic groups face the highest health burdens. In the present study an attempt has been made to compare and contrast the health related traits prevalent in two social groups (Hindu and Muslim), living in a squatter settlement in Calcutta, India. The study has been conducted on women between 20 to 40 years of age. The results show that the Muslims are more frequently affected with respect to most of the traits than the Hindus, but the difference is significant with respect to only a few traits. Thus, micro-cultural traits associated with religion do not seem to have much effect on the health related traits considered in this study.

Clinicopathological study of clinically undiagnosed cases of kala-azar with special reference to grading of parasites.

Clinicopathological study of 34 clinically undiagnosed cases of kala-azar has been undertaken with a view to establish the diagnosis and correlate the quantitative grading of Leishmania donovani in bone marrow/splenic aspirates with clinical features and duration of disease. The ages of the patients were between 5 and 45 years. The duration of illnesses ranged from 2-24 months with 47% having 2 months' duration. Splenomegaly was less than 7 cm in 70.5% cases. Anaemia, leucopenia and mild thrombocytopenia were present in all the cases. Aldehyde test was positive in 47% cases. Bone marrow aspiration revealed the parasites in 82.3% cases. L donovani was also observed in 66.6% cases of splenic aspiration including 6 cases where bone marrow failed to reveal the parasite. Grading of the parasites in bone marrow and splenic aspirates revealed majority of the cases (73.5%) were in 3+ and 4+ grades. No correlation between splenic size and duration of illness or parasite grading was detected. Neither any positive correlation between parasite grading and duration of illness was observed.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of cervical lymphadenopathy with special reference to tuberculosis.

One hundred eighty cases of cervical lymphadenopathy have been studied by fine needle aspiration cytological examination followed by histopathologic examination of the excised lymph nodes. The diagnostic accuracy was 84.4% for tuberculous lymphadenitis by fine needle aspiration cytological examination. Observation of caseous necrosis (84.2%) and epithelioid cells (73.6%) were the most characteristic diagnostic features in the aspirated smears. Acid-fast bacilli were observed in 45.6% cases. Metastatic carcinoma also yielded a high diagnostic accuracy ie, 89%. Fine needle aspiration cytology has been found to be safe, quick, inexpensive with high diagnostic accuracy in cervical lymphadenopathy.

Rare variant of acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) is a peculiar sub-type of acute myeloblastic leukaemia characterised by presence of atypical promyelocytes in bone marrow and peripheral blood and common occurrence of haemorrhagic episodes associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Two morphological forms of APL are recognised--typical hypergranular and microgranular or M3 variant. This microgranular form of APL is rare but has got some peculiar features and often can be diagnosed by peripheral blood smear examination alone without bone marrow examination. Three cases of microgranular form of APL observed during a period of 6 months are reported here.

Detection of human papillomavirus in cervical swabs from Indian women by cytological and immunocytochemical technique.

Cervical swabs were collected from 88 women in the age group of 17-55 years in Calcutta, India to study the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The viral infection was demonstrated on the basis of koilocytotic changes in Papanicolaou staining (PAP test) and the presence of viral capsid antigen as detected by immunocytochemistry (IMC test). The PAP and IMC tests revealed 25% and 28.4% of women, respectively, to be positive for HPV infection. Higher frequency (61.1% to 87.5%) of infection was observed in moderate to severe dysplastic lesions. HPV infection was observed to be more frequent in the younger age group (less than 40 years) with 1-2 parity. Although koilocytes were absent in all (n = 51) of the apparently normal subjects, 4 (7.8%) of them were positive for HPV antigen. Except for these, sensitivity of PAP test and IMC test for the detection of HPV was found to be almost similar.

Effect of oral contraceptives on the ultrastructure of the endometrium.

PIP: A low dose oral contraceptive (OC) containing 0.3 mg norgestrel and 0.03 mg ethinyl estradiol was given for conception control in 10 cases, for dysfunction and uterine bleeding (DUB) in 10 cases, for dysmenorrhea in 5 cases, and for endometriosis in 5 cases. Prior to treatment and subsequently the endometrium was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Post therapeutic TEM indicated marked shrinkage of mitochondria, subnuclear lipid deposition, and loss of nuclear nests in the conception control and dysmenorrhea groups. In the DUB group the epithelial cells and mitochondria became stunted, Golgi-complexes developed, lysosomes appeared, and lipid deposition took place. Significant epithelial and stromal changes also occurred in the endometriosis group with increased of intracellular lipid and hugh enlargement of cell size without abnormal structural alteration. SEM showed stunted isolated cilia, small openings at cell apices, and clear-cut gland openings in the conception control and dysmenorrhea groups. In the DUB group rounded shrunken epithelium with scanty ciliation and prominent microvilli, whereas in the endometriosis group after 6 months total epithelial regression and atrophy was evident. OC therapy may help prevent endometrial carcinoma by inducing regression of subcellular organelles.^ieng