A Clinically Explainable AI-Based Grading System for Age-Related Macular Degeneration Using Optical Coherence Tomography.

We propose an automated, explainable artificial intelligence (xAI) system for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) diagnosis. Mimicking the physician's perceptions, the proposed xAI system is capable of deriving clinically meaningful features from optical coherence tomography (OCT) B-scan images to differentiate between a normal retina, different grades of AMD (early, intermediate, geographic atrophy (GA), inactive wet or active neovascular disease [exudative or wet AMD]), and non-AMD diseases. Particularly, we extract retinal OCT-based clinical imaging markers that are correlated with the progression of AMD, which include: (i) subretinal tissue, sub-retinal pigment epithelial tissue, intraretinal fluid, subretinal fluid, and choroidal hypertransmission detection using a DeepLabV3+ network; (ii) detection of merged retina layers using a novel convolutional neural network model; (iii) drusen detection based on 2D curvature analysis; (iv) estimation of retinal layers' thickness, and first-order and higher-order reflectivity features. Those clinical features are used to grade a retinal OCT in a hierarchical decision tree process. The first step looks for severe disruption of retinal layers' indicative of advanced AMD. These cases are analyzed further to diagnose GA, inactive wet AMD, active wet AMD, and non-AMD diseases. Less severe cases are analyzed using a different pipeline to identify OCT with AMD-specific pathology, which is graded as intermediate-stage or early-stage AMD. The remainder is classified as either being a normal retina or having other non-AMD pathology. The proposed system in the multi-way classification task, evaluated on 1285 OCT images, achieved 90.82% accuracy. These promising results demonstrated the capability to automatically distinguish between normal eyes and all AMD grades in addition to non-AMD diseases.

Success of fixed partial denture prostheses observed in a military dental centre: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Fixed dental prostheses have been provided in the Armed Forces for a long time, yet definite evidence-based guidelines on the success and failure of different types of prostheses are currently lacking. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted as a step towards addressing this lacuna. Methods: The study included 156 patients and 538 prostheses based on pre-established inclusion criteria. The types of prostheses that were evaluated included crowns, fixed partial dentures (FPDs), post and core restorations, dental implants and veneers. Visual, tactile and radiographic examination was used for evaluating the prostheses. Success, survival and failure of prostheses were evaluated, and the types of complications leading to the failure were also recorded. In addition, the oral hygiene status of the included patients was also evaluated using the Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified. Results: The overall failure rate in all prostheses combined together was 28.81%. The failure rate in cantilever FPDs was the highest at 44.44%. It was 16.67% in veneers, 35.37% in conventional FPDs, 23.81% in single crowns and 30.56% in all post and core restorations. Conclusion: Barring the all-ceramic prostheses and fibre post and core restorations, the rate of occurrence of both complications and failures in the remaining categories of prostheses was higher than that mentioned in the literature.

Oral pain and infection control strategies for treating children and adolescents in India.

INTRODUCTION: Oral and dental health form an integral part of complete well being of an individual and society at large. Promoting oral health and societal progression go hand in hand. AIM: To investigate dentists' attitudes about pain and infection control while treating children and adolescents by assessing their recommendations of pre- and postoperative analgesics and antibiotics, and use of local anesthesia (LA) for definitive treatment in different clinical scenarios. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A total of 400 dentists, both general dental practitioners (GDPS) as well as specialist dentists, were surveyed over a period of 2 months by using a pre-tested close-ended questionnaire. The data was statistically analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square test and backward logistic regression analysis for analysis of categorical variables and independent variables, respectively. Level of significance was set at 5%. RESULTS: It was found that there was a gross overuse of antibiotics and analgesics and under use of LA by GDPs compared to specialist dentists. Postoperative antibiotics and analgesics were used more commonly than preoperative antibiotics and analgesics. These strategies were used more often in permanent teeth than primary teeth except the use of LA, which was used with equal frequency in both primary as well as permanent dentition. CONCLUSION: Dependence on antibiotics and analgesics for achieving pain and infection control in children has to be minimized and focus has to be shifted on judicious definitive treatment involving use of LA, aseptic techniques, and behavior management techniques.

Precise higher-order reflectivity and morphology models for early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy using OCT images.

This study proposes a novel computer assisted diagnostic (CAD) system for early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) B-scans. The CAD system is based on fusing novel OCT markers that describe both the morphology/anatomy and the reflectivity of retinal layers to improve DR diagnosis. This system separates retinal layers automatically using a segmentation approach based on an adaptive appearance and their prior shape information. High-order morphological and novel reflectivity markers are extracted from individual segmented layers. Namely, the morphological markers are layer thickness and tortuosity while the reflectivity markers are the 1st-order reflectivity of the layer in addition to local and global high-order reflectivity based on Markov-Gibbs random field (MGRF) and gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), respectively. The extracted image-derived markers are represented using cumulative distribution function (CDF) descriptors. The constructed CDFs are then described using their statistical measures, i.e., the 10th through 90th percentiles with a 10% increment. For individual layer classification, each extracted descriptor of a given layer is fed to a support vector machine (SVM) classifier with a linear kernel. The results of the four classifiers are then fused using a backpropagation neural network (BNN) to diagnose each retinal layer. For global subject diagnosis, classification outputs (probabilities) of the twelve layers are fused using another BNN to make the final diagnosis of the B-scan. This system is validated and tested on 130 patients, with two scans for both eyes (i.e. 260 OCT images), with a balanced number of normal and DR subjects using different validation metrics: 2-folds, 4-folds, 10-folds, and leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) cross-validation approaches. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, F1-score, and accuracy metrics. The system's performance after the fusion of these different markers showed better performance compared with individual markers and other machine learning fusion methods. Namely, it achieved [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text], respectively, using the LOSO cross-validation technique. The reported results, based on the integration of morphology and reflectivity markers and by using state-of-the-art machine learning classifications, demonstrate the ability of the proposed system to diagnose the DR early.

Effect of Sugarcane Cultivar and Foliar Insecticide Treatment on Infestations of the Invasive Sugarcane Thrips, Fulmekiola serrata (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in Florida.

Fulmekiola serrata (Kobus) was observed infesting sugarcane, Saccharum spp. hybrids, in the United States for the first time in January 2017 in Florida. Field studies were conducted to determine F. serrata infestation levels on popular sugarcane cultivars and to determine the efficacy of foliar insecticide treatments that could be used for management. Cultivar evaluations comparing six and five commercial cultivars representing >46% of the sugarcane production area in Florida were conducted in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Fulmekiola serrata infestation levels did not differ among cultivars in 2017. However, infestation levels on CP 00-1101 were greater than on CP 96-1252 grown on organic soils, and infestation levels on CP 96-1252 were greater than on CPCL 97-2730 grown on mineral soils in 2018. Three insecticide evaluations, two in 2017 and one in 2018, were conducted. The pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin, which is registered for use on sugarcane, was consistently associated with the greatest decreases in F. serrata infestation levels. The neonicotinoids imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, as well as the butenolide flupyradifurone, decreased infestation levels but to a lesser extent than did lambda-cyhalothrin. The spinosyn spinetoram was associated with the lowest decreases in F. serrata infestation levels. Our results supported short-term F. serrata management recommendations: Popular Florida sugarcane cultivars should be considered equally susceptible to F. serrata until additional evaluations are conducted and F. serrata outbreaks can be treated with lambda-cyhalothrin when infestations stress the crop beyond acceptable levels.

Comparative evaluation of the tensile bond strength of two silicone based denture liners with denture base resins.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate and compare tensile bond strength of two silicone based liners with heat cure and heat cure high impact denture base resin at baseline and after storage in artificial saliva for 30 and 60 days. METHOD: Heat cure conventional and high impact acrylic blocks (120 blocks each) prepared with final test specimen of two blocks of each resin with a liner. The baseline samples and those tested after 30 and 60 days interval stored in artificial saliva in thermal incubator, all were pulled apart in UTM at 20 mm/min. The tensile bond strength and mode of failure (adhesive/cohesive) were assessed. Mean, SD determined and analysis using one way ANOVA and paired 't' test. RESULTS: The highest mean tensile bond strength (1.028 MPa) and the least i.e. 0.289 MPa was observed with Permaflex silicone liner against heat cure PMMA after storage in artificial saliva at 37 ± 1 °C. CONCLUSION: The study rejected the null hypothesis because storage time in artificial saliva affected the bond strength of the resilient liners examined. The results revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) of artificial saliva storage on the bond strength of both the liners. After storage in artificial saliva for 30 days and 60 days at 37 ± 1 °C, all the specimens showed a significant reduction in the tensile bond strength.

Two Pelvic Digits on Same Side: Double Trouble?

Pelvic digit is a rare congenital anomaly of pelvis usually discovered incidentally on plain radiography. It usually develops in the soft tissue adjacent to the normal skeletal tissue. Its importance lays in its differentiation from heterotopic ossification, osteochondroma, Fong's disease and traumatic avulsion injuries of pelvis to avoid any unnecessary investigations and interventions. Here, we report a 32-year-old male presenting with complain of pain in right hip, was subjected to radiographic examination and two pelvic digits were noticed arising from the iliac bone in addition to features of osteoarthritis of hip joint. The symptomatology was attributed to osteoarthritis of hip after thorough physical examination and imaging investigations.

Determination of mesiodistal width of maxillary anterior teeth using inner canthal distance.

BACKGROUND: Selection of appropriately sized maxillary anterior teeth is one of the important aspects of complete denture prosthodontics. In the past several methods have been proposed, but little consensus on an effective method for anterior teeth selection has been reached. Inner canthal distance is one of the reliable anatomic dimension that may provide a valid approach to anterior teeth selection. This study was aimed to ascertain the co-relation between inner canthal distance (ICD) and combined mesiodistal width of maxillary anterior teeth. METHOD: This study was conducted in Army Dental Centre (R & R) Delhi Cantonment between Aug 2006 to Mar 2008. Eight hundred dentate Indian subjects of four different ethnic group; Such as Rajputs, Marathas, Sikh and Tamilian. 100 males and 100 females from each race under the age group of 18-30 years formed the subjects of study. The ICD and mesio-distal width of maxillary anteriors were measured using Digital Vernier Caliper. The Data obtained was statistically analyzed. RESULTS: A consistent ratio of 1.61 was found between ICD and combined mesiodistal width of maxillary anteriors in all four ethnic group. The mean value showed no statistically significant difference between sex. The variation in the ratio between the ethnic groups was negligible. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study indicated that, to select the combined mesiodistal width of maxillary anterior teeth, ICD of the required patient should be multiplied by 1.61. This ratio was consistent with all the four ethnic groups irrespective of sex.

Haematological alterations induced by oral subacute exposure to fenvalerate, nitrate and their combination in domestic buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.

The present study investigated haematological alterations induced by oral subacute exposure to fenvalerate, nitrate and their combination in the domestic buffalo, Bubalus bubalis. Fenvalerate exposure produced significant declines in haemoglobin (Hb), total leukocyte count (TLC), total erythrocyte count (TEC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and a corresponding elevation in mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Following oral exposure to sodium nitrate, significant declines in blood Hb, TLC, TEC, MCH and MCHC, and a significant elevation in MCV occurred. Combined exposure to fenvalerate and sodium nitrate produced severe effects with an appreciably more prominent decline in Hb, TLC, TEC and MCHC and a significant elevation in MCV. The percentage of methaemoglobin was observed to follow an elevating trend in animals exposed to sodium nitrate alone (0.69 %-13.8 %) and in combination with fenvalerate (0.75 %-13.7 %).

Evaluation of shear bond strength of composite resin bonded to alloy treated with sandblasting and electrolytic etching.

Conservation of natural tooth structure precipitated the emergence of resin-retained fixed partial dentures. The weakest link in this modality is the bond between resin cement and alloy of the retainer. Various alloy surface treatment have been recommended to improve alloy-resin bond. This in vitro study was carried out to observe changes in the Nickel-Chromium alloy (Wiron 99, Bego) surface following sandblasting or electrolytic etching treatment by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and to evaluate the shear bond strength of a resin luting cement bonded to the surface treated alloy. 80 alloy blocks were cast and divided into four groups of 20 each. In groups-A & B, the test surfaces were treated by sandblasting with 50 and 250 µm sized aluminium oxide particles respectively. In groups-C & D, the test surfaces were first treated by sandblasting with 50 and 250 µm sized aluminium oxide particles respectively followed by electrolytic etching. Test surfaces were observed under SEM at 1,000× magnification. Two alloy blocks of each group were luted together by a resin luting cement (Rely X, 3M) and their shear bond strength was tested. The mean shear bond strength in MPa of groups-A to D were 6.44 (±0.74), 8.18 (±0.51), 14.45 (±0.59) and 17.43 (±1.20) respectively. Group-D showed bond strength that is more than clinically acceptable bond strength. It is recommended that before luting resin-retained fixed partial dentures, the fitting surface of the retainer should be electrolytically etched to achieve adequate micromechanical retention.

Clinical evaluation of early loaded and unloaded implants in edentulous mandible.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to compare and evaluate the clinical outcome of early loaded and unloaded implants in the interforaminal region of anterior mandible. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five completely edentulous patients aged between 45 and 65 years were selected satisfying certain criteria. Four implants were placed in 33, 43, 35 and 45 regions; implants in 33 and 43 regions were loaded by a Dolder bar supported overdenture at 7th day. The implants at 35 and 45 regions were connected to 33 and 43 regions, respectively after 4 months. The implants were divided into two groups. Group I consisted of early loaded implants (implants in the region of 33 and 43) and Group II consisted of delayed loaded implants (implants in the region of 35 and 45). The implants were evaluated for various clinical parameters at 2, 4 and 6 month intervals after initial placement. RESULTS: There was significant increase in the bone to implant contact for unloaded implants as compared to early loaded at the end of 6 months of implant placement. There was increased marginal bone loss around early loaded implants as compared to unloaded implants at the end of 6 months. Clinical stability of early loaded implants was lower as compared to the unloaded implants at the end of 6 months. Survival rate for early loaded and unloaded implants was 100% at the end of 6 months with all implants in function. CONCLUSION: Early loading of interforaminal mandibular implants demonstrated a highly acceptable clinical success at the end of 6 months. However, the bone density, marginal bone level and clinical stability were significantly lower for the early loaded implants as compared to unloaded implants.

Clinicopathological Studies on Vitamin D(3) Toxicity and Therapeutic Evaluation of Aloe vera in Rats.

A study was conducted to examine the clinical signs, hematological, biochemical and histopathological changes in vitamin D(3) toxicity at a dose rate 2 mg/kg b.wt. of vitamin D(3) and to assess the protective effect of Aloe vera in vitamin D(3) toxicity. The clinical signs observed were anorexia, progressive weight loss, difficulty in movement and respiration, diarrhea, epistaxis, subnormal body temperature and nervous signs before death. Mortality was observed in treated rats between day 10 and day 19 of treatment. The gross postmortem changes observed were severe emaciation, white chalky deposits on epicardial surface of heart, pin point white deposits on cortical surface of kidneys with pale yellow discoloration and diffused white deposits on serosal surface of stomach and intestine with bloody ingesta in lumen. The hematological changes included non-significant increase in hemoglobin and total leukocyte count and significant increase in relative neutrophil count. The biochemical changes observed were significant increase in plasma concentration of calcium, phosphorus and blood urea nitrogen, whereas a significant decrease in the concentration of albumin and total plasma protein was observed. The histopathological lesions included calcification of various organs, viz., tongue, stomach, intestines, kidney, heart, aorta, larynx, trachea, lungs, spleen, choroid plexus arteries of brain and vas deferens. The Aloe vera juice (2.5% in drinking water) has no protective effect on vitamin D(3) toxicity (2 mg/kg b.wt.).

Neuropathological studies of chickens following exposure to chlorpyrifos.

The objective of this study was to determine the putative neuropathological effects in young chickens after administration of a single dose of 55 mg/kg bw chlorpyrifos. The gross lesions of the nervous system comprised of congestions in the brain. Microscopic examination of brain showed mild congestion of cerebral blood vessels and mild perivascular cuffing of lymphomononuclear cells in the cerebral cortex and necrosis of the neurons. The interesting findings were the presence of cytoplasmic vacuolations of cerebral neurons and swelling of the endothelial cell of the cerebral capillaries. Cerebellum showed congestion and hemorrhages in the granular layer and necrosis of Purkinje cell. Sciatic nerve exhibited mild edema, swelling and degeneration of axons, and swelling of Schwann cells. There was a significant inhibition of plasma cholinesterase enzyme activity in chickens administered with chlorpyrifos compared to chickens of control group. The study revealed that administration of chlorpyrifos produces neuropathological lesions in chickens shortly after exposure.

Toxic impacts of cypermethrin on behavior and histology of certain tissues of albino rats.

In the present investigation, the behavioral, morphological, and histopathological effects of cypermethrin, a widely used synthetic pyrethroid insecticide, was ascertained in male and female albino rats (Rattus norvegicus). Cypermethrin administered at repeated oral doses of 5 and 20 mg/kg/day for 30 days produced varying degree of mild to moderate toxic symptoms and behavioral changes in both male and female rats. The lower dose produced very mild toxicosis characterized by intermittent diarrhea, decreased feed intake, and thick eye discharge, whereas higher dose displayed mild to moderate toxicosis with diarrhea, decreased feed intake, loss of body weight, dyspnoea, ataxia, eye discharge, and salivation. Two female and one male albino rats died between 23 to 28 days after displaying signs of incoordination and tremors. Repeated oral doses of cypermethrin for 30 days enhanced the relative weight of liver and heart, but significantly decreased that of brain, kidneys, and testes. Microscopically, cypermethrin produced neuronal degeneration and increase in glial cells in brain, and disorganization of hepatic laminae, increase in sinusoid, and necrosis of hepatocytes in liver. Section of kidney displayed hemorrhage and sloughing off renal epithelial cell in the convoluted tubules, shrinkage of glomeruli, and necrosis of renal tubules. Repeated administration of cypermethrin also produced hemorrhages within myocardium, disruption of branching structure, and loss of striation of cardiac tissue; thickening of alveolar septa in lungs, partial to extensive loss of various stages of spermatogenesis in testes, and loss of follicular cells and oocytes in ovaries. The study suggested that repeated oral exposure of cypermethrin has considerable harmful effects on body organs in R. norvegicus.

A Case of Intranasal Hemangioma and Concurrent Tetracycline-induced Ulcerative Gastritis in Dogs.

Incidence of drug-induced gastritis and ulceration in human medicine is well established. Besides, unilateral hemangioma, a unique concurrent case of tetracycline induced gastric toxicity in a dog, characterized by gastritis and ulceration is being reported here. Grossly, the appearance of gastric ulcers mimicked the appearance of Italian pizza. Histological examination further supported drug-induced etiology in this case. This is probably the one of the few cases in the annals of veterinary medicine to be documented as drug-induced gastric toxicity in dog.

Stability of beta-actin mRNA in plasma.

It has long been thought that mRNA is labile and easily prone to degradation. However, a recent study demonstrated that GAPDH mRNA in cell-free plasma may remain stable up to 24 hours after blood collection. As there are no other independent studies, we attempted to reproduce the findings of that study. In our study, blood was collected from a healthy male volunteer into Vacutainer tubes containing EDTA. Blood samples were placed on ice and plasma separated by double-centrifugation at times 0, 1, 2, and 5 hours after blood collection. mRNA was extracted from four aliquots of the blood sample by means of the QIAamp Viral RNA kit. Extracted mRNA was converted to cDNA by reverse transcription before real time quantitative PCR measurement of the housekeeping beta-actin gene. Plasma beta-actin mRNA at 2 hours (0.012; 0.0031-0.0297, median and range) was significantly lower (P= 0.022) than at 0 hours (0.12; 0.057-0.165) (P= 0.016). The levels decreased further at 5 hours (0.0037; 0.0024-0.011) (P= 0.004). The results show that plasma beta-actin mRNA levels decrease with time after blood collection and that this is likely to be due to degradation in vitro.

Measurement of circulating neuron-specific enolase mRNA in diabetes mellitus.

In this study we measured the levels of neuron-specific enolase mRNA as a possible marker of diabetic neuropathy. Blood samples were collected from healthy controls (n= 26), diabetic controls (no known neuropathy or retinopathy) (n= 22), and diabetics with clinically diagnosed neuropathy (n= 24) into PAXgene blood RNA tubes. mRNA was extracted, reverse-transcribed to cDNA, and measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Enolase mRNA levels were normalized by the simultaneous measurement of beta-actin mRNA. The results showed that the enolase mRNA was significantly (P= 0.002) higher in the diabetic control (median = 0.018; range = 0.006-0.037) group compared to healthy subjects (median = 0.0086; range = 0.0016-0.039). However, the diabetic neuropathy group showed lower enolase levels (median = 0.0067; range = 0.0025-0.017) compared to both healthy subjects (P= 0.06) and diabetic controls (P < 0.001). In the diabetic neuropathy group patients with preproliferative (median = 0.01; range = 0.008-0.017) or proliferative retinopathy (median = 0.011; range = 0.007-0.015) had significantly (P= 0.001) higher enolase mRNA compared to patients with background retinopathy (media = 0.004; range = 0.0025-0.0092). It is concluded that levels of enolase mRNA are decreased in diabetic neuropathy and this molecular marker may also be useful in differentiating early from advanced eye disease in those diabetics diagnosed with neuropathy.

Retina-specific mRNA in the assessment of diabetic retinopathy.

In a previous study we demonstrated the presence and diagnostic usefulness of circulating rhodopsin mRNA in the assessment of diabetic retinopathy (DR). In the present study we investigated three further retina-specific markers in blood to determine their suitability as markers of DR. The markers were RPE65, retinoschisin, and melanopsin. Whole blood was collected from diabetic patients and healthy controls into PAXgene Blood RNA tubes and RNA was extracted using the PAXgene Blood RNA System. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to quantify mRNA for RPE65, retinoschisin, and melanopsin. beta-actin mRNA was used for normalization. RPE65, retinoschisin, and beta-actin mRNA were detected in 100% of subjects; melanopsin was not detected in either controls or diabetic patients. Circulating RPE65 mRNA concentration was 63% higher in diabetic patients than in healthy individuals (P= 0.019), whereas retinoschisin showed no change between the two groups. Compared with healthy controls, circulating RPE65 mRNA concentration was higher in diabetics with no retinopathy (30%; P= NS), background DR (93%; P= 0.01), preproliferative DR (20%; P= NS), and proliferative DR (107%; P= 0.004). Compared with diabetics with no retinopathy, levels of RPE65 mRNA were also significantly higher (60%) in the presence of proliferative DR (P= 0.029). In contrast, levels of retinoschisin mRNA were lower in background DR (34%; P= 0.033), preproliferative DR (43%; P= 0.026), and proliferative DR (47%; P= 0.038) compared to that in diabetics without retinopathy. We conclude that not all retina-specific mRNA species are detectable in circulation (e.g., melanopsin). This may be related to differences in expression levels for the individual markers. Both RPE65 and retinoschisin were detectable and demonstrated contrasting trends in diabetics with and without retinopathy. In combination with rhodopsin, RPE65, and retinoschisin, mRNA may offer a useful tool in developing a blood test for DR.

In vivo changes in antioxidant system and protective role of selenium in chlorpyrifos-induced subchronic toxicity in bubalus bubalis.

Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate, is one of the widely used insecticides for control of pests in various agricultural and animal husbandry operations. The objective of the present investigation was to assess the effect of subchronic exposure of chlorpyrifos on the antioxidant status of buffalo calves and to perceive the role of selenium in cases of chlorpyrifos toxicity. Chlorpyrifos at a dose rate of 0.05mg/kg per day for 20 consecutive weeks, significantly elevated the enzymic activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (54.8%), glutathione reductase (GR) (79.4%), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) (34.2%), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) (33.2%), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (19.3%) and catalase (CAT) (63.8%). The altered antioxidant status was well evident from the depleting glutathione levels and a two-fold rise in the extent of lipid peroxidation. Supplementation of selenium in the form of sodium selenite @ 0.05mg/kg per day for 20 weeks in chlorpyrifos intoxicated calves had a marked beneficial effect on the overall antioxidant potential of the animals as evident by no significant alteration in the extent of lipid peroxidation, levels of blood glutathione and activities of various antioxidant enzymes viz. GST, GR, SOD, CAT and G6PD. There was only a significant increase in the activity of GPx to the tune of 27.4%. Therefore, on the basis of the present investigation it can be suggested that oxidative stress is one of the main mechanism involved in chlorpyrifos toxicity and supplementation with sodium selenite in such cases can have significant beneficial and therapeutic effects.

Gabapentin in the treatment of fibromyalgia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in patients with fibromyalgia. METHODS: A 12-week, randomized, double-blind study was designed to compare gabapentin (1,200-2,400 mg/day) (n=75 patients) with placebo (n=75 patients) for efficacy and safety in treating pain associated with fibromyalgia. The primary outcome measure was the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain severity score (range 0-10, where 0=no pain and 10=pain as bad as you can imagine). Response to treatment was defined as a reduction of >or=30% in this score. The primary analysis of efficacy for continuous variables was a longitudinal analysis of the intent-to-treat sample, with treatment-by-time interaction as the measure of effect. RESULTS: Gabapentin-treated patients displayed a significantly greater improvement in the BPI average pain severity score (P=0.015; estimated difference between groups at week 12=-0.92 [95% confidence interval -1.75, -0.71]). A significantly greater proportion of gabapentin-treated patients compared with placebo-treated patients achieved response at end point (51% versus 31%; P=0.014). Gabapentin compared with placebo also significantly improved the BPI average pain interference score, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire total score, the Clinical Global Impression of Severity, the Patient Global Impression of Improvement, the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Sleep Problems Index, and the MOS Short Form 36 vitality score, but not the mean tender point pain threshold or the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Gabapentin was generally well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Gabapentin (1,200-2,400 mg/day) is safe and efficacious for the treatment of pain and other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.