Effect of Buchanania lanzan Spreng. bark extract on cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice

ObjectiveTo elucidate the effect of ethanolic extract of Buchanania lanzan Spreng. (B. lanan) bark against cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice.MethodsThe prevalence of micronuclei in bone marrow, the extent of lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione and the status of the antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and catalase in liver of mice were used as intermediate biomarkers for chemoprotection. Lipid peroxidation and associated compromised antioxidant defenses in cyclophosphamide treated mice were observed in the liver.ResultsPre-treatment with B. lanzan 250, 500 and 1 000 mg/kg, p.o., daily for 7 days significantly reduced the chromosomal damage and lipid peroxidation with concomitant changes in antioxidants and detoxification systems.ConclusionsThese results point out the presence of chemopreventive phytoconstituents in the crude extract offering protection against cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice.     

Rhabdomyolysis due to multiple fire ant bites a case report

Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical and biochemical syndrome that occurs due to skeletal muscle injury. The main cause of rhabdomyolysis is muscle crush injury, toxins, ischemia, metabolic disorders, and drugs. Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis have been reported after insect stings. Damage to skeletal muscle may be due to physical damage to muscle cells directly or due to interferences with their blood supply. Breakdown products of damaged muscle cells are released into the bloodstream; some of these, such as the protein myoglobin, are harmful to the kidneys and may lead to kidney failure. The symptoms of rhabdomyolysis depend on the severity of the condition. Milder forms of rhabdomyolysis may not cause any muscle symptoms, and the diagnosis is based on abnormal blood tests. Here in, we report an unusual case of rhabdomyolysis triggered by fire ant bites to alert the medical community of this rare complication.     

Meta Analysis of Etiology and its Clinical and Radiological Correlation in Cases of Craniomaxillofacial Trauma

Aim

The present study was planned to investigate the etiology of injuries and to analyze correlation between clinical and radiological findings in cases of craniomaxillofacial trauma.

Study Design

An 18 months cross-sectional study was done and 325 patients with maxillofacial fractures were analyzed from January 2013 to June 2014 who reported to the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Data was recorded in a preformed case sheet which included: patient’s demographic data, cause of injury, type of injury, treatment plan.

Results

Out of the 325 patients, 74.4 % were males with a male: female ratio of 2.91:1. The 21–30 year age group was found to be maximum. Road traffic accidents accounted for 71.3 %, followed by fall from height (19 %) and assault (9.5 %). Most commonly involved vehicles were two wheelers followed by public transport. Mandibular fractures (65 %) were most prevalent, followed by zygomaticomaxillary complex (44.27 %), parietal bone (48 %) and orbital fractures (21.3 %). Thirty-seven fractures (7.14 %) were missed clinically which were confirmed later by radiographic technique. Maximum were in cranium region (57 %) followed by mandible (27 %), mid face region (16.21 %). Thirty-three fractures (6.37 %) were overestimated or suspected clinically which could not be confirmed by radiographic technique. Maximum were in mandible (48.5 %) followed by mid face (36.33 %) and cranium (15.15 %).

Conclusion

The idea behind this article is to analyze the various trends and affecting factors and correlation between clinical and radiological findings. A better understanding of the above said would help in future treatment planning and management of facial injuries.

     

Tuberculous dilated cardiomyopathy: an under-recognized entity?

Background  

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common public health problem in many parts of the world. TB is generally believed to spare these four organs-heart, skeletal muscle, thyroid and pancreas. We describe a rare case of myocardial TB diagnosed on a post-mortem cardiac biopsy.     

Chest radiographic and computed tomographic manifestations in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis

AIM:To investigate the chest radiographic and high resolution computed tomography(HRCT)chest manifestations in glucocorticoid-naive allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis(ABPA)patients.METHODS:This is a prospective observational study and includes 60 consecutive glucocorticoid-naive patients with ABPA who underwent chest radiography and HRCT of the chest(1.25 mm every 10 mm)in the routine diagnostic workup for ABPA.RESULTS:Chest radiographs were normal in 50%of cases.Of the remainder,most patients demonstrated permanent findings in the form of parallel line and ring shadows suggesting bronchiectasis.Consolidation was detected in 17 cases but in the majority,the corresponding HRCT chest scan showed mucus-filled bronchiectatic cavities.Chest HRCT was normal in 22 patients,while central bronchiectasis(CB)was demonstrated in the remaining 38 patients.Bronchiectasis extended to the periphery in 33%-43%depending on the criteria used for defining CB.The other findings observed on HRCT were mucoid impaction,centrilobular nodules and high-attenuation mucus in decreasing order of frequency.CONCLUSION:Patients with ABPA can present with normal HRCT chest scans.Central bronchiectasis cannot be considered a characteristic feature of ABPA as peripheral bronchiectasis is commonly observed.Consolidation is an uncommon finding in ABPA.     

Utility of B-cell epitopes based peptides of RD1 and RD2 antigens for immunodiagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major health problem due to lack of accurate, rapid, and cost-effective diagnostic tests. Serodiagnostic tests incorporating highly specific region of difference (RD) antigens (early secretory antigenic target 6 [ESAT-6], culture filtrate protein 10 [CFP-10], culture filtrate protein 21 [CFP-21], and mycobacterial protein from species tuberculosis 64 [MPT-64]) have recently been shown to be promising for specific diagnosis of TB in our lab. However, only few studies have reported the use of synthetic peptides of RD antigens, and none has used them to differentiate TB from sarcoidosis, a close mimic of smear-negative pulmonary TB (PTB) with entirely different management. The present study was conducted with an aim to study the utility of B-cell epitopes based peptides of RD1 (ESAT-6, CFP-10) and RD2 (CFP-21, MPT-64) antigens for immunodiagnosis of PTB for which sputum smear-positive PTB patients, sputum smear-negative PTB patients, sarcoidosis patients, and healthy controls (n = 24/group) were recruited. Bioinformatic software Bcepred was used to predict linear B-cell epitopes, using physico-chemical properties on a non-redundant dataset. Seven peptides as representative B-cell epitopes of ESAT-6, CFP-10, CFP-21, and MPT-64 were evaluated as targets of the antibody responses in TB patients and controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The current study showed sensitivity with individual peptides ranging from 37.5% to 83.3% for smear positive, 25% to 58.3% for smear negative as compared to 4.16% to 20.8% for sarcoidosis. Four out of 7 peptides that showed higher reactivity with TB patients and better discrimination from sarcoidosis patients representing ESAT-6, CFP-10, CFP-21, and MPT-64 were selected for multiepitope ELISA. The combination of peptides yielded 83.3% sensitivity for smear positive, 62.5% for smear negative, and only 4.16% for sarcoidosis. The specificity, however, for all the peptides/combination was 100%. Combination of peptides has proven to be better than individual peptides as per the latest criteria of the World Health Organization according to which a test that can replace smear microscopy with sensitivity of >90% for smear-positive patients and >65% for smear-negative TB patients with a specificity >95%, and thus, the present study suggests that a test based on combination of peptides selected from mycobacterial RD1 and RD2 antigens could be important for promoting an early diagnosis and management of otherwise difficult to diagnose smear-negative PTB patients. Moreover, it can also be used to discriminate sarcoidosis from PTB, thus preventing the misdiagnosis and mismanagement.     

Honeymoon Asthma

A young newlywed man experienced severe dyspnea and physiological compromise after his first and second experiences with sexual intercourse. The physiological and psychological stresses put his marriage at risk. All resolved after diagnosis and treatment. This is a case of a rare but known entity—asthma provoked by sexual activity at a level of physiological stress below that required to trigger exercise-induced asthma. The scant literature on this entity was reviewed for which the term “honeymoon asthma” is suggested and is literally true in this case.     

Nanorobot: a versatile tool in nanomedicine

Miniaturizing in chip technology, optics, micro mechanics, medicine, gene and biotechnology requires highly precise positioning techniques. The motivation for the new manipulation technology is the desire to enter the micro- and nanoworld not only by viewing but also acting, altering micro- and nanosized objects. A new era on medicine are expected to happen in the coming years. Due to the advances in the field of nanotechnology, nanodevice manufacturing has been growing gradually. From such achievements in nanotechnology and recent results in biotechnology and genetics, the first operating biological nanorobots are expected to appear in the coming 5 years and more complex diamondoid based nanorobots will become available in about 10 years. In terms of time, it means a very near better future with significant improvements in medicine.