Genetic mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of tropical calcific pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatitis is known to be a heterogeneous disease with varied etiologies. Tropical calcific pancreatitis （TCP） is a severe form of chronic pancreatitis unique to developing countries. With growing evidence of genetic factors contributing to the pathogenesis of TCP, this review is aimed at compiling the available information in this field. We also propose a two hit model to explain the sequence of events in the pathogenesis of TCP.     

Risk conferred by tagged SNPs of AGT gene in causing susceptibility to essential hypertension

Introduction: AGT gene harbors several variants of which 21 are found to be in high linkage disequilibrium as per Hapmap database. Studies delineating the importance of these tagged SNPs are very limited and lacking from Indian population. In the present study, we evaluated the contribution of four tagged SNPs namely, g.6635G?>?A, g.6506G?>?A, g.12840G?>?A, and g.13828T?>?C at AGT locus along with the analyses of haplotype and epistatic interactions in causing susceptibility to essential hypertension (EHT).

Methods: About 215 hypertensives and 230 normotensives were genotyped for selected tagged SNPs using PCR-RFLP method.

Results: Significant association was obtained for g.6635G?>?A and g.6506G?>?A polymorphisms wherein GG homozygotes for both the markers were at risk for developing the condition. g.13828T?>?C polymorphism specially, female heterozygotes (TC) were found to be at increased risk for EHT. Haplotype GGGC was found to have a significant protective effect (p?=?0.0059). Markers g.6506G?>?A and g.12840G?>?A resulted in the creation of new enhancer sites thereby affecting splicing process.

Conclusion: The present report is the first one in the literature showing general- and gender-specific association of g.6506G?>?A and g.13828T?>?C polymorphisms, respectively, with EHT. However, further studies for replication of present observations are warranted from other populations and other parts of India.     

Quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes after switching to insulin degludec: results from a cross-sectional survey

Quality of Life Research - Five quality of life (QoL) domains are particularly important to patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) using basal insulin—sense of physical well-being, sense of...     

Association of Disease Severity with IL‐1 levels in Methotrexate‐treated Psoriasis Patients

Interleukin‐1 plays a key role in inflammation and keratinocyte activation. It is an important mediator in the initiation and maintenance of psoriatic plaques and may represent an attractive therapeutic target. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Methotrexate (MTX) on IL‐1 α and IL‐1 β levels in both plasma and skin biopsy of patients with psoriasis and to investigate their association with clinical disease activity. Forty‐five control subjects and 58 patients with psoriasis were recruited for this study. The patients were treated with 7.5 mg of MTX per week for 12 weeks. Folic acid was given at 5 mg once daily except on the day of MTX for 12 weeks. Blood samples and lesional skin biopsy were taken. Disease severity was assessed by Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score. IL‐1 levels in plasma and skin biopsy were analysed using ELISA. PASI score declined significantly (P < 0.001) from day 0 to 12 weeks of MTX treatment. IL‐1 α level in plasma and skin biopsy was reduced at day 0 sample and elevated significantly (P < 0.001) after MTX treatment. IL‐1β level in plasma and skin biopsy was higher at day 0 sample and reduced significantly (P < 0.001) after MTX treatment. IL‐1α levels and PASI score showed inverse correlation score before and after treatment with MTX. Whereas IL‐1β levels showed positive correlation before and after treatment with MTX. Decreasing IL‐1β levels by MTXs in psoriasis may block the Th17 differentiation. This shows the therapeutic effect of MTX in controlling the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis.     

Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Management of Tubo-ovarian Abscess: A Systematic Review

ObjectiveTo compare the success rate, complications, and hospital length-of-stay of 3 modalities of minimally invasive management of tubo-ovarian abscesses (TOAs): laparoscopy, ultrasound-guided drainage, and computed tomography–guided drainage.Data SourcesElectronic-based search in PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, using the following Medical Subject Heading terms: “minimally invasive surgical procedures,” “drainage,” “abscess,” “tubo-ovarian,” “ovarian diseases,” and “fallopian tube diseases.”Methods of Study SelectionOf the 831 articles in the initial results, 10 studies were eligible for inclusion in our systematic review.Tabulation, Integration, and ResultsA total of 975 patients were included in our study; 107 (11%) had laparoscopic drainage procedures, and 406 (42%) had image-guided (ultrasound or computed tomography) drainage of TOAs. Image-guided TOA drainage had higher success rates (90%–100%) than laparoscopic drainage (89%–96%) and the use of antibiotic treatment alone (65%–83%). Patients treated with image-guided drainage had no complications (for up to 6 months of follow-up) and shorter lengths of hospital stay (0–3 days on average) compared with laparoscopic drainage (5–12 days) or conservative management with antibiotics alone (7–9 days).ConclusionAlthough conservative management of TOAs with antibiotics alone remains first-line, our review indicates that better outcomes in the management of TOA were achieved by minimally invasive approach compared with conservative treatment with antibiotics only. Of the minimally invasive techniques, image-guided drainage of TOAs provided the highest success rates, the fewest complications, and the shortest hospital stays compared with laparoscopy. The low magnitude of evidence in the included studies calls for further randomized trials. This systematic review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (register, http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO;CRD 42020170345).     

Influence of musical training on sensitivity to temporal fine structure

Objective: The objective of this study was to extend the findings that temporal fine structure encoding is altered in musicians by examining sensitivity to temporal fine structure (TFS) in an alternative (non-Western) musician model that is rarely adopted—Indian classical music. Design: The sensitivity to TFS was measured by the ability to discriminate two complex tones that differed in TFS but not in envelope repetition rate. Study sample: Sixteen South Indian classical (Carnatic) musicians and 28 non-musicians with normal hearing participated in this study. Results: Musicians have significantly lower relative frequency shift at threshold in the TFS task compared to non-musicians. A significant negative correlation was observed between years of musical experience and relative frequency shift at threshold in the TFS task. Test-retest repeatability of thresholds in the TFS tasks was similar for both musicians and non-musicians. Conclusions: The enhanced performance of the Carnatic-trained musicians suggests that the musician advantage for frequency and harmonicity discrimination is not restricted to training in Western classical music, on which much of the previous research on musical training has narrowly focused. The perceptual judgments obtained from non-musicians were as reliable as those of musicians.