Knowledge and self-care practice regarding diabetes among type 2diabetics: experience from a non-profit hospital chain in Bangladesh

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is generally being perceived as a problem of the developed world, but currently, people from developing countries like Bangladesh are suffering from chronic diseases of which diabetes is a major one. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge and self-care practice regarding diabetes among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 11,917 (age ≥?18 years, 4418 males and 7499 females) T2DM subjects attending the health care centers and hospitals in Dhaka (Capital) and also in the northern part of Bangladesh operated by the local diabetic association. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaire. The levels of knowledge and self-care practice were measured by predefined scores, categorized as poor (<mean – 1 SD), average (mean?±?1 SD), and good (>mean?+?1 SD). Independent samples t test, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation were used to determine the association between different variables considering p value <?0.05. The mean (± SD) age (years) of the T2DM was 50?±?12. The proportion of “poor,” “average,” and “good” score for knowledge were 34%, 51%, and 15% and for that practice were 16%, 72%, and 12%, respectively. Knowledge was significantly associated with practice (r?=?0.299, p?=?0.001). The study reveals a difference between knowledge and self-care practice related to T2DM. T2DM health literacy program needs to be developed for better health promotion.     

Osteoarthritic human chondrocytes proliferate in 3D co‐culture with mesenchymal stem cells in suspension bioreactors

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful disease, characterized by progressive surface erosion of articular cartilage. The use of human articular chondrocytes (hACs) sourced from OA patients has been proposed as a potential therapy for cartilage repair, but this approach is limited by the lack of scalable methods to produce clinically relevant quantities of cartilage‐generating cells. Previous studies in static culture have shown that hACs co‐cultured with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) as 3D pellets can upregulate proliferation and generate neocartilage with enhanced functional matrix formation relative to that produced from either cell type alone. However, because static culture flasks are not readily amenable to scale up, scalable suspension bioreactors were investigated to determine if they could support the co‐culture of hMSCs and OA hACs under serum‐free conditions to facilitate clinical translation of this approach. When hACs and hMSCs (1:3 ratio) were inoculated at 20,000 cells/ml into 125‐ml suspension bioreactors and fed weekly, they spontaneously formed 3D aggregates and proliferated, resulting in a 4.75‐fold increase over 16 days. Whereas the apparent growth rate was lower than that achieved during co‐culture as a 2D monolayer in static culture flasks, bioreactor co‐culture as 3D aggregates resulted in a significantly lower collagen I to II mRNA expression ratio and more than double the glycosaminoglycan/DNA content (5.8 vs. 2.5 μg/μg). The proliferation of hMSCs and hACs as 3D aggregates in serum‐free suspension culture demonstrates that scalable bioreactors represent an accessible platform capable of supporting the generation of clinical quantities of cells for use in cell‐based cartilage repair.     

Application of the ISTH bleeding score in hemophilia

Background

Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder. With proper treatment and self-care, persons with hemophilia can maintain an active, productive lifestyle. Hemophilia can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the degree of plasma clotting factor deficiency. The aim of the study was to assess the utility of ISTH-BAT in diagnosis, determining severity of the bleeding condition in newly diagnosed and known hemophilia patients, compare the bleeding score (BS) in adult and pediatric groups and investigate its association with plasma factor levels.

Sustained inhibition of sperm production and inhibin secretion induced by a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone antagonist and delayed testosterone substitution in non-human primates (Macaca fascicularis)

Since the concomitant administration of a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist and testosterone suppresses sperm production only incompletely, the feasibility of treatment with a GnRH antagonist and delayed testosterone supplementation for sustained suppression of sperm production in a non-human primate model was investigated. Adult cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis; five/group) received daily s.c. injections of the GnRH antagonist [N-acetyl-D-2-naphthyl-Ala1,D-4-chloro-Phe2, D-pyridyl-Ala3,nicotinyl-Lys5,D-nicotinyl-Lys6, isopropyl-Lys8,D-Ala10]-GnRH of either 450 or 900 micrograms/kg for 18 weeks. During week 6 of the GnRH antagonist treatment, all monkeys were given a single i.m. injection of 40 mg of a long-acting testosterone ester (testosterone-trans-4-n-butylcyclo-hexanecarboxylate; 20-Aet-1). Within 1 week, serum LH bioactivity was suppressed in both groups and remained low throughout the entire treatment period. Similarly, concentrations of serum testosterone declined precipitously. During week 6, substitution with testosterone restored concentrations of serum testosterone into the pretreatment range. Concentrations of serum inhibin declined within 1 week and remained suppressed during the period of treatment with the GnRH antagonist. Testicular volumes were reduced to approximately 25% of pretreatment values in both groups by week 8 and stayed in that range during the remaining period of administration of the GnRH antagonist. During the first 6 weeks of administration of the GnRH antagonist, the ejaculatory response to electrostimulation and the volume of the ejaculates diminished with time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)