Progression of Treating Alzheimer's Disease with Stem Cell-based Therapies

Alzheimer’s disease is one form of dementia affecting a significant proportion of the population. The etiology of this prevalent disease is currently unknown. It is postulated that AD can be treated by using stem cell-based therapies by replacing the lost neurons in the atrophic regions of the brain. For these novel therapies to be successful several sources of stem cells have been proposed, such as pluripotent stem cells as well as multipotent stem cells. Proof of concept in animal studies have shown that stem cells can grafted into the affected regions or delivered intravenously into affected parts of the brain. These experiments had improved cognition and memory performance in rodents. The promising results seen in animal models have increased interest in conducting clinical trials using the same technique. In the last 5 years, several treatments have reached phase II clinical trials.

Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in Guillain-Barré syndrome: A prognostic biomarker of severe disease and mechanical ventilation in Bangladesh

In addition to cellular and humoral immunity, inflammatory markers play an important role in the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and are used to predict prognosis in many autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to identify whether the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio, and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio in the early stages of GBS have prognostic value for severe disease, mechanical ventilation (MV) and poor long-term outcome. A prospective cohort study of 140 adult patients with GBS and 140 healthy controls (HC) was performed in Bangladesh during 2019–2022. Clinicodemographic characteristics of the patients were recorded, and hematological parameters were measured using an automated hematology analyzer. Median patient age was 35 (44–23) years; 71% were male; 88% were severely affected (GBS Disability Score> 3); 32% required MV. Patients had higher NLR than HC (P<.0001). Among patients, elevated NLR was associated with severe GBS and MV (P=.001 and <.0001, respectively) and moderately positively correlated with poor outcomes at 4 weeks (r = 0.423). Multiple logistic regression revealed NLR was an independent risk factor for severe GBS (OR = 5.2, 95% CI = 1.6–17.4) and MV (OR = 1.5 1.1–2.1). No significant association was observed between elevated NLR and the long-term outcome of GBS. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed NLR cut-off values of ≥ 2.432 and ≥ 4.4423 predicted severe disease (sensitivity = 71%, specificity = 75%, AUC = 0.750, 95% CI = 0.651–0.849, P =.001) and MV (sensitivity = 65.9%, specificity = 81.7%, AUC = 0.804, 95% CI=0.724–0.884; P<.001). The NLR in the early stage of GBS may represent an independent prognostic factor of severe GBS and the requirement for MV

Spectrum of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy Using Capillary Zone Electrophoresis: A Facility-Based Single Centred Study at icddr,b in Bangladesh

Background: Although the global thalassemia zone covers Bangladesh, there are very limited studies conducted in this region. Therefore, the focus of our study is to understand the prevalence and burden of thalassemia and hemoglobinopathy in Bangladesh. Methods: The analysis was based on a retrospective evaluation of laboratory diagnoses between 2007 January and 2021 October. A total of 8503 specimens were sampled and analyzed which were either referred by corresponding physicians or self-referred. This was neither any epidemiological nationwide survey nor was the study population chosen randomly. Hematological data were obtained through capillary zone electrophoresis and corresponding complete blood count. Results: 1971 samples (~23.18% of the total) were found with at least one inherited hemoglobin disorder. The most common hemoglobin disorder observed was the hemoglobin E (Hb E) trait (10.67%), followed by the β-thalassemia trait (8.4%), homozygotic Hb E (1.59%), and Hb E/β-thalassemia (1.58%). Other variants found in this study with minimal percentages were Hb N-Seattle, Hb S, Hb D-Punjab, Hb Lepore, Hb C, Hb Hope, Hb H, and hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin. Discussion: The pattern of thalassemia and hemoglobinopathy in our study is diverse and heterogeneous. A broad and detailed spectrum of such inherited hemoglobin disorders will ultimately be helpful in implementing nationwide thalassemia management and strategy policy in Bangladesh