Abdominal Tuberculosis: A Histopathological Study with Special Reference to Intestinal Perforation and Mesenteric Vasculopathy

Background : Along with the increased incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in parallel with the increase in population in various parts of the world, in recent years, the incidence of abdominal tuberculosis has also increased. The pathogenetic events in intestinal tuberculosis, which culminate in ulcer formation, perforation, and stricture, still have to be identified. Aim : To correlate the gross and microscopic features in intestinal tuberculosis, in particular tuberculous perforation with changes in mesenteric vasculature. Patients and Methods : A one-year prospective study of excised/resected tissues from patients with abdominal tuberculosis requiring surgical intervention was conducted. Tissues from fifty-six patients were included in the study - of which 36 were resected intestinal segments and 20 were intestinal and lymph node biopsies. Hematoxylin and Eosin and Ziehl-Neelsen stains were used for histopathological examination. Results : Tuberculous enteritis was found to be present in 49 of the 56 patients (87.5%) (ileum being the site most commonly affected), while nodal involvement was seen in 39 (69.6%) patients. Perforations were present in 39 out of 49 (79.6%) intestinal tissues; most being solitary and ileum was the commonest site. Typical epithelioid cell granulomas were seen in the intestine and lymph nodes, with caseation being more prevalent in the latter. The mesenteric vasculature was frequently involved by granulomatous inflammation, with intravascular organizing thrombus being present in 30% of the resected specimens with perforation. Acid fast bacilli were demonstrated in the tissue sections of 37.5% of the patients. AFB positivity was higher in caseating granulomas. Conclusion : Involvement of mesenteric vasculature by granulomatous inflammation was commonly associated with the ulcerative type with perforation, suggesting that ischemia caused by vascular thrombosis is responsible for tissue breakdown. This implies that vasculitis plays an important role in the natural history of abdominal tuberculosis

An overview of Indian research in depression

Depression as a disorder has always been a focus of attention of researchers in India. Over the last 50-60 years, large number of studies has been published from India addressing various aspects of this commonly prevalent disorder. The various aspects studied included epidemiology, demographic and psychosocial risk factor, neurobiology, symptomatology, comorbidity, assessment and diagnosis, impact of depression, treatment related issues and prevention of depression in addition to the efficacy and tolerability of various antidepressants. Here, we review data on various aspects of depression, originating from India

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field