Relationship of Age, BMI, Serum Calcium and Estradiol with BMD in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Females

Introduction: The current study was designed to investigate the relationship of age, body mass index (BMI), serum calcium and estradiol with bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal females with and without osteoporosis. Subjects & Methods: One hundred females were included in this study and were divided into two groups (fifty in each group): postmenopausal females without osteoporosis (age: 54.36 ± 0.51 yrs) and postmenopausal females with osteoporosis (age: 59.92 ± 0.68 yrs). BMD assessment was done on calcaneous by peripheral ultrasound bone densitometry and T scores were calculated. Serum estradiol was measured by ELIZA and calcium levels were determined by using spectrophotometric kit. Results: BMD was significantly lower in postmenopausal osteoporotic females as compared to postmenopausal non-osteoporotic females which indicated increased bone loss in osteoporotic group. Serum calcium levels were significantly lower in postmenopausal females with osteoporosis (8.73 ± 0.08) as compared to postmenopausal females without osteoporosis (9.04 ± 0.09). BMD was correlated with body weight ( r= 0.50, p<0.05; r= 0.45, p<0.05) and BMI (r=0.61, p<0.01; r= 0.31, p<0.05) in both groups. Negative correlation of BMD was found with age (r= -0.67, p<0.01r= -0.57, p<0.05) and calcium (r= -0.44, p<0.05; r= -0.38, p<0.05) in postmenopausal females with and without osteoporosis respectively. Osteopenia was detected in postmenopausal females without osteoporosis. Conclusion: It is concluded that increasing age, low body weight, low BMI, and low BMD are few of the contributing factors to osteoporosi

Comparison of analgesic efficacy of diclofenac suppository with intramuscular diclofenac sodium in post-operative pain relief after cesarean delivery in the first 24 hours

Background About 80% of the patients experience enough post-operative pain to require analgesia. Adequate pain relief  is needed after caesarean section to assist ambulation , mother / baby bonding & above all, a  pleasant experience of being a mother. Different analgesics with  various routes of administrations are available for pain relief which include opioids and NSAIDS. Opiods are known for their undesireable side effects . Diclofenac sodium is an NSAID & acts via blocking prostaglandin production. The WHO recommends diclofenac as a first line drug in pain relief. It  is available in various preparations which include injections, tablets and suppositories. We  compared the mean pain experienced by the women after use of diclofenac suppositories and intramuscular diclofenac sodium after elective cesarean section in first 24 hours. Methodology This RCT was done in  the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, --removed for blind review---from 1st March 2018 till 30th August 2018. Total of 100  antenatal women already planned for elective caesarean section ,who fulfilled inclusion criteria were selected after taking  informed consent & ethical approval by employing non probability consecutive sampling . The age , parity ,gestational age, weight  ,BMI & ASA status of all women was documented. 50 women were randomly assigned to the each group A & B. Group A was given 75 mg intramuscular diclofenac injection  immediately & then 8 hrly for the first 24 hrs after caesarean section while group B was given  100 mg rectal diclofenac suppository immediately & then  after 12 hrs  post caesarean for the first 24 hrs. if needed ,50 mg tramadol I/V was given to the women as rescue analgesia, Visual analogue pain  (VAS) score was used to assess the pain intensity of post operative  women after 24 hrs of caesarean and poltted  in the proforma. The number  of women needing rescue analgesia  in each group was also documented. & compared between the two groups. RESULTS:             Data was analyzed on the SPSS version 23.  In group A; mean age was 26.34 years with STD of 3.69. Mean gestational age was 37.82 weeks with STD of 1.79. In group B; mean age was 25.3 years with STD of 3.47. Mean gestational age was 37.70 weeks with STD of 1.59. In group A; mean weight was 84.62 kgs with STD of 5.76 and mean BMI was 32.18 with STD of 3.16. In group B; mean weight was 84.84 kgs with STD of 7.27 and mean BMI was 31.13 with STD of 3.57. In group A (intramuscular diclofenic injection group) the mean score of pain was 3.72 with STD of 0.57.  In group B (Diclofenic Suppository Group) the mean score of pain was 1.84 with STD of 0.68. P-value was significant. 26 women (52%) in group A (I/M diclofenac group) and 20 women (40%) in group B (rectal diclofenac suppository group) needed rescue analgesia with I/V Tramadol .P value was not significant.     CONCLUSION:             Dicolofenac is an effective post caesarean analgesic . Rectal route of diclofenac  is more effective than the intramuscular route as post caesarean analgesia . Almost less than half number of post caesarean women needed rescue analgesia after using diclofenac suppository

Reliability Of Transvaginal Ultrasound Measured Endometrial Thickness In Diagnosis Of Endometrial Cancer In Postmenopausal Women

Abstract Objective: Dilatation and curettage have been replaced by ultrasound measurement of uterine endometrial thickness (ET) especially by Transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) as a first step in the workup of women with postmenopausal bleeding for many years. Still, there is no unanimity for endometrial thickness cut-off value to define abnormality. We used an endometrial thickness of 4mm as a cut-off value in this study. Methods: This cross-sectional validation study included 120 patients who presented with postmenopausal bleeding in OPD of POF hospital from 01-12-2017 to 1-06-2018.TVS measured endometrial thickness ≥4mm was assumed positive for malignancy and ˂ 4 mm was taken negative for malignancy. The TVS findings of patients were compared with the histopathology report of endometrial sampling, which was performed in OPD by manual vacuum aspirator (MVA). Histopathology report was taken as a reference standard to confirm or refute the diagnosis of transvaginal ultrasound. Results: On TVS, 54 patients had ≥ 4mm endometrial thickness (taken positive for malignancy) while 66 patients had <4 mm endometrial thickness (taken negative for malignancy). Histopathology of the endometrium (reference standard) revealed that 47 (39.17%) patients had malignancy and 73(60.83%) patients did not have malignancy. The reliability of transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) using 4mm cut-off point ET in detecting endometrial malignancy in patients presenting with uterine bleeding after menopause, keeping histopathological findings as a reference standard showed 89.36% sensitivity, 83.56%, specificity, 92.42% negative predictive value and 77.78% positive predictive value & 85.83% accuracy rate. Conclusion: We concluded that there was a low probability of endometrial malignancy in women with ˂ 4 mm transvaginal ultrasound (TVS)measured endometrial thickness (ET).TVS  may replace invasive endometrial sampling in cases of postmenopausal bleeding with ˂ 4mm ET

Third ventricular tumors: A comprehensive literature review

Third ventricle tumors are uncommon and account for 0.6 - 0.9% of all the brain tumors. Tumors of the third ventricle are classified into primary tumors, such as colloid cysts, choroid plexus papillomas, and ependymomas, or secondary tumors, such as craniopharyngiomas, optic nerve gliomas, pineal tumors, and meningiomas. Third ventricular tumors are uncommon, and their treatment involves significant morbidity and mortality. The colloid cyst has a better surgical outcome and many approaches are available to achieve a complete cure. Choroid plexus papilloma is also a common tumor documented with its treatment majorly based on surgical resection. In addition to multiple treatment options for craniopharyngiomas, surgery is the most preferred treatment option. Ependymomas also have few treatment options, with surgical resection adopted as the first line of treatment

Mutagenesis mapping of RNA structures within the foot-and-mouth disease virus genome reveals functional elements localized in the polymerase (3Dpol)-encoding region

The Pirbright Institute receives grant-aided support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the United Kingdom (projects BBS/E/I/00007035, BBS/E/I/00007036, and BBS/E/I/00007037) providing funds to cover the open access charges for this paper. This work was supported by funding from the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra research projects SE2943 and SE2944) and BBSRC research grant BB/K003801/1.RNA structures can form functional elements that play crucial roles in the replication of positive-sense RNA viruses. While RNA structures in the untranslated regions (UTRs) of several picornaviruses have been functionally characterized, the roles of putative RNA structures predicted for protein coding sequences (or open reading frames [ORFs]) remain largely undefined. Here, we have undertaken a bioinformatic analysis of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) genome to predict 53 conserved RNA structures within the ORF. Forty-six of these structures were located in the regions encoding the nonstructural proteins (nsps). To investigate whether structures located in the regions encoding the nsps are required for FMDV replication, we used a mutagenesis method, CDLR mapping, where sequential coding segments were shuffled to minimize RNA secondary structures while preserving protein coding, native dinucleotide frequencies, and codon usage. To examine the impact of these changes on replicative fitness, mutated sequences were inserted into an FMDV subgenomic replicon. We found that three of the RNA structures, all at the 3' termini of the FMDV ORF, were critical for replicon replication. In contrast, disruption of the other 43 conserved RNA structures that lie within the regions encoding the nsps had no effect on replicon replication, suggesting that these structures are not required for initiating translation or replication of viral RNA. Conserved RNA structures that are not essential for virus replication could provide ideal targets for the rational attenuation of a wide range of FMDV strains. IMPORTANCE Some RNA structures formed by the genomes of RNA viruses are critical for viral replication. Our study shows that of 46 conserved RNA structures located within the regions of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) genome that encode the nonstructural proteins, only three are essential for replication of an FMDV subgenomic replicon. Replicon replication is dependent on RNA translation and synthesis; thus, our results suggest that the three RNA structures are critical for either initiation of viral RNA translation and/or viral RNA synthesis. Although further studies are required to identify whether the remaining 43 RNA structures have other roles in virus replication, they may provide targets for the rational large-scale attenuation of a wide range of FMDV strains. FMDV causes a highly contagious disease, posing a constant threat to global livestock industries. Such weakened FMDV strains could be investigated as live-attenuated vaccines or could enhance biosecurity of conventional inactivated vaccine production.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

New anthrarobin acyl derivatives as butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors: synthesis, in vitro and in silico studies

To treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), the available candidates are effective only against mild AD or have side effects. So, a study was planned to synthesis new candidates that may have good potential to treat AD. A series of new anthrarobin acyl derivatives (2–8) were synthesized by the reaction of anthrarobin (1) and acetic anhydride/acyl chlorides. The product were characterized by 1H NMR and EI-MS, and evaluated for butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibition activity. Compounds 5 and 4 showed notable BuChE inhibitory potential with IC50 5.3 ± 1.23 and 17.2 ± 0.47 μM, respectively when compared with the standard eserine (IC50 7.8 ± 0.27 μM), compound 5 showed potent BuChE inhibition potential than the standard eserine. The active compounds 5 and 4 have acyl groups at 2-OH and 10-OH positions which may be responsible for inhibitory potential as this orientation is absent in other products. In silico studies of 5 and 4 products revealed the high inhibitory potential due to stable binding of ligand with the BuChE active sites with docking energy score −18.8779 kcal/mol and −23.1159 kcal/mol, respectively. Subsequently, compound 5 that have potent BuChE inhibitory activity could be the potential candidate for drug development for Alzheimer’s disease