Focal cerebral ischemia in the rat: Membrane failure and behavioral deficits

The management and reduction of brain damage due to ischemia is an important clinical problem. Focal cerebral ischemia is characterized by the depletion of tissue oxygen and glucose due to an interruption in blood supply. The intent of this research was to describe some of the behavioral and biochemical changes resulting from focal cerebral ischemia. The occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in the rat was used as an experimental model of ischemia. The study examined alterations in the structural integrity of cellular plasma membranes. In addition, the relationship of these chemical changes to performance on sensori-motor tasks was investigated at various time periods following ischemic damage. Neuronal, glial and mitochondrial membrane integrity was analyzed by measuring membrane-bound ATPase enzymes. Performance on pole grasping, plane climbing and locomotive behavioral tasks were used as a measure of sensori-motor deficit. The results indicated that ischemic injury induced irreversible but delayed plasma membrane damage in the parietal area (primary infarct) and reversible acute membrane change in the frontal, occipital, and temporal (peri-infarct) areas. In the parietal area there was an irreversible loss in neuronal and glial Na+,K+-ATPase activity as well as Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase activity. However, mitochondrial ATPase activity in this region was only transiently inhibited. In the peri-infarct areas there was an initial decrease in membrane ATPase activities, followed by a complete recovery to control levels. Ischemic injury resulted in a profound deficit in performance on sensori-motor tasks, followed by a gradual partial recovery. Glial Na+,K+-ATPase and Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase activities were significant predictors of performance on sensori-motor tasks

Nucleic acid testing: Is it the only answer for safe Blood in India?

Background: With the implementation of NAT in countries around the world, there is a growing pressure on the transfusion services in India to adopt NAT testing. India has about 2545 licensed Blood Centres. The Transfusion Services in India are fragmented, poorly regulated and the quality standards are poorly implemented. Blood Centres are still dependent on replacement/family donors and in most places laboratory testing for Transfusion transmitted infections is not quality assured, laboratory equipment are not calibrated and maintained, and validation of results is not carried out. Against the current scenario introducing NAT for screening of blood donors in India would pose a challenge. Aim: To study the prudence of universal NAT testing in India. Materials and Methods : A retrospective study of 5 years from 2008-2012 was undertaken to study the true reactivity of donors using WHO strategy II and III and therefore the true seroprevalence of TTI infections in the donor populations. Results : The true reactivity of the donors was much less as compared to the initially reactive donors due to the use of a well designed testing algorithm. In addition having a total voluntary blood collection along with good pre-donation counseling program also reduces the transmission of infections. Conclusions : What India essentially needs to do is religiously implement the strategies outlined in the WHO Aide-memoire. The blood should be collected only from voluntary non remunerative and repeat donors , there should be stringent donor selection with pre-donation counseling instituted. Strict implementation of quality management system, development of well defined testing startegies and strong haemovigilance system could take us a step in the right direction

Analysis of the CBFB, CBFA2 and AF-9 genes in familial acute myelogenous leukemia

The cloning of chromosomal translocation breakpoints from sporadic leukemias has identified genes that are implicated in the pathogenesis of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Although common, such chromosomal translocations are not necessary for the development of leukemias, suggesting that other underlying genetic factors are involved in the early stages of leukemia development. Familial AML is extremely rare, and families with the disease provide a unique resource for the study of the genes involved in the initial stages of cancer development. We investigate a single family in which several members have developed AML. Three members (a mother and two offspring) are affected with AML M4eo, and a third offspring is affected with AML M2. The average age of onset in the children (7 years) is significantly lower than that for the mother (30 years). Transmission of the disease seems to be in an autosomal-dominant manner. The small size of the pedigree reduces the power of genome-wide linkage analysis and therefore we used a candidate gene approach. Initially three genes were selected for analysis based on their reported involvement in familial and sporadic AML: CBFA2, CBFB and AF9. We performed genotyping at these loci to identify shared haplotypes between affected individuals. We will also report the results of direct mutation analysis of the candidate genes

Comparative study of Treponemal and non-Treponemal test for screening of blood donated at a blood center

The non-Treponemal tests such as Rapid Plasma Reagin test (RPR) or the Venereal Disease Reference Laboratory test are the most commonly used test for screening of syphilis in the blood centers in India. Now, with the availability of Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Immunochromatographic assays in the market, we decided to evaluate these assays in comparison with Treponema pallidum Haemagglutination Assay (TPHA) which was considered as a gold standard for this study. A total of 8 685 samples of voluntary blood donors were tested on Trepolisa 3.0 and then the initially reactive samples were retested in duplicate on the same assay as well as on Omega Pathozyme, RPR, RAPHA (Rapid Anti-Treponema pallidum Assay), and TPHA. Of the 158 initially reactive samples, 104 were repeatedly reactive on the same assay, 85 were reactive with RPR, 77 were reactive with RAPHA, 60 were reactive on Omega, and 53 were confirmed reactive on TPHA. 48 (56.4%) of the results on RPR were biological false positive, while 21.9% of results were false negative on RPR. We evaluated that Omega Pathozyme was quite in agreement with TPHA as compared with Trepolisa 3.0, RAPHA, and RPR. We concluded that Omega Pathozyme (ELISA) can be considered as a suitable test for screening of syphilis in a blood center