Rhabdomyolysis with acute kidney injury after single episode of generalized seizure in a known case of epilepsy: a case report

Rhabdomyolysis is defined as breakdown of skeletal muscle fibers with subsequent release of its cellular components into the circulation. It is associated with variety of causes and status epilepticus is one of it. The excessive muscular activity associated with seizure is possible explanation for it. It is clinically evident by the new onset severe generalized bodyache, weakness and myalgia associated with dark coloured urine. Acute kidney injury is one of the most serious complications associted with rhabdomyolysis. Single episode of generalized seizure is not a frequent cause for rhabdomyolysis. Acute kidney injury due to rhabdomyolysis, following a single episode of seizure is a rare entity. Here we report a case of rhabdomyolysis with acute kidney injury following a single episode of generalized seizure. High index of suspicion is required to timely diagnose and treat such patients. Timely intervention with hemodialysis along with other supportive care can completely revert this potentially serious complication to normal

Noise analysis of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array data release I

The Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaboration has recently made its first official data release (DR1) for a sample of 14 pulsars using 3.5 years of uGMRT observations. We present the results of single-pulsar noise analysis for each of these 14 pulsars using the InPTA DR1. For this purpose, we consider white noise, achromatic red noise, dispersion measure (DM) variations, and scattering variations in our analysis. We apply Bayesian model selection to obtain the preferred noise models among these for each pulsar. For PSR J1600$-$3053, we find no evidence of DM and scattering variations, while for PSR J1909$-$3744, we find no significant scattering variations. Properties vary dramatically among pulsars. For example, we find a strong chromatic noise with chromatic index $\sim$ 2.9 for PSR J1939+2134, indicating the possibility of a scattering index that doesn't agree with that expected for a Kolmogorov scattering medium consistent with similar results for millisecond pulsars in past studies. Despite the relatively short time baseline, the noise models broadly agree with the other PTAs and provide, at the same time, well-constrained DM and scattering variations.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRD, 30 pages, 17 figures, 4 table

Multi-band Extension of the Wideband Timing Technique

The wideband timing technique enables the high-precision simultaneous estimation of Times of Arrival (ToAs) and Dispersion Measures (DMs) while effectively modeling frequency-dependent profile evolution. We present two novel independent methods that extend the standard wideband technique to handle simultaneous multi-band pulsar data incorporating profile evolution over a larger frequency span to estimate DMs and ToAs with enhanced precision. We implement the wideband likelihood using the libstempo python interface to perform wideband timing in the tempo2 framework. We present the application of these techniques to the dataset of fourteen millisecond pulsars observed simultaneously in Band 3 (300 - 500 MHz) and Band 5 (1260 - 1460 MHz) of the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) as a part of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) campaign. We achieve increased ToA and DM precision and sub-microsecond root mean square post-fit timing residuals by combining simultaneous multi-band pulsar observations done in non-contiguous bands for the first time using our novel techniques.Comment: Submitted to MNRA

Role of Gut Microbiota in Neurological Disorders and Its Therapeutic Significance

In humans, the gut microbiota (GM) are known to play a significant role in the metabolism of nutrients and drugs, immunomodulation, and pathogen defense by inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The role of the GM in the gut–brain axis (GBA) has been documented for different regulatory mechanisms and associated pathways and it shows different behaviors with individualized bacteria. In addition, the GM are known as susceptibility factor for neurological disorders in the central nervous system (CNS), regulating disease progression and being amenable to intervention. Bidirectional transmission between the brain and the GM occurs in the GBA, implying that it performs a significant role in neurocrine, endocrine, and immune-mediated signaling pathways. The GM regulates multiple neurological disorders by supplementing them with prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, synbiotics, fecal transplantations, and/or antibiotics. A well-balanced diet is critically important for establishing healthy GM, which can alter the enteric nervous system (ENS) and regulate multiple neurological disorders. Here, we have discussed the function of the GM in the GBA from the gut to the brain and the brain to the gut, the pathways associated with neurology that interacts with the GM, and the various neurological disorders associated with the GM. Furthermore, we have highlighted the recent advances and future prospects of the GBA, which may require addressing research concerns about GM and associated neurological disorders

Soluble Inter-Cellular Adhesion Molecule-1 in Urban Asian North Indians: Relationships with Anthropometric and Metabolic Covariates

Background: High prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemias in people belonging to poor socio-economic strata in urban slums of northern India has been recorded recently. To assess whether this population has high levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), a cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, we investigated subjects belonging to poor socio-economic strata in urban slums and compared them to healthy control subjects from non-slum urban areas of New Delhi

Subclinical inflammation and soleus muscle intramyocellular lipids in healthy Asian Indian males

Objectives: The relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of subclinical inflammation, and intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content, a novel correlate of insulin resistance, has not previously been investigated. Method and design: We estimated IMCL content in soleus muscle in 30 healthy Asian Indian males using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS), and correlated it with body mass index (BMI), measures of abdominal obesity, percentage of body fat (%BF), serum lipoproteins, fasting and post-oral glucose load serum insulin levels and other surrogate markers of insulin resistance. Results: Soleus muscle IMCL content was significantly correlated with age (ρ = 0.64, P < 0.001), BMI (ρ = 0.41, P < 0.05), %BF (ρ = 0.53, P ≤ 0.01), waist circumference (ρ = 0.45, P < 0.05) and waist-to-hip circumference ratio (ρ = 0.58, P < 0.01) but did not correlate significantly with insulin resistance measured by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) or CRP levels. CRP levels did not correlate with the HOMA-IR value. Conclusions: Soleus muscle IMCL content correlated significantly with measures of generalized and abdominal obesity but not with insulin sensitivity or CRP levels in healthy Asian Indian males. Studies are needed in other ethnic groups to corroborate these data

Estimation of Tau and Phosphorylated Tau181 in Serum of Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients.

The elevated level of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Tau and phosphorylated Tau181 (p-Tau181) proteins are well established hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Elevated level of p-Tau181 can differentiate AD from other neurodegenerative disease. However, the expression level of these proteins in serum of AD patient is not well set up. This study sought to evaluate the level of Tau and p-Tau181 in serum of AD, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients for an alternative approach to establish protein-based markers by convenient way. Blood samples were collected from 39 AD patients, 37 MCI patients and 37 elderly individuals as controls. The levels of Tau and p-Tau181 in the serum of the different groups were measured by label free real time Surface Plasmon Resonance technology by using specific antibodies, and were further confirmed by the conventional western blot method. An appropriate statistical analysis, including Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), was performed. The concentrations of serum Tau and p-Tau181 were significantly higher (p<0.00001) in AD (Tau; 47.49±9.00ng/μL, p-Tau181; 0.161±0.04 ng/μL) compared to MCI (Tau; 39.26±7.78 ng/μL, p-Tau181; 0.135±0.02 ng/μL) and were further higher compared to elderly controls (Tau; 34.92±6.58 ng/μL, p-Tau181; 0.122±0.01 ng/ μL). A significant (p<0.0001) downhill correlation was found between Tau as well as p-Tau181 levels with HMSE and MoCA score. This study for the first time reports the concentration of Tau and p-Tau181 in serum of AD and MCI patients. The cutoff values of Tau and p-Tau181 of AD and MCI patients with sensitivity and specificity reveal that serum level of these proteins can be used as a predictive marker for AD and MCI

Association of obstructive sleep apnea and sleep quality with cognitive function:a study of middle-aged and elderly persons in India

Introduction:Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and poor sleep quality affect around one in ten people in India. We aimed to determine if OSA symptoms and poor sleep quality are independently associated with cognition in middle-aged and elderly urban Indian populations. Methods: We studied the cross-sectional association between OSA symptoms (by Berlin Questionnaire), poor sleep quality (by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and cognitive function in adults ≥ 50 years. Using a standard neuropsychological battery for cognitive function, a G-factor was derived as the first rotated principal component assessing domains of information processing, memory, and executive function. The associations of exposures with cognitive measures were modeled using linear regression, adjusted for metabolic risk factors, lifestyle factors, and psychosocial problems, followed by stratified analysis by decadal age group. Results: A total of 7505 adults were enrolled. Excluding those with MMSE &lt; 26 (n 710), of 6795 individuals (49.2% women), mean (SD) age 64.2 (9.0) years, 38.3% had high risk of OSA symptoms, and 15.9% had poor sleep quality. OSA symptoms were negatively associated with cognitive domains of information processing (adjusted beta coefficient of z-score − 0.02, p-value 0.006), memory (− 0.03, 0.014), and G-factor (− 0.11, 0.014) in full-model. Stratified analysis by age group showed significant adverse effects of OSA symptoms on cognition for middle-aged people (50–60 years) (− 0.26, 0.001), but not in later age groups. Poor sleep quality was also associated with lower cognitive scores for G-factor (− 0.48, &lt; 0.001), memory (− 0.08, 0.005), and executive domains (− 0.12, &lt; 0.001), but not with information domain. Conclusion: The findings suggest that both symptoms of OSA and poor sleep quality have a direct adverse impact on cognition in an Indian setting. A modest effect of age on the relationship of OSA and cognition was also observed.</p