Treatment satisfaction and safety of sitagliptin versus pioglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus inadequately controlled on metformin monotherapy

Background: This study was designed to assess the treatment satisfaction between Sitagliptin versus Pioglitazone added to Metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: We conducted a prospective, open label, randomized, parallel group study in SIMS, Hapur, U.P. Eligible patients fulfilling inclusion criteria were randomized into two groups having 25 patients in each group using tab Sitagliptin 100mg,tab Pioglitazone 30mg added to ongoing tab Metformin (500mg) therapy for 16 weeks. The follow-up visits were on weeks 4, 12 and 16.Results: 16 weeks later, addition of Sitagliptin 100mg compared to that of Pioglitazone 30mg to ongoing Metformin therapy provided similar glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) lowering efficacy in patients with T2DM with inadequate glycemic control on metformin monotherapy. Change in HbA1c in group1 was -0.656±0.21% (p<0.0001) whereas in group 2 was -0.748±0.35% (p<0.0001). Hence decrease in HbA1c from baseline was more in group2.Both treatments were well tolerated with negligible risk of hypoglycaemia. Weight loss was observed with Sitagliptin in contrast to weight gain seen in Pioglitazone.Conclusions: In this study, Sitagliptin 100 mg along with metformin therapy in comparison to pioglitazone 30 mg plus metformin therapy was effective, well-tolerated and improved glycemic control in both the groups. Addition of pioglitazone had cause oedema and weight gain to the patients whereas sitagliptin caused weight loss in its patients

Botulism in children: a diagnostic dilemma in developing countries

Botulism is a well-known disease of the neuromuscular junction. It is a rare but curable cause of paralysis in paediatric population. In addition to classical clinical signs and symptoms, the diagnosis of botulism requires laboratory confirmation of intoxication by various biological tests. These include demonstration of botulinum toxin in serum or isolation of the Clostridium botulinum from stool/gastric aspirates. However, it is not always possible to confirm intoxication due to unavailability of technical facilities, especially in resource limited countries like Pakistan. Under these circumstances, electrophysiological studies serve as an excellent diagnostic tool. These studies can provide quick diagnosis of botulism so that early administration of botulism immunoglobulin, if available, can reduce morbidity, mortality and length of stay in hospital. We report a case of botulism from Pakistan diagnosed on the basis of electrophysiological studies

Brain calcinosis and seizures in an adolescent boy.

The article focuses on the manifestation of cerebral calcification in an adolescent boy. Cerebral calcification, which is detected using computed tomography, is usually associated with disorders like sporadic and heredofamilial entities. The Patient was rushed to the hospital after his mother observed that he have altered behavior and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. He was started on intravenous calcium supplementation, phosphate binder and vitamin D supplementation and during later observations, he was found to have developed according to his age

circRNAs expressed in human peripheral blood are associated with human aging phenotypes, cellular senescence and mouse lifespan.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are an emerging class of non-coding RNA molecules that are thought to regulate gene expression and human disease. Despite the observation that circRNAs are known to accumulate in older organisms and have been reported in cellular senescence, their role in aging remains relatively unexplored. Here, we have assessed circRNA expression in aging human blood and followed up age-associated circRNA in relation to human aging phenotypes, mammalian longevity as measured by mouse median strain lifespan and cellular senescence in four different primary human cell types. We found that circRNAs circDEF6, circEP300, circFOXO3 and circFNDC3B demonstrate associations with parental longevity or hand grip strength in 306 subjects from the InCHIANTI study of aging, and furthermore, circFOXO3 and circEP300 also demonstrate differential expression in one or more human senescent cell types. Finally, four circRNAs tested showed evidence of conservation in mouse. Expression levels of one of these, circPlekhm1, was nominally associated with lifespan. These data suggest that circRNA may represent a novel class of regulatory RNA involved in the determination of aging phenotypes, which may show future promise as both biomarkers and future therapeutic targets for age-related disease

Antinociceptive Activity of Methanol Extract of Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae) Stems and Leaves in Mice

ABSTRACT The antinociceptive effect of crude methanol extracts of stems and leaves of Areca catechu L. (Arecaceae) was evaluated in acetic acid-induced gastric pain writhing model in Swiss albino mice. The methanol extract of Areca catechu stems dose-dependently reduced the number of writhings (constrictions) in mice, when tested at doses of 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg extract administered per kg body weight. Significant reductions in the number of writhings were noted with all administered doses. The percent inhibitions of acetic acid-induced writhings with the four different doses were, respectively, 30.8, 36.6, 40.9 and 59.6. The standard antinociceptive drug, aspirin, when administered at doses of 200 and 400 mg per kg body weight reduced writhings by 42.3 and 55.8%, respectively. A significant dose-dependent inhibition of writhings was also observed with crude methanol extract of Areca catechu leaves, where the extract at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg per kg body weight significantly inhibited writhings by 55.8, 57.7, 86.5 and 88.5%, respectively. Dose for dose, the leaf extract demonstrated higher antinociceptive activity than the stem extract. At even the lowest dose of 50 mg extract per kg body weight, the antinociceptive activity of leaf extract was comparable to that of 400 mg aspirin per kg body weight. The results suggest that both stem and leaf extract possess good antinociceptive activity, which merits further scientific studies as to isolation of responsible phytochemical component(s)

Keep smiling: mengasuh anak tanpa panik

110 hal.; ilus.; 20 c

Econometric Models for Forecasting Remittances of Bangladesh

At present, the remittance of Bangladesh (RB) is the largest source of foreign exchange earning of the country. The RB plays a critical role in alleviating the foreign-exchange constraint and supporting the balance of payments, enabling imports of capital goods and raw materials for industrial development. Remittance from overseas migrant workers certainly increases the income disparity between classes of the rural society. Therefore forecasting plays an important role to know the future situation of economic condition. This paper employed the prospective data on RB to derive a unique and suitable forecasting model. The data were collected from Bangladesh Bank (BB) during January, 1998 to December, 2003. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models were used to find out the best one. The findings indicated that the ARIMA (0,1,1) (0,2,1)12 and the GARCH (2,1) models were appropriate for our data and the GARCH (2,1) model appeared to be the best one between these

Effect of Liquidity and Bank Size on the Profitability of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh

Nowadays Modern economy cannot be thought without banks. The banks of Bangladesh have great contributions to the development of this country. This study concentrated on the commercial banks in Bangladesh to determine the effect of liquidity and bank size on the profitability of the banks during the year 2011-2015. Seven commercial banks were selected and descriptive as well as correlations analysis statistics were used to conduct the study. Data from the annual reports of the banks were analyzed. The results stated that loan to asset ratio and bank size had a positive relation with return on asset (ROA) which was the indicator of profitability. The results also showed that deposit to asset ratio had a negative impact on the ROA of the selected banks. Although there were relationships among liquidity, bank size and profitability but liquidity and bank size did not have a significant influence on the profitability of the banks. JEL Classification Code: G 2

Insights of Handloom Producers of Sirajganj District in Bangladesh

This study was undertaken to measure the current socioeconomic and profitability status of the traditional handloom producers living in Sirajganj district of Bangladesh. Primary data were collected from 60 randomly selected handloom owners. Two main products were considered in this study, i.e., sharee and gamcha . Descriptive statistics and cost-return analysis were performed to assess the present situation and profitability of handloom production. The Gini Coefficient and Lorenz Curve measured inequality among respondents. A log transformed multiple linear regression model was applied to explore the factors influencing handloom products production. Results revealed that most of the handloom weaving was financed through the weavers&apos; own capital and taking loans from the bank. The undiscounted benefit-cost ratios were 1.12 and 1.20 for sharee and gamcha, respectively, indicating both enterprises were profitable but gamcha was more profitable than sharee. The Gini Coefficient of handloom weavers&apos; income is less than 0.25. Results from the regression analysis revealed that human labour, yarn, color, and processing cost significantly impacted sharee and gamcha production. Therefore, efficient utilization of these resources in the production process of handloom products would be essential that can bring more profit for handloom production. [J Bangladesh Agril Univ 2022; 20(4.000): 433-440

Etiologies and posttreatment conditions of thyrotoxic patients in Sylhet division, Bangladesh: A clinical series

Objective: The endeavor of the study was to analyze the posttreatment (postradioactive iodine therapy [RAI]) conditions of thyrotoxic patients in a tertiary level hospital. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of 186 patients was conducted from 2012 to 2014 in Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Campus. Patients' information regarding the etiologies and their disease status after getting RAI therapy was recorded. Results: In this study, 29.57% patients were male and 70.43% were female where the mean ages were 44.57 and 43.46 accordingly. The most vulnerable group was in between 41 and 50 years of age, which is 25.81%. The patients were categorized according to the etiologies as Graves' disease (GD), multinodular goiter (MNG), and single toxic nodule (STN). In primary stage, 60.22% patients had GD, 26.88% had MNG, and 12.90% had STN. After 6 months of RAI therapy, the disease status of 51.61% patients became euthyroid, 19.35% became hypothyroid, and 29.03% remained thyrotoxic. Thus, a second dose of RAI therapy was given to those patients for next 6 months. After 12 months from the beginning of the therapy of each patient, the total recovery was found to be 72.04%. However, though all the GD patients improved to either euthyroid or hypothyroid state after 6 months, on a 12-month observation, 17.86% of them regained the thyrotoxicosis due to discontinuation of the treatment. Conclusion: The findings show an overall significant recovery of thyrotoxic patients taking RAI therapy in INMAS and important points to improve the rate