Effectiveness of electrical muscle stimulation in controlling blood glucose level: A systemic review

The aim is to critically review the relevant evidence on the interrelationships between electrical muscle stimulation and metabolic outcomes. From this review appear that the effects of electrical muscle stimulation resulted in reductions in HbA1c, and other outcome measures of diabetes mellitus type 2. Considering the available evidence, it appears that electrical muscle stimulation could be an effective intervention to help glycemic control, especially considering that the effects of this form of intervention are comparable with what reported with physical exercise. Less studies have investigated regarding electrical muscle stimulation (its duration, type of current, form of impulses, sites to be stimulated etc) offers a synergistic and incremental effect on glycemic control; however, from the available evidences appear that electrical muscle stimulation seems to determine additional change in HbA1c that can be seen significant if compared with other forms of blood sugar control methods

Magnetic resonance imaging in central nervous system tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) in any form is a devastating disease, which in its most severe form involves the central nervous system (CNS), with a high mortality and morbidity. Early diagnosis of CNS TB is necessary for appropriate treatment to reduce this morbidity and mortality. Routine diagnostic techniques involve culture and immunological tests of the tissue and biofluids, which are time-consuming and may delay definitive management. Noninvasive imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are routinely used in the diagnosis of neurotuberculosis, with MRI offering greater inherent sensitivity and specificity than CT scan. In addition to conventional MRI imaging, magnetization transfer imaging, diffusion imaging, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques are also being evaluated for better tissue characterization in CNS TB. The current article reviews the role of various MRI techniques in the diagnosis and management of CNS TB

Magnetic resonance imaging in central nervous system tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) in any form is a devastating disease, which in its most severe form involves the central nervous system (CNS), with a high mortality and morbidity. Early diagnosis of CNS TB is necessary for appropriate treatment to reduce this morbidity and mortality. Routine diagnostic techniques involve culture and immunological tests of the tissue and biofluids, which are time-consuming and may delay definitive management. Noninvasive imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are routinely used in the diagnosis of neurotuberculosis, with MRI offering greater inherent sensitivity and specificity than CT scan. In addition to conventional MRI imaging, magnetization transfer imaging, diffusion imaging, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques are also being evaluated for better tissue characterization in CNS TB. The current article reviews the role of various MRI techniques in the diagnosis and management of CNS TB

Pulmonary rehabilitation post COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The virus belongs to the Coronaviridae family and the key reservoir of the virus are bats. Since the outbreak of this disease across the globe, millions of people have been affected, resulting in mild to severe illness and significant mortality. COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from person to person through droplet infection, contact, or feco-oral routes. The host, environmental, and viral risk factors all play a role in COVID-19. The infection can manifest as a mild illness including upper respiratory infections and non-severe pneumonia, or as a severe pneumonia involving ARDS, multiple organ failure, and death. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, fatigue, dyspnea, anorexia, productive sputum, myalgia, sore throat, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of taste and smell. Management includes primary care, community care and acute care. In this article, we present a brief overview of the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis and general symptoms of SARS-CoV-2, as well as current understanding of pulmonary rehabilitation procedures routinely recommended to treat patients post COVID-19

Host microsatellite alleles in malaria predisposition?

Abstract Background Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease caused by Plasmodium infection of human red blood cells. The host-parasite co-evolutionary processes are well understood by the association of coding variations such as G6PD, Duffy blood group receptor, HLA, and beta-globin gene variants with malaria resistance. The profound genetic diversity in host is attributed to polymorphic microsatellites loci. The microsatellite alleles in bacterial species are known to have aided their survival in fatal environmental conditions. The fascinating question is whether microsatellites are genomic cushion in the human genome to combat disease stress and has cause-effect relationships with infections. Presentation of the hypothesis It is hypothesized that repeat units or alleles of microsatellites TH01 and D5S818, located in close proximity to beta-globin gene and immune regulatory region in human play a role in malaria predisposition. Association of alleles at aforesaid microsatellites with malaria infection was analysed. To overrule the false association in unrecognized population stratification, structure analysis and AMOVA were performed among the sampled groups. Testing of hypothesis Associations of microsatellite alleles with malaria infection were verified using recombination rate, Chi-square, and powerful likelihood tests. Further investigation of population genetic structure, and AMOVA was done to rule out the confounding effects of population stratification in interpretation of association studies. Implication of the hypothesis Lower recombination rate (θ) between microsatellites and genes implicated in host fitness; positive association between alleles -13 (D5S818), 9 (TH01) and strong susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum; and alleles-12 (D5S818) and 6 (TH01) rendering resistance to human host were evident. The interesting fact emerging from the study was that while predisposition to malaria was a prehistoric attribute, among TH01 alleles; evolution of resistant allele-6 was a recent phenomenon, which could conceivably be driven by infection related selective forces. The host's microsatellite allelic associations with malaria infection were valid in the light of low genetic variance between sampled groups and no population stratification.</p

An exceptional case of cutaneous metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip

Majority of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. Distant metastases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) occur at many sites, especially in the lung and bone. However, metastases to the skin are unusual and rare. Here, we report a case of a patient with squamous cell carcinoma of right side of the lower lip, who underwent radiotherapy after surgical excision of the tumor. One month post radiotherapy, multiple subcutaneous nodules appeared on his chest, abdomen, back, buttocks, and thighs. Pathological diagnosis of the excised subcutaneous nodule was suggestive of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on multiple subcutaneous metastases of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip

Shelterin Proteins and Cancer

The telomeric end structures of the DNA are known to contain tandem repeats of TTAGGG sequence bound with specialised protein complex called the "shelterin complex". It comprises six proteins, namely TRF1, TRF2, TIN2, POT1, TPP1 and RAP1. All of these assemble together to form a complex with double strand and single strand DNA repeats at the telomere. Such an association contributes to telomere stability and its protection from undesirable DNA damage control-specific responses. However, any alteration in the structure and function of any of these proteins may lead to undesirable DNA damage responses and thus cellular senescence and death. In our review, we throw light on how mutations in the proteins belonging to the shelterin complex may lead to various malfunctions and ultimately have a role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression

Host microsatellite alleles in malaria predisposition?

Background: Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease caused by Plasmodium infection of human red blood cells. The host-parasite co-evolutionary processes are well understood by the association of coding variations such as G6PD, Duffy blood group receptor, HLA, and beta-globin gene variants with malaria resistance. The profound genetic diversity in host is attributed to polymorphic microsatellites loci. The microsatellite alleles in bacterial species are known to have aided their survival in fatal environmental conditions. The fascinating question is whether microsatellites are genomic cushion in the human genome to combat disease stress and has cause-effect relationships with infections. Presentation of the hypothesis: It is hypothesized that repeat units or alleles of microsatellites TH01 and D5S818, located in close proximity to beta-globin gene and immune regulatory region in human play a role in malaria predisposition. Association of alleles at aforesaid microsatellites with malaria infection was analysed. To overrule the false association in unrecognized population stratification, structure analysis and AMOVA were performed among the sampled groups. Testing of hypothesis: Associations of microsatellite alleles with malaria infection were verified using recombination rate, Chi-square, and powerful likelihood tests. Further investigation of population genetic structure, and AMOVA was done to rule out the confounding effects of population stratification in interpretation of association studies. Implication of the hypothesis: Lower recombination rate (θ) between microsatellites and genes implicated in host fitness; positive association between alleles -13 (D5S818), 9 (TH01) and strong susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum; and alleles-12 (D5S818) and 6 (TH01) rendering resistance to human host were evident. The interesting fact emerging from the study was that while predisposition to malaria was a prehistoric attribute, among TH01 alleles; evolution of resistant allele-6 was a recent phenomenon, which could conceivably be driven by infection related selective forces. The host\u27s microsatellite allelic associations with malaria infection were valid in the light of low genetic variance between sampled groups and no population stratification. © 2005 Gaikwad et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Shelterin Proteins and Cancer

The telomeric end structures of the DNA are known to contain tandem repeats of TTAGGG sequence bound with specialised protein complex called the "shelterin complex". It comprises six proteins, namely TRF1, TRF2, TIN2, POT1, TPP1 and RAP1. All of these assemble together to form a complex with double strand and single strand DNA repeats at the telomere. Such an association contributes to telomere stability and its protection from undesirable DNA damage control-specific responses. However, any alteration in the structure and function of any of these proteins may lead to undesirable DNA damage responses and thus cellular senescence and death. In our review, we throw light on how mutations in the proteins belonging to the shelterin complex may lead to various malfunctions and ultimately have a role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression