A study of peripheral neuropathy in cases of type-II diabetes mellitus patients with or without hypothyroidism

Background: Type 2 diabetic patients have a higher prevalence of thyroid disorders, particularly hypothyroidism.  Peripheral neuropathy is a common and disabling complication of diabetes mellitus. Peripheral nervous system involvement in hypothyroidism is also a well-documented fact. Nerve conduction studies are generally considered to be the most sensitive and reproducible in the assessment of peripheral neuropathies. This study helped to determine the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in diabetic hypothyroid patients as well as to compare it in diabetic patients with or without hypothyroidism. It compared the onset latency, amplitude, conduction velocity and F- wave latency of some nerves in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with or without hypothyroidism.Methods: With RMS, EMG, EP MARK-II, nerve conduction studies are done in 30 cases (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with hypothyroidism) and 30 controls (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients of diabetes without hypothyroidism) respectively, attending the Diabetic Clinic and Biochemistry Laboratory of North Bengal Medical College.Results: Data were treated with Unpaired t-Test. The study reveals that type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with hypothyroidism have higher prevalence of peripheral neuropathy. There is statistically significant (p<0.00) decrease in motor nerve conduction study in both right and left median nerves in diabetic patients with hypothyroidism than in diabetic patients without hypothyroidism.Conclusions: All diabetic patients should be screened for early detection of hypothyroidism as type 2 diabetic patients with hypothyroidism have higher prevalence of peripheral neuropathy. The nerve conduction study remains the most reliable, accurate, and sensitive method to evaluate peripheral nerve function

EXPLORATION OF IN VITRO SYNERGISTIC ANTIFUNGAL POTENTIAL OF FICUS RACEMOSA AND CASSIA FISTULA L. AGAINST MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT MICROSPORUM CANIS

Microsporum canis is a worldwide-diffused pathogenic dermatophyte that can cause outbreaks in both human and animal populations. Considerable upsurge in the incidence of multidrug-resistant M. canis has created the urgency to identify and develop novel antifungals to avoid therapeutic failures during treatment. The present study was designed to explore the synergistic antifungal potential of fractionalized extract with different solvents of Ficus racemosa and Cassia fistula Leaves (L.) against multidrug-resistant M. canis by broth micro-dilution assay. The mixture of the methanolic fraction of both the extracts showed a potent antifungal activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1 µg/ml as compared to their pure fractions. The results provided a scientific validation for a possible and novel antifungal agent which should further be explored for its safety by using suitable animal trials

Alteration in behavior of rat after chronic exposure to acetamiprid

Background and Aim: Acetamiprid is a chemical of neonicotinoid group which binds with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and alters the brain function. The present study was taken up to enlight the understanding of nociception behavior in Sprague Dawley (SD) rat after multiple exposures to acetamiprid. Materials and Methods: For experiment purpose, a total of 48 SD rats were divided into four dose groups having 12 animals each. Group I was control group received only distilled water. Group II, Group III, and Group IV were treated with acetamiprid at a dose rate of 5, 20, and 40 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Rats were tested in induced pain by formalin injection and tail flick test. Results: The flinch counts in formalin-induced pain in acetamiprid-treated rat were reduced in a dose-dependent manner, whereas, in tail flick test, no such altered pain behavior was observed in treated group compared to control animals. Conclusion: Acetamiprid alters the centralized nociception through nAChR but could not trigger the associated signal to inhibit the nociception peripherally

Development of nested polymerase chain reaction-based diagnosis of duck enteritis virus and detection of DNA polymerase gene from non-descriptive duck breeds of West Bengal, India

Aim: The study was undertaken to detect the clinical signs, postmortem lesions of embryonated duck plague (DP) infected eggs, and histopathological changes of chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) in non-descriptive ducks of West Bengal with special reference to standardize nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Materials and Methods: After postmortem of suspected carcasses, samples were collected for virus isolation and identification through specific pathogen free (Khaki Campbell) embryonated duck eggs. PCR was also done as confirmatory test after doing postmortem of duck embryos. DP specific nested PCR was standardized for better confirmation of the disease. Sensitivity of nested primers was also tested for DP virus. Results: Gross, postmortem and histopathological changes were prominent in dead embryos. First set of primer was able to detect 602 bp fragments of DNA polymerase gene of duck enteritis virus from infected CAM. Subsequently, a DP specific nested PCR which was very much sensitive for very small amount of viral genome was successfully standardized. After NCBI blast nucleotide sequence of nested PCR product (Accession No. HG425076) showed homology with the sequences data available in GenBank. Conclusion: The study concludes that PCR assay is very much helpful to diagnose DP disease and developed nested PCR is a double confirmatory diagnostic tool for DP

Efficacy of <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> Fermentation Product and Probiotic Supplementation on Growth Performance, Gut Microflora and Immunity of Broiler Chickens

Concern for global health security and the environment due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic residues in meat and other livestock products has led many countries to restrict the use of antibiotics in animal feed. This experiment was performed to assess the impact of dietary supplementation of a probiotic (Bacillus subtilis) and a postbiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product) on growth performance, carcass traits, blood haemato-biochemical profile, gut microflora, gut morphology, and immune response in broilers as an alternative to antimicrobials in poultry production system to minimize the effect on global health security. A total of 324 one-day-old Ven Cobb 400 broiler chicks were randomly divided into three dietary groups, each containing 12 replicated pens, and each replicate contained nine chickens. The dietary groups consisted of (1) a basal diet without any growth promoters (T1), (2) the basal diet augmented with Bacillus subtilis at 200 g/MT feed (T2), and (3) the basal diet supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product at 1.25 kg/MT feed (T3). To calculate body weight gain, all birds and residual feed were weighed on a replicated basis on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42; mortality was recorded daily. At the end of the trial (42 d), two chickens from each replicate were slaughtered for carcass traits, gut microflora, and morphology measurements. Blood samples were collected for the haemato-biochemical profile on 35 d and antibody titer on 28 d and 35 d. Feeding with SCFP (T3 group) significantly improved average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG) of chickens compared to the T1 (control) and T2 (probiotic) groups from 1 to 14 days of age. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly improved in SCFP-fed birds (T3) relative to the control (T1) over the entire experimental period. Carcass traits and blood haemato-biochemical parameters remained unaffected by any diets. However, cholesterol levels and concentrations of corticosterone were significantly lower in T3 compared to T2 and T1 groups. Total E. coli, Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, and Salmonella counts were significantly lower in T2 and T3 groups compared to T1 group and Salmonella counts were lower in T3 when compared to T2. However, there was no significant difference in Lactobacillus count among treatment groups. A significant increase in villi height and villi-height-to-crypt-depth ratio (VH: CD) was observed in both T3 and T2 groups. On day 28, the T3 and T2 groups exhibited a significant increase in antibody titers against Newcastle disease virus and infectious bursal disease virus. It can be concluded that Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product and Bacillus subtilis probiotic could be viable alternatives to antimicrobials in poultry production considering beneficial impacts in broilers fed an antibiotic-free diet