Relationship of serum testosterone with coronary artery disease in young adult males of Bangladesh

The incidence rate and mortality of coronary artery disease is obviously higher in men than in women, which may be related to the influence of serum testosterone. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Laboratory Medicine in collaboration with Department of Cardiology, BSMMU and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka from March 2020 to February 2021 to investigate the association of serum testosterone with coronary artery disease in young adult males in Bangladesh. Total 110 subjects from inpatient Department of Cardiology were enrolled, 60 were CAD patients and 50 were Normal Coronaries according to coronary angiography report. In this study, 60 patients with coronary artery disease were compared with 50 normal coronary subjects. Mean age in CAD group and normal coronaries was 37.72±2.73 and 37.48±2.54 years respectively. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia were significantly higher in CAD group. Total testosterone levels of CAD were significantly lower than those of normal coronaries (2.11±0.81ng/ml vs 2.94±0.78ng/ml). Among 60 CAD patients, 10 patients had single vessel disease, 17 patients had double vessel disease and 33 patients had triple vessel disease. There was significant association between the level of total testosterone and the number of affected vessels within CAD group (p=0.1). This study also showed that total testosterone level was negatively correlated with Gensini score. Serum total testosterone was significantly lower in patients with CAD compared to normal coronaries. Patients with lower total testosterone levels had higher Gensini score. Low level of total testosterone may be related to the develop- ment of coronary artery disease. BSMMU J 2021; 14(3): 67-7

Correlation of Estimated-Glomerular Filtration Rate (e-GFR) with diabetic nephropathy and non-nephropathy patients in a tertiary care hospital

The estimated glomerular filtration (e-GFR) and serum creatinine is the screening methods of reduced renal function in patients with type-II diabetes (T2DM) in both patient with diabetic nephropathy and with no diabetic nephropathy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of e-GFR in type-II diabetes mellitus patients with diabetic nephropathy and without diabetic nephropathy.This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2020 to February 2021 in the Department of Laboratory Medicine in collaboration with Department of Nephrology, Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka involving 60 patients from the department of Nephrology, BSMMU. Among 60 patients, 30 were with diabetic nephropathy and 30 were without nephropathy. Both nephrop- athy and without nephropathy group were selected according to selection criteria. Random blood sugar (RBS), Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum creatinine and e-GFR level were measured in all patients. After data collection and processing, all statistical analysis was done by using SPSS Version 26.0. In this study, the mean(}SD) age was 50.5}11.71 in group-I and 45.53}9.97 in group-II. The difference was statistically not significant(p=0.082). It was observed that 20(66.7%) were male and 10(33.3%) were female in group I and 13(43.3%) were male and 17(56.7%) were female in group-II. Age group 51-60 years had highest percentage of nephropathy patients 9(30.0%) and 31-40 years of age group had highest percentage of diabet- ic patient without nephropathy 13(43.3%). The mean e-GFR in Group I was 47.56}35.48 and in Group II was 93.75}31.29 which was statistically significant (p=0.001). There was a signifi- cant negative correlation between serum e-GFR and serum creatinine in between Group I (r=-0.809, p<0.001) and Group II (r=-0.715, p<0.001). In conclusion, serum creatinine was higher in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with nephropathy group and mean e-GFR was significantly reduced in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with nephropathy group than without nephropathy. BSMMU J 2021; 14(4): 109-11

Prolidase activity in adult bipolar disorder patient: a case - control study

Background: Bipolar disorder is one of the major neuropsychiatric illnesses. It is responsible for 6.8% of disability-adjusted life years among all mental disorders. Few studies have evaluated the biochemical basis of bipolar disorder. Prolidase is an enzyme that degrade extracellular matrix into proline. In stress condition, prolidase by releasing proline maintain ATP generation, redox state, apoptosis and cell proliferation. The relationship between serum prolidase with bipolar disorder was investigated in this study. Method: A case - control study was conducted at the Department of Laboratory Medicine in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka from March 2021 to February 2022. Thirty-five patients with bipolar disorder type I consisting of 15 euthymic and 20 manic patients were enrolled in the study according to the availability of patients as cases. Thirty-five age - and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited from the Department of Laboratory Medicine as controls. Serum prolidase level was measured in cases and controls using venous blood. Result: Serum prolidase level was significantly higher in cases than controls (P=0.021). There was no significant differences between euthymic and manic patients (P=0.629). Significant positive correlation was found between Young Mania Rating Scale severity score and serum prolidase level (P=0.001). Conclusion: Serum prolidase activity may be associated with bipolar disorder. This needs further corroboration because our sample size was small. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Journal 2023;16(2): 96-100

Comparison of serum homocysteine level in young and middle-aged adult patients with coronary artery disease

Deaths due to coronary artery disease have been increasing in young people aged 15 mmol/L) was 16.2% in Group I compared to 12.4% in Group II (P=0.001). Therefore, control measures for keeping homocysteine levels within the normal range in young people might be useful. BSMMU J 2022; 15(3): 197-20

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of medical, dental and non-medical healthcare professionals in Bangladesh : findings and connotation

Lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had an appreciable impact on the education of all medical, dental, and non-medical healthcare professional (HCP) students. These included the closure of universities necessitating a rapid move to e-learning and new approaches to practical’s. However initially, there was a lack of knowledge and expertise regarding e-learning approaches and the affordability of internet bundles and equipment. We initially con-ducted two pilot studies to assess such current challenges, replaced by a two-stage approach including a full investigation involving 32 private and public universities during the early stages of the pandemic followed by a later study assessing the current environment brought about by the forced changes. Top challenges at the start of the pandemic included a lack of familiarity with e-learning approaches, cost of the internet, lack of IT equipment and the quality of the classes. Universities offered support to staff and students to a varying degree to address identified challenges. Since then, e-learning approaches have widened the possibilities for teaching and learning at convenient times. However, challenges remain. In conclusion, there were considerable challenges at the start of them pandemic. Several key issues have been addressed with hybrid learning here to stay. Remaining challenges include a lack of ICT equipment. However, new innovations will continue

Comparison of serum homocysteine level in young and middle-aged adult patients with coronary artery disease: Homocysteine in coronary artery disease

Deaths due to coronary artery disease have been increasing in young people aged <40. Studies have reported an association between these deaths with hyperhomocysteinemia. The aim of this study was to compare serum homocysteine levels in middle-aged patients with coronary artery disease. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 52 cardiology inpatients of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, from March 2021 to February 2022. Among them, 26 were young adults (<40 years, Group I), and 26 were middle-aged (≥40 years, Group II). Serum homocysteine was measured in all of them using an automated immunoassay analyzer. The younger patients had higher (P=0.001) median homocysteine (interquartile range) level, 13.5 (7.7 –28.4 mmol/L) compared to the middle-aged group, 10.0 (5.9 – 38.5 mmol/L). The hyperhomocysteinemia (>15 mmol/L) was 16.2% in Group I compared to 12.4% in Group II (P=0.001). Therefore, control measures for keeping homocysteine levels within the normal range in young people might be useful. BSMMU J 2022; 15(3): 197-20

A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study Assessing Self-Reported Adverse Events following Immunization (AEFI) of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Bangladesh

Background: The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield) was the first to be introduced in Bangladesh to fight the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. As this vaccine had shown some side-effects in its clinical trial, we aimed to conduct a study assessing short-term adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) in Bangladesh. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on social and electronic media platforms by delivering an online questionnaire among people who had taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The collected data were then analysed to evaluate various parameters related to the AEFIs of the respondents. Results: A total of 626 responses were collected. Of these, 623 were selected based on complete answers and used for the analysis. Most of the respondents were between 30-60 years of age, and 40.4% were female. We found that a total of 8.5% of the total respondents had been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Our survey revealed that out of 623 volunteers, 317 reported various side-effects after taking the vaccine, which is about 50.88% of the total participants. The majority of participants (37.07%, 231/623) reported swelling and pain at the injection site and fever (25.84%, 162/623); these were some of the common localized and generalized symptoms after the COVID-19 vaccine administration. Conclusion: The side-effects reported after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield) are similar to those reported in clinical trials, demonstrating that the vaccines have a safe therapeutic window. Moreover, further research is needed to determine the efficacy of existing vaccines in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections or after-infection hospitalization.</p&gt