A study of HPLC patterns in patients of sickle cell anemia with analysis of red cell parameters

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) and its variants are genetic disorders resulting from the presence of a mutated form of hemoglobin, hemoglobin S (HbS). In this study we want to profile various types of haemoglobins and their relative percentage in sickle cell cases. Also, we will analyse RBC indices such as Hb, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC and RDW-CV.Methods: We analysed blood from 200 patients suspected to have Sickle cell hemoglobinopathies and subjected it to Sickling screening test. All positive cases will be subjected to HPLC to separate constituent haemoglobins and CBC analysis was done to check RBC indices.Results: In sickle cell trait (SCT) patients, there is a significantly higher level of HbA2 and HbS and significantly lower level of HbA. In sickle cell disease patients, there were significantly higher levels of HbA2, HbF and HbS and significantly lower levels of HbA. Both sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease patients had significantly lower levels of haematocrit, MCH and higher RDW CV.Conclusions: While analysing HPLC patterns, appearance of HbS, low levels of HbA and high levels of HbF and HbA2 should raise a suspicion for presence of Sickle cell hemoglobinopathy. There was statistical difference in levels of Hb, HCT, MCH and RDW-CV between cases and controls. High index of suspicion should be maintained when these parameters are on lower side, especially in population who is prone to have sickle cell disorders

Targeting Nicotine Addiction - The Possibility of a Healthier Future

Use of tobacco accounts for the highest number of illnesses and deaths around the world. Even though many people are well acquainted with the ill effects of tobacco consumption, they get addicted to its use. This addiction owes to the nicotine dependence in smokers or people consuming tobacco. If allowed for adequate awareness, the counselling becomes the first line of treatment but very few people get convinced to quit this habit and thus agents such as nicotine replacement therapy come into play as a major factor in increasing the number of quit rates. The efficacy may depend on the route of NRT administration which may vary from nicotine gums, lozenges, sublingual tablets, inhalers etc. This review article discusses both the current use and future of NRT

Metanephric adenoma of kidney: a rare and distinct entity

Metanephric adenoma (MA) is an unusual renal neoplasm with benign behaviour most of the times. Clinically MA mimics malignant renal neoplasms due to nonspecific signs and symptoms such as polycythaemia, haematuria and abdominal pain. MA usually presents as a mass lesion on radiographic studies and can be found incidentally. The treatment of choice is surgical excision. Though MA is usually a benign tumour, increase in the knowledge of MA pathology may lead to less invasive treatments in the future. Less than 200 cases of metanephric adenoma are reported till date in the literature

Wandering spleen presenting as gastric mass: A rare case

Wandering or ectopic spleen is a rare condition in which spleen is located outside its normal location. Wandering spleen is an incidental finding with a reported incidence of <0.2%, fewer than 500 cases reported worldwide in literature. It presents as a diagnostic challenge as it can easily mimic a neoplastic mass, an abscess, or an organized hematoma. Ultrasonography and contrast tomography are useful radiological methods in the diagnosis of wandering spleen. We report here autopsy case of a 51-year-old male with wandering spleen in gastric wall diagnosed on histopathology but presented as gastric mass mimicking malignancy. This case highlights the importance of radiology and histopathology in the diagnosis of an ectopic spleen. In the absence of spleen on radiology at a normal site and with a presence of intra-abdominal mass, the clinician should keep in mind ectopic spleen as a differential diagnosis

Solitary Intramuscular Cysticercosis-A Report of Two Cases

Cysticercosis , --  the infestation with the encysted larval stage of  Taenia solium, is  a major health problem in most countries of  Latin America,  Asia, and Africa. It involves mainly the central   nervous   system. Muscle involvement is also seen, although it usually remains asymptomatic. Solitary intramuscular cysticercosis, without involvement of central nervous system is a rare entity. We present   two cases of solitary intramuscular cysticercosis, without any systemic or neurologic manifestations

Advancing the STMS genomic resources for defining new locations on the intraspecific genetic linkage map of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chickpea (<it>Cicer arietinum </it>L.) is an economically important cool season grain legume crop that is valued for its nutritive seeds having high protein content. However, several biotic and abiotic stresses and the low genetic variability in the chickpea genome have continuously hindered the chickpea molecular breeding programs. STMS (Sequence Tagged Microsatellite Sites) markers which are preferred for the construction of saturated linkage maps in several crop species, have also emerged as the most efficient and reliable source for detecting allelic diversity in chickpea. However, the number of STMS markers reported in chickpea is still limited and moreover exhibit low rates of both inter and intraspecific polymorphism, thereby limiting the positions of the SSR markers especially on the intraspecific linkage maps of chickpea. Hence, this study was undertaken with the aim of developing additional STMS markers and utilizing them for advancing the genetic linkage map of chickpea which would have applications in QTL identification, MAS and for <it>de novo </it>assembly of high throughput whole genome sequence data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A microsatellite enriched library of chickpea (enriched for <b>(</b>GT/CA)_nand (GA/CT)_nrepeats) was constructed from which 387 putative microsatellite containing clones were identified. From these, 254 STMS primers were designed of which 181 were developed as functional markers. An intraspecific mapping population of chickpea, [ICCV-2 (single podded) × JG-62 (double podded)] and comprising of 126 RILs, was genotyped for mapping. Of the 522 chickpea STMS markers (including the double-podding trait, screened for parental polymorphism, 226 (43.3%) were polymorphic in the parents and were used to genotype the RILs. At a LOD score of 3.5, eight linkage groups defining the position of 138 markers were obtained that spanned 630.9 cM with an average marker density of 4.57 cM. Further, based on the common loci present between the current map and the previously published chickpea intraspecific map, integration of maps was performed which revealed improvement of marker density and saturation of the region in the vicinity of <it>sfl </it>(double-podding) gene thereby bringing about an advancement of the current map.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An arsenal of 181 new chickpea STMS markers was reported. The developed intraspecific linkage map defined map positions of 138 markers which included 101 new locations.Map integration with a previously published map was carried out which revealed an advanced map with improved density. This study is a major contribution towards providing advanced genomic resources which will facilitate chickpea geneticists and molecular breeders in developing superior genotypes with improved traits.</p

The post-mortem diagnosis of vasocclusive crisis in sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) comprises a group of genetic blood disorders that affect the hemoglobin molecular structure, and in some cases, the association with hemoglobin synthesis. In sickle cell anemia, the replacement of glutamic acid by valine at the 6th position on the beta chain from the N terminal results in the synthesis of the abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S (HbS)

Pathologic lesions in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome an autopsy study of 11 cases from Mumbai, India

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in India has now been prevalent over three decades, and an increasing number of children are being affected with HIV. The spectrum of pathologic lesions in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in India has not been well described. Materials and Methods: A review of systematically conducted autopsies of 11 (10 boys and 1 girl) children with AIDS is presented. Results: The mode of HIV transmission in 6 children was vertical; in one it was blood transfusion and in 4 children route was presumably vertical as these were children of orphanage. The clinical manifestations were failure to thrive; 9 children, persistent gastroenteritis; 8, recurrent fever; 5, bacterial infections; 5, hepatosplenomegaly; 5, candidiasis; 1, scabies; 1, skin rash; 2, tuberculous (TB) meningitis; 1 and paraplegia; in 1 child. The spectrum of pathologic lesions observed were precocious involution in thymus in 3 and dysinvolution in 2 cases. Infectious diseases comprised of TB; 4 cases, cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) 4; bacterial pneumonia and meningitis; 7, and esophageal candidiasis in 2 cases. Dual or multiple infections were observed in 9 (82%) cases; these comprised of two lesions in 2, three lesions in 2, four lesions in 4, and five lesions in 1 case. TB, bacterial pneumonia, meningitis, and CMV infection are the most frequent causes of death in children with AIDS. Vascular lesions showing features of arteriopathy were observed in 5 cases and brain in one case showed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Conclusions: This study provides a better insight into the spectrum of pathologic lesions in children with AIDS in India. TB and CMV infection has been found to be the most prevalent infection in our children

File: OPIM950paper24.doc

The 21 st century is the century marked by computers and technology. There are numerous advantages to the computerization of age-old techniques. One of the mainstream applications is the computerization of the exchange of information betwee

A Post-Mortem Diagnosis of Idiopathic Giant Cell Myocarditis Presenting as Sudden Death: A Report of Two Cases

Giant cell myocarditis is also known as ‘Granulomatous myocarditis’, of which Idiopathic giant cell myocarditis (IGCM) is a rare clinicopathological entity. IGCM is known to cause sudden death in healthy adults in the absence of any symptomatic heart disease. While performing autopsies if there is no apparent cause of death the autopsy surgeon must keep in mind IGCM, especially in healthy adults with an unexplained sudden death. We report here series of two cases of unexpected sudden death in an undiagnosed heart disease and the utility of histopathological diagnosis after autopsy when other ancillary techniques are unavailable