Indian J Med Res
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A total of 237 Nicobarese subjects who had received hepatitis B vaccination as part of mass vaccination project during 2000-2001 were screened for anti-HBsAg titres by quantitative ELISA five years after vaccination. ⋯ Seroprotection rate reached at the maximum one month after the third dose of HBV vaccine. Although about 15 per cent of the vaccinated persons lost seroprotection by the end of the third year, no further loss in seroprotection was observed between the third year and the fifth year.
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Wide variability in serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels exists in malignant conditions of the prostate. PSA is expressed in normal range in 20 to 25 per cent of prostate cancer cases even in presence of high grade Gleason score. This study was aimed to assess the influence of genetic variants exhibited by PSA and androgen receptor (AR) genes towards the variable expression of PSA in prostate cancer. ⋯ The genetic variants exhibited by PSA gene at positions -3845G/A and -158G/A may be accountable towards wide variability of serum PSA levels in prostate cancer. Also the preferential binding of G and A alleles at these polymorphic sites along with AR long and short CAG repeats may contribute towards PSA expression.
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Classical Article
Presence of depression and its risk factors in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Although depression is a significant co-morbid condition in chronic illnesses, little is known about the prevalence or risk factors for depressive symptoms in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in India. This study was undertaken to investigate the presence and risk factors of depression in the COPD patients attending a tertiary care health facility in north India. ⋯ One fifth of the patients with COPD had severe symptoms of related to depression, which was especially higher with severity of COPD. Hence, the patients with COPD should focus on management of these two conditions. Further, future studies should be conducted to assess the role of depression management and timely treatment of it in patients with COPD.
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Emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has led to the search for alternative agents for infections control. Natural products have been a good alternative to present antibiotics. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of cranberry in attenuation of virulence of P. aeruginosa in experimental urinary tract infection (UTI) in mouse model. Efforts were also directed to explore the action of cranberry towards virulence of P. aeruginosa through quorum sensing (QS) inhibition. ⋯ The findings of the present study indicated that cranberry inhibited QS and hence elaboration of virulence factors of P. aeruginosa. It also affected the adherence ability of this pathogen. This approach can lead to the discovery of new category of safe anti-bacterial drugs from dietary sources such as cranberry with reduced toxicity without the risk of antibiotic resistance.