Indian J Med Res
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Intermittent cholera outbreaks are major problem in many of the states of India. It is essential to identify cholera at the earliest for timely mobilization of public health responses and to abort the outbreaks. The present study was a part of a diarrhoeal outbreak investigation in Secunderabad, India, during May 2009 where the usefulness of Crystal VC rapid dipstick kit was assessed for detecting the aetiologic agent of the outbreak. ⋯ Crystal VC kit had the potential to identify cholera cases in 10 min in field conditions without having good laboratory support. Therefore, dipstick kit may be considered as cholera detecting tool in diarrhoeal outbreak investigations. Specimens from clinically typical cholera cases, if negative by dipstick, should be reanalyzed by culture based methods.
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Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycaemia. Several natural products have been isolated and identified to restore the complications of diabetes. Spirulina maxima is naturally occurring fresh water cyanobacterium, enriched with proteins and essential nutrients. The aim of the study was to determine whether S. maxima could serve as a therapeutic agent to correct metabolic abnormalities induced by excessive fructose administration in Wistar rats. ⋯ The present findings showed that S. maxima exhibited anti-hyperglycaemic, anti-hyperlipidaemic and hepatoprotective activity in rats fed with fructose. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms.
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Shigellosis is known to be a major cause of acute childhood diarrhoea in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India. Rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance warrants continuous monitoring of sensitivity pattern of bacterial isolates. We report here the salient findings of an ongoing study on shigellosis in Andaman Islands, India, with regards to change in drug resistance pattern during the past one decade. ⋯ The frequency of resistance among Shigella isolates has increased substantially between 2000-2002 and 2006-2009 and the spectrum of resistance has widened. At present, the option for antimicrobial therapy in shigellosis in Andaman is limited to a small number of drugs. Continuous local monitoring of resistance patterns is necessary for the appropriate selection of empirical antimicrobial therapy.
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Chapekar established a model of ovarian tumourigenesis in mice by splenic transplantation of ovaries, resulting in sustained luteinizing hormone (LH) levels because of absence of feedback inhibition. There is increasing evidence of the differential response to LH or hCG under various experimental conditions. The effect of sustained hormonal stimulation in long term cultures is sparsely investigated. The study is aimed to determine the role of hCG and LH stress on caprine ovarian granulosa cells and their downstream signaling in short and long term cultures. ⋯ As pERK1/2 promotes cellular proliferation, activation of ERK1/2 in LH treated cultures may be responsible for sustained growth. Prolonged LH treatment promoted growth and proliferation in caprine ovarian granulosa cells whereas prolonged exposure to hCG led to elevated levels of cAMP and decreased the rate of proliferation. Defining the signals and second messengers that act as survival or apoptotic mediators may help in elucidation of the mechanisms controlling proliferation or programmed cell death in granulosa cells.