Indian J Med Res
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One of the most common problems experienced by breast cancer survivors (BCSs) is fatigue. There has been little research about the status of hormones in breast cancer patients as an aetiology of cancer-related fatigue (CRF). Hence, a pilot study was conducted to assess the levels of hormones such as thyroid, cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), oestrogen and progesterone in BCSs with fatigue. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that the hormonal milieu, especially thyroid hormone and DHEAS may have a role in CRF experienced by BCSs and needs further exploration.
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Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignancies affecting the head-and-neck region, regional lymph nodes being an important prognostication factor dictating the survival rate. Despite an array of modalities used, clinically, radiographically and routine histopathologically, the detection of micro-metastasis (2-3 mm tumour cell deposits) in the lymph nodes often escapes identification. The presence of few of these tumour epithelial cells in the lymph nodes drastically increases mortality and alters treatment plan. Hence, the identification of these cells is of major prognostic significance for a patient. Thus, the present study was aimed to evaluate and detect the efficacy of the immunohistochemical (IHC) marker [cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3] over routine Hematoxylin & eosin (H & E) staining in detecting micro-metastasis in the lymph nodes of OSCC cases. ⋯ This study was undertaken to check the efficacy of IHC (CK cocktail AE1/AE3) in the detection of micro-metastasis in lymph nodes that are found to be negative in routine H&E stained sections. The findings of this study suggest that the IHC marker AE1/AE3 did not prove to be useful to detect micro-metastasis in this study population.
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Striatin is a multi-domain scaffolding protein essential for activating endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). However, its role in pre-eclampsia remains use explored. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the association between striatin and eNOS in regulating nitric oxide (NO) production in the placenta of women with and without pre-eclampsia. ⋯ Our results show for the first time that decreased striatin expression was associated with decreased peNOS protein expression in the placental tissue of pre-eclamptic women. Interestingly, no significant difference was found in blood striatin or NO levels between controls and cases. Thus, therapies that improve placental striatin expression are attractive possibilities, both for prevention as well as treatment of endothelial dysfunction in pre-eclampsia.
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Postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device (PPIUCD) is well accepted and recommended for contraception. However, anxiety at the time of delivery may restrict the acceptance of a PPIUCD for its immediate insertion. So far there is limited evidence to conclude anything concrete on the association between the expulsion rates and the timing of insertion following a vaginal delivery. Thus, this study was undertaken to compare the expulsion rates in immediate and early insertions and their safety and complications. ⋯ In the present study PPIUCD was found to be safe with overall expulsion in 4.3 per cent. It was marginally, though not significantly, higher in the immediate group.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the death rate was reportedly 5-8 fold lower in India which is densely populated as compared to less populated western countries. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dietary habits were associated with the variations in COVID-19 severity and deaths between western and Indian population at the nutrigenomics level. ⋯ Our results suggest that Indian food components suppress cytokine storm and various other severity related pathways of COVID-19 and may have a role in lowering severity and death rates from COVID-19 in India as compared to western populations. However, large multi-centered case-control studies are required to support our current findings.