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Diagnosis of Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) often requires time-consuming and/or expensive tests. Cryohemolysis test (CHT) is a simple and easy to perform test with high predictive value for HS diagnosis. In this prospective study, we evaluated the diagnostic utility of CHT for the diagnosis of HS. We included 60 suspected HS patients, 18 patients with Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and 120 healthy controls. Among the 60 suspected cases, there were 36 HS cases and 24 with other hemolytic anemias. The mean CHT (%) ± SD for controls, AIHA, other hemolytic anemias, and HS was 6.63 ± 2.79, 6.79 ± 4.36, 6.61 ± 2.76 and 26.7 ± 8.9, respectively. The CHT % was significantly higher in HS group when compared to controls ( p  =  < 0.0001), AIHA ( p  =  < 0.0001) and other hemolytic anemia groups ( p  =  < 0.0001). At a CHT cut off of > 18.3%, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for diagnosis of HS in our study were 97.1%, 94.4%, 97.2% and 90.3%, respectively. CHT is a simple and sensitive test for the diagnosis of HS but remains underutilized. The addition of CHT in the diagnostic workup of HS will be very useful, especially in a resource limited setting., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors have no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Indian Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion 2022.)

Injuries to the parotid duct and parenchyma resulting in swelling in the cheek region commonly present in maxillofacial practice. Sialocele is a discrete collection of saliva in a subcutaneous cavity that can be iatrogenic, idiopathic or the result of post-traumatic injuries to the duct or parenchyma, presenting as a salivary pseudocyst or retention cyst. We present an unusual case of parotid sialocele following surgery for sialolithiasis which presented with progressive painless swelling in the preauricular region of 9 months duration. Treatment included surgical exploration under local anaesthesia and draining the cavity by keeping the opening patent using an infant feeding tube., (2014 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.)

To evaluate radiation protection offered by the extract of Podophyllum hexandrum, expression of various cytoprotective proteins was studied using liver of Swiss albino Strain 'A' male mouse by immunoblotting. Induction of heat-shock factor-1 (HSF-1), led to up-regulation of heat-shock protein-70 (HSP-70) upon P. hexandrum (200mg/kg b. wt.; i.p. 50% ethanolic extract) treatment 2h before irradiation (10Gy) as compared to sham-irradiated control. Translocation of free nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) from cytoplasm to nucleus was found to be inhibited upon P. hexandrum treatment. An increase in Bcl-2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) along with a decrease in p53, caspase-3, apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) expression was observed in the mice treated with P. hexandrum. The present study indicated that P. hexandrum extract provides protection from radiation by modulation of expression of the proteins associated with apoptosis.

Whole extract of rhizomes of Podophyllum hexandrum has been reported earlier by our group to render whole-body radioprotection. High-altitude P. hexandrum (HAPH) was therefore fractionated using solvents of varying polarity (non-polar to polar) and the different fractions were designated as, n-hexane (HE), chloroform (CE), alcohol (AE), hydro-alcohol (HA) and water (WE). The total polyphenolic content (mg% of quercetin) was determined spectrophotometrically, while. The major constituents present in each fraction were identified and characterized using LC-APCI/MS/MS. In vitro screening of the individual fractions, rich in polyphenols and lignans, revealed several bioactivities of direct relevance to radioprotection e.g. metal-chelation activity, antioxidant activity, DNA protection, inhibition of radiation (250 Gy) and iron/ascorbate-induced lipid peroxidation (LPO). CE exhibited maximum protection to plasmid (pBR322) DNA in the plasmid relaxation assay (68.09% of SC form retention). It also showed maximal metal chelation activity (41.59%), evaluated using 2,2'-bipyridyl assay, followed by AE (31.25%), which exhibited maximum antioxidant potential (lowest absorption unit value: 0.0389 +/- 0.00717) in the reducing power assay. AE also maximally inhibited iron/ascorbate-induced and radiation-induced LPO (99.76 and 92.249%, respectively, at 2000 microg/ml) in mouse liver homogenate. Under conditions of combined stress (radiation (250 Gy) + iron/ascorbate), at a concentration of 2000 microg/ml, HA exhibited higher percentage of inhibition (93.05%) of LPO activity. HA was found to be effective in significantly (p < 0.05) lowering LPO activity over a wide range of concentrations as compared to AE. The present comparative study indicated that alcoholic (AE) and hydro-alcoholic (HA) fractions are the most promising fractions, which can effectively tackle radiation-induced oxidative stress.

The present study reports the radioprotective properties of a hydro-alcoholic rhizome extract of Rhodiola imbricata (code named REC-7004), a plant native to the high-altitude Himalayas. The radioprotective effect, along with its relevant superoxide ion scavenging, metal chelation, antioxidant, anti-lipid peroxidation and anti-hemolytic activities was evaluated under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Chemical analysis showed the presence of high content of polyphenolics (0.971 +/- 0.01 mg% of quercetin). Absorption spectra analysis revealed constituents that absorb in the range of 220-290 nm, while high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis confirmed the presence of four major peaks with retention times of 4.780, 5.767, 6.397 and 7.577 min. REC-7004 was found to lower lipid oxidation significantly (p < 0.05) at concentrations viz., 8 and 80 microg/ml respectively as compared to reduced glutathione, although the optimally protective dose was 80 microg/ml, which showed 59.5% inhibition of induction of linoleic acid degradation within first 24 h. The metal chelation activity of REC-7004 was found to increase concomitantly from 1 to 50 microg/ml. REC-7004 (10-50 microg/ml) exhibited significant metal chelation activity (p < 0.05), as compared to control, and maximum percentage inhibition (30%) of formation of iron-2,2'-bi-pyridyl complex was observed at 50 microg/ml, which correlated well with quercetin (34.9%), taken as standard. The reducing power of REC-7004 increased in a dose-dependent manner. The absorption unit value of REC-7004 was significantly lower (0.0183 +/- 0.0033) as compared to butylated hydroxy toluene, a standard antioxidant (0.230 +/- 0.091), confirming its high reducing ability. Superoxide ion scavenging ability of REC-7004 exhibited a dose-dependent increase (1-100 microg/ml) and was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of quercetin at lower concentrations (1-10 microg/ml), while at 100 microg/ml, both quercetin and REC-7004 scavenged over 90% superoxide anions. MTT assay in U87 cell line revealed an increase in percent survival of cells at doses between 25 and 125 microg/ml in case of drug + radiation group. In vivo evaluation of radio-protective efficacy in mice revealed that intraperitoneal administration of REC-7004 (maximally effective dose: 400 mg/kg b.w.) 30 min prior to lethal (10 Gy) total-body gamma-irradiation rendered 83.3% survival. The ability of REC-7004 to inhibit lipid peroxidation induced by iron/ascorbate, radiation (250 Gy) and their combination [i.e., iron/ascorbate and radiation (250 Gy)], was also investigated and was found to decrease in a dose-dependent manner (0.05-2 mg/ml). The maximum percent inhibition of formation of MDA-TBA complex at 2 mg/ml in case of iron/ascorbate, radiation (250 Gy) and both i.e., iron/ascorbate with radiation (250 Gy) was 53.78, 63.07, and 51.76% respectively and were found to be comparable to that of quercetin. REC-7004 (1 microg/ml) also exhibited significant anti-hemolytic capacity by preventing radiation-induced membrane degeneration of human erythrocytes. In conclusion, Rhodiola renders in vitro and in vivo radioprotection via multifarious mechanisms that act in a synergistic manner.