Search

Aim: Intestinal tuberculosis (ITb) and Crohn's disease (CD) mimic each other often leading to misdiagnosis. We evaluated the difference between ITb and CD using the extent of apoptosis in peripheral blood lymphocytes., Methods: CD4 + cells as a percentage of the lymphocytes and viable, dead, total apoptotic, early apoptotic, and late apoptotic CD4 + cells were assessed in the peripheral blood by flow cytometry in healthy controls and patients with confirmed active ITb and CD prior to initiating therapy. Early apoptotic and total apoptotic cells were further expressed as a proportion of the percentage of CD4 + cells., Results: The percentages of CD4 + cells (6.5 [3.0, 8.7] vs. 13.40 [10.15, 13.40]; p < 0.001), total apoptotic cells (0.13 [0.0, 0.22] vs. 0.08 [0.0, 0.21]; p = 0.045), early apoptotic (1.24 [0.55, 2.54] vs. 0.71 [0.40, 1.30]; p = 0.037), and the proportion of the latter two parameters (17.18 [5.61, 57.33] vs. 4.84 [2.71, 9.83]; p-value 0.039) and (17.18 [7.4, 67.50] vs. 5.51 [3.10, 11.03]; p-value 0.036) were significantly different between patients with ITb and CD. The best sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the diagnosis of ITb were seen with the CD4 + cell percentage (82.6%, 82.4%, 86.4%, 77.8%, respectively) and the proportion of early apoptotic cells (73.9%, 70.6%, 77.3%, 66.7%, respectively)., Conclusion: CD4 + cells as a percentage of peripheral blood lymphocytes and the proportion of early apoptotic CD4 + cells show promise to diagnostic differentiation between ITb and CD.

Background and Objectives: Preeclampsia is a challenging disease of human pregnancy that affects the mother and her foetus. It is a common obstetric syndrome of undefined aetiology affecting 7-10% of pregnant women. This study aimed to investigate the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, malondialdehyde levels, uric acid, vitamin C, and vitamin E levels in serum and saliva of preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women with and without periodontitis., Methods: Sixty pregnant women, divided into four groups, preeclamptic women with and without periodontitis, and normotensive pregnant women with and without periodontitis, were recruited between 26 and 36 weeks of gestation from the Outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, KS Hedge Hospital, Mangalore. Pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, and gingival index were measured in all subjects. Saliva and serum levels of TAC, SOD, and GPx activities, malondialdehyde levels, vitamin C, vitamin E, uric acid were determined using spectrophotometer., Results: Comparison of sociodemographic variables among the study groups showed no significant differences. Salivary malondialdehyde levels were highest ( p  = 0.025), levels of antioxidants vitamin C ( p  = 0.027) and uric acid ( p  = 0.013) being significantly lower in preeclamptic women with periodontitis. This group also had significantly lower serum levels of vitamin C ( p  = 0.041) and SOD ( p  = 0.004)., Conclusions: The results of our study show that periodontal disease may be potential risk factor for severity, progression, and even initiation of preeclampsia because of reduced antioxidant capacity or increased oxidative stress., Competing Interests: Compliance with Ethical StandardsThere are no other conflict of interest for the P.I. Amitha Ramesh, Prasanna Kumar Shetty, Priyanka Agumbe declare that they have no conflict of interest.All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008(5).Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Aim: To assess the outcomes of drug therapy (DT) followed by pancreatic endotherapy for continuing painful episodes in recurrent acute pancreatitis., Methods: DT comprised of pancreatic enzymes and anti-oxidants failing which, endotherapy (ET; pancreatic sphincterotomy and stent placement) was done. The frequency of pain, its visual analogue score (VAS), quality of life (QoL), serum C peptide and faecal elastase were compared between baseline and after 1 year of follow up in all patients and in the two subgroups on DT and ET. Response was defined as at least 50% reduction in the severity of pain to below a score of 5., Results: Of the thirty nine patients analysed, 21 (53.9%) responded to DT and 18 (46.1%) underwent ET. The VAS for pain (7.0 ± 2.0 vs 1.3 ± 2.5, P < 0.001) and the number of days with pain per month decreased [1.0 (1.0, 2.0) vs 1.0 (0.0, 1.0), P < 0.001], and the QoL scores [55.0 (44.0, 66.0) vs 38.0 (32.00, 51.00), P < 0.01] improved significantly during follow up. Similar significant improvements were seen in patients in the subgroups of DT and ET except for QoL in ET. The serum C-peptide ( P = 0.001) and FE ( P < 0.001) levels improved significantly in the entire group and in the two subgroups of patients except for the C peptide levels in patients on DT., Conclusion: A standardised protocol of DT, followed by ET decreased the intensity and frequency of pain in recurrent acute pancreatitis, enhanced QoL and improved pancreatic function., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Many recent studies have evaluated the relation between periodontitis and pregnancy complications. This study aimed to examine the association between preeclampsia and periodontitis in Indian women. A total of 130 pregnant women were enrolled between 26-32 weeks of gestation. Oral health examinations were performed at recruitment and again within 48 hours of delivery to determine the presence and/or progression of periodontitis in all subjects. Pocket depth, clinical attachment loss (CAL), and gingival index were measured in all subjects. There was significant (p < 0.05) difference between the preeclampsia and normotensive groups in the distribution of periodontitis both at recruitment and after delivery. Multiple logistic regression demonstrated that periodontitis both at enrolment (OR = 5.78, 95% CI 2.41-13.89) as well as within 48 hours of delivery (OR = 20.15, 95% CI 4.55-89.29), may be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.