Association of Hypomagnesemia With Diabetic Complications.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to study the association of hypomagnesemia with diabetic complications in type 2 diabetics. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This cross-sectional study, conducted at a Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital, spanned from January to June 2023 and included 100 randomly selected diabetic patients aged 30-70. With institutional board approval and informed consent, the study focused on assessing hypomagnesemia, using a standard level of below 1.6 mg/dL, ensuring participant confidentiality and privacy. Data collected through physical assessments were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0 (Released 2016; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), including descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and paired t-test. RESULTS: A total of 100 diabetic admitted patients were randomly selected for the study ages from 30 to 70 years irrespective of their gender. The mean age of the participants was 53.86±9.74 years. The mean HbA1c of the participants was 8.7±2.32. Forty-eight percent of them had HbA1c less than 8, while 52% had greater than 8 HbA1c. The mean HbA1c in the hypomagnesemia group was 10.8±1.98, while in the normomagnesemia group, it was 8.9±2.2. There were 58.97% of foot ulcers in Group 1, while in Group 2, there were 31.14%. Around 38.46% and 14.75% had neuropathy in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Nephropathy in Group 1 was 28.20%, while in Group 2, it was 11.47%. Around 69.23% of Group 1 had retinopathy and 37.70% had retinopathy in Group 2. Hypertension was 23.07% in Group 1 and 37.70% in Group 2; moreover, 7.69% and 8.19% had coronary diseases in Groups 1 and 2 accordingly. CONCLUSION:  The current study concluded that hypomagnesemia was found to have an association with diabetic complications like neuropathy, nephropathy, foot ulcers, and poor glycemic control as evidenced by HbA1c.

Acute kidney injury in critically ill COVID-19 infected patients requiring dialysis: experience from India and Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) was common in the first two waves of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic in critically ill patients. A high percentage of these patients required renal replacement therapy and died in the hospital. METHODS: The present study examines the clinical presentation, laboratory parameters and therapeutic interventions in critically ill patients with AKI admitted to the ICU in two centres, one each in India and Pakistan. Patient and outcome details of all critically ill COVID 19 patients admitted to the ICU requiring renal replacement therapy were collected. Data was analysed to detect patient variables associated with mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1,714 critically ill patients were admitted to the ICUs of the two centres. Of these 393 (22.9%) had severe acute kidney injury (AKIN stage 3) requiring dialysis. Of them, 60.5% were men and the mean (± SD) age was 58.78 (± 14.4) years. At the time of initiation of dialysis, 346 patients (88%) were oligo-anuric. The most frequent dialysis modality in these patients was intermittent hemodialysis (48.1%) followed by slow low efficiency dialysis (44.5%). Two hundred and six (52.4%) patients died. The mortality was higher among the Indian cohort (68.1%) than the Pakistani cohort (43.4%). Older age (age > 50 years), low serum albumin altered sensorium, need for slower forms of renal replacement therapy and ventilatory support were independently associated with mortality. CONCLUSION: There was a very high mortality in patients with COVID-19 associated AKI undergoing RRT in the ICUs in this cohort from the Indian sub-continent.

Photodamage and Photoprotection: An In vivo Approach Using Noninvasive Probes.

Solar radiations trigger the physiological alteration in skin which progress toward photoaging. Sunscreens are known to be effective against the photodamaging effects of sunlight. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which aging signs caused by real-life sunlight exposure could be avoided by comparing various parameters between sun-exposed and sun-protected skin using noninvasive probes. Female volunteers (n = 11) after getting their consent were provided with marketed sunscreen product to apply onto their skin for 6 months. Measurements were scheduled every 15 days from the baseline reading for 6 months. Cutometer, Mexameter and Corneometer were used for evaluation of facial skin parameters. Clinical evaluations showed the effects of sunlight exposure on different skin parameters by comparing sun-protected and unprotected skin, where Gross elasticity (R2), Net elasticity (R5), Viscoelasticity (R6) and Biological elasticity (R7) showed insignificant results, while Hydration, Melanin and Erythema showed significant results. Sun-exposed skin presented 0.72%, 0.66%, 0.77%, 1.39%, 1.99%, 2.01% and 3.15% changes in R2, R5, R6 and R7, melanin, erythema and hydration, respectively, which were potentially prevented by sunscreen application. Premature aging is inhibited by following photoprotective regimen on routine basis, emphasizing the potential benefit of sunscreen against early aging signs.

Identification of 3'UTR sequence elements and a teloplasm localization motif sufficient for the localization of Hro-twist mRNA to the zygotic animal and vegetal poles.

The early localization of mRNA transcripts is critical in sorting cell fate determinants in the developing embryo. In the glossiphoniid leech, Helobdella robusta, maternal mRNAs, such as Hro-twist, localize to the zygotic teloplasm. Ten seven nucleotide repeat elements (AAUAAUA) called ARE2 and a predicted secondary structural motif, called teloplasm localization motif (TLM), are present in the 3'UTR of Hro-twist mRNA. We used site-directed mutagenesis, deletions, and microinjection of labeled, exogenous transcripts to determine if ARE2 elements, and the TLM, play a role in Hro-twist mRNA localization. Deleting the poly-A tail and the cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE) had no effect on Hro-twist mRNA localization. Site-directed mutagenesis of nucleotides that altered ARE2 element sequences or the TLM suggest that the ARE2 elements and the TLM are important for Hro-twist mRNA localization to the teloplasm of pre-cleavage zygotes. Hro-Twist protein expression data suggest that the localization of Hro-twist transcripts in zygotes and stage two embryos is not involved in ensuring mesoderm specification, as Hro-Twist protein is expressed uniformly in most cells before gastrulation. Our data may support a shared molecular mechanism for leech transcripts that localize to the teloplasm.