Antioxidant, Thrombolytic, and Neuropharmacological Studies on Methanol Extract of Macaranga Indica Wight Leaves

The current study aimed to assess the phytochemical profile of Macaranga indica (MI) leaves, as well as their antioxidant, thrombolytic, and neuropharmacological activities. Methanol extract from Macaranga indica (MEMI) Wight leaves was used to investigate these activities to validate the therapeutic profile using a well-established method. GraphPad Prism, version 9.4.1 was used to analyze the experimental results. In vitro, the antioxidant DPPH free radical scavenging assay yielded an IC50 value of 9.58 µg/ml. Reducing power capacity showed an increase in absorbance with the increase of different concentrations. Quantitative analyses of phytochemical elicit the presence of phenol (777±12.13), flavonoid (99.94±0.62), flavonol (244±2.53), total antioxidant (184.48±1.92) mg/g in the dry extract. In vitro thrombolytic activity showed a highly statistically significant (P < 0.0001) clot lysis (42.66±3.19%). In vivo antidepressant, anxiolytic, and sedative activities evaluated the statistically significant (P < 0.001 at 200 mg/kg and P < 0.0001 at 400 mg/kg) by decreasing immobility time of forced swimming test, (P < 0.0001) by reducing anxiety of elevated plus maze and hole board test and (P = 0.0106) mice movement were gradually decreasing of hole cross test. These findings indicate that the crude extract of MEMI leaves has significant antioxidant, thrombolytic, and neuropharmacological properties.

Clinical profile of infective endocarditis: a single centre experience

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is an illness which still has a high rate of morbidity and mortality despite the availability of improved diagnostic and treatment amenities in the developing world. With an increasing number of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing corrective treatments, improved pediatric intensive care, better antimicrobial treatments, and a relative decrease in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) over the years, the epidemiology of pediatric IE in Bangladesh may be undergoing a change. The present study aims to describe the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory profile and outcome of IE among selected patients.Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 35 patient of IE from January 2020 to December 2021, who were admitted in pediatric cardiology department, Bangladesh Shishu hospital and institute were enrolled in this study which was diagnosed according to modified Duke criteria.Results: There were 35 children diagnosed with IE during this period. The mean age at presentation was 84 months (range: 2-216 months). CHD (n=28/35, 80%) was the most common predisposing condition. A total of 20 % (7/35) patients had no preexisting structural heart disease. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common etiological agent. Blood culture positive IE was (n=18, 51.4%), blood culture-negative IE was (n=17, 48.6 %). Six patients (17.1%) died during the hospital stay.Conclusions: Increasingly younger children are being diagnosed with IE in Bangladesh and a significant number of them are in the setting of a structurally normal heart.

Frequency and pattern of congenital heart defects among admitted patient in a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the commonest of all congenital lesions accounting for nearly 28% of all congenital malformations that have significant impact on morbidity, mortality and heath care cost in children. The aim of study was to determine the pattern of distribution of CHD and the age at which initial diagnosis of CHD was made among children admitted under paediatric cardiology department, Bangladesh Shishu hospital and institute. Methods: This is a descriptive and prospective hospital-based study conducted in the pediatric cardiology department, Bangladesh Shishu hospital and institute. This study included all the patients admitted during January-June 2022 in pediatric cardiology department having confirmed diagnosis of CHD on basis of echocardiographic report. The collected data was entered and analyzed by using statistical package for social sciences v 24.0. Results: Out of 337 patient, 175 patient were male (51.9%) and 162 female (48.1%) with male female ratio of 1.08:1. Total 219 cases (64.9%) were acyanotic CHD and 118 (35.1%) were cyanotic congenital heart lesions. In acyanotic CHD ventricular septal defects (VSDs) constitute 38.8% followed by AV canal defect 6.7%, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) 3.6%. In cyanotic CHD tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) was the commonest lesion accounted for 28 (8.3%) followed by d-transposition of great arteries 16 (4.7%), pulmonary atresia 15 (4.5%), total anomalous pulmonary venous circulation TAPVC 11 (3.3%), tricuspid atresia 9 (2.7%) and DORV, VSD, PS 10 (2.9%). The commonest combination was VSD with ASD in 15 cases (4.5%). Most of the patient was diagnosed in 1st year of age 280 (83.1%) Conclusions: CHD are very common in our setup and early detection of CHD is increasing. Overall burden of CHD is also increasing therefore a proper population-based study on a large scale is needed to estimate the prevalence accurately.

Prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in urban population of Bangladesh.

We investigated the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and impaired fasting glycemia (IFG) and their risk factors in the urban population of Bangladesh. The study was carried out in Dhaka City Corporation with a population of 99,12,908 in 20,89,336 households distributed in 95 wards. Using a multistage cluster sampling, we investigated 5265 eligible participants of 20 age years and above for height, weight, waist-girth, hip-girth, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. We used WHO diagnostic criteria of 1999. The overall prevalence of T2DM was 11.2% and IFG was 5.9%. The age-standardized prevalence of T2DM (95% CI) was 10.5% (9.37-11.13) and IFG was 5.2% (4.51-5.84). Compared with the slum dwellers, the non-slum dwellers had significantly higher prevalence of both T2DM (7.4 vs. 13.4%, p<0.001) and IFG (4.1 vs. 7.4%, p<0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that family history of diabetes, higher family income, sedentary lifestyle and higher quartiles of age, BMI and WHR were significantly related to diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes in the urban population has increased alarmingly in recent years. Older age, obesity, higher income, family history of diabetes and reduced physical activity were proved to be the significant risk factors for diabetes and IFG.

Oyster mushroom reduced blood glucose and cholesterol in diabetic subjects.

It has been postulated that mushroom has beneficial effect of lowering blood glucose and cholesterol in diabetic subjects. The literature so far searched and found that there was no published data in this regard. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of reducing blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides in diabetic patients. Additionally, this study addressed whether there was any hepatic and renal toxicity of mushroom. This clinical investigation was conducted in BIRDEM hospital from July 2005 to January 2006. Eighty-nine subjects were recruited. Baseline investigations included height, weight, blood pressure (SBP, DBP), plasma glucose for fasting (FPG) and 2-h after-breakfast (2hPG), total cholesterol (T-chol), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c). Twenty- four days' study constitutes 7-days mushroom, 7-days no mushroom and then 7-days mushroom. Investigations were done at the start and each after every 7-days. Thirty subjects (M / F = 17 / 13) followed to ensure full compliance with the designed protocol for 24 days. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 46.3 (10) years. Mushroom significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, p<0.01; DBP, p<0.05). It also lowered both plasma glucose significantly (FPG & 2-hPG, p<0.001). Mushroom also lowered total cholesterol and TG significantly; whereas, there was no significant change in weight and HDL-c. When mushroom was withdrawn, there were significant increases of DBP, FPG, 2hPG, T-cholesterol and TG, whereas, no significant change was observed in weight, SBP and HDL-c. Restarting mushroom there was again significant reduction of blood glucose, TG and cholesterol. We conclude that mushroom significantly reduced blood glucose, blood pressure, TG and cholesterol of diabetic subjects without any deleterious effect on liver and kidney. The effect of mushroom may be investigated in a large sample for a longer duration to evaluate its efficacy and toxicity.

Fasting cut-offs in determining the prevalence of diabetes and intermediate glucose abnormality in a non-obese population.

The study was undertaken to compare the effect of ADA and WHO criteria for screening of diabetes mellitus (DM) and intermediate glucose abnormality (Impaired fasting glucose/Impaired glucose tolerance-IFG/IGT) and to explore an acceptable fasting cut-off in a population-based study. Ten suburb villages with a population of 11,895 were selected purposively. Of the total 6235 eligible (> or = 20y) subjects, 4144 volunteered. We took height, weight, hip- and waist-girth, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose (FBG). All participants were classified into Group-1 (Gr-1: n=453) and Group-2 (Gr-2: n=3691), based on FBG above and below 5.4 mmol/l, respectively. All from Gr-1 and 610 randomized subjects from Gr-2 were investigated for oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), HbA1c and lipids. The mean (SD) of age, body mass index (BMI) and FBG of all participants was 37.6 (15.2) y, 19.4 (2.9), and 4.7 (0.9) mmol/l, respectively. The prevalence of diabetes and IFG/IGT using American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria were compared with WHO criteria separately in Gr-1 and Gr-2. For group-1, ADA criteria could diagnose 5.9% as diabetes and 2.1% as IFG, whereas, WHO criteria diagnosed 11.5% diabetes and 19% IGT. Likewise, in Gr-2, ADA detected much less than WHO criteria (DM: 0.3 vs. 2.3%; IFG/IGT 1.0 vs. 14.6%). We compared fasting and 2 hours post-load glucose (2-hBG) values according to percentiles. We found that 11.1 of 2-hBG corresponded with a fasting value that lies between 90 to 95th percentile, equivalent to 5.1-5.7 mmol/l. Using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, we determined the cut-offs 4.6 - 5.4 mmol/l for IFG and > or = 5.5 for diabetes. Taking age and BMI into account the kappa agreements were better between the estimated cut-offs and the given 2-hBG values. The ADA cut-offs were found ineffective for screening. We proposed the modified fasting cut-offs for screening IFG and diabetes among the non-obese population.

Waist-to-height ratio is a better obesity index than body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio for predicting diabetes, hypertension and lipidemia.

Body mass index (BMI, kg/m.sq) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are widely used as obesity indices for diabetes and cardiovascular risks. Lower adult height was related to diabetes and stroke. Waist-girth was proved important for visceral obesity. Incorporating waist-girth and height as waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), we reported earlier--"Waist-to-height ratio is an important predictor of hypertension and diabetes". We readdressed this index in a larger sample with two-sample OGTT and lipid profiles. In a cluster sampling of 16,818 rural inhabitants, considering age > or = 20 y, 5713 subjects were found eligible. Of them, 4923 (M/F=2321/2602) volunteered for height, weight, blood pressure, waist-girth and hip-girth. Fasting venous blood (5 ml) was drawn for plasma glucose, total cholesterol (T-chol), Triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotien (HDL-c). Overall, 1565 participants were undertaken for OGTT. The mean (SD) values of BMI, WHR and WHtR for subjects with diabetes and hypertension were significantly higher in either sex. The level significance was highest for WHtR. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension increased significantly with higher quintiles of BMI, WHR and WHtR (chi sq values were largest in WHtR for both events). Partial correlation coefficients, controlling for age and sex, showed that BMI, WHR and WHtR significantly correlated with systolic and diastolic BP, FBG, T-chol and TG. In the entire correlation matrix, the 'r' values were the highest for WHtR. Taking diabetes and hypertension as dependent variables, logistic regression also showed the highest odds ratio in higher WHtR than BMI and WHR. We conclude that WHtR was proved again a valuable obesity index for predicting diabetes, hypertension and lipidemia.

Off-pump versus on-pump CABG: a comparison.

BACKGROUND: The off-pump technique reduces the complications of coronary artery bypass grafting performed with extracorporeal circulatory assistance. This hypothesis was tested by analyzing the results of 53 patients operated with and 48 without cardiopulmonary bypass by a single surgeon (ARR) from February 2001 to September 2001. METHODS AND RESULTS: The angiograms of all the patients scheduled for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting were carefully analyzed and a plan for revascularization made. After sternotomy and inspection of the vessels, a decision was taken to perform the surgery on- or off-pump. All the demographic, operative and postoperative data were prospectively collected and analyzed statistically. Major end-points, such as mortality, perioperative infarction and organ dysfunction, were not different between the two techniques. The incidence of renal and pulmonary dysfunction was similar. There were no neurological problems in either group. In contrast to many reports. bleeding complications and the use of blood products were the same in both groups (1.6+/-2.3 in the on-pump group and 0.8+/-1.7 in off-pump group: p=0.06). The only important difference between the two groups was the incidence of low cardiac output and use of inotropes, being more common in the on-pump group. CONCLUSIONS: Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting is as safe as that done on-pump. The claims of a lower incidence of organ dysfunction and blood product use in the off-pump group were not substantiated in this study. The incidence of low cardiac output and use of inotropes was significantly lower in the off-pump group.

Prevalence of hypertension in Bangladesh: effect of socioeconomic risk factor on difference between rural and urban community.

Several studies reported that migrant Bangladeshis had greater risk for hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease compared with the Europeans and other migrant South Asians. So far, there has been no such study among the native population. This paper reports the hypertension prevalence and related risks among native Bangladeshis. A total of 2,361 subjects over 20 years of age were investigated. Overall prevalence rates of systolic and diastolic hypertension in the study population were 14.4 and 9.1 percent respectively. The prevalence of systolic hypertension was significantly higher in rural than in urban participants (P < 0.001). Compared with the poor the rich class had significantly higher prevalence of both systolic (P = 0.002) and diastolic (P = 0.041) hypertension. With increase of age, body mass index (BMI) and blood glucose level were significantly related to hypertension (P < 0.0001); whereas the trend for increasing waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), adjusting for social class, was not significant. Regression analysis showed that age, BMI, rural area and rich class were the strong predictors for hypertension. This study explored that hypertension prevalence in the native Bangladeshis is almost comparable to that of other Asian populations and South Asian migrants.

Surgical repair of left ventricular aneurysms: a comparative evaluation of linear versus Dor's repair.

BACKGROUND: Resection and linear repair of aneurysms of the left ventricle alter its geometry and thereby reduce its performance over the long term. Hence, Dor's circular patch repair was advocated to maintain the geometry of the left ventricle. However, the superiority of this procedure over linear repair is debatable. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed 95 cases of left ventricular aneurysm repair--28 cases by Dor's procedure and 67 by linear repair. The age group, symptoms, risk-factor profile and severity of coronary artery disease were comparable in both the groups, but the cardiopulmonary bypass and mean aortic cross-clamp time were longer in those treated with Dor's procedure. The left internal mammary artery could be grafted to the left anterior descending artery or diagonal branch in 13 cases in the group undergoing Dor's procedure (group I) versus 14 cases in the group undergoing linear repair (group II). There was no mortality in group I while there were 7 deaths in group II. Patients in group I were followed up for up to 2 years and those in group II for up to 13 years. During follow-up, 16/2 8 remained in NYHA functional class I or II in group I versus 24/67 in group II. The mean preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was 34.9% in group I which improved to 39.7% during follow-up. In group II, the mean preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was 37.2% which improved to 41.5% during follow-up. This difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In our retrospective study, we did not observe any superiority of Dor's repair over linear repair for left ventricular aneurysm as regards NYHA functional class and left ventricular ejection fraction. However, follow-up with Dor's repair was short (up to 2 years). Hence, no definite conclusions can be drawn.

Genetic background of diabetic and nondiabetic sibs in young Bangladeshis.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the young is higher in Bangladesh like other Asian developing nations. Albeit, undernutrition has been shown to be associated with diabetes in the young, not all such individuals are diabetic. Diabetes Mellitus is a multigenic disease. In IDDM, DR3/4 heterozygotes were shown to have a greatly increased risk of developing the disease, suggesting the concept of genetic factor(s) being involved in the development of diabetes. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the distribution of HLA class II alleles (DRB) and to identify the HLA associated risk for developing diabetes mellitus in the young Bangladeshis. A total of fifty individuals were investigated. Half of them (n=25) were diabetic patients, registered in BIRDEM and half the participants were their non-diabetic sibs. A genomic DNA PCR and Enzyme Linked Probe Hybridization Assay (ELPHA, Bio-test, Germany) was used to determine HLA class II alleles (DRB1, DRB 3, 4, 5) by in vitro amplification of DRB gene. Among all the sero-equivalent antigens found in the study subjects, the prevalence of DR15 (DR2) was overrepresented, both in the diabetic subjects and in their non-diabetic sibs. Moreover, compared with the non-diabetic group the diabetic patients showed higher frequency of DR15 alleles (39 and 25%) though the difference was not significant (chisq. 1.7, p>0.05). Next to DR15, DR4 was the most prevalent HLA-DRB gene found in the study population. Interestingly, the frequency of DR4 was higher in the diabetic than in the non-diabetic group (20 vs. 14%). The study showed that the DR15 and DR4 were the most prevalent in the study population. Moreover, DR7 though not very significant, was higher in non-diabetic compared to their diabetic sibs. Comparison between the diabetic and non-diabetic sibs could have been interesting and significant but we could not confirm our findings, possibly, due to small sample size. A study in a larger paired sample of unrelated population is also needed to substantiate our findings, and also to prove the susceptibility or resistant haplotype in the young diabetic subjects.

Urinary tract infection by shigella sonnei

A rare case of urinary tract infection caused by Shigella sonnei is described in a renal transplant recipient adult female on immuno-suppressive therapy. The patient improved and urine cultures became negative after a course of intravenous cefotaxime, given in doses of 1 gm 8 hourly for seven days. The role of S.sonnei in extra-intestinal infections is reviewed

Chemotherapy of acute myeloblastic leukaemia with DAM regimen.

32 patients of denovo-ANLL were treated with Doxorubicin, Ara-C and 6-Mercaptopurine (DAM) regimen. Remission induction was instituted with 1-3 cycles of DAM regimen and maintenance was given by 6-MP continuously with intermittent DA (1,5) regimen. In the remission induction, Doxorubicin 30 mg/m2 for 3 days, Ara-C 150 mg/m2 for 5 days and 6-Mp 100 mg/m2 daily was given. Complete remission (CR) was observed in 60% cases. The probability of 2 years disease-free survival of patients with complete remission is 56.73%.

Alterations in intracellular calcium during sepsis.

Tissue injury and/or infection produce significant alterations in intracellular calcium ion regulation. These alterations in cellular calcium has recently been studied following both short term and long term septic model which uses two types of gram-negative bacteria frequently encountered human abdominal sepsis. Changes in calcium flux as well as functional disturbances has been observed in the major organs, specially in skeletal muscle. The changes in calcium flux in different organs were studied using 45Ca exchange, 19F NMR study or by using calcium-fluorescence probes. Calcium-channel blockers attenuate the increased effects of calcium flux. Further anti-cytokines may be useful to prevent septic injury in tissues.

Blood pressure and glycemic status in relation to body mass index in a rural population of Bangladesh.

A cluster sampling of five villages in Dohar thana were selected for screening of hypertension and diabetes in relation to age structure and body habitus. All the subjects over 15 years of age were enlisted for investigation. The response rate was more than 70%. Height, weight, blood pressure (BP) and capillary blood glucose (fasting and 2-hPG) were measured. Diagnostic criteria of international standard were used for hypertension and diabetes. Out of 1005 participants 106 subjects (10.5%) had systolic blood pressure (sBP) more than 140 mmHg and 9% of them had diastolic blood pressure (dBP) more than 90 mmHg. The prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) was 2.1% and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was 13.3%. The mean body mass index (BMI) of men was 20.39 (SD = 2.91) and that of women was 20.11 (SD = 2.92), having no significant difference between them. Increased age (> or = 50 yr), high BMI (> or = 23.0) and hyperglycemia (2-hPG > 7.8 mmol/L) were the risk factors for both systolic (sBP > 140 mmHg) and diastolic (dBP > 90 mmHg) hypertension. Likewise, increased age, high BMI and hypertension showed significant association with glucose intolerance. Moreover, significant correlations were observed between age and BP (sBP, r = 0.328 p < 0.001; dBP, r = 0.187 p < 0.001) BMI and BP (sBP, r = 0.193 p < 0.001; dBP, r = 0.192 p < 0.001) and 2-hPG and BP (sBP, r = 0.188 p < 0.001; dBP, r = 0.134 p < 0.001).

Serum sialic acid levels in normal pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Serum sialic acid estimation was done in 97 pregnant and 61 non-pregnant healthy women. A progressive rise in the level was observed as the pregnancy advanced. The rise was higher in subjects above 30 years of age. Non-pregnant women weighing more than 50 kg a significantly higher serum sialic acid level, but the contrast was reversed during pregnancy and puerperium.

A study of basal metabolic rate in adult Kashmiris.

Sixty two adults, including forty one males (16-36 yrs.) and twenty one females (16-25 yrs.), were studied by closed circuit method as regards their B.M.R. Males showed a greater lowering of metabolism than the females when compared to MF and AD standards. The females actually showed a higher B.M.R. than the RR standards. Both the sexes had a higher basal metabolism than the value reported from other parts of the country. The difference, however, was significant only in the case of females. Winter metabolism was not sigificantly higher than the summer value in either sex, though females showed some what greater variation.