Iron deficiency anaemia in sickle cell disorders in India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is uncommon in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) because of availability of an adequate iron source potentially from increased red cell turnover and from blood transfusions. Also, iron deficiency anaemia can often go unnoticed because the sickle cell disease patients are already anaemic. Iron deficiency in sickle cell patients may result in lowering the intracellular haemoglobin concentration and this may ameliorate sickling. The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia and the response of iron supplementation in sickle cell disorders in tribal population of the four States viz. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. METHODS: A total of 8434 individuals (7105 AA, 1267 AS and 62 SS) were tested for zinc protoporphyrin/haem (ZPP/H) ratio and haemoglobin levels. Twenty two sickle cell anaemia (SS), 47 sickle cell trait (AS) and 150 normal control (AA) individuals who were iron deficient, were given iron therapy for a period of 12 wk and the laboratory investigations were repeated at the 13th wk. RESULTS: Sixty seven per cent of subjects with sickle cell anaemia and 26 per cent with sickle cell trait had elevated ZPP/H ratios (>80 micromol/mol) as against 22.8 per cent of normal individuals. The elevated ZPP/H ratios is an indicator of microcytic anaemia of iron deficiency. Following iron therapy, an improvement in the Hb levels and ZPP/H ratios was observed in both sickle cell disorders and normal individual cases. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: This study suggests that iron deficiency anaemia is an important problem in Indian sickle cell anaemia patients and iron supplementation should be given only in proven cases of iron deficiency anaemia.

[Kinetics of the anti-staphylococcal activity of bakuchiol in vitro (author's transl)]. / Kinetik der Antistaphylokokkenwirkung von Bakuchiol in vitro

The growth curve of Staphylococcus aureus in a liquid medium with and without bakuchiol, the main component of Psoralea corylifolia Linn., has been studied for in vitro evaluation of the antibacterial activity. The dynamics of the antibacterial action has also been studied by finding the generation time and number of generations of the microbial growth before stationary phase is reached. This study of the growth curve of the test bacteria gives in general an accurate method of evaluating the in vitro antibacterial activity of drugs with exact mathematical implications, besides serving also as a means for studying the kinetics as well as the mode of antibacterial action.

Effects of altering rostral brain stem temperature on temperature regulation in the Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae.

In 4 Adelie penguins, thermodes were implanted in the rostral brain stem. Two animals were additionally equipped with spinal canal thermodes. At thermoneutral (+8 to +16 degrees C) and cold (-18 to -22 degrees C) ambient conditions, the effects of hypothalamic heating and cooling on the surface temperature of one flipper (skin blood flow), oxygen consumption (metabolic heat production) and esophageal (core) temperature were observed in the conscious animals.- Heating the rostral brain stem induced heat defence responses: Heat production was reduced in the cold and skin vasodilatation was evoked at thermoneutral ambient conditions. As a rule, core temperature fell during rostral brain stem heating.- Cooling the rostral brain stem did not induce clear-cut cold defence responses. On the contrary, strong cooling at thermo-neutral ambient conditions induced vasodilation in the skin. In the cold, even slight degrees of rostral brain stem cooling decreased metabolic heat production. As a rule, core temperature fell when the rostral brain stem was cooled.- It is concluded from the results that thermosensitive structures in the stimulated section of the rostral brain stem of the Adelie penguin contribute to the central temperature signal input in the range of normal to elevated core temperatures. These hypothalamic warm signals appear to be at least as effective as spinal warm signals in controlling skin blood flow and metabolic heat production. The inhibition of ongoing thermoregulatory effector activity by rostral brain stem cooling suggests positive temperature coefficients of the integrative and/or efferent neurons in the hypothalamic temperature regulation center of the Adelie penguin.