Accelerated platelet activation in Asian Indians with diabetes and coronary artery disease--The Chennai Urban Population Study (CUPS-13).

AIM: To assess platelet activation in south Indian type 2 diabetic subjects with and without CAD. METHODS: Four groups of subjects were studied; Group 1 comprised of non-diabetic subjects without coronary artery disease (CAD) (n = 30). Type 2 diabetic subjects without CAD formed Group 2 (n = 30); Group 3 comprised of type 2 diabetic subjects with CAD (n = 30) and Group 4 consisted of non- diabetic subjects with CAD (n=14). CAD was diagnosed based on coronary angiographic evidence of severe double or triple vessel disease. Platelet activation was tested after an overnight fast in blood obtained from a bleeding wound at 1 minute post-incision (wound-induced activation) as well as venous blood stimulated in vitro with collagen, using whole blood flow cytometry. In subjects with CAD, aspirin was withdrawn for 7 days and nitrates for 24 hours. RESULTS: Collagen induced GP IIb/IIIa binding was significantly higher among diabetic subjects with (28.10 +/-19.89; p<0.05) and without CAD (21.02+/-19.62; p<0.05) and non-diabetic subjects with CAD (23.89+/-15.65; p<0.05) compared to non-diabetic subjects without CAD (11.69+/-13.69). Regression analysis showed collagen induced GP IIb/IIIa binding to be significantly associated with CAD [odds ratio (OR): 1.029, p = 0.025] and diabetes (OR: 1.037, p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Increased platelet activation is seen in urban south Indians with diabetes and CAD.

Direct detection of diarrheagenic Aeromonas from faeces by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting aerolysin toxin gene.

Detection of diarrheagenic Aeromonas specific aerolysin toxin (Aer) gene by PCR based assay and isolation, identification of diarrhea causing Aeromonas from faeces by culture methods were carried out in the Division of Active Surveillance, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata, India for a period of 12 months. Out of 602 faecal samples collected from patients with acute diarrhea admitted in Infectious Diseases (ID) Hospital, Kolkata, 68 (11.29%) samples were found to be possessing Aer gene by PCR technique. The conventional culture methods using selective media yielded only 64 (10.6%) Aeromonas strains from the same faecal samples. The different Aeromonas species possessing Aer gene identified by PCR based technique include A. hydrophila (55.8%), A. caviae (17.6%), A. veronii (10.2%), A. schubertii (4.4%), A. jandaei (2.9%) and A. trota (8.8%). The isolation and identification of Aeromonas by routine culture did not detect enterotoxigenic A. trota present in four diarrheal faecal samples. The failure of the growth of enterotoxigenic A. trota on selective media may be attributed to the ampicillin susceptibility of those strains. The quality control studies revealed that PCR method for the direct detection of Aer gene from the faeces has the sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 98%.

Absence of association between serum homocysteine levels and coronary artery disease in south Indian males.

BACKGROUND: Asian Indians are reported to have a very high prevalence of premature coronary artery disease. However, traditional risk factors do not explain this excess of coronary artery disease. Elevated levels of homocysteine are reported to be associated with coronary artery disease among Europeans. This study looked at the association of serum homocysteine levels with coronary artery disease in South Indians. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four groups of patients were studied: Group 1 consisted of healthy nondiabetic subjects without coronary artery disease (n=18): Group 2 consisted of nondiabetic subjects with coronary artery disease (n=21); Group 3 consisted of type 2 diabetic patients without coronary artery disease (n=18) and Group 4 consisted of type 2 diabetic patients with coronary artery disease (n=20). The mean homocysteine value was 12.4+/-3.4 micromol/L in Group 1; 12.6+/-4.6 micromol/L in Group 2; 10.1+/-4.4 micromol/L in Group 3; and 10.4+/-3.9 micromol/ L in Group 4. There was no significant difference in the homocysteine levels between the groups studied. The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia, defined as a level of 17.1 micromol/L (the 95th percentile for serum homocysteine in the control group) was not significantly different among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated serum homocysteine levels are not associated with coronary artery disease in South Indian male subjects with or without diabetes. However, the results must be interpreted with caution because of the small numbers studied.

Evaluation of One Touch HORIZON--a highly affordable glucose monitor.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Despite the growing evidence on the benefits of self-monitoring in diabetes, the use of these meters has been low in developing countries, particularly India. Cost seems to be the major constraint. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the accuracy of One Touch HORIZON an affordable glucose meter with laboratory assessment of blood glucose. METHODS: 100 subjects with diabetes over the age of 18 years were recruited from the MV Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai. All the study subjects had their fasting blood tested for glucose in One Touch HORIZON by finger prick. Fasting blood glucose was also assessed in YSI 2300 STATPLUS (Yellow Springs Instruments, Ohio, USA) glucose analyzer. The Parke's Error Grid model was used to assess the accuracy of the meter against YSI plasma glucose values. RESULTS: Of the total 100 study subjects, 97 were Type 2 diabetic subjects and three were Type 1 diabetic subjects. 62% of the study subjects were males. 89% did not perform SMBG and only 2% of the diabetic subjects performed SMBG daily. The Parke's Error Grid analysis revealed 97% of results to be in Zone A when patient performed the test, 99 - 100% in Zone A when clinical staff performed the test indicating excellent accuracy and precision. CONCLUSION: One Touch HORIZON meter is an affordable meter with good accuracy and precision, specifically designed to cater to the needs of diabetic patients in developing countries.