Comparison of in-house developed ELISA with HPLC for measurement of hba1c.

In-house developed ELISA for HbA1c was evaluated in comparison with Bio-Rad D-10 Dual Program (HPLC). % HbA1c was estimated using said methods in 40 blood samples. Intra and inter assay coefficient of variation (CV) were in acceptable range i.e., <3%. HbA1c results obtained by two methods showed good correlation, (y = 0.8942x + 0.7229 R2 = 0.877). Sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive value for in-house ELISA classifying patients as controlled and uncontrolled diabetes against HPLC were recorded as 87%, 94.1%, 95.0%, and 93.8%, respectively, while accuracy of the test was 90.0%. In-house ELISA for HbA1c is not only accurate, cost effective and simple but also precise comparable to HPLC in deciding glycemic status of patients.

Prospective Nutraceutical Effects of Cinnamon Derivatives Against Insulin Resistance in Type II Diabetes Mellitus-Evidence From the Literature.

Apart from advances in pharmaceutical antidiabetic agents, efforts are being made toward hypoglycemic agents derived from natural sources. Cinnamon has been reported to have significant benefits for human health, particularly as an anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anti-hypertriglyceridemic agent. The phytochemicals in cinnamon can be extracted from different parts of plant by distillation and solvent extraction. These chemicals help in decreasing insulin resistance and can act against hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, inflammation and oxidative stress, obesity, overweight, and abnormal glycation of proteins. Cinnamon has shown to improve all of these conditions in in vitro, animal, and/or human studies. However, the mechanism of action of active ingredients found in cinnamon remains unclear. The current review presents the outstanding ability of cinnamon derivatives to control diabetes by various pathways modulating insulin release and insulin receptor signaling. It was also found that the type and dosage of cinnamon as well as subject characteristics including drug interactions are likely to affect the response to cinnamon. Future research directions based on this review include the synergistic usage of various cinnamon derivatives in managing and/or preventing diabetes and possible other relevant chronic diseases.

Association of FcγRIIa Polymorphism with Clinical Outcome of Dengue Infection: First Insight from Pakistan.

Dengue illness has been a major health concern in Pakistan during the last decade. Dengue infection can result in a spectrum of clinically distinct outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic infection to potentially life-threatening forms of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). A single-nucleotide polymorphism in FcγRIIa (rs1801274) results in altered affinity of the receptor for different subclasses of immunoglobulin G, and is a key player in determining the susceptibility to or protection from severe clinical infection of dengue. In this study, we analyzed the allelic and genotypic distribution of rs1801274 in subjects of Pakistani origin with subclinical dengue infection (n = 40), dengue fever (DF) (n = 40), and DHF/DSS (n = 30). We found that HH homozygotes and heterozygotes were significantly more likely to develop clinical dengue (odds ratio [OR] = 3.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29-7.97, P = 0.009), either DF (OR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.00-7.97, P = 0.045) or DHF/DSS (OR = 3.90, 95% CI = 1.13-13.07, P = 0.024) than the asymptomatic dengue infection. Results of allelic distribution comparisons and logistic regression analysis also supported the same relationship. The results suggest complex nature of interacting factors in determining the course for severe dengue illness.