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Biomedical subjects

S Agarwal

Publications and source records attributed to S Agarwal.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Weight gain during pregnancy--a key factor in perinatal and infant mortality.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for high perinatal (PMR) and infant (IMR) mortality in a rural area. DESIGN: In 49 randomly selected villages from two adjoining blocks of rural Varanasi, all pregnant women and live births were followed for perinatal and infant mortality, during the years 1988-1992. SUBJECTS: 6790 births and their 6649 live births. RESULTS: The PMR was 90.7 per thousand births and IMR was 98.6/1000 live births. These mortalities were significantly higher if weight gain during pregnancy was less than 7.0 kg. Low weight gain during pregnancy was also associated with significantly higher low birth weight deliveries and to some extent increased still birth rate. PMR and IMR decreased with higher levels of hemoglobin in third trimester and socioeconomic index; however, the calculated RR were not significant. CONCLUSION: Low weight gain during pregnancy is an important risk factor for PMR and IMR.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Nutritional status of rural non-pregnant non-lactating women in reproductive age.

OBJECTIVE: To find out the degree of current undernutrition in rural reproductive age women. SETTING: 49 villages of two adjoining rural blocks of Varanasi. METHODS: 6130 non-pregnant and non-lactating rural women in the age group 18-45 year were studied for sociodemographic characteristics and anthropometry, i.e., weight, height and midarm circumferance. Their percentiles for age and for weight for height were calculated by using cubic spline method. RESULTS: The women in 10th centile weighed < 38 kg and those in > 90th centile weighed 47-48 kg; 74.2% had weight < 45 kg. The 50th centile height ranged between 148-150 cm; 13.5% were < 145 cm. For mid arm circumference 50th and 90th centile values were around 22 and 24 cm, respectively. Mid arm circumference and height had significant linear correlation with weight. CONCLUSION: Around 50% rural UP women in pre-pregnancy state are undernourished. With age these rural women did not change in weight or mid-arm circumference.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Exercise ECG testing using different protocols in asymptomatic healthy young subjects.

Thirty four healthy young male subjects performed symptom limited exercise on Bruce protocol on treadmill machine. Hyperventilation induced labile repolarisation ST-T abnormalities were observed in 2 whereas exercise induced ST changes (upsloping ST depression in 4 and horizontal ST depression in 1) were observed in 5 additional candidates. Changes were unaccompanied by symptoms or signs and quickly reverted back to normal within 30 sec. of cessation of exercise and hence were 'probable false positives'. Sixty-eight age and sex matched volunteers (including former 34) when exercised on Master's stepper, failed to reveal any change probably due to the lack of continuous ECG monitoring device.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Elective coronary artery stenting--immediate and follow up results.

Elective coronary artery stenting was performed in 242 consecutive patients in our centre for complex lesions (Type B, C), proximal lesions, restenotic lesions, total occlusion and venous grafts. The procedural success rate was 94.21%. Three patients (1.23%) required emergency coronary artery bypass surgery. Acute and sub-acute thrombosis rate was 1.26% and 4.13%, respectively. There was one in-hospital death (0.41%). 164 patients were followed up clinically for a mean period of 11 +/- 6 months (range 1 month to 30 months). Angiographic follow up was done in 68 patients with a restenosis rate of 16.17%.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Staphylococcal endophthalmitis following cataract extraction in a patient with Darier's disease.

PURPOSE: To report staphylococcal endophthalmitis following cataract extraction in a patient with Darier' s disease. METHODS: A 67-year-old man presented with decreased visual acuity OD and hypopyon 3 days status post-cataract extraction with intraocular lens placement. The patient was hospitalized and placed on topical and intravenous antibiotics. A diagnostic vitreous tap, pars plana vitrectomy, and intravitreal antibiotic installation were performed. RESULTS: Vitreal tap cultures indicated Staphylococcus epidermidis. His clinical status improved after vitrectomy and antibiotic therapy. The same bacteria was cultured from the patient's eyelids. CONCLUSIONS: The source of the S. epidermidis was the skin lesions on the patient's face and eyelids. Darier's disease is an exfoliative hyperkeratotic skin disease that affects all areas on the body except the buttocks. Although clean, sterile surgical techniques were followed, the risk of endophthalmitis following intraocular surgery in a patient with Darier's disease may be increased due to his or her dermatologic condition.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Circulating p53 antibodies as early markers of oral cancer: correlation with p53 alterations.

p53 aberrations are early events in the pathogenesis of betel- and tobacco-related oral malignancies. Accumulation of p53 protein in oral lesions may elicit a humoral immune response against p53 protein in these patients. p53 antibodies (Abs) were analyzed in 183 sera obtained from patients with premalignant or malignant oral lesions and normal individuals by enzyme-linked immunoassay using recombinant p53 protein as antigen. These results were correlated with accumulation of p53 protein in patients' matched oral tissue specimens. Circulating p53 Abs were observed in 24 of 70 (34%) cancer patients and 15 of 50 (30%) patients with premalignant oral lesions. p53 Abs showed a significant association with increase in tumor size and dedifferentiation of tumors, factors indicative of poor prognosis. Expression of p53 protein was analyzed in 43 matched oral lesions (18 premalignant and 25 malignant cases). All the p53-seropositive patients (7 leukoplakia and 11 squamous cell carcinoma) showed elevated levels of p53 protein in matched oral lesions. However, the total number of patients seropositive for p53 Abs was lesser than that of patients exhibiting p53 protein accumulation in oral lesions. Four of the 63 normal healthy individuals who were heavy consumers of tobacco (smoking/chewing) and betel were found to be positive for p53 Abs. Detection of circulating p53 Abs in patients with premalignant oral lesions suggests that humoral immune response against p53 protein is an early event in oral oncogenesis and may be a surrogate marker for both p53 alteration and preclinical cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Sanguinarine (pseudochelerythrine) is a potent inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation, IkappaBalpha phosphorylation, and degradation.

The nuclear factor NF-kappaB is a pleiotropic transcription factor whose activation results in inflammation, viral replication, and growth modulation. Due to its role in pathogenesis, NF-kappaB is considered a key target for drug development. In the present report we show that sanguinarine (a benzophenanthridine alkaloid), a known anti-inflammatory agent, is a potent inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation. Treatment of human myeloid ML-1a cells with tumor necrosis factor rapidly activated NF-kappaB, this activation was completely suppressed by sanguinarine in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Sanguinarine did not inhibit the binding of NF-kappaB protein to the DNA but rather inhibited the pathway leading to NF-kappaB activation. The reversal of inhibitory effects of sanguinarine by reducing agents suggests a critical sulfhydryl group is involved in NF-kappaB activation. Sanguinarine blocked the tumor necrosis factor-induced phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaBalpha, an inhibitory subunit of NF-kappaB, and inhibited translocation of p65 subunit to the nucleus. As sanguinarine also inhibited NF-kappaB activation induced by interleukin-1, phorbol ester, and okadaic acid but not that activated by hydrogen peroxide or ceramide, the pathway leading to NF-kappaB activation is likely different for different inducers. Overall, our results demonstrate that sanguinarine is a potent suppressor of NF-kappaB activation and it acts at a step prior to IkappaBalpha phosphorylation.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1997

Cloning and characterization of the Flavobacterium johnsoniae (Cytophaga johnsonae) gliding motility gene, gldA.

The mechanism of bacterial gliding motility (active movement over surfaces without the aid of flagella) is not known. A large number of nonmotile mutants of the gliding bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae (Cytophaga johnsonae) have been previously isolated, and genetic techniques to analyze these mutants have recently been developed. We complemented a nonmotile mutant of F. johnsoniae (UW102-09) with a library of wild-type DNA by using the shuttle cosmid pCP17. The complementing plasmid (pCP100) contained an insert of 13 kbp, and restored motility to 4 of 61 independently isolated nonmotile mutants. A 1.3-kbp fragment that encompassed a single ORF, gldA, complemented all four mutants. Disruption of the chromosomal copy of gldA in wild-type F. johnsoniae UW101 eliminated gliding motility. The predicted protein produced by gldA has strong sequence similarity to ATP binding cassette transport proteins.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗
PubMed1997

Mitochondrial ubiquinone homologues, superoxide radical generation, and longevity in different mammalian species.

Rates of mitochondrial superoxide anion radical (O-2) generation are known to be inversely correlated with the maximum life span potential of different mammalian species. The objective of this study was to understand the possible mechanism(s) underlying such variations in the rate of O-2 generation. The hypothesis that the relative amounts of the ubiquinones or coenzyme Q (CoQ) homologues, CoQ9 and CoQ10, are related with the rate of O-2 generation was tested. A comparison of nine different mammalian species, namely mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, pig, goat, sheep, cow, and horse, which vary from 3.5 to 46 years in their maximum longevity, indicated that the rate of O-2 generation in cardiac submitochondrial particles (SMPs) was directly related to the relative amount of CoQ9 and inversely related to the amount of CoQ10, extractable from their cardiac mitochondria. To directly test the relationship between CoQ homologues and the rate of O-2 generation, rat heart SMPs, naturally containing mainly CoQ9 and cow heart SMPs, with high natural CoQ10 content, were chosen for depletion/reconstitution experiments. Repeated extractions of rat heart SMPs with pentane exponentially depleted both CoQ homologues while the corresponding rates of O-2 generation and oxygen consumption were lowered linearly. Reconstitution of both rat and cow heart SMPs with different amounts of CoQ9 or CoQ10 caused an initial increase in the rates of O-2 generation, followed by a plateau at high concentrations. Within the physiological range of CoQ concentrations, there were no differences in the rates of O-2 generation between SMPs reconstituted with CoQ9 or CoQ10. Only at concentrations that were considerably higher than the physiological level, the SMPs reconstituted with CoQ9 exhibited higher rates of O-2 generation than those obtained with CoQ10. These in vitro findings do not support the hypothesis that differences in the distribution of CoQ homologues are responsible for the variations in the rates of mitochondrial O-2 generation in different mammalian species.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Localization of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN1) gene based on tumor loss of heterozygosity analysis.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN1) is an inherited syndrome that results in parathyroid, anterior pituitary, and pancreatic and duodenal endocrine tumors as well as foregut carcinoids in affected patients. The gene responsible for the disease has been linked to chromosome 11q13. We analyzed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in 188 tumors from 81 patients in an attempt to further define the location of the MEN1 gene. Both tumors from MEN1 patients and corresponding sporadic tumors were analyzed. Tumor types included parathyroid, gastrinoma, pancreatic endocrine, pituitary, and lung carcinoid. Six tumors (three MEN1 and three sporadic tumors) were identified that provided important LOH boundaries. Four tumors (two parathyroid tumors, one gastrinoma, and one lung carcinoid tumor) showed allelic loss that placed the MEN1 gene distal to marker PYGM. Two tumors (one gastrinoma and one parathyroid tumor) showed an LOH boundary that placed the gene proximal to D11S449, one of which further moved the telomeric boundary to D11S4936. Taken together, the present data suggest that the MEN1 gene lies between PYGM and D11S4936, a region of approximately 300 kb on chromosome 11q13.

Alleles↗
PubMed1997

Haplotype analysis defines a minimal interval for the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an inherited syndrome characterized by development of multiple endocrine tumors in affected individuals. The gene responsible for the disease has been mapped to chromosome 11q13 by linkage analysis, but the gene itself has not yet been identified. We allelotyped 33 affected individuals from an extensive MEN1 kindred using eight polymorphic markers located on chromosome 11q13, including two new markers (D11S4907 and D11S4908) that we derived and mapped to the SEA-D11S913 region. Analysis of affected individuals revealed two separate recombination events, providing new centromeric and telomeric boundaries for the MEN1 gene. The present data indicate the MEN1 gene is located between markers D11S1883 and D11S4907, an approximate 2 Mb region on chromosome 11q13.

Alleles↗
PubMed1997

Codon 4 ACT-->ACA, codon 5 CCT-->TCT, and codon 6 GAG-->TAG mutations in cis position: a form of thalassemia trait.

A female of Uttar Pradesh, of Indian origin, who had a transfusion-dependent child, carried codon 4 ACT-->ACA, codon 5 CCT-->TCT, and codon 6 GAG-->TAG mutations at the cis position. The mutation was detected through sequencing of the amplified beta-globin gene. Heterozygosity is expressed as a thalassemia trait with moderate anemia, low MCV (57 fl), raised HbA2 (6.7%), and normal fetal hemoglobin (1.4%).

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1997

Effects of sanguinarium, chlorhexidine and tetracycline on neutrophil viability and functions in vitro.

The effectiveness of an ideal antimicrobial agent depends on its ability to kill microbes with minimal toxicity to host cells. Depending on the treatment regimen, antimicrobial agents come into contact with host cells for various intervals of time. Sanguinarium (SANG), chlorhexidine (CHX) and tetracycline (TET) are 3 antimicrobial agents frequently used in the management of periodontal infections. However, their effects on host immune cells during different treatment regimens are not known. Due to their ability to serve as the first line of host defense against microbial infections, we have compared the effects of these antimicrobial agents on human neutrophil functions and viability. The results show that SANG is not lytic to neutrophils from peripheral blood or crevicular fluid, at all concentrations tested. However, exposures of neutrophils to very low concentrations of SANG (0.001%) inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis, oxidative metabolism and degranulation within 5 min. Increasing the exposure time results in a similar inhibition of neutrophil functions, albeit at 50-100 fold lower concentrations of SANG. CHX rapidly disrupts the cell membrane of both crevicular and peripheral blood neutrophils at concentrations above 0.005% within 5 min, and inhibition of all neutrophil functions is due to its lytic properties. While TET is least toxic to neutrophils, a dose dependent inhibition of neutrophil functions is dependent on the calcium concentrations of the cellular environment, and is observed only above 0.04% or higher concentrations in the absence of calcium. The data suggest that a critical cumulative concentration of these drugs is essential for their toxicity and inhibition of neutrophil functions. Therefore, both the length of exposure and the dose of the drug both are critical while considering the effectiveness of SANG, CHX or TET in the treatment of infections. Furthermore, due to differences in their mechanisms of action, the consequences of their effects on neutrophils may have significant bearing on tissue pathology as well as on their therapeutic efficacy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunostaining in breast carcinoma and its relationship to clinical and pathological variables.

Tumour proliferative activity of 74 breast lesions was assessed by determining mitotic index and immunostaining for proliferative cell nuclear antigen using Peroxidase antiperoxidase method. The indices were correlated with histomorphology and clinical stage of the disease. Positively stained nuclei and mitotic figures were counted per 1000 cells to calculate Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) and mitotic index respectively. Sixty four cases stained positive for PCNA. The index ranged between 0 to 98. PCNA index was significantly low in benign lesions as compared to malignant lesions (p < 0.0002). There was a linear correlation between the mitotic index and PCNA index. PCNA index also showed significant correlation with tumour size and histologic grade; however, it had no correlation with axillary lymph node status.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1997

Hemoglobin E-beta thalassemia in Uttar Pradesh.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the molecular make up of hemoglobin E-Beta thalassemia to facilitate diagnosis, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis in Uttar Pradesh. DESIGN: DNA analysis. SETTING: Referred hemolytic anemia cases to Genetics OPD of a tertiary care center. SUBJECTS: 21 families of HbE-thalassemia of which 19 were of UP origin. METHODS: The patient and obligate carriers in their families were evaluated at hematological, biochemical and molecular level. A total of 62 cases were evaluated which included the index cases and their family members. Red blood cell indices, osmotic fragility, hemoglobin electrophoresis, quantitation of fetal hemoglobin, HbA2/E, serum iron and total iron binding capacity estimation were carried out in all the blood samples. DNA analysis was done for HbE and beta thalassemia mutations. RESULTS: The commonest, IVSI-5 (G-->C) mutation (57%) was found along with HbE mutation. Only 23/26 cases belonged to the group of common beta-thal mutations as described in literature. CONCLUSION: Establishment of antenatal diagnostic services is necessary in those parts of India where both these mutations are commonly seen.

Adolescent↗