Journal of Clinical and Basic Research
Volume:7 Issue: 3, Summer 2023

Infertility is an important issue for couples that may cause various psychological and emotional problems. Female infertility disorders play a major role in approximately 50-80% of the causes of infertility in various areas in Nigeria. Moringa oleifera has been proposed as a plant with female fertility enhancement effects. The objective of this study was to assess the fertility-improving effects of ethanol extract of M. oleifera leaf and to determine the phytochemical components causing these effects by in silico analyses.

The in vitro effects on fertility were evaluated using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) because of its genetic similarities to humans. The copulation duration, mating latency, and the number of emergences from the fruit fly after mating were determined. Three doses (0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1% w/w) of the M. oleifera ethanol extract were administered to three different groups, while a control group only received feed mixed with ethanol. For in silico studies, 62 compounds were obtained from the PubChem library by mining compounds from articles related to M. oleifera. Next, a ligand library was generated and docked against various targets of interest (estrogen, progesterone, kisspeptin, liver X, PPARG, and 15-PGDH receptors as well as 17β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and insulin-degrading enzymes) which have female fertility-enhancing effects.

The in vivo experiments showed that M. oleifera had no effect on copulation duration and mating latency, but interestingly, it enhanced the fertility/emergence of the treated fruit flies. In silico studies suggested that phytochemicals such as rutin, marumoside B, myricetin, and quercetin showed docking scores that may well support previous works on M. oleifera enhancement of female fertility.

The results showed that M. oleifera can enhance fertility in female fruit flies.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can have a variety of effects on pregnant women, from mild symptoms to severe complications. Those with underlying medical conditions are at an increased risk for severe disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study was designed to investigate the maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnant mothers infected with COVID-19 who were referred to Sayad Shirazi Hospital, Gorgan (Iran), in 2019-2022.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 160 pregnant women. The women who had just given birth were either suspected of having coronavirus or had a definite diagnosis of coronavirus either during hospitalization or during hospitalization who were included by the simple census. The data were collected from medical records and through telephone interviews. The chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables between the groups. The qualitative data were evaluated with quantitative variables by the analysis of variance. The significance level was less than 0.05.

The difference in the access of minorities to medical and health service centers affected the pregnancy results (P=019 (. A high rate of Cesarean delivery (58.1%), a high prevalence of gestational diabetes (19.3%) and hypothyroidism (21.2%), and the need for high insulin injections during the COVID-19 infection (39.37%) were also found, which were independent of the patients. Diabetes and previous gestational diabetes showed high statistics.

This study demonstrated a high concentration in people with hypothyroidism and patients who need insulin due to hyperglycemia after contracting COVID-19 during pregnancy. According to this study, contracting COVID-19 increases the level of maternal and fetal problems, and women with hypothyroidism should be considered as a risk factor for contracting this disease and having a more serious condition, hyperglycemia, and the need for insulin, except for the remaining complications of this disease is expected.

Using molecular biomarkers of breast cancer (BC) receives optimal treatment. Established biomarkers like estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2, and Ki67 may play significant roles in the sub-categorization of BC to predict the prognosis and specific therapy for each patient.This study aims to characterize breast carcinoma using molecular markers (ER, PR, and HER2 neu), identify their sub-types, and attain its relation with Ki67.

This cross-sectional (retrospective) study was conducted over four years at the Department of Pathology, SVS Medical College, Mahabubnagar, from April 2018 to March 2022. Fifty diagnosed cases of breast carcinomas were subjected to routine staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) with ER, PR, HER 2 neu, and Ki67 using tissue microarray and classified into molecular subtypes.

In this study, 32% of participants were in the 50-59 age group. The right breast was involved in 52% of participants. The central quadrant was involved in 44%, UOQ 32%, UIQ 16%, and LOQ 8%. Moderately differentiated tumors exist in 40%, poorly differentiated in 36%, and well-differentiated in 24%. 84% of patients were ER-positive, 70% were PR-positive, and 72% were HER2/neu-positive. 28% of patients with positive Ki-67 were grade I, 22% were grade II, and 50% were grade III. Her2/neu contributed to 12% and triple-negative BC seen in 4%. The association between the ER status and Ki-67 positivity status is not statistically significant, with a P-value of 0.13. The association between the PR status and Ki-67 positivity status is statistically significant, with a P-value of 0.002. The association between the Her2/neu status and Ki-67 positivity status is also statistically significant, with a P-value of <0.0001.

Most cases were Ki67 positive and HER2 neu positive. Triple-negative cases showed a high Ki67 index. Ki67 plays a pivotal role in making treatment decisions. The Ki67 index is independent and can be used independently without being correlated with other indices, and Ki67 should be evaluated routinely in breast carcinoma cases.

This study aimed to establish the suitability and acceptability of the curricular changes in the subject of anesthesia introduced by competency-based medical education (CBME) for undergraduate medical students.

The sample consisted of 20 subject experts from different teaching institutes who were actively involved in teaching undergraduate medical students and had at least 10 years of teaching experience. The study was conducted in 3 rounds using the Delphi technique.

These subject experts identified the topics relevant and important to undergraduate students and also suggested the addition of role-play videos and simulations with some interesting and daring scenarios, case studies, and sessions for regional anesthesia competency. There were suggestions to include topics such as ensuring asepsis during regional anesthesia and visits to the intensive care unit (ICU). The majority of the participants were satisfied with the assessment methods. Two-thirds of the experts agreed that the anesthesia curriculum accurately covers the skills required for an Indian medical graduate. Moreover, 80% of the participants agreed that the suggested curriculum is complete and adequate for the undergraduates.

Curricular changes introduced by CBME seem to be aligned with the goal of preparing globally relevant and socially accountable undergraduate medical students.

This study was designed to analyze the efficacy of a urine dipstick to detect urinary tract infection (UTI) in children and to correlate it with the urine culture.

A prospective laboratory descriptive study was conducted at the Department of Pediatrics at Government General Hospital, Kadapa, from February 2022 to September 2023. Urine samples from 250 children of 2 and 12 years of age with UTI symptoms were analyzed using urine dipstick and other clinical/laboratory variables.

The urine culture was positive in 38.4% (n=96) of the children and negative in 61.6% (n=154) of the children using the dipstick. Urinary tract infection was more common among female than male children. It was common in children aged 6 to 10 years, accounting for 41.42%. The most prevalent organism isolated was Escherichia coli (24.8%), followed by Klebsiella (8.8%) and other Gram-negative bacilli (5.6%). Urine microscopy for pus cells revealed that 158 (63.2%) samples had no pus cells, 49 (19.6%) had up to 5 pus cells, 35 (14%) had 5-10 pus cells, and 8 (3.2%) had >10 pus cells. Pyuria was found in 56 of the 96 children in the culture-positive group, leukocyte esterase was positive in 123 cases, leukocyte esterase was negative in 88 cases, and the nitrite test was positive in 9 cases. However, the combined dipstick was positive in 121 (48.4%) of all cases. Among the culture-positive group, the combined dipstick was positive in 39 cases and negative in 3 cases. Among the culture-negative cases, the combined dipstick was positive in 28 cases and negative in 126 cases. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of leucocyte esterase and nitrite were 65%, 80%, 69%, and 78% for diagnosing UTI in our study, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the combined dipstick compared with urine culture were 95.5%, 80%, 74.9%, and 95.9%, respectively.

The combined dipstick + nitrite and leukocyte esterase show higher sensitivity and specificity, making it superior to leukocyte esterase or nitrite alone in diagnosing UTI. When compared to the urine culture, the combined dipstick has higher sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Therefore, the combined dipstick can be used consistently as a quick screening tool for UTIs when culture facilities are not available.

The liver plays an important role in homeostasis. Chronic liver diseases (CLDs), including cirrhosis, hepatic failure, jaundice, and portal hypertension, may affect hemopoiesis. The abnormalities in red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelet functions in patients with CLD are well-documented. It is thus important to detect and manage these abnormalities to reduce the overall morbidity and mortality of patients with CLD.

The study was conducted to assess the hematological abnormalities and hemostatic derangements and the nature of hematological abnormalities to reduce morbidity. Broadly, the hematological abnormalities are viewed under abnormalities in RBCs, WBCs, platelets, and the coagulation profile.

This was a prospective study conducted for 2 years at the Department of General Medicine, Al Ameen Medical College, Bijapur, Karnataka. A total of 150 patients with CLD were included and analyzed for hematological dysfunction.

Severe anemia (<6g/dL) was noted in 9.33% of the cases; 22% of the cases had 6.1 to 8 g/dL Hb (hemoglobin) levels; 38% cases showed Hb of 8.1 to 10 g/dL; and >10 g/dL HB was noted in 45% cases. The majority showed normocytic normochromic anemia on peripheral smear examination, i.e., 56%. Macrocytic anemia was noted in 25.3% of cases. Microcytic hypochromic anemia was found in 38% of the cases. Only 4.67% showed dimorphic anemia. Besides, 66.6% of cases had a WBC count of 4000-11000/cumm, 26.6% had 2000-4000/cumm, 6.67% had < 2000/cumm, and 59% cases had >1 .0 lakh /cumm. In 66.67% of cases,1 lakh – 50000 (mild thrombocytopenia) was noted in 25.3% of cases. Moreover, 6.6% had moderate thrombocytopenia, and 1.3% < 20000 /cumm (severe thrombocytopenia).

This study demonstrated that all the patients presented with signs of CLD must be thoroughly evaluated for their complete blood profile to detect hematological abnormalities and should be monitored for any complications. Early initiation of treatment can decrease the overall mortality in these patients.