BackgroundNon-protective work practices followed by farm workers during spraying of pesticides lead to occupational exposure among them.ObjectiveThis study is designed to explore the respiratory health and hematological profile of agricultural workers occupationally exposed to OP pesticides.Materials and MethodsA cross sectional study was undertaken among 166 pesticide sprayers working in mango orchards of Lucknow district in North India compared with 77 controls to assess the respiratory illness, lung functions, cholinesterase levels and hematological profile. A questionnaire based survey and clinical examination for respiratory health were conducted among study subjects. Lung function test was conducted among study subjects by using spirometer. Cholinesterase level as biomarker of OP pesticides and hematological profile of study subjects were investigated in the laboratory by following the standard protocols.ResultsOverall respiratory morbidity observed among exposed subjects was 36.75%. Symptoms for respiratory illness like dry cough, productive cough, wheezing, irritation of throat and blood stained sputum were found to be significantly more (p<0.05) among pesticide sprayers than controls. Lung function parameters viz. PEFR, FEV1, %PEFR predicted, %FEV1 predicted and FEV1/FVC were found to be significantly decreased (p<0.05) among pesticide sprayers as compared to controls. Exposure wise distribution of respiratory illness and lung functions among pesticide sprayers show that the exposure duration significantly elevates (p<0.05) the respiratory problems and significantly decreases (p<0.001) lung functions among pesticide sprayers. Activities of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase were found to be significantly depleted (p<0.001) among pesticide sprayers as compared to controls which show the exposure of OP pesticides among them. The hematological profile viz. RBC, WBC, monocytes, neutrophils, MCV, MCH, MCHC and platelet count were significantly altered (p<0.001) in pesticide sprayers than controls.ConclusionThis study shows that the unsafe occupational exposure of OP pesticides causes respiratory illness, decreased lung functions and hematological alterations among pesticide sprayers.

To avoid the inbreeding load there is the need to improve socioeconomic and educational status and to increase public awareness of reproductive health and anticipated deleterious effects. Pre-marital and pre-conception counselling of consanguineous populations should be an integral part of health policy to train people and make people aware of its harmful consequences. Furthermore, runs of homozygosity (ROH) and whole-exome sequencing (WES) are useful tools in exploring new genomic signatures for the cause of inbreeding depression.

Background-We report the occurrence of fatal intracerebral hemorrhage associated with using a combination of antithrombotic agents, including abciximab, in patients undergoing neurointerventional procedures. Summary of Report-Seven patients (average age 60, range 46 to 73 years) developed fatal intracerebral hemorrhages associated with neurointerventional procedures and the use of intravenous abciximab. The procedures included angioplasty and stent placement in the cervical internal carotid artery (nϭ4), angioplasty of the intracranial internal carotid artery (nϭ1), and angioplasty of the middle cerebral artery (nϭ2). Clinical deterioration was observed within 1 hour of the procedure in 5 patients and 7 and 8 hours after the procedure, respectively, in the remaining 2 patients. All patients had received heparin and clopidogrel; 6 had also received aspirin. Key Words: abciximab Ⅲ angioplasty Ⅲ carotid stenosis Ⅲ intracerebral hemorrhage Ⅲ stents A ggressive antithrombotic treatment is used as adjuvant to angioplasty and/or stent placement to reduce the rate of ischemic and thrombotic complications associated with these procedures. Intravenous abciximab, an antibody Fab fragment (c7E3 Fab) directed against platelet IIb/IIIa receptors that inhibit platelet aggregation, has been recently introduced to reduce the rate of ischemic complications associated with angioplasty and atherectomy for atherosclerotic lesions. Intravenously administered abciximab has a short half-life of 10 minutes, but its inhibitory effect on platelets last for 48 hours. 1 The use of abciximab was first evaluated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial consisting of 2099 patients undergoing high-risk coronary intervention. 2 Study patients received either a bolus and an infusion of placebo, a bolus of abciximab and an infusion of placebo, or a bolus and an infusion of abciximab. In the group given abciximab alone, ischemic complications of coronary angioplasty and atherectomy were significantly reduced. However, bleeding episodes and transfusions were more frequent in this group. Among all study patients, 6 patients had intracranial hemorrhages. Of these, 2 patients received placebo alone, 1 patient received an abciximab bolus, and 3 patients were assigned to receive the abciximab bolus and infusion (1 of these 3 did not receive the drug because the hemorrhage occurred after randomization but before angioplasty). The beneficial reduction in ischemic complications demonstrated in coronary interventions has led to frequent use of intravenous abciximab as an adjunct to neurointerventional procedures. 3,4 Recent unpublished accounts of intracerebral hemorrhages associated with the use of antithrombotic medications during neurointerventional procedures have prompted us to report our pertinent experience. Conclusions-Intracerebral Subjects and MethodsA report was compiled based on the clinical experience of neurointerventionists at 3 academic medical centers between 1999 and 2000. At each center, patients received intravenous abciximab in a...

X-linked red–green color blindness is the most widespread form of vision impairment. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and gene frequencies of red–green color vision impairments among children of six different human populations of Jammu province. A total of 1028 healthy subjects (6–15 years of age) were selected from five Muslim populations and the color vision impairments were determined using the Ishihara's test of color deficiency. The gene frequency was calculated using Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium method. The prevalence of color vision deficiency (CVD) ranged from 5.26% to 11.36% among males and 0.00%–3.03% among females of six different populations. The gender based differences in the frequency of CVD was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.0001), with a higher prevalence among male (7.52%) as compared to female (0.83%) children. We observed high frequency of deutan as compared to protan defects. The incidences of deuteranomaly (5.68%) and deuteranopia (2.27%) were higher among male children of Syed population while the frequencies of protanomaly (1.94%), protanopia (1.28%) and achromacy (2.27%) were the highest among male subjects of Khan, Malik and Syed populations, respectively. The allele and genotype frequencies showed cogent differences among six populations. The population based assessment of CVDs help patients to follow adaptive strategies that could minimize the risks of the disease.

Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. Free radical generation appears to be the mode of lead toxicity. We evaluated the effects of blood lead levels on oxidative stress parameters in children suffering from neurological disorders. Thirty children (aged 3-12 years) with neurological disorders (cerebral palsy [n = 12], seizures [n = 11], and encephalopathy [n = 7]) were recruited in the study group. Sixty healthy children (aged 3-12 years) from similar socio-economic environments and not suffering from any chronic disease were taken as the controls. Blood lead levels and oxidant/antioxidant status were determined. Mean blood lead level was significantly higher while delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALAD) activity, a biomarker for lead exposure, was significantly lower in the study group as compared to the control group (P < 0.05 for each). Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, an end-product of lipid peroxidation, were significantly higher while the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) levels were significantly lower in the study group as compared to the control group (P < 0.05 for each). Activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were significantly higher in the study group than those of the control group (P < 0.05 for each). There were significant negative correlations of blood lead levels with delta-ALAD (r = -0.35; P < 0.05) and GSH (r = -0.31; P < 0.05), and positive correlations with MDA (r = 0.37; P < 0.05), SOD (r = 0.53; P < 0.05), and CAT (r = 0.31; P < 0.05). In turn, delta-ALAD had significant negative correlations with MDA (r = -0.29; P < 0.05), SOD (r = -0.28; P < 0.05) and CAT (r = -0.34; P < 0.05), but positive correlation with GSH (r = 0.32; P < 0.05). Although a causal pathway can not be determined from the present study, our findings indicate lead-induced oxidative stress in blood of children with neurological disorders. Lead-induced oxidative stress as an underlying mechanism for neurological diseases in children warranted further investigation.

No abstract

Our results provide the evidence of inbreeding depression on height, weight, and BMI being important in context of child health.

BackgroundCognitive ability tests are widely assumed to measure maximal intellectual performance and predictive associations between intelligence quotient (IQ) scores and later mental health problems. Very few epidemiologic studies have been done to demonstrate the relationship between familial inbreeding and modest cognitive impairments in children.ObjectiveWe aimed to estimate the effect of inbreeding on children’s cognitive behavior in comparison with non-inbred children.MethodologyA cohort of 408 children (6 to 15 years of age) was selected from inbred and non-inbred families of five Muslim populations of Jammu region. The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) was used to measure the verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ) and full scale IQ (FSIQ). Family pedigrees were drawn to access the family history and children’s inbred status in terms of coefficient of inbreeding (F).ResultsWe found significant decline in child cognitive abilities due to inbreeding and high frequency of mental retardation among offspring from inbred families. The mean differences (95% C.I.) were reported for the VIQ, being −22.00 (−24.82, −19.17), PIQ −26.92 (−29.96, −23.87) and FSIQ −24.47 (−27.35, −21.59) for inbred as compared to non-inbred children (p>0.001). The higher risk of being mentally retarded was found to be more obvious among inbred categories corresponding to the degree of inbreeding and the same accounts least for non-inbred children (p<0.0001). We observed an increase in the difference in mean values for VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ with the increase of inbreeding coefficient and these were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The regression analysis showed a fitness decline (depression) for VIQ (R2 = 0.436), PIQ (R2 = 0.468) and FSIQ (R2 = 0.464) with increasing inbreeding coefficients (p<0.01).ConclusionsOur comprehensive assessment provides the evidence for inbreeding depression on cognitive abilities among children.