No abstract

COVID-19 patients have a higher risk of developing inflammatory responses associated with serious and even fatal respiratory diseases. The role of oxidative stress in exacerbating manifestations in COVID-19 pathogenesis is under-reported.This study aimed touseserum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD3) and glutathione-S-transferase (GSTp1) by ELISA, zinc (ErbaChem5), ferritin and free iron (VitrosChemistry, Ortho Clinical Diagnosis, Raritan, NJ, USA) at the first encounter of randomly selected RT-PCR-positive COVID-19 patients, for assessing disease severity. The parameters which helped in identifying the severity, leading to poor prognosis, were neutrophil:lymphocyte higher than 4, high CRP, low SOD3 values and high GSTp1 values, and diabetes mellitus as a co-morbidity. Higher zinc levels correlated with high GSTp1 and low SOD3, indicating the protective effect of zinc on ROS. The increased high GSTp1 shows an anticipated protective biochemical response, to mitigate the low SOD3 values due to ROS consumption. Decreased SOD3 levels indicate a state of high oxidative stress at cellular levels, and an anticipated increase in GSTp1 levels points to the pathophysiological bases of increasing severity with age, sex, and co-morbidities, such asdiabetes. High levels of initial GSTp1 and zinc levels possibly offer protection to redox reactions at the cellular level in severe COVID-19 infection, preventing deterioration.

No abstract

Cysticercosis is a major public health problem, particularly in developing countries. It is caused by the larvae of the cestode Taenia solium (pork tapeworm). It usually presents as a solitary lesion in the muscle or brain (neurocysticercosis). Disseminated cysticercosis is an uncommon manifestation, especially in an immunocompetent individual. We hereby report the case of a 31-year-old male who presented with new-onset generalized tonic–clonic seizures and who also had multiple soft-tissue swellings all over his body. Imaging studies revealed multiple cysticerci in the brain parenchyma, extraocular muscles, and muscles of all the four limbs, which was subsequently established by histopathology also. The patient was started on anticonvulsants, steroids, and albendazole following which he made a complete recovery.

The risk factors identified worldwide for development of osteoporosis are female sex, old age, small thin build or ABSTRACT Background: Osteoporosis is a silent, often found late, underdiagnosed disease characterized by low bone mass leading to increased susceptibility to fractures. With an increasingly aging population, the proportion of patients with osteopenia and osteoporosis are increasing in both developed and developing countries. The available data on osteoporosis is scanty from India. Methods: The objective was to measure the bone mineral density (BMD) of the patients using calcaneal Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) and determine the risk factors along with the FRAX score. This was a hospital based cross sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital done on 183 out patients. BMD was measured using calcaneal QUS & T scores were calculated along with the FRAX score. Results: The prevalence of osteoporosis was 29.5% and osteopenia was 42.1%.The age wise analysis of BMD revealed males have the tendency to lose their bone mass after the age of 40 years while in females, the trend begins a decade earlier. The mean BMD of post-menopausal females was significantly lower compared to pre-menopausal females (-2.72 ± 1.33 vs-1.63 ± 1.06, P < 0.0001).Linear regression analysis revealed a complex linear relationship between the FRAX score and the BMD and it was statistically significant. Conclusions: Calcaneal QUS can be used as a screening tool to screen for and detect osteoporosis. It is economical, portable and easily available in many parts of the country. DEXA scan, the gold standard test to diagnose osteoporosis can be used to confirm the diagnosis in selected cases.

No abstract

Background: Covid-19 curve can be flattened by adopting mass screening protocols with aggressive testing and isolating infected populations. The current approach largely depends on RT-PCR/rapid antigen tests that require expert personnel resulting in higher costs and reduced testing frequency. Loss of smell is reported as a major symptom of Covid-19, however, a precise olfactory testing tool to identify Covid-19 patient is still lacking. Methods: To quantitatively check for the loss of smell, we developed an odor strip, COVID-Anosmia checker, spotted with gradients of coffee and lemon grass oil. We validated its efficiency in healthy and COVID-19 positive subjects. A trial screening to identify SARS-CoV-2 infected persons was also carried out to check the sensitivity and specificity of our screening tool. Results: It was observed that COVID positive participants were hyposmic instead of being anosmic when they were subjected to smelling higher odor concentration. Our tool identified 97% of symptomatic and 94% of asymptomatic COVID-19 positive subjects after excluding most confounding factors like concurrent chronic sinusitis. Further, it was possible to reliably predict COVID-19 infection by calculating a loss of smell score with 100% specificity. We coupled this tool with a mobile application, which takes the input response from the user, and can readily categorize the user in the appropriate risk groups. Conclusion: Loss of smell can be used as a reliable marker for screening for Covid-19. Our tool can rapidly quantitate anosmia, hyposmia, parosmia, and can be used as a first-line screening tool to trace out Covid-19 infection effectively.

No abstract