Repair of oral mucosal defects with cryopreserved human amniotic membrane grafts: prospective clinical study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of the surgical repair of oral mucosal defects using cryopreserved human amniotic membrane (HAM) as a graft material. Thirty-four patients with precancerous lesions such as leukoplakia, erythroplakia, and verrucous hyperplasia were included. Fresh amniotic membrane was obtained from women undergoing elective caesarean section; the membrane was cleaned, prepared in antibiotic solutions, and preserved at -80°C. Results suggested that HAM promotes healing and epithelialization without specific complications. Thus we conclude that the use of HAM gives promising results in the repair of post-surgical oral mucosal defects.

Cryoprotective Effect of Disaccharides on Cord Blood Stem Cells with Minimal Use of DMSO

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an extremely attractive source of stem cells for the treatment of various benign and malignant hematological and non-hematological disorders. To facilitate the preservation of these stem cells, 10 % dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is widely used as cryoprotectant in cord blood banks. But it is found to be toxic at this concentration with the result of serious side effects in recipients after infusion of DMSO-cryopreserved cells. Evaluation of viability and functionality of cryopreserved hematopoietic stem cells is needed with either inclusion of nontoxic additives alone or with reduced DMSO concentration. We assessed the post thawing viability of UCB stem cells in the freezing medium containing disaccharides (sucrose or trehalose) alone and in combination with reduced amount i.e. 2 % DMSO by trypan blue staining. The functionally active progenitor cells content of the optimized media was then evaluated and compared with 5% DMSO by a colony forming unit assay using methylcellulose based media. The freezing solution containing 0.2 M trehalose with 2 % DMSO came out to be superior in the evaluation of viability and generation of hematopoietic colonies of erythroid and myeloid lineage than 5 % DMSO alone. While the percentage of viability was lower than 2 % DMSO, as observed in the medium containing 0.2 M trehalose or sucrose alone, with poor outcome of generation of myeloid lineage based colonies. Our study results suggest that trehalose (0.2M) with the inclusion of reduced concentration of DMSO(2%) can better replace 5%DMSO rather than complete removal of DMSO from the freezing medium.

Serum IL-4, IL-12 and TNF-alpha in malaria: a comparative study associating cytokine responses with severity of disease from the Coastal Districts of Odisha

We investigated the role of IL-4, IL-12 and TNF-alpha in clinically well-defined groups of Plasmodium falciparum and vivax (Pf & Pv) infected patients belonging to Group I (++), Group II (+++) and Group III (++++). On the basis of hematological parameters, hyperparasitaemia, and evidence of neurological involvement, three different levels of severity were selected attributing a score from Group I (++) to Group III (++++). In each group 16 patients each of P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria were studied. As a control group for cytokine determination 30 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Serum samples were analyzed for IL-12, IL-4 and TNF-alpha using (ELISA) obtained commercially (Ray Biotech). Hb levels of Pf and Pv patients were 8 ± 1.94, 7.6 ± 1.64 g/dl and 3.6 ± 1.23 and 10.1 ± 1.21, 9.4 ± 1.43 and 7.1 ± 0.98 g/dl. Serum iron levels of Pf and Pv patients were 85.86 ± 0.86, 81.10 ± 0.70 and 70.1 ± 0.73 and 99.47 ± 0.85, 96.67 ± 1.13 and 91.7 ± 2.65 mg/dl. TNF-alpha levels of Pf and Pv patients were 155 ± 23.66, 307.5 ± 111.87 and 955 ± 261.32 and 72 ± 9.93, 140.88 ± 23.11 and 469.37 ± 416.99 pg/ml. IL-12 levels of Pf and Pv patients were 117.5 ± 8.16, 160.63 ± 20.81 and 293.13 ± 94.64 and 75.7 ± 9.25, 112.9 ± 12.05 and 200 ± 53.78 pg/ml. IL-4 levels of Pf and Pv patients were 3.7 ± 0.11, 3.2 ± 0.13 and 2.3 ± 0.63 and 5.33 ± 1.08, 4.8 ± 0.16 and 3.9 ± 0.48 pg/ml. In the control group the values of TNF-alpha, IL-12 and IL-4 were 42.9 ± 13.5, 49.8 ± 11.59 and 6.06 ± 1.32 pg/ml respectively. Cytokines and poor oxygen delivery should not be viewed as alternative theories of malarial disease pathophysiology instead poor oxygen delivery is one of the consequences of excessive release of inflammatory cytokines which is further augmented by the present work.

Evaluation of oxidative stress in pregnancy induced hypertension

This work was undertaken to investigate correlation between oxidative stress and initiation of pathogenesis of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). Fifty primigravidae in age group of 20-35 years and gestational age 28-42 weeks with PIH were taken as cases. Twenty healthy primigravidae with no medical and surgical complications of pregnancy and with blood pressure ≤140/90 mm Hg served as controls. The cases were again subgrouped as severe preeclampsia (12 in number) and mild pre-eclampsia (38 in number). All of them were evaluated for serum malondialdehyde (MDA), Serum vitamin E and plasma vitamin C levels. The serum MDA levels were raised significantly in women with mild preeclampsia (P<0.01) and in women with severe preeclampsia (P<0.01) in comparison to normal primi gravida. The serum vitamin E levels were decreased in primi gravida with mild preeclampsia (p<0.1) and in primi with severe pre eclampsia (P<0.1) in comparison to normal primi gravida but the fall was not statistically significant. There was a significant fall (P<0.05) in the vitamin C levels in primi with mild preeclampsia than in the normal primi. The vitamin C levels in severe preeclamptic patients were lower than the normal primi but the fall was not statistically significant (P=0.10). The serum MDA and vitamin E showed a negative correlation in all the cases. The serum MDA and plasma vitamin C also showed a negative correlation in the control and study group. This observation suggests that in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy there is an imbalance between lipid peroxidation and antioxidant vitamin status because of oxidative stress. The decreased serum concentrations of the antioxidant vitamins supports the hypothesis that lipid peroxidation is an important causative factor in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. The rise in antioxidants is probably to compensate the increased peroxide load in severe preeclampsia.

Influence of oxidants and anti-oxidants on semen parameters in infertile males

The deleterious effect of free radicals on spermatozoa was assessed by estimating malondialdehyde and vitamins E and C in seminal plasma and their relation with different sperm parameters. Twenty-two fertile controls with 74 primary infertile males were analysed in the department of biochemistry, SCB Medical College, Cuttack. Seminal malondialdehyde level was observed to be raised in all infertile groups except azoospermic cases in comparison to control. Levels of vitamins E and C were significantly low in the infertile cases (p < 0.001) in relation to control. Significant positive correlation between malondialdehyde with total sperm count and leucocyte count (p < 0.01) indicates their dual contribution towards free radical generation. The negative association of semen malondialdehyde with normal sperm motility and morphology suggests damaging effect of free radicals on sperm membrane integrity. Marked negative correlation of seminal malondialdehyde with both the vitamins signifies their protective utilisation during oxidative phenomenon. In conclusion, understanding the physiologic and pathologic effects of free radicals on sperm function will help in designing new and effective treatment strategies in male infertility.

Evaluating role of oxidative stress in determining the pathogenesis of falciparum malaria induced acute renal failure

Serum malondialdehyde was measured in sixty-one falciparum malaria cases, which include thirty uncomplicated, and thirty-one complicated with acute renal failure. Twenty-six healthy individuals were also studied as controls. Serum malondialdehyde level was found to be significantly elevated in falciparum malaria induced acute renal failure cases when compared with uncomplicated falciparum malaria (p<0.001) and healthy controls (p<0.001). A positive correlation with the raised urea, creatinine and bilirubin levels were significant (r=0.62, p<0.025; r=0.65, p<0.05 and r=0.72, p<0.001 respectively) indicating the severity of complication with rise of lipid peroxides in falciparum malaria induced acute renal failure cases.