Metabolic Issues in Schizophrenic Patients Receiving Antipsychotic Treatment

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder with a complex pathophysiology and requires treatment that includes long term administration of antipsychotics that is said to be associated with metabolic syndrome. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of seven different antipsychotics prescribed to schizophrenic patients, on development of metabolic syndrome in the patients. A total of 210 patients with schizophrenia (30 patients in each drug therapy group) were recruited according to ICD-10 criteria and were assigned to receive the drug for 16 weeks. Measurement of anthropometric (body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure) and biochemical parameters (glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, LDL, HDL) was done and the patients were subjected to ATP-III defined criteria for metabolic syndrome. Patients undergoing treatment with olanzapine were more prone to metabolic syndrome as the drug induces weight gain after 16 weeks of treatment. It also induces dyslipidemia (P < 0.001) and hyperglycemia (P < 0.01). Clozapine was found to be second most potent drug in inducing metabolic syndrome as the weight in clozapine treated patients increased after 16 weeks, along with a significant increase in glycemic (P < 0.001) and lipid parameters (P < 0.01). Aripriazole and amisulphride are comparatively safer drugs as their role in inducing metabolic abnormalities in schizophrenic patients was insignificant, although the impact of long term administration of these drugs needs to be explored. It is clear from the study that antipsychotic treatment induces metabolic syndrome so, it becomes important that the metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors should be surveillance regularly in schizophrenic patients undergoing antipsychotic treatment.     

Effect of Growth Hormone on Plasminogen Activator and Inhibitor Activity in Rat

Growth retardation is one of the significant changes in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Disturbances in growth hormone (GH) are held responsible for several complications in CKD. GH is a protein based peptide hormone which directly or indirectly regulates renal functions to ensure homeostasis. We investigated the effects of growth hormone on plasminogen activators (PA) in rat kidney, PA and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), glucose and fibrinogen in plasma and serum lipid profile. Rats were injected daily with 250 mU GH kg-1 body weight subcutaneously for one week. Growth hormone treatment increased PA activity significantly in rat kidneys as compared to controls. No changes were seen in PA, PAI and fibrinogen levels in the plasma of two groups of rats. There was significant decrease in plasma glucose, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in serum of treated group resulting in the decrease of HDL/LDL and total cholesterol/cholesterol ratios. However, triglycerides and VLDL showed significant higher activity in the serum of treated group as compared to controls. Our data suggests that GH administration might improve renal function by increasing PA activity in kidney as well as by reducing the cholesterol content in blood. GH may be effective in improving growth failure as it helps to maintain the normal homeostatic balance.     

Iron deficiency and anemia in vegetarian mothers and their newborns

Blood haemoglobin, serum iron, iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation and ferritin levels were determined in two groups of mothers as well as their cords—strict vegetarians (lactovegetarians) and non-vegetarians (omnivores), closely comparable in age, weight, parity and gestation period but differing in their diet and food habits. All these parameters, except total iron binding capacity, were found to be significantly lower in vegetarian mothers and their cords as compared to nonvegetarian mothers and their cords, respectively, despite receiving supplemental iron for six months. Further, there was a greater incidence of anemia and iron deficiency in mothers consuming only vegetarian diet. Moreover, a significant correlation existed between mother's ferritin to cord ferritin confirming that maternal iron deficiency does affect neonatal iron status. All these observations suggest that strict vegetarian mothers as well as their newborns have a greater incidence and risk of anemia and iron deficiency.     

Evaluation of C4b as an adjunct marker in symptomatic RT-PCR negative Covid-19 cases

IntroductionDetecting low viral load has been a challenge in this pandemic, which has led to its escalated transmission. Complement activation has been implicated in pathogenesis of Covid-19 infection. Thus, evaluation of complement activation in suspected Covid-19 infection may help to detect infection and limit false negative cases thus limiting transmission of infection. We speculate that measuring C4b, produced from an activated complement system due to the presence of Covid-19 may help in its detection, even when the viral titers are low.MethodsPlasma C4b levels of symptomatic RT-PCR positive patients (cases, n = 40); symptomatic RT-PCR negative patients (n = 35) and asymptomatic RT-PCR negative controls (n = 40) were evaluated. Plasma C5b-9, IL-6, D-dimer and C1-Inhibitor (C1-INH) were also measured in cases and controls. ELISA kits were used for all measurements. Statistical analyses were carried out using Stata, version 12 (Stata Corp., Texas, USA).ResultsC4b levels were found to be significantly increased in RT-PCR positive patients as compared to asymptomatic RT-PCR negative controls. RT-PCR negative but symptomatic patients still showed increased C4b levels. The significantly higher levels of C4b in cases with a cut-off value of ≥ 116 ng/ml with optimum sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 52% respectively is indicative of its possible use as an adjunct marker. Increased levels of D-dimer, IL6, along with decreased levels of C1-INH were found in cases compared to controls. Whereas, C5b-9 levels were not significantly raised in cases.ConclusionsThe results of our study suggests that plasma C4b may help to detect infection in false negative cases of RT-PCR that escape detection owing to low viral load. However, to confirm it a large-scale study is needed.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12291-022-01033-z.     

A comparative study on the effects of Gemfibrozil, Diltiazem and Isosorbide dinitrate on lipid profile in patients of ischemic heart disease in India

Effects of three drugs, Gemfibrozil, Diltiazem and lsosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) on various lipid parameters were studied in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) with positive treadmill stress response. Gemfibrozil and diltiazem significantly lowered the levels of serum total lipids (TL), triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), and incroased the levels of serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) significantly. However, patients administered with ISDN showed a significant increase in all the lipid parameters except HDL-C, which showed a significant decrease.     

A biologically active constituent of withania somnifera (ashwagandha) with antistress activity

In Ayurvedic medicine,Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is well known for its anti-stress activity. A passive rat experimental model, where the animals are subjected to multiple stress of cold, hypoxia, restraint (C-H-R) has been developed to evaluate adaptogenic properties of various fractions of W. somnifera root extracts. We have carried out extraction of roots of W. somnifera with water and further isolated one of the active constituents called compound X and also tested its anti-stress activity in C-H-R model. The effect of administration of W. somnifera water suspension (360 mg/Kg bw) and compound X (20mg/Kg bw) on the fall and recovery of colonic temperature was noted. There was an increase of ≈38% and ≈54% in the time taken to attain T_rec 23°C by rats given a single dose of fresh aqueous suspension and biologically active constituent (Compound X) respectively, where as decrease in the recovery time to attain T_rec 37°C is ≈13% and ≈33% respectively, as compared to control group. It is clear that rats treated with the fresh aqueous suspension and compound X ofWithania somnifera, could withstand the multiple stress of C-H-R better than control group.     

Pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of students with high support needs in regular classrooms in Bangladesh

In the process of educational reforms for promoting equity and inclusion in education, pre‐service teacher preparedness has been identified as a vital factor that has an impact on the success of inclusive education. Bangladesh, like other parts of the world, has taken various initiatives to promote inclusive education in the country context. This study is an attempt to explore factors related to pre‐service teachers’ preparedness for inclusive education in Bangladesh. The current study is an extension of the work completed in previous studies and specifically examined participants’ attitudes and factors that influenced their attitudes. Following a mixed method design, this multi‐phase study measured 1,623 pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in phase 1. By applying a multiple regression procedure, several variables were identified that impacted on pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The results indicated that Bangladeshi pre‐service teachers hold a less positive attitude towards the inclusion of children who have high support needs (that is, those who use Braille or sign language, or those who need to have an Individualised Academic Programme). In order to better understand the findings about apprehensive attitudes among pre‐service teachers, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with six institutional heads of pre‐service teacher education institutions. The interviews provided a new perspective on apprehensive attitudes among participants. Several curriculum reform suggestions are made that may have implications for policy‐makers and researchers in Bangladesh and beyond.     

Book reviews

The presence of a virtual learning environment (VLE) in an on‐campus setting can alter the dimensions of existing learning and teaching relationships. Research literature indicates that increased engagement with educational technology can have the effect of drawing staff and students closer together (both physically and virtually) rather than encouraging campus‐based institutions to deliver more of their provision at a distance. This paper will explore how on‐campus students can benefit from appropriate use of technology in ways that make them feel increasingly connected with their institution and their peers. Using qualitative data we explore how effective use of technology can help to bridge the physical gap between the students, their institution and their peers – even where the actual interactions between students take place offline – and how the combination of physical and virtual learning environments can be used to create an effective learning and teaching experience.

Etablissement d'une ligne dans un environnement de formation integré. La présence d'un environnement virtuel de formation (VLE) sur le campus peut changer les dimensions des relations d'enseignement et de formation existantes. La littérature de recherche démontre qu'une l'utilisation augmentée de la technologie d'éducation interactive a surtout l'effet de rapprocher le corps enseignant et les étudiants (aussi bien physiquement que virtuellement) plutôt que d'encourager les institutions basées sur le campus de transmettre leur services d'éducation de manière plus renforcée (Cairncross, ; Graetz &; Goliber, ). Cet exposé démontre comment les étudiants du campus peuvent bénifier de l'utilisation appropriée de la technologie afin de se sentir plus apparentés à leur institution et à leurs camarades. En utilisant des dates qualitatives, nous explorons comment l'utilisation effective de la technologie permet de surmonter la lacune physique entre les étudiants, leur institution et leurs camarades – même si les interactions réelles entre les étudiants ont lieu dans milieu autonome – et comment la combinaison des environnements physiques et virtuels de formation peut aider à créer une expérience d'enseignement et de formation effective.

Die Herstellung einer Verbindung in einem integrierten Lernumfeld. Die Existenz eines virtuellen Lernumfelds im Universitätsbereich kann die Dimensionen der bestehenden Lern‐ und Lehrbeziehungen verändern. Die Forschungsliteratur beweist, dass ein gesteigerter Dialog durch Bildungstechnologie eher das Lehrerkollegium und die Studenten (sowohl physisch als auch virtuell) zusammenbringt, als dass es Hochschulen motiviert, eine höhere, flächendeckende Unterstützung zu bieten. (Cairncorss, ; Graetz &; Goliber, ). Dieser Bericht belegt, wie Studenten im Universitätsbereich vom angemessenen Gebrauch der Technologie profitieren können, so dass sie sich zunehmend mit ihrer Hochschule und mit ihren Kommilitonen verbunden fühlen. Indem wir qualifizierte Daten verwenden, zeigen wir, wie die effektive Nutzung von Technologie helfen kann, die physische Lücke zwischen Studenten, ihrer Hochschule und ihren Kommilitonen zu überwinden – selbst wenn die tatsächlichen Interaktionen zwischen den Studenten offline stattfinden – und wie die Kombination physischer und virtueller Lernumfelder genutzt werden kann, um eine effektive Lern‐ und Lehrerfahrung entstehen zu lassen.     

Teaching probability: a socio‐constructivist perspective

There is a considerable and rich literature on students' misconceptions in probability. However, less attention has been paid to the development of students' probabilistic thinking in the classroom. This paper offers a sequence, grounded in socio‐constructivist perspective for teaching probability.