A STUDY OF SEVERITY OF STROKE AND HOMOCYSTEINE LEVEL IN SOUTHERN PART OF RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Objective: Till date, a very few prospective studies have examined the association between serum homocysteine levels and the risk of stroke and stroke subtypes in Indian populations. Methods: A prospective, case - control study of Indian subjects 10–90 years of age was conducted using frozen serum samples from 103 participants in cardiovascular risk surveys collected from December 2017 to November 2018. By the end of 103, we identified 55 incidents of severe strokes, one control subject per case was selected by matching for sex, age, community, year of serum storage, and fasting status. Serum total homocysteine levels were measured by Cobas c-311. Results: Compared with control subjects, total (n_206), hemorrhagic (n_106), and ischemic (n_87) strokes had higher geometric mean values of total homocysteine and higher proportions of homocysteine −25.0 μ mol/L. Homocysteine was estimated after adjustment for body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, hypertension, and other cardiovascular risk factors. The excess risk of total and ischemic strokes did not vary significantly according to sex, age, smoking status, or hypertensive status. Conclusion: High total homocysteine concentrations were associated with the increased risk of total stroke, more specifically ischemic stroke) Capsuloganglionic and frontoparietal infarct (8 each)., among Indian men and women.

Effect of pig serum storage conditions on detection of anti-ASFV antibodies by ELISA

One of the measures used to control and prevent African swine fever spread in the Russian Federation involves testing pig and boar sera using inter alia serological tools based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-viral antibody detection. However, there is no unified regulatory document specifying storage conditions for sera used in the ELISA for anti-ASFV antibody detection. There are also lack of published data on the maximum admissible shelf life of the pig sera, and the effect of storage conditions on the serological status of the pig sera as for ASF is understudied. The paper demonstrates results of the experiment aimed at the determination of the effect of storage temperatures and shelf life on the serological status of ASFV seropositive and seronegative pig sera when tested by INgezim PPA Compac (Ingenasa, Spain) ELISA as well as on the possibility of false results. During the experiment and analysis of its results, the new data were obtained, and they indicated from none to non-significant effect of the simulated storage conditions on the serological status of sera used for ASFV detection, while hemolyzed sera demonstrated more significant changes proportional to hemolysis degree and storage duration. Although the results of detection of antibodies against the agents of some diseases cannot be used in case of other pathogens, this study has a substantial applied significance as it allows to specify the dependence of the valid results of ASF serodiagnosis on the storage conditions of the samples.

N-Terminal Pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide, sST2 and Galectin-3 Levels in Breast Cancer Survivors

NT-proBNP, soluble ST2 (sST2), and galectin-3 are biomarkers of cardiac dysfunction that have been proposed as identifiers of patients experiencing asymptomatic cardiac dysfunction after anthracycline-based chemotherapy. This study aimed to compare the proportion of breast cancer (BC) survivors with elevated serum levels of these three putative biomarkers by prior receipt of anthracycline (yes vs. no). Five-hundred-eighty survivors of BC who had received anthracycline-based chemotherapy were matched by age and time between diagnosis and serum storage to 580 who had not. Cardiac biomarker levels were analyzed using immunoassays. Analyses were carried out using linear and logistic regression models. Anthracycline recipients had higher values of NT-proBNP than non-recipients (mean 116.0 ng/L vs. 97.0 ng/L, respectively; p < 0.001). Values for ST2 and galectin-3 did not significantly differ by receipt of anthracycline. After further adjustment for age at breast cancer diagnosis, ethnicity, and receipt of trastuzumab, associations between receipt of anthracycline and higher NT-proBNP persisted (p < 0.001), showing that NT-proBNP may be a biomarker of cardiovascular toxicity after receipt of anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Further research to assess the clinical utility of NT-proBNP testing after receipt of anthracycline is recommended. sST2 and galectin-3 do not appear to differentiate between anthracycline recipients and non-recipients amongst breast cancer survivors.

Pengaruh Lamanya Penyimpanan Serum pada Suhu 20-80 0c Selama Satu Minggu terhadap Kadar Kolesterol Total

Laboratory examinations are essential to establish diseases diagnosis so the results should be accurate. Therefore, it is necessary to control the pre-analytic, analytic and post-analytic. Cholesterol examination is one of the ways to establish the diagnosis of DM, Heart and hypertension. This study was aimed to determine the effect of duration of serum storage at a temperature of 2°-8°C for a week with total cholesterol levels. Samples were checked daily for a week. The samples of this study were the 2nd and 3rd grade of Health Analyst’s students who lived in the male dormitory where total samples were 5 samples. The study was conducted from March to June 2013. Each sample was checked for total serum cholesterol levels which stored at a temperature of 2°-8°C for a week. This examination used CHOD-PAP method. From the results of data analysis with Friedman Test method, it was determined that total cholesterol levels in serum which stored at temperature 2°-8°C for a week obtained Chi-Square value = 28.827 and p = 0.000 where showed that there was effect of duration of serum storage at temperature 2°-8°C for a week with total cholesterol level.Abstrak: Pemeriksaan laboratorium sangat penting untuk menegakkan diagnosa penyakit sehingga hasil harus akurat. Oleh karena itu, perlu dilakukan pengendalian terhadap pra-analitik, analitik dan pasca analitik. Pemeriksaan kolesterol merupakan salah satu upaya untuk menegakkan diagnosa penyakit DM, Jantung, dan hipertensi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh lamanya penyimpanan serum pada suhu 2°- 8°C selama 1 minggu terhadap kadar kolesterol total. Sampel diperiksa setiap hari selama 1 minggu. Sampel penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa tingkat 2 dan 3 Analis Kesehatan yang tinggal di asrama putra dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 5 sampel. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Maret-Juni 2013. Masing-masing sampel diperiksa kadar kolesterol total pada serum yang disimpan pada suhu 2°- 8°C selama 1 minggu. Pemeriksaan ini menggunakan metode CHOD-PAP. Dari hasil analisis data dengan metode Friedman Test, diketahui bahwa kadar kolesterol total pada serum yang disimpan pada suhu 2°- 8°C selama 1 minggu didapatkan besaran nilai Chi Square = 28,827 dan p = 0.000. Hasil uji signifkansi Chi Square metode Friedman test menunjukkan bahwa p < 0.05 sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh lamanya penyimpanan pada serum yang disimpan pada suhu 2°- 8°C selama 1 minggu terhadap kadar kolesterol total.

Thrombin-Accelerated Quick Clotting Serum Tubes: An Evaluation with 22 Common Biochemical Analytes

Clot activator serum tubes have significantly improved turnaround times for result reporting compared to plain tubes. With increasing workload and service performance expectations confronting clinical laboratories with high-volume testing and with particular emphasis on critical analytes, attention has focussed on preanalytical variables that can be improved. We carried out a field study on the test performance of BD vacutainer rapid serum tubes (RSTs) compared to current institutional issued BD vacutainer serum separator tubes (SSTs) in its test result comparability, clotting time, and stability on serum storage. Data from the study population (n=160) of patients attending outpatient clinics and healthy subjects showed that results for renal, liver, lipids, cardiac, thyroid, and prostate biochemical markers were comparable between RSTs and SSTs. Clotting times of the RSTs were verified to be quick with a median time of 2.05 min. Analyte stability on serum storage at 4°C showed no statistically significant deterioration except for bicarbonate, electrolytes, and albumin over a period of 4 days. In conclusion, RSTs offered savings in the time required for the clotting process of serum specimens. This should translate to further trimming of the whole process from blood collection to result reporting without too much sacrifice on test accuracy and performance compared to the current widely used SSTs in most clinical laboratories.