Age and gender-related differences in quality of life of Bangladeshi patients with Down Syndrome: A cross-sectional study

Currently available screening instruments for evaluation of individuals with intellectual disabilities do not capture all the complications associated with Down Syndrome (DS). Here, we examined age and gender-specific variability revolving around major challenges related to ophthalmologic and auditory health, social integration, daily life, and behavioral problems in 468 (age: 2–84 years) individuals with DS living in all eight divisions of Bangladesh. More than half of the children presented with significant difficulty in walking or other targeted movements compared with 37.9% of adolescents (p = 0.03). Nearly 70% of children exhibited communication difficulties, particularly revolving around the understanding of speech, comprehending or learning tasks or new materials, and in expressing thoughts in words or behaviors (p = 0.003–0.006). Uncontrolled urination was frequent and predominantly found among children (p = 0.04). No significant differences were present in females vs. males except for concern about physical appearance (females: 58.5% vs. males: 47.5%; p = 0.02). The severity of DS was associated with intellectual performance, communication difficulties, and self-sufficiency (i.e., uncontrolled micturition or bowel movements) but not with psychotic, ophthalmologic, auditory, or motor skills-related problems. Increased awareness of DS phenotypic profiles among professionals and caregivers can foster earlier detection and counselling and help formulate appropriate interventions to reduce long-term sequelae and enhance cognitive and behavioral developmental outcomes.

Effects of arsenic and heavy metals on metabolic pathways in cells of human origin: Similarities and differences

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There are distinctive overlaps in different heavy metal affected metabolic pathways.

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Affected pathways vary according to the tissue origin and maturity of the cell.

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Arsenic appears to have relatively more pleiotropic effects on metabolic pathways.

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Some of the arsenic affected pathways are associated with diabetes.

Various anthropogenic and natural events over the years have gradually increased human exposure to various heavy metals. Several of these heavy metals including cadmium, mercury, nickel, chromium, and the metalloid arsenic among others, have created major public health concerns for their high level of toxicities. Identification of the general as well as the differentially affected cellular metabolic pathways will help understanding the molecular mechanism of different heavy metal-induced toxicities. In this study, we analyzed 25 paired (control vs. treated) transcriptomic datasets derived following treatment of various human cells with different heavy metals and metalloid (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, iron, mercury, nickel and vanadium) to identify the affected metabolic pathways. The effects of these metals on metabolic pathways depend not only on the metals per se, but also on the nature of the treated cells. Tissue of origin, therefore, must be considered while assessing the effects of any particular heavy metal or metalloid. Among the metals and metalloid, arsenic appears to have relatively more pleiotropic influences on cellular metabolic pathways including those known to have association with diabetes. Although only two stem cell derived datasets are included in the current study, effects of heavy metals on these cells appear to be different from other mature cells of similar tissue origin. This study provides useful information about different heavy metal affected pathways, which may be useful in further exploration using wet-lab based techniques.

Evaluation of the in vitro Antimicrobial Activity As well As Preservative Capacity of Several Popular Cosmetic Products Available in the Neighbouring Shops in Bangladesh

Cosmetic products are often inadequately preserved that provide favourable environment for microbial growth. These emphasize the need for regular investigation of cosmetics in terms of microbial quality and preservative capacity. This study aimed to evaluate the microbial quality, in vitro antibacterial activity and preservative capacity of several popular cosmetics collected from the neighbouring health-care stationary shops in Dhaka city from October 2019 to December 2019. Here, a total of five categories of seven different cosmetic products were subjected to evaluate microbial load, in vitro antibacterial activity and preservative capacity. Among the seven cosmetic products, the viable bacterial count in two cosmetics (All Clear and Sunsilk Shampoo) were found within the acceptable range that was <10³ CFU/ml. None of the cosmetics were found contaminated with fungus and pathogenic organisms. Conversely, three (one Mouthwash and two shampoo) products showed in vitro antibacterial activity against E. coli, S. aureus, Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. Only single cosmetic product (Cute coconut oil) did not meet the criteria of preservative capacity, while rest six products fulfil the requirements. Thus, our findings revealed a huge load of microorganisms in spite of having adequate preservative capacity in most of the tested products.

Early screening of chronic kidney disease patients among the asymptomatic adult population in Bangladesh

Introduction: Early identification of chronic kidney disease (CKD) provides valuable opportunities for effective interventions that reduce the risk of outcomes, particularly renal failure. Objectives: This study aimed to screen the Bangladeshi asymptomatic adult population for CKD to identify potential risk factors for its development. Patients and Methods: The screening program was carried out among the 400 subjects in the Thakurgaon district of Bangladesh to identify people with the risk of CKD. All the subjects were asymptomatic and previously been never diagnosed with kidney diseases. Demographic data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Urinary protein was tested by dipstick method, and serum creatinine was measured by an auto-analyzer. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated by using standard formula. CKD was diagnosed and classified according to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) guidelines. Results: A total of 18.2% respondents were found to have likely CKD to whom 82% were in stage 1 and 18% were in stage 2. The majority of the likely CKD respondents (30.1%) were in age >60 years. The prevalence of proteinuria was significantly (P=0.0001) higher among previously documented CKD patients compared to the control group. Logistic analysis revealed that after adjustments, CKD showed a significant association with diabetes mellitus (ORs: 7.46, P=0.00), smoking (ORs: 2.36, P=0.02), obesity (ORs: 3.98, P=0.00) and hypertension (ORs: 1.16, P=0.66) compared to control. Conclusion: A substantial number of adults were found to be unaware of the existence of CKD hence, large-scale prevention programs should be undertaken to reduce the classical risk factors of these disorders.

Association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and occupational exposures: A hospital based quantitative cross-sectional study among the Bangladeshi population

The association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and occupational exposures are less studied in Bangladeshi context, despite the fact that occupational exposures are serious public health concerns in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate this association considering demographic, health and smoking characteristics of Bangladeshi population. This was a hospital-based quantitative study including 373 participants who were assessed for COPD through spirometry testing. Assessment of occupational exposures was based on both self-reporting by respondents and ALOHA based job exposure matrix (JEM). Here, among the self-reported exposed group (n = 189), 104 participants (55%) were found with COPD compared to 23 participants (12.5%) in unexposed group (n = 184) that differed significantly (p = 0.00). Similarly, among the JEM measured low (n = 103) and high exposed group (n = 236), 23.3% and 41.5% of the participants were found with COPD respectively; compared to unexposed group (14.7%; n = 34), that differed significantly also (p = 0.00). Likewise, participants with longer self-reported occupational exposures (>8 years) showed significantly (p = 0.00) higher proportions of COPD (79.5%) compared to 40.4% in shorter exposure group (1-8 years). Similarly, significant (p = 0.00) higher cases of COPD were observed among the longer cumulative exposure years (>9 years) group than the shorter cumulative exposure years (1-9 years) group in JEM. While combining smoking and occupational exposure, the chance of developing COPD among the current, former and non-smokers of exposed group were 7.4, 7.2 and 12.7 times higher respectively than unexposed group. Furthermore, logistic analysis revealed that after adjustments for confounding risk factors, the chance of developing COPD among the self-reported exposure group was 6.3 times higher (ORs: 6.3, p = 0.00) than unexposed group; and JEM exposure group has odds of 2.8 and 1.1 respectively (p<0.05) for high and low exposures. Further studies are needed to reinforce this association between COPD and occupational exposure in Bangladesh.

Impairment of extra-high frequency auditory thresholds in subjects with elevated levels of fasting blood glucose

This study was performed to assess whether there is an association between elevated Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) and hearing impairment in Bangladeshi population. A total of 142 subjects (72 with elevated FBG; 70 control) were included in the study. The mean auditory thresholds of the control subjects at 1, 4, 8 and 12 kHz frequencies were 6.35 ± 0.35, 10.07 ± 0.91, 27.57 ± 1.82, 51.28 ± 3.01 dB SPL (decibel sound pressure level), respectively and that of the subjects with elevated FBG were 8.33 ± 0.66, 14.37 ± 1.14, 38.96 ± 2.23, and 71.11 ± 2.96 dB, respectively. The auditory thresholds of the subjects with elevated FBG were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the control subjects at all the above frequencies, although hearing impairment was most evidently observed at an extra-high (12 kHz) frequency. Subjects with a long duration of diabetes (>10 years) showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher level of auditory thresholds at 8 and 12 kHz, but not at 1 and 4 kHz frequencies, compared to subjects with shorter duration of diabetes (≤10 years). In addition, based on the data of odds ratio, more acute impairment of hearing at the extra-high frequency was observed in diabetic subjects of both older (>40 years) and younger (≤40 years) age groups compared to the respective controls. The binary logistic regression analysis showed a 5.79-fold increase in the odds of extra-high frequency hearing impairment in diabetic subjects after adjustment for age, gender and BMI. This study provides conclusive evidence that auditory threshold at an extra-high frequency could be a sensitive marker for hearing impairment in diabetic subjects.

Tea Extract Prevents Arsenic-mediated DNA Damage and Death of Murine Thymocytes in vitro

Groundwater contamination by arsenic has created a major health hazard in Bangladesh by affecting millions of people. In this study, we report cytotoxic effects of arsenic in primary culture of murine thymocytes and the counteractive actions of tea extract to reduce this cytotoxic effects. When murine thymocytes were incubated for shorter period (1 h) with higher concentrations (50 and 100 ?M) of sodium arsenite (NaAsO2), cell viability was decreased to 79.06 ± 0.52% and 62.53 ± 0.23%, respectively. In case of longer incubation (16 hrs) with a wide range of NaAsO2 concentration (1-100 ?M), cell viability was reduced from 89.30 ± 0.84% to 79.0 ± 0.52% by 1 ?M NaAsO2, and this reduction was continued with increasing concentration reaching to 29.60 ± 0.72% by 100 ?M. Tea is known to possess antioxidant property and we found that this tea extract reduced NaAsO2-mediated death of the cells in culture. After 16 h of incubation, the chromosomal DNA of 5 ?M NaAsO2-exposed cells was found degraded suggesting apoptotic death of the cells. Interestingly, this degradation of chromosomal DNA was blocked by tea extract. All of these results together suggest a future therapeutic application of tea extract to reduce or block arsenic toxicity.Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 14(1): 79-85, 2015 (June)