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Background & objectives: Although polymicrobial infections involving both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are very common in diabetic foot ulcers, in many centres of developing countries, anaerobes are rarely isolated due to technical difficulties. This can be overcome by using a new simple, innovative technique of a combination of candle combustion and use of acidified copper-coated steel wool, as reported here. Methods: In-house developed method was used in a prospective clinico-microbiological study for anaerobes from randomly selected 43 patients with diabetic foot ulcers along with conventional method of anaerobic culture in GasPak system and aerobic culture by standard laboratory procedures. For primary isolation of anaerobes, Brucella blood agar supplemented with hemin (5 μg/ml) and menadione (1 μg/ml) was used. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were performed by the standard disc diffusion method for aerobes and E-test method for anaerobes. Results: All the 43 samples were culture positive, of which aerobic Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) predominated, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus and diphtheroids. Anaerobes isolated from 21 samples were Peptostreptococcus, Bacteroides, Porphyromonas, Veillonella spp. and Clostridium perfringens by both GasPak and in-house developed and modified candle jar techniques. Imipenem and metronidazole were most sensitive while clindamycin, penicillin and cefoxitin were least sensitive drugs for anaerobes. Aerobic GNB were found to be multidrug resistant, especially to penicillin and cephalosporins. The most sensitive drug was piperacillin-tazobactam. Interpretation & conclusions: For isolation of anaerobes from clinical specimens such as diabetic foot ulcers, modified candle jar technique was found to be as reliable as GasPak system. This modified technique needs to be tested for many other clinical materials which are not yet evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objectives: There is a paucity of data with conflicting reports regarding the extent and pattern of bone mineral (BM) loss in Graves' disease (GD), especially in young adults. Also, interpretation of BM data in Indians is limited by use of T-score cut-offs derived from Caucasians. This study was aimed to evaluate the occurrence of osteoporosis in active treatment naive patients with GD and determine the factors predicting BM loss, using standard T-scores from Caucasians and compare with the cut-offs proposed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for diagnosing osteoporosis in Indians. Methods: Patients with GD, >20 yr age without any history of use of anti-thyroid drugs, and normal controls without fracture history, drugs use or co-morbidities underwent BM density (BMD) assessment at lumbar spine, hip and forearm, thyroid function and calcium profile assessment. Women with menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency and men with androgen deficiency were excluded. Results: patients with GD (n=31) had significantly lower BMD at spine (1.01±0.10 vs. 1.13±0.16 kg/m²), hip (0.88±0.10 vs. 1.04±0.19 kg/m²) and forearm (0.46±0.04 vs. 0.59±0.09 kg/m²) compared with controls (n=30) (P<0.001). Nine (29%) and six (19.3%) patients with GD had osteoporosis as per T-score and ICMR criteria, respectively. None of GD patients had osteoporosis at hip or spine as per ICMR criteria. Serum T3 had strongest inverse correlation with BMD at spine, hip and femur. Step-wise linear regression analysis after adjusting for age, BMI and vitamin D showed T3 to be the best predictor of reduced BMD at spine, hip and forearm, followed by phosphate at forearm and 48 h I131 uptake for spine BMD in GD. Interpretation & conclusions: Osteoporosis at hip or spine is not a major problem in GD and more commonly involves forearm. Diagnostic criterion developed from Caucasians tends to overdiagnose osteoporosis in Indians. T3 elevation and phosphate are important predictors of BMD. Baseline I131 uptake may have some role in predicting BMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & objectives: Patients with diabetes and vitamin-D insufficiency have increased insulin resistance. Similar observations among individuals with prediabetes are not well documented. The aim of this study was to find the occurrence of vitamin-D insufficiency/deficiency among individuals with prediabetes and to evaluate the relationship between vitamin-D status and insulin resistance. Methods: One hundred fifty seven individuals with prediabetes who fulfilled all the inclusion and exclusion criteria underwent clinical examination, anthropometric measurements (waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, waist-height ratio) and blood sampling after overnight fast for estimation of fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, 25(OH)vitamin-D, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and lipid profile. One hour post 75 g glucose (1hPG) blood glucose during oral glucose tolerance test was measured. Results: Vitamin-D deficiency/insufficiency was found in 115 (73.25%) individuals with prediabetes. Severe vitamin-D deficiency (<10 ng/ml) was seen in 14.65 per cent individuals. Individuals with the lowest vitamin-D levels (<10 ng/ml) had the highest insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR: 2.04 ± 0.67). Serum 25(OH)D had a statistically significant inverse correlation with insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR; r=-0.33; P=0.008), and positive correlation with insulin sensitivity (QUICKI; r=0.39; P=0.002), after adjusting for BMI and HbA1c. There was no correlation between vitamin-D status and estimated beta cell mass (HOMA-ß). The mean waist-height ratio among individuals with prediabetes was 0.57 (normal<0.5) indicating a high risk of cardiovascular morbidity. Individuals with elevated 1hPG>155 mg/dl had significantly higher BMI and worse insulin resistance, and 1hPG correlated well with 2 hour post glucose blood glucose (r=0.57; P<0.001). Interpretations & conclusions: Vitamin-D deficiency/insufficiency may have some role in the development/ worsening of insulin resistance in individuals with prediabetes in our country who have a high cardiovascular risk. Prospective studies on a large group of individuals need to be done to confirm the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the authors of the article "Serum Vitamin-D Predicts Insulin Resistance in Individuals With Prediabetes," in the 2013 issue is presented.

A response from the authors of the article "Serum Vitamin-D Predicts Insulin Resistance in Individuals With Prediabetes," in the 2013 issue is presented.