The possible protective role of HLA B27 and relevant immune markers in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis patients.

Background & Objectives: JIA is a disease with different immunological characteristics and a complicated genetic foundation. HLA B27 is a risk factor for the development of JIA, and its impact on immunopathogenesis of the disease is also an area of interest. To determine whether HLA B27 and immune markers varied between JIA patients and healthy population.

A modified hand washing method for resource limited settings.

The Good Microbiological Practices & Procedures (GMPP) is the most significant risk control measure as per the fourth edition of the WHO laboratory biosafety manual. Among GMPP, one of the best practices is hand washing. WHO and other public health agencies have published several guidance documents on hand washing, that describe closing the tap using a disposable paper towel/tissue paper at the end of hand washing as one of the critical steps.

Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome Typing and Multilocus Variable Number Tandem Repeat Analysis of Methicillin Resistant Clinical Isolates with Vancomycin Creep Phenomenon.

Background: The association of treatment failure and mortality with vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration creep (MIC) is a matter of serious concern in patients with severe methicillin resistant (MRSA) infections. The purpose of the study was to identify and characterize staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) and clonal types of MRSA strains, exhibiting the vancomycin MIC creep phenomenon.

Methods: A total of 3305 strains were isolated from various clinical samples of Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.

Epidemiology, Clinico-Pathological Characteristics, and Comorbidities of SARS-CoV-2-Infected Pakistani Patients.

SARS-CoV-2 is a causative agent for COVID-19 disease, initially reported from Wuhan, China. The infected patients experienced mild to severe symptoms, resulting in several fatalities due to a weak understanding of its pathogenesis, which is the same even to date. This cross-sectional study has been designed on 452 symptomatic mild-to-moderate and severe/critical patients to understand the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with their comorbidities and response to treatment.

Identifying and elucidating the resistance of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from hospital environment to conventional disinfectants.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a nosocomial pathogen, detection and elucidation of its resistance mechanisms to conventional disinfectants may aid in limiting its spread on environmental surfaces in health care settings. In the current study, disinfectant susceptibility of S. aureus strains isolated from the hospital environment as well as possible associations between the presence of disinfectant-resistance genes and reduced susceptibility to disinfectants was investigated.

SLC11A1 genetic variation and low expression may cause immune response impairment in TB patients.

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Host genetic factors are important for the detection of TB susceptibility. SLC11A1 is located in monocyte phagolysosomes that help to limit M.

Assessment of biosafety implementation in clinical diagnostic laboratories in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laboratory diagnostic capacity is crucial for an optimal national response to a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventing laboratory-acquired infections and the loss of critical human resources, especially during a public health emergency, requires laboratories to have a good biorisk management system in place. In this study, we aimed to evaluate laboratory biosafety and biosecurity in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Decreased classical monocytes and CD163 expression in TB patients: an indicator of drug resistance.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease instigated by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Peripheral blood monocytes represent highly efficient effector cells of innate immunity against TB. Little is known about monocyte subsets and their potential involvement in the development of M.

Immune System Activation in Rheumatic Heart Disease.

Objective: To assess activation of immune system in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients in the form of AECA, ACL and anti GBM antibodies.

Study Design: Descriptive, observational study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Immunology, University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore, and Outpatient Department, Punjab Institute of Cardiology, from February 2015 to January 2016.

Salivary Levels of IL-6 and IL-17 Could Be an Indicator of Disease Severity in Patients with Calculus Associated Chronic Periodontitis.

Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of gums that causes loss of supporting structures of teeth, that is, gingiva, periodontal ligament, cementum, and alveolar bone. Levels of various cytokines in the serum, gingival tissues, and gingival crevicular fluid in patients with chronic periodontitis have been studied, but limited data are available on the level of cytokines in saliva. Therefore, a study was designed to determine levels of salivary IL-6 and IL-17 in patients with calculus associated chronic periodontitis.

Immune mechanisms in type-2 diabetic retinopathy.

Objective: To enumerate CDR+CD25+ Treg cells and determine serum IL-6 and IL-17 in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with retinopathy.

Methods: The case-control study was conducted at the Department of Immunology, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, from November 2009 to January 2012 and comprised diabetic patients and healthy controls who were divided into three groups. Group 1 had controls, while Group 2 had diabetic patients without retinopathy and Group 3 had diabetic patients with retinopathy.

Negative association of serum IL-6 and IL-17 with type-II diabetes retinopathy.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a health concern which leads to complications such as retinopathy. Pakistan has 6.9 million people living with DM and this toll will be doubled by 2025.