Comparison of real time polymerase chain reaction with microscopy and antigen detection assay for the diagnosis of malaria.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity of a real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for malaria diagnosis and to compare its accuracy with microscopy and an antigen based rapid diagnostic test (OptiMal).

Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Military Hospital, Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from July to December 2011.

Serum leptin values in the healthy obese and non-obese subjects of Rawalpindi.

Objective: To determine serum leptin concentrations from a sample of Rawalpindi population in relation to body mass index, age and gender.

Methods: The observational, comparative study was conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, and Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi from August 2008 to December 2008. Subjects were 100 including healthy obese, overweight and non-obese of both genders aged between 20-50 years.

Frequency of conversion to overt hypothyroidism in patients with and without subclinical hypothyroidism.

Background: Sub-clinical hypothyroidism (SCO) poses diagnostic and management difficulties for pathologists and clinicians. Cases of SCO are now diagnosed with increasing frequencies worldwide mainly because of availability of more sensitive methods for serum TSH, total T3 and free T4 assays. The rate of progression of SCO to overt hypothyroidism varies in different populations.

Pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of premature coronary artery disease.

Proinflammatory interleukin-18 (IL-18), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hS-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and anti-inflammatory IL-10 are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in premature coronary artery disease (PCAD) and their association with the degree of angiographic atherosclerotic blockade. A case-control study was carried out at the National Institute of Heart Diseases, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Impact of CYP2C9 genetic polymorphism on warfarin dose requirements in Pakistani population.

Variations of cytochrome-P450 enzyme system (CYP2CP) are associated with impaired metabolism of warfarin. The objective of our study was to estimate the frequency of genetic and allelic variants of CYP2C9 in Punjabi population of Pakistan and their effects on warfarin dose requirement. One hundred and twenty unrelated Pakistani subjects belong to Punjab province, were randomly included from the registry of National Institute of Heart Disease Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Risk assessment of pesticide exposure on health of Pakistani tobacco farmers.

Tobacco is an important cash crop of Pakistan. Pesticides are commonly used to increase the crop yield, but their health impact has not been studied yet. The objectives of the study were to determine the frequency of pesticide poisoning and to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards safety measures among the tobacco farmers in Swabi, Pakistan.