Publications by authors named "Gargi Rai"

Rhino-Orbital-Cerebral Mucormycosis (ROCM) cases increased sharply in India during the second COVID-19 wave. Due to uncontrolled hyperglycemia, prolonged steroid use, and high ferritin levels, the immune system was dysregulated throughout this surge. Our study examined post-COVID-19 ROCM patients' T regulatory cell (Treg), T helper 17 cell (Th17) and Myeloid derived suppressor cell (MDSC) levels before and after three months of treatment.

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T cell subsets (CD4 and CD8) play a prominent role in the development of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). Colonization with Aspergillus flavus is recognized as a trigger for the growth of nasal polyps. The fungal proteins initiate the recruitment of T cells into the nasal mucosa, which contributes to the progression of nasal polyps.

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Background And Objectives: is an important cause of diarrhea in children under five, often missed by conventional laboratory methods. Blood in stools has always been a syndromic indicator for diarrhea, but most cases present with watery diarrhea without blood. This study aimed to determine the frequency of detected by molecular and conventional methods in children under five.

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Background: Sepsis is a result of suppressed host immune response which leads to fatal multi-organ dysfunctionality. Low frequency of active monocytes or reduced expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR on monocytes shows the suppressed immune response in sepsis patients. One of the well-studied markers in patients with sepsis is procalcitonin (PCT).

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected millions of people worldwide and declared a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30, 2020. Albeit, unprecedented efforts have been made from the scientific community to understand the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease, the host immune and inflammatory responses are not explored well in the Indian population. Continuous arrival of new variants fascinated the scientists to understand the host immune processes and to eradicate this deadly virus.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the prevalence and characteristics of invasive candidiasis, particularly candidemia, in 49 febrile children with lymphoreticular malignancies in developing countries, finding a 5% candidemia rate mostly caused by non-albicans Candida species.
  • Key indicators like Candida colonization and mannan antigen detection were analyzed, revealing that significant colonization was associated with candidemia, particularly on the first and fourth days of fever.
  • Manann antigen levels showed excellent predictive capabilities for candidemia, with a cut-off value identified that provided high sensitivity and specificity, indicating potential for early diagnosis and improved patient outcomes when combined with other biomarkers.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations and their relationship to oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), highlighting how factors like inflammation and viral infections contribute to these changes.
  • - In a sample of 200 patients, it was found that mtDNA content was significantly higher in OSCC patients (7.60) compared to OPMDs (5.93) and healthy controls (5.37), with HPV-positive individuals also showing elevated mtDNA levels.
  • - The findings suggest that increased mtDNA may be linked to oxidative stress and cellular changes associated with tumor development, indicating that mtDNA quantification could be useful for assessing the severity and malignancy potential of
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The loss of balance between regulatory T (Treg) and T helper 17 (Th17) causes loss of tolerance against desmoglein (Dsg)-3 leading to pemphigus vulgaris (PV), an autoimmune bullous skin disorder associated with autoantibodies against Dsg-3. We aimed to elucidate the complex relationship of Th17 and Treg cells, their molecules, and the underlying mechanism in the development of PV disease. Using cytokine secretion assays, Th17 and Treg cells were sorted by FACS Aria-III within Dsg-3-responsive PBMC population and homogeneous T cell clones were generated in-vitro.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the serum levels of cytokines produced by the Th1 (IFN-γ, IL-12), Th2 (IL-4), Th17 (IL-6, IL-17A, IL-23), and Treg (IL-10 and TGF-β) pathways in individuals with active pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and to determine whether these levels were correlated with the severity of the disease condition.

Patients And Methods: This study was conducted with 90 individuals, of which 50 were PV patients and 40 healthy individuals (age and gender-matched) as controls. Serum samples were collected and tested for cytokine levels by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).

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Dermatophytosis is a common superficial fungal infection of the skin and its appendages caused by dermatophytes. Recent times have witnessed a dynamic evolution of dermatophytes driven by their ecology, reproduction, pathogenicity and host immune response, influenced by population migration and socioeconomic status. Dermatophytes establish infection following successful adherence of arthroconidia to the surface of keratinized tissues.

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White piedra is a superficial fungal infection of hair caused by species. It presents clinically as white nodules encasing the hair shafts and may lead to increased fragility. It can usually be differentiated easily from clinically similar conditions based on clinical and microbiologic features.

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Background: T helper (Th)17 and regulatory T (Treg) cells with toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 have been acknowledged to play a critical role in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). However, its pathogenesis has been perplexed by conflicting reports on the role of Th17/Treg cells in patients of distinct ethnicities. We attempted to understand the role of Th responses induced during host defense against Aspergillus flavus.

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Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a dreaded complication of cancer chemotherapy. There has been a lot of improvement in supportive care in FN that has drastically reduced the infection-related mortality in these patients. The focus now is on reducing infection-related morbidity, healthcare costs and optimizing the quality of life of the child as well as their family during these episodes.

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Background: Raised incidences of respiratory tract infections due to fungal agents in immunocompetent individuals are a cause of concern due to the unavailability of rapid diagnostic methods.

Materials And Methods: Sputum and serum samples were collected from patients having lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), serum samples were screened for the presence of anti antibodies and sputum samples were homogenized and processed for identification of by conventional methods and further subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using genus-specific ITS 4-5 primers.

Results: PCR identified s in 28% sputum samples, which was high as compared to conventional methods.

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Background And Aims: Ventilation can induce increase in inflammatory mediators that may contribute to systemic organ dysfunction. Ventilation-induced organ dysfunction is likely to be accentuated if there is a pre-existing systemic inflammatory response.

Material And Methods: Adult patients suffering from intestinal perforation peritonitis-induced systemic inflammatory response syndrome and scheduled for emergency laparotomy were randomized to receive intraoperative ventilation with 10 ml.

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The delineation of the pathogenic interaction between the host skin immune responses and dermatophytes has remained indigent. The obscure enigma in host-dermatophyte immunopathogenic interactions is the T regulatory (Treg) and T-helper (Th) 17  cell role in maintaining immune homeostasis. We attempted to understand the regulation and recognition of lineage-specific response in chronic dermatophytic skin infection patients.

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Eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic subtypes of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyp (CRSwNP) have different clinical profile and management. Currently the 2 subtypes are differentiated based on tissue eosinophilic infiltration, which is identified after surgery by histopathological examination. Hence this study was conducted to compare utility of computed tomography (CT) scans, serum IgE levels, absolute eosinophil count (AEC) and Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT)-20 score for discriminating the 2 subtypes.

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Background: This preliminary randomized controlled study evaluated effect of thoracic epidural block (TEB) on progression of acute pancreatitis induced organ dysfunction/failure.

Materials And Methods: Patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis, without contraindication to TEB were randomized to receive (group TE) or not receive a TEB (group NTE) (n = 16 each). For group TE, TEB was performed at T8-9 or T9-10 vertebral level, with infusion of ropivacaine (0.

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Background: Whether intraoperative use of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions is associated with postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) continues to be researched. Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is validated for early detection of AKI. Previous studies are limited and use empirically predefined volumes of HES solutions with serum creatinine as marker for AKI.

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Dermatophytosis is caused by keratinophilic dermatophytes and affects the superficial skin and its appendages. The nature of infection and response to treatment is influenced by host-pathogen factors like duration and severity of disease, prior drug history and type of causative organism. In our study, the burden of dermatophytosis affecting glabrous skin saw a rise in recalcitrant and reinfection cases with only 1.

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has become a great challenge in diagnostic, therapeutic and hospital environmental adaptation. With a prevalence of 5.3% in intensive care unit (ICU) acquired candidemia in India, its colonization is very rapid which hastens hospital transmission.

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Interleukin-17 producing T helper (Th17) and regulatory T cells (Treg) cells have been identified to play a critical role in atopic inflammation. However, conflicting reports on the role of Th17/Treg cells in allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) patients of different ethnicities has mystified its pathogenesis. To better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in AFRS, we conducted a prospective, analytical, case-control study involving 40 confirmed immunocompetent AFRS patients and 20 healthy controls.

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Objective: To compare levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) in children with febrile seizures and febrile controls.

Methods: Study conducted in a tertiary-care hospital in Northern India from November 2013 to April 2015, enrolling 160 children (80 each with febrile seizures and febrile controls), aged 6 - 60 months. Serum IL-6 estimated by ELISA method.

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Despite large number of investigations, the etiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) remains unclear. Several factors are likely involved in its onset. The genetic susceptibility of IgE-responsiveness likely caused by polymorphism(s) in high affinity receptor for IgE (FcɛR1α) gene can help in understanding the pathophysiology of CRS with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP).

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