No abstract

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency and frequent infections are the two common worldwide phenomenon among elderly. Recent studies have demonstrated that vitamin D regulates the expression of specific endogenous antimicrobial peptides like cathelicidin LL-37 of macrophages and neutrophils, which is active against a broad spectrum of infectious agents. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the level of cathelicidin LL-37 in macrophages of elderly women (classified according to serum 25(OH)D level) after exposure to Vibrio cholera infection and to find out the effect of 1,25(OH)2D added in vitro. Methods: This study was conducted among 40 randomly selected rural elderly women aged between 60 to 70 years of age. Their vitamin D status was assessed by the estimation of serum 25(OH)D and classified into three groups viz. sufficient (14 members), insufficient (13 members), and deficient (13 members). Later, their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated and cultured from fresh blood. 1,25(OH)2D supplementation was given selectively at a dose of 10 ×10-8 M for 72 hours in the culture media; then exposed to infection and screened according to the objectives of this study. Results: Macrophages in all groups, except vitamin D deficient group, responded significantly in terms of LL-37 release during exposure to Vibrio cholera infection. Considering in vitro 1,25(OH)2D, supplementation responded significantly (p<0.05) in all three groups. Conclusion: Vitamin D can be used as a prophylaxis to enhance cathelicidin LL-37 release for all three groups as in the present study.

Introduction: Aging is associated with a variety of functional, demographic and immunologic changes, responsible for increasing the incidence and severity of infectious diseases in the elderly. Aim: To examine the association of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D status with antimicrobial activity of cultured macrophages isolated within an exclusively elderly population cohort and also to examine the effect of in-vitro 1,25 hydroxy vitamin D supplementation in it. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted among 113 elderly women aged between 60 to 70 years of age, during the period of April 2014 to August 2018, at Amdanga block, North 24th Parganas, West Bengal, India. Their vitamin D status was assessed by the estimation of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D and classified into three groups, sufficient group (60 subjects), insufficient group (27 subjects) and deficient group (26 subjects). Later their Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) were isolated and cultured from fresh blood of each and every study subject. Supplementation of 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D {1,25(OH)2D} was given selectively at a dose of 10×10-8 M for 72 hours in the culture media and were exposed to Vibrio cholerae and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity and Bactericidal activity were screened. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20.0 was used to perform statistical analysis. Results: The sufficient group iNOS activity had significantly higher than the other two groups. Whereas in-vitro 1, 25(OH)2D supplementation increases iNOS activity significantly among all three groups. As per the Colony Forming Unit (CFU) reduction rate against Vibrio cholerae infection the sufficient serum 25(OH)D consisting group had significantly (p-value=0.03) high CFU reduction rate than the other two groups. Although in-vitro 1, 25(OH)2D supplementation had no significant impact on CFU reduction rate among all three groups. Conclusion: Bacteria killing capacity of macrophages varies significantly with serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of the target population. Sufficient group macrophages always had better profile than other two groups. In-vitro 1, 25(OH)2D supplementation increases iNOS and SOD activity significantly.

Introduction: In menopause, changes in body fat distribution lead to increasing risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Therefore, the prediction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by the presence of risk factors is of importance in elderly women. Objective: To find out the conicity index (CI) and its association with different CVD risk factors among rural elderly women of West Bengal. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among 236 rural elderly women, selected randomly from 30 villages of Amdanga block, West Bengal. Components of metabolic syndrome (MS), body fat percentage, different lipid profile fractions, CI, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Statistical tests were calculated using SPSS software version 20.0. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: High CI (median 1.25 and interquartile range 1.05–1.45) was found. The proportion of participants with high CI were significantly higher among those with MS (87.95%), waist circumference having 80 cm or more (99.09%), blood pressure having ≥ 130/85 mm of Hg (75.66%), body fat percentage ≥25% (80.14%), and BMI ≥23 (93.18%). Conclusion: High prevalence of CI existed among rural elderly women. Significant correlation existed between CI and different CVD risk factors as well as some of the components of MS indicating a possible coexistence of different CVD risks.

Introduction:Vitamin D plays crucial role as an antimicrobial agent, the deficiency of which has deleterious effects on the general wellbeing, especially among elderly. The incidence and severity of infectious diseases in the elderly are associated with a variety of functional, demographic and immunologic changes inside the body due to ageing. Objective:The aim was to examine the association of vitamin D status with antimicrobial activity of cultured macrophages isolated within an exclusively elderly population cohort. In addition, the present study was also determined the antimicrobial activity (against E. coli infection) of cultured macrophages after in vitro supplementation of Vitamin D. Materials and Methods:This experimental study was conducted among 97 randomly selected rural elderly women aged between 60 to 70 years of age, during the period of April 2014 to August 2018, at Amdanga block, North 24 th parganas, West Bengal. Their vitamin D status was assessed by the estimation of serum 25(OH)D and classified into three groups viz. sufficient (40 members), insufficient (28 members) and deficient (29 members). After that the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) were isolated and cultured from fresh blood from each and every study subject. Supplementation of 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D[1,25(OH) 2 D] was given selectively at a dose of 10 ×10 -8 M for 72 hours in the culture media and were exposed to Escherichia coli and screened for their iNOS activity (inducible Nitric Oxide Sythase), SOD activity (Superoxide Dismutase) and CFU (Colony Forming Unit) reduction rate. SPSS software, version 20.0 was used to perform statistical analysis.Results: iNOS activity and SOD activity were significantly increased in case of both sufficient and deficient group. As per the CFU reduction rate against E. coli infection there is no significant difference were observed according to serum 25(OH)D consisting group. After in vitro 1,25(OH) 2 D supplementation,the maximum increase in CFU reduction rate was observed among Deficient group(63.57%), whereas in case of Insufficient group it was 60.11% and for Sufficient group it was 44.66%. Conclusion:Considering bacteria killing capacity of macrophages the in vitro 1,25(OH) 2 D supplementation significantly inreases the CFU reduction rateoverall. Sufficient group's macrophages always had better profile than other two groups. In vitro 1,25(OH) 2 D supplementation increases iNOS and SOD activity significantly.