Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous virus belonging to γ-Herpesvirus subfamily, infecting B cells, T cells, Natural killer (NK) cells & causes both benign and malignant diseases. It has been detected in large subset of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) cases around the world, especially in countries with poor socioeconomic conditions and among younger age. Limited studies are available reflecting the Indian scenario of HL and EBV association. EBV positivity in Indian HL varies from 28-97% Majority of these studies employed Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for LMP1, a few performed In Situ Hybridisation (ISH) for EBER. Objective: To study the association of EBV in classical HL by immunohistochemical expression of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) antigen in North Indian population and to correlate it with different demographic variables & subtypes of HL. Materials and Methods: Observational study including 26 untreated HL cases diagnosed on lymph node excision biopsy. IHC was performed for EBV LMP1, CD15, CD30, CD45, CD3, CD20. Results: Patients ranged in age from 5-55years (median 18yrs), with M:F ratio of 3.3:1. Palpable lymphadenopathy was found in all cases followed by pallor (64%), B symptoms (50%), nodal pain (30.8%) & bulky disease (19.2%). Maximum number of patients were in Stage I (65.4%) followed by stage II&III (15.4% each) & stage IV (3.8%). Mixed cellularity HL comprised 77%, lymphocyte depleted 11.5%, nodular sclerosis 7.7% & lymphocyte rich 3.8%. IHC for EBV LMP1 was positive in 73.1% cases. Mixed cellularity HL showed an association in 70% cases. Conclusions: HL in India is a disease of young males, with mixed cellularity as the commonest subtype, highly associated with EBV and presentation at an early stage.

Background: Variable temperature in different seasons may affect the quality of semen. Most of the studies are from west barring a single large Chinese study with variable results; however, no such study focusing on temperature alone has been published from Indian subcontinent. Present study was undertaken to observe any seasonal variation affecting the semen quality at different times of year.Methods: The study was conducted retrospectively over one year period (2014-2015) at a tertiary care hospital in North India. 815 semen samples referred from infertility clinic were analysed for Sperm concentration, functional sperm concentration, motile sperm concentration and sperm motility index by an automated semen analyser system (SQAIIC-P, Medical Electronic Systems, Los Angeles, CA, USA); and morphological assessment by Papanicolaou stained smears. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 24 software (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). The ANOVA test was used to assess differences in semen parameters, p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Depending on the average highest temperature (AHT) in different seasons, samples were categorized in four groups: winter AHT <10°C, spring AHT <20°C, autumn/rainy season AHT 20-30°C and summer AHT >30°C.There was significant variation on different parameters e.g. sperm count, motility, FSC, MSC, SMI, abnormal sperms and morphological defects when compared in different groups using ANOVA test (p<0.05).Conclusions: Present study observed that AHT of 20-30°C (autumn) has a favourable effect on semen quality; however, larger and continuous data in the form of longitudinal study is needed for better correlation.

Objective: To study the histopathological pattern of endometrium and associated pathological conditions in patients presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding due to adenomyosis. Material and Methods:The study was conducted at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi and included 87 patients who underwent hysterectomy and were diagnosed with adenomyosis from Jan 2017 to Dec 2019. These cases were subsequently reviewed for presenting symptoms of adenomyosis and correlated with histomorphological features and associated comorbidities. The quantitative variables were expressed as mean and qualitative variables as percentages. Results and Conclusion:The age of the patients who had adenomyosis ranged from 25 to 65 years, majority were in the age group of 40-50 years. Abnormal uterine bleeding was the most common symptom. The associated histopathological examination reveals pattern of endometrium from proliferative endometrium to endometrial hyperplasia. Estrogen may be a risk factor as it is associated with fibroid and endometrial hyperplasia.

Background: As the world has been going through a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the past two years, a safe and effective vaccine was urgently needed. Vaccination against the disease was launched in India on January 16, 2021 with healthcare workers, frontline workers, and the elderly above 60 years being the first beneficiaries. Vaccines being used in India are Covishield and Covaxin. Materials and Methods: Fifteen healthcare workers (HCWs) who were vaccinated with Covishield or Covaxin were included in the study, and T cell, B cell and antibody response of the HCWs were analyzed. Blood samples collected from every subject were sent for antibody analysis, hematological workup for cell counts, and flow cytometry was performed for various subsets of lymphocytes. Hematological variables in naïve HCWs (who never had any natural infection) and recovered HCWs (those recovered from natural infection) were compared. Results: Antibody index among recovered HCWs was significantly higher than the naïve HCWs. All the leucocyte parameters showed a higher median value in the recovered group except total leucocyte count (TLC), T helper cell count (Th cell), T helper cell to T cytotoxic cell (Th cell: CTL) ratio and natural killer (NK) cell. But only Th: CTL ratio showed a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: This study shows that the antibody index among individuals who had both vaccination and COVID-19 infection is significantly higher than those who just had vaccination. T helper cell to T cytotoxic cell ratio is lowered in the recovered HCWs as compared to the naïve HCWs and this finding is statistically significant.