Based on study results and widely reported pleiotropic benefits, hydroxychloroquine could emerge as a potential drug for combination with statins for treatment of dyslipidemia. Long duration studies with larger sample sizes are required to further explore the role of hydroxychloroquine as adjunct to statins in reducing risk of cardiovascular events and prevention of statin-induced diabetes.

Introduction:National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has expanded the reach of anti retroviral therapy (ART) to combat the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in India which has one of the largest populations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the world. One of the major challenges related to ART is a lifelong commitment by patients to adhere diligently to daily medication dosing schedules and scheduled visits to the ART center. Hence, the current study is carried out to assess the drug adherence rate and loss to follow-up (LFU) among PLWHA attending ART centre of a tertiary care hospital in Western India.Materials and Methods:The current cross-sectional study was carried out using medical records of all patients registered at ART Center, Shree Sayaji General Hospital, Vadodara after taking Ethical Clearance from Local IRB. LFU was classified according to NACO guidelines. Data were collected using a standardized data extraction form as per NACO treatment card. Data entry and analysis were performed using Epi Info software.Results:Of 755 PLWHA registered at ART center, 534 (70.7%) subjects were alive on ART, 61 (8%) were transferred out, 68 (9%) died, and 92 (17%) were LFU. Nearly, 57% PLWHA have drug adherence rate of more than 95%. Education status of the participant showed independent and significant association with drug adherence.Conclusion:This study showed 57.3% were adherent to ART among PLWHA, whereas 17.22% were lost to follow-up. Hence, there is a need to emphasize on increasing drug adherence rate and on outreach activities to combat LFU.

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Background: Ischemic Cerebrovascular stroke is one of the largest cause of death and disability. It is usually caused by thrombosis or thromboembolic phenomena. Large platelets are more reactive, produce more prothrombotic factors and aggregate more easily, and can be a major risk factor/indicator for stroke. While the Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) has been studied in detail in cases of IHD, very few studies have been done in stroke, and none in India – prompting this study. We aim to determine whether an association exists between MPV and incidence/severity of stroke.Methods: The study was carried out among fifty patients with an acute ischemic stroke. Clinical severity was assessed using Modified Rankin‘s scale. MPV was measured using an automated analyzer. Fifty controls were recruited and analysed.Results: MPV has got a statistically significant correlation with Ischemic stroke with a p value of < 0.0001. Average MPV in cases was 9.78+1.25 fl vs. controls who average 8.30+1.14 fl. We did not find a statistically significant correlation between clinical severity of stroke and MPV (P = 0.550).Conclusions: This study has shown an elevation of MPV in acute phase of Ischemic stroke. Within this relationship and adjusting for other significant variables in multivariate regression analysis, it can be stated that an increase in MPV is independently associated with stroke. Further research is required into the role of platelet volume in stroke pathology, outcome, and, most importantly, in individuals at risk for stroke.

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