Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global respiratory disease with unique features that have placed all medical professionals in an alarming situation. Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy affecting 8%–10% of India’s pregnant population. Assuming that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters host cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, the resulting symptoms are due to vasoconstriction, caused by disturbances in the renin–angiotensin system (RAS). Other features of preeclampsia include endothelial dysfunction due to placental ischemia, leading to imbalances in angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors which result in increased blood pressure, proteinuria, altered hepatic enzymes, renal failure, and thrombocytopenia, amongst others. The increased prevalence of preeclampsia that was seen among mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection might be due to misdiagnosis, as COVID-19 and preeclampsia have coincidental medical features. The major similarities of SARS-CoV-2-infected and preeclamptic women are a rise in pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased serum ferritin and thrombocytopenia. Therefore, differential diagnosis might be difficult in pregnant women with COVID-19 who present with hypertension and proteinuria, thrombocytopenia, or elevated liver enzymes. The most promising markers for earlier diagnosis of preeclampsia is soluble endoglin (sEng), pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), and placental growth factor (PlGF). Due to placental hypoxia, sFlt-1 will be overproduced, thus inhibiting PlGF, and this alteration will be observed in the circulation five weeks or more before the onset of symptoms. The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio may also be modified via infectious states, but unregulated levels of those mediators are related to placental insufficiency. Hence, pregnant women with COVID-19 may develop a preeclampsia-like syndrome that might be differentiated properly by angiogenic markers to avoid unnecessary interventions and induced preterm labor.

The effect of consumption of finger millet based diets on hyperglycemia was studied in 6 non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) subjects. All the experimental diets were planned to be isocaloric and also to contain 75 g equivalent of carbohydrate load so that glycemic response could be compared with a 75 g glucose load. The glycemic response to breakfast items compared to that of glucose was determined by comparing the areas under the 2 hr glucose response curve. Consumption of finger millet based diets resulted in significantly lower plasma glucose levels, mean peak rise, and area under curve which might have been due to the higher fiber content of finger millet compared to rice and wheat. The lower glycemic response of whole finger millet based diets may also have been due to the presence of antinutritional factors in whole finger millet flour which are known to reduce starch digestibility and absorption.

a b s t r a c tBackground: Human parvovirus B19 is an emerging transfusion transmitted infection.Although parvovirus B19 infection is connected with severe complications in some recipients, donor screening is not yet mandatory. To reduce the risk of contamination, plasma-pool screening and exclusion of highly viraemic donations are recommended. In this study the prevalence of parvovirus B19 in healthy blood donors was detected by ELISA.Methods: A total of 1633 samples were screened for IgM and IgG antibodies against parvovirus B19 by ELISA. The initial 540 samples were screened for both IgM and IgG class antibodies and remaining 1093 samples were screened for only IgM class antibodies by ELISA.Results: Net prevalence of IgM antibodies to human parvovirus B19 in our study was 7.53% and prevalence of IgG antibodies was 27.96%. Dual positivity (IgG and IgM) was 2.40%. Conclusion:The seroprevalence of human parvovirus B19 among blood donor population in our study is high, and poses an adverse transfusion risk especially in high-risk group of patients who have no detectable antibodies to B19. Studies with large sample size are needed to validate these results.ª 2012, Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). All rights reserved.

The effect of consumption of the staple food grown in soil zinc deficient area on zinc nutritional status of human beings was investigated. One village each from an area which has been classified under >75%, 25-50% and 50-75% soil zinc deficiency was selected for the study from Andhra Pradesh. Thirty families from each village were selected and the zinc content of soil, rice (grown in that soil) and serum (of people consuming the same rice) of the selected subjects was estimated. Food and nutrient intake of the respondents were calculated by using diet survey. Heights and weights of children of selected families were taken to assess the relationship between soil zinc levels and growth. Results show that the soil zinc deficiency has an impact on the zinc levels of rice grown in the same soil. However, serum zinc levels of adults and growth of children seem to be influenced by protein content and source of protein in the diet in addition to zinc levels of the diet.

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