Staphylococcus aureus is a dangerous gram positive bacterial pathogen which, not only evades the host's immune system but also can destroy the leucocytes especially neutrophils. It has an embodiment of virulence factors most of which are secreted. Staphylococcus aureus secretes a number of toxins which cause tissue damage and facilitate spreading and nutrients uptake. Among the toxins, hemolysins α, β, γ, δ and Panton Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) are unique that they drill pores in the membrane, leading to the efflux of vital molecules and metabolites. Hemolysins also help in the scavenging of iron, although many of them also have leucolytic properties. α-hemolysin, also known as α-toxin, is the most prominent cytotoxin which damages a wide range of host cells including epithelial cells, endothelial cells, erythrocytes, monocytes, keratinocytes and it damages cell membrane and induces apoptosis. β-Hemolysin significantly affects human immune cell function. It has Mg 2+ dependent sphingomyelinase activity and degrades sphingomyelin of plasma membrane into phosphorylcholine and ceramides. The bi-component leukocidins, which include γ-hemolysin and PVL, attack human phagocytic

Background: Genetic risk factors play an important role in neurological disorders. In this case-control study, we examined the C677T polymorphism (rs1801133) in the Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene and its association with three neurodegenerative disorders: The late onset pathology, Alzheimer disease and two early onset ones, Autism and Down syndrome. New evidence suggests that autism may be associated with varied behavioural responses to folate therapy and metabolic anomalies, including those in folate metabolism, that contribute to hypomethylation of DNA. We hypothesis that, MTHFR C677T mutation may be the underlying common risk factor in various neurological disorders leading to impaired one carbon metabolism resulting in similar and severe neuropsychological symptoms. Hence our objective was to evaluate MTHFR C677T polymorphism in different Neurological disorders and compare it with age-matched healthy controls.Method: This case-control study was carried out on 200 samples which included 100 patients with different neurological disorders and 100 healthy individuals without any neurological problems taken as the control group. MTHFR polymorphism was assessed by PCR-RFLP. Results:Results indicated that the C677T MTHFR polymorphism was not significantly different between controls of younger and older age groups. Among the three neurological disorders studied the T allele was associated with autism (TT+CT vs. CC; OR=4.472, 95% CI: 1.605-12.799, p<0.002), but not with the other two conditions. Conclusion:In conclusion, despite the smaller sample size, the C677T polymorphism of MTHFR plays a role in some complex neurodevelopmental disorders and not in others.

Background: Cancer of the uterine cervix is preventable and early detection is key to its cure. Screening methods for cervical cancer are available, however, the centres offering to screen are inadequate. The main obstacle for the success of screening efforts in women is the lack of awareness, hence a stigma about the screening procedure and the disease, not just in rural areas but also in a large group of the urban and semi-urban population. The purpose of this manuscript is to share our experiences during health camps conducted for screening women for cervical cancer, strategies adopted, leading to better compliance and complete evaluation in these women. Design and Methods: Health camps were organized for women's screening and we observed a steady improvement in their participation over a period of time, at rural and peri-urban areas close to the Hyderabad. Creating awareness, training para-medical staff, involving local voluntary bodies for conducting Pap testing and HPV subtyping, gave us optimal leads to manage these patients appropriately and recommend a suitable follow-up. Results and Conclusion: Taking a lead from studies like this and others, conducting national screening programs along with counselling for awareness of such tests and their implications to maintain good health, the burden of cervical cancer can be reduced in India.

Phenotypic tests have limited discrimatory power to identify closely related members of genus Staphylococcus and particularly for identification of S. aureus. 157 isolates of S. aureus obtained from different clinical specimens were included in our study. To present a demonstration of our method's sensitivity and ability to correctly detect S. aureus from uncultured clinical specimen, 30 known S. aureus positive but leftover uncultured clinical specimens from clinical microbiology laboratory were processed by our protocol and analyzed. All the 30 clinical specimens were confirmed as S. aureus among which 26 specimen were identified as MRSA and the remaining 4 as MSSA. These 30 clinical specimens used in the study showed 100% correlation with coagulase test and Cefoxitin disc diffusion method. Though commercial molecular diagnostic kits are available for detecting MRSA from swabs, this is probably the first time that multiplex PCR is being demonstrated directly on a variety of uncultured clinical specimens.