High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) is a threatening disorder caused due to acute exposure to high altitude above 3000 m. Apart from multiple factors involved, the genetic factors also play an important function in the pathogenesis of HAPE. This study aims to evaluate the role of mtDNA polymorphism and their association with haplogroup in understanding the etiology of HAPE. In this study, all the HAPE susceptible and acclimatized control subjects could be classified into nine haplogroups pertaining mostly to Macrohaplogroup M and U. The frequency of haplogroup M was significantly higher in HAPE susceptibles whereas the haplogroup M33a2′3 was found only in HAPE susceptibles. The variant G4491A and A4944G of MT-ND2, A14002G of MT-ND5, and C8562T of MT-ATP8, were definition site of haplogroup M33a2′3. The frequency of A10398G of MT-ND3, A8701G of MT-ATP6 and C14766T of MT-CYB genes were significantly higher in HAPE susceptibles. mtDNA copy number also plays a significant synergistic role in HAPE susceptibility. Our findings suggests that variants in MT-ND2 and MT-ND5 were predicted to confer decreased protein stability in HAPE susceptibles and in particular, highly conserved variants G4491A, A4944G and A14002G associated with haplogroup M33a2′3 may be the primary cause of susceptibility to HAPE in Indian male lowlanders.

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This is a retrospective analysis of patients of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) registered and under treatment at the Leukemia Lymphoma Clinic at the Birla Cancer Center, SMS Medical College Hospital, Jaipur. Approximately, two-thirds of the patients are getting imatinib mesylate (IM) through the Glivec International Patient Assistance Program while the rest are on generic IM. In addition to comparison of hematological and molecular responses in the Glivec versus the genetic group, in this analysis, an attempt is also made to assess the socio-economic (SE) status of the patients and its effect on the response rates. Of the 213 patients studied, most (28.6%) are in the age group between 30 years and 40 years and the mean age of the patients in 39 years, a good decade younger that in the west. There is a suggestion that patients in lower SE class present with higher Sokal scores and with more disease burden. Possibly hematological responses are similar with both Glivec and generic IM. No comment can be made with regards to molecular response between the two groups as a significant number of patients in the Glivec arm (42%) do not have molecular assessment because of economic reasons. CML is a common and challenging disease in the developing world with patients presenting at an earlier age with more advanced disease. SE factors play a significant role in therapy and disease monitoring decision making and may impact on response rates and prognosis.