Introduction: Diabetic nephropathy is a microvascular complication and is the leading cause of diabetes related morbidity, mortality and important cause of end-stage kidney disease. Both microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Evidence has been accumulating from clinical trials that assessing the levels of apolipoprotein B (ApoB), a constituent of atherogenic lipoproteins: ApoA1, a component of anti-atherogenic high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol; and the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio will provide better prediction of future cardiovascular events than measuring serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels. There is paucity of published data linking ApoB/ApoA1 ratio to diabetic nephropathy especially from developing countries, hence this study was carried out. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, CSM Medical University, Lucknow between August 2009 and July 2010. Patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) attending the Diabetic and Medical Out-Patient clinics or who were admitted to the medical wards of Gandhi Memorial and Association Hospital CSM University, Lucknow were included. One hundred patients were enrolled; 64 of those were cases (Micro- and Macroalbuminuria groups) and 36 without nephropathy (Normoalbuminuria) were controls. The cut-off value for higher ApoB/ApoA1 ratio for male was 0.97 and for female was 0.86. Results: Older age, durations and control of DM were significantly correlated with degree of albuminuria. Fifty-six patients (56%) had raised ApoB/ApoA1 ratio, 19.4% in the Normoalbuminuria group (n=7/36), 71.4% in the Microalbuminuria group (n=30/42), and 86.4% in the Macroalbuminuria group (n=19/22). There were no statistical differences in the mean total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides among the groups. Conclusion: In our study higher ApoB/ApoA1 ratio was significantly correlated with diabetic nephropathy.
Apolipoprotein A-I ; Apolipoproteins B ; Complications ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Kidney Diseases

BACKGROUND: Stem cell units (SCUs) that are cryopreserved prior to both autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (for donor lymphocyte infusion) remain unused or partially used several times, and become an increased burden to blood banks/SCU repositories. Because of the scarcity of data regarding the duration for which the storage is useful, there is no general consensus regarding disposal of SCUs. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective audit of SCU utilization in 435 patients who planned to undergo either autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) (N=239) or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) (N=196) at a tertiary cancer care center between November 2007 to January 2015. RESULTS: Our cohort consisted of 1,728 SCUs stored for conducting auto-SCT and 729 SCUs stored for conducting donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs) after allo-SCT. Stem cells were not infused in 12.5% of patients who had planned to undergo auto-SCT, and 80% of patients who underwent allo-SCT never received DLI. Forty-one percent of SCUs intended for use in auto-SCT remained unutilized, with a second auto-SCT being performed only in 4 patients. Ninety-four percent of SCUs intended for carrying out DLIs remained unused, with only minimal usage observed one year after undergoing allo-SCT. CONCLUSION: The duration of storage of unused SCUs needs to be debated upon, so that a consensus can be reached regarding the ethical disposal of SCU.
Cohort Studies ; Consensus ; Cryopreservation ; Developing Countries* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Retrospective Studies ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells* ; Tissue Donors