Conference Papers

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This collection contains abstracts of conference papers, presented at local and international conferences by the staff of the Faculty of Medicine

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    Establishment of human endometriai stromal cell cultures as in-vitro models to test the effects of metalloestrogens in women with or without endometriosis
    (Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2012) Silva, N.; Tennekoon, K.; Senanayake, H.; Samarakoon, S.; Fernando, S.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; John, R.P.
    INTRODUCTION: Effects of metalloestrogens like cadmium (Cd), lead (PbJ and nickel (Ni) are difficult to demonstrate in-vivo due to toxicity and therefore requires suitable in-vitro models. AIMS: To establish endometriai stromal cell (ESC) cultures as in-vitro models to demonstrate the effects of metalloestrogens in women with and without endometriosis. METHODS: Stromal cells were isolated from eutopic endometriai samples from five women with endometriosis (patients) and five women without endometriosis (controlsj. ESC cultures were established and maintained in RPMI medium. Cultures were treated with Cd, Pb and Ni at concentrations of 10-6M, 10-9M and 10-9M respectively. At 24 h and 48 h, cell number was counted using the Neubauer haemocytometer. Sulphorhodamine(SRB) cytotoxicity assay was used to test the effect of different concentrations of metals on ESC cultures. After 24 h of treatment, caspase levels in ESC cultures were evaluated with a commercially available ELISA kit Relative cell proliferation, SRB assay results and caspase levels were analyzed with ANOVA. RESULTS: ESC cultures were maintained up to 30 days. In both patients and controls Cd, but not Pb or Ni increased the relative proliferation in ESC cultures (p<0.05). At 48 h, Cd induced ESC proliferation was higher in patients than in controls (p=0.02). SRB assay results and caspase levels were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Established ESC cultures served as stable in-vitro models. Cd induced the proliferation of ESC from women with endometriosis which appears to be independent of reduced apoptosis. Similar effects of Pb and Ni could not be demonstrated in this in vitro model.
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    Using red cell indices as a screening test for the detection of haemoglobin E trait in population screening for haemoglobin disorders
    (Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2005) Premawardhena, A.; Samarakoon, S.; Perera, U.; Samaranayake, R.; Arambepola, M.
    INTRODUCTION: When screening populations for haemoglobin E trait, which is found in up to 5% in some regions in Sri Lanka, some believe that the full blood count with red cell indices, demonstrating hypochromasia and microcytosis (MCV<80fl and MCH< 27pg), is not sensitive enough, as up to 5% may be missed. If this is true, more complicated and expensive tests will be necessary to detect Hb E trait. There are no studies which have attempted to test the efficacy of red cell indices as a screening test for Hb E trait in Sri Lanka AIMS: To test the sensitivity of the full blood count with red cell indices as a screening test for the detection of haemoglobin E trait MATERIALS AND METHODS: Individuals diagnosed to have Hb E trait by the usage of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) - (Bio Rad) had their red cell indices measured using an automated cell counter (Coulter, Act Diff III) RESULTS: 47 Individuals with Hb E trait were identified using HPLC analysis. 28 were females (59%). The haemoglobin levels ranged from 10.5 to 15.4 g/dl. (Mean 12.6). There was only one individual with an MCV of 80, whilst the rest had values below that. MCV values ranged from 58-80fl. There were 3 individuals with an MCH over 27 (27.4, 28.8 and 27.4). The individual with an MCV of 80 had an MCH of 27.4. CONCLUSIONS: In this ongoing study we found that by using a cutoff point for MCV at 80ft up to 2% of individuals with Hb E trait will be missed. As the screening test needs to be more sensitive than this, we suggest that by using a slightly higher cutoff point for the MCV (eg. 81 fl) we would still be able to detect individuals with Hb E trait using red cell indices, thus minimizing cost.
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    Symptoms and signs of β thalassaemia trait: results of the first comparative study
    (Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2007) Premawardhena, A.P.; Weerasinghe, M.; Kottachchi, D.; Arambepola, M.; Katugaha, N.; Samarakoon, S.; Otivieri, N.F.; Weatherall, D.J.
    OBJECTIVE: Thalassaemia trait is considered a mild and asymptomatic condition. However patients with this disease may be symptomatic. Should these be attributed to the disease? Does pre-knowledge about the diagnosis affect patients' symptoms? Previous studies were affected by the lack of a control arm. This is the first controlled study which compares symptoms of (3 thalassaemia trait with matched controls and also looks at how prior knowledge of the disease affects symptoms. DESIGN, SETTING AND METHODS: We administered a questionnaire to 146 individuals who knew that they had thalasseamia trait (Group 1} and to 248 "normal" volunteers who did not know their "thalassaemic status". Eleven symptoms were assessed. All individuals were examined by the same investigator and had a full blood count from an automated analyzer and a thalassaemia screening with High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC- Bio Rad). RESULTS: The FBC and HPLC data showed that of the 248 "normal" controls , 63 had p thalassaemia trait (Group 2), and a further 96 had MCV< 80 and MCH <27 without thalassaemia (Group 3), presumably due to iron deficiency. 89 had normal red cell indices and normal HPLC (Group 4). Comparison of the four groups showed that "anaemic symptoms" like headache, exercise intolerance and lethargy occurred in significantly higher numbers in Groups 1 and 2 compared to Group 4. Comparison of Group 1 and Group 3 did not show any significant difference suggesting a similar mechanism for symptoms. Group 2 did not differ significantly from Group 1 in anyway. CONCLUSIONS: The p thalasseamia trait can be a symptomatic disorder and the symptoms arc those of anaemia. Symptoms are not affected or caused by being aware of the diagnosis.