Micronuclei as Early Warning Markers: A Study on Diabetic Patients in Narowal

Abstract

This study investigated the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in diabetic patients (females) of District Narowal, Pakistan. Participants (aged 40 -60) from the general population and various hospitals were included in this study, who were further divided into a control group (Normal) and an experimental group (Obese and Overweight) for the assessment of micronucleus formation using the Micronucleus Assay. Blood smear was prepared from a diabetic patient's sample, fixed with methanol, and stained with Giemsa stain. The slide was then examined under a microscope using oil immersion to analyze the presence of micronuclei. The study found that MN frequency was significantly higher in diabetic patients compared to controls, suggesting cytogenetic toxic effects associated with diabetes mellitus.  In the control group, the frequency of mononucleated cells is 1, with a percentage is 0.01. The frequency of binucleated is 0 with 0.00 %. In the experimental group(Overweight), the frequency of mononucleated is  1 with 0.01 %. The frequency of binucleated cells is 2 with 0.02 %.In the experimental group (Obese), the frequency of mononucleated cells is  8 with 0.08 %. The frequency of binucleated is 6 with 0.06 %. The findings of this study demonstrated a clear increase in micronucleus (MN) frequency among diabetic patients compared to healthy controls, with the highest rates observed in obese diabetic individuals. This suggested that diabetes mellitus, especially when associated with higher body mass index (BMI), is linked to greater abnormalities in lymphocytes as evidenced by both mononucleated and binucleated micronucleus counts.