Immunomodulatory activity of Asparagus racemosus on systemic Th1/Th2 immunity: Implications for immunoadjuvant potential

Ethnopharmacological relevance

Roots of Asparagus racemosus Willd (Shatavari in vernacular) are widely used in Ayurveda as Rasayana for immunostimulation, galactogogue as also in treatment of conditions like ulcers and cancer. Various studies have indicated immunomodulatory properties of Shatavari root extracts and formulations.

Aim of the study

To study the effect of standardized Asparagus racemosus root aqueous extract (ARE) on systemic Th1/Th2 immunity of SRBC sensitized animals.

Materials and methods

We used HPTLC to quantify steroidal saponins (Shatavarin IV, Immunoside^®) and flow cytometry to study effects of ARE on Th1/Th2 immunity. SRBC specific antibody titres and DTH responses were also monitored as markers of Th2 and Th1 responses, respectively. We also studied lymphocyte proliferation. Cyclosporin, cyclophosphamide and levamisole were used as controls.

Results

Treatment with ARE (100 mg/(kg b.w. p.o.)) resulted in significant increase of CD3⁺ and CD4/CD8⁺ percentages suggesting its effect on T cell activation. ARE treated animals showed significant up-regulation of Th1 (IL-2, IFN-g) and Th2 (IL-4) cytokines suggesting its mixed Th1/Th2 adjuvant activity. Consistent to this, ARE also showed higher antibody titres and DTH responses. ARE, in combination with LPS, Con A or SRBC, produced a significant proliferation suggesting effect on activated lymphocytes.

Conclusion

The study suggests mixed Th1/Th2 activity of ARE supports its immunoadjuvant potential.     

Crediting his critics' concerns: Remaking John Snow's map of Broad Street cholera, 1854

Few cases in the history of epidemiology and public health are more famous than John Snow's investigation of a neighborhood cholera outbreak in the St. James, Westminster, area of London in 1854. In this study Snow is assumed to have proven that cholera was water rather than airborne through a methodology that became, and to a great extent remains, central to the science and social science of disease studies. And yet, Snow's work did not satisfy most of his contemporaries who considered his proof of a solely waterborne cholera interesting but unconvincing. Uniquely, this paper asks whether the caution of Snow's contemporaries was reasonable, and secondly, whether Snow might have been more convincing within the science of the day. The answers significantly alter our understanding of this paradigmatic case. It does so in a manner offering insights both into the origins of nineteenth century disease analysis and more generally, the relation of mapping in the investigation of an outbreak of uncertain origin. The result has general relevance—pedagogically and practically—in epidemiology, medical geography, and public health.     

Kindergarten children's representation and understanding of written number symbols

Two samples of kindergarten children's representation and understanding of written number symbols were examined in two time points in one academic year. About 85% of Chinese five year olds (mean = 5 years 10 months) were able to use conventional number symbols to represent the quantity of 30 or larger. At the end of the kindergarten year, 94% of Chinese six year olds (mean = 6 years 4 months) were able to use conventional number symbols to represent the quantity of 100 or larger. Some Chinese six year olds had problems in representing written addition and subtraction tasks. Children's ability to represent written number symbols, ability to represent written addition and subtraction formula and their performance on written addition and subtraction were closely related. The performance of children in a university-affiliated childcare center was better than that of the center serving working-class families in Time 1, but the performance reversed at the end of the kindergarten year.     

Myelination of the corpus callosum in the cat: time course, topography, and functional implications

The parameters of myelin development were ascertained in two specific regions of the corpus callosum in a series of cats aged 12 postnatal days through adult. The posteriormost portion of the splenium and the anterior-most portion of the genu were examined in cross section by using the electron microscope. Measurements were made to determine the age at which myelin first appeared, the number and distribution of myelinated fibers, the number and distribution of myelin lamellae, and cross-sectional area of ensheathed axons during development. The results indicate that myelination begins and ends earlier in the anterior region of the callosum. Measurements of myelin lamellae indicate similarities between anterior and posterior regions of the callosum, although development occurs earlier in the genu than in the splenium. No evidence was found for a sequence in the size of axons acquiring myelin sheaths, except that extremely small fibers are the last to begin myelinating. Myelination of the splenium of the corpus callosum begins at the very end of the behavioral and physiological critical period for the corpus callosum's role in visual functional development (Elberger: Behav. Brain Res. 11:223-231, '84; Elberger and Smith: Exp. Brain Res. 57:213-223, '85). Since myelination of a pathway is used as an index of functional reliability, this indicates that the basis for the callosal role in developing visual functions is probably not based on its physiological input to visual cortex.     

溯本源流论围药

箍围法是中医外科的一种独特疗法,具有悠久的历史,本文就其概念、历史沿革进行探索,以引起重视.     

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction: manifestations, natural history and management

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a rare pathological condition characterized by a marked derangement of gut propulsive motility mimicking mechanical obstruction, in the absence of any lesion occluding the gut lumen. This disease is often associated with a disabling and potentially life-threatening complications and is still too often unrecognized even in referral centres. As a result, patients receive neither appropriate care nor recognition of their severe health condition. Medical and surgical therapies are often unsatisfactory and long-term outcome turns out to be poor in the vast majority of cases. This article focuses on the main clinical features, the management and long-term outcome of patients affected by CIPO, with particular emphasis on those aspects which remain a matter of debate.     

中医学专科教育应重视中医专业课数据库的开发和应用

开发中医专业课数据库并应用到教学中,以解决中医学专科教育学制短时数少、中医药知识体系和思维模式难于健全等主要问题。经过近4年的研究和探索,整合校内中医药数字资源,构建适合专科教育的中医专业课数据库,并借助高效的数字化校园网络,开展多媒体教学、网络学习。中医专业课数据库的应用,初步形成了异步化、差异化、个性化的中医药专科教育新模式,提高了学生专业技能与专业素养。     

Estimated research and development costs of rotavirus vaccines

Diseases like rotavirus afflict both upper- and lower-income countries, but most serious illnesses and deaths occur among the latter. It is a vital public health issue that vaccines for these types of global diseases can recover research and development (R&D) costs from high-priced markets quickly so that manufacturers can offer affordable prices to lower-income nations. Cost recovery depends on how high R&D costs are, and this study attempts to replace high, unverified estimates with lower, more verifiable estimates for two new vaccines, RotaTeq (Merck) and Rotarix (GlaxoSmithKline or GSK), based on detailed searches of public information and follow-up interviews with senior informants. We also offer a new perspective on “cost of capital” as a claim for recovery from public bodies. Our estimates suggest that companies can recover all fixed costs quickly from affluent markets and thus can offer these vaccines to lower-income countries at prices they can afford. Better vaccines are a shared project between companies and public health agencies; greater transparency and consistency in reporting of R&D costs is needed so that fair prices can be established.     

Parental alcohol use and brain volumes in early- and late-onset alcoholics.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that alcoholics have smaller brain volumes than non-alcoholic cohorts, but an effect of family history (FH) of heavy drinking on brain volume has not been demonstrated. We examined the relationship between an FH of heavy drinking and both brain shrinkage as measured by the ratio of brain volumes to intracranial volume (ICV) as well as maximal brain growth as measured by ICV in early-onset and late-onset alcoholics. METHODS: With T1-weighted resonance imaging, we measured ICV, brain volume, and white and gray matter volume in adult treatment-seeking late-onset and early-onset alcoholics with either a positive or a negative FH of heavy alcohol use, and in healthy control subjects. We also calculated brain shrinkage using a ratio of soft tissue volumes to ICV. RESULTS: The FH positive alcoholic patients had significantly smaller ICVs than FH negative patients, suggesting smaller premorbid brain growth. Brain shrinkage did not correlate with FH. Late-onset alcoholics showed a greater difference in ICV between FH positive and FH negative patients than early-onset alcoholics. Late-onset FH positive patients also had significantly lower IQ scores than late-onset FH negative patients, and IQ scores were correlated with ICV. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence that parental alcohol use might increase risk for alcoholism in offspring in part by a genetic and/or environmental effect that might be related to reduced brain growth.