Alcohol consumption among middle-aged and elderly men: a community study from western India

AIMS: To assess the prevalence and pattern of alcohol use in a middle-aged and elderly population in Mumbai, India. METHODS: 50 220 men aged >/=45 years from the lower and lower-middle section of the general population were interviewed. RESULTS: 18.8% were currently consuming alcoholic beverages, of whom 32.8% drank on at least 6 days per week. The most popular beverage was locally distilled products of fruits and grain (country liquor). Seventy-five per cent of the consumers of country liquor would consume over 53 g of ethanol on a day when they drank, with 46.6% of these doing so on at least 6 days per week. CONCLUSIONS: Abstinence, and also heavy and frequent use of alcohol, are common in this population and the latter is likely to have significant public health implications.     

Project Muskan: Social responsibility of the plastic surgeon

Although exact statistics are not available, Indian plastic surgeons see around 7,00,000–8,00,000 burn admissions annually with around 10,00,000 cleft patients yet to be operated. In spite of this voluminous load, India does not have national health programs for the various deformities Indian plastic surgeons typically treat. As Plastic Surgeons, it is our social responsibility to treat these patients and bring ‘muskan’ (smile in Hindi) back into their lives. Project Muskan was initiated as an innovative model for targeting these patients and is probably one of its kind in the field of plastic surgery in our country. It is unique because it is a perfect collaboration of government institutions, a Non Government Organization (NGO), and cooperative sectors providing free health care at the doorstep. Identification of the patients was done with the help of the extensive milk dairy network in the state of Gujarat. Provision of transport and other facilities was done by the NGOs and quality health care provision was taken care of by the government hospital. Project Muskan started from a single village but now covers around 3000 villages and tribal areas of Gujarat. It is a system that can be easily reproducible in all hospitals and has reestablished the faith of the common man in government institutes.     

Influence of polymer architecture on the structure of complexes formed by PEG-tertiary amine methacrylate copolymers and phosphorothioate oligonucleotide.

The influence of polymer structure on the characteristics of complexes of a phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide (ISIS 5132) was studied, using well-defined cationic copolymers based on 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The three related copolymer structures were: DMAEMA-PEG (a diblock copolymer) DMAEMA-OEGMA 7 (a brush-type copolymer), DMAEMA-stat-PEGMA (a comb-type copolymer); each of these were examined together with DMAEMA homopolymer, which served as a control. The results revealed that all the polymers exhibited good binding ability with the oligonucleotide (ON). Interestingly, the comb-type polymer DMAEMA-stat-PEGMA demonstrated the highest binding ability and DMAEMA homopolymer the lowest, as judged by a dye displacement assay. DMAEMA homopolymer produced large agglomerates of smaller individual complexes as observed by optical density, photon correlation spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies. In contrast, two PEG-block copolymers, DMAEMA-PEG and DMAEMA-OEGMA 7, formed compact complexes of 80-150 nm which had good long-term colloidal stability. This is attributed to the steric stabilisation effect of the PEG chains on the ON-copolymer complexes. These two copolymers are believed to form complexes with ON that have a micellar structure. Comb-type DMAEMA-stat-PEGMA copolymer formed highly soluble complexes with the ON that did not phase separate from the buffer solution. This study clearly demonstrates that varying the copolymer architecture allows access to a range of ON complexes. In vitro cytotoxicity experiments on HepG2 cells showed that all of the tertiary amine methacrylate copolymers displayed lower cytotoxicity than the control poly(L-lysine).     

Design and synthesis of novel diphenyl oxalamide and diphenyl acetamide derivatives as anticonvulsants

A series of novel N(1) -substituted-N(2) ,N(2) -diphenyl oxalamides 3a-l were synthesized in good yield by stirring diphenylcarbamoyl formyl chloride (2) and various substituted aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic, heterocyclic amines in DMF and K(2) CO(3) . Also 2-substituted amino-N,N-diphenylacetamides 5a-m were designed by pharmacophore generation and synthesized by stirring 2-chloro-N,N-diphenylacetamide (4) and various substituted amines in acetone using triethyl amine as a catalyst. All the synthesized compounds were screened for anticonvulsant activity in Swiss albino mice by MES and ScPTZ induced seizure tests. Neurotoxicity screening and behavioral testing was also carried out. Some of the synthesized test compounds were found to be more potent than the standard drug.     

Absolute quantitation of DNA methylation of 28 candidate genes in prostate cancer using pyrosequencing

Aberrant DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis and its mapping is likely to provide biomarkers for improved diagnostic and risk assessment in prostate cancer (PCa). We quantified and compared absolute methylation levels among 28 candidate genes in 48 PCa and 29 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) samples using the pyrosequencing (PSQ) method to identify genes with diagnostic and prognostic potential. RARB, HIN1, BCL2, GSTP1, CCND2, EGFR5, APC, RASSF1A, MDR1, NKX2-5, CDH13, DPYS, PTGS2, EDNRB, MAL, PDLIM4, HLAa, ESR1 and TIG1 were highly methylated in PCa compared to BPH (p < 0.001), while SERPINB5, CDH1, TWIST1, DAPK1, THRB, MCAM, SLIT2, CDKN2a and SFN were not. RARB methylation above 21% completely distinguished PCa Separation based on methylation level of SFN, SLIT2 and SERPINB5 distinguished low and high Gleason score cancers, e.g. SFN and SERPINB5 together correctly classified 81% and 77% of high and low Gleason score cancers respectively. Several genes including CDH1 previously reported as methylation markers in PCa were not confirmed in our study. Increasing age was positively associated with gene methylation (p < 0.0001).Accurate quantitative measurement of gene methylation in PCa appears promising and further validation of genes like RARB, HIN1, BCL2, APC and GSTP1 is warranted for diagnostic potential and SFN, SLIT2 and SERPINB5 for prognostic potential.     

Design and evaluation of oral bioadhesive controlled release formulations of miglitol, intended for prolonged inhibition of intestinal α-glucosidases and enhancement of plasma glucagon like peptide-1 levels

α-Glucosidase enzyme is present ubiquitously throughout the lumen of the small intestine. It is responsible for the breakdown of complex into simple carbohydrates. α-Glucosidase inhibitors such as miglitol, are drugs that have greater affinity towards this enzyme in comparison to carbohydrates. Miglitol regulates the postprandial glucose levels directly by inhibiting the enzyme reversibly and also indirectly by including the secretion of glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1). The aims of this study were (i) to design a controlled release (CR) mucoadhesive (in the intestine) formulation of miglitol which would inhibit the α-glucosidase enzyme for a longer duration of time (in comparison to the non-controlled release (IR) formulation) thus reducing the dosing frequency, and also controlling the postprandial glucose levels more effectively over a longer period of time; (ii) to assess the effect of different formulation parameters on the release of miglitol in vitro from the CR pellets; (iii) to evaluate the mucoadhesion of pellets in the intestine ex vivo; (iv) to study the effect of formulation parameters on plasma GLP-1 levels; and (v) to find out the effect of formulations on postprandial glucose levels. The data obtained was analysed to find out whether there was a correlation between these different parameters. Four controlled release formulations (CR1, CR2, CR3 and CR4) of miglitol comprising of multilayered pellets were designed successfully. The CR4 formulation containing 30% of 20 cps of ethyl cellulose (the retarding layer of the formulation) displayed slowest release of miglitol in vitro in comparison to other formulations. We designed an ex vivo experimental setup for studying the mucoadhesion of the pellets in the lumen of the intestine. Results indicated that amongst all of the adherent pellets, 5% were found to be adhering in the duodenal region, 61% in the jejunum, 32% in the ileum and 2% in the colon. Two of the controlled release formulations CR1 and CR4 were evaluated in vivo in dogs. Both the formulations displayed significantly higher and more prolonged (greater AUC) levels of GLP-1 in comparison to either the placebo or the immediate release (IR) formulations. They even displayed a significantly better control of postprandial glucose in comparison to either placebo or IR formulations. However, a comparison between the two controlled release formulations (CR1 and CR4) revealed that the plasma GLP-1 (AUC by CR1 = 63.1 ± 1.32 and CR4 = 66.2 ± 0.82) and postprandial glucose values due to both the formulations were rather similar despite their differences in in vitro release as well as pharmacokinetic profiles (plasma miglitol AUC of CR1 = 16.17 ± 4.11 and CR4 = 27.17 ± 4.33).