Analgesic,Anti-inflammatory and Local Anaesthetic Activity of Moringa pterygosperma in Laboratory Animals

The methanol extract of Moringa pterygosperma (Moringaceae) was used to evaluate its analgesic, anti-inflammatory and local anaesthetic activity in the present study. Analgesic activity was tested in mice using various doses orally. Acetic acid-induced writhing episodes were significantly and dose-dependently reduced. At the same dose, its anti-inflammatory activity was also tested. Carrageenin (a standard inflammatory agent)-induced paw edema in mice was significantly reduced after oral administration. Furthermore, its local anaesthetic activity were tested in frog and guinea pig models, and it was seen that in both animals, the plant (root bark) produces significant local anaesthetic activity.     

Role of No Scalpel Vasectomy in Male Sterilization

No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) is a modern method of delivery, ligation and excision of vas deference without use of a knife. It provides a permanent sterilization option for male. It is a safe, effective method of vasectomy with low complication and greater patient compliance. To evaluate effectiveness and its acceptance of the procedure data were collected on men who accepted NSV between Jan??2008 to Mar??09. Demographic information, motivating factors, educational status and surgical complications were recorded. The cases were done in rural hospitals & Primary health centers as camp procedure. A total of 649 vasectomies performed using NSV method from Jan??08 to Mar??09. The mean age of the acceptors was 35?years with 4 numbers of children on average. Complications included bleeding during surgery in 4 cases (0.6%), haematoma in one case (0.2%), and superficial wound infection occurred in two cases (0.3%) and scrotal pain in 4 cases (0.6%). NSV is an effective, minimal access method of vas delivery, ligation and excision. It provides safe and effective contraceptive option to male population with minimal complications. Doctors, health workers along with the simplicity of procedure and early return to work are great motivating factors. It is easily performed as camp procedure in a simple medical setup. Doctors can be effectively trained hands on during the camp procedure.     

Cardiovascular complications of chronic renal failure - an updated review

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is frequently associated with CKD, which is important because individuals with CKD are more likely to die from CVD than to develop kidney failure. CVD in CKD is treatable and potentially preventable and CKD appears to be a risk factor for CVD. In order of incidence and frequency systemic hypertension, left ventricular failure, congestive cardiac failure, ischemic heart disease, anaemic heart failure, rhythm disturbances, pericarditis with or without effusion, cardiac tamponade, uraemic cardiomyopathy are various cardiovascular complications encountered in patients with chronic renal failure. A patient may present with one or more complications of cardiovascular system. The survival rate and prognosis to a great extent depends on proper management of these complications. Use of regular dialysis and renal transplant has changed the death pattern in developed countries but it is still a major problem in developing country. The aim of this article is early detection of CKD and proper management of it thereby preventing the major cardiovascular complications.     

Trophoblastic differentiation in a malignant mixed mesodermal tumor of the ovary

Trophoblastic differentiation in an extragonadal carcinoma is a rare and unusual phenomenon which has been observed in the carcinomas of stomach, bronchus, esophagus, ovary, liver, urinary bladder, endometrium, and, rarely, in the sarcomas. To our knowledge, this phenomenon has not been observed previously in a mixed mesodermal sarcoma (MMS), and the present communication is to record such a case of MMS of ovary with this phenomenon.     

Use of 3,4-didehydroretinol to assess vitamin A status in rats

The acetate and palmitate esters of 3,4-didehydroretinol (DR; vitamin A2 alcohol) have been synthesized and characterized. When administered orally in corn oil to female rats, DR was present in the serum as the alcohol, but primarily as esters in the liver. As total stores of retinol (R; vitamin A1 alcohol) decrease, the ratio of DR to R in the serum markedly increases. The ratio of DR to R in serum was greater than 0.27 at liver vitamin A1 palmitate values of less than 3 micrograms/g, 0.05-0.14 at 3-19 micrograms/g, and less than 0.04 at greater than or equal to 20 micrograms/g. Thus, the ratio of DR to R in the serum at a suitable interval after the administration of dehydroretinyl acetate may aid in assessing marginal vitamin A status. DR was not demonstrably converted to R in these studies.     

Skin score correlates with global DNA methylation and GSTO1 A140D polymorphism in arsenic-affected population of Eastern India

Arsenic is a potent environmental toxicant causing serious public health concerns in India, Bangladesh and other parts of the world. Gene- and promoter-specific hypermethylation has been reported in different arsenic-exposed cell lines, whereas whole genome DNA methylation study suggested genomic hypo- and hypermethylation after arsenic exposure in in vitro and in vivo studies. Along with other characteristic biomarkers, arsenic toxicity leads to typical skin lesions. The present study demonstrates significant correlation between severities of skin manifestations with their whole genome DNA methylation status as well as with a particular polymorphism (Ala 140 Asp) status in arsenic metabolizing enzyme Glutathione S-transferase Omega-1 (GSTO1) in arsenic-exposed population of the district of Nadia, West Bengal, India.     

Prospect of natural products in glioma: A novel avenue in glioma management

Glioma is one of the most perplexing cancers because of its infiltrating nature, molecular signaling, and location in central nervous system. Blood–brain barrier acts as a natural barrier to the glioma making it difficult to access by conventional chemotherapy. Clinicians are using natural compounds or their derivatives for several diseases including different cancers. However, the feasibility of using natural compounds in glioma is not explored in details. Natural compounds can act over a wide variety of signaling pathways such as survival and metabolic pathways and induce cell death. Some of the natural agents have additional benefits of crossing biological barriers such as blood–brain barrier with ease having few or no impact on the surrounding healthy cells. All of these benefits make natural compounds a prospective candidate for the glioma management. This article evaluates the benefits of using natural compounds for glioma therapy and their possible mechanism of actions. We have discussed the natural compounds assessed currently for glioma therapy and proposed a few novel natural compounds with potential antiglioma effect based on their mechanism of action.