印度传统药物在癌症治疗中的应用

Cancer is one of the dreadful diseases of 20th century and moving vastly towards 21st century. According to the studies, world wide about 6 million new incidences are reported every year. It is the second major cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. Lung, colon, prostate and breast cancer account for more than half of the cancer deaths. Nature has given us a variety of useful medications to cure number of diseases. The role of natural products as a source of remedies for diseases can be dated back to 1500 BC.     

Nephrotic syndrome in a patient with situs inversus totalis

Situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital anomaly that often occurs concomitantly with other disorders. A spectrum of renal abnormalities of patients with situs inversus has been reported. Developmental anomalies, including agenesis, dysplasia, hypoplasia, ectopia, polycystic kidney, and horseshoe kidney, have been reported. The association of situs inversus with nephrotic syndrome is very rare. We report the first known case of situs inversus totalis with nephrotic syndrome caused by primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and the possible mechanism of this association.     

Deep vein thrombosis complicating severe hypernatremia,rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal failure in a patient with untreated seizure disorder

We report a 22-year-old male patient with untreated seizure disorder, presenting with increased frequency of seizures followed by encephalopathy. Laboratory evaluation showed severe hypernatremia (175 meq/l sodium), rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal failure (ARF). Excessive insensible water loss in hot and humid weather, associated with an inability to obtain adequate water replacement, led to a hyperosmolar state (plasma osmolality, 398 mOsm/kg). He was vigorously treated with hypotonic fluid supplement and, further, needed dialysis therapy (peritoneal dialysis followed by hemodialysis) for acute renal insufficiency. The patient survived without any neurological sequelae, but the clinical course was complicated by acute deep vein thrombosis. This case represents what we believe is a unique report in the literature of severe hypernatremia developing via the pathogenic mechanism outlined above and the complication of acute peripheral venous thrombosis, which has not been reported in adults. The purpose of this report is to emphasize hyperosmolarity as a newly described cause of rhabdomyolysis, ARF, and a hypercoagulable state.     

Genetic heterogeneity in northeastern India: Reflection of Tribe–Caste continuum in the genetic structure

We critically examined the gene frequency data for 11 genetic markers commonly available in the literature for 22 populations of northeastern India in the light of their geographic, linguistic, and ethnic affiliations. The markers investigated were three blood groups (A₁A₂BO, MNS, and Rh), four serum proteins (KM, Gc, Hp, and Tf), and four enzyme systems (AP, AK, EsD, and Hb). The neighbor‐joining tree and multidimensional scaling of the distance matrix suggest relatively high genetic differentiation among the Mongoloid groups, with probably diverse origins when compared to the Caucasoid Indo‐European populations, which had probably come from relatively more homogeneous backgrounds. Broadly speaking, the pattern of population affinities conforms to the ethno‐historic, linguistic, and geographic backgrounds. An interesting and important feature that emerges from this analysis is the reflection of the effect of the sociological process of a Tribe–Caste continuum on genetic structure. While on one end we have the cluster of Caucasoid caste populations, the other end consists of Mongoloid tribal groups. In between are the populations which were originally tribes but now have become semi‐Hinduized caste groups, viz., Rajbanshi, Chutiya, and Ahom. These groups have currently assumed caste status and speak Indo‐European languages. Therefore, one may infer that what appears to be a purely sociological phenomenon of a Tribe–Caste continuum may well reflect in their genetic structure. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:334–345, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Ciprofloxacin therapy for typhoid fever needs reconsideration

Outbreaks of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi in the Indian subcontinent in the late 1980s resulted in the failure of conventional drugs, and ciprofloxacin became the firstline drug to treat enteric fever. However, reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, reported widely since 1994, has posed a therapeutic difficulty. The aim of the present work was to review the situation of drug resistance among S. enterica serotype Typhi in central India from 1988 to 2005. A minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) study for ciprofloxacin was carried out by the agar dilution method on 314 stock cultures preserved since 1988. The MIC for ciprofloxacin was ≤0.125 mg/l for the 50 isolates isolated during 1989–1994, but during 1998–1999, 60% of the 50 isolates showed MIC > 0.125 mg/l, while in 2002–2003, 82.5 % of the 97 isolates had MIC > 0.125 mg/l and 35% had MIC > 1 mg/l (high-level resistance). In 2004–2005, 88.2% of the 77 isolates had MIC > 0.125 mg/l and 15% had MIC > 1 mg/l (high-level resistance). Sixty-four isolates showing MIC > 1 mg/l with the agar dilution method were also checked by Epsilometer test (E-test, AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden). Based on the data, it is suggested to withdraw ciprofloxacin as a therapeutic agent for enteric fever. Fortunately, multiple drug resistance, with concurrent resistance to chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, and ampicillin, which had reached more than 90% in 1990–1991, started declining over the years and was as low as 5.6% in 2004–2005. According to these observations, older drugs such as chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, and ampicillin could be recalled to treat enteric fever.     

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION AND SEQUENCE PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF SURFACE ANTIGEN 3 (SAG3) GENE OF LOCAL INDIAN ISOLATES (CHENNAI AND IZATNAGAR) OF Toxoplasma gondii

Context and objective:

The molecular characterization of local isolates of Toxoplasma gondii is considered significant so as to assess the homologous variations between the different loci of various strains of parasites.

Design and setting:

The present communication deals with the molecular cloning and sequence analysis of the 1158 bp entire open reading frame (ORF) of surface antigen 3 (SAG3) of two Indian T. gondii isolates (Chennai and Izatnagar) being maintained as cryostock at the IVRI.

Method:

The surface antigen 3 (SAG3) of two local Indian isolates were cloned and sequenced before being compared with the available published sequences.

Results:

The sequence comparison analysis revealed 99.9% homology with the standard published RH strain sequence of T. gondii. The strains were also compared with other established published sequences and found to be most related to the P-Br strain and CEP strain (both 99.3%), and least with PRU strain (98.4%). However, the two Indian isolates had 100% homology between them.

Conclusion:

Finally, it was concluded that the Indian isolates were closer to the RH strain than to the P-Br strain (Brazilian strain), the CEP strain and the PRU strains (USA), with respect to nucleotide homology. The two Indian isolates used in the present study are known to vary between themselves, as far as homologies related to other genes are concerned, but they were found to be 100% homologous as far as SAG3 locus is concerned. This could be attributed to the fact that this SAG3 might be a conserved locus and thereby, further detailed studies are thereby warranted to exploit the use of this particular molecule in diagnostics and immunoprophylactics. The findings are important from the point of view of molecular phylogeny.     

The St. Jude experience

This paper covers our experience with the use of the St. Jude prosthetic heart valve from November 1979 through August 1983 in 91 patients operated on for aortic and mitral valve replacement. Nonfatal complications included hemorrhagic sequela due to anticoagulation, with an annual rate of 1 percent (1.4 percent per 100 patient years), thromboembolism with an annual rate of 0.8 percent (0.87 percent per 100 patient years), sternal infection 1 percent, operative cardiovascular accident 1 percent, and pericardial tamponade 1 percent.Operative mortality was 1 percent, early mortality (within 30 days) was 3 percent, and late mortality was 3 percent, with a total overall mortality of 7 percent. Excluding two patients who died from noncardiac causes, the overall mortality was 5 percent. The mortality rate per year was 2 percent. The survival rate 3.8 years postoperatively was 89 percent for mitral valve replacement patients and 93 percent for aortic valve replacement patients, for an overall 38 year survival rate of 92 percent. All patients were anticoagulated with warfarin. There were no instances of valve failure, replacement, or serious hemolysis. Eighty-three percent were active or working with a New York heart functional class I.In our experience, the complication rate with the St. Jude valve is as low or lower than that for any other mechanical prosthetic cardiac valve available in the world today.     

Diabetic fracture healing

Patients with diabetic ankle fractures consistently are at greater risk of sustaining a complication during treatment than nondiabetics.other medical comorbidities, especially Charcot neuroarthropathy and peripheral vascular disease, play distinct roles in increasing these complication rates. Many options for nonoperative and operative treatment exist, but respect for soft tissue management and attention to stable, rigid fixation with prolonged immobilization and prolonged restricted weight bearing are paramount in trying to minimize problems and yield functions.