DRUG UTILIZATION PATTERN OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE MEDICATIONS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, SOUTH INDIA

Objective: The objective of the study is to assess drug use pattern of antihypertensive medications in hypertensive patients. Methods: It is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted in the outpatient dispensary, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram for the period of 6 months from January 2019 to June 2019. About 500 prescriptions of patients visiting outpatient dispensary with an antihypertensive prescription were enrolled for the study. Drug use patterns of different classes of antihypertensive medications were analyzed from individual prescriptions. Results: A total of 500 patients were included in this study, among which 281 were male (56.2%) and 219 (43.8%) were female. In 500 patients, 133 patients were treated with monotherapy. In that 42.1% of patients were treated with amlodipine, 28.57% of patients were treated with losartan. In combination therapy most commonly used was double therapy (42.8%) followed by triple therapy (24.2%). Calcium Channel Blockers (56.2%) was most prescribed class of drug followed by Angiotensin Receptor Blockers. Conclusion: This study reveals that calcium channel blockers as most prescribed class of antihypertensive and Amlodipine was the most prescribed antihypertensive. In our study, most of the patients were treated with combination therapy in that double drug therapy was most common. There is a chance of various medication errors, development of adverse drug reaction as majority (290) of patients belong to age above 60 and chances of getting error also increases as combination therapy is most used. Therefore close monitoring is required for such patients

G-Quadruplex DNA Sequences Are Evolutionarily Conserved and Associated with Distinct Genomic Features in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

G-quadruplex DNA is a four-stranded DNA structure formed by non-Watson-Crick base pairing between stacked sets of four guanines. Many possible functions have been proposed for this structure, but its in vivo role in the cell is still largely unresolved. We carried out a genome-wide survey of the evolutionary conservation of regions with the potential to form G-quadruplex DNA structures (G4 DNA motifs) across seven yeast species. We found that G4 DNA motifs were significantly more conserved than expected by chance, and the nucleotide-level conservation patterns suggested that the motif conservation was the result of the formation of G4 DNA structures. We characterized the association of conserved and non-conserved G4 DNA motifs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with more than 40 known genome features and gene classes. Our comprehensive, integrated evolutionary and functional analysis confirmed the previously observed associations of G4 DNA motifs with promoter regions and the rDNA, and it identified several previously unrecognized associations of G4 DNA motifs with genomic features, such as mitotic and meiotic double-strand break sites (DSBs). Conserved G4 DNA motifs maintained strong associations with promoters and the rDNA, but not with DSBs. We also performed the first analysis of G4 DNA motifs in the mitochondria, and surprisingly found a tenfold higher concentration of the motifs in the AT-rich yeast mitochondrial DNA than in nuclear DNA. The evolutionary conservation of the G4 DNA motif and its association with specific genome features supports the hypothesis that G4 DNA has in vivo functions that are under evolutionary constraint

Micropropagation and conservation of selected endangered anticancer medicinal plants from the Western Ghats of India

Globally, cancer is a constant battle which severely affects the human population. The major limitations of the anticancer drugs are the deleterious side effects on the quality of life. Plants play a vital role in curing many diseases with minimal or no side effects. Phytocompounds derived from various medicinal plants serve as the best source of drugs to treat cancer. The global demand for phytomedicines is mostly reached by the medicinal herbs from the tropical nations of the world even though many plant species are threatened with extinction. India is one of the mega diverse countries of the world due to its ecological habitats, latitudinal variation, and diverse climatic range. Western Ghats of India is one of the most important depositories of endemic herbs. It is found along the stretch of south western part of India and constitutes rain forest with more than 4000 diverse medicinal plant species. In recent times, many of these therapeutically valued herbs have become endangered and are being included under the red-listed plant category in this region. Due to a sharp rise in the demand for plant-based products, this rich collection is diminishing at an alarming rate that eventually triggered dangerous to biodiversity. Thus, conservation of the endangered medicinal plants has become a matter of importance. The conservation by using only in situ approaches may not be sufficient enough to safeguard such a huge bio-resource of endangered medicinal plants. Hence, the use of biotechnological methods would be vital to complement the ex vitro protection programs and help to reestablish endangered plant species. In this backdrop, the key tools of biotechnology that could assist plant conservation were developed in terms of in vitro regeneration, seed banking, DNA storage, pollen storage, germplasm storage, gene bank (field gene banking), tissue bank, and cryopreservation. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to critically review major endangered medicinal plants that possess anticancer compounds and their conservation aspects by integrating various biotechnological tool

KRIT1 Regulates the Homeostasis of Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species

KRIT1 is a gene responsible for Cerebral Cavernous Malformations (CCM), a major cerebrovascular disease characterized by abnormally enlarged and leaky capillaries that predispose to seizures, focal neurological deficits, and fatal intracerebral hemorrhage. Comprehensive analysis of the KRIT1 gene in CCM patients has suggested that KRIT1 functions need to be severely impaired for pathogenesis. However, the molecular and cellular functions of KRIT1 as well as CCM pathogenesis mechanisms are still research challenges. We found that KRIT1 plays an important role in molecular mechanisms involved in the maintenance of the intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) homeostasis to prevent oxidative cellular damage. In particular, we demonstrate that KRIT1 loss/down-regulation is associated with a significant increase in intracellular ROS levels. Conversely, ROS levels in KRIT1−/− cells are significantly and dose-dependently reduced after restoration of KRIT1 expression. Moreover, we show that the modulation of intracellular ROS levels by KRIT1 loss/restoration is strictly correlated with the modulation of the expression of the antioxidant protein SOD2 as well as of the transcriptional factor FoxO1, a master regulator of cell responses to oxidative stress and a modulator of SOD2 levels. Furthermore, we show that the KRIT1-dependent maintenance of low ROS levels facilitates the downregulation of cyclin D1 expression required for cell transition from proliferative growth to quiescence. Finally, we demonstrate that the enhanced ROS levels in KRIT1−/− cells are associated with an increased cell susceptibility to oxidative DNA damage and a marked induction of the DNA damage sensor and repair gene Gadd45α, as well as with a decline of mitochondrial energy metabolism. Taken together, our results point to a new model where KRIT1 limits the accumulation of intracellular oxidants and prevents oxidative stress-mediated cellular dysfunction and DNA damage by enhancing the cell capacity to scavenge intracellular ROS through an antioxidant pathway involving FoxO1 and SOD2, thus providing novel and useful insights into the understanding of KRIT1 molecular and cellular functions

Observational Study on Prevalence of Adverse Effects of COVID Vaccination among General Population in South India

Introduction: COVID-19 is a viral disease due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. The patients show flu-like symptoms with a dry cough, sore throat, high fever, and breathing problems. This was conducted to assess the adverse effects after taking Covid 19 vaccines in general population of Kerala state. Methodology: About 353 participants were enrolled in the study according to inclusion and exclusion criteria for a period of November 2021 to April 2022. Data collection was done with structured questionnaire in google form. The data were analysed and reported using tables, pie diagram, bar diagrams and different charts forms. Results: Majority of patients enrolled in the study were vaccinated with 2 dosed of Covid vaccines. From 351 participants vaccinated with Covid 19 vaccine 249 experienced an AEFI. The most reported AEFI was fever, body pain and injection site reactions. From the results it was found that females had experienced more AEFI than males. Most of the participants from our study were vaccinated with Covishield and all participants taken Sputnik vaccine had experienced some adverse effects. Conclusion: The present study reveal that majority of people vaccinated by Covid 19 vaccines had experienced any kind of AEFIs. Majority of patients enrolled in the study were vaccinated with 2 dosed of Covid vaccines. The most reported AEFI was fever, body pain and injection site reactions. From the results it was found that females had experienced more AEFI than males. Keywords: Adverse effects, Covid 19, Covishield, Covaxin, Immunization, Vaccinatio