A study of effectiveness and safety of topical combination therapy for acne vulgaris patients in dermatology department of a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Acne vulgaris is a dermatological disorder characterised by formation of comedones and inflammatory lesions. Acne is one of the most common reason for visiting a dermatologist in early adulthood. The current line of management for mild to moderate acne is topical medications with antimicrobials and retinoids. The present study assessed the effectiveness and safety of topical combination therapy for mild to moderate acne vulgaris.Methods: An observational, prospective and comparative study conducted on newly diagnosed acne vulgaris patients who were treated with topical combination therapy. Changes in the total, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts, investigator global assessment (IGA) and dermatology life quality index (DLQI) scales were recorded to check effectiveness. Treatment emergent adverse events were recorded in suspected ADR reporting form for safety assessment.Results: Participants (n=97) were treated with three topical combination treatments either clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide (group-A), clindamycin-adapalene (group-B) or benzoyl peroxide-adapalene (group C). Majority of participants (42.3%) were treated with clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide group. Reduction from baseline of total, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts were highly significant within group comparison (p<0.001), but between group differences were not significant. Significant improvement in DLQI and IGA scores were noted in all three groups, but between group comparison showed no significant differences. All three groups were safe and well tolerated and equally improve participant’s quality of life.Conclusions: all three topical combination drugs for mild acne vulgaris had similar effectiveness in terms of reduction in acne lesions with similar safety profile

Clinicoepidemiological study of fixed drug eruption in tertiary care hospital

Background: Adverse cutaneous drug reactions pose diagnostic difficulties due to a varied clinical manifestations and broad categories of causative agents. Fixed drug eruptions (FDE) are one of them. Present study aims i) to record various clinical features of FDE, their causative agents and ii) to study the pattern of morbidity in patients with FDE in a tertiary care hospital, Rajkot, Gujarat, India.Methods: The 88 patients with FDEs attending department of dermatology, venereology and leprosy at PDU govt. medical college and hospital, Rajkot, Gujarat from September 2018 to September 2020 were included after informed consent. After taking thorough history, complete blood count and biochemical tests were done. HIV testing was done in severe reactions with generalised involvement. Appropriate treatment was given with counselling regarding the offending drug for prevention of reaction in future.Results: The male patients were more affected than female patients with M: F ratio of 1.3:1. The most common age group affected was 21-30 years (22.7%). Antimicrobials were the most common offending drugs (43.2%). None of the patients were HIV reactive in our study. No mortality was reported in our study.Conclusions: The patterns of FDE and the causative drugs are remarkably different in our study. Knowledge of patterns and the causative agents helps in prevention of same reactions in future in patients

Formulation, Development and Evaluation of Floating Microsphere of Losartan Potassium Using Natural Polymer

Floating drug delivery system is one of the novel drug delivery system. Floating drug delivery system have a bulk density less than gastric fluids and so remain buoyant in the stomach without affecting gastric emptying rate for a prolonged period of time. Various approaches have been used to retain the dosage form in stomach as a way of increasing the gastric residence time, including floatation systems, high-density systems, mucoadhesive systems, magnetic systems, unfoldable, extensible, or swellable systems and superporous hydrogel systems. The objective of this study was to prepare and evaluate floating microspheres of losartan potassium for the prolongation of gastric residence time. The microspheres were prepared by solvent diffusion–evaporation method using ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and sodium alginate as natural polymers. Ethanol/dichloromethane blend was used as solvent in a ratio of 1:2. The floating microspheres were evaluated for flow properties, particle size, zeta potential, drug entrapment, as well as In-vitro release studies and stability studies. The shape and surface morphology of the microspheres were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The floating microspheres showed particle size, buoyancy, drug entrapment efficiency and yield in the ranges of 331.6 nm, 69±3 to 81±2%, and 60.25±0.25 to 75.65±0.74% and 69.98±0.56 to81.47±0.52%, respectively. Maximum drug release after 12 hr was 99.45 % for formulations F4. Scanning electron micrographs indicate pores both on the surface and interior of the microspheres. &nbsp;Accelerated stability study was also performed for three months indicated that optimized formulation was stable. The developed losartan microsphere system is a promising floating drug delivery system for oral sustained administration of losartan. Keywords: Losartan Potassium, Floating microspheres, Drug entrapment, In-vitro drug release, Ethyl cellulose, Hydroxyl propyl methylcellulos

Effect of different heat ameliorating measures on the micro-climate of buffalo sheds during hot-dry summer

Present investigation studied the effect of heat ameliorating measures on micro-climate of sheds of Murrah buffalo heifers during hot dry summer. Buffalo heifers (24) were categorised in 4 groups (6 in each), viz. control (T0), cooling jacket (T1), cooling jacket+forced ventilation (T2) and sprinklers+forced ventilation (T3). Daily minimum and maximum and dry and wet bulb temperatures of both micro and macro-climate were measured at 10.00 AM and 2.00 PM of Indian Standard Time (IST) by using maximum and minimum and dry and wet bulb thermometer, respectively. Significant reduction in maximum temperature was observed in T3, T2 and T1 groups than control group. However, significantly higher minimum temperature was found in T0 group as compared to T3, T2 and T1 respectively. Relative humidity (RH) was significantly lower in T3 and T2 (65.67±0.48 and 65.97±0.53%, respectively) than T0 (68.51±0.56%) group at 10.00 AM whereas, at 2.00 PM significant reduction in RH was observed in T3, and T2 (55.31±0.51 and 57.20±0.62) than T0 (58.96±0.63%) group. During peak hot periods, significantly lower Temperature humidity Index (THI) was found in T3, T2 and T1 than T0 group. However, at 10.00 AM significant reduction in THI was found in T3 and T2 groups than T0 group. The findings of the present study indicated that forced ventilation along with sprinklers and cooling jacket had helped in protecting the animals from thermal stress under loose housing system during hot-dry summer

Mycobacterium indicus pranii Supernatant Induces Apoptotic Cell Death in Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages In Vitro

Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), also known as Mw, is a saprophytic, non-pathogenic strain of Mycobacterium and is commercially available as a heat-killed vaccine for leprosy and recently tuberculosis (TB) as part of MDT. In this study we provide evidence that cell-free supernatant collected from original MIP suspension induces rapid and enhanced apoptosis in mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro. It is demonstrated that the MIP cell-free supernatant induced apoptosis is mitochondria-mediated and caspase independent and involves mitochondrial translocation of Bax and subsequent release of AIF and cytochrome c from the mitochondria. Experiments with pharmacological inhibitors suggest a possible role of PKC in mitochondria-mediated apoptosis of macrophages

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum