Possible inhibition of hydroxy methyl glutaryl CoA reductase activity by nicotinic acid and ergosterol: as targeting for hypocholesterolemic action

Objective: Coronary artery diseases including atherosclerosis is considered as commonest problem worldwide. Ergosterols are the main components of vegetable oils and nuts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential hypoplipidemic and hypocholesterolemic effects of ergosterol in combination with niacin in rats fed high fat diet (HFD).Methods: Eighty male albino rats were included in this study divided into two main groups: Group I: Normal rats fed standard diet treated with either niacin (8.5 mg /kg b.w) or ergosterol (100 mg/Kg b.w) or both. Group II; rats fed HFD treated with either niacin (8.5 mg /kg b.w) or ergosterol (100 mg/Kg b.w) or both The feeding and treatment lasted for 8 weeks.Results: A significant elevation in the levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, VLDL-c, LDL-c and atherogenic factor (p<0.001) in rats fed on HFD compared with normal control while HDL-c was significantly reduced in HFD rats compared with control group. Supplementation of diet with niacin or ergosterol or combined exerts improvement in the studied parameters by lowering triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, LDL-c and atherogenic factor and elevate HDL-c near to the value of control. Niacin combined with ergosterol were effective in the reduction of hydroxy methyl glutaryl-CoA reducatase (HMGCoA) compared with control (p<0.001). The combined effect was more potent than individual alone.Conclusion: Utilization of niacin and ergosterol may prevent the hypercholesterolemia and incidence of coronary heart diseases. These functional foods act as nutriceutical as dyslipidemics.Keywords: Nicotinic acid, cholesterol, ergostero

Possible inhibition of hydroxy methyl glutaryl CoA reductase activity by nicotinic acid and ergosterol: as targeting for hypocholesterolemic action.

Objective: Coronary artery diseases including atherosclerosis is considered as commonest problem worldwide. Ergosterols are the main components of vegetable oils and nuts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential hypoplipidemic and hypocholesterolemic effects of ergosterol in combination with niacin in rats fed high fat diet (HFD). Methods: Eighty male albino rats were included in this study divided into two main groups: Group I: Normal rats fed standard diet treated with either niacin (8.5 mg /kg b.w) or ergosterol (100 mg/kg b.w) or both. Group II; rats fed HFD treated with either niacin (8.5 mg /kg b.w) or ergosterol (100 mg/kg b.w) or both The feeding and treatment lasted for 8 weeks. Results: A significant elevation in the levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, VLDL-c, LDL-c and atherogenic factor (p<0.001) in rats fed on HFD compared with normal control while HDL-c was significantly reduced in HFD rats compared with control group. Supplementation of diet with niacin or ergosterol or combined exerts improvement in the studied parameters by lowering triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, LDL-c and atherogenic factor and elevate HDL-c near to the value of control. Niacin combined with ergosterol were effective in the reduction of hydroxy methyl glutaryl-CoA reducatase (HMGCoA) compared with control (p<0.001). The combined effect was more potent than individual alone. Conclusion: Utilization of niacin and ergosterol may prevent the hypercholesterolemia and incidence of coronary heart diseases. These functional foods act as nutriceutical as dyslipidemics

Anticancer activity of a sub-fraction of dichloromethane extract of Strobilanthes crispus on human breast and prostate cancer cells in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The leaves of <it>Strobilanthes crispus </it>(<it>S. crispus</it>) which is native to the regions of Madagascar to the Malay Archipelago, are used in folk medicine for their antidiabetic, diuretic, anticancer and blood pressure lowering properties. Crude extracts of this plant have been found to be cytotoxic to human cancer cell lines and protective against chemically-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats. In this study, the cytotoxicity of various sub-fractions of dichloromethane extract isolated from the leaves of <it>S. crispus </it>was determined and the anticancer activity of one of the bioactive sub-fractions, SC/D-F9, was further analysed in breast and prostate cancer cell lines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The dichloromethane extract of <it>S. crispus </it>was chromatographed on silica gel by flash column chromatography. The ability of the various sub-fractions obtained to induce cell death of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, PC-3 and DU-145 cell lines was determined using the LDH assay. The dose-response effect and the EC₅₀values of the active sub-fraction, SC/D-F9, were determined. Apoptosis was detected using Annexin V antibody and propidium iodide staining and analysed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, while caspase 3/7 activity was detected using FLICA caspase inhibitor and analysed by fluorescence microscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Selected sub-fractions of the dichloromethane extract induced death of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, PC-3 and DU-145 cells. The sub-fraction SC/D-F9, consistently killed breast and prostate cancer cell lines with low EC₅₀values but is non-cytotoxic to the normal breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10A. SC/D-F9 displayed relatively higher cytotoxicity compared to tamoxifen, paclitaxel, docetaxel and doxorubicin. Cell death induced by SC/D-F9 occurred via apoptosis with the involvement of caspase 3 and/or 7.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A dichloromethane sub-fraction of <it>S. crispus </it>displayed potent anticancer activities <it>in vitro </it>that can be further exploited for the development of a potential therapeutic anticancer agent.</p

Diagnosing Schistosomiasis by Detection of Cell-Free Parasite DNA in Human Plasma

Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) occurs in the tropics and subtropics and is one of the most important parasite diseases of humans. It is caused by flukes residing in the vessels of the gut or bladder, causing fever, pain, and bleeding. Bladder cancer or esophageal varices may follow. Diagnosis is difficult, requiring detection of parasite eggs in stool, urine, or gut/bladder biopsies. In this paper, we introduce a fundamentally new way of diagnosing bilharzia from the blood. It has been known for almost 20 years that patients with cancer have tumor-derived DNA circulating in their blood, which can be used for diagnostic purposes. During pregnancy, free DNA from the fetus can be detected in motherly blood, which can be used for diagnosing a range of fetal diseases and pregnancy-associated complications. We found that parasite DNA can be detected in the same way in the blood of patients with bilharzia. In patients with early disease, diagnosis was possible earlier than with any other test. DNA could be detected in all patients with active disease in our study. Patients after treatment had significantly lower parasite DNA concentrations and turned negative 1–2 years after treatment. Future studies should implement the method in large cohorts of patients and should define criteria for the confirmation of the success of treatment by comparing the concentration of fluke DNA before and after therapy

Estimates of global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and mortality of HIV, 1980-2015 : the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background Timely assessment of the burden of HIV/AIDS is essential for policy setting and programme evaluation. In this report from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 (GBD 2015), we provide national estimates of levels and trends of HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and mortality for 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2015. Methods For countries without high-quality vital registration data, we estimated prevalence and incidence with data from antenatal care clinics and population-based seroprevalence surveys, and with assumptions by age and sex on initial CD4 distribution at infection, CD4 progression rates (probability of progression from higher to lower CD4 cell-count category), on and off antiretroviral therapy (ART) mortality, and mortality from all other causes. Our estimation strategy links the GBD 2015 assessment of all-cause mortality and estimation of incidence and prevalence so that for each draw from the uncertainty distribution all assumptions used in each step are internally consistent. We estimated incidence, prevalence, and death with GBD versions of the Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) and Spectrum software originally developed by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). We used an open-source version of EPP and recoded Spectrum for speed, and used updated assumptions from systematic reviews of the literature and GBD demographic data. For countries with high-quality vital registration data, we developed the cohort incidence bias adjustment model to estimate HIV incidence and prevalence largely from the number of deaths caused by HIV recorded in cause-of-death statistics. We corrected these statistics for garbage coding and HIV misclassification. Findings Global HIV incidence reached its peak in 1997, at 3.3 million new infections (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3.1-3.4 million). Annual incidence has stayed relatively constant at about 2.6 million per year (range 2.5-2.8 million) since 2005, after a period of fast decline between 1997 and 2005. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has been steadily increasing and reached 38.8 million (95% UI 37.6-40.4 million) in 2015. At the same time, HIV/AIDS mortality has been declining at a steady pace, from a peak of 1.8 million deaths (95% UI 1.7-1.9 million) in 2005, to 1.2 million deaths (1.1-1.3 million) in 2015. We recorded substantial heterogeneity in the levels and trends of HIV/AIDS across countries. Although many countries have experienced decreases in HIV/AIDS mortality and in annual new infections, other countries have had slowdowns or increases in rates of change in annual new infections. Interpretation Scale-up of ART and prevention of mother-to-child transmission has been one of the great successes of global health in the past two decades. However, in the past decade, progress in reducing new infections has been slow, development assistance for health devoted to HIV has stagnated, and resources for health in low-income countries have grown slowly. Achievement of the new ambitious goals for HIV enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the 90-90-90 UNAIDS targets will be challenging, and will need continued efforts from governments and international agencies in the next 15 years to end AIDS by 2030. Copyright (C) The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY licensePeer reviewe

The Outcome of Orthopedics Treatment of Lombok Earthquake Victim 2018: A Cohort of One-Year Follow-Up Study-Lesson Learned After Lombok Earthquake

Fahmi Anshori,1 Achmad Fauzi Kamal,1 Yogi Prabowo,1 Aria Kekalih,2 Rudi Febrianto,3 Dyah Purnaning,3 Ismail Hadisoebroto Dilogo1 1Departement of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia-Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia; 2Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia; 3Orthopaedic and Traumatology Division, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine University of Mataram -Regional General Hospital of West Nusa Tenggara, Mataram, IndonesiaCorrespondence: Fahmi Anshori, Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jl. Diponegoro no. 71, Jakarta, 10430, Indonesia, Tel +62 81281710266, Email [email protected]: There was a magnitude 7 on the Richter scale earthquake on Lombok Island in 2018, causing more than 500 deaths. In the event of earthquakes, there is often an imbalance between overcrowding in hospitals and inadequate resources. The initial management of earthquake victims with musculoskeletal injuries is controversial, arguing over whether to utilize debridement, external or internal fixation, or conservative or operative treatment in an acute onset disaster situation. This study aims to determine the outcome of initial management after the 2018 Lombok earthquake, between immediate open-reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and Non-ORIF procedures after one year follow-up.Methods: This is a cohort study to evaluate radiological and clinical outcomes one year after orthopedic treatment in the Lombok earthquake 2018. The subjects were recruited from eight public health center and one hospital in Lombok in September 2019. We evaluate radiological outcomes (non/malunion and union) and clinical outcomes (infection and SF-36 score).Results: Based on 73 subjects, the ORIF group has a higher union rate than the non-ORIF group (31.1% vs. 68.9%; p = 0.021). Incidence of infection only appeared in the ORIF group (23.5%). Clinical outcome as measured by SF36 showed the ORIF group had a lower mean of general health (p = 0.042) and health change (p = 0.039) clinical outcomes than the non-ORIF group.Discussion: The most affected public group is the productive age with significant impact on social-economy. ORIF procedure is a major risk factor of infection in initial treatment after earthquake. Therefore, definitive operation with internal fixation is not recommended in the initial phase of a disaster. Damage Control Orthopedic (DCO) surgery protocol is the treatment of choice in acute disaster setting.Conclusion: The ORIF group had better radiological outcomes than the non-ORIF group. However the ORIF group had higher cases of infection and lower SF-36 than the non-ORIF group. Definitive treatment in acute onset disaster setting should be prevented.Keywords: ORIF/non-ORIF, infection, acute onset disaster, SF-36, union rat

Modified Chest X-Ray Scoring System in Evaluating Severity of COVID-19 Patient in Dr. Soetomo General Hospital&nbsp; Surabaya, Indonesia

Rosy Setiawati,1 Anita Widyoningroem,1 Triwulan Handarini,1 Fierly Hayati,1 Agnes Triana Basja,1 Atrikha Rahma Dyana Surya Putri,1 Merlin Guntur Jaya,2 Jessica Andriani,2 Melina Rosita Tanadi,2 Imran Harsam Kamal2 1Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga - Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia; 2Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, IndonesiaCorrespondence: Rosy Setiawati 60286 Tel +62 878 5330 0019Email [email protected]: The management of COVID-19 patients requires efficiency and accuracy in methods of detection, identification, monitoring, and treatment feasible in every hospital. Aside from clinical presentations and laboratory markers, chest x-ray imaging could also detect pneumonia caused by COVID-19. It is also a fast, simple, cheap, and safe modality used for the management of COVID-19 patients. Established scoring systems of COVID-19 chest x-ray imaging include Radiographic Assessment of Lung Edema (RALE) and Brixia classification. A modified scoring system has been adopted from BRIXIA and RALE scoring systems and has been made to adjust the scoring system needs at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, Indonesia. This study aims to determine the value of scoring systems through chest x-ray imaging in evaluating the severity of COVID-19.Methods: Data were collected from May to June of 2020 who underwent chest x-ray evaluation. Each image is then scored using three types of classifications: modified score, RALE score, and Brixia score. The scores are then analyzed and compared with the clinical conditions and laboratory markers to determine their value in evaluating the severity of COVID-19 infection in patients.Results: A total of 115 patients were males (51.1%) and 110 were females (48.9%). All three scoring systems are significantly correlated with the clinical severity of the disease, with the strengths of correlation in order from the strongest to weakest as Brixia score (p&lt; 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.232), RALE score (p&lt; 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.209), and Dr. Soetomo General Hospital score (p&lt; 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.194). All three scoring systems correlate significantly with each other. Dr. Soetomo General Hospital score correlates more towards Brixia score (p&lt; 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.865) than RALE score (p&lt; 0.01, correlation coefficient 0.855). Brixia to RALE score correlates with a coefficient of 0.857 (p&lt; 0.01).Conclusion: The modified scoring system can help determine the severity of the disease progression in COVID-19 patients especially in areas with shortages of facilities and specialists.Keywords: Brixia score, chest radiographs, COVID-19, modified score, RALE scor