A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE PATIENTS BASED ON SEVERITY

  Objective: The objective of the study was to determine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to measure differences in HRQOL according to gender and severity of COPD.Methods: An observational study was conducted over a period of 9 months. A total of 100 COPD patient's data were collected regarding patients age, gender, smoking status, and clinical characteristics using an SF-12 health survey questionnaire.Results: The total study population of 100 patients, 78% were men and 22% of women with a mean age of 65.4±13.2 years. The spirometry measurements, the mean forced expiratory volume 1 (FEV1) value was 57.2±10.4. HRQOL correlated significantly with FEV1 values (p=0.9760, p<0.0001). The severity of the disease was mild in 22%, moderate in 41%, severe in 24%, and very severe in 13% of patients. HRQOL was compared between men and women; the mean mental component summary scores were significantly higher in women (65.6±10.7) than in men (59.2±11.6). An inverse significant correlation between HRQOL and degree of dyspnea was observed (p=−0.9218, p<0.0001).Conclusion: The mental health status is essentially higher in women when contrasted with men. HRQOL is impaired, and moreover, it progressively worsens with increasing severity of the disease. This study shows that patients with higher smoking index are having more likelihood of developing the COPD disease and dyspnea has a great impact on HRQOL of patients. Evaluation of COPD patients should not be based only on pulmonary function tests but also by considering and estimating the patient's HRQOL.Â

IN VITRO PHARMACOLOGICAL SCREENING METHODS FOR ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS

Context: The development of in vitro methods is important in drug discovery process due to the restriction of animal use in the pharmacological screening process.Objective: The objective of the review was to understand the in vitro pharmacological screening methods for anti-inflammatory agents.Methods: The present review details various in vitro methods available for the screening of activity of therapeutic agents against inflammation.Results: Inhibition and measurement of nitric oxide production, mast cell degranulation, leukocyte adhesion assay, platelet-neutrophil adhesion assay, lipopolysaccharide-induced response assay, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-induced O2 generation by polymorphonuclear cells, and cyclooxygenase assays are discussed in this review.Conclusions: These methods help to understand the real mechanism of inflammation and mediators involved in this process and help toidentify new compounds possessing the anti-inflammatory activity

PRESCRIPTION PATTERN ANALYSIS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS IN GENERAL MEDICINE AND SURGERY DEPARTMENT AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate and analyze the prescription pattern of anti-inflammatory drugs given in the general medicine and surgery department at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The entire study was planned to be carried out for a period of six months. Total 84 patients were included in this study and was carried out in a 300 bedded tertiary care hospital. The patients admitted to the general medicine and surgery department were included in this study, of which patients given with anti-inflammatory drugs were recorded and analyzed for prescribing practice and rational use.Results: The majority of the patients were admitted to general medicine ward rather than surgery ward, and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were highly prescribed to the age group of 41-60 y. And about 88.89 % of non-NSAID injection, 11.11% of NSAID injection were prescribed. The prescribed drugs were mostly given by generic names (81.52 %) and least by brand name (18.48 %).Conclusion: This results obtained in this research work will be helpful to increase awareness of the limitations and difficulties on the translation of these recommendations into clinical practice, but also to stimulate the creation of strategies or tools to increase the appropriate therapy.Keywords: Prescription pattern, NSAIDs, Tertiary care hospital, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Rational use of drug

QUANTIFICATION OF ANTICOAGULANTS DABIGATRAN, RIVAROXABAN, AND PRASUGREL BY CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND SPECTROMETRIC TECHNIQUES – REVIEW

A review is presented on different analytical techniques used for quantitative analysis of selected anticoagulants dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and prasugrel. Efforts have been made to collate all the relevant references to the extent possible. The review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the cited analytical techniques, which will help to give insights into the methods used for estimation of selected anticoagulants such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and prasugrel, from clinical isolates, and its dosage forms. The review highlights the basic as well as advanced techniques performed for estimating dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and prasugrel. The techniques illustrated here have been demonstrated to be useful for quantitative determination of selected anticoagulants and may find application in analyzing other related properties

Antipsoriatic activity of Cassia auriculata L. flowers in Freund’s adjuvantformaldehyde induced animal model

The plant Cassia auriculata L. belonging to the family Caesalpiniaceae (Leguminosae) used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for the treatment of diabetes, ulcers, leprosy, conjunctivitis, liver and skin diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the antipsoriatic effect of the ointments 0.5 and 1.0% (w/w) containing ethanol extract of the flowers of C. auriculata using complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and induced animal model and also evaluated for its physical parameters. Antipsoriatic effect of 0.5 and 1.0% (w/w) ointments was evaluated by the phenotypic features (redness, erythema, and scales) in terms of psoriasis severity index (PSI) and histological features (epidermal thickness and degree of orthokeratosis). Evaluation of physical parameters for the prepared ointments showed satisfactory results with an acceptable condition of consistency for application. 0.5 and 1.0% (w/w) ointments treated animals showed a significant (*P <0.05) increase in the orthokeratinocyte layer and a significant (**P <0.01) reduction in the epidermal layer of skin treated with 1.0% (w/w) ointment with a progressive reduction (**P <0.01) in the severity of psoriatic lesions (erythema, redness, and scales) from day 7 to 21st day. The present investigations revealed that the flowers of Cassia auriculata possess antipsoriatic activity, confirming their traditional use in skin disorders

Inhibitory effects of flavonoids isolated from Givotia rottleriformis bark and Cassia tora leaves on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in LPS stimulated human whole blood

The plants Givotia rottleriformis bark and Cassia tora leaves were used in indigenous medicine in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases like psoriasis. In previous work, three flavonoids namely Rutin (I), Luteolin-7-O-β-D-Glucuronide (II) and Kaempferol 3-O-[2-O-(6-O-feruloyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-D-galactopyranoside (III) were isolated from G. rottleriformis bark and three flavonoids viz quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucuronide (IV), Luteolin-7-O-β-glucopyranoside (V) and Formononetin-7-O-β-D-Glucoside (VI) were isolated from C. tora leaves and evaluated for antipsoriatic activity. The cytotoxic effect of isolated compounds I-VI was evaluated using HaCaT cells, a rapidly multiplying human keratinocyte cell line, as a model of epidermal hyperproliferation in psoriasis. Among the isolated compounds, compound II, III and VI showed significant antiproliferant activity in HaCaT cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokines viz., IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and TNF-α contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and has been a target for the development of the new anti-psoriatic drug. Hence the present study aimed to evaluate inhibitory effects of ethanol extract of selected plants and isolated compound II, III and VI (5-40 mg/mL) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced pro-inflammatory cytokines viz., IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and TNF-α production. The level of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and TNF-α pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The ethanol extract of both the plants was standardized by HPLC using chemical markers. Preincubation with isolated compounds II, III, VI and ethanol extract of selected plants strongly attenuated LPS-induced increase in the concentrations of IL-6 (50-73 %) and TNF-α (64-90 %). The compound II and III also showed significant inhibition (*p ≤0.05) of IL-1β, IL-8 and IL-17. The results showed that the selected plants and isolated flavonoids have potential effects as anti-inflammatory agents by inhibiting the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines supporting the folkloric utilization

Antipsoriatic activity of Cassia auriculata L. flowers in Freund’s adjuvant-formaldehyde induced animal model

259-265The plant Cassia auriculata L. belonging to the family Caesalpiniaceae (Leguminosae) used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for the treatment of diabetes, ulcers, leprosy, conjunctivitis, liver and skin diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the antipsoriatic effect of the ointments 0.5 and 1.0% (w/w) containing ethanol extract of the flowers of C. auriculata using complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and induced animal model and also evaluated for its physical parameters. Antipsoriatic effect of 0.5 and 1.0% (w/w) ointments was evaluated by the phenotypic features (redness, erythema, and scales) in terms of psoriasis severity index (PSI) and histological features (epidermal thickness and degree of orthokeratosis). Evaluation of physical parameters for the prepared ointments showed satisfactory results with an acceptable condition of consistency for application. 0.5 and 1.0% (w/w) ointments treated animals showed a significant (*P **P **P st day. The present investigations revealed that the flowers of Cassia auriculata possess antipsoriatic activity, confirming their traditional use in skin disorders.

Evaluation of herbal ointment containing ethanol extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root for the management of psoriasis

Plant, Plecranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, commonly known as ‘Karpuravalli’ in Tamil language is widely used in folk medicine to treat conditions like cold, asthma, constipation, headache, cough, fever and skin diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate antipsoriatic effect of the ethanol extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root. Ointment containing ethanolic extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root was prepared and evaluated for antipsoriatic activity using complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and formaldehyde induced animal model. Psoriasis is induced by applying mixture of 0.1 mL of prepared CFA and formaldehyde mixture (1:10 ratio) topically for 7 days on the dorsum surface of the skin of Swiss albino mice. Antipsoriatic effect of 0.5% and 1.0% (w/w) ointments containing ethanolic extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root was evaluated in terms of Psoriasis severity index (PSI) by the phenotypic features (redness, scales and erythema) and histological features (epidermal thickness). The result showed that there was a significant increase in the orthokeratinocyte layer and a significant reduction in the epidermal layer of skin in the in vivo mice model with a progressive reduction (p**<0.01) in the severity of psoriatic lesions (redness, erythema, and scales) from day 7 to 21st day and significant (p*<0.05) decreased epidermal thickness and increased orthokeratotic regions in animals treated with 0.5% and 1.0% (w/w) ointments of Plecranthus amboinicus root. The present investigations revealed that Plecranthus amboinicus root possess potent antipsoriatic activity, confirming their traditional use in skin disorders

Evaluation of herbal ointment containing ethanol extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root for the management of psoriasis

553-559Plant, Plecranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, commonly known as ‘Karpuravalli’ in Tamil language is widely used in folk medicine to treat conditions like cold, asthma, constipation, headache, cough, fever and skin diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate antipsoriatic effect of the ethanol extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root. Ointment containing ethanolic extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root was prepared and evaluated for antipsoriatic activity using complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and formaldehyde induced animal model. Psoriasis is induced by applying mixture of 0.1 mL of prepared CFA and formaldehyde mixture (1:10 ratio) topically for 7 days on the dorsum surface of the skin of Swiss albino mice. Antipsoriatic effect of 0.5% and 1.0% (w/w) ointments containing ethanolic extract of Plecranthus amboinicus root was evaluated in terms of Psoriasis severity index (PSI) by the phenotypic features (redness, scales and erythema) and histological features (epidermal thickness). The result showed that there was a significant increase in the orthokeratinocyte layer and a significant reduction in the epidermal layer of skin in the in vivo mice model with a progressive reduction (p**st day and significant (p*Plecranthus amboinicus root. The present investigations revealed that Plecranthus amboinicus root possess potent antipsoriatic activity, confirming their traditional use in skin disorders

MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERCONDUCTING NANO CRYSTALLINE CERAMIC YSrBiCuO BY THERMAL TECHNIQUES

The nano-sized ceramic superconducting material YSBCO having perovskite structure was prepared according to the chemical formula by the thermo chemical solid state reaction technique using a high-energy ball milling process through mechanically assisted synthesis. It was characterized by XRD, SEM and EDX. Here the authours studied the thermal characterization using TGA, DTA and DSC