Can Ayurveda be leveraged for COVID-19?

60-68The world is experiencing an unprecedented health crisis as a result of the highly infectious novel coronavirus. Even economically powerful countries with the best healthcare and technology infrastructure are struggling to contain COVID-19. Conventional medicine is racing against time to produce vaccine and repurpose drugs used in other viral diseases. India has been using its resources maximally to fight COVID-19. However, it is yet to make full use of one of its major resource, namely AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unaani, Siddha and Homeopathy) systems. Ayurveda, which occupies a prime position in the AYUSH systems, has a huge knowledge base and infrastructure accessible in terms of registered practitioners, dispensaries, colleges, hospitals, pharmacies, research centres, etc. It is hence only logical that in a crisis like COVID -19, ayurveda is utilised for the public. Considering the vast clinical knowledge and experience available with ayurveda, this sector should definitely be an advantage for India. This article will discuss why and how the knowledge base and support system of ayurveda sector should be leveraged in trying times as the present one

The neurochemical basis of human cortical auditory processing: combining proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetoencephalography

BACKGROUND: A combination of magnetoencephalography and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to correlate the electrophysiology of rapid auditory processing and the neurochemistry of the auditory cortex in 15 healthy adults. To assess rapid auditory processing in the left auditory cortex, the amplitude and decrement of the N1m peak, the major component of the late auditory evoked response, were measured during rapidly successive presentation of acoustic stimuli. We tested the hypothesis that: (i) the amplitude of the N1m response and (ii) its decrement during rapid stimulation are associated with the cortical neurochemistry as determined by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated a significant association between the concentrations of N-acetylaspartate, a marker of neuronal integrity, and the amplitudes of individual N1m responses. In addition, the concentrations of choline-containing compounds, representing the functional integrity of membranes, were significantly associated with N1m amplitudes. No significant association was found between the concentrations of the glutamate/glutamine pool and the amplitudes of the first N1m. No significant associations were seen between the decrement of the N1m (the relative amplitude of the second N1m peak) and the concentrations of N-acetylaspartate, choline-containing compounds, or the glutamate/glutamine pool. However, there was a trend for higher glutamate/glutamine concentrations in individuals with higher relative N1m amplitude. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that neuronal and membrane functions are important for rapid auditory processing. This investigation provides a first link between the electrophysiology, as recorded by magnetoencephalography, and the neurochemistry, as assessed by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, of the auditory cortex

Magnetic resonance studies in oncology Measurement of the effects of hyperthermia on tumour pH

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D61189 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Human brain : Biochemical lateralization in normal subjects

Chemical asymmetries in normal human brain were studied using the non-invasive technique of volume localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The technique of STEAM was used to acquire water-suppressed proton spectra from 8 ml voxels placed in bilaterally symmetrical positions in the two hemispheres of the brain. One hundred and sixty eight right-handed male volunteers were studied for six different regions in the brain (n=28, for each region). Parietal, occipital, temporal, frontal, thalamus and cerebellum regions were studied. The focus was on metabolites such as N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr/PCr) and choline (Cho) containing compounds. Ratios of the peak areas were calculated for them. Quantitation of the metabolites were carried for data on 18 volunteers. Significant interhemispheric differences in the distribution of metabolites were observed for all the regions studied. There were statistically significant differences on right and left side for the metabolite ratios in all the regions studied. The study has shown the existence of significant lateralization in the distribution of proton MR visible metabolites for all the regions studied

Human brain : Biochemical lateralization in normal subjects

Chemical asymmetries in normal human brain were studied using the non-invasive technique of volume localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The technique of STEAM was used to acquire water-suppressed proton spectra from 8 ml voxels placed in bilaterally symmetrical positions in the two hemispheres of the brain. One hundred and sixty eight right-handed male volunteers were studied for six different regions in the brain (n=28, for each region). Parietal, occipital, temporal, frontal, thalamus and cerebellum regions were studied. The focus was on metabolites such as N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr/PCr) and choline (Cho) containing compounds. Ratios of the peak areas were calculated for them. Quantitation of the metabolites were carried for data on 18 volunteers. Significant interhemispheric differences in the distribution of metabolites were observed for all the regions studied. There were statistically significant differences on right and left side for the metabolite ratios in all the regions studied. The study has shown the existence of significant lateralization in the distribution of proton MR visible metabolites for all the regions studied

ORIGINAL ARTICLE - In Vivo Temperature Measurements in Brain Tumors Using Proton MR Spectroscopy

The chemical shift difference between the water resonance and the methyl resonance of N-acetylaspartate was used to determine the in vivo temperature in 43 patients with histologically proven brain tumors. Temperatures were also estimated from the contralateral side in 15 of these patients. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in temperature between meningiomas and the other tumors viz. low grade astrocytomas, grade IV astrocytomas and oligoastrocytomas. Temperature was also significantly different between the contralateral side and the meningiomas (p < 0.05)

Applications of high resolution magnetic resonance (MRI) and spectroscopic techniques to plant materials

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) techniques have been applied to a number of plant materials. The study demonstrates the usefulness of these methods in nondestructively estimating several factors related to pathology and histochemistry in important cash crops

Sequential diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging study of lysophosphatidyl choline-induced experimental demyelinating lesion: an animal model of multiple sclerosis

Purpose: To differentiate the surrounding edema from the focal demyelinating lesion during the early phase of the lesion using an apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and to monitor the changes in ADCs during the complete progression of a lysophosphatidyl choline (LPC)-induced experimental demyelinating lesion, an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Material and Methods: Eighteen rats divided into two groups-demyelinating lesion (group I, N = 12) and vehicle group (saline injected; group II, N = 6)-were studied. A 0.2-μl quantity of 1% LPC solution in isotonic saline was injected in the rat brain internal capsule (IC) area to create the demyelinating lesion. Six rats were used exclusively for histology. Diffusion-weighted (DW) images were acquired at different diffusion weightings on the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th days after LPC injection. ADC was measured from three regions of interest (ROIs) within the IC: focal demyelinating lesion (area A), surrounding area of the lesion (area B), and contralateral IC area (area C). Results: Histology revealed demyelination of the IC area during the early phase of lesion progression up to day 10 and remyelination thereafter. Elevated ADCs were observed for the surrounding edematous area (area B), compared to the focal demyelinating lesion (area A) during the early phase of the demyelination process, while substantial reduction of ADCs was noticed during remyelination for both regions. Conclusion: Measurement of ADC showed clear differentiation of the surrounding edema from the LPC-induced focal demyelinating lesion in rats, especially during the early phase of the lesion progression