Traditional Knowledge on few Medicinal Plants of Biligirirangana Hill, Karnataka, India

Biligirirangana hills (BR Hills) is located in Yelandur taluk, Chamarajanagar District, Western Ghats towards Tamilnadu. The ethno botanical plant survey was executed for the documentation of therapeutic plants. The tribal people have the inborn knowledge about the medicinal plants and their use. In this presentstudy, we have selected 90 plant species belonging to 48 families out of which 38 plant species are herbs, 16 shrubs, 27 treesand 9 climbers were identified with their appropriate information and reported in this paper with their medicinal uses according to tribal communities to cure different ailments. The most common illness treated by the traditional healers are jaundice, diabetes, asthma, fever, cold, cough, digestive problems, piles, paralysis, skin problems, diarrhoea, haemorrhage, kidney problem, gastrointestinal disorders etc

Study of the weights of human heart and liver in relation with age, gender and body height

Background: Normal weight of organ is one of the most important indicators to discern between normal and abnormal in the departments of Anatomy, Pathology also as in clinical medicine. Objective of the study was to examine the normal adult internal organ weights and their relationship with age, gender, body height.Methods: The present study included 100 autopsy cases from the mortuary of Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad from May 2012 to September 2013. The subjects were selected as per inclusion and exclusion criteria to avoid variations arising out of pathology. The ages ranged from 10 to 60 years and out of which 29 were females and 71 were males. The organs studied were heart and liver.Results: The weight of organs with mean+standard deviation (SD) was represented for males and females respectively; heart 294+48 / 287+44gms, liver 1404 + 191/ 1283+ 169gms.Conclusions: A positive relationship was found between organ weight with age and body height in both males and females. Organ weights in males were comparatively higher than females

A study on development of ear ossicles from prenatal to postnatal life of humans

Background: Malleus, incus and stapes are the three ear ossicles present in middle ear. The auditory ossicles of the middle ear have a fundamental role in transmission of sound. The aim of this study was to determine development of ear ossicles from prenatal to postnatal life which will be of great help for an ENT surgeon who should be well conversant with the anatomical details of middle ear prior to undertake reconstruction procedures for the improvement of sound conduction in conductive deafness.Methods: The study was conducted in 25 foetuses and 25 adult ossicles after removal from temporal bones of embalmed cadavers. Vernier caliperse was used to measure different morphometric parameters to study growth and development of ossicles.Results: Malleus: The average length of Malleus varies from 4 to 7.24mm in foetuses and adults respectively. The length of the anterior process was variable and some of the processes were quite long. Incus: The incus had minimum morphological variations in the ossicles. Its length ranges from 4.97-6.94mm. Stapes: The stapes had maximum morphological variations in the ossicles. The variations of stapes were in the neck, the cruses and the foot plate. The variations seen in stapes were no neck, a short or a long neck. The cruses of the stapes had symmetry or asymmetry. Length varies from 2.45-3.8mm.Conclusions: Ossicles at 20 weeks of prenatal life were cartilagenous, and at 24 weeks they were ossified and surrounded by mesenchyme. Postnatal changes were minimal. These parameters of Ossicles will help in designing of implants and treating hearing loss

Analysis of cell proliferation rate in Oral Leukoplakia and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objectives: Assessment of the cell proliferation rate in tissues can be one of the markers for impending malignancy in precancers. The state of activation and the proliferation activity of the cells can be assessed by the frequency of silver stained Nucleolar Organiser regions (AgNOR) within the nuclei which is significantly higher in malignant cells. The present study was carried out to analyze the distribution of the AgNOR in oral leukoplakia (OL) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and in their various histological grades, and to assess if the AgNOR distribution could give information on the malignant potentiality in premalignant lesions and aggressiveness of the malignant lesions. Study design: The study specimens comprised of 35 archival cases, of which 15 cases were of OL and 20 cases of OSCC. The specimens were stained by hematoxylin and eosin and modified silver staining method of Ploton et al. for the Nucleolar Organiser Regions. The specimens were analyzed independently by the two observers and was further statistically analysed. Results: The mean AgNOR count in OL was 2.80 ±0.50 and in cases of OSCC was 5.71± 1.08. The mean AgNOR count in OL cases of mild dysplasia was 2.59 ±0.66, in moderate dysplasia was 2.92± 0.43 and in severe dysplasia was 2.79. The mean AgNOR count in cases of well differentiated OSCC was 5.73± 1.62 and in cases of moderately differentiated OSCC was 5.67±1.19. Conclusion: The mean AgNOR count was higher in cases of OSCC as compared to cases of OL, and the AgNOR counts increased with the increase in the grades of dysplasia indicating a higher proliferative rate with increase in dysplasi

Study to evaluate the effectiveness of coagulation factor concentrate prophylaxis in children with severe hemophilia

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of prophylaxis with coagulation factor concentrates VIII/IX (FVII/IX) in children with severe hemophilia A/B, respectively. Materials and Methods: Retrospective observational study was done on children enrolled in our hemophilia clinic, who initially received “on demand” therapy and were on prophylaxis with factor VIII/IX concentrate at the time of the study. The study group consisted of 8 children. Annual hemarthrosis rate (AHR) over a period of 1-year during on demand therapy was compared with AHR during a period of 1-year on prophylaxis with FVIII/IX. Results: There was reduction in AHR by 87% in hemophilia A and 85% in hemophilia B during prophylaxis compared to on demand therapy. There was a significant reduction in hemarthrosis/patient/year from 2.5 to 0.3 on prophylaxis with factor concentrate compared to on demand therapy. There was also reduction in other bleeding manifestation like psoas muscle bleed, oral bleeds, epistaxis, and number of target joints involved. Conclusion: Prophylaxis with coagulation factor concentrate significantly reduces the AHR, and hence, decreases the disability associated with it compared to “on demand” therapy

Niche separation in sympatric lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) and Nilgiri langur (Presbytis johnii) in an Indian tropical rain forest

The study was carried out on one group each of lion-tailed macaques and Nilgiri langurs living as sympatric groups in a rainforest in Anaimalai Hills, Western Ghats, south India. Whereas the lion-tailed macaques were found to be frugivorous/ insectivorous, the Nilgiri langurs were primarily folivorous. Fruit was the only shared component in the diet of the two species. The lion-tailed macaques occupied a higher substratum than the Nilgiri langurs not only for their routine activities, but also for overall feeding and fruit feeding. The presence of lion-tailed macaques resulted in further lowering the feeding substratum and increased passivity in Nilgiri langurs. Food specialization and vertical stratification differentiate the niches of these two sympatric species

Comparative study of Typhidot-M with Widal and blood culture in diagnosis of enteric fever

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic utility of Typhidot-M and Widal test in the early diagnosis of enteric fever (EF) in terms ofsensitivity and specificity. Methods: The study included 270 children in the age group of 1-18 years admitted to the Department ofPediatrics from November 2012 to February 2014, with fever of 5 days or more and with clinical symptoms and signs suggestiveof typhoid fever. Detailed history and clinical examination findings were recorded on a standard pro forma. Complete hemogram(hemoglobin, platelet count, and total and differential leukocyte count), Typhidot-M test, Widal tube test, and blood culture weredone on day 1 of admission. For Widal test, a titer of 1 in 160 or more for “O” agglutinins and a titer of 1 in 320 or more for “H”agglutinins were considered as positive results. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value(NPV) were calculated. Results: Of 270 children included in the study, Salmonella typhi was isolated from 82 samples (30.4%)and the remaining 188 (69.6%) were blood culture negative. Widal test was positive in 107 children (39.6%) and Typhidot-M waspositive in 136 (50.4%). The sensitivity was 78%, specificity was 79.3%, PPV was 59.8%, and NPV was 91.4% for Widal test.Typhidot-M test had a sensitivity of 81.7%, specificity of 84.6%, PPV of 69.8%, and NPV of 91.4%. Conclusion: Prompt diagnosisof EF is essential for appropriate management and it is, therefore, important to have a satisfactory test to replace conventional testsused for diagnosis. The present study compares newer test (Typhidot-M) against conventional tests such as Widal test and bloodculture, and it appears to be a practical alternative to Widal test in the early detection of EF even in the resource-poor laboratoriesas it neither requires much laboratory equipment nor laboratory expertise to conduct the test. This test can be done within 7 daysof illness, but whenever feasible confirmation with blood culture is strongly recommended, especially with the well-documentedpresence of multidrug-resistant strains of salmonella typhi worldwide. However, both Widal and Typhidot-M appear to correlateless satisfactorily with blood culture, and thus, there is a need for developing a test which allows accurate and early diagnosis of EFto manage a child effectively and limit its morbidity and mortality

BIOMECHANICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL EVIDENCES FOR WOUND HEALING PROPERTIES OF INDIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINES

Objective: Ayurveda, India's traditional medicinal system is a rich source of natural remedies, frequently used as home and folk medicine in wound healing due to easy availability and affordability. Honey, Ghee and roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra are effectively used in Ayurveda for treating wounds of various types. Nerium indicum (a folk medicine) is also a known healing agent. Even though the known end result of these medications is faster wound healing, the mechanism of actions at tissue level, changes in the micro-environment of the wound and quantification of the rate of healing is not explored and documented using modern scientific methods.Methods: Healthy Wistar rats were used for incision wound model. Wounds were inflicted and the treatment plan was followed with regular topical application of test materials. The nature of healing was observed regularly and photographed. At different interval of the treatment plan-biomechanical, biochemical and histological studies were carried out. An attempt was also made to quantify the microscopic changes at the wound site.Results: Faster healing was observed in all the animals treated with test materials. This was indicated by alterations in the nature of epithelisation, inflammatory changes, fibroblast recruitment and activity, fibrous composition and arrangement at the wound site in comparison with untreated group.Conclusion: The present study is useful in exploring the mechanism of action of these traditional Indian medicinal systems–Ayurveda and folk medicine and thereby provides scientific evidences for the same.Â