AYURVEDA: EMERGING BENEFACTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH CARE

The social impact of ill health is on the rise, with some diseases affecting not only the health of individuals but also that of a nations economy with their increasing healthcare costs. The enormous complexity of human body offers scope to conceptualize its dynamic organization in a number of ways such as structural, biochemical, functional, etc. The conventional western medicine views the body from a structural perspective, whereas Ayurveda, the ancient medical system of India, understands the human body from the perspective of functions/Tridoshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha). Ayurveda is a holistic science and Ayurvedic treatment aims not only at removal of disease, but also at the restoration of the equilibrium of bodily functions. These different viewpoints of Ayurveda and western medicine have resulted not only in the use of different terminologies and metaphors to explain the human system but also in their different approaches to health and illness. In the recent past there has been a growing interest in Ayurvedic system of Medicine and their relevance to public health. In this context, there is a critical need to mainstream Ayurveda into public health care to achieve the objective of improved access to healthcare facilities

Factors determining successful intrauterine insemination

Background: Infertility is defined as failure to conceive even after one year of regular, frequent and unprotected intercourse. Infertility can be attributed to male causes in approximately 25-40% cases, female causes in 40-50% cases, both in 10-20% and unexplained causes in 10-15% cases. Artificial insemination (Intrauterine Insemination) involves placement of processed sperms from husband (AIH – artificial insemination homologous) or from donor (AID – artificial insemination donor) into the female genital tract.Methods: Objectives of the study were to do sperm preparation to obtain normal good quality motile sperms, to perform intrauterine insemination using husband semen around the time of ovulation, to study factors responsible for successful pregnancy rates by this method. Out of 100 infertile females recruited for the study 34 underwent artificial insemination by IUI with controlled ovarian hyper stimulation. Sperms were washed by density gradient centrifugation or by a direct swim-up technique that does not involve centrifugation.Results: Overall pregnancy rate per patient for male factor infertility was 23.52%. None of the patients consented for more than three cycles of IUI. Maximum pregnancy was achieved in third cycle of IUI. Sperm motility >40% was related with pregnancy in 8 cases. Duration of infertility didn’t influence pregnancy rate. The majority of pregnancies were achieved in the age group of 25-29 years (50%). No pregnancy occurred with >15 years of infertility.Conclusions: This study concluded that intrauterine insemination after ovarian stimulation or controlled ovarian hyperstimulation is a successful and efficacious therapy for infertility

KESHYA KARMA OF YASHTIMADHU (GLYCYRRHIZA GLABRA Linn): A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Khalitya (Hair fall) being very common as well as progressive disease today has created the need for medical science to develop easy and cost effective hair care regimens and remedies. Yashtimadhu has been a very common drug in Indian homes since long, but lesser known is its role as a hair growth promoting drug. Ayurveda described the use of Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn) for the management of various Shirorogas like khalitya (hair fall), Palitya (greying of hair) and Indralupta (loss of hair in patches) in classical texts in various pharmacological formulations. Keeping this fact in view, an attempt has been made to collect the information related to Yashtimadhu from different Samhitas (treatises), Samgrahagranthas (compendia) and other texts, regarding its therapeutic uses in hair fall and related diseases and also in related formulations. Present information may help the researchers to develop new herbal leads for the management of various conditions

\u27Delivering\u27 Education; Maintaining Inequality. The case of children with disabilities in Afghanistan

Education for children with disabilities in Afghanistan, particularly disabled girls, continues to lag behind despite laudable efforts of the Ministry of Education to promote universal access for all. The opportunity for education constitutes not just a means of achieving learning outcomes but also a space for social interaction, individual development and psychosocial support, which are paramount in Conflict Affected Fragile States (CAFS). However, many persisting barriers still need to be overcome in Afghanistan to allow education for all and change negative attitudes towards education of children with disabilities. In this paper we argue that viewing education as a basic commodity, which is the widespread practice in CAFS, is not conducive to expanding human freedoms and capabilities. More specifically, through analyses of a national survey, we demonstrate that despite considerable resources, increasing access to education in Afghanistan has maintained processes of marginalization of the already excluded

Characteristics of infertile couples attending OPD of a teaching hospital

Background: Infertility is defined as failure to conceive even after one year of regular, frequent and unprotected intercourse. Infertility has, in the last few years surfaced in society as a significant problem affecting as many as 15% of couples. This study aimed at identifying the characteristics of infertility among Indian couples.Methods: The present study was carried out on 100 infertile couples attending the OPD of upper India sugar exchange maternity hospital attached to GSVM medical college, Kanpur, other hospital and nursing homes of Kanpur. Both the partners were completely evaluated by taking proper history, examination and investigation to assess the cause of infertility.Results: Majority of female partners were between ages of 25-29. Female factors were found in 45% couples and male factors in 30 % couples. Among female factors, tuboperitoneal factor was found in 32% cases and ovulatory factor was found in 40% cases. Oligospermia was the commonest cause in male factor infertility.Conclusions: From this study we concluded that infertility is a public health problem in India and the main infertility pattern is a primary rather than secondary infertility

Per operative findings in repeat cesarean section

Background: Cesarean section is the commonest obstetric procedure done worldwide. Incidence of cesarean section is increasing giving it a term “repeat cesarean section”. Repeat cesarean section makes future obstetrics performances and abdominal exploration risky. After any Laparotomy it is fairly common to develop scar tissue, or adhesion. The scarring and adhesion formation is known to increase the major complications rate from 4.3% to 12.5% depending on the number of previous section. Intra peritoneal adhesions have an incidence of 5.5% to 42.5%.Methods: An observational prospective study was conducted in Obstetrics and gynecology department of Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow. Total 80 cases of repeat cesarean sections were included. The case histories and intra operative findings were recorded.Results: Intra peritoneal adhesions of varied types were seen in majority of cases, out of which the most commonly seen adhesion was between parietal peritoneum and anterior surface of uterus 24(30%) and adhesion between bladder and uterus 24(30%).Conclusions: Chances of developing adhesions increases with each cesarean section, which leads to increase in morbidity of women. Thus cases of previous cesarean section should be educated about routine antenatal care

Potential for Stem Cells Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease: Do Neurotrophic Factors Play Critical Role?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common causes of dementia. Despite several decades of research in AD, there is no standard disease- modifying therapy available and currentlyapproved drugs provide only symptomatic relief. Stem cells hold immense potential to regenerate damaged tissues and are currently tested in some brain-related disorders, such as AD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). We review stem cell transplantation studies using preclinical and clinical tools. We describe different sources of stem cells used in various animal models and explaining the putative molecular mechanisms that can rescue neurodegenerative disorders. The clinical studies suggest safety, efficacy and translational potential of stem cell therapy. The therapeutic outcome of stem cell transplantation has been promising in many studies, but no unifying hypothesis can convincingly explain the underlying mechanism. Some studies have reported paracrine effects exerted by these stem cells via the release of neurotrophic factors, while other studies describe the immunomodulatory effects exerted by the transplanted cells. There are also reports which indicate that stem cell transplantation might result in endogenous cell proliferation or replacement of diseased cells. In animal models of AD, stem cell transplantation is also believed to increase expression of synaptic proteins

Status of vitamin D, paratharmone and serum calcium levels in perimenopausal women and their mutual correlation

Background: The present study was carried out with an aim to assess Vitamin D, parathyroid hormone and calcium status in perimenopausal women and to find out their mutual correlation.Methods: The present work was carried out on in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in collaboration with Department of Biochemistry at Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospitals, Lucknow, U.P. 80 healthy females aged 40-50 years were included in the study. Serum vitamin D, parathyroid hormone and calcium levels were assessed. Data was analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient.Results: Osteopenia and osteoporosis was seen in 33 (41.3%) and 21 (26.3%) women respectively, 50 (62.5%) women had S. vitamin D levels 0.05). Correlation between Vitamin D levels and Parathyroid hormone levels was weak and not significant.Conclusions: The findings of present study highlighted that perimenopausal phase should be regarded as a transition phase where a lot of physiological changes take place resulting in bone mineral density loss and fall in serum hormonal, vitamin and mineral levels. Owing to tremendous continuing changes the relationship between these parameters is vitiated and does not show a systematic change.

CD34 and CD117 Stemness of Lineage-Negative Cells Reverses Memory Loss Induced by Amyloid Beta in Mouse Model

A majority of the neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease are untreatable and occur primarily due to aging and rapidly changing lifestyles. The rodent Alzheimer's disease models are critical for investigating the underlying disease pathology and screening of novel therapeutic targets in preclinical settings. We aimed to characterize the stemness properties of human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) derived lineage-negative (Lin−) stem cells based on CD34 and CD117 expression as well as surface morphology using flow cytometry and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The efficacy of the stem cells was tested by its capacity to rescue the injury caused by intrahippocampal delivery of varying doses of amyloid beta. The hUCB Lin− stem cells reversed memory loss due to Aβ42-induced injury more effectively at micromolar concentration, and not picomolar concentration. More studies are required to delineate the underlying molecular events associated with hUCB Lin− stem cells

Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study

18% of the world's population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. Action to effectively improve population health in India requires availability of reliable and comprehensive state-level estimates of disease burden and risk factors over time. Such comprehensive estimates have not been available so far for all major diseases and risk factors. Thus, we aimed to estimate the disease burden and risk factors in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016