Study of interaction of nifedipine with haloperidol on conditioned avoidance response and catalepsy in rats

Background: To study the interaction of calcium channel blocker (Nifedipine) with Antipsychotic drug (Haloperidol) on Conditioned avoidance Response and catalepsy in Rats.Methods: Every group consisted of 10 healthy albino rats of either sex. Different groups received Nifedipine (5, 10 & 20 mg/kg, i.p.), Haloperidol (ED50 -0.2mg/kg for CAR & 0.4mg/kg for catalepsy) alone and combined doses of both drugs. The Antipsychotic effect of drugs was measured by Conditioned avoidance response (CAR) using Cook’s Pole climbing apparatus and Adverse drug effect (Extra pyramidal syndrome) was measured by Catalepsy.Results: 5 mg/kg i.p. of Nifedipine inhibited CAR in 50 % of Rats (compared to control, p<0.001). 10mg/kg i.p. of Nifedipine inhibited CAR in 60% of Rats (p<0.001) & 20 mg/kg i.p. inhibited CAR in 70% of Rats (p<0.001). When Nifedipine (5 mg/kg i.p) was combined with Haloperidol ED50-0.2mg/kg  the CAR was inhibited in 70% of the rats (p<0.01) and after combining Nifedipine (10mg/kg) with Haloperidol ED50-0.2mg/kg the CAR was inhibited in 80% Rats (p<0.001). Nifedipine at the dose of 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg (i.p.) did not induce catalepsy in the rats at any testing time interval.  At 20 mg/kg i.p., it produced catalepsy in 2 rats at half hour and in 4 rats at 1 hour and 2 hour testing interval each (p<0.01). In the dose of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg, pretreatment with Nifedipine significantly increased Haloperidol induced cataleptic scores at all testing intervals (p<0.05).Conclusions: Nifedipine blocked CAR. Its higher doses induced catalepsy and it is synergistic with haloperidol in blockade of CAR and catalepsy

Evidence-based national vaccine policy

India has over a century old tradition of development and production of vaccines. The Government rightly adopted self-sufficiency in vaccine production and self-reliance in vaccine technology as its policy objectives in 1986. However, in the absence of a full-fledged vaccine policy, there have been concerns related to demand and supply, manufacture vs. import, role of public and private sectors, choice of vaccines, new and combination vaccines, universal vs. selective vaccination, routine immunization vs. special drives, cost-benefit aspects, regulatory issues, logistics etc. The need for a comprehensive and evidence based vaccine policy that enables informed decisions on all these aspects from the public health point of view brought together doctors, scientists, policy analysts, lawyers and civil society representatives to formulate this policy paper for the consideration of the Government. This paper evolved out of the first ever ICMR-NISTADS national brainstorming workshop on vaccine policy held during 4-5 June, 2009 in New Delhi, and subsequent discussions over email for several weeks, before being adopted unanimously in the present form

Contradictions of the health-care system in India and a strategy for health-care for all

The contradiction between the socialized nature of the modern health-care system (inclusive of both clinical and social medicine) versus the narrow control over it is obvious in private health-care. However, this contradiction is present to some extent, in its own way, even in the public health facilities in India. To formulate a program for health-care for all in India, it is necessary to grasp these contradictions in both private and public health-care and accordingly conceptualize a strategy to overcome, resolve these contradictions

Asserting The Rights of The Toiling Peasantry For Water Use: Movement of the Dam Oustees and the Drought Affected Toilers In South Maharashtra

This paper describes in some detail, an important, innovative movement in recent years, of the dam-oustees and the drought affected people in south Maharashtra, to assert their right to influence the policy about dams and water use. The successful attempt of this movement to ‘dialogue’, on the basis of united strength, with various decision-makers and stake-holders constitutes a rich, rare example of historic importance and a lot can be learnt from this experience. [This paper is a chapter in IWRM book]dam oustees, water scarcity, dams, water use, drought, drought-affected, south Maharashtra, Maharashtra, India, people's movement

People’s Health Movement in India

‘Health movement’ as an area of social work has been comparatively a newer tradition that has emerged during last 25 years. In India, today about 10 million people are pushed below the poverty line annually because of unaffordable health care expenditure on hospitalization. About a third of the hospitalized patients either borrow money or sells assets to pay the hospital bill. This situation of spread of new diseases due to environmental or socio-cultural degradation and the problem of unavailability or good quality, appropriate humane services to all the needy is a serous socio political problem and it would require a broad-based, popular People’s Health Movement to tackle it.environment, environmental, health movement, India, people, hospital, hospitalization, social work, socio-cultural degradation, patients, money, tradition

Revisiting Primary Health Care in the 21st Century

Although ‘Primary Health Care’, as outlined in the famous Alma Ata Declaration has been a central concept and strategy in the field of health care in the late 20th century, it has not found mention in major policy documents. For example, the National Health Policy 2001 of the Indian government does not even mention the Alma Ata Declaration. This ‘Perspective paper’ revisits the issue of primary health care in the 21st century by first putting the concept in its historical setting and then by clarifying the progressive health movement’s understanding of primary health care in the current context..primary health care, Alma-Ata Decleration, basic health care, curative care, promotive care, preventive care, health for all, immunisation, prenatal care, post natal care, maternal morbidity, infant mortality, health indices

Peasant Movement in South Maharashtra: Not only 'Issue based' Anymore

The February agitation of farmers and the drought affected of rural South Maharashtra, in the form of a two-day ‘sit in’ last in Mumbai led to ministerial-level negotiations and several important decisions. If the ruling circles have been relatively more responsive to this movement in the last couple of years than in the past, it is because the movement has remained only ‘issue-based’ anymore, but has threatened the political base of the ruling parties by specifically challenging the elected representatives of the ruling parties on these issues.Maharashtra, South Maharashtra, irrigation, water distribution, biomass, farmers, drought affected, Shramik Mukti Dal, 'sit in'

Surgical management of ambiguous genitalia in infants and children: An SGPGI experience

Introduction: Assignment of a proper gender to a neonate born with ambiguous genitalia is a social emer-gency. Once a sex has been assigned the next critical step is performance, if needed, of a reconstructive procedure in a timely fashion. In an attempt to evaluate our experi-ence with this unique group of patients, we have retro-spectively reviewed the course of 31 children managed surgically at our institute between 1989 and 2000. Patients and Methods: This series consists of 16 geno-type females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), 7 male pseudohermaphrodites, 5 children with mixed go-nadal dysgenesis (MGD), and 3 true hermaphrodites. All the 16 patients with CAH underwent vaginoplasty, and clitoral recession. Five of the male pseudohermaphrodites were raised as females. All of them underwent B/L gona-dectomy, and clitoral recession. Perineal vaginoplasty was done in 4 of these patients and I patient who was due for colo-vaginoplasty was lost to follow-up. 2 male pseudoher-maphrodites were raised as males. Both of them under-went B/L orchiopexy and hypospadias repair. Four of the 5 cases of MGD were given a female sex assignment and all 4 underwent gonadectomy due to high risk of gonado-blastoma. In the 5th patient a male gender assignment was given. There were 3 true hermaphrodites, 2 of whom were managed by clitoral recession and vaginoplasty. One pa-tient was diagnosed at the age of 15 years. This patient had been brought up as a male child and presented to us with the complaint of pain in the lower abdomen. Investigations revealed haematometra and haematocolpos and the patient had to undergo B/L salpingo-oophorectomy and hysterectomy. Results: The postoperative period in most of the pa-tients was uneventful except for 2 minor complications. The cosmetic results have been excellent. 2 patients were lost to follow-up. Follow-up in the rest of the patients ranged from 9 months to 6.3 years and all the patients were found well adjusted to the society as far as their gen-der assignment is concerned. However the functional re-sults are yet to be evaluated, as most of the patients have not yet achieved full sexual maturity. Conclusion: This retrospective review emphasizes the complexities of assessment and management of ambigu-ous genitalia in infants and children. It also confirms the data from other series that the vast majority of infants born with the 4 most common forms of ambiguous genitalia (CAH, MGD, male pseudohermaphroditism, and true hermaphroditism) may be raised as females as phallic in-adequacy usually makes it difficult to achieve a cosmeti-cally acceptable appearance. However the sex of rearing and parents′ intentions and wishes should be taken into consideration in the reconstruction of genitalia of a child

Identification of low-molecular-weight compounds in goat epididymis using multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance

Multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (1H,13C, and31P) studies have been performed on aqueous solutions of lyophilysates of cell-free extract, epididymal fluid, and intact cells from caput and cauda regions of epididymis of sacrificed goats. Identification of low-molecular-weight compounds present in different maturation phases of spermatozoa has been carried out. Several low-molecular-weight compounds have been identified by assigning 600 MHz1H NMR spectra with the help of two-dimensional homonuclear and heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy such as double quantum filtered correlation spectroscopy and heteronuclear single quantum correlation spectroscopy. Homonuclear coupling constants have also been used to get unambiguous assignments of resonances. NMR data were compared with those of standard samples measured at same pH and with those reported in the literature. Identification of several amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids have been made and their presence has been discussed in relation to their relevance to sperm functions. The presence of &#946;-alanine and hypotaurine has been reported for the first time in goat epididymis