Platinum based doublet cross over therapy for advanced stage non small cell lung cancer? A better survival option

Platinum based doublet chemotherapy namely the cisplatin/carboplatin based etopiside or gemcitabine therapy forms the therapy of choice, for patients with advanced non small cell carcinoma of the lung. Here we report two cases were unusual cross over was done from gemcitabine-to cisplatin-doublet chemotherapy resulting in unexpectedly better clinical and radiological response

Exploring the Potential Role of Herbal Ayurveda Formulation Vasadi Kashaya in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - A Review

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease of respiratory system having chronic nature which is characterised by airway inflammation and airflow obstruction that is not fully reversible. It includes two clinical conditions, chronic bronchitis and emphysema which generally overlap in patients. It is a preventable and treatable disease that is caused by significant exposure to harmful gases or organic matter. The common clinical symptoms include dyspnoea, cough, sputum production, chest tightness. According to the global burden of disease study reports published in 2018, COPD is the second leading cause of death due to non-communicable diseases in India. COPD in Ayurveda is can be dealt in Ayurvedic clinical practice using treatment principles of Shwasa and Kasa. Vasadi Kashaya, a herbal Ayurveda medicine is commonly used in the treatment of respiratory disorders by Ayurveda practitioners. Aim: In this article, possible mode of action of Vasadi Kashaya in the treatment of COPD have been explored based on available Ayurvedic and scientific literature. Methodology: Information from Ayurveda text books and available full text articles on different medical online sources was collected using relevant keywords and are summarised in this article. Conclusion: Available scientific evidence supports the anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, anti-allergic, anti-oxidant and immune-modulator properties of Vasadi Kashaya making it a potential herbal formulation for Ayurvedic management of COPD

Primary pulmonary non hodgkin’s T cell lymphoma

A 55-year-old female presented with history of fever, dry cough and right sided chest pain of two months duration. Radiological examination revealed a soft tissue attenuated lesion involving right middle lobe. Immuno histochemical analysis leads to the diagnosis of Non Hodgkin’s T-cell Lymphoma. The rarity of this disorder and its good clinical and radiological response to chemotherapy prompted us to report this case

Swyer- James -MacLeod syndrome presenting as hemoptysis in an adult

Swyer-James/MacLeod syndrome is an uncommon disease with characteristic radiological feature of unilateral hyperlucency due to loss of pulmonary vasculature and air trapping. Typically, this disorder is diagnosed in childhood during evaluations for recurrent respiratory infections. Here, we report a case in a 30-year-old adult female who presented with dyspnoea, cough with expectoration and recurrent hemoptysis due to associated bronchiectasis. This case highlights the importance of computed tomography in the diagnostic workup of recurrent hemoptysis in pulmonary tuberculosis epidemic countries like India

A randomized controlled trial on comparison of phenobarbitone and levetiracetam for the treatment of neonatal seizures: pilot study

Background: Phenobarbitone is the most commonly used drug for treatment of neonatal seizures, irrespective of the cause of the seizures. However, there is concern about its adverse effects on brain, resulting in impairment of cognition and behaviour, and liver. So there is an urgent need for an alternative antiepileptic drug for treatment of neonatal seizures. Levetiracetam is a relatively new anticonvulsant. There are no randomized controlled trials about its use in neonates. This trial was designed with the objective to compare the efficacy of levetiracetam and phenobarbitone in the treatment of clinically apparent neonatal seizures in term and late preterm neonates.Methods: The study was designed as an open label randomized controlled trial. Study population included babies of >2 kg admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within 48 hours of birth with neonatal seizures due to perinatal asphyxia. If seizures persisted even after correction of hypoglycemia and hypocalcaemia, babies were randomized for intervention to either levetiracetam or phenobarbitone.Results: Clinically apparent seizures were controlled in only 23.3% neonates assigned to receive levetiracetam  as compared to 86.7% neonates assigned to receive phenobarbitone  (p<0.001).Conclusions: Present study demonstrated that levetiracetam is not as good as phenobarbitone in controlling neonatal seizures due to perinatal asphyxia in term and near term neonates. Also, it takes longer time than phenobarbitone in controlling clinical seizures. Superiority of phenobarbitone was observed both when given as a first line drug and after cross over.

Toxicity assessment of the alcoholic leaves extract of Reinwardtia indica

The present study aimed to evaluate the safety of the alcoholic leaves extract of Reinwardtia indica in Charles foster rats through an acute and sub-acute oral administration.For assessment of acute oral toxicity test, ratswere orally treated with single dose of the alcoholic leaves extract of Reinwardtia indica at the doses of 50, 250, 500, 1000 2000 and 5000 mg/kg. In sub-acute toxicity study, using the OECD guidelines no. 407, the extract was administered at the doses of 50, 250, 500, 1000, 2000 mg/kg/day for 28 consecutive days and at the dose of 2000 mg/kg satellite group also used for 6 weeks.In acute toxicity above mentioned doses neither showed mortality nor exterior signs of toxicity. In sub-acute, study no significant changes found in haematological and biochemical level ofthe treated rat after 14 days and 28 days in comparison to control. The histopathology of rat brain, kidney, liver, and heart also showed the no cellular changes after extract treated rat.The alcoholic leaves extract of Reinwardtia indica was found non-toxic in single drug dose administration up to 5000 mg/kg (acute study) and in sub-acute administration up to 2000 mg/kg

A STUDY ON PATTERN OF ALCOHOL USE USING AUDIT AMONG THE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN A MEDICAL COLLEGE OF NORTH INDIA

ABSTRACT Background: Alcohol and other substance use by medical students poses risks to them and can also have serious consequences on their effectiveness and fitness to practise as tomorrow&apos;s doctors. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of alcohol use among the undergraduates of Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly and the factors affecting its use

Transposable elements as scaffold/matrix attachment regions: shaping organization and functions in genomes

The hierarchical structure of eukaryotic genomes has regulatory layers, one of them being epigenetic “indexing” of the genome that leads to cell-type-specific patterns of gene expression. By establishing loops and defining chromatin domains, cells can achieve coordinated control over multi-locus segments of the genome. This is thought to be achieved using scaffold/matrix attachment regions (S/MARs) that establish structural and functional loops and topologically associating domains (TADs) that define a self-interacting region of the genome. Large-scale genome-wide mapping of S/MARs has begun to uncover these aspects of genome organization. A recent genome-wide study showed the association of transposable elements (TEs) with a significant fraction of S/MARs, suggesting that the multitude of TE-derived repeats constitute a class of anchorage sites of chromatin loops to nuclear architecture. In this study, we provide an insight that TE-driven dispersal of S/MARs has the potential to restructure the chromosomes by creating novel loops and domains. The combination of TEs and S/MARs, as elements that can hop through the genome along with regulatory capabilities, may provide an active mechanism of genome evolution leading to the emergence of novel features in biological systems. The significance is that a genome-wide study mapping developmental S/MARs reveals an intriguing link between these elements and TEs. This article highlights the potential of the TE–S/MAR combination to drive evolution by restructuring and shaping the genome

Palladium(II) catalysis on N-bromosuccinimide oxidation of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid: A kinetic study

64-70The kinetics of palladium(II) catalysed oxidation of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in acidic (HClO₄) as well as in alkaline medium have been investigated. The rate of reaction is always proportional to the concentration of NBS and catalyst. The order of reaction with respect to substrate was also found to decrease from unity to zero in acidic as well as in alkaline medium. The effect of succinimide on the rate of oxidation was negative in each case. In acidic medium, a negligible effect of H⁺ on the rate of oxidation has been observed while in alkaline medium a retarding effect of OH⁻ on the rate has been observed. The proposed mechanism involves the formation of {EDTA-Pdˡˡ} complex which has been verified spectrophotometrically