Efficacy and Safety of COX-2 Inhibitors in the Clinical Management of Arthritis: Mini Review

In the clinical management of arthritis, the choice of nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) remains confusing and controversial. A common practice on the choice of NSAID in clinical management of arthritis is the risk benefit ratio. The main objective of this review is to addresses the main arguments for the pharmacological and clinical use of COX-2 inhibitors in relation to nonselective NSAIDs for the clinical management of arthritis. This review concluded that, both NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors are equally effective and are associated with increased risk of GI, renal, and CV, adverse effects. Complete understanding of the patient's comorbid conditions and concomitant medications, coupled with precise monitoring during the treatment, may help to decrease the threat of adverse effects induced by nonselective NSAIDs and selective COX-2 inhibitors

PHARMACOGNOSTIC AND HPTLC BASED COMPARATIVE STUDY ON LEAVES OF MERREMIA EMARGINATA BURM. F. AND CENTELLA ASIATICA (L.) URBAN

Objective: In this study, an attempt was made to generate information based on botanical, physicochemical and HPTLC data needed for proper identification and authentication of M. emarginata and C. asiatica belonging to two different families. Methods: Botanical study comprises of macroscopy, microscopy and powder microscopy of leaves of both crude drugs. The physicochemical parameters such as water-soluble extractive, alcohol soluble extractive and loss on drying at 105℃, total ash, acid insoluble ash, and volatile oil were determined according to standard methods. HPTLC studies of chloroform extracts of leaves of both drugs were conducted at 254 nm, 366 nm and 575 nm after derivatisation using vanillin-sulphuric acid and the results were documented. Results: The present study reveals that microscopy and most of the physicochemical parameters of both the plant materials are different. Anatomy of the leaves showed two main characteristic differences. First plenty of trichome with trichome base and calcium oxalate crystal is common in M. emarginata, which is not observed in C. asiatica. Both plants have different venation patterns and leaf constants. The total ash content and the solubility in alcohol and water for leaves of C. asiatica are higher than that of M. emarginata. The HPTLC fingerprinting pattern obtained for both drugs are different. Conclusion: All the results obtained from this study help in determining differences and similarities of leaves of M. emarginata and C. asiatica and thereby preventing adulteration and substitution and emphasizing the importance of standardization

Pharmacognostic Investigation and HPTLC Fingerprinting of a Siddha Polyherbal Drug, Padai chankaran

The present study aims to establish the quality and purity of a Siddha formulation, Padai chankaran by laying down various pharmacognostic parameters, physico-chemical constants and HPTLC fingerprint profiles. Padai chankaran is a Siddha polyherbal preparation comprised of Catunaregum spinosa – root bark, C. spinosa – seed and Alangium salvifolium – root bark as the ingredients. The formulation is used as an external application, having astringent, anthelmintic and antiseptic activities that supports in healing of ulcers and dermatological diseases. Powder microscopy studies and physico-chemical analysis were carried out. Also, an attempt has been made to develop a HPTLC method for phytochemical fingerprinting and the mobile phase Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Formic acid (5: 2: 0.1) gave the best resolution for various components. Hence, the aforesaid analyses confirmed the purity and quality of the Siddha formulation for their future applications. Keywords: Padai chankaran, powder microscopy, physico-chemical, HPTLC studie

Arm-specific dynamics of chromosome evolution in malaria mosquitoes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The malaria mosquito species of subgenus <it>Cellia </it>have rich inversion polymorphisms that correlate with environmental variables. Polymorphic inversions tend to cluster on the chromosomal arms 2R and 2L but not on X, 3R and 3L in <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>and homologous arms in other species. However, it is unknown whether polymorphic inversions on homologous chromosomal arms of distantly related species from subgenus <it>Cellia </it>nonrandomly share similar sets of genes. It is also unclear if the evolutionary breakage of inversion-poor chromosomal arms is under constraints.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To gain a better understanding of the arm-specific differences in the rates of genome rearrangements, we compared gene orders and established syntenic relationships among <it>Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles funestus</it>, and <it>Anopheles stephensi</it>. We provided evidence that polymorphic inversions on the 2R arms in these three species nonrandomly captured similar sets of genes. This nonrandom distribution of genes was not only a result of preservation of ancestral gene order but also an outcome of extensive reshuffling of gene orders that created new combinations of homologous genes within independently originated polymorphic inversions. The statistical analysis of distribution of conserved gene orders demonstrated that the autosomal arms differ in their tolerance to generating evolutionary breakpoints. The fastest evolving 2R autosomal arm was enriched with gene blocks conserved between only a pair of species. In contrast, all identified syntenic blocks were preserved on the slowly evolving 3R arm of <it>An. gambiae </it>and on the homologous arms of <it>An. funestus </it>and <it>An. stephensi</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that natural selection favors specific gene combinations within polymorphic inversions when distant species are exposed to similar environmental pressures. This knowledge could be useful for the discovery of genes responsible for an association of inversion polymorphisms with phenotypic variations in multiple species. Our data support the chromosomal arm specificity in rates of gene order disruption during mosquito evolution. We conclude that the distribution of breakpoint regions is evolutionary conserved on slowly evolving arms and tends to be lineage-specific on rapidly evolving arms.</p

Natural flavonoids as potential multifunctional agents in prevention of diabetic cataract

Cataract is one of the earliest secondary complications of diabetes mellitus. The lens is a closed system with limited capability to repair or regenerate itself. Current evidence supports the view that cataractogenesis is a multifactorial process. Mechanisms related to glucose toxicity, namely oxidative stress, processes of non-enzymatic glycation and enhanced polyol pathway significantly contribute to the development of eye lens opacity under conditions of diabetes. There is an urgent need for inexpensive, non-surgical approaches to the treatment of cataract. Recently, considerable attention has been devoted to the search for phytochemical therapeutics. Several pharmacological actions of natural flavonoids may operate in the prevention of cataract since flavonoids are capable of affecting multiple mechanisms or etiological factors responsible for the development of diabetic cataract. In the present paper, natural flavonoids are reviewed as potential agents that could reduce the risk of cataract formation via affecting multiple pathways pertinent to eye lens opacification. In addition, the bioavailability of flavonoids for the lens is considered

Nintedanib for Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease

BACKGROUND: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common manifestation of systemic sclerosis and a leading cause of systemic sclerosis-related death. Nintedanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been shown to have antifibrotic and antiinflammatory effects in preclinical models of systemic sclerosis and ILD. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of nintedanib in patients with ILD associated with systemic sclerosis. Patients who had systemic sclerosis with an onset of the first non-Raynaud's symptom within the past 7 years and a high-resolution computed tomographic scan that showed fibrosis affecting at least 10% of the lungs were randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive 150 mg of nintedanib, administered orally twice daily, or placebo. The primary end point was the annual rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), assessed over a 52-week period. Key secondary end points were absolute changes from baseline in the modified Rodnan skin score and in the total score on the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) at week 52. RESULTS: A total of 576 patients received at least one dose of nintedanib or placebo; 51.9% had diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis, and 48.4% were receiving mycophenolate at baseline. In the primary end-point analysis, the adjusted annual rate of change in FVC was 1252.4 ml per year in the nintedanib group and 1293.3 ml per year in the placebo group (difference, 41.0 ml per year; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.9 to 79.0; P=0.04). Sensitivity analyses based on multiple imputation for missing data yielded P values for the primary end point ranging from 0.06 to 0.10. The change from baseline in the modified Rodnan skin score and the total score on the SGRQ at week 52 did not differ significantly between the trial groups, with differences of 120.21 (95% CI, 120.94 to 0.53; P=0.58) and 1.69 (95% CI, 120.73 to 4.12 [not adjusted for multiple comparisons]), respectively. Diarrhea, the most common adverse event, was reported in 75.7% of the patients in the nintedanib group and in 31.6% of those in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with ILD associated with systemic sclerosis, the annual rate of decline in FVC was lower with nintedanib than with placebo; no clinical benefit of nintedanib was observed for other manifestations of systemic sclerosis. The adverse-event profile of nintedanib observed in this trial was similar to that observed in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; gastrointestinal adverse events, including diarrhea, were more common with nintedanib than with placebo

Analytic framework of management of stress of non banking financial service employees

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Stress is an annoying state where high workload will minimize the concentration and the common working situation of any people. Normally, stress is represented as a people’s psychological and physiological reaction to the sageness of a command or challenge. Non Banking Financial Service Employees are more periodically induced by stress because of their work profiles. NBFS employees meet numerous pressure and customer issues in work conditions on current business environment. Employees have to be mentored to manage the stress in the work profile. In this paper, an analysis is carried out towards stress handling of NBFS employees on exploring the symptoms, sources and effects of stress. The main objective of this study is to identify the sources of stress and its effects on Employees life. It identify the various symptoms of stress experienced by the employees and ranks top most stress on the employees to reduce the impact against destructive reaction of employees stress which leads to heart attack, diabetic and other diseases. These approaches will represent an overview of the methods used in the survey, which will include the research design, population, sampling and sampling techniques, data collection and analysis.&nbsp