Anticoagulant induced spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma, conservative management or surgical intervention—A dilemma?

AbstractSpontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH) is a rare cause of cord compression. SSEH with neurological deficit is an emergency situation that is commonly considered an indication for emergency surgical decompression. We describe a patient with SSEH who recovered clinically and radiologically with conservative treatment. A 25-year-old hypertensive male presented with acute onset back pain followed by asymmetrical paraparesis. He had sensory level at D9 dermatome with preserved bladder and bowel functions. He was taking anticoagulants for deep venous thrombosis of the left lower limb. Surgery was deferred because of the deranged coagulation profile. He was managed conservatively with correction of coagulopathy. After 3 days, he recovered significantly. Repeat neuroimaging revealed significant resolution of epidural hematoma. The conservative approach can be considered for selected patients who are unsuitable for early surgical intervention, those with stable neurological status [American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Scale E], or those in whom early recovery of function has been initiated with ASIA Scale C or D. Neurological status at presentation and suitability for surgical intervention seem to be important determinants of the type of therapeutic intervention

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Lactobacillus on Carrageenan-Induced Paw Edema in Male Wistar Rats

Introduction. Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus were used to assess the anti-inflammatory properties in carrageenan induced acute inflammatory model. Materials and Methods. Diclofenac sodium was used as standard drug at concentration of 150 mg/kg of body weight. Culture of Lactobacillus  2 × 107 CFU/ml was given orally. Edema was induced with 1% carrageenan to all the groups after one hour of the oral treatments. Paw thickness was checked at t = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 24 hours. Stair climbing score and motility score were assessed at t = 24 hours. Cytokines assay for IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α was performed on serum samples. Results. Lactobacillus showed a statistically significant decrease in paw thickness at P < 0.001. L. acidophilus and L. casei decreased by 32% and 28% in paw thickness. They both significantly increased the stair climbing and motility score. Lactobacillus treatment significantly downregulated IL-6 and TNF-α while upregulated IL-10 at P < 0.0001. Conclusion. L. casei and L. acidophilus significantly decreased the inflammatory reactions induced by carrageenan. This study has also proposed that Lactobacillus ameliorated the inflammatory reaction by downregulating the proinflammatory cytokines pathway

Fulminant reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome in post-partum female

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is a clinical and radiologic syndrome that represents a common presentation of a diverse group of disorders. Call-Fleming syndrome which is a part of RCVS group. We present a case of 30 year old primigravida who developed thunderclap headache followed by seizures on her day 1 of postpartum period. MRI revealed left anterior cerebral artery infarct with vasoconstriction of bilateral internal carotid arteries and its branches. She was managed conservatively. Follow up on 25th day revealed complete reversal of vasoconstriction in above mentioned arteries which confirmed the diagnosis of Call-Fleming syndrome. Patient had residual aphasia and right lower limb paresis on 2 months follow up

Bioassay guided isolation and identification of anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial compounds from Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) leaves

The present study describes the anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial activity and lipophilic profile with acute toxicological studies of Urtica dioica. Successive extraction of the leaves with organic solvents of increasing polarity and their screening for anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity was assessed. Hexane extract showed good anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity; hence it was further fractionated using open silica gel column chromatography into 19 sub fractions which were pooled together according to their thin layer chromatography (TLC) profile to give an overall 5 fractions. Among the 5 fractions, fraction-II (FII) at a dose of 200 mg/kg body-weight (bw) exhibits equipotent anti-inflammatory activity (48.83% after 3 h) as that of the standard drug indomethacin (53.48%) in Wistar rats. FII also showed a potent anti-microbial activity against all the tested bacterial strains and its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value was 125, 15.62, 31.25, 250, 31.25, 125 and 7.81 ìg/ml against Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri and Salmonella typhi, respectively which was determined by serial tube dilution method. FII was subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis in search of potent anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial compound(s). 2,4-Di-t-butylphenol (4.56%), neophytadiene (26.97%), butyl tetradecyl ester (9.53%), dibutyl phthalate (7.45%), bis(2-ethyl hexyl) maleate (8.80%), 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (9.89%) and 2-tert-butyl-4,6-bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl)phenol (3.19%) were the major constituents responsible for both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity of hexane extract of U. dioica. Sub-acute oral toxicity of crude n-hexane extract of U. dioica was carried out in Wistar rats at doses of 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw to assess the safety index. Hematological parameters from blood and other biochemical parameters from serum confirmed its safety at tested concentrations. Our results corroborate the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity of U. dioica, and could justify its use in folk medicine for the treatment of rheumatic arthritis and other infectious diseases.Key words: Urtica dioica, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), toxicity

QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF FENOFIBRATE IN BULK DRUG AND TABLETS BY U.V VISIBLE SPECTROSCOPY

A sensitive and rapid extractive spectrophotometer method has been developed for the assay of Fenofibrate in bulk drug and tablets. Fenofibrate shows maximum absorbance at 296 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of in the range of 5-35µg/ml. Beers law was obeyed in this concentration range with correlation coefficient of 0.999. The concentrations of this drug were evaluated in laboratory mixture and marketed formulation. Accuracy was determined by recovery studies from tablet dosages forms and ranges from 99.33 -100.92 %. Precision of method was find out as repeatability, day to day and analyst to analyst variation and shows the values within acceptable limit (R.S.D ≤ 2 percentage

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF REVERSED PHASE HPLC METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF SIMVASTATIN IN PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORM

A simple, accurate rapid and precise RP-HPLC method has been developed and validated for determination of simvastatin in bulk drug. The RP-HPLC separation was achieved on Promosil C-18, (250 mm, 4.6 mm, 5µm) using mobile phase buffer: methanol ph 6.8 (96: 4 v/v) at flow rate of 1.0 ml/min at ambient temperature. The retention times were 9.546 min. for simvastatin. Calibration plots were linear over the concentration range 1-50µg/ml. Quantification was achieved with photodiode array detection at 254 nm over the concentration range of 1-50 µg/ml. The method was validated statistically and applied successfully for the determination of simvastatin. Validation studies revealed that method is specific, rapid, reliable, and reproducible. The high recovery and low relative standard deviation confirm the suitability of the method for the routine determination of simvastatin in bulk drug

QTL mapping for resistance against cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae Woll.) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The resistance to cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae Woll.) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was studied using 114 doubled haploid lines from a novel ITMI mapping population. These lines were screened for nematode infestation in a controlled environment for two years. QTL-mapping analyses were performed across two years (Y1 and Y2) as well as combining two years (CY) data. On the 114 lines that were screened, a total of 2,736 data points (genotype, batch or years, and replication combinations) were acquired. For QTL analysis, 12,093 markers (11,678 SNPs and 415 SSRs markers) were used, after filtering the genotypic data, for the QTL mapping. Composite interval mapping, using Haley-Knott regression (hk) method in R/QTL, was used for QTL analysis. In total, 19 QTLs were detected out of which 13 were novel and six were found to be colocalized or nearby to previously reported Cre genes, QTLs or MTAs for H. avenae or H. filipjevi. Nine QTLs were detected across all three groups (Y1, Y2 and CY) including a significant QTL "QCcn.ha-2D" on chromosome 2D that explains 23% of the variance. This QTL colocalized with a previously identified Cre3 locus. Novel QTL, QCcn.ha-2A, detected in the present study could be the possible unreported homeoloci to QCcn.ha-2D, QCcn.ha-2B.1 and QCcn.ha-2B.2. Six significant digenic epistatic interactions were also observed. In addition, 26 candidate genes were also identified including genes known for their involvement in PPNs (plant parasitic nematodes) resistance in different plant species. In-silico expression of putative candidate genes showed differential expression in roots during specific developmental stages. Results obtained in the present study are useful for wheat breeding to generate resistant genetic resources against H. avenae

Wildlife corridors and Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus): Lessons from Rajaji National Park, North-West India

Abstract: Presently, most of the mega herbivores are under great threat mainly due to the loss and degradation of their natural habitat and loss of corridors. During the past 50 years most of the forest areas have undergone to drastic changes mainly due to huge amount of anthropogenic and developmental activities like agricultural expansion, human settlements, construction of canals, railway and road network. All these developmental activities lead to degradation of natural corridors for animal&apos;s movement and loss of natural connectivity between the different forest ranges of the same protected area. Corridors are valuable conservation tools, which provide connectivity to different landscapes. We reviewed some of the major reasons those are responsible for declining the population viability of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) within their natural habitat. Rajaji National Park and its adjoining forest comprises of many valuable corridors through which elephants performs their long-term migration. During the recent past developmental work along with biotic pressure has affected the elephant&apos;s movements in these corridors. Presently elephant&apos;s movement in Chilla -Motichur corridor area is quite rare but elephants are currently utilizing Khara -Anjani corridor and this corridor offer urgent need for conservation. Elephants of this area were subjected to move only in few of the forests as anthropogenic barriers are currently restricting their long movements from Rajaji to Corbett National parks. The long-term effects will include genetic isolation, habitat fragmentation within the same forest and enhancement in the human-elephant conflict in adjoining areas. Genetic isolation of elephant populations may also increase the chances of replacement of interbreeding to intra-breeding, and thereby reduce the population persistence even for wide ranging wildlife species. Major threat to most of the wild animals and elephants has been the railway track and national highways, which are passing exactly in between the forests