Pharmacological study of Rasaraja Ras an Ayurvedic metal Preparation

Pharmacological effect of the drug Rasaraja Ras [RRR] was studied using albino mice. RRR reduced both spontaneous motor activity and, amphetamine induced hyperactivity. Conclusion from open field test, hole cross test, hole board test and climbing out test suggest a CNS depressant activity. But RRR did not potentiate pentobarbital sleeping time and it did not show any neurotoxicity or marked ataxia at this dose level. RRR exhibited analgesic activity and it lowered both the normal rectal temperature and pectin induced hyperthermia. On 24-hour metabolic studies RRR revealed reduction in food and water intake and also in defaecation. In 30-day growth study a dose dependent reduction in body weight gain was revealed

Histological interpretation of transbronchial biopsies

A clincopathological study of 100 consecutive transbronchial biopsies is presented. These biopsies were taken from 82 males and 18 females. The age of the patients varied from 16 years to 85 year. Fifty eight patients were clinically suspected to be suffering from carcinoma lung, whereas tuberculosis was provisional diagnosis in 15 patients, the differential diagnosis included both tuberculosis and malignancy. The histology revealed malignancy in 44 patients, whereas tuberculosis was diagnosed in only 6 patients. Acute on chronic non-specific inflammation was present in 32 biopsies. The sampling was adequate in almost all the cases except 5 biopsies which were insufficient for an opinion. In cases of malignancies the positive tissue diagnosis was 61%, but in cases of suspected pulmonary tuberculosis the histological diagnosis was only 20%. These findings suggest that transbronchial biopsy is a fairly reliable method for diagnosis of carcinomalung, whereas for diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, bacteriological studies should supplement the transbronchial biopsies

Changing pattern of prevalence and susceptibility of various urinary isolates in Rawalpindi / Islamabad

A number of 7585 microorganisms isolated from urine specimens between Jan 1989 and Dec 1993, at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, were tested for their susceptibility to various antimicrobials. The disk diffusion technique [Kirby Bauer Method] using sensitest agar [Oxoid] [alone and/or with 5% horse blood] was adopted for various isolates against different antimicrobials. Escherichia coli remains the most common [46.96%] isolate, followed by pseudomonas aeruginosa [13.05%] and Klebsiella pneumoniae [12.99%]. There was no significant change in the rate of isolation of most of the organisms. However, there is decrease in isolation of Klebsiella pneumoniae from 1989 [20.07%] to 1993 [12.99%] and increase in isolation of Staphylococcus aureus [3.81% 9.80%] and streptococcus [Enterococcus] faecalis [0.55 to 4.81%]. Resistance of Escherichia coli against co-trimoxazole [COT] and ampicillin [AMP] has increased respectively from 40.32% and 39.65% [1989] to 76.18% and 77.98% [1993]. Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa against ofloxacin [OFL] has increased from 46.3% [1989] to 60.83 h [1993]. Resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae against nitrofurantoin [NIT] and norfloxacin [NOR] has increased respectively from 60% and 4.5% [1989] to 79.17% and 19.91% [1993]. Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus against AMP has increased from 86.85% [1989] to 95.09% [1993]. In 1993, all the isolates [excluding Pseudomonas aeruginosa and S. faecalis] revealed resistnace against NIT, 32.17% NOR, 20.31%; pipernedic acid, 37.19% COT, 78.68%; AMP, 86.83%; cephradine, 35.15%; gentamicin, 32.24%; OFL, 14.19% and ceftriaxone, 20.16%. It appears that AMP and COT should not be used empirically in urinary tract infection [UTI] and instead NIT or NOR may be preferred as empirical treatment of UTI

Anaerobes: a preliminary study

The role of anaerobes in causation of infections has been largely ignored due to lack of culture facilities in our country. This study was conducted to assess the significance of anaerobic bacterial infections in our setup. The anaerobes were isolated in pure cultures in 25.6% cases and in mixed cultures in 74.4%. The septic wounds and female genital tract were common sites. Bacteroides spp. and clostidium spp. were the predominant groups isolated

Classification of mutagenic and nonmutagenic kohl by using ames salmonella assay

Ames Salmonella mutagenicity tester strains [TA98 and TA100] were used to screen ten brands of kohl for the detection of potential carcinogens. Samples of kohl selected for this study included both antimony-based powders and mixtures of various burnt organic materials. The assay was performed with and without a metabolic activation system consisting of Aroclor-induced rat liver homogenate plus cofactors. Out of the ten brands of kohl tested [acetone extracts], two were found to contain mutagenic agent[s] while others failed to show a twofold increase in the number of histidine revertants per plate. The ones lacking mutagenic activity were mostly antimony-based powders. A chemical analysis of six brands of kohl failed to reveal the presence of agents like benzo[a]pyrene or 7, 12 dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, while three brands were found to contain aliphatic hydrocarbons. The importance of minimizing human exposure exposure to mutagenic, and potentially carcinogenic kohl has been emphasized