ABSTRACT
Background: Pott’s disease is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis that manifests in a variety of clinical patterns. Delays in diagnosis and treatment can lead to serious complications. About 10-40% of patients with spinal tuberculosis may have a neurological deficit. Urgent measures are needed to halt the progression of the disease and deformity, especially to prevent and overcome paraplegia. In regards to management, every case is different and has a unique procedure. It includes simple medical management, simple decompression and debridement, anterior approach, and posterior approach, etc. Surgical decompression of the cord and instrumentation are needed in many cases besides chemotherapy. Although the anterior approach is used for cervical Pott’s disease but this procedure is very time-consuming and technically difficult in the lumbar and dorsal spine, especially in compromised patients and morbidity is more. The posterior approach alone is enough for achieving adequate decompression, debridement, reduction, fusion, reconstruction of the body, and maintaining sagittal alignment in the dorsal and lumbar Pott’s spine. The aim of the study was to describe the treatment modality and observe the outcome of treatment methods and incidence rate of infection sites among the patients of Potts spine. Material & Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh. The study duration was 7 years, from March 2016 to January 2023. During this period, a total of 30 cases of Pott’s disease were included in the study following inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: 53.33% had been from the youngest age group of 15-34 years, and 80 % were male. Very few participants had been female in the present study. Back pain was the primary complication for 50% of cases, while spinal infection was observed in the cervical region for 16.67% of cases, 43.33% had infections in the dorsal region, and 30 % in the lumbar region. 10.00% of the participants had been treated with non-surgical methods, with only anti-TB medication for 18 months or more. Posterior decompression was the most common treatment method, with 23.33% having only posterior decompression, and 40.00% having posterior decompression with the use of additional instruments. Conclusion: The study observed that Pott’s disease was most common among young adult males, and the most common sites of spinal infections were in the dorsal and lumbar regions in the present study population, contradictory to the general findings. Decompression treatment, with and without additional instruments, was the most common form of treatment among the present study population.
ABSTRACT
Aims: The aim of the current study was to undertake phytochemical screenings and evaluate antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanol extract of whole plant of Vernonia cinerea Less. (VCME). Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out for one year in 2012 in the Department of Pharmacy, Southern University Bangladesh, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Methodology: For preliminary phytochemical screenings, the crude methanol extract of V. cinerea was subjected to various tests to determine the chemical nature of the extract. Antipyretic activity was assessed by the yeast-induced hyperthermia in mice. The analgesic property was evaluated by formalin-induced writhing test. Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) was used as standard in in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity test. Results: Results of the preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and triterpenoids in the extract. In yeast-induced pyrexia, the crude extract demonstrated a significant (p=0.05) reduction of mices’ body temperature after elevation by the administration of yeast. These effects were pronounced at the 2nd and 3rd h post-treatment with the extract. VCME exhibited a dose dependent activity in analgesic activity test with 32.61% and 52.17% protection at the dose of 200 and 400mg/kg, respectively as compared to that 76.09% exhibited by standard diclofenac sodium. In the anti-inflammatory test, the crude extract at the dose of 400μg/ml showed 65.12% inhibition of protein denaturation whereas standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) revealed 76.74% inhibition. Conclusion: These results revealed that V. cinerea may be used in pharmaceutical applications because of its effective pharmacological properties.
ABSTRACT
Aims: In the present study, the crude methanol extract of tuber of Polianthes tuberosa Linn along with its all Kupchan fractions were investigated for antioxidant, cytotoxic, antimicrobial, membrane stabilizing and thrombolytic activities. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out for one year in 2012 in the Department of Pharmacy, Manarat International University (MIU), Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh. Methodology: The antioxidant activity was evaluated by using free radical scavenging (DPPH) assay. Here, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) was used as standard antioxidant. The total phenolic content was also determined and expressed in gallic acid equivalent. Cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activity of the plant fractions were determined by brine shrimp lethality bioassay as well as by the disc diffusion method, respectively. The membrane stabilizing activity was assessed by hypotonic solution and heat-induced methods and was compared with standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA). Results: In the free radical scavenging assay, the crude methanol extraxct showed significant free radical scavenging activity with IC50 value 71.23 μg/ml. The highest phenolic content was found in crude methanol extract (113.49 mg of GAE/gm of extractives). In the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, both the crude methanol extract and its carbon tetrachloride soluble fraction demonstrated strong cytotoxic activity with LC50 value of 3.56 and 9.31 μg/ml, respectively compared to that of 0.451 μg/ml exhibited by standard vincristine sulfate (VS). In the disc diffusion antibacterial assay, all the plant samples showed mild to moderate activity (zone of inhibition = 9.0-15.0 mm) against test pathogens. In membrane stabilizing activity test, the plant samples at 2.0 mg/ml inhibited the isotonic solution-induced hemolysis of RBC by 65.23% and heat-induced hemolysis of RBC by 35.61%. During assay for thrombolytic activity, the crude methanol extract revealed 52.6% lysis of clot while standard streptokinase (SK) used as positive control, demonstrated 66.8% lysis of clot. Conclusion: The plant possesses significant bioactivities which rationalize its use as folk medicine.
ABSTRACT
Aims: The crude methanol extract of whole plant of Blumea lacera (Burn.f.) DC. has been investigated for anti-diarrheal, antimicrobial, anxiolytic, anti-atherothrombosis, membrane stabilizing and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in 2013 in the Department of Pharmacy, Southern University Bangladesh, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Methodology: Test for anti-diarrheal activity was carried out by castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. The preliminary antimicrobial activity was determined by the agar disc diffusion method. The anxiolytic activity was examined in mice by using the hole board test and open field test (OFT). The anti-atherothrombosis activity was evaluated using standard streptokinase. The membrane stabilizing activity was assessed by using hypotonic solution induced hemolysis of human erythrocyte. The plant extract was also assessed for anti-diabetic ability using In vitro α-amylase inhibitory potential. The α- amylase inhibitory activity of B. lacera was measured using the starch-iodine method. Results: The crude extract of B. lacera showed anti-diarrheal activity in dose-dependent manner. In antimicrobial assay, this extract showed better activity against the tested fungi compared to the bacteria used in the screening. Significant anxiolytic activity was found for this plant extract. In the In vitro anti-atherothrombosis test, the extract exhibited 46.17% clot lysis as compared to the standard, streptokinase (81.53%). In membrane stabilizing activity test, the plant extract at 1.0mg/ml inhibited the heat-induced hemolysis of RBCs by 52.27% whereas the standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) demonstrated 81.72% inhibition of hemolysis. Our results revealed that the extract had dose dependent prevention of digestion of carbohydrates by inhibiting α-amylase. The ability of B. lacera to inhibit thermal-and hypotonic-enzyme activity was found to be statistically significant (p=0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrated that B. lacera may be used in pharmaceutical applications because of its effective pharmacological properties.