ABSTRACT
Background: Generation of reactive oxygen species together with paucity of antioxidant defense is considered as an important cause for dopaminergic neuronal death. Review of literature indicates that none of the drugs so far studied for preventing the PD were found to be promising for use. Therefore, the present study was planned to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Paeonia emodi Wall (PEW) in 6-hydroxy dopamine induced Parkinson’s disease (PD) model.Methods: The study was conducted on Wistar rats where Parkinson’s disease was induced by producing the striatal 6-hydroxy dopamine lesions. The test animals received ethanolic extract of PEW at dose of 200 and 300mg/kg for 28 days. Circling behavior, spontaneous locomotor activity, muscular coordination and akinesia were studied. Antioxidant levels were assessed by biochemical estimation and histopathology was carried out for dopaminergic neuronal loss.Results: PEW ethanolic extract showed significant dose dependent recovery in number of circlings, line crossing, muscular coordination and akinesia. A significant increase in MDA levels and decreased GSH level in PEW treated groups was observed in test groups as compared to control group (p<0.05). Normal architecture was retained only in PEW 300mg/Kg (p<0.05). L-Dopa did not showed effect on biochemical and histological parameters.Conclusions: The ethanolic extract of PEW showed neuroprotective activity against 6-hydroxy dopamine induced Parkinson’s disease in rats in both 200 and 300mg/kg doses. The protective action of PEW in PD can be because of its ability to reduce the oxidative stress.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the prescription patterns in a psychiatry outpatient department in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methodology: An observational study was conducted from August 2007 to January 2008 in a psychiatry outpatient department in a tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 300 patients suffering from 3 major classes of psychiatric illnesses (Schizophrenia & other psychotic disorders, Mood disorders, Anxiety disorders as diagnosed by Psychiatrists). The data from the prescription card of the patients was noted in a structured pro forma. Results: Prescription analysis showed that average number of drugs per encounter (Mean ± SD) was 2.53 ± 0.97. Not a single drug was prescribed by generic name. Injection was prescribed in 5% of prescriptions. 67.41% of drugs were prescribed from hospital formulary while 60.03% of drugs were actually dispensed from the hospital pharmacy. In Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, most common antipsychotic drug prescribed was Trifluoperazine followed by Chlorpromazine. In mood and anxiety disorders, most common drug prescribed was Imipramine and Chlordiazepoxide respectively. Conclusion: The present study could serve as a platform upon which further studies in prescription analysis of psychotropic drugs can be undertaken to investigate the scope for improvement in prescribing practices in psychiatry.