Determinants of Prakriti, the Human Constitution Types of Indian Traditional Medicine and its Correlation with Contemporary Science.

Background: Constitutional type of an individual or prakriti is the basic clinical denominator in Ayurveda, which defines physical, physiological, and psychological traits of an individual and is the template for individualized diet, lifestyle counseling, and treatment. The large number of phenotype description by prakriti determination is based on the knowledge and experience of the assessor, and hence subject to inherent variations and interpretations. Objective: In this study we have attempted to relate dominant prakriti attribute to body mass index (BMI) of individuals by assessing an acceptable tool to provide the quantitative measure to the currently qualitative ayurvedic prakriti determination. Materials and Methods: The study is cross sectional, multicentered, and prakriti assessment of a total of 3416 subjects was undertaken. Healthy male, nonsmoking, nonalcoholic volunteers between the age group of 20-30 were screened for their prakriti after obtaining written consent to participate in the study. The prakriti was determined on the phenotype description of ayurvedic texts and simultaneously by the use of a computer‑aided prakriti assessment tool. Kappa statistical analysis was employed to validate the prakriti assessment and Chi‑square, Cramer’s V test to determine the relatedness in the dominant prakriti to various attributes. Results: We found 80% concordance between ayurvedic physician and software in predicting the prakriti of an individual. The kappa value of 0.77 showed moderate agreement in prakriti assessment. We observed a significant correlations of dominant prakriti to place of birth and BMI with Chi‑square, P < 0.01 (Cramer’s V‑value of 0.156 and 0.368, respectively). Conclusion: The present study attempts to integrate knowledge of traditional ayurvedic concepts with the contemporary science. We have demonstrated analysis of prakriti classification and its association with BMI and place of birth with the implications to one of the ways for human classification.

Association of obesity and insulin resistance with dyslipidemia in Indian women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia, diabetes and obesity are all potent cardiovascular risk factors that tend to cluster in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Metabolic disorders in patients with PCOS cannot be explained solely by the presence of obesity. OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation between insulin resistance and serum lipid profile in Indian women with PCOS. SETTING: Gynecology clinic of a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study done from April 2004 to December 2004, 65 women with PCOS had their body mass index (BMI) and waist hip ratio calculated. Fasting glucose, insulin and lipid profiles were also estimated in each case. Insulin resistance was defined by fasting glucose-to-insulin ratio <or=4.5. The association of obesity markers and insulin resistance with lipid parameters was then studied. Statistical analysis using student 't' and Mann Whitney U tests was done as indicated. RESULTS: Insulin resistance was seen in 50 of the 65 PCOS women. There was no correlation seen between markers of obesity such as BMI and waist/hip ratio with various lipid parameters. But in PCOS women with insulin resistance, the lipid profile was significantly different [high triglycerides, total cholesterol and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL)] compared to insulin-sensitive women. The difference between the two groups for total cholesterol (P = 0.002), triglycerides (P =or<0.001) and HDL (P <or=0.001) was statistically significant but that for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P <or=0.07) was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Insulin resistance is associated with dyslipidemia in women with PCOS, independent of obesity.

Efficacy and tolerability of trandolapril in mild to moderate hypertension--a double blind comparative clinical trial with enalapril in Indian population.

Several large scale clinical trials have demonstrated that angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors offer cardiovascular and renal protection independent of their effects on systolic BP. Trandolapril is a new angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor approved for the treatment of hypertension. The potential advantages of this drug are long duration of action and better tolerability. The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of trandolapril with that of enalapril in mild to moderate hypertension in Indian population. In this double blind, multicentric, parallel comparative clinical study, 120 patients with mild to moderate hypertension were randomly assigned to receive trandolapril 2 mg or enalapril 5 mg once daily for 8 weeks. The attainment of sitting diastolic blood pressure <90 mmHg at the end of 8th week was considered as primary outcome measure and attainment of diastolic blood pressure <90 mmHg or reduction of at least 10 mmHg diastolic blood pressure compared to baseline at any visit was considered as secondary outcome measures. 98.4% patients treated with trandolapril and 92.6% patients treated with enalapril fulfilled the primary outcome measure. 54, 72 and 62% patients on trandolapril and 52, 61 & 64% patients on enalapril fulfilled secondary outcome measure at the end of 2nd, 4th and 8th week respectively. Also trandolapril was better tolerated than enalapril with no significant abnormality in lab parameters.

Dermatoses among paddy field workers--a descriptive, cross-sectional pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Paddy farming is one of the main occupations in coastal South India. Dermatological problems in paddy field workers have not received much attention. AIM: The purpose of this study was to study the dermatoses of the exposed parts of the body, viz. face, hands, and feet, in paddy field workers. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-one workers were questioned and clinical findings noted. Scrapings for bacterial and fungal examination were taken by random selection. RESULTS: Seventy-three per cent had work-related itching. Melasma was the commonest facial lesion (41.1%). The main problems on the hands were hyperkeratosis (26.4%), nail dystrophy (15.2%) and paronychia (8.8%). Common feet dermatoses included nail dystrophy (57.1%), pitted keratolysis (42.5%) and fissuring (23.5%). Common aerobic and anaerobic bacteria isolated from pitted keratolysis and intertrigo were Klebsiella and Clostridium species. Aspergillus species were the commonest fungus grown from intertrigo. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational dermatoses are common in paddy field workers.

Periodontal diseases and awareness among patients.

Awareness of periodontal problems and how they interpret this and their timely intervention affects periodontal health. Many people neither recognize the symptoms of periodontal disease nor do they associate existing symptoms with the disease. Hence one should ensure that the routes of science transfer are open so that the appropriate knowledge regarding the prevention and control of periodontal diseases are available to the public.

Acute respiratory infections in children: a community based longitudinal study in south India.

A community based longitudinal study was conducted in Malpe, a coastal village of Udupi district, Karnataka state, to investigate acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children. A cohort of 91 children under 3 years of age were followed up for 1 year, leading to 2047 fortnightly observation. On an average every child had 11.3 months of follow up. The overall incidence of ARI was 6.42 episodes per child per year. On an average each episode lasted for 5.06 days. Mean duration of ARI during one year was 32.5 days per child. Most of the ARI episodes in children (91.3%) were of simple Cough & Cold (no pneumonia). However, 8.2% developed pneumonia and only 0.51% had severe pneumonia. Incidence of ARI was almost same in male and female children. There was no significant difference in incidence among various age groups. But the incidence of pneumonia was significantly higher among infants (p<0.00002). Children of poor housing with smoke producing conditions suffered more frequently (p,002).