A study on ethnomedicinal plants of Kalavai, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India.

A qualitative ethanobotanical survey was carried out among the local Irula tribals of Kalavai village, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, to study the various medicinal plants that are used by the people for the treatment of common ailments such as fever, cold, cough, diabetes, jaundice, diarrhea, rheumatism, snake bite, and headache, in order to evaluate the potential medicinal uses of local plants. 250 respondents were interviewed. A total of 50 species of plants used by the local tribes of Kalavai are described in this study based on questionnaire, interviews and discussions with the local people. Several plants were found to be effective in curing asthma, skin disease, headache, wound healing, cough, cancer, fever, cold, rheumatism, hepatitis, diarrhea, paralysis, dyspepsia, ulcers, dysentery, tumors, some viral infections and scorpion bite. Conservation and cultivation of these plants is essential for sustaing the medicinal and cultural resource of mankind.

Prophylactic effect of Andrographis paniculata extracts against fungal species.

Andrographis paniculata (Acanthaceae) has been used to treat hepatoprotective, antidiarrhoeal, antiinflammatory, antimalarial, and antihypertensive. The aim of the study was to investigate the antifungal activity of different part of extracts of A. paniculata. The antifungal activity of extracts of A. paniculata was evaluated by Agar well diffusion method against five selected fungal species. Stem extracts of A. paniculata showed high antifungal activity against A.oryzae, Penicillum sp and C.albicans. The root extracts showed high antifungal activity against A. niger, A. flavus, C.albicans, Penicillum sp and A.oryzae and also leaf extracts showed high antifungal activity against Penicillum sp and A. flavus but did not show antifungal activity against C.albicans, A. niger, A.oryzae. The results obtained in the present study suggest that A. paniculata plant can be used in treating various diseases caused by the test organisms.

Roux loop obstruction following lateral pancreaticojejunostomy masquerading as recurrent pancreatitis.

Recurrent episodes of pain following pancreatic drainage is a perplexing problem often faced by the surgeon. The diagnosis and management of this entity is difficult. We report a case of Roux loop obstruction occurring 4 years after a lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) for chronic pancreatitis.

A rare case of dual obstruction of the colon.

The commonest cause of large bowel obstruction is colorectal malignancy. Volvulus of the colon is a rare cause and caecal volvulus accounts for less than 1% of all cases of intestinal obstruction. Reports of concurrent occurrence of obstructing lesions of the right and left colon are rare and anecdotal. We report a case of Caecal volvulus and carcinoma of the rectosigmoid in a 70-year-old lady.

Emergency inferior mesenteric vein to left renal vein shunt in variceal bleeding: an alternative technique.

Shunt procedures being used in the emergency surgical management of variceal bleeding include total (portocaval shunt-PCS), partial (mesocaval H graft shunt-MCS) or selective shunts (distal splenorenal shunt-DSRS). We report the use of inferior mesenteric vein to left renal vein (IMV to LRV) shunt in an emergency situation in a 24 year old patient with noncirrhotic portal hypertension with variceal bleeding.

Frequencies of X-ray induced chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes of xeroderma pigmentosum and Fanconi anemia patients estimated by Giemsa and fluorescence in situ hybridization staining techniques

Linfócitos sanguíneos de pacientes com xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) e anemia de Fanconi (FA) foram avaliados quanto à sensibilidade, à ionizaçäo radiante estimando-se a freqüência de aberraçöes cromossômicas (CA) induzidas por raios-X (1 e 2 Gy). As freqüências de aberraçöes no genoma inteiro foram estimadas em preparaçöes de linfócitos irradiados nas fases G0 e G2 coradas com Giemsa. As freqüências de translocaçöes e dicêntricos envolvendo os cromossomos 1 e 3 e o cromossomo X foram determinadas em lâminas coradas por hibridizaçäo fluorescente in situ (FISH). Um aumento em todos os tipos de CA foi observado em linfócitos XP e FA irradiados na fase G0 quando comparados a controles. A freqüência de dicêntricos e anéis foi 6-27 por cento maior (com 1 e 2 Gy) em linfócitos XP e 37 por cento maior (com 2 Gy) em linfócitos FA do que em controles, enquanto que as deleçöes cromossômicas foram mais freqüentes em linfócitos XP irradiados (30 por cento com 1 Gy e 72 por cento com 2 Gy) do que em controles e 28-102 por cento mais freqüentes em linfócitos FA. Em linfócitos irradiados na fase G2 a freqüência total de CA foi 24-55 por cento mais elevada em linfócitos XP do que em controles. Na maior parte dos casos as freqüências de translocaçöes foram maiores do que as freqüências de dicêntricos (21/19).

Cutaneous histiocytic lesions: a clinical dilemma.

The diagnosis of malignant histiocytosis requires a high index of clinical suspicion, awareness of its atypical features and availability of various tissue samples for morphological and special studies. The case reported here highlights the diagnostic difficulties encountered in a patient diagnosed as malignant histiocytosis who presented with cutaneous lesions in multiple foci, which included the face, groin and forearm. Only after repeated biopsies and special stains, a diagnosis of malignant histiocytosis was arrived at. Chemotherapy with CHOP regimen (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) was initiated. The response to chemotherapy was good and the patient is doing well eleven months after initial diagnosis.

Ruptured liver abscess with fulminant amoebic colitis: case report with review.

Amoebic liver abscess is the commonest extra intestinal manifestation of amoebiasis. Intraperitoneal rupture of liver abscess and fulminant necrotizing amoebic colitis are rare occurrences which complicate a severe form of invasive disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica. These complications are associated with a high morbidity and mortality. Synchronous pathological lesions in colon and liver are rare. Still rare is the occurrence of complicated colonic and hepatic invasive amoebiasis presenting as an acute abdomen. One such presentation of ruptured liver abscess and necrotizing amoebic colitis in a 70 year old male which was successfully managed is being reported.

Development And Application Of Tests With Human Derived Cells For The Detection Of Environmental Genotoxins.

Two novel approaches are described, in which metabolically competent human derived cells were used for the detection of genotoxic effects of environmental carcinogens. In the first, human hepatoma (Hep G2) cells were used for micronucleus and single cells were used for micronucleus and single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assays. These cells have retained the activities of phase I and phase II enzymes which are usually lost during cultivation. We demonstrated that these cells are suitable for the detection of the genotoxic effects of representatives of various classes of DNA-reactive procarcinogens such as benzo(a) pyrene (B(a)P), 2-amino-3-methylimidazo-[4,5-f]-quinoline (IQ), cyclophosphamide (CP), and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), isatidine and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Furthermore, we found that these tests also detect the mutagenic effects of rodent carcinogens such as safrole and hexamethylphosphoramide (HEMPA), which give negative results in conventional in vitro procedures. Additional experimental series showed that genotoxicity assays with Hep G2 cells are also useful for the detection of co- and antimutagens, in particular for compounds which act via induction of activating and detoxifying enzymes. In the second approach, a protocol for stable co-cultivation sandwich cultures with primary human hepatocytes was used. The cultivation of the cells under organotypical conditions leads to an extension of their life span and results in an improved expression of drug metabolising enzymes. Two different experimental models were developed: In the first, the induction of HPRT mutations in V-79 cells was used as an endpoint, in the seconds, single strand breaks were measured in human K562 cells in SCGE assays. Experiments which were carried out with B(a)P and 7,12-diemethylbenz(a)anthracene as model compounds indicate that in both systems positive results are obtained. In conclusion, our data show that tests with human Hep G2 cells as well as sandwich cultures with primary human liver cells are useful for the detection of environmental carcinogens and probably reflect their effects in humans better than conventional in vitro assays with metabolically incompetent cells which are currently used in most mutagenicity studies.