Screening of antiangiogenic potential of twenty two marine invertebrate extracts of phylum Mollusca from South East Coast of India

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the antiangiogenic potential of twenty two marine invertebrate species of Phylum Mollusca from south east coast of India.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Live specimens of molluscan species were collected and their methanolic extracts were evaluated for preliminary antiangiogenic activity using the in ovo chick chorio-allantoic membrane assay. The extracts were further evaluated for in vivo antiangiogenic activity using chemical cautery induced corneal neovascularization assay in rats and oxygen induced retinopathy assay in rat pups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the chick chorio-allantoic membrane assay, four methanolic extracts of marine molluscan species viz. Meretrix meretrix, Meretrix casta, Telescopium telescopium and Bursa crumena methanolic extracts exhibited noticeable antiangiogenic activity at the tested concentration of 200 µg whereby they significantly inhibited the VEGF induced proliferation of new blood vessels. Among these four extracts, the methanolic extract of Meretrix casta exhibited relatively higher degree of antiangiogenic activity with an inhibitiory percentage (64.63%) of the VEGF induced neovascularization followed by the methanolic extracts of Telescopium telescopium (62.02%), Bursa crumena (60.48%) and Meretrix meretrix (47.01%). These four methanolic extracts were further evaluated for in vivo antiangiogenic activity whereby the methanolic extract of Telescopium telescopium exhibited most noticeable inhibition (42.58%) of the corneal neovascularization in rats in comparison to the sham treated group, and also exhibited most noticeable inhibition (31.31%) of the oxygen induced retinal neovascularization in rat pups in comparison to the hyperoxia group that was observed for considerable retinal neovascularization.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The significant antiangiogenic activity evinced by the extract of Telescopium telescopium merits further investigation for ocular neovascular diseases.</p>

Intramedullary craniovertebral junction tuberculoma: an uncommon location of a common disease

Central nervous system involvement is observed in no more than 10% of patients with systemic tuberculosis. Although CNS tuberculosis is not rare in endemic countries, such as India, intramedullary tuberculosis is not commonly reported. In this study, we report a case of a 40-year-old female who presented with a six-year history of insidious onset, gradually progressive, asymmetric quadriparesis. She was diagnosed with intramedullary tuberculoma at the craniovertebral junction and showed significant clinico-radiological improvement with medical management alone. To the best of our knowledge, this report describes the first case of intramedullary tuberculoma at the craniovertebral junction to be reported. With the increased availability of MRI in developing countries, it is now possible for clinicians to diagnose this condition without performing a biopsy. It is important for the clinicians in developed countries to be highly suspicious of intramedullary tuberculoma, as there has been a resurgence of CNS tuberculosis due to the emergence of the HIV pandemic

Imaging spectrum of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumours

Primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs) arise from pluripotent neural crest cells and are classified as either central or peripheral. Peripheral PNETs (pPNETs) arise outside the central nervous system and sympathetic chain. These rare neoplasms comprise only 1% of all sarcomas and have highly aggressive biological behaviour and dismal prognosis. Adolescents and young adults are typically affected. Only isolated case reports on pPNETs appearing in both typical and atypical sites can be found in the literature. Timely diagnosis of pPNETs is a challenge to clinicians and radiologists due to the disease's insidious onset and variable locations, coupled with the limited studies that focus on the imaging features of pPNETs. Hence, this article serves to review the imaging features of this rare tumour.

Effect of petroleum ether extract of Sesbania sesban (Merr.) roots in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes in mice

Objective: The present study was carried out to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of the petroleum ether extract of Sesbania sesban (SS)(Merr.) roots, which are widely used in inflammation, fever, ulcers, leucoderma and diabetes in various parts of India. Methods: SS was administered orally at different doses (250, 500 and 1000mg/kg) to normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced type- 2 diabetic mice. The fasting blood glucose (FBG), biochemical parameters in serum, change in body weight, internal organs weight, food intake, water intake and glycogen level in livers were performed for the evaluation of hypoglycemic effects.Results: All the doses of SS caused a marked decrease of FBG in STZ induced type -2 diabetic mice. SS decreased the cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), urea, creatinine level and increased the insulin, HDL cholesterol, and total protein level. Decrease in body weight and glycogen level induced by STZ was restored. Increase in water and food intake induced by STZ was decreased. Conclusions: The results suggest that SS may have hypoglycemic potential for the type 2- diabetes and support the traditional use of the roots of plant as a hypoglycemic agent.

Anomalous systemic artery to a normal lung: a rare cause of hemoptysis in adults

Bronchopulmonary sequestration represents a spectrum of abnormalities. One of these abnormalities is an aberrant systemic arterial supply to a normal lung with no bronchial sequestration. These lesions were originally classified by Pryce as type 1. Most of these patients are asymptomatic but with time, many patients develop localized pulmonary hypertension, hemoptysis, and eventually high output cardiac failure. Multidetector computed tomography [MDCT] plays an important role in the diagnosis and planning of definitive treatment by identifying the origin and course of the aberrant artery. Definitive treatment can be surgical [lobectomy or segmentectomy] or endovascular

Marigold a potential ornamental plant drug

Marigold botanically identifies as Tagetes [Compositae] genus is an ethnobotanically known drug, used from ancient times in the Indian system of Medicine for the treatment of rheumatism, cold, bronchitis, eye diseases, ulcers etc. Tagetes species, commonly known as marigold, are grown as ornamental plants and thrive in varied agro-climates. The genus has been recognized as a potential source of very interesting biologically active products i.e. carotenoids that are used as food colorants, feed additives and possess anticancer and antiageing effects, essential oil known for antimicrobial and insecticidal properties, thiophenes with a marked biocidal activity and flavonoids having pharmacological properties. The Tagetes oil has been mainly used for the compounding of high-grade perfumes and also acts as antihaemorrhagic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, diaphoretic and emmenagogue. This genus has been investigated for various biological activities like antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, antioxidant, insecticidal etc. The present review summarizes the biological activities and phytoconstituents of this genus