Estimation of salivary glucose level and plasma glucose level in subjects with and without diabetes mellitus: a comparative study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate and correlate salivary glucose levels and plasma glucose levels in non-diabetic subjects, controlled and uncontrolled diabetic subjects and to assess if salivary glucose can be a potentially useful non-invasive tool in diagnosing diabetes mellitus and in monitoring of glycemic control in diabetic patients. Materials and methods: A total of 90 subjects aged between 40-60 years participated in the study. Diabetic status was determined by estimation of random non-fasting plasma glucose levels and Glycosylated haemoglobin levels. Both unstimulated and stimulated saliva were collected and investigated for glucose levels. Salivary glucose levels were measured using the glucose oxidase method. Results: Salivary glucose levels were significantly higher in diabetics than non-diabetics. Mean un-stimulated salivary glucose level was 1.15 mg/dL in control group, 2.04 mg/dL in controlled diabetic group and 3.99 mg/dL in un-controlled diabetic group. There was a significant positive correlation between salivary and plasma glucose levels. Conclusion: These results show that salivary glucose concentration can be used as a potentially useful non-invasive tool for diagnosing diabetes mellitus and monitoring glycemic control in diabetic patients.

Temperature Triggered In situ Gelling System for Betaxolol in Glaucoma.

The aim of this research is to develop thermo sensitive drug vehicles for glaucoma therapy in in-situ form to overcome the problems of poor bioavailability, naso lachrymal drainage and rapid precorneal elimination exhibited by conventional eye drops. Thermo sensitive ophthalmic drop was prepared using cold method by mixing thermo sensitive polymer pluronic F-127, viscosifying agent HPMC-E 50 LV and antiglaucoma drug (betaxolol hydrochloride). Prepared in situ gels were evaluated for physical parameters like appearance, gelation temperature, pH, drug content, rheological properties, isotonicity, sterility test, in vitro permeation and in-vivo ocular irritation study. The drug released from selected batch provides sustained release of betaxolol over 7 hours period and showed excellent ocular tolerance. The overall results of this study supports that the Pluronic/HPMC based vehicle could be used for controlled drug release that exhibits a greater potential for glaucoma therapy.

Design and evaluation of liposomal delivery system for L-Asparaginese.

Despite of its effective anti-tumour activity,L-Asparaginase has limited clinical application due to the high rate of clinical hypersensitivity. In an attempt to develop a liposomal drug delivery for L-Asparaginase, enzyme loaded liposomes were formulated using soy lecithin, cholesterol and charge inducers by thin film hydration method. The effect of various components of the liposomes including the concentration of lecithin and cholesterol with or without the charge inducers on the entrapment efficiency and short term invitro cytotoxicity study was systematically investigated. The average particle sizes of the vesicles were found to be 43.2, 35.6 and 65.8 μm respectively for neutral, positive and negative liposomes. The percentage of drug loading was found to be 1.95, 2.39 and 2.35 % respectively for neutral, positive and negative liposomes.The invitro release study of L-Asparaginase was carried out using normal saline as dissolution medium and the release was found to be 86.88, 78.29 and 82.04 % respectively for neutral, positive and negative liposomes. The release of LAsparaginase from liposomes was followed first order kinetics obeying non-Fickian diffusion. A short term cytotoxicity study was carried out using Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma cells (EAC cells) which revealed that the cytotoxicity concentration CTC50 for pure drug was found to be 64 mcg as compared to liposomal formulation of 50 mcg.

Development and in-vitro Evaluation of a Topical Drug Delivery System Containing Betamethazone Loaded Ethyl Cellulose Nanospheres

PURPOSE : Lipid nanospheres are used for the passive targeting of cosmetic agents to skin; thereby achieving major benefits such as reduction of total dose and avoidance of systemic absorption. The present study was carried out to exploit the feasibility of using polymeric nanospheres as an alternative and cheaper carrier for targeting corticosteroids to the skin. METHODS: Nanospheres were prepared from ethyl cellulose by a modified method of desolvation and cross linking. The drug betamethazone was incorporated into nanospheres and the drug : polymer ratio was evaluated to determine the carrier capacity of the polymer. In vitro release studies of drug-loaded nanospheres were carried out by the centrifugal ultrafiltration method. The kinetics of release was determined and fitted to an empirical equation. The release of drug from drug-loaded nanospheres dispersing in a conventional cream was evaluated. A comparative in vitro diffusion study was carried out between a commercial brand of cream and the cream incorporating nanospheres. RESULTS: Formulation of nanospheres of betamethazone by a modified method produced discrete particles. Studies on drug : polymer ratio showed a linear relationship between drug concentration and percentage of loading. The in vitro release of drug-loaded nanospheres was found to be first order. The comparative in vitro diffusion study between the commercial cream and the formulated cream showed a marked reduction in release rate from nanospheres-bound cream. CONCLUSION : Formulated topical cream containing nanospheres of betamethazone was found to be a potential dermal delivery system for sustaining the release of the drug

Non-secretor status; a predisposing factor for vaginal candidiasis.

A secretor is an individual who secretes blood group antigens into body fluids such as saliva, sweat, tears, semen and serum. An attempt has been made to establish the correlation between the secretor status and susceptibility to vaginal candidiasis. The secretor status was determined by haemagglutination inhibition technique. The presence of Candida albicans infection was detected by direct microscopy of the wet smear and confirmed by germ tube test and corn meal agar test. It was observed that out of the 64 patients, 15 were secretors and 49 were non-secretors. However 43 subjects were secretors and 13 non-secretors among the 56 controls. Thus prevalence of vaginal candidiasis was significantly higher in non-secretor group (P<0.01). The absence of blood group antigens in the body fluids and the lack of enzyme glycosyl transferase enhance the attachment of yeast to the epithelial cell and render the non-secretor more prone to infection.

Gender differences in predator induced pain perception in rats.

Pain is an unpleasant sensation. It warns the living being about the impending damage to the tissues. The perception of pain is influenced by physical and psychological factors. The impact of chronic intermittent psychological stress on pain perception and the differences in antinociceptive responses have been studied in male and anestrous female albino rats. Fifteen rats in each group were subjected to psychological stress, by exposing them to their natural predator--cat, for a duration of 20 min daily for 12 consecutive days. Tail flick response latency to radiant heat was used as a measure to evaluate pain perception. It was observed that both the groups had a relatively high pain threshold at the beginning of exposure schedule due to the modulation of opioid analgesic system by the higher level of circulating testosterone in males and low level of estrogen in anaestrous females. However, the threshold for pain perception showed a gradually declining trend in both the groups over the next 11 days to reach the control values. This increase in sensitivity to pain or decreased pain threshold could be attributed to the phenomenon of habituation.

Impact of psychological stress, gender and colour on visual response latency.

The measure of visual reaction time has been used to evaluate the processing speed of Central Nervous System and the co-ordination between the sensory and motor systems. As the reaction time is influenced by different factors, the impact of psychological stress, gender effect and the colour of objects in modulating the reaction time have been investigated in this study. 32 male and 38 female medical students in the age group of 18-21 yrs participated as subjects. It was observed that a) the males had a visual reaction time lesser than their female counterparts b) response latency for green colour was lesser than that for red in both the males and the female subjects and c) psychological stress resulted in a significant decline in the reaction time to green colour in males. The longer reaction time in females could be due to the effect of female sex hormones, which reduced the velocity of nerve impulse and increased the synaptic delay. Green colour evoked a faster response due to its stronger stimulation on the visual receptors.

Predator induced stress and its analgesic potential on estrous and anestrus albino rats.

It has been established that physical stress induces antinociceptive effect. In the present study efforts were made to investigate the role of chronic intermittent psychological stress in the induction of the analgesic effect and the probable role of estrous cycle in modulating the antinociceptive response. Albino rats in regular estrous cycle (n = 15) and those in anestrus (n = 15) were exposed to psychological stress for a period of 20 min each day for 12 consecutive days. The predator (domestic cat) was used to induce the psychological stress. At the end of each session tail flick response time to heat was recorded as a measure of pain perception. It was observed that female estrous rats had a low pain threshold in the beginning but its tolerance increased gradually reaching a peak by 6th to 7th day and returned to control level by 11th day. The anestrus female had higher pain threshold at the beginning and showed a gradual decline to reach the control level as estrous females by 12th day. These results suggest that the ovarian hormones and the corticosterone may modulate the impact of stressor on endogenous pain inhibition and other stress responsive systems.

Cardio-vascular changes during graded exercise.

In the present study cardio-vascular adaptation to graded exercise was studied in untrained male medical students. The subjects were given two grades of exercise each lasting for about five minutes with a rest of fifteen minutes in between on a mechanically braked bicycle ergometer. There was a statistically significant rise in the heart rate during both the exercise sessions. This rise was persistent even after fifteen minutes of rest following the second session. The systolic blood pressure also showed a statistically significant rise in both the sessions. However, the diastolic blood pressure showed a significant drop in the second exercise session. Both these changes could possibly be attributed to sustained release of epinephrine.