RESUMEN
Pain and inflammation are intimately associated with rheumatoid arthritis, a growing bone-joint related problem of the modern society. Though several therapeutic managements are available for arthritis, their side effects not only limit their use, but also advocate the quest for natural therapies. In this study, we explored the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic activities of Bungarus fasciatus venom (BFV) in experimental animal models. Rheumatoid arthritis was induced by Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) in male Wistar albino rats. Lyophilized BFV was diluted in 0.9% NaCl. Antiarthritic activity showed that BFV significantly reduced the paw and ankle diameters; urinary hydroxyproline, glucosamine levels and serum ACP/ALP/TNF-α/IL-1β/IL-17/Cathepsin-K/MMP-1 levels. These parameters were significantly increased in FCA induced arthritic animals. Joint histopathology study indicated the partial restoration of joint structure. Treatment with BFV significantly reduced the mean latency time of tail flick response, acetic acid induced writhing response and formalin induced licking response in male albino mice. BFV treatment also significantly reduced carrageenan induced paw edema and xylene induced ear edema in male albino mice. The results indicated that BFV possess antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic properties and further studies are warranted to find the active constituents present in BFV.
RESUMEN
Introduction: Right ventricular dysfunction is a well known complication or association of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Only recently the association of Left ventricular dysfunction with COPD has gained importance. Whether this is an independent co-morbidity or a consequence of the COPD is yet to be clearly ascertained but more and more studies are showing Left ventricular dysfunction to be present in patients with COPD. Materials and Methods: We conducted a pilot study in our institutes with 50 patients in our institution. This was an observational Cross sectional study where patients were diagnosed and classified according to GOLD criteria. Results: We found Left Ventricle (LV) dysfunction in about 84% of these patients. Systolic and diastolic dysfunctions were present in 2% cases. Patient’s presenting age, duration and stage of the disease has significant positive correlation with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Conclusion: Treatment of this Left ventricular dysfunction was absolutely necessary in the holistic treatment of the patient as left ventricular dysfunction has an independent detrimental effect in COPD patients. As such, we recommend that all COPD patients should have an Echocardiography on first presentation.
RESUMEN
Background: The increasing incidence of drug resistance in Leishmaniasis necessitates evaluation of combination chemotherapy. Miltefosine and amphotericin B are established anti-leishmanial drugs, while artemisinin has shown significant leishmanicidal activity in experimental models. In this study, we have evaluated the additive/synergistic effect of artemisinin with amphotericin B or miltefosine. Methods: Leishmania parasites were isolated from the bone marrow aspirate of a patient with visceral leishmaniasis. Parasites were typed as Leishmania donovani by restriction fragment length polymorphism of internal transcribed spacer 1 region of Leishmania genome. Promastigotes were incubated in a fixed ratio combination of artemisinin (0-500 μM) and amphotericin B (0-100 nM) or miltefosine (0-100 μM) and cell viability was assessed. An isobologram was constructed to evaluate the additive/synergistic effect, wherein it was considered additive if the mean sum fractional inhibitory concentration (mean ΣFIC) at the IC50 level was <2, but ≥1 and synergism, if the mean ΣFIC was <1. Results: The isobologram showed an additive effect for three combinations of artemisinin-amphotericin B and artemisinin-miltefosine, the mean ΣFICs ranging from 1.02 to 1.44 and 1.08 to 1.33 along with a synergistic effect with one combination, the mean ΣFICs being 0.58 and 0.81 respectively. Conclusions: This study supports the combination use of artemisinin-amphotericin B and artemisinin-miltefosine, worthy of future pharmacological consideration.
RESUMEN
Human anatomy is an ocean of unending variations and its mysteries are being unravelled since ages. Knowledge of variations in the superficial veins of head and neck is essential to carry out successful surgical procedures. During routine dissection of head and neck of two middle aged male cadavers, in the Department of Anatomy, Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata, India, we came out with some interesting venous architecture. The retromandibular vein on the left side of both the cadavers was found to be undivided and joined with the facial vein in the neck at an acute angle to form a common venous trunk at variable distances from the angle of the mandible. That trunk ultimately drained into the left subclavian vein. This might be the result of disappearance of the cephalic part of the external jugular vein and formation of an additional communication between common facial vein and the external jugular vein in foetal life. In one case, we also came across an extra transverse communication between that common trunk and the internal jugular vein. A detail of those cases with embryological explanation is attempted...
La anatomía humana tiene un sin fin de variaciones y sus misterios se han develado desde el inicio de los tiempos. El conocimiento de las variaciones anatómicas de las venas superficiales de la cabeza y del cuello es fundamental para llevar a cabo con éxito los procedimientos quirúrgicos. Durante una disección de rutina de cabeza y cuello encontramos una arquitectura venosa interesante en dos cadáveres de hombres de mediana edad en el Departamento de Anatomía de la Facultad de Medicina Nacional Calcuta, Calcuta, India. En el lado izquierdo del cuello de ambos cadáveres, la vena retromandibular no se encontraba dividida, y se unía a la vena facial en un ángulo agudo, para formar un tronco venoso común a una distancia variable desde el ángulo de la mandíbula. Ese tronco finalmente drenaba en la vena subclavia izquierda. Esto podría ser el resultado de la desaparición de la parte cefálica de la vena yugular externa y la formación de una comunicación adicional entre la vena facial común y la vena yugular externa en la vida fetal. En un caso, también se encontró con una comunicación adicional transversal entre ese tronco común y la vena yugular interna. Se realiza una descripción en detalle de los casos junto a una explicación embriológica...