Antiviral activity of medicinal plants of Nilgiris.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Medicinal plants have been traditionally used for different kinds of ailments including infectious diseases. There is an increasing need for substances with antiviral activity since the treatment of viral infections with the available antiviral drugs often leads to the problem of viral resistance. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes a variety of life threatening diseases. Since the chemotherapeutic agents available for HSV infections are either low in quality or limited in efficiency, there is a need to search for new and more effective antiviral agents for HSV infections. Therefore in the present study 18 plants with ethnomedical background from different families were screened for antiviral activity against HSV-1. METHODS: Different parts of the plants collected from in and around Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu were extracted with different solvents to obtain crude extracts. These extracts were screened for their cytotoxicity against Vero cell line by assay microculture tetrazolium (MTT) trypan blue dye exclusion, proteins estimation and 3H labeling. Antiviral properties of the plant extracts were determined by cytopathic effect inhibition assay and virus yield reduction assay. RESULTS: Three plant extracts Hypericum mysorense, Hypericum hookerianum and Usnea complanta exhibited significant antiviral activity at a concentration non toxic to the cell line used. The extracts of Melia dubia, Cryptostegia grandiflora and essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis showed partial activity at higher concentrations. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Some of the medicinal plants have shown antiviral activity. Further research is needed to elucidate the active constituents of these plants which may be useful in the development of new and effective antiviral agents.

Routine screening for HIV and hepatitis B in patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation: the need to make it mandatory.

Reuse of catheters during cardiac catheterisation and interventions is a routine practice in our country. However, the reuse of catheters is complicated by the inherent difficulties in adequate sterilisation of these devices. Gas sterilisation with ethylene oxide has been found to be ineffective when residual fluid was present. Recent reports indicate an increased prevalence of blood-borne viral infections especially Hepatitis B virus and Human Immunodeficiency virus in India. We analysed the data of patients from our Institute over the past seven years (1992-1998) who underwent routine screening for Human Immunodeficiency virus and Hepatitis B virus prior to cardiac catheterisation. During this period, the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus increased by 1.5 times and that of Human Immunodeficiency virus by 2.5 fold. In this changed scenario, it is advisable to perform a mandatory screening of all the patients undergoing invasive cardiac procedures so as to minimise the risk of transmission from one patient to another and also to the catheterisation laboratory personnel. In the patients with a positive result, proper precautions can be taken and the entire material used for cardiac catheterisation can be discarded.

Safety of thrombolytic therapy following acute myocardial infarction in patients above 65 years.

The safety of thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction in the elderly population has not been clearly established. In a retrospective study we evaluated the efficacy and complications of thrombolytic therapy in the elderly as compared to younger patients. Consecutive 588 patients who received thrombolytic therapy were studied. Clinical data in 136 patients aged above 65 years were compared with 85 patients below 40 years. Cigarette smoking was a common risk factor in the young (46 vs 13; p < 0.0001). Coexistent systemic diseases and conduction system disturbances (28 vs 9; p < 0.05) were common in the older patients, but the incidence of bleeding complications to thrombolytic therapy (6 vs 1; p = NS) was not found to be higher. Ninety percent of the elderly who had cardiogenic shock died. There was no significant difference between the two groups in reinfarction rate (12 vs 15; p = NS) and post-infarct angina (20 vs 20; p = NS). Coronary angiography revealed a higher incidence of multivessel disease in the elderly. To conclude, thrombolytic therapy is safe and effective even in older individuals.

Double-blind comparison of the safety and efficacy of famotidine with ranitidine in patients with endoscopically diagnosed peptic ulcer.

In a double-blind randomised trial, 40 patients with active gastric or duodenal ulcer were treated with a single nocturnal dose of famotidine 40 mg or ranitidine 300 mg for 4 to 8 weeks. Antacid tablets were allowed as additional treatment, only if needed, for pain relief. Endoscopy was repeated after 4 weeks, and if the ulcer had not healed at 6 and/or 8 weeks. Relief of upper gastro intestinal symptoms with which the patient presented and the number of antacid tablets consumed, if any, were recorded on weekly basis. Two patients in famotidine group and 5 patients in ranitidine group did not complete the therapy and were considered dropouts. At the end of therapy, ulcers in 100% of the patients receiving famotidine & 93% of patients receiving ranitidine were healed. This difference was not statistically significant. Relief from ulcer related symptoms was rapid in both the groups. None of the patients in either group reported side effects. Overall opinion of investigator was comparable for both the treatments; however, significantly (P = 0.0334) larger proportion (100%) of patients from famotidine group rated it as an excellent therapy compared to only 73% from ranitidine group. Famotidine provides excellent healing of ulcers and early relief of upper gastrointestinal symptoms in Indian patients with peptic ulcer.

Meckel's diverticulum in adults.

This is a study of Meckel's diverticulum in adults who had undergone surgery in the hospital. The complications of Meckel's diverticulum are compared with that of the ones mentioned in the literature. A comparative study of the clinical features and the operative findings in case of Meckel's diverticulum with ectopic tissue is also discussed. The controversy of Meckel's diverticulectomy has also been dealt with at large.