Exploration of life events and perceived stress in female patients admitted in the psychiatry department of a tertiary care hospital

Background: Research in past four decades show that recent life events do contribute to the onset of psychiatric illness but exact relationship between stress and psychiatric illness is still unclear and studies on life events are relatively less in North Eastern region of India. Aim: To examine the nature of life events, perceived stress, their association with various psychiatric illness and impact on duration of hospital stay in admitted female patients. Method: It is a cross-sectional study on 100 female patients admitted in psychiatry ward in Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh, Assam, India, over a period of one year. Life events were examined using the Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale (PSLES) and perceived stress was assessed by 14-item questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Result: Four most common stressful life events were financial problem/loss, death of a close family member, excessive alcohol use, and illness of a family member. Patients of schizophrenia perceived more stress than mood disorder followed by conversion disorder. Similarly, duration of hospitalisation was also higher in patients with higher perceived stress. Conclusion: The results of current research suggest that higher levels of perceived stress and negative life events are encountered in patients with schizophrenia. Life events in manic patients are usually related to social life while in depressive patients, role of loss is found more important like bereavement, loss of job.

Antiplasmodial activity of Ajuga bracteosa against Plasmodium berghei infected BALB/c mice.

Background & objectives: The present work was undertaken to evaluate antiplasmodial activity of ethanolic leaves extract of traditional medicinal plant Ajuga bracteosa in Plasmodium berghei infected BALB/c mice along with its phytochemical screening and acute toxicity test to support its traditional use as a remedy for malaria. Methods: Plant extract (ethanolic) 250, 500, 750 mg/kg/day was evaluated in the early and established infection along with repository activity in P. berghei infected BALB/c mice through suppressive, curative and preventive test. The phytochemical screening was carried out by employing standard procedures. The acute toxicity was checked through limit test. Results: The ethanolic leaves extract of A. bracteosa (250, 500 and 750 mg/kg/day) demonstrated a dose-dependent chemosuppression during early and in established infections, along with significant (P<0.05) repository activity. At a concentration of 750 mg/kg/day maximum 77.7 per cent chemosuppression during early infection and 68.8 per cent chemosuppression in repository activity were found. This dose enhanced significant mean survival period up to 27.4 ± 0.46 days in established infection. ELEAB was found to be safe up to 5 g/kg weight when administrated orally in the female BALB/c mice, which is upper limit for oral administration of the test material to rodents. ED50 of ELEAB was 300 mg/kg body weight of mice. Interpretation & conclusion: ELEAB inhibited parasitaemia and enhanced mean survival time in a dose-dependent manner upto 750 mg/kg/day dose in treated mice. Further studies need to be done to isolate and characterize active constituents of extract and to study their mechanism of action.