Study Of Calcaneal Spurs On The Basis Of Talar Articular Facets In The Population Of Odisha

Introduction: Calcaneous is largest of seven tarsal bones of foot and forms prominence of heel. Most of the timesan osteophytic outgrowth (calcaneal spur) has been observed in the plantar and dorsal aspect of the foot.Theaim of this study is to analyse the incidence of calcaneal spur in relation to morphological variations of talararticular facets of calcaneus in the state of Odisha, India.Materials and Methods: The material for the study consisted of 107 dry (56 right and 51 left), adult calcanei ofunknown sex obtained from Department of Anatomy. The calcaneal spurs were studied in detail and classifiedaccording to types of calcaneus.Results: The incidence of type 1 calcanei was predominant (66.36%) with least incidence being type 4(1.86%) inthe present study. Maximum incidence of calcaneal spurs were found in Type I calcanei (17.8%) followed by10.28% in Type 2, 4.7% in Type 3 and 0.9% in type 4.One out of 107 calcanei had presented with spur on thesustentaculum tali (0.9%). The incidence and type of calcaneal spurs were compared with those of previousstudies and etiology of heel pain has been discussed.Conclusion: Calcaneal spurs are related to type of calcanei with the highest frequency in Type 1 and least in Type4. Other factors, which contribute toward increase in incidence of spurs, are increasing age and weight, concurrentorthopedic diseases, and heel pain.

Improved bioavailability through floating microspheres of lovastatin

Lovastatin is an antihyperlipidemic agent which has low bioavailability due to the extensive first pass metabolism. It was sought to increase gastric retention of lovastatin by development of a sustained release gastroretentive drug delivery system leading to reduced fluctuation in the plasma concentration and improved bioavailability. Floating microspheres were prepared by emulsion solvent diffusion technique, using various polymers and their blends. The in vitro performance was evaluated for drug-polymer compatibility, percent yield, particle size, drug entrapment efficiency, in vitro onset and duration of floatation, in vitro drug release as well as in vivo determination of serum cholesterol level. The mean particle size of microspheres was observed to be between 6.9 to 9.5 micro m and the maximum particle size was around 50 micro m. In vivo studies of the selected batches indicated lower level of serum cholesterol compared to the marketed tablet at the same dose but was not significant. The data obtained in this study suggested that a microparticulate floating dosage form of lovastatin can be successfully designed to yield controlled delivery with improved therapeutic efficacy

5-fluorouracil loaded guar gum microspheres for colon delivery: preparation, characterization and in vitro release / 药学学报

The present investigation is aimed to develop a new formulation containing chemically crosslinked guar gum microspheres loaded with 5-fluorouracil for targeting colorectal cancer. The emulsification polymerization method involving the dispersion of aqueous phase of guar gum in castor oil was used to prepare spherical microspheres. Various processing parameters were studied in order to optimize the formulation. Particle size and surface morphology of the microspheres were determined using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The in vitro drug release studies performed in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) for 2 h followed by intestinal fluid for 3 h, revealed the retention of the drug inside the microspheres from which only (15.27 +/- 0.56) % of the drug was released in 5 h. In vitro release rate studies were also carried out in simulated colonic fluid (SCF) in the presence of rat caecal contents, which showed improved drug release. The drug release from the formulation was found to be (41.6 +/- 3.5) % with 2% (w/v) caecal matter in 24 h as compared to control study where (25.2 +/- 3.5) % of drug was released. The drug release from the formulation with 2% and 4% rat caecal contents medium after 2 days of enzyme induction was found to be (56.3 +/- 4.1) % and (78.9 +/- 2.8) % in 24 h respectively. Similarly, (61.3 +/- 5.4) % and (90.2 +/- 2.9) % drug was released respectively with 2% and 4% rat caecal matter after 4 days of enzyme induction and (72.1 +/- 2.9) % and (90.2 +/- 3.2) % after 6 days of enzyme induction. In this way, 5-fluorouracil loaded guar gum microspheres have shown promising results in the management of colorectal cancer, warranting thorough in vivo study for scale up technology.