Screening of Madhumehaghna (anti diabetic) plants in Vrihattrayee.

The three texts written by Charak, Sushrut and Vagbhat are considered as Vrihattrayee because of their original contributions to the basic tenants of Ayurveda and innovative uses of plants and medicine. But despite the possibility of exploring efficacious for mulations from among these classics, not much attempts have been made in this direction, due to the fact that now most of them are not in vogue in practice by majority of Ayurvedic physicians. As such, a glossary of plants as described in those texts for the management of prameha including diabetes has been collected which would be useful for studying these drugs from different angles.

Hemophiliacs--a picture from a developing country: Karnataka, a south Indian state.

Forty cases of hereditary bleeding disorders, who are the members of Karnataka Hemophilia Society (a State Chapter of the Hemophilia Federation of India) were studied to learn their problems. Twenty-four cases were thoroughly investigated including factor assay and in 16 cases the diagnosis was based on classical clinical presentation and pattern of inheritance. There were 16 cases of hemophilia A, 3 cases of hemophilia B, 2 cases of von Willebrand's disease, 1 case of factor XIII deficiency and 2 cases of hereditary afibrinogenemia. The age group varied from 3 months to 36 years; 39 were male. The age of onset of symptoms, type of bleeding, type of joints involved, disabilities experienced by these patients, severity of the disorder, presence of antibodies to factor, presence of HBsAg and HIV, the availability of treatment for these patients, treatment received and the financial burden faced by these patients were studied. Thirty-three cases (82.5%) had joint bleeds, 60% of the patients experienced various type of disabilities, 11 (27.5%) had epistaxis, 10 (25%) had GI bleeds, 5 (12.5%) had dental bleeding, 8 (20%) had haematomas, 3 (7.5%) had umbilical stump bleeds and 19 cases (47.5%) had previous blood transfusions.