In vivo, In vitro anti-arthritic studies of Ellagic acid from Kirganelia reticulata Baill and its molecular docking.

Kirganelia reticulata is a useful shrub having various medicinal properties. In vivo, in vitro and in silico antiarthritic activity of a phytoconstituent, ellagic acid (EA) isolated from the leaves of K. reticulata was screened. EA is a naturally occurring plant polyphenol found at high concentrations that act as potential protectors against variety of human diseases. Formaldehyde induced paw edema, assumed to be one of the most suitable test procedures to screen chronic anti-inflammatory agents as it closely resembles human arthritis, and was employed for this study. The course of treatment was followed for over and 4 weeks post inoculation period using health, clinical and behavioural methods of study. Estimation of change in body weight was considered as health parameters and clinical observations included paw edema volume, change in the movements was studied in behavioural observations. The effect of EA was compared with standard drug aspirin. Various in vitro models such as inhibition of protein denaturation, effect of membrane stabilization and proteinase inhibitory actions were studied. EA with two different concentrations (100 μg/ml and 250 μg/ml) was used and results were compared with acetyl salicylic acid. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-2α) promotes degradative pathways that foster osteoarthritis. The inhibitory effect of EA was studied using automated docking and efficiency was compared with standard drug in terms of interaction and binding. The isolated compound EA showed anti-arthritic activity which was found to be significant to that of the standard drugs and supports the traditional use of plant for rheumatism.

Medidas corporales y craneofaciales para definir criterios de variación fenotípica en el síndrome de Down, Medellín 1998 / Body and craneofacial measurements for defining criteria of phenotypic variation in Down's syndrome

Con el propósito de establecer las medidas directas que permitan discriminar a los pacientes con síndrome de Down (SD) de los no SD, caracterizar los de SD, hallar las diferencias con los no SD, determinar subgrupos dentro de los de SD y comparar las observaciones realizadas por los clínicos, se estudiaron 24 pacientes con SD, de sexo masculino y 5 años de edad, que presentaban trisomía libre del cromosoma 21 y que no tenían anomalías cardíacas congénitas, y 24 niños sanos de la misma edad como controles. Se realizaron 37 medidas directas en cabeza, cara, tronco, miembros superiores e inferiores. Tres de las 37 clasifican y separan a los de SD de los no SD (100 por ciento); cinco observaciones realizadas por los clínicos sólo discriminaron el 79,1 por ciento de los de SD. En la agrupación por variables se conformaron cinco subgrupos en los de SD; sólo uno de ellos contenía las variables utilizadas por los clínicos. Las variables con mayor coeficiente de variación fueron: peso, longitud de la pierna, longitud de la mano, ancho de la oreja, ancho del hélix e índice nasal en el SD; peso, ancho del hélix e índice nasal en los no SD. Los niños con SD presentaron menores talla y peso

Twenty four five year old male children with full 21 trisomy syndrome, without congenital heart anomalies, and twenty four healtly children of the same age and sex, as controls, were studied, in order to define the direct measurements that permit discriminating between Down's syndrome (DS) and no Down syndrome (NDS), to characterize those with DS, to find the differences with the NDS ones, to determine DS subgroups and to compare the observations of the clinicians. Thirty seven direct measurements of head, face, trunk, upper and lower limbs were performed. Out of them three classified and separated DS and NDS children (100%). Five observations performed by clinicians only discriminate 79,1% of the DS children. In the DS children, by grouping the variables, five subgroups were detected; only one of these included the variables used by the clinicians, namely: weight, leg length, hand length, ear width, helix width and nasal index in DS and weigth, helix width and nasal index in NDS had the higher variation coefficient. DS children have lesser weight and size.

Clinical Observations on Tuberculous Meningitis in Childhood

A clinical study was carried out on patients with tuberculous meningitis who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Kwangju Christian Hospital during a 9 year period from January, 1971 to December, 1979. The following results were obtained. 1) About 3/4 of all cases were under the age of 6, the majority being between the age of one and three. The male-to-female ratio was 1.3:1. 2) Seasonal incidence was in the order of spring, summer, winter and autumn, but no sign ificant differences were noted. 3) A family history of tuberculosis was found in 41.5%, usually in one of the parents. 4) A history of B.C.G. vaccination was found in 16.7% of tuberculous meningitis cases. The tuberculin test was positive in 28.9%. 5) The most frequent symptoms on admission were vomiting, fever, convulsion and headache, in that order. 6) The major neurologic findings were unconsciousness(34.0%), neck stiffness(76.4%), and positive Kernig's sign(63.2%). 7) Leukocytes in the C.S.F. on admission were generally elevated, but below the range of 500/mm3 in 74.5% of cases, and the mean count was 278.7/mm3 with 66.7% lymphocytes. Mean protein level in the C.S.F. was 162.5mg/dl, and 94.3% of all cases were over 50mg/dl. Sugar in the C.S.F. was definitely reduced to less than 120 mEq/L in 78.3%, with the mean level being 112.8mEq/L. 8) Chest X-ray revealed tuberculous lesions in 69.8% and miliary tuberculosis was found in 36.8% of cases. 9) The highest mortality was seen in young infants. Among 26 patients of clinical stage I on admission, 21(80.3%) recovered, and 35(79.5%) of 44 patients of stage II recovered, whereas only 13(36.1%) out of 36 patients of stage III were cured. Over-all mortality rate was 5.7% of those followed.