Pharmacology teaching in dental education in India: Time for a reappraisal.

India has a unique position with its vast population and rapidly increasing healthcare demand. Dental health is integral to a holistic health care need, and a robust dental education system is necessary. Dental education in India is mainly regulated by the Dental Councilof India, setting broad guidelines. Universities having dental colleges and institutes develop fine curriculum development and evaluation details. General and Dental Pharmacology and Therapeuticsis a crucial subject taught to undergraduate dental students during the second year of a 4-year duration course. A dental graduate should be well trained in general and systemic pharmacology and rational therapeutics principles. This has been set as an objective by the Dental Council of India. Sound knowledge of the drug action mechanisms, indications, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions and contraindications, evidence-based medicine, and rational use of adrug is core to the allopathic system. The practical exercises on human simulation or computer-assisted learning are critical for understanding pharmacology. The subject of pharmacology for dental graduates has been allotted 70 hours of theory and 20 hours of practicals with almost the same syllabus as medical graduates. This article highlights the areas of concern concerning the deficiency of teaching hours and needed improvement in the curriculum to make it competent to achieve its objective. The authors bring this much-needed topic for discussion among academicians and for the attention of regulatory authorities.

Peroxynitrite-Mediated Structural Changes in Histone H2A: Biochemical and Biophysical Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Peroxynitrite, a nitrating and oxidizing agent, is formed by the interaction between nitric oxide and superoxide radicals. H2A histone is a basic nucleoprotein and is one of the major core histones responsible for packaging DNA. It has been shown that they are highly sensitive to oxidizing and nitrating agents. OBJECTIVE: Nitration of tyrosine residues in proteins by peroxynitrite is regarded as a marker of nitrosative damage. The dityrosine bond, an oxidative covalent cross-link between two tyrosines in protein, is increasingly identified as a marker of oxidative stress, aging and neurodegerative diseases. METHODS: Peroxinitrite-mediated nitration and dinitration in H2A histone was assessed by various biophysical techniques. RESULTS: The data presented in this study showed that the dityrosine content was found to be elevated in H2A histone modified with peroxynitrite. The formation of dityrosine showed a decrease in fluorescence intensity, generation of a new peak in FT-IR, increase in hydrodynamic size, and loss of secondary and tertiary structure of H2A resulting in a partially folded structure. CONCLUSION: We report that H2A may undergo conformational and structural changes under nitrosative and oxidative stress from the deleterious effects of peroxynitrite.

Doxofylline and theophylline: a comparative clinical study.

OBJECTIVES: COPD is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Theophylline has been used in the treatment of COPD for decades. Doxofylline a new theophylline congener has been claimed to have better safety profile. The study was undertaken to compare theophylline and doxophylline at doses recommended and commonly used in clinical practice. METHODS: The study was conducted in patients of COPD in TB chest department of a medical college hospital. It was randomized, prospective and open label. A total of 154 patients were divided in two group .Group I was administered 400 mg theophylline SR once daily and group II was administered doxofylline 400 mg twice a day orally. Spirometric variables symptom score, and adverse effects were recorded on day 0, 7 and 21 of therapy. Data were compared and analysed using SPSS version 16. RESULTS: Results of the study showed that there was no statistically significant difference with respect to spirometric variables and symptom score in the two groups and there was no significant difference in two groups with respect to side effects (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that doxophylline has no advantage over theophylline in terms of either efficacy or safety on the doses commonly used in current clinical practice.