ABSTRACT
Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are severe and life-threatening conditions in which significant damage of functional neurons occurs to produce malfunction of psycho-motor functions. NDs are an important cause of death in the elderly population worldwide. These disorders are commonly associated with the progression of age, oxidative stress, and environmental pollutants, which are the major etiological factors. Abnormal aggregation of specific proteins such as α-synuclein, amyloid-ß, huntingtin, and tau, and accumulation of its associated oligomers in neurons are the hallmark pathological features of NDs. Existing therapeutic options for NDs are only symptomatic relief and do not address root-causing factors, such as protein aggregation, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. Cannabidiol is a non-psychotic natural cannabinoid obtained from Cannabis sativa that possesses multiple pharmacological actions, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects in various NDs and other neurological disorders both in vitro and in vivo. Cannabidiol has gained attention as a promising therapeutic drug candidate for the management of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, by inhibiting protein aggregation, free radicals, and neuroinflammation. In parallel, CBD has shown positive results in other neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety, as well as adjuvant treatment with existing standard therapeutic agents. Hence, the present review focuses on exploring the possible molecular mechanisms in controlling various neurological disorders as well as its clinical applications in NDs including epilepsy, depression and anxiety. In this way, the current review will serve as a standalone reference for the researchers working in this area.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Health is an inseparable part of life and central to all life supporting systems. The reproductive and child health shares a major portion of public health cases that is crucial for socio-economic development. Studies on reproductive and child health have traditionally been focused on demographic aspects using socio-economic parameters. Given the emphasis of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-3 on health and well-being, it is imperative to understand the geo-spatial dimension with the visible transition of key health indicators of fertility, maternal and infant/child health in the high burdened districts within these high focus Empowered Action Group (EAG) states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that make up nearly 40% of India's population with relatively laggard health status. METHODOLOGY: This paper aims to understand the status and trend of key reproductive and child health indicators and vital statistics based on the recent representative demographic surveys. We intend to undertake a district level spatio-temporal analysis by developing District Composite Health Profile (DCHP) using Composite Index Method on selected 13 equally weighted key reproductive and child health indicators. The study has been carried out using data from National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) and National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) survey rounds. We employed geo-spatial techniques i.e. Moran's-I, and univariate LISA to comprehend the geographical clustering of high and low health burden districts and their heterogeneities at the district level. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights emerging inter-districts, and inter-state disparities over survey periods. With consistent improvement in the selected EAG states over time, the overall reproductive and child health status through DCHP along with each indicator was relatively better in the states of Rajasthan and worse in Bihar. Districts along the Terai belt in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar consistently performed sluggish during survey rounds. The geo-spatial clustering follows the political boundary of states, albeit with intra-state variations. Monitoring of key health indicators using composite index method provides a useful leverage for identifying priority districts/regions for universal health access that should also consider geographical space as an important policy dimension.
