ABSTRACT
The most frequent neurodegenerative illness among senior people and the main cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. The present dementia medications available only help with the symptoms of cognitive deficits and have several negative effects. The current study's goal is to assess the effects of curcumin and coenzyme Q10, two herbal medicines, both separately and in combination, on learning and memory before comparing them to the industry standard drug. A total of 42 adult healthy Wistar rats were used in our study. In this experiment, rats were given daily doses of 2.5 mg/kg of body weight of scopolamine hydrobromide for 7 days to induce Alzheimer's disease. On the eighth day, behavioural testing was conducted. Following testing, scopolamine and the test medications were given daily for the following 21 days. On days 29 and 30, behavioural testing was conducted once more, and then animals were slaughtered. Brain homogenate was produced for the estimation of molecular and biochemical markers. Curcumin has demonstrated a dose-response relationship, with a higher dose (200 mg/kg b.w. p.o.) being more effective than a lower dose (100 mg/kg b.w. p.o.). Similar to the greater dose of curcumin, coenzyme Q10 (200 mg/kg b.w. p.o.) has also been found to improve memory and learning. Higher doses of curcumin and coenzyme Q10 had more pronounced and meaningful effects. Acetylcholinesterase and TNF levels increased in scopolamine-induced memory impairment, but these effects were restored by the test medications, and improved by the combined therapy. These outcomes are comparable to those of the common medication memantine. As a result, we may infer from our results that curcumin at higher doses and its combination with coenzyme Q10 (200 mg/kg b.w. p.o.) have a significant impact on cognitive impairment in animal models of Alzheimer's disease and can be utilised alone or as an add-on therapy for the condition.
ABSTRACT
Background: Increasing incidence of tuberculosis is intensifying the posttubercular obstructive airway disease (PTOAD) in developing countries. Currently, there are no standard treatment guidelines for the management of PTOAD patients. The present study aims to evaluate the prescribing pattern, adherence, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and quality of life (QoL) in PTOAD patients. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted to evaluate the prescriptions of PTOAD patients, estimating the medical adherence using Morisky 8-Item Medication Adherence Questionnaire, assessing ADRs using Hartwig's Severity Assessment Scale and assessing QoL using St. George's respiratory Questionnaire. Chi-square test, analysis of variance, paired t-test were used to compare the data. The significance of change in adherence status was assessed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: A total of 94 prescriptions of PTOAD were analyzed. Inhaled long-acting muscarinic antagonist was prescribed to 31.9% of patients. The most common inhaled fixed dose combination was long-acting beta-2 agonist with corticosteroid, prescribed to 52.1% of patients. At final follow-up, maximum percentage of patients were found to be highly adherent, i.e. 56.4%. Overall, 34% of patients have complained about mild category of ADRs. A significant improvement in QoL was observed. At baseline, mean forced expiratory volume in 1 (FEV1) was 64.66% ±23.61%, which increased significantly to 73.34% ±21.60% on final follow-up (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Bronchodilators are the mainstay of treatment of PTOAD patients, since both the QoL and FEV1 were improved with treatments. However, to have good treatment outcome, strict adherence along with safety of the medications must be assured.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Hyperlipidaemia is a well known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle modification can be the initial step to reduce cholesterol levels. There are various drugs which are used to control dyslipidaemia. Treatment of lipid abnormalities is a lifelong battle. Moreover, the safety and effectiveness of long term lipid lowering treatment are questionable. Gymnema Sylvestre (GS) is a well known herb with various medicinal properties. AIM: To explore the hypolipidaemic activity of GS leaves extract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult healthy female wistar rats, 30 in number, divided into five groups, weighing 150- 200 g were used. Dyslipidaemia was induced in rats by feeding them on high fat diet for four weeks. For the next four weeks GS extract was used as test drug while Atorvastatin was used as standard drug. Blood sample was collected for estimation of lipid profile on day 0, week 4 and week 8. Data was recorded as mean±SEM (Standard error of mean). Paired t-test and one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett's post hoc test was used for comparison. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. SPSS Statistics 20 (IBM software) was used for the analysis. RESULTS: Feeding rats with high fat diet for four weeks led to obesity and dyslipidaemia in rats. GS at both the doses (100mg/kg and 200mg/kg) significantly improved the lipid profile. Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) values reduced significantly while that of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) increased significantly. GS 200 mg/kg was found more effective than GS 100 mg/kg. GS improved the value of lipid profile significantly but the effect was found inferior to Atorvastatin. CONCLUSION: From the present study it can be concluded that GS possess an effective hypolipidaemic effect. Hence it can be included as an add on therapy in dyslipidaemia after further confirmatory studies.
