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Bibliometric analysis is a standard method for evaluating the quality and quantity of published articles. AYUSH research portal (ARP) is meant for the dissemination of research findings in the domains of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-rigpa, and Homoeopathy and allied faculties. The study attempts to understand the trend of published Ayurveda clinical trial-based articles in terms of quality and quantity. Three perspectives of research output assessed in this study are productivity in the field of Ayurveda, evidence from articles, and its involvement with the body system where disease or malfunctions are induced. Based on the study, it is observed that the highest number of articles have been published under the musculoskeletal, endocrine/metabolic/nutritional categories, and skin. Further, it is observed that only 4.50% of articles are categorized under the evidence of Grade "A" (randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) as per the World Health Organization's traditional medicine research guidelines. Out of the top 20 journals which publish Ayurveda-based research works, only five journals are indexed in reputed indexing platforms viz., PubMed and Scopus. The findings indicate that, Ayurveda clinical trials have to be planned meticulously and carried out as per the RCT guidelines for producing quality evidence so that the abysmal percentage of grade-A category articles will increase in ARP. Further, the journals, which are not yet indexed in standard indexing platforms, must strive to secure a place in them to ensure access to appropriate peers and effective dissemination of findings.
RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the commonest single cause of end-stage renal failure, and dyslipidemia is a critical risk factor in the occurrence of DN. In the light of recent reports emphasizing the importance of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) in the modulation of plasma lipids, we sought to evaluate the influence of ACE I/D gene polymorphism with dyslipidemia status among type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients with and without nephropathy in the genetic predisposition and the progression to DN. METHOD: This study comprised of 600 subjects, which include patients with DN, T2D, and healthy controls (HC). Polymerase chain reaction based genotyping of ACE I/D polymorphism was performed and appropriate statistical analysis was done. RESULTS: Out of the 600 subjects, 20 (10%) of the HC, 73 (36.5%) of the T2D group, and 125 (62.5%) of the DN subjects had dyslipidemia. The D allele (0.62) and DD (42.5) genotype frequencies were higher in the DN group in comparison with T2D and HC (P < 0.05). The genotypes also varied among patients with dyslipidemia (χ2 5.04; P < 0.05) but not in the non-dyslipidemia group. Under the co-dominant model, DD genotype conferred a risk of 1.26 (P < 0.001) toward DN, whereas the ID genotype offered protection from DN among the dyslipidemic subjects (OR = 0.05; P < 0.01). In addition, genotype-dependent difference was seen in the plasma lipid levels among study groups. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed male gender, BMI, HbA1c, TG, HDL, and ACE DD genotype as independent risk factors for the development of DN. CONCLUSION: The study showed a significant predisposing association of ACE DD genotype with DN and protective effect of ID genotype on DN in the dyslipidemia subgroup.
RESUMO
Cyclophosphamide (CP) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressive agent which is used in the treatment of wide range of cancers and autoimmune diseases. Besides that it is a well known carcinogen. In this study by using chromosomal aberrations (CA) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) assays method, the modulatory effects exerted by the extract of garlic against the CP induced genotoxicity in the human lymphocyte cultures in vitro were tested. Three different doses of garlic extract were tested for their modulatory capacity on the mutagenecity exerted by 100 microg ml(-1) of CR The results indicate a significant decrease in the frequency of CA and SCE suggesting that the garlic extract modulates the CP induced genotoxicity in a dose dependent manner. These findings provide the future directions for the research on design and development of possible modulatory drugs containing garlic extract.
