As a working defi nition, unions contracted between persons biologically related as second cousins or closer are categorized as consanguineous. The offspring of consanguineous relationships are at greater risk of certain genetic disorders. Recent studies have shown a signifi cantly higher rate of consanguinity among parents of epilepsy patients and a signifi cantly higher rate of epilepsy among family members with consanguineous marriages for both cryptogenic and idiopathic epilepsies. Carrier detection and genetic counseling programmes have been very successful in reducing the incidence of inherited disorders in many populations. Models for prevention of hereditary diseases due to consanguinity should be multiaxial focusing on public education on genetic diseases and also deal with applicable preventive measures. These programmes are most successful when they are sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of populations in which they are applied.

India is home to about 10 million people with epilepsy (prevalence of about 1%). The number of Epilepsy Specialists and Neurologists being very small in India, most people with epilepsy are being diagnosed and treated by non-specialists at both primary and secondary care levels. It is obvious that epilepsy management in such situation can be sub-optimal. The Indian Epilepsy Society strongly felt for a need to have its own guidelines for management of epilepsy in India (GEMIND). The guidelines were developed based on a consensus arrived by a group of experts on the good practice parameters relevant to epilepsy treatment in India. The recommendations of the expert group were peer reviewed. The guidelines are parameters of practice and should be considered as guidelines only. The electronic version of GEMIND is now available on the Indian Epilepsy Society-Indian Epilepsy Association website (http://www.epilepsyindia.org) and the ILAE website (http://www.ilae-epilepsy.org).

Genetic data and tools offer enormous potential benefi ts to humankind but raise signifi cant societal concerns as well. As the impact of the new genetics grows, we can expect the society to be increasingly confronted with many novel, challenging, and sometimes disturbing issues. Genetic testing of complex disorders such as epilepsy raise even more concerns in regards to various social and ethical issues because of the associated stigma. Proper research involving all concerned should result in the formulations of guidelines for the clinicians, researchers, people with epilepsy and their families and health care planners.

Objective:To explore the cytotoxic activity of the alcoholic extracts of some medicinal plants used traditionally to treat cancer in Chhattisgarh state, India. Methods:In-vitro cytotoxicity of alcoholic extracts of five plants i.e. Artocarpus heterophyllus, Alangium salvifolium, Buchanania lanzan, Sesbania grandiflora and Wrightia tinctoria was studied against human breast cancer (MCF-7) and human leukemia (HL-60) tumor cell lines, using the thiazolyl blue test (MTT) assay. Results: Alcoholic extract of Sesbania grandiflora exhibited a prominent inhibitory effect against MCF-7 (IC50 7.00±0.08μg/mL) and HL-60 (IC50 18.50±0.60μg/mL) under in vitro condition. Conclusions:From the result it can be found that the Sesbania grandiflora extract has potent in vitro cytotoxic activity.

The clinical application of new antineoplastic drugs has been limited because of low therapeutic index and lack of efficacy in humans. Thus, improvement in efficacy of old and new anticancer drugs has been attempted by manipulating their pharmacokinetic properties. Four inter-related factors, which determine the pharmacokinetic behavior of a drug include absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. The drug-metabolizing enzymes have been classified in two major groups: phase I and phase II enzymes. Phase I enzymes comprise the oxidases, dehydrogenases, deaminases, hydrolases. Phase II enzymes include primarily UDPglucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), glutathionetransferases (GSTs), sulfotransferases (SULTs), N-acetyl transferases (NATs), methyltransferases and aminoacid transferases that conjugate products of phase I reactions and parent compounds with appropriate functional groups to generate more water soluble compounds which are more readily eliminated. The importance of these enzymes in the metabolism of specific drugs varies according to the chemical nature of the drug. Drug metabolism is modulated by factors that change among species and even among individuals in a population. Such factors can be environmental or genetic in origin, and influence how a drug is metabolized and to what extent. An awareness of these variables is invaluable when the safety and efficacy of new anticancer drugs are evaluated.
enzymology ; seconds ; metabolic aspects ; cancer therapy ; Metabolic

The clinical application of new antineoplastic drugs has been limited because of low therapeutic index and lack of efficacy in humans. Improvement in efficacy of new anticancer drugs has been attempted by manipulating their pharmacokinetic properties. Four inter-related factors, which determine the pharmacokinetic behavior of a drug include absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. The drug-metabolizing enzymes have been classified in two major groups: phase I and phase II enzymes. Phase I enzymes comprise the oxidases, dehydrogenases, deaminases, hydrolases. Phase II enzymes include primarily UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), glutathionetransferases (GSTs), sulfotransferases (SULTs), N-acetyl transferases (NATs), methyltransferases and aminoacid transferases that conjugate products of phase I reactions and parent compounds with appropriate functional groups to generate more water soluble compounds which are more readily eliminated. The importance of these enzymes in the metabolism of specific drugs varies according to the chemical nature of the drug. Drug metabolism is modulated by factors that change among species and even among individuals in a population. Such factors can be environmental or genetic in origin and influence how a drug is metabolized and to what extent. An awareness of these variables is invaluable when the safety and efficacy of new anticancer drugs are evaluated.

Objective: To evaluate the in-vivo antioxidant potential of ethanolic extract of Mentha Pulegium against CCl4 induced toxicity in rats. Methods: Animals were treated with plant extract for 7 days and then toxicity was induced with a single CCl4 intraperitoneal injection. Pre-treatment with 600 mg/kg (p.o.) of ethanolic extract of Mentha Pulegium improved the glutathione, SOD, catalase, and peroxidase levels significantly as compared to control group. Results: The present studies revealed that Mentha Pulegium has significant in-vivo antioxidant activity and can be used to protect tissue from oxidative stress. The result showed that the activities of glutathione, SOD, catalase and peroxidase in group treated with CCl4 declined significantly than that of normal group. Conclusion: Ethanolic extract of Mentha Pulegium in the dose of 600 mg/kg, p.o., has improved the glutathione, SOD, catalase, and peroxidase levels significantly, which were comparable with Liv 52. Based on this study we conclude that Ethanolic extract of MenthaPulegium possesses in vivo antioxidant activity and can be employed in protecting tissue from oxidative stress.

A sensitive electroanalytical method for quantification of pheniramine in pharmaceutical formulation has been investigated on the basis of the enhanced electrochemical response at glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of sodium lauryl sulfate.The experimental results suggest that the phcniramine in anionic surfactant solution exhibits electrocatalytic effect resulting in a marked enhancement of the peak current response.Peak current response is linearly dependent on the concentration of pheniramine in the range 200-1500 μg/mL with correlation coefficient 0.9987.The limit of detection is 58.31 μg/m L.The modified electrode shows good sensitivity and repeatability.