Objective: Biological processes are the sum of metabolic reactions that result in intermediate and end metabolite products. These processes are the reflection of genetic regulation and are profoundly impacted by environmental influence and changes, including those associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to assess the untargeted plasma metabolomic profile of children and adolescents with ADHD and to compare them with healthy controls and to study associations of dysregulated metabolic parameters with the clinical and socio-demographic parameters of ADHD. Methods: This study involved 42 registered cases of ADHD among children aged 6 to 16 years, diagnosed based on DSM-5 criteria. Each case was matched by age and gender with 24 healthy controls. The severity of ADHD was evaluated using the ADHD Rating Scale, while behavioral issues were assessed through the Child Behavior Checklist. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique was employed to examine changes in plasma metabolite content. Results: We identified a total of 45 metabolites in the ADHD subtypes, which exhibited altered levels compared to the control group. The content of these metabolites and associated metabolic pathways showed significant differences between ADHD subjects and controls. Furthermore, we analyzed biomarkers derived from the compounds with the greatest fold changes in accumulation levels. Conclusion The identification and analysis of these metabolites and metabolic pathways represent a promising new approach for tracking disease progression in ADHD. The findings of this study indicate that metabolite-based biomarkers may hold considerable potential for effective disease management.

Ventilatory management of patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) is a complex and controversial area of critical care medicine. Despite significant advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of CSCI and the development of novel interventions, there remains a lack of consensus about the optimal approach to ventilatory management in these patients. Some of the key controversies in CSCI ventilatory management include timing of tracheal intubation, non-invasive ventilation versus invasive ventilation, high versus low tidal volume, and early versus late tracheostomy. The objective of this review is to discuss the existing controversies and provide an insight on the current evidence.

Background: Duloxetine is an antidepressant that is also useful in chronic neuropathic and central origin pain. In this study, the role of duloxetine in decreasing acute postoperative pain after lumbar canal stenosis surgery is explored. Methods: In this single center, triple blinded, and placebo-controlled trial, 96 patients were randomized for statistical analysis. The intervention group received oral duloxetine 30 mg once a day (OD) for 2 days before surgery, 60 mg OD from the day of surgery to the postoperative second day and 30 mg OD for the next 2 days (a total duration of 7 days). A placebo capsule was given in the other group for a similar time and schedule. The same standard perioperative analgesia protocols were followed in both groups. Results: Total morphine consumption up to 24 hours was significantly decreased in the duloxetine group (p < 0.01). The time to the first analgesia requirement was similar in both groups but the time to the second and third dose of rescue analgesia increased significantly in the duloxetine group. The time to ambulation was decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in the duloxetine group as compared to the placebo group. Pain scores remained similar during most of the time interval. No significant difference was observed in the complication rate and patient satisfaction score recorded. Conclusions Duloxetine reduces postoperative pain after lumbar canal stenosis surgery with no increase in adverse effects.

Objectives: Obstructive Sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by complete or partial obstruction of upper airflow despite the effort to breathe, leading to hypoxemia and hypercapnia. The resultant apnea causes sleep fragmentation, which in turn increases sympathetic activity, decreases insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake, and stimulates hepatic gluconeogenesis that ultimately leads to type 2 diabetes. Most studies exploring the effect of continuous positive airway pressure on insulin sensitivity have showed a positive effect. However, there is no evidence on the effect of mandibular advancement device on insulin resistance (IR). This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of mandibular advancement splint (MAS) on IR in patients with OSA. Methods: The present study was conducted at Department of Prosthodontics, Dental College Azamgarh, from June 2015 to July 2017. Sixty eight dentulous patients with type 2 diabetes and mild to moderate OSA and with stable diabetic regimen were included in the study. A MAS was fabricated and fixed at 70% of the maximum mandibular protrusion recorded. Patients that were comfortable with MAS after one month were assessed for apnea-hypopnea index, mean oxygen saturation, and IR at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year after wearing MAS. Results: An improvement in insulin sensitivity was observed at 6 months for mild OSA patients (p=0.001). For moderate OSA patients, no significant improvement was observed following MAS use (p>0.05). Conclusions The finding suggested that MAS is effective in improving IR in mild OSA patients.

Background: Line probe assay (LPA) is standard diagnostic tool to detect multidrug resistant tuberculosis. Noninterpretable (NI) results in LPA (complete missing or light wild-type 3 and 8 bands with no mutation band in rpoB gene region) poses a diagnostic challenge. Methods: Sputum samples obtained between October 2016 and July 2017 at the Intermediate Reference Laboratory, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, New Delhi, India were screened. Smear-positive and smear-negative culturepositive specimens were subjected to LPA Genotype MTBDRplus Ver 2.0. Smear-negative with culture-negative and culture contamination were excluded. LPA NI samples were subjected to phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (pDST) using MGIT-960 and sequencing. Results: A total of 1,614 sputum specimens were screened and 1,340 were included for the study (smear-positive [n=1,188] and smear-negative culture-positive [n=152]). LPA demonstrated 1,306 (97.5%) valid results with TUB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) band, 24 (1.8%) NI, three (0.2%) valid results without TUB band, and seven (0.5%) invalid results. Among the NI results, 22 isolates (91.7%) were found to be rifampicin (RIF) resistant and two (8.3%) were RIF sensitive in the pDST. Sequencing revealed that rpoB mutations were noted in all 22 cases with RIF resistance, whereas the remaining two cases had wild-type strains. Of the 22 cases with rpoB mutations, the most frequent mutation was S531W (n=10, 45.5%), followed by S531F (n=6, 27.2%), L530P (n=2, 9.1%), A532V (n=2, 9.1%), and L533P (n=2, 9.1%). Conclusion The present study showed that the results of the Genotype MTBDRplus assay were NI in a small proportion of isolates. pDST and rpoB sequencing were useful in elucidating the cause and clinical meaning of the NI results.

The present market for herbal drugs is estimated about ₹40 billion, which is expected to increase by 16% in next 3-4 years. The current production of many Ayurvedic herbs is less than their market demand, which incentivizes adulteration in the Ayurvedic drug supply chain. The present work aims to highlight the most used Ayurvedic plants that have been listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "red list" of endangered or vulnerable plants. The future of Ayurvedic medicines from these listed plants is uncertain, as the collection of herbs from their natural habitat is prohibited and their cultivation does not meet market demands. Many of these plants, such as Taxus baccata and T. wallichiana, are endangered and are only grown in their natural habitats; their cultivation in other areas is impractical. This is the present state, and will worsen as demand continues to grow, with increasing populations and increasing adoption of this system of medicine. It is possible that in coming years most of the Ayurvedic drugs will be adulterated, and will cause only side effects rather than the therapeutic effects. The Ayurvedic fundamentals are under-explored areas where the Ayurvedic practitioners and research scientists can work together. The scientific work on the basic principles will unravel many unknown or little-known facts of this ancient science. Hence, the present review emphasizes the conservation of Ayurvedic herbs, minimization of the use of medicinal plants and the promotion of the research based on Ayurvedic fundamentals.

Anatomists ; Anatomy, Cross-Sectional ; Europe ; Humans

No abstract available.
Aged* ; Humans ; Leishmaniasis* ; Parasites*

The term Kriyakala refers to the recognition of the stage of a disease's progress, which helps to determine appropriate measure to correct the imbalance in Doshas (biological factors). It is a compound expression, comprised of Kriya and Kala, where Kriya means the choice to treatment (medicine, food and daily-routine) used to improve the disturbance in Doshas, and Kala refers to the stage of progress of a disease. Sushruta, an ancient Indian surgeon, has described the concept of Kriyakala in Varnaprashnadhyaya, an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, which seeks to explain the incidence of Varnas in terms of Doshic disturbances. Varna, in modern parlance, may be described as an inflammatory process that may lead ulceration and chronic inflammation, promoting all stages of carcinogenesis. Abnormal interactions between Prakriti (genotype) and environmental factors vitiate the Doshas and impair immunity, which can lead to aberrant cell growth and cancer. Moreover, the interaction between vitiated Doshas and weak Dhatus (body tissues) manifests as cancers of a specific organ. Shatkriyakala (six stages of progress of a disease), on the other hand, provides a framework to assess the cancer and its pathogenesis in different stages. According to Ayurvedic concepts, all cancer therapies treat the affected tissues indirectly by eliminating vitiated Doshas, rejuvenating Dhatus and restoring immunity in cancer patients. The present review describes the six stages of Shatkriyakala in detail, with an emphasis on research areas to validate the concept of Shatkriyakala. This traditional knowledge can be utilized with modern technologies to detect predisposition for cancer or diagnose cancer in its early stages.
Early Detection of Cancer ; Humans ; Medicine, Ayurvedic ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms ; etiology ; therapy