Medicinal Potential of Laxmi Taru (Simarouba Glauca DC)

Cancer is becoming a high-profile disease throughout the world and for its treatment most prevalent technique is chemotherapy which has its limitations due to many toxic or side effects on healthy or non-cancerous body parts. Therefore, there is a demand for alternative and supportive anticancer agents for treatments which are naturally-derived with minimal side effects. This review paper highlights the therapeutic importance, safety, and efficacy of the Laxmi Taru along with their active constituents used either as single plant-decoctions, extracts, or in combinations especially in some traditional herbal medicines. World Health organization (WHO) is promoting this concept as ‘Save plants to save lives.’ Among the key health issues, WHO have also said that, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. The plethora of secondary metabolites (therapeutic agents) found in the plant are the rich source to find the alternative safe anti-cancer agents.

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The Mechanistic Approach to Tackle Obesity Using Traditional Herbal Plants

Treating Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders With Herbal Medicines - Advances in Medical Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-4808-0.ch005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104-123

Author(s):

Saniyah Saleem Khan

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

World Health ◽

Mechanistic Approach ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Herbal Plants ◽

Treatment Of Obesity ◽

Health Organization ◽

Surgical Treatments ◽

Global Health Problem

Obesity is a medical metabolic condition where a person accumulates excess body fat that might affect their health. Obesity is a prevalent global health problem linked with other life-threatening chronic diseases like cardiovascular, certain types of cancer, diabetes, renal, cerebrovascular, bone, and muscle-related diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is the fifth foremost cause of global deaths. Many allopathic drugs and surgical treatments for managing obesity are available in the market. However, these conventional methods have adverse side effects and chances of recurrence. For more than 2,000 years, herbal medicines have been used for the treatment of many diseases efficiently. This chapter addresses the current progress in the effectiveness of several herbal medications used for the treatment of obesity without causing side effects. The possible effects and mechanisms of using these herbaceous plants in the treatment of obese and overweight humans and animals are covered extensively.

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Monitoring the Safety of Herbal Medicines in Yemen: A Call for Action

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International ◽

10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i49a33302 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 59-63

Author(s):

Mohammed Alshakka ◽

Wafa F. S. Badulla ◽

Sara Alshagga ◽

Nasser A. Awadh ◽

Nisha Jha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Control ◽

Side Effects ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Well Being ◽

World Health ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Control Production ◽

Health Organization ◽

Effective Use ◽

Health And Well Being

Consuming modern medicines with traditional herbs to treat and prevent diseases or even maintain health and well-being is common in different countries. Despite the high prevalence of this activity in Yemen, there is neither proper regulation that controls the production, standardization, quality control and use nor an appropriate system for herbal pharmacovigilance in Yemen. Yemenis prefer to use herbs before resorting to allopathic medicines, sometimes in concomitant or alternative to the allopathic medication. Most people believe that herbs are safe, though there are many side effects associated with herbal medicines. For the safe and effective use of traditional herbal medication, there should be a regulation from the official authorities that controls their preparation, selling, quality control, production, and monitoring of the side effects. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated a guideline for monitoring herbal safety within the current pharmacovigilance framework. However, monitoring and reporting the adverse effects of allopathic medicines in Yemen are limited, and the situation is more complicated and challenging for herbal medicines. The present article highlighted the challenges and provided recommendations for the application of effective herbal pharmacovigilance.

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Herbal pharmacovigilance in Nepal: challenges and recommendations

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.22133.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sunil Shrestha ◽

Krisha Danekhu ◽

Binaya Sapkota ◽

Nisha Jha ◽

Bhuvan KC

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Adverse Effects ◽

Focal Point ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

World Health ◽

Self Medication ◽

Herbal Products ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Pharmacovigilance Center ◽

Health Organization

Traditional herbal medicine is widely used globally. Despite its extensive use, there are no proper regulations on standardization and use of herbal medicinal products. Nepal has a rich biodiversity and demography comprising of different socio-ethnic groups. Herbal medicines are utilized prominently in Nepalese communities. These herbal products may cause side effects and adverse effects, such as nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity with the heavy metal toxicity associated with their powdered dosage forms. The side effects of using herbal products have been documented, such as bleeding with use of Ginkgo biloba and increase in blood pressure with use of Ephedra. Regulation of herbal products is essential to promote their optimal and rational use. Standard tools are available for assessing adverse effects of herbal products from health authorities, like the World Health Organization. In Nepal, self-medication practice using traditional herbal medicines is common and includes the concomitant use of allopathic. There is no focal point to address the regulatory issues on herbal products currently in Nepal. The Department of Drug Administration in Nepal is nominated as a national pharmacovigilance center and there are no reports on adverse events from the use of herbal medicines so far. However, not having any reports does not ensure the absolute safety and effectiveness of herbal products, so vigilance is warranted. Herbal pharmacovigilance is needed for Nepal to ensure safe and effective use of herbal medicines as the current pharmacovigilance ecosystem does not capture those cases. In the Nepalese context, the absence of reporting mechanisms may have underreported adverse cases of herbal products. The present opinion article aims to discuss the use of herbal products in Nepal, the challenges associated with the adverse reaction due to herbal medicines, and recommendations to overcome these challenges

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Nurses’ Knowledge and Anxiety Levels toward COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Nursing Reports ◽

10.3390/nursrep11020034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 356-363

Author(s):

Fatmah Alsharif

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Care Staff ◽

World Health ◽

Health Issues ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

As Stress ◽

Health Organization

Background: In the battle against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical care staff, especially nurses, are at a higher risk of encountering psychological health issues and distress, such as stress, tension, burdensome indications, and, most importantly, fear. They are also at higher risk of becoming infected and transmitting this virus. In Saudi Arabia, it was noticed that the healthcare workforce suffered from anxiety, and that this more evident in women than men. Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of nurses regarding COVID-19 and the level of anxiety toward the COVID-19 outbreak in the current pandemic situation. Design: A cross-sectional design was used and a validated self-administered online questionnaire with a set of questions related to COVID-19 was distributed to 87 participating nurses. Results: The results showed that more than half of the nurses (71.90%) had an adequate and good knowledge about the causes, transmission, symptoms, treatment, and death rate of COVID-19. The main sources of information for the nurses were social media (51.7%) and the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health (36.8%). Conclusions: The results allowed the conclusion that, though the nurses had satisfactory knowledge about COVID-19, more than 50% of them experienced mental health issues such as anxiety. To address this, along with providing more knowledge about COVID-19, nurses should be supported in managing their anxiety.

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A Case of Polyneuropathy Following a Single Dose of Diethylcarbamazine and Albendazole During Mass Administration of Drug - A Case Report

Nepal Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3126/njms.v1i1.5800 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 56-58

Author(s):

SC Kohli ◽

UK Shrestha ◽

VM Alurkar ◽

A Maskey ◽

M Parajuli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abdominal Pain ◽

Single Dose ◽

Case Report ◽

Side Effects ◽

World Health Organization ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

World Health ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

The World ◽

Health Organization

The global program to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis created by The World Health organization in 1997 is based on mass administration of single annual doses of diethylcarbamazine ( DEC) plus albendazole in non African regions and of albendazole plus ivermectin in Africa. The usual side effects of DEC treatment include fever, chills, arthralgia, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Albendazole is associated with relatively few side effects consisting of occasional nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, reversible alopecia, elevated aminotransferases and rarely leucopenia and rash. We report a case of polyneuropathy in a young individual following DEC and albendazole during mass drug administration. Keywords: Albendazole; DEC; Polyneuropathy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njms.v1i1.5800 Nepal Journal of Medical Sciences. 2012; 1(1): 56-58

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Study on Highly Active Anti- Retroviral Therapy: prescription pattern and side effects

Journal of Nepal Pharmaceutical Association ◽

10.3126/jnpa.v26i1.6630 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 12-18

Author(s):

Sujata Sapkota ◽

Rajani Shakya ◽

Basudev Pandey

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Drug Regimen ◽

World Health ◽

Management Tools ◽

Prescription Pattern ◽

Highly Active ◽

Regimen Change ◽

Initial Regimen ◽

Health Organization ◽

Multiple Drugs

Since the introduction of Highly Active Anti Retroviral therapy (HAART) by World Health Organization in 1996, it has been the employed method of drug use in HIV management. Involvement of multiple drugs in the regimen, has also invited multiple complications and side effects is one of them. High chances of occurrence of side effects has called for the need of proper identification and therapy management tools for each HAART user and has highlighted the importance of individualized drug therapy. The aim of the study the prescription pattern of the HAART regimen; frequency of regimen change and its major causes; and the side- effects from HAART. The study was conducted in the ART Clinic of SukraRaj Tropical & Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku. 109 patients, who came to the clinic to refill their prescription, were interviewed by the researcher. After interview, medication file of each patient was reviewed to study the prescribed drug regimen, drug changes and identified reasons for the drug change (as identified by the physicians and recorded in patient medication file); reported side effect experience and laboratory reports were analyzed to study the effect of the HAART regimen on hemoglobin and Alanine Aminotransferase enzyme. The study revealed that the most prescribed HAART regimen constituted a combination of Zidovudine, Lamivudine and Nevirapine. 52% of the patients reported having experienced side effects from HAART. 23.85% patients had to have their initial regimen changed because of drug toxicity. Nausea (15.6%), vertigo (14.7%), decreased hemoglobin (11.9%), skin rash/ allergy (9.2%) were the major side effects experience reported by the patients. In addition to some side effects like nausea, vertigo etc; decrease in the level of hemoglobin after the initiation of HAART was evident. Decrease in Zidovudine containing regimen, during the regimen change was apparent and was mostly related to its hemoglobin lowering activity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jnpa.v26i1.6630 JNPA. XXVI(1) 2012 12-18

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Mental Health

Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-8544-3.ch009 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 143-152

Author(s):

Shazia Ali ◽

Amat Us Samie ◽

Asma Ali ◽

Aashiq Hussain Bhat ◽

Tariq Mir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Political Conflict ◽

World Health ◽

Global Burden ◽

Age Group ◽

Health Issues ◽

The People ◽

Working Age ◽

War And Conflict ◽

Health Organization

Global health issues are a global burden and are relatively common in industrialized societies. The World Health Organization and researchers have developed and rebuilt tools to report the burden of disease affecting mortality and health of the people. Apart from America and Europe, which are at an average of global burden for mental health disease, in some regions it is a major priority to be addressed globally. In South East Asia, one of the affected regions is Kashmir, Northern Indian. Disasters have manifested in various forms encompassing the natural calamities of earthquake, flood, landslides and manmade calamities of violence. Trauma due to manmade calamities has taken over as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the most productive working age group of 12-35 years. The chapter aims to understand the patterns of resilience in people surviving war and conflict in Kashmir over last 60 years. The focus is on the young population of society. Generations in Kashmir have faced the psychosocial impact of ongoing political conflict since the 1980's.

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Electroacupuncture reduces fibromyalgia pain by downregulating the TRPV1–pERK signalling pathway in the mouse brain

Acupuncture in Medicine ◽

10.1136/acupmed-2017-011395 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 101-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hsin-Cheng Hsu ◽

Ching-Liang Hsieh ◽

Kun-Ta Lee ◽

Yi-Wen Lin

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Pain Relief ◽

Mouse Brain ◽

Transient Receptor Potential ◽

Receptor Potential ◽

Signalling Pathway ◽

World Health ◽

Transient Receptor ◽

Health Organization ◽

Psychological Origin

Background: Acupuncture has been clinically recommended as a method of pain relief by the World Health Organization and is widely used by medical doctors. Fibromyalgia (FM) pain has a complex physiological and psychological origin and can be pharmacologically treated with duloxetine, milnacipran and pregabalin. However, these drugs produce undesirable side effects, such as headaches, nausea and diarrhoea. Acupuncture may serve as an effective alternative treatment for pain relief with few side effects. Aims: We hypothesised that acupuncture would reduce FM pain by influencing transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) and the downstream phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (pERK), which are located in the central thalamus, amygdala and cortex. Methods: A FM mouse model was established by injecting two doses of acid saline into 32 female C57/B6 mice. The mice were then assigned to different subgroups (n=8 each) and treated with electroacupuncture (EA) or EA sham control. TRPV1 and pERK expression levels were measured using Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Results: Our results demonstrated that the expression of TRPV1 and pERK in the thalamus, amygdala and somatosensory cortex was normal in the control mice, but significantly increased in FM mice; these FM-induced changes in expression were attenuated by EA. Conclusion: Our data suggest that EA can reverse the central sensitisation of the TRPV1-ERK signalling pathway in the mouse brain. Thus, our findings provide mechanistic evidence supporting the potential therapeutic efficacy of EA for treating FM pain.

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Compliance and Treatment Outcomes of Various Regimens for Trichomoniasis in Trinidad and Tobago

Medical Sciences ◽

10.3390/medsci7100097 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (10) ◽

pp. 97

Author(s):

Divakaruni ◽

Mahabir ◽

Orrett ◽

Adidam ◽

Venkata ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Single Dose ◽

Side Effects ◽

Trichomonas Vaginalis ◽

Transmitted Disease ◽

World Health ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Treatment Regimens ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Compliance To Treatment ◽

Health Organization

Trichomoniasis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) globally and yet is not a reportable disease. Trichomonas vaginalis is an important source of reproductive morbidity and may increase risk of acquisition and transmission of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Control Disease Center (CDC) recommend various regimens of nitroimidazole s for treatment. The common nitroimidazoles used for trichomoniasis are metronidazole and tinidazole, which vary in their cost, efficacy, and side effect profile. It is relevant to study these factors for better management of the patients. This study aimed to compare and study the efficacy, compliance of various treatment regimens, their outcomes, and side-effects for trichomoniasis, among STI clinic attendees in Trinidad. A clinical trial study was designed, and after obtaining the informed consent, a routine clinical examination was conducted and the swabs for trichomoniasis tests were collected for diagnosis from the 692 participants. Out of 692 participants, 82 patients with positive diagnosis of Trichomonas infection were treated according to the patient’s choice, using different drug regimens. Compliance to treatment, side effects, and outcome were evaluated. The prevalence of trichomoniasis in the population attending our STI clinic is 11.9% and prevalence of HIV is 9%. Of the total 82 participants for the treatment, 80% were females; nearly 90% of the patients belonged to age group 15–45 years, and over 60% were below 30 years. Among those diagnosed for Trichomonas vaginalis, 14.6% had coexistent HIV infection. The compliance with respect to single dose treatment was significantly better than the long-duration oral regimen and has a significant relation with side effects of the treatment. The outcome is generally better and comparable and shows no significant difference between different treatment regimens used in the study. Metronidazole and tinidazole are commonly used drugs in various regimens. Compliance is better with those treated with tinidazole and metronidazole single dose than with other groups. Outcome is comparable between these regimens, especially when combined with other important factors like abstinence and treatment of the partners. The treatment regimens mainly differed in the compliance side effects profile and duration of therapy, which suggests that to improve the compliance of the drugs with fewer side effects, short course regimen would be a preferred choice.

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