PHARMACEUTICO-ANALYTICAL STUDY OF MALATYADI TAILA

Analytical study of Ayurvedic preparations is the need of the present scientific era. Though the Ayurvedic drugs are time tested and have been used successfully in the management of various ailments it is now necessary to prove their quality, efficacy and safety to the scientific world through various modern analytical parameters. The Sneha Kalpa is par excellent to other dosage forms due to their wider advantages like increased absorption and extraction of fat-soluble active principles Sneha Kalpa is the only dosage form that can be administered conveniently both internally as well as externally. Malatyadi Taila is an important herbal formulation mentioned in Chakradutta for the management of the disease Darunaka. Dandruff is an irritative disease of the scalp in which shedding of dead tissue from the scalp with itching sensation is the cardinal feature. It can be correlated to Darunaka the cardinal symptoms of the disease Darunaka are Kandu (itching), Kesha Chyuti (falling of hair), Swapa (abnormalities of touch sensation), Rukshata (roughness or dryness of the skin) and Twak Sputana (breaking or cracking of the skin). Chakradutta has mentioned the application of Malatyadi Taila in the treatment of Darunaka. An attempt has been made in the present study to prepare Malatyadi Taila and standardise it through analytical parameters like organoleptic properties, refractive index, acid value, saponification value, iodine value, loss on drying for developing standards. All the parameters were found to be good and within the standards. Keywords: analytical standardization, Malatyadi Taila, saponification value, HPTLC.

ROLE OF PANCHKARMA THERAPY IN MANAGEMENT OF DARUNAKA (SEBORRHOEIC DERMATITIS) - A SINGLE CASE STUDY

Dandruff is a common scalp ailment that causes flaking of the skin. It is neither communicable nor dangerous. It can, however, be humiliating and difficult to treat. Darunaka is a Kapalagataroga, but Acharya Sushruta described it as a Kshudraroga due to the vitiation of Vata and Kapha Doshas, with symptoms such as Kandu (itching on the scalp), Keshachyuti (hair loss), Swapa (abnormalities of touch sensation on the scalp), Rookshata (roughness or dryness of the scalp), and Twaksphutana (breaking or cracking of the scalp skin). Seborrheic Dermatitis is an irri- tative scalp illness characterized by the shedding of dead tissue from the scalp, as well as an itchy sensation. Seb- orrheic Dermatitis affects roughly 4% of the population, while dandruff (mild seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp) affects about half of all adults, according to studies. It can begin at any point after puberty and is more common in men. It might lead to social and self-esteem issues. A 25-year-old male patient from Jodhpur came to OPD of Panchakarma, with a chief complaint of Shira Kandu (itching on the scalp), Rukshata (dryness on the scalp), Twak- sphutana (cracks in the skin) and Keshachyuti (hair fall). In this case, Ayurvedic formulations and Panchakarma therapy gave the patient till 30 days. The improvement provided by the therapy was assessed based on signs and symptoms before and after the treatment, The therapy's effectiveness was determined by comparing signs and symp- toms before and after treatment. For evaluating signs and symptoms, a unique scoring scheme was created. Themedicine was proven to be both safe and effective at treating signs and symptoms as well as enhancing the general health of the scalp. Keywords: Darunaka, Shirodhara, Shiro basti, Seborrheic dermatitis

The Diverse Physiological Functions of Mechanically Activated Ion Channels in Mammals

Many aspects of mammalian physiology are mechanically regulated. One set of molecules that can mediate mechanotransduction are the mechanically activated ion channels. These ionotropic force sensors are directly activated by mechanical inputs, resulting in ionic flux across the plasma membrane. While there has been much research focus on the role of mechanically activated ion channels in touch sensation and hearing, recent data have highlighted the broad expression pattern of these molecules in mammalian cells. Disruption of mechanically activated channels has been shown to impact ( a) the development of mechanoresponsive structures, ( b) acute mechanical sensing, and ( c) mechanically driven homeostatic maintenance in multiple tissue types. The diversity of processes impacted by these molecules highlights the importance of mechanically activated ion channels in mammalian physiology. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Physiology, Volume 84 is February 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Comparison of Touch Sensation among Congenital Blind, Early Onset Blind, and Late Onset Blind, Using Moberg’s Test

BACKGROUND The objectives of the study were to assess and compare touch sensation of dominant and non-dominant hands among blind since birth, early onset blind & late onset blind participants using Moberg’s test and determine if the time of onset of blindness affected the touch sensation. METHODS 50 blind participants from various colleges in Mumbai were assessed. Detailed history about onset of blindness, motor dominance etc. of blind was asked. Participants were instructed to pick up objects (suggested by Moberg) one at a time, as fast as possible, and place them into a box using dominant and non-dominant hands alternatively. Kruskal Wallis Test was used for analysis. RESULTS Average values of Moberg’s test of dominant & non - dominant hands of blind since birth versus late onset blind were statistically significant and those of early onset blind versus late onset blind were statistically significant. Average values of Moberg’s test of blind since birth versus early onset blind were not statistically significant. Thus touch sensation was improved more in blind since birth & early onset blind compared to late onset blind participants. CONCLUSIONS Thus we conclude that in the absence of visual stimuli, touch sensation in blind since birth and early onset blind is improved compared to late onset blind participants. KEY WORDS Blind, Cross - Modal Synaptic Plasticity, Substitution of Sense. Moberg's Pick - up Test, Critical Period

Simultaneous-integrated evaluation of mechanical–thermal sensory attributes of woven fabrics in considering practical wearing states

Tactile sensations of fabrics are the primary property determining the wearing comfort of clothing; however, comprehensive evaluation of the fabric tactile property by considering the flexural buckling of fabrics under high curvature, hysteresis performance and thermal property has not been fully studied, leading to a clear gap between the existing measurement methods and application requirements. Herein, a simultaneous-integrated testing method, namely the Touch Sensation Tester for Fabrics (TST-F) was introduced to evaluate the mechanical–thermal sensory properties of woven fabrics. The introduced instrument used one device with a single mechanical sensor to test various mechanical properties by constructing different deformations of fabrics, and the thermal property was simultaneously measured using an infrared detector array, achieving an efficient characterization of the mechanical–thermal sensation properties of textiles. The measurement capacity and repeatability of the TST-F were statistically analyzed; the measurement indices and their relation with fabric mechanical–thermal sensation properties were also exhibited. Results showed that the TST-F was promising to characterize fabric touch sensations in terms of bending stiffness, compression softness with wrinkling, stretching tightness and thermal comfort by considering the infrared transmission and heat conductivity of textiles.

Dynamic balance and neuropathic changes following ankle proprioceptive training in type II diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy

Introduction: Peripheral neuropathy is one of the major complications of type II diabetes mellitus. Lower limb proprioceptive impairments due to neuropathy can lead to balance disorders in these patients. The present study aimed to investigate postural stability and neuropathic changes following ankle proprioceptive training in type II diabetic patients with moderate neuropathy. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 24 type II diabetic patients with moderate neuropathy (9 females and 15 males) aged 40-65 years (with a mean age of 57.25 years). The treatment consisted of ankle proprioceptive training by the balance board and rocker for 10 consecutive days. Balance indices, including Overall Stability Index (OSI), Anterior-Posterior Stability Index (APSI), and Medial-Lateral Stability Index (MLSI), were measured with Biodex system before and after the treatment, as well as two weeks after treatment in two conditions: condition1: Eyes open, head straight, without using trunk, pelvis, thigh, and knee constrained orthosis. Condition 2: Eyes closed, head back (hyperextension), with using trunk, pelvis, thigh, and knee constrained orthosis. Plate-based Biodex stability was fixed at levels 6 and 8 for condition1 and level 8 for condition 2. The severity of neuropathy was assessed using Valk and Michigan questionnaires, as well as light touch sensation. The analysis of variance with repeated measure was used to evaluate alterations in the stability of patients. Furthermore, the correlation of neuropathic changes and stability parameters were assessed by the Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: Significant improvements were observed in OSI in all tests of condition 1 (Biodex Balance System (BBS) at level 8 (P=0.001) and level 6 (P=0.017), as well as test conditions 2 (level 8; P=0.004). After the treatment, at stability level 8, a significant improvement in the mean values of postural sways in the Anterior-Posterior (AP) direction demonstrated that the ankle strategy was improved in the patients. After the treatment, the scores of the Valk (P=0.02) and Michigan (P=0.001) questionnaires were significantly decreased. After two weeks of follow-up, the observed improvement was maintained in the mean values of balance indices (OSI, APSI) and neuropathy due to treatment. Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, 10 sessions of targeted ankle proprioceptive training improved stability, neuropathy, and light touch sensation of the foot in type II diabetic patients with moderate neuropathy. Foot somatosensory information is one of the most important causes of balance alterations in these patients

Validity and Reliability of the Semmes-Weinstein Monofilament Test and the Thumb Localizing Test in Patients With Stroke

Background: Somatosensory impairment is common in patients who have had a stroke and can affect their motor function and activities of daily living (ADL). Therefore, detecting and treating somatosensory impairments properly is considered to be very important, and various examinations have been developed. However, the reliability and validity of few of them have been verified due to differences in the procedure of each examiner or poor quantification by the examination itself.Objective: We hypothesized that, with fixed procedures two convenient clinical examinations, the Semmes-Weinstein Monofilament Test (SWMT) and the Thumb Localizing Test (TLT), could provide reliable assessments of light touch sensation and proprioception. The purpose of this study was to verify the reliability and validity of these two examinations as indices of somatosensory impairment of the upper extremity (UE) in patients with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis.Methods: Fifty patients with chronic stroke (median time after onset of stroke, 848 [474–1708] days, mean age 57 [standard deviation 14] years) were enrolled at Keio University Hospital from 2017 to 2018. Examiners learned the original method of the SWMT and the TLT rigorously and shared it with each other. The TLT procedure was partially modified by dividing the location of the patient's thumb into four spaces. Two examiners evaluated the SWMT and the TLT for 2 days, and intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities were calculated using weighted kappa statistics. In addition to this, the evaluator size score of the SWMT was assessed with Bland-Altman analysis to evaluate systematic bias. The Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS) sensory items were used to assess validity, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated.Results: Intra/inter-rater agreements of the SWMT grade score were 0.89 (thumb, 95%CI: 0.83–0.95)/ 0.75 (0.60–0.91) and 0.80 (index finger, 0.67–0.93)/0.79 (0.66–0.92), and of the TLT they were 0.83 (navel level proximal space, 0.71–0.95)/ 0.83 (0.73–0.92), 0.90 (navel level distal space, 0.85–0.96)/ 0.80 (0.69–0.90), 0.80 (shoulder level proximal space, 0.68–0.92)/ 0.77 (0.65–0.89), and 0.87 (shoulder level distal space, 0.80–0.93)/ 0.80 (0.68–0.92) (P < 0.001, each item). All of them showed substantial agreement, but the MDC of the SWMT evaluator size was 1.28 to 1.79 in the inter-rater test and 1.94–2.06 in the intra-rater test. The SWMT grade score showed a strong correlation with the SIAS light touch sensation item (r = 0.65, p < 0.001), as did the TLT with the SIAS position sense item (r = −0.70–0.62, p < 0.001 each space).Conclusions: The reliability and validity of the SWMT and the TLT were verified. These tests can be used as reliable sensory examinations of the UE in patients with chronic stroke, and especially for the SWMT, it is more reliable for screening.