CLINICAL EFFICACY OF DASHMOOL KWATH NASYA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MANYASTAMBHA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CERVICAL SPONDYLITIS

Background: Nasya is an essential therapeutic procedure as many of the courses of Ayurvedic treatment. It comes under the Panchashodhana karmas. It is necessary in all Urdhwa jathru vikaras. Nasya is effective for inducing immediate results and serves as a permanent cure. Cervical spondylotic change is frequently found in many asymptomatic adults, with 25 the age of 40, 50% of adults over the age of 40 and 85% of adults over the age of 60 showing evidence of disc degeneration. Cervical spondylosis can be compared with Manyastambha based on signs & symptoms. Nasya is the simple techniques and ingredients are readily available & economical. Also, these are indicated in the management of Manyastambha and have no proven adverse effects. This study was intended to assess the efficacy of the Dashmool Kwath Nasya in the management of this disease. Method: Randomly, 30 patients of Manyastambha were selected and paired “t” test was used. Result: Statistically significant improvement was found in this study on post-follow-up. Conclusion: Dashmool Kwath Nasya is having a prolonged action as it is having highly significant results post follow up of treatment as compared to after treatment.

Lung metastasectomy for osteosarcoma in children, adolescents, and young adults: proof of permanent cure

Introduction Surgical resection of pulmonary metastases has been associated with increased survival at 5 years for osteosarcoma, but limited information is available on long-term outcome, role of repeated metastasectomies, and surgical sequelae in a pediatric population. We analyzed a consecutive series of children, adolescents, and young adults (AYA) treated by repeated lung metastasectomies during a period >40 years to estimate the clinical benefit and potential cure rate of salvage surgery. Methods All patients who underwent lung metastasectomy for osteosarcoma at the IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli of Bologna, University of Modena, and IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan from May 1973 to January 2014 were included. Overall survival (OS) at 20 years from the first metastasectomy was calculated. Results A total of 463 consecutive children and AYA were analyzed. Median age was 15.9 years (range 0.2–23.2 years) and median follow-up 18.6 years. The 5- and 20-year OS were 34.0% and 29.7% (95% CI 25.5–34.0%). Among the 138 (29.8%) alive patients, 42 (30.4%) had disease recurrence cured by repeated metastasectomies. Disease-free interval from primary tumor, number of metastases, and complete resection were the most relevant survival predictors at multivariable model analysis. Discussion The extended follow-up of this consecutive series shows that repeated lung metastasectomy can achieve a permanent cure when offered to properly selected patients with metastases from osteosarcoma.

A CLINICAL STUDY ON THE PROPHYLACTIC EFFECT OF VIRECHANA IN PRIMARY DYSMENORRHOEA

Primary dysmenorrhoea is the most common gynaecological disease in menstruating women. It is a symptom complex with cramping lower abdominal pain radiating to the back and legs often accompanied by gastro intestinal and neurological symptoms as well as general malaise. In conventional system of medicine there is no permanent cure for primary dysmenorrhoea. In order to find out a permanent remedy for preventing the recurrence of primary dysmenorrhoea and to evaluate the effect of virechana in reducing the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhoea, this particular study has been under taken. In Ayurveda gynaecological pathologies are explained under the heading of yonirogas. Clinical features of primary dysmenorrhoea are having similiarities with that of udavartha yoni roga. Apanavatavaigunya is the main causative factor for udavartha yoni roga. In the treatment principle of apanavatavaigunyasnigdhavirechana is indicated. An Interventional type of Quasi Experimental study that is before and after study without control was conducted in Govt Ayurveda College Panchakarma Hospital, Poojapura and Govt Ayurveda College Hospital Thiruvanathapuram. One group of thirty patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria and diagnostic criteria were recruited for the study. Intervention administered were rookshana with takra, snehapana with sukumaraghritha, sarvangaabhyanga and avagahasweda with vataharapatra and virechana was done using sukumaraerandamThaila followed by samsarjanakrama based on suddhi obtained after virechana. Subjective parameters were assessed before and after treatment for three consecutive cycles. Pain the major parameter was recorded as per visual analogue scale and associated symptoms using verbal descriptive scale. Pain and associated symptoms were reduced immediately after the treatment which showed treatment was effective in pacifying the disease. Moreover, in the consecutive follow ups symptoms got reduced remarkably which showed treatment had sustained and progressive effectiveness in reducing the symptoms of disease and on statistical evaluation p value was found to be highly significant.

AN AYURVEDIC APPROACH IN PSORIASIS - A CASE STUDY

Background: Psoriasis is a complex, chronic, multifactorial, inflammatory disease that involves hyperproliferation of the keratinocytes in the epidermis, with an increase in the epidermal cell turnover rate. Environmental, genetic, and immunologic factors appear to play a role. The disease most commonly manifests on the skin of the elbows, knees, scalp, and lumbosacral areas, intergluteal clefts, and glans penis. At present, there is no permanent cure other than providing symptomatic relief in modern medical science. Skin disorders respond better to Ayurvedic treatment. Due to psoriasis, the patient also has psychological symptoms like anxiety and depression. In this disease medicine as well as counselling is important in treating it. Case presentation: A 25-years old male, diagnosed with a case of psoriasis, came to our hospital with complaints of itching in the whole body, scaling especially from the scalp, with red patches all over the body for 7 years. He was tired of trying all kinds of medicine and depressed. After a thorough examination, an ayurvedic treatment plan was designed in the form of Panchakarma and oral medicines. Outcomes: significant improvements were noticed in all symptoms; the duration of treatment was 3 months. And then follow-up was done after every month. PASI score decreased after treatment. Keywords: Psoriasis, Kustha, Ayurvedic management

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by natural products

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder that progressively affects the brain cells. It is sometimes accompanied with dementia and commonly seen in elderly people. It ultimately leads to impaired cognitive functions and loss of memory. Widely used drugs such as donepezil and galantamine successfully abate mild to moderate symptoms of the disease though they have profound side effects. Natural products have been a source of medicine for over thousands of years. Plant secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, etc. are major sources of such medicines. In recent times, the use of natural products to treat various diseases has gained a lot of popularity. Extensive research is being undertaken to identify and isolate various natural products that can be used to not only reduce the disease symptoms but also as a permanent cure. The review article aims to summarize the effects of various natural products and their neuroprotective mechanisms that can be helpful to cure Alzheimer’s disease.

Current challenges in targeting tumor desmoplasia to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy

Desmoplasia is crucial for the development, progression and treatment of immune-resistant malignancies. and treatment of immune-resistant malignancies. Targeting desmoplasia-related metabolic pathways appears to be an interesting approach to expand our stock of disposable anti-tumor agents.CXCL12/CXCR4 axis inhibition reduces fibrosis, alleviates immunosuppression and significantly enhances the efficacy of PD-1 immunotherapy. CD40L substitute therapy may increase the activity of T-cells, downregulate CD40+, prolong patients’ survival and prevent cancer progression. Although FAPα antagonists used in preclinical models did not lead to permanent cure, an alleviation of immune-resistance, modification of desmoplasia and a decrease in angiogenesis were observed. Targeting DDR2 may enhance the effect of anti-PD-1 treatment in multiple neoplasm cell lines and has the ability to overcome the adaptation to BRAF-targeted therapy in melanoma. Reprogramming desmoplasia could potentially cooperate not only with present treatment, but also other potential therapeutic targets. We present the most promising metabolic pathways related to desmoplasia and discuss the emerging strategies to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Harnessing immunological targets for COVID-19 immunotherapy

COVID-19 is an infectious and highly contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The immunotherapy strategy has a great potential to develop a permanent cure against COVID-19. Innate immune cells are in constant motion to scan molecular alteration to cells led by microbial infections throughout the body and helps in clearing invading viruses. Harnessing immunological targets for removing viral infection, generally based on the principle of enhancing the T-cell and protective immune responses. Currently-approved COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA encapsulated in liposomes that stimulate the host immune system to produce antibodies. Given the vital role of innate immunity, harnessing these immune responses opens up new hope for the generation of long-lasting and protective immunity against COVID-19.

Prevalence of Pollen Allergy in Rural Telangana (Bhongir) and the Need for Continuous Monitoring of Allergens - A Pilot Study

Prevalence of pollen allergies in the rural population of Telangana is under-studied. The objective of this work was to estimate the prevalence of pollen allergy in the rural town of Bhongir, Telangana and to evaluate the need for further investigation of environmental effects on the onset of pollen allergies. A pilot survey was conducted among fifty randomly selected individuals of Kisan nagar area in Bhongir, Telangana (India) and its nearby localities using a questionnaire. Patients with known allergies were further asked to provide information about their allergic conditions and treatment. Six out of the fifty participants (CI: 1.5-10.5) were found to be allergic to pollen. The allergic participants did not have symptoms from birth but rather developed them during the later stages of life. The study also identified the potential pollen allergens in the locality which might be the cause of the allergies in the affected individuals. Furthermore, the study revealed that the commonly recommended medications were neither the preventive measures nor the permanent cure against the symptoms of pollen allergy. The results suggest a trend of rural youth with no genetic predisposition, developing pollen allergies due to environmental sensitization. The study highlights the need for the establishment of regional monitoring stations, and future studies with larger samples to understand the sensitization pathways to help the locals take preventative measures.

Recent Progress and Challenges in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequent malignant mesenchymal tumors in the gastrointestinal tract. The clinical incidence of GISTs is estimated 10/million/year; however, the true incidence is complicated by frequent findings of tiny GISTs, of which the natural history is unknown. The initial work-up with endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography plays important roles in the differential diagnosis of GISTs. Surgery is the only modality for the permanent cure of localized GISTs. In terms of safety and prognostic outcomes, laparoscopy is similar to laparotomy for GIST treatment, including tumors larger than 5 cm. GIST progression is driven by mutations in KIT or PDGFRA or by other rare gene alterations, all of which are mutually exclusive. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the standard therapy for metastatic/recurrent GISTs. Molecular alterations are the most reliable biomarkers for TKIs and for other drugs, such as NTRK inhibitors. The pathological and genetic diagnosis prior to treatment has been challenging; however, a newly developed endoscopic device may be useful for diagnosis. In the era of precision medicine, cancer genome profiling by targeted gene panel analysis may enable potential targeted therapy even for GISTs without KIT or PDGFRA mutations.

A Two-Stage Process for Differentiation of Wharton’s Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Neuronal-like Cells

With no permanent cure for neurodegenerative diseases, the symptoms reappear shortly after the withdrawal of medicines. A better treatment outcome can be expected if the damaged neurons are partly replaced by functional neurons and/or they are repaired using trophic factors. In this regard, safe cell therapy has been considered as a potential alternative to conventional treatment. Here, we have described a two-stage culture process to differentiate Wharton Jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) into neuronal-like cells in the presence of various cues involved in neurogenesis. The fate of cells at the end of each stage was analyzed at the morphometric, transcriptional, and translational levels. In the first stage of priming, constitutively, wingless-activated WJ-MSCs crossed the lineage boundary in favor of neuroectodermal lineage, identified by the loss of mesenchymal genes with concomitant expression of neuron-specific markers, like SOX1, PAX6, NTRK1, and NEUROD2. Neuronal-like cells formed in the second stage expressed many mature neuronal proteins like Map2, neurofilament, and Tuj1 and possessed axon hillock-like structures. In conclusion, the differentiation of a large number of neuronal-like cells from nontumorigenic and trophic factors secreting WJ-MSCs promises the development of a therapeutic strategy to treat neurodegenerative diseases.