Torgal Ss

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are no longer confined to urban and rich persons. They impose a great risk in the low-income nations due to epidemiological and demographic transition. Adherence to medication is key factor in improving the quality of life and preventing complications of NCDs. This study was carried out to study the prevalence of medication adherence and factors determining non-adherence in elderly population with chronic diseases. A community based cross sectional study was conducted with 400 elderly aged 60 years and above. Data was collected by using a pretested questionnaire, which included socio-demographic variables, co-morbidities and details of their medication. Therapeutic adherence was assessed by modified Morisky-Green test, level of cognitive impairment by Pfeiffer’s short portable mental status questionnaire and functional dependence in activities of daily living by Katz Index. Statistical analysis was done using chi-square test. In our study, out of 400 participants, male participants were 184 (48%) and female participants were 216 (52%). 58.5% of them were adherent to their respective treatment medication. Male gender, low level of education, lower socio-economic status and cognitive impairment were the factors associated with therapeutic non-adherence. Therapeutic non-adherence is highly prevalent among elderly persons and is multi-factorial in origin. Interventions to increase adherence among elderly might effective if they are provided with proper guidance and education on the indications of individual treatments, their adverse effects, importance of adherence to medications and various consequences of non-adherence to the therapy.

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of epalrestat (EPS) on memory and learning in type-2 diabetes.Methods: Sixty percent high-fat diet for 2 weeks and a single dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg, ip) was used to induce memory impairment in rats. Once the diabetes is confirmed, test drug (EPS - 13.5, 27, and 54 mg/kg, oral) and donepezil (1 mg/kg, oral) were administered to different groups of rats for 4 weeks followed by an assessment of memory and learning deficit using behavioral paradigms: Elevated plus maze (EPM), Morris water maze (MWM), and passive avoidance test.Results: EPS and donepezil showed significant improvement in learning and memory of rats, as indicated by markedly decreased escape latency to reach a hidden platform and increased time spent in target quadrant using MWM task, reduced transfer latency in EPM, and also there is a significant increase in the transfer latencies using passive avoidance test were noted. Memory-enhancing activity of EPS (13.5, 27, and 54 mg/kg) was comparable with the diabetic control group.Conclusion: The study findings suggest that memory-enhancing effect of EPS may be mediated by its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This recommends the potential effect of EPS therapy as a useful memory restorative agent in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease seen in type-2 diabetes rat.

Objective: The present study was taken up to assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in schizophrenic patients receiving second-generation antipsychotic agents and to determine the most sensitive and specific clinical parameters used for screening of metabolic syndrome in these patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was taken up in a tertiary care hospital. Eighty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and receiving a single second-generation antipsychotic for 3 months or more were enrolled in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Patients were screened for metabolic syndrome using American Heart Association and National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHA NHLBI)-modified National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria. Results: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found to be 35%. The clinical parameter with highest sensitivity for screening of metabolic syndrome is low-serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with a sensitivity of 89.28%. Elevated fasting blood glucose and increased waist circumference were found to have highest and equal specificity of 90.38%. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenic patients receiving second-generation antipsychotic agents. Increasing awareness of this fact among psychiatrists will help to prevent, detect, and treat this condition that is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality.

It is mandatory for all new drugs to be tested for their potential genotoxicity in addition to general toxicity testing. Some old drugs have not been tested adequately for their genotoxic effects as these were in use before the regulations were enforced. The present study therefore aims to explore the genotoxic potential of some commonly used opioids like codeine, dextromethorphan and dextropropoxyphene in swiss albino mice. Therapeutic equivalent doses of codeine, dextromethorphan and dextropropoxyphene were given orally. Single dose for acute study and multiple doses (repeated every 24 h for 7 times) in additional groups of mice (n=5 in each) for subacute study. Cyclophosphamide served as positive control while normal saline as negative control. About 0.5 ml of blood was collected by retroorbital sinus for comet assay and later the mice were sacrificed to aspirate the femoral bone marrow for micronucleus test. Percentage of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MnPCE) and comet tail length were calculated in micronucleus assay and comet assay respectively, which served as markers of genotoxicity. Significant (P<0.001) increase in comet tail length and % MnPCE was observed in both acute and subacute studies of cyclophosphamide group, whereas codeine, dextromethorphan and dextropropoxyphene treated groups did not show any significant changes. The results indicated that codeine, dextromethorphan and dextropropoxyphene were devoid of genotoxicity in mice.