A Prospective Randomized Non-Blinded Study of Safety and Efficacy of Bilastine Up-Dosing (40 mg) Versus Combination of Bilastine 20 mg With Levocetirizine 5 mg in the Treatment of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria.

Introduction: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is the most commonly diagnosed skin condition in dermatology outpatient departments. Second-generation antihistamines are shown to be effective in the control of CSU. As per the guidelines, a combination of antihistamines is less recommended due to the lack of synergistic effect, though used widely.

Association between COVID-19 infection and herpes zoster: A case series.

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a manifestation of the reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection in the dorsal root ganglion. The occurrence of HZ has been reported in association with COVID-19. Herein, we describe 10 cases who developed classic HZ within 2-3 weeks of acquiring COVID-19 infection.

A temporal study on fate of Al2O3 nanoparticles in a fresh water microcosm at environmentally relevant low concentrations.

This study on a microcosm, brings out the temporal changes in physico-chemical behavior of aluminum oxide nanoparticles (for a period of 210 days), at environmentally relevant concentrations (1000 μg/L and below). The dynamics of particle behavior in terms of mean hydrodynamic diameter, specific surface area and dissolution of soluble aluminum and, their possible ecological implications have been presented in this study. A thorough statistical analysis brings out nanoparticle behavior, where a rapid aggregation of particles (79±13 nm at 0 h to 1464±80 nm at 48 h), with a decrease in specific surface area (32 m2/g at 0 h to 1.

Prevention of selenite-induced cataractogenesis by acetyl-L-carnitine: an experimental study.

Several studies have suggested that antioxidants retard the process of cataractogenesis by scavenging free oxygen radicals. The present study sought to assess the efficacy of the antioxidant acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) in preventing selenite-induced cataractogenesis in an experimental setting. The first, in vitro phase of the study was performed on lenses from Wistar rats incubated for 24 h at 37 degrees C in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) alone (control, Group I), or in DMEM containing 100 microM of selenite (Group II) or in DMEM containing 100 microM of selenite and 200 microM/ml ALCAR added at the same time as selenite (Group IIIa) or 30 min, 1 h or 2 h later (Groups IIIb, IIIc and IIId, respectively).