Prescription-based cost analysis of medicines for cardiovascular risk factors at Indian Council of Medical Research-Rational Use of Medicine Centre Hospitals of India.

Objectives: India has taken several initiatives to provide health care to its population while keeping the related expenditure minimum. Since cardiovascular diseases are the most prevalent chronic conditions, in the present study, we aimed to analyze the difference in prices of medicines prescribed for three cardiovascular risk factors, based on (a) listed and not listed in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and (b) generic and branded drugs.

Materials And Methods: Outpatient prescriptions for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were retrospectively analyzed from 12 tertiary centers.

Financial Toxicity in Radiation Oncology.

Financial toxicity details the financial burden patients face due to a variety of medical costs. Cancer patients, especially those receiving radiation therapy, are at a much higher risk of experiencing economic hardships than healthy people or people with other conditions. There are a variety of risk factors associated with financial toxicity as well as numerous tools to assess the toxicity experienced by patients.

Robotic Resection in Succinate Dehydrogenase Subunit B (SDHB)-Mutated Hereditary Paraganglioma: A Case Report of Two Patients and A Literature Review.

Autosomal dominant hereditary paraganglioma-pheochromocytoma syndrome (HPPS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by neuroendocrine tumor development associated with pathogenic variants in succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzyme complex genes. Particularly, HPPS linked to SDHB mutation poses a significant clinical challenge due to its association with aggressive tumor features and a high risk of malignancy. Our report underscores the diversity in the presentation of patients with SDHB-mutated paraganglioma and the feasibility of managing it with a minimally invasive surgical approach.

Evaluation of prescriptions from tertiary care hospitals across India for deviations from treatment guidelines & their potential consequences.

Background Objectives: Irrational prescribing practices have major consequences on patient safety and also increase the economic burden. Real-life examples of impact of irrational prescription have potential to improve prescribing practices. In this context, the present study aimed to capture and evaluate the prevalence of deviations from treatment guidelines in the prescriptions, potential consequence/s of the deviations and corrective actions recommended by clinicians.

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma masquerading as stroke successfully treated with R-Hyper-CVAD.

Intravascular large B cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is exceedingly rare and difficult to diagnose. We describe a case of IVLBCL in a 56-year-old male which was identified after recurrent strokes. Right partial nephrectomy was then performed which demonstrated renal oncocytoma and IVLBCL.

HDAC8-mediated inhibition of EP300 drives a transcriptional state that increases melanoma brain metastasis.

Melanomas can adopt multiple transcriptional states. Little is known about the epigenetic drivers of these cell states, limiting our ability to regulate melanoma heterogeneity. Here, we identify stress-induced HDAC8 activity as driving melanoma brain metastasis development.

Orbital Apex Syndrome Due to Aspergillus flavus Infection in Immunocompetent Patients: A Report of Two Cases.

species are fungi that are commonly found in soil and decaying vegetation and have the potential to cause an orbital apex syndrome that is marked by ophthalmoplegia or vision loss. We report the clinical and investigational findings and outcomes of two patients with orbital apex syndrome. The first patient was a 26-year-old female, premorbidly healthy, who presented with a gradually increasing proptosis of the left eye with a reduction in vision.

Mutations within the selectivity filter reveal that Kv1 channels have distinct propensities to slow inactivate.

Voltage-activated potassium (Kv) channels open in response to membrane depolarization and subsequently inactivate through distinct mechanisms. For the model Shaker Kv channel from Drosophila, fast N-type inactivation is thought to occur by a mechanism involving blockade of the internal pore by the N-terminus, whereas slow C-type inactivation results from conformational changes in the ion selectivity filter in the external pore. Kv channel inactivation plays critical roles in shaping the action potential and regulating firing frequency, and has been implicated in a range of diseases including episodic ataxia and arrhythmias.

Rho signaling inhibition mitigates lung injury via targeting neutrophil recruitment and selectin-AKT signaling.

Neutrophils, the early responders of the immune system, eliminate intruders, but their over-activation can also instigate tissue damage leading to various autoimmune and inflammatory disease conditions. As approaches causing neutropenia are associated with immunodeficiency, targeting aberrant neutrophil infiltration offers an attractive strategy in neutrophil-centered diseases including acute lung injury. Rho GTPase family proteins Rho, Rac and Cdc42 play important role as regulators of chemotaxis in diverse systems.

Peroxiredoxin 6 Plays Essential Role in Mediating Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development in Rabbit Oviduct.

The oviduct is a site for early reproductive events including gamete maturation, fertilization, and early embryo development. Secretory cells lining the oviduct lumen synthesize and secrete proteins that interact with gametes and developing embryos. Although previous studies have identified some of the secretory proteins in the oviduct, however, knowledge and their precise specific functions in the oviduct are poorly understood.

Simultaneous Use of Two Different Tools to Assess Compliance with Antiepileptic Drugs: Experience in A Community-Based Study.

 Antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy remains the primary form of treatment for epilepsy, noncompliance to which can result in breakthrough seizure, emergency department visits, fractures, head injuries, and increased mortality. Various tools like self-report measures, pill-counts, medication refills, and frequency of seizures can assess compliance with varying extent. Thus, assessment of compliance with AEDs is crucial to be studied.

Exploring structural dynamics of a membrane protein by combining bioorthogonal chemistry and cysteine mutagenesis.

The functional mechanisms of membrane proteins are extensively investigated with cysteine mutagenesis. To complement cysteine-based approaches, we engineered a membrane protein with thiol-independent crosslinkable groups using azidohomoalanine (AHA), a non-canonical methionine analogue containing an azide group that can selectively react with cycloalkynes through a strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction. We demonstrate that AHA can be readily incorporated into the Shaker Kv channel in place of methionine residues and modified with azide-reactive alkyne probes in oocytes.

Naringenin ameliorates progression of endometriosis by modulating Nrf2/Keap1/HO1 axis and inducing apoptosis in rats.

Endometriosis is mainly characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue exterior to the uterus, however, the exact pathophysiology of this disease still remains uncertain. Moreover, the incidence significantly contributes to infertility among women and hence, a novel treatment for endometriosis is widely investigated. Naringenin is a plant-derived flavonoid having anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-angiogenic properties in chronic and metabolic diseases.

Sortase-click strategy for defined protein conjugation on a heptavalent cyclodextrin scaffold.

Multivalent proteins or protein dendrimers are useful for clinical and biotechnological applications. However, assembly of chemically defined protein dendrimers is a challenging endeavor. In the past, majority of protein dendrimers have been developed on branched lysine scaffolds and are usually limited to a valency of two to four.

MicroRNA-145 targets Smad1 in endometrial stromal cells and regulates decidualization in rat.

Decidualization of endometrial stromal cells is the pre-requisite for the embryo implantation and establishment of pregnancy. Although known to be regulated by several factors, the process of regulation of decidualization by miRNAs is largely unknown. Previous reports suggest that the upregulated expression of miR-145 is associated with repeated implantation failure.

Uterine TPPP3 plays important role in embryo implantation via modulation of β-catenin.

Tubulin polymerization promoting protein 3 (TPPP3) is known to be expressed in the endometrium in a cyclic manner, and its functional role in the physiology of implantation remains unknown. Here we demonstrate a novel function of TPPP3 during the window of implantation and in the establishment of pregnancy using a mouse model. The increased protein expression of TPPP3 and β-catenin during peri-implantation period, i.

Selective estrogen receptor modulator ormeloxifene suppresses embryo implantation via inducing miR-140 and targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in rat uterus.

Ormeloxifene, the non-steroidal SERM contraceptive, inhibits endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation via countering nidatory estrogen. However, the molecular mechanism of ormeloxifene action responsible for its contraceptive efficacy still remains unclear. Herein, we aimed to identify the miRNAs modulated under the influence of ormeloxifene and to explore their role in endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation.

Sorcin is involved during embryo implantation via activating VEGF/PI3K/Akt pathway in mice.

Our earlier studies have demonstrated the cyclic variation and also the altered expression of sorcin in endometrium during early-to-mid-secretory phase transition in women with unexplained infertility. The current study was undertaken to establish the functional role of sorcin in endometrial receptivity in mice. Results indicated that sorcin was highly expressed during the window of implantation in mice and functional blockage of sorcin caused significant reduction in number of implanted blastocyst.

Enhanced apoptosis, survivin down-regulation and assisted immunochemotherapy by curcumin loaded amphiphilic mixed micelles for subjugating endometrial cancer.

Survivin is up-regulated in 83% of endometrial cancer leading to resistance development. As endometrial tumor advances, it also elicits chronic inflammation characterized by increased cytokine secretion and immune cells infiltration. The present study was designed to engineer mixed micellar curcumin loaded formulation for investigating survivin down-regulation, its anti-cancer and cytokine modulatory potential against endometrial cancer Ishikawa cells.

Curcumin exhibits anti-tumor effect and attenuates cellular migration via Slit-2 mediated down-regulation of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in endometrial adenocarcinoma cells.

Although curcumin shows anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities in various cancers, the effect of curcumin on cellular migration in endometrial adenocarcinoma cells remains to be understood. The current investigation was aimed to explore the anti-proliferative and anti-migratory effects of curcumin and its mechanism of action in endometrial cancer cells. Our in-vitro and in-vivo experimental studies showed that curcumin inhibited the proliferation of endometrial cancer cells and suppressed the tumor growth in Ishikawa xenograft mouse model.

A 43-year-old patient presenting with marked eosinophilia and multisystem disease.

http://ow.ly/Z7JX301ABjF.

An Analytical Study to Correlate Serum Levels of Levetiracetam with Clinical Course in Patients with Epilepsy.

Introduction: With the advancement of therapeutics, newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) like Levetiracetam (LEV), with good therapeutic efficacy and tolerability are available. But unfortunately, therapeutic drug monitoring is not routinely done in India for these drugs.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the range of serum levels of LEV in patients at stabilized doses and correlate them with their clinical course.

Sciatica: An Extremely Rare Complication of the Perianal Abscess.

Background: Sciatica has been classically described as pain in the back and hip with radiation in the leg along the distribution of the sciatic nerve, secondary to compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve. Spinal abnormality being the most common etiology, is one of the most common indications for MRI of the lumbosacral spine. Here we describe imaging findings secondary to a supralevator perianal abscess causing irritation of the sciatic nerve, which was diagnosed on MRI of the lumbosacral spine.