413 research outputs found
Tranquilizing medicinal plants: their CNS effects and active constituents - Our experience
No full textMental disorder is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. Mental and neurological disorders are highly prevalent worldwide with 450 million people estimated to be suffering from them. They are responsible for about one per cent of deaths and they account for almost eleven per cent of disease burden the world over. Magnitude of neurological disorders is huge and they are priority health problems globally. The extension of life expectancy and the ageing of the general populations in both developed and developing countries are likely to increase the prevalence of many chronic and progressive physical and mental conditions including neurological disorders. The proportionate share of the total global burden of disease due to neuropsychiatric disorders is projected to rise to 14.7% by 2020 (World Health Organization, WHO). There are many different categories of mental disorders, and many different facets of human behavior and personality that can become disordered. Mental illnesses are classified according to the symptoms that a patient experiences, as well as the clinical features of the illness. Some of the major categories of mental illness include anxiety disorders, cognitive disorders, developmental disorders, dissociative disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders. Anxiety is defined as a subjective emotional state of uneasiness, not pleasant and even fearful. When the anxiety reaches pathological levels the subject experiments conductual changes, apprehension, motor troubles, sweating, hypertension, etc. The term sedation implies a general slowing down of cognitive functioning, whereas a hypnotic specifically means the induction of sleep itself. Tranquilization, on the other hand, signifies emotional calming, that may or may not lead to sleep, but does not induce the feeling of drowsiness. So calmness of mind may the better facilitate normal physiological sleep mechanisms to function; whilst stress of any kind will mediate against them. Traditional medicine has many cures for these ailments, most of them based on herbal preparations, but also modern medicinal chemistry has provided several drugs which are more or less effective, for the same purpose. The most spectacular success was achieved in 1957 with the synthesis of the benzodiazepines (Sternbach 1978), which still are, after 50 years of intense clinical research and use, the near-best medication to treat mental disorders. Benzodiazepines, however, also produce several side-effects like sedation, muscle relaxation, alcohol incompatibility, amnesia and addiction (Woods et al. 1992). These drawbacks have to be carefully considered in clinical therapeutical applications. Although benzodiazepines are laboratory products they were found also in nature and, appropriately, their first detection was in the mammalian brain (Sangameswaran et al. 1986). They were then identified in many other sources like foods; rumen, plasma and cow´s and human´s milk (Medina and Paladini 1993). When we attempted detection of benzodiazepines in several plants, including some used to prepare tranquilizing infusions, unexpectedly discovered that some flavonoids present in them, were ligands for the benzodiazepine binding site of the gamma amino butyric acid receptor type A (GABAA) (Medina et al. 1989 and the reviews: Medina et al., 1997 and 1998; Paladini et al., 1999; Marder and Paladini 2002). A search for novel pharmacotherapy from medicinal plants for psychiatric illnesses has progressed significantly in the last twenty years. This is reflected in the large number of herbal preparations for which psychotherapeutic potential has been evaluated in a variety of animal models. A considerable number of herbal constituents whose behavioral effects and pharmacological actions have been well characterized may be good candidates for further investigations that may ultimately result in clinical use. Herbal remedies that have demonstrable psychotherapeutic activities have provided a potential to psychiatric pharmaceuticals and deserve increased attention in future studies. This chapter deals with plants possessing central nervous system (CNS) effects. However, because of the huge amount of plants belonging to this category, we decided to select a few plants and to focus our attention on them, mostly concerning the constituents that have significant therapeutic effects in animal models of CNS disorders.Fil: Marder, Nora Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Wasowski, Cristina Lucia N.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; Argentin
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Nanoscale drug delivery strategies for therapy of ovarian cancer: conventional vs targeted
No full textWe, the Editors and Publisher of the journal Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, have retracted the following article:Swati Gupta, Yashwant Pathak, Manish K. Gupta & Suresh P. Vyas (2019) Nanoscale drug delivery strategies for therapy of ovarian cancer: conventional vs targeted, Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 47:1, 4066–4088, DOI: 10.1080/21691401.2019.1677680Due to high levels of overlap with published content, the Editor had rejected the article for publication in the Journal, but unfortunately due to a technical error, the article was published. The Publisher apologizes for the technical error.We have informed the authors and they do not agree with the retraction.We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”
Advancing Professional Development through CPE in Public Health
No full textThe education division is a prominent part of the public health profession. It focuses on educating individuals and communities to promote health and prevent disease. The educators are drawn from a diverse range of disciplines and defined as professionally prepared individuals who serve in a variety of roles using appropriate educational strategies and methods to facilitate the development of policies, procedures, interventions, and systems conducive to the health of individuals.This unique volume in the Global Science Education Series describes some of the challenges faced by this profession in helping the audience to understand public health and solve health issues.
Key Features:
- Aids researchers in designing an evaluation study in CPE for health professions and related fields
- Presents data on how public health practice comprises of individuals working together toward promoting population health
- Covers continuing professional education in the US and how it can be adopted globally
- Discusses the Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model at length
- Demonstrates how questionnaires are preferable in evaluating CPE programs due to their cost effectiveness and being user friendlyNo Full Tex
Potential of Nutraceuticals against Obesity Complications
No full textObesity has been regarded as a disease by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since its inception in 1948; however, it was not deemed a public health problem by WHO until 1997 (James 2008). The most widely used method of classifying overweight and obesity is by body mass index (BMI = weight/ height2), and those with a BMI of 25-29.99 kg/m2 are classified as overweight and those with a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2 as obese (WHO 2011). However, although BMI correlates with body fat it is not a direct measure and results may be skewed by a high muscle mass such as can be seen in some athletes.sch_diepub3347pu
Colorectal cancer : Current status of preclinical research
No full textColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide and the second major cause of cancer-related mortality. The continual search for better comprehension of the molecular processes underlying the onset, progression, and drug resistance of the disease has been very crucial for current therapeutic options and the ones at various stages of development. Current CRC management strategies apply the principle of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy, and the decision to use any of these or a combination depends on the specific molecular characteristics of the tumor and individual patient factors. A large portion of the current preclinical research on colorectal cancer is focused on finding novel targets and biomarkers. Preclinical research into CRC make use of several tools, protocols, and models that imitate certain traits of human tumors. Commonly used preclinical models in CRC research include cell line models, patient-derived xenografts, orthotopic xenografts, genetically engineered mouse models, organoid models, and spheroid models. Each model has its peculiar characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses so the choice of preclinical model for a study depends largely on the objectives and the answers being sought from the study. Preclinical studies into CRC show lots of promise and must be pursued along with refinement of the tools used in order to learn more about the disease and discover more effective treatment options
Nutraceuticals for maternal and offspring’s dental health
No full textEvidence shows that oral health status during pregnancy can influence gestational outcomes, maternal systemic health, and overall well-being. Both caries and periodontitis, the most common oral diseases, are preventable by optimal oral hygiene, and this should be promoted by private and public dental care services. However, no significant change in oral hygiene habits have been seen at population level in most developed countries and this brings a need for identifying other preventive measures, including other modifiable lifestyle factors, such as diet. The consumption of specific foods or minerals and vitamins has been associated with good oral and general health in the general population. It is plausible to assume that these foods, minerals, and vitamins would also have a beneficial effect during pregnancy. This chapter presents the available evidence on the effect of consumption of nutraceuticals for dental health during pregnancy
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