Ozone (O ₃ ) gas discovered in the mid-nineteenth century is a molecule consisting of three atoms of oxygen in a dynamically unstable structure due to the presence of mesomeric states. Although O ₃ has dangerous effects, yet researchers believe it has many therapeutic effects. Ozone therapy has been utilized and heavily studied for more than a century. Its effects are proven, consistent, safe and with minimal and preventable side effects. Medical O ₃ is used to disinfect and treat disease. Mechanism of actions is by inactivation of bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast and protozoa, stimulation of oxygen metabolism, activation of the immune system. Medication forms in a gaseous state are somewhat unusual, and it is for this reason that special application techniques have had to be developed for the safe use of O ₃ . In local applications as in the treatment of external wounds, its application in the form of a transcutaneous O ₃ gas bath has established itself as being the most practical and useful method, for example at low (sub-atmospheric) pressure in a closed system guaranteeing no escape of O ₃ into the surrounding air. Ozonized water, whose use is particularly known in dental medicine, is optimally applied as a spray or compress. Diseases treated are infected wounds, circulatory disorders, geriatric conditions, macular degeneration, viral diseases, rheumatism/arthritis, cancer, SARS and AIDS.

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The spontaneous healing of cancer is a phenomenon that has been observed for hundreds and thousands of years and after having been the subject of many controversies, it is now accepted as an indisputable fact. A review of past reports demonstrates that regression is usually associated with acute infections, fever, and immunostimulation. It is stated that in 1891, William Coley of New York's Memorial Hospital developed the most effective single-agent anticancer therapy from nature, which faded into oblivion for various reasons. Cancer therapies have been standardized and have improved since Coley's day, but surprisingly modern cancer patients do not fare better than patients treated 50 or more years ago as concluded by researchers in 1999. This article peeks into the history of immunostimulation and the role of innate immunity in inducing a cure even in advanced stages of malignancy. The value of Coley's observation is that rather than surviving additional years with cancer, many of the patients who received his therapy lived the rest of their lives without cancer. In our relentless efforts to go beyond nature to fight cancer, we often overlook the facts nature provides to heal our maladies.

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Saliva is a complex fluid, which influences oral health through specific and nonspecific physical and chemical properties. The importance of saliva in our everyday activities and the medicinal properties it possesses are often taken for granted. However, when disruptions in the quality or quantity of saliva do occur in an individual, it is likely that he or she will experience detrimental effects on oral and systemic health. Often head and neck radiotherapy has serious and detrimental side effects on the oral cavity including the loss of salivary gland function and a persistent complaint of a dry mouth (xerostomia). Thus, saliva has a myriad of beneficial functions that are essential to our well-being. Although saliva has been extensively investigated as a medium, few laboratories have studied saliva in the context of its role in maintaining oral and general health.

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Neurogenesis is well-established to occur during adulthood in two regions of the brain, the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus. Research for more than two decades has implicated a role for adult neurogenesis in several brain functions including learning and effects of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Clear understanding of the players involved in the regulation of adult neurogenesis is emerging. We review evidence for the role of stress, dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh) as regulators of neurogenesis in the SGZ. Largely, stress decreases neurogenesis, while the effects of ACh and DA depend on the type of receptors mediating their action. Increasingly, the new neurons formed in adulthood are potentially linked to crucial brain processes such as learning and memory. In brain disorders like Alzheimer and Parkinson disease, stress-induced cognitive dysfunction, depression and age-associated dementia, the necessity to restore brain functions is enormous. Activation of the resident stem cells in the adult brain to treat neuropsychiatric disorders has immense potential and understanding the mechanisms of regulation of adult neurogenesis by endogenous and exogenous factors holds the key to develop therapeutic strategies for the debilitating neurological and psychiatric disorders.

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Objective: This study analyzes the research activities of India in medicine during 1999-2008, based on the total publication output, its growth rate, quality of papers published and rank of India in the global context. Patterns of international collaborative research output and the major partner countries of India are also discussed. This study also evaluates the research performance of different types of Indian medical colleges, hospitals, research institutes, universities and research foundations and the characteristics of published literature in Indian and foreign journals. It also analyzes the medical research output by disease and organs. Materials and Methods: The publication data on medicine has been retrieved by using SCOPUS database. Results: India holds 12th rank among the productive countries in medicine research consisting of 65,745 papers with a global publication share of 1.59% and registering a growth rate of 76.68% for the papers published during 1999-2003 to 2004-2008. Conclusion: High quality research in India is grossly inadequate and requires strategic planning, investment and resource support. There is also a need to improve the existing medical education system, which should foster research culture.

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A variety of molecules are reported to be involved in chronic pain. This review outlines the specifics of protein kinase C (PKC), its isoforms and their role in modulating thermo-sensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) channels TRPV1-4, TRPM8, and TRPA1. Anatomically, PKC and thermo-sensitive TRPs are co-expressed in cell bodies of nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, which are used as physiological correlates of peripheral and central projections involved in pain transmission. In the past decade, modulation of painful heat-sensitive TRPV1 by PKC has received the most attention. Recently, PKC modulation of other newly discovered thermo-sensitive pain-mediating TRPs has come into focus. Such modulation may occur under conditions of chronic pain resulting from nerve damage or inflammation. Since thermo-TRPs are primary detectors of acute pain stimuli, their modulation by PKC can severely alter their function, resulting in chronic pain. Comprehensive knowledge of pain signaling involving interaction of specific isoforms of PKC with specific thermo-sensitive TRP channels is incomplete. Such information is necessary to dissect out modality specific mechanisms to better manage the complex polymodal nature of chronic pain. This review is an attempt to update the readers on current knowledge of PKC modulation of thermo-sensitive TRPs and highlight implications of such modulation for pain signaling

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Background: The pbreakdown of phospholipids lead to accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) that is preferred as a surrogate marker of oxidative stress in diabetics. Objective: To compare serum MDA levels along with other biochemical parameters between type 2 diabetic patients with and without complications. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Biochemistry of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Sikkim on 60 type 2 diabetics and compared with 100 non-diabetic participants. The un-hemolyzed blood samples were used for estimation of biochemical parameters; MDA was estimated in serum by using trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and 1% thiobarbituric acid (TBA). Whole blood was used for estimation of glycated hemoglobin. The comparison of different parameters between cases and control was calculated by using Student's t test. Results: In the study and control groups, no significant difference was noted with regard to independent variables. The fasting and postprandial serum glucose along with glycated hemoglobin from whole blood and the lipid profile differed significantly between the study and control groups. Overall, tmean serum MDA level in the study group was significantly higher thanin the controls. Male sex, addiction to tobacco (smoking and smokeless inclusive), longer duration of diabetes (≥5 years), and presence of complications (both microvascular and macrovascular) significantly increased the MDA level. Conclusion: To sum up, the serum MDA level was observed to be significantly high in diabetics with and without complication along with other parameters.

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Recent advances in research technology have allowed researchers to study bacteria in their natural environment. Dental biofilm forms via an ordered sequence of events, resulting in structured and functionally organized species rich microbial community and modern molecular biological techniques have identified about 1000 different bacterial species in the dental biofilm, twice as many as can be cultured. Sites for biofilm formation include all kinds of surfaces: natural materials above and below ground, metals, plastics, medical implant materials-even plant and body tissue. Wherever you find a combination of moisture, nutrients and a surface, you are likely to find biofilm. The biofilm is used to describe the communities of micro-organisms attached to a surface; such microbes are usually spatially organized into three-dimension structure and are enclosed in matrix of extracellular material derived both from the cells themselves and from the environment. Dental biofilm pathogenicity in the oral cavity is magnified by specific biofilm characteristics and modern molecular biological techniques have identified about 1000 different bacterial species in the dental biofilm, twice as many as can be cultured. Adaptation to a biofilm lifestyle involves regulation of a vast set of genes, and the micro-organisms are thus able to optimize phenotypic properties for the particular environment.

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Maytenus heterophylla (Eckl. and Zeyh.) N.K.B. Robson and Maytenus senegalensis (Lam.) Exell are two African shrubs or trees that go under the common name of spike thorn, which belong to the Celastraceae family. Different plant parts of this species are largely used in traditional medicine for infectious and inflammatory diseases treatment. Several studies have been reported for both these species, but there are no recent review articles focusing microscopic, phytochemistry and pharmacological studies. The aim of this review is to summarize the information about these two African traditional medicines. Such kind of data can be applied in future experimental work and may guide future studies, namely in the field of validation of traditional medicine.

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The antinociceptive activity of ethanolic extract of the plant bark of Dalbergia sissoo (Roxb.) was investigated using tail flick method on Wistar rats. Three different dose levels (300, 500, and 1000 mg/kg) in 0.5% carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) were administered by p.o. route. The antinociceptive activities of the all doses were compared with that of the standard drug asprin (300 mg/kg) administered by p.o. route and the results were found to be significant (P < 0.01). At the above doses, the extract exhibited significant and dose-dependent antinociceptive activity. Phytochemical investigation of the ethanolic extract indicated the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, phenolic compounds, and flavanoids. The antinociceptive activity of the bark extract of D. sissoo may be due to the presence of phytochemical constituents such as flavanoids. The acute toxicity study revealed that ethanolic extract was not toxic up to 3000 mg/kg body weight.

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Background: To avert nausea and vomiting the 5-Hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) antagonists have become the first line of treatment ifassociated with cardiovascular effects andappear to cause QT prolongation. Objective: Evaluate the effect of 1 mg, 4 mg, and 8 mg bolus doses of intravenous Ondansetron, relative to placebo, in prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and to find out the changes of QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc). Materials and Methods: This prospective randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was carried out among 136 adult participants of both sexes in a tertiary care postgraduate teaching institute at Kolkata. mg, 4 mg or 8 mg inj. Ondansetron was diluted to 10 ml with normal saline, was infused 30 min before extubation in relation with a control group. Time to first rescue antiemetic medication and in QTc interval at different time intervals, in each group was noted in different in the various surgical operation theaters (OTs). Results: Requirement of the first rescue antiemetic in the postoperative period between 60 to 120 min in the mg, 4 mg or 8 mg Ondansetron groups was in 28%, 24% and 7% participants respectively; between 120 to 240 min in 63%, 72% and 57% respectively; and within 360 min in 9%, 4% and 36% respectively. Significant and maximal QTc prolongation was observed in the participants with mg or 8 mg Ondansetron 3 and 5 min of drug administration. Conclusions: One mg Ondansetron in healthy adult participants can effectively prevent PONV causing no or insignificant prolongation of QTc interval.

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The nasolabial cyst is a rare nonodontogenic cyst originating in maxillofacial soft tissues. In the previous reports and literature, it is mentioned that nasolabial cyst clinical features of an asymptomatic swelling beneath the ala of nose and characteristic lip swelling are diagnostic. This is a case report of a 36-year-old male, who reported to our department with the chief complaint of swelling lateral to right ala of nose since 4 months. Characteristic lip swelling was missing. The reason for this unusual finding is not documented in the literature.

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Background: In the preoperative decision-making of the thyroid swellings, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is becoming an ever more vital tool. Objectives: To compare the advantage of preoperative FNAC of thyroid swellings with postoperative histopathology to reach a consensus protocol as a simple procedure for diagnosis and optimal management of thyroid swellings. Materials and Methods: A prospective study of preoperative FNAC was carried out on 178 incidental thyroid swellings attending a tertiary care centre in Kishanganj, Bihar. Evidence-based surgical interventions were done, irrespective of FNAC findings and diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination (HPE) postoperatively in all the cases. Results: In the FNAC, preponderance of the cases (75.84%) was colloid goitre followed by granulomatous thyroiditis; follicular carcinoma was noted in 7.30 percent and anaplastic carcinoma in 3.37 percent of cases. Histopathological examination showed colloid goitre predominantly (76.97%), followed by follicular carcinoma (8.99%). The overall prevalence of malignancy was 11.24 percent diagnosed by HPE and 9.55 percent by FNAC. In our FNAC series sensitivity of was 90 percent while specificity was 100 percent; accuracy was 98.88 percent. Predictive value of a positive test and negative tests was 100 percent and 98.75 percent respectively. Conclusion: The study highlights that FNAC should be treated as a first-line diagnostic test for thyroid swellings to guide the management though this is not a substitute for HPE as a need to improve primary healthcare in India.

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Background: Limited data is available from India regarding the distribution and profile of childhood obesity and hypertension. Materials and Methods: A population based cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban schools of Kolkata. Using stratified random sampling method, 979 participants were selected. Body mass index (BMI) status and blood pressure (BP) were estimated using standard protocol and their various correlates regarding sociodemographic characteristics were looked into. Results: Majority (38.92%) of the study population were in the preadolescent group followed by adolescent group (33.40%). Male constituted 52.09%, overweight was more prevalent among preadolescent age group (22.57%). Overall 27 cases of prehypertension were found of which 19 (70.37%, n=27) were in the adolescent age group. There was no significant association between ages with increased BMI status. We detected total 15 cases (1.53%) of hypertension in our study population and three-fourths of them were from adolescent age group. However, significant association was seen between high BP with increasing age. Average fast food intakes and screen time was higher in obese as compared to their normal peers. Upper and upper-middle social status contributed to higher number of obese/overweight and hypertensive children and was the significant risk factor. Conclusion: Childhood obesity and hypertension were found to be common in the city of Kolkata which suggest the need for greater public awareness programs on these morbidities.

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The heterotopic salivary gland or salivary choristoma is defined as a tumor - like growth of otherwise normal salivary gland found in an abnormal location. In general, salivary gland tissue is not observed in the gingiva, with only isolated case reports having been found. The occurrence of the case in the midline, especially in the anterior two - thirds of the hard palate, has not been documented so far (PubMed search engine). It is apparent that these reported cases constitute a unique clinico -pathologic entity. Clinically, they appear as soft tissue tumors and are composed of lobules of salivary gland tissue.

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Periodontitis is a destructive inflammatory disease of the supporting tissues of the teeth and is caused by specific microorganisms or a group of specific microorganisms. Association of periodontal infection with organ systems like cardiovascular system, endocrine system, reproductive system, and respiratory system makes periodontal infection a complex multiphase disease. Inflamed periodontal tissues produce significant amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines, mainly interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which may have systemic effects on the host. Low birth weight, defined as birth weight less than 2500 g, continues to be a significant public health issue in both developed and developing countries. Research suggests that the bacteria that cause inflammation in the gums can actually get into the bloodstream and target the fetus, potentially leading to premature labor and low birth weight (PLBW) babies. One reasonable mechanism for this is the deleterious effect of endotoxin released from gram-negative bacteria responsible for periodontal disease. Hence, periodontal disease appears to be an independent risk factor for PLBW and there is a need to expand preventive measures for pregnant women in coordination with the gynecological and dental professions.

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Background: Nitric oxide (NO) is becoming an increasingly important signaling molecule implicated in a growing number of physiological and pathophysiological processes. Research on the effect of NO donors on glucose metabolism in peripheral tissues have grown rapidly in the last decade. This study examined the effects of N ^G methyl-L-arginine acetate (L-NMMA) and N ^G methyl-L-arginine ester (L-NAME) on fasting and postprandial blood glucose concentrations. The study also investigated if L-NMMA and L-NAME decrease the hyperglycemic effect caused by the NO donor S-nitrosoN-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) in normoglycemic rats. Results: L-NAME and L-NMMA significantly lowered the postprandial blood glucose concentrations. Mean postprandial blood glucose concentrations in rats treated with L-NAME were 5.04 ± 0.07 mmol/L at 120 min, 4.62 ± 0.19 mmol/L at 150 min and 4.36 ± 0.17 mmol/L at 180 min time points compared with 5.46 ± 0.14 (P = 0.029), 5.20 ± 0.17 mmol/L (P = 0.036), and 4.89 ± 0.14 mmol/L (P = 0.015) at the same time points respectively for saline control. Mean blood glucose concentrations in rats treated with L-NMMA were 4.35 ± 0.23 mmol/L (P = 0.0018) at 120 min, 4.60 ± 0.14 mmol/L (P = 0.090) at 150 min and 3.88 ± 0.16 mmol/L (P 0.001) at 180 min. There were significant differences in mean postprandial blood glucose concentrations in rats treated with SNAP, compared with those treated with L-NAME and SNAP at 90 min (P = 0.012), 180 min (P = 0.013) and 210 min (P < 0.0001). In addition, there were significant differences in mean postprandial blood glucose concentrations in rats treated with SNAP compared with those treated with L-NMMA and SNAP at 90 min (P = 0.0011), 180 min (P = 0.015) and 210 min (P = 0.0077). Conclusion: The nitric oxide synthase [NOS] inhibitors were effective in reducing postprandial blood glucose concentration in rats treated with SNAP. This suggests that although SNAP is an effective antihypertensive agent it decreases glucose tolerance which can be improved by the use of NOS inhibitors such as L-NMMA or L-NAME. These drugs could be beneficial in controlling blood glucose tolerance in rats administered with SNAP, and possibly in humans.

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The structure and composition of the periodontium are affected in many acquired and heritable diseases, and the most significant among these is periodontal disease. Periodontal regeneration is considered to be organically promising but clinically capricious. The principal requirements for tissue engineering are the incorporation of appropriate numbers of responsive progenitor cells and the presence of bioactive levels of regulatory signals within an appropriate extracellular matrix or carrier construct. Stem cell therapy is a treatment that uses stem cells, or cells that come from stem cells, to replace or to repair a patient's cells or tissues that are damaged. And, recent progress in stem cell research and in tissue engineering promises novel prospects for tissue regeneration in dental practice in the future, with regeneration of a functional and living tooth as one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for the replacement of a diseased or damaged tooth.

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The World Trade Organization's agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights set global minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property, substantially increasing and expanding intellectual property rights, and generated clear gains for the pharmaceutical industry and the developed world. The present review elaborates all aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in detail, along with their protection criteria.

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