Usages de poudres à base de rhizomes de Cochlospermum tinctorium Perrier ex A.Rich au Bénin : fréquence, formes et indications

Cochlospermum tinctorium est une plante médicinale utilisée dans plusieurs pays pour le traitement de l’hépatite. Au Bénin, différentes poudres à base de ses rhizomes sont vendues dans les marchés et utilisées par les tradithérapeutes pour plusieurs usages. L’objectif de cette étude était de répertorier les différentes formes et les divers usages des recettes à base de Cochlospermum tinctorium utilisées au Bénin. Dans ce sens, une enquête ethnomédicinale a été menée auprès de 434 usagers des marchés et 40 tradithérapeutes du Sud et du Nord Bénin suivant la méthode par interview semi-structurée. Les données obtenues ont montré que les recettes à base de C. tinctorium sont plus connues et utilisées au Nord-Bénin. Ces recettes se présentent sous trois formes (A, B et C). Leurs usages sont alimentaires (41%) et médicinales (59%). La forme A est très utilisée (93,91%) par la population enquêtée pour les besoins nutritionnels et thérapeutiques alors que les formes B et C ont, essentiellement, un usage médicinal. Cette étude a permis de comprendre la diversité de recettes associées au terme "poudre jaune" au Bénin. Il est dès lors nécessaire d’évaluer la toxicité et l’efficacité de ces différentes formes d’usage de la poudre de rhizome de C. tinctorium. English title: Uses of rhizome-based powder of Cochlospermum tinctorium Perrier ex A.Rich in Benin: frequency, forms and indications Cochlospermum tinctorium Perrier is a medicinal plant used in several countries for the treatment of hepatitis. In Benin, different powders made from its rhizomes are sold in markets and used by traditional healers for several purposes. The objective of this study was to list the different forms and uses of Cochlospermum tinctorium-based recipes used in Benin. An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted among 434 market users and 40 traditional healers from Southern and Northern Benin using the semi-structured interview method. The data obtained showed that the recipes based on C. tinctorium are more known and used in North Benin. These recipes come in three forms (A, B and C). Their uses are food (41%) and medicinal (59%). Form A is widely used (93.91%) by the population surveyed for nutritional and therapeutic needs while forms B and C have, essentially, a medicinal use. This study has allowed us to understand the diversity of recipes associated with the term "yellow powder" in Benin. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the toxicity and effectiveness of these different forms of use of C. tinctorium rhizome powder.

Autism: Comorbidities and Treatment Patterns in the Real World, a Retrospective Cohort Study Among Children, Adolescents and Adults Newly Diagnosed with Autism

We used real world data to summarize comorbidities and interventions among patients newly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data were derived from two claims-based US healthcare databases; Medicaid and Optum to construct a retrospective cohort of 36,000 patients. Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD) was the most common co-morbidity (Medicaid: 50.09%; Optum: 44.16%), followed by mood disorder (Medicaid: 16.56% and Optum: 17.47%). Most patients received at least one type of treatment. Behavioral therapy was common (74.64% in Medicaid and 71.97% in Optum). More than half the cohorts received at least 1 pharmacotherapy. However, pharmacotherapies were diverse. Combination therapy and therapy switching was common. Understanding the clinical diversity and complexity of patients with ASD is an important first step in understanding unmet therapeutic needs.

Screening the Therapeutic Potential of Methanolic Stem Extract of Cissus arnottiana

Modern lifestyle, pollution, food habit, and stress have intensively enhanced the evolution of several diseases on human being. Medicinal plants are used from the ancient times for the therapeutic needs to cure various diseases as well as less toxic in nature. One of such plant is Cissus arnottiana which is used from the olden days which has been identified as an important medicine plant by many researchers all over the world. Cissus arnottiana contains phytochemicals such as alkaloids, tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds etc. In this present work methanolic stem extract of Cissus arnottiana is used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of gram negative and gram positive human pathogenic bacteria. DPPH assay is used to investigate the antioxidant properties of the methanolic extract. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extract has been studied using anti proteinase assay. The MTT cell proliferation assay is carried out against HeLa cell line in which 44% of cells are viable for the concentration of 100 µg/mL. Interestingly, the methanolic stem extract can be used as a potential candidate for new therapeutic applications.

Profile of congenital defects in foetuses: incidence and risk factors: a prospective observational study

Background: Perinatal outcome is one of the major indicators of evaluating health care system of a country. Congenital defects form important components of this parameter. The aim of the study was to determine the risk factors associated with congenital malformations in foetuses.Methods: All antenatal mothers whose foetuses were detected to have congenital defects on ultrasonography irrespective of period of gestation were enrolled for the study.Results: Eighty-six pregnant women with prenatally diagnosed fetal anomalies were enrolled for the study, out of which, 87.2% (N=75) belonged to 20-30 years age group. Majority of the subjects were educated till secondary school. Compared to primigravidae, the incidence of malformations was significantly higher in the multigravida group (69.8% vs 30.2% respectively). Thirty-eight (44.2%) mothers with malformed foetuses missed folic acid intake during early pregnancy. Only 40% mothers had prior history of abortions. Smoking was seen in 9% of subjects with malformations. Seven (8.3%) mothers had previous history of malformations and 5 (5.8%) reported a family history of malformations. Consanguineous marriage was observed in 4.7% of couples. Oligohydramnios or anhydramnios was associated with 11.6% foetuses, while polyhydramnios was seen in 53.5%. CNS malformations were seen in 57% of foetus, followed by genitourinary system malformations (9.2%).Conclusions: Tertiary level hospitals need to be upgraded with a dedicated multidisciplinary team of foetal medicine to cater to medical, clinical, surgical, preventive and therapeutic needs of malformed foetuses.

Improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of a novel PEGylated native Erwinia chrysanthemi L-Asparaginase

SummaryIntroduction. Erwinase® (native Erwinia chrysanthemi L-Asparaginase (nErA)) is an approved second-line treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children and adolescents, who develop hypersensitivity or neutralising antibodies to E.coli derived L-Asparaginases (ASNases). However, nErA has a short in vivo half-life requiring frequent dosing schedules in patients. In this study, nErA was covalently conjugated to PEG molecules with the aim of extending its half-life in vivo. Methods. Firstly, efficacy of this novel product PEG-nErA was investigated on human ALL cell lines (Jurkat, CCRF-CEM and CCRF-HSB2), in vitro. Secondly, its pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics were determined, in vivo (12 rats in each group). Results. It was found that the specific activity (U/mg of enzyme) and the kinetic constant (KM) of nErA remained unaltered post PEGylation. PEG-nErA was shown to have similar cytotoxicity to nErA (IC50: 0.06–0.17 U/mL) on human ALL cell lines, in vitro. Further, when compared to nErA, PEG-nErA showed a significantly improved half-life in vivo, which meant that L-Asparagine (Asn) levels in plasma remained depleted for up to 25 days with a four-fold lower dose (100 U/kg) compared with 72 h for nErA at 400 U/kg dose. Conclusion. Overall, this next generation product PEG-nErA (with improved PK and PD characteristics compared to nErA) would bring a significant advantage to the therapeutic needs of ALL patients and should be further explored in clinical trials.

Implantable Microfluidic Device: An Epoch of Technology

: Implantable microfluidic devices are milestones in developing devices that can either measure parameters like ocular pressure and blood glucose level or deliver various components for therapeutic needs or behavioral modification. Researchers are currently focusing on the miniaturization of almost all its tools for a better healthcare platform. Implantable microfluidic devices are a combination of various systems including, but not limited to, microfluidic platforms, reservoirs, sensors, and actuators, implanted inside the body of a living entity (in vivo) with the purpose of directly or indirectly helping the entity. It is a multidisciplinary approach with immense potential in the area of the biomedical field. Significant resources are utilizing on for the research and development of these devices for various applications. The induction of an implantable microfluidic device into an animal would enable us to measure the responses without any repeated invasive procedures. Such data would help in the development of a better drug delivery profile. Implantable microfluidic devices with reservoirs deliver specific chemical or biological products to treat situations like cancers and diabetes. They can also deliver fluorophores for specific imaging inside the body. Implantable microfluidic devices help provide a microenvironment for various cell differentiation procedure. These devices know no boundaries, and this article reviews these devices based on their design and applications.

A USER-CENTRED DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPEUTIC TOYS

Therapy in early childhood is facilitated through toys and play. While mainstream toys are designed for children, therapeutic toys need to satisfy requirements from clinicians, caregivers, and children. The study presented in this paper investigated the challenges that 22 international toy designers encounter during the design process and whether support is required when developing products for speech and language therapy, through a mixed-method approach. Results show that considerable challenges are encountered during the early design stages. Nonetheless, the toy design process remains unsupported, while no support is available for designers to consider therapeutic needs. Based on the feedback received, eleven requirements were identified upon which a user-centred design support framework was proposed to assist toy designers during the task clarification stage, taking into account the affordances that therapeutic toys should have without inhibiting the creative process.

Arm Cycle Ergometer Electro-Mechanical System Design For Post-Stroke Medical Rehabilitation

This study was done to make the electro-mechanical arm ergometer cycle system used as post-stroke patient physiotherapy. The management system was expected to set the rotary frequency according to the therapeutic needs. To set the frequency of the rotation, the PID control with rotation sensor was used as feedback. The rotating sensor used consisted of the optocoupler and a rotary encoder. Based on the research that has been done, obtained constants of Kp = 0055, Ki and Kd = 2545 = 0.00005. Constants were selected because they were the most optimum constant trial and error method. The system is made to have a more significant percentage of error of 5%. In this study, the response time values obtained for each additional mass of the load at each frequency setting result are increased.

Vascular Mechanobiology: Homeostasis, Adaptation, and Disease

Cells of the vascular wall are exquisitely sensitive to changes in their mechanical environment. In healthy vessels, mechanical forces regulate signaling and gene expression to direct the remodeling needed for the vessel wall to maintain optimal function. Major diseases of arteries involve maladaptive remodeling with compromised or lost homeostatic mechanisms. Whereas homeostasis invokes negative feedback loops at multiple scales to mediate mechanobiological stability, disease progression often occurs via positive feedback that generates mechanobiological instabilities. In this review, we focus on the cell biology, wall mechanics, and regulatory pathways associated with arterial health and how changes in these processes lead to disease. We discuss how positive feedback loops arise via biomechanical and biochemical means. We conclude that inflammation plays a central role in overriding homeostatic pathways and suggest future directions for addressing therapeutic needs.