Ethnopharmacological Use and Biological Activities of Tragia involucrata L

Plants have been utilized as medicines to treat various ailments since ancient times. Formulations made by plant materials have been used in traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine and remain widespread in both developing and developed countries. In developing countries, traditional medicines are widely practiced due to its accessibility and affordability, while in developed countries, complementary and alternative medicine are widely popular due to the adverse effects of chemical drugs. Tragia involucrata Linn. (family: Euphorbiaceae) is a highly used medicinal plant used in both Sri Lankan and Indian traditional medical systems. Since this plant is a weed, it is being extensively destroyed due to the lack of knowledge regarding the medicinal value of this plant. Hence, the objective of this study was to collect data on the medicinal value of this plant by correlating its scientifically validated biological activities with its ethnopharmacological uses. An attempt was made to gather as much information available regarding the ethnopharmacological uses and scientifically validated biological activities of Tragia involucrata through authentic traditional texts, scientific journals, and other authentic texts regarding medicinal plants. Thus, the review provides an insight to the capability of Tragia involucrata to be used as a monoherbal formulation for diseases pertaining to multiple systems of the body. With all the scientifically validated biological activities and the ethnopharmacological uses, Tragia involucrata may qualify as a potent candidate to be developed into a phytomedicine to be utilized as both a preventive and as a therapeutic agent.

Correction to: Review of global neurosurgery education: Horizon of Neurosurgery in the Developing Countries

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41016-020-00194-1.].

Maternal coping strategies in response to child's oncological diseases in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Parents with cancer children face multiple and unexpected difficulties and apply coping strategies to minimize stressful conditions. The objective of this study was to assess maternal coping strategies in response to their children with cancer in Sri Lanka.Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 mothers having children with cancers. Coping Health Inventory for Parents instrument was used to collect information about coping strategies.Results: More than 75% children were diagnosed as cancer more than 6 months before when starting this study. Maintaining family integration, cooperation, optimistic definition of the situation was the most helpful coping strategy while seeking medical helps through communication with parents and consultation with medical staff was the least helpful coping strategy among mothers. Gender of the child and current condition of the disease were significantly associated with social support and medical support. Type of disease was significantly associated with family support and the number of other children per mother was significantly associated with social support.Conclusions: Relaxation and counseling programs to modify less desirable coping strategies are emphasized for mothers who were with cancer children. More researches need to identify coping strategies and its impact on psychological and physical adjustment as well.

Review of global neurosurgery education: Horizon of Neurosurgery in the Developing Countries

Globally, the discipline of neurosurgery has evolved remarkably fast. Despite being one of the latest medical specialties, which appeared only around hundred years ago, it has witnessed innovations in the aspects of diagnostics methods, macro and micro surgical techniques, and treatment modalities. Unfortunately, this development is not evenly distributed between developed and developing countries. The same is the case with neurosurgical education and training, which developed from only traditional apprentice programs in the past to more structured, competence-based programs with various teaching methods being utilized, in recent times. A similar gap can be observed between developed and developing counties when it comes to neurosurgical education. Fortunately, most of the scholars working in this field do understand the coherent relationship between neurosurgical education and neurosurgical practice. In context to this understanding, a symposium was organized during the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) Special World Congress Beijing 2019. This symposium was the brain child of Prof. Yoko Kato—one of the eminent leaders in neurosurgery and an inspiration for female neurosurgeons. Invited speakers from different continents presented the stages of development of neurosurgical education in their respective countries. This paper summarizes the outcome of these presentations, with particular emphasis on and the challenges faced by developing countries in terms of neurosurgical education and strategies to cope with these challenges.

Transcriptomic abnormalities in peripheral blood in bipolar disorder, and discrimination of the major psychoses

We performed a transcriptome-wide meta-analysis and gene co-expression network analysis to identify genes and gene networks dysregulated in the peripheral blood of bipolar disorder (BD) cases relative to unaffected comparison subjects, and determined the specificity of the transcriptomic signatures of BD and schizophrenia (SZ). Nineteen genes and 4 gene modules were significantly differentially expressed in BD cases. Thirteen gene modules were shown to be differentially expressed in a combined case-group of BD and SZ subjects called "major psychosis", including genes biologically linked to apoptosis, reactive oxygen, chromatin remodeling, and immune signaling. No modules were differentially expressed between BD and SZ cases. Machine-learning classifiers trained to separate diagnostic classes based solely on gene expression profiles could distinguish BD cases from unaffected comparison subjects with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.724, as well as BD cases from SZ cases with AUC = 0.677 in withheld test samples. We introduced a novel and straightforward method called "polytranscript risk scoring" that could distinguish BD cases from unaffected subjects (AUC = 0.672) and SZ cases (AUC = 0.607) significantly better than expected by chance. Taken together, our results highlighted gene expression alterations common to BD and SZ that involve biological processes of inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and chromatin regulation, and highlight disorder-specific changes in gene expression that discriminate the major psychoses.

Socioeconomic factors associated with tobacco smoking among adult males in Sri Lanka

Background

Tobacco smoking is considered as a major public health issue worldwide. Reduction of tobacco usage has been one of the main government policies in Sri Lanka and the price of cigarettes has been raised several times in the last few years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the socioeconomic factors associated with tobacco smoking among adult males in Sri Lanka.

Methods

A study was conducted in Gampaha district in Sri Lanka recruiting 365 tobacco smoking people and their spouses. Data regarding tobacco smoking were obtained using an interviewer administrated questionnaire.

Results

Frequency of tobacco smoking was negatively associated with the improvement of educational levels. Employment, monthly income, influence of friends, smoking frequency before price increment, weekly expenditure for smoking, low educational level and the age of first smoking exposure was significantly associated with tobacco smoking among smokers. According to the spouses, smoking frequency before price increment, weekly expenditure of the husbands of smoking and influence of friends, number on smoking friends, spouse’s employment and husband’s monthly income were factors associated with tobacco smoking of their husbands. In addition, smoking at home, at work places and at friend’s houses was significant with the frequency of daily smoking.

Conclusions

Increasing the price of tobacco products has no significant impact on smoking behaviors in Sri Lanka. The need for essential strategies to educate and motivate the smokers to stop smoking is required. Primary care health workers might play a major role in motivating smokers to quit smoking.

In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of Ficus racemosa L. bark using albumin denaturation method

Introduction

In Ayurveda, many natural plant compounds are used to inhibit inflammatory pathways for centuries with less side effects. Different parts of Ficus racemosa L. (Udumber) plant are used in Ayurveda for many diseases. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate pharmacological activities of F. racemosa.

Objective

The objective of the study was to in vitro analyze anti-inflammatory property of F. racemosa bark using albumin denaturation activity.

Methodology

F. racemosa bark extraction was performed using cold water and hot water. The concentration gradient of extracts was prepared using egg albumin and phosphate-buffered saline. The extract was incubated in a water bath at 37°C for 15 min and was heated at 70°C for 5 min. One nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug and one steroid were used as reference drugs. The percentage inhibition of protein denaturation was calculated.

Results

The inhibition rate of egg albumin denaturation for water extraction increased gradually with concentration. Significantly higher inhibition was showed in hot water extracts than cold water extracts at the concentration of 0.01 μg/ml and 0.1 μg/ml. In addition, the inhibition rate of water extraction was significantly higher than the reference drugs (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Anti-inflammatory activity increases with the concentration of F. racemosa bark. Furthermore, the action of this plant is significantly higher than the reference drugs.

Transcriptome-wide mega-analyses reveal joint dysregulation of immunologic genes and transcription regulators in brain and blood in schizophrenia

The application of microarray technology in schizophrenia research was heralded as paradigm-shifting, as it allowed for high-throughput assessment of cell and tissue function. This technology was widely adopted, initially in studies of postmortem brain tissue, and later in studies of peripheral blood. The collective body of schizophrenia microarray literature contains apparent inconsistencies between studies, with failures to replicate top hits, in part due to small sample sizes, cohort-specific effects, differences in array types, and other confounders. In an attempt to summarize existing studies of schizophrenia cases and non-related comparison subjects, we performed two mega-analyses of a combined set of microarray data from postmortem prefrontal cortices (n=315) and from ex-vivo blood tissues (n=578). We adjusted regression models per gene to remove non-significant covariates, providing best-estimates of transcripts dysregulated in schizophrenia. We also examined dysregulation of functionally related gene sets and gene co-expression modules, and assessed enrichment of cell types and genetic risk factors. The identities of the most significantly dysregulated genes were largely distinct for each tissue, but the findings indicated common emergent biological functions (e.g. immunity) and regulatory factors (e.g., predicted targets of transcription factors and miRNA species across tissues). Our network-based analyses converged upon similar patterns of heightened innate immune gene expression in both brain and blood in schizophrenia. We also constructed generalizable machine-learning classifiers using the blood-based microarray data. Our study provides an informative atlas for future pathophysiologic and biomarker studies of schizophrenia.

CX3CR1 is dysregulated in blood and brain from schizophrenia patients

The molecular mechanisms underlying schizophrenia remain largely unknown. Although schizophrenia is a mental disorder, there is increasing evidence to indicate that inflammatory processes driven by diverse environmental factors play a significant role in its development. With gene expression studies having been conducted across a variety of sample types, e.g., blood and postmortem brain, it is possible to investigate convergent signatures that may reveal interactions between the immune and nervous systems in schizophrenia pathophysiology. We conducted two meta-analyses of schizophrenia microarray gene expression data (N=474) and non-psychiatric control (N=485) data from postmortem brain and blood. Then, we assessed whether significantly dysregulated genes in schizophrenia could be shared between blood and brain. To validate our findings, we selected a top gene candidate and analyzed its expression by RT-qPCR in a cohort of schizophrenia subjects stabilized by atypical antipsychotic monotherapy (N=29) and matched controls (N=31). Meta-analyses highlighted inflammation as the major biological process associated with schizophrenia and that the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 was significantly down-regulated in schizophrenia. This differential expression was also confirmed in our validation cohort. Given both the recent data demonstrating selective CX3CR1 expression in subsets of neuroimmune cells, as well as behavioral and neuropathological observations of CX3CR1 deficiency in mouse models, our results of reduced CX3CR1 expression adds further support for a role played by monocyte/microglia in the neurodevelopment of schizophrenia.

Effect of Sri Lankan traditional medicine and Ayurveda on Sandhigata Vata (osteoarthritis of knee joint)

Reported case was a 63-year-old female with end-stage osteoarthritis (OA) (Sandhigata Vata) of the left knee joint accompanied by exostoses. Radiology (X-ray) report confirmed it as a Kellgren-Lawrence grade III or less with exostoses. At the beginning, the Knee Society Rating System scores of pain, movement and stability were poor, and function score was fair. Srilankan traditional and Ayurveda medicine treatment was given in three regimens for 70 days. After 70 days, external treatment of oleation and 2 capsules of Shallaki (Boswellia serrata Triana and Planch) and two tablets of Jeewya (comprised of Emblica officinalis Gaertn., Tinospora cordifolia [Willd.] Millers. and Terminalia chebula Retz.), twice daily were continued over 5 months. Visual analogue scale for pain, knee scores in the Knee Society online rating system and a Ayurveda clinical assessment criteria was used to evaluate the effects of treatments in weekly basis. After treatment for 70 days, the Knee Society Rating System scores of pain, movement and stability were also improved up to good level and function score was improved up to excellent level. During the follow-up period, joint symptoms and signs and the knee scores were unchanged. In conclusion, this OA patient's quality of life was improved by the combined treatment of Sri Lankan traditional medicine and Ayurveda.

Finding the needle in the haystack: a review of microarray gene expression research into schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

With an estimated 80% heritability, molecular genetic research into schizophrenia has remained inconclusive. Recent large-scale, genome-wide association studies only identified a small number of susceptibility genes with individually very small effect sizes. However, the variable expression of the phenotype is not well captured in diagnosis-based research as well as when assuming a 'heterogenic risk model' (as apposed to a monogenic or polygenic model). Hence, the expression of susceptibility genes in response to environmental factors in concert with other disease-promoting or protecting genes has increasingly attracted attention.

METHOD

The current review summarises findings of microarray gene expression research with relevance to schizophrenia as they emerged over the past decade.

RESULTS

Most findings from post mortem, peripheral tissues and animal models to date have linked altered gene expression in schizophrenia to presynaptic function, signalling, myelination, neural migration, cellular immune mechanisms, and response to oxidative stress consistent with multiple small effects of many individual genes. However, the majority of results are difficult to interpret due to small sample sizes (i.e. potential type-2 errors), confounding factors (i.e. medication effects) or lack of plausible neurobiological theory.

CONCLUSION

Nevertheless, microarray gene expression research is likely to play an important role in the future when investigating gene/gene and gene/environment interactions by adopting a neurobiologically sound theoretical framework.