International journal of Complementary and Internal Medicine

Episodic/Chronic Alcohol Consumption and Hip Osteoarthritis

Ray Marks — 2024-03-11

Background: Hip joint osteoarthritis remains an incurable disabling health condition.

Aim: This report aimed to examine what trends exist in the realm of episodic or excess alcohol consumption in the pathology and management of disabling hip joint osteoarthritis and to thereby offer some guiding thoughts to practitioners, public health experts, and researchers.

Methods: An in-depth literature review focusing on hip joint osteoarthritis, a common site for primary and secondary forms of the disease was sought and selected for review if an alcohol-oriented focus was evidenced.

Results: There are fairly substantive attempts to explore alcohol as an outcome, as well as using this attribute as a hip osteoarthritis covariate in clinical studies, but the diverse observations, the failure to examine acute alcohol versus chronic alcohol effects, and extremely discordant conclusions prevail.

Conclusion: Future expanded research efforts are needed to elucidate to what degree alcohol use or abuse should not be neglected in hip osteoarthritis care and preventive paradigms.

Clinical Regression of Chondrosarcoma Applying High Doses of Viscum album extracts (VAE) by Intratumoral Injection: A Case Report

Joon Beom (John) Park — 2024-04-30

Mistletoe lectins (ML/VAL) are known to induce apoptotic cell death. Intratumoral applications of Viscum album extract (VAE) have induced local tumor response in various cancer entities for variant carcinomas. A 46-year-old male patient suffering from chondrosarcoma had two large-sized masses (40 cm x 25 cm x 17 cm) and a satellite tumor (8 cm x 14 cm x 3 cm). The patient was treated with by 24 times Abnobaviscum F (fraxini) 20 mg intratumoral injections and concomitant administration of 19 times Helixor A (abietis) 100 mg IV infusions weekly. 32 weeks after treatment the tumoral parenchyma showed a significant regression (>70% of the tumor size) These treatments aimed to improve survival and QoL by reducing tumor burden and symptoms, such as shortness of breath, coughing, hemoptysis, and cachexia.

Retrospectively, on average, the lectin amount in one ampoule of Abnobaviscum F 20 mg was 205.2 ng/ml. As eight ampoules of Abnobaviscum F 20 mg (total 160 mg) were injected into the patient a day by intratumoral application, up to 1,642 ng/ml of mistletoe lectin (ML) was injected as the extending maximum high-dose in safety. The concentration of VAL was determined by ELISA. Reference mistletoe lectin was isolated using an immunoaffinity column with lectin- specific monoclonal antibodies.

Effect of wet deposition on the transmission of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2: Facts and mechanisms

Subendu Sarkar — 2024-06-03

Objectives: Rapid spreading of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) causes increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Researchers believe that SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) uses the airborne mode of transmission. Airborne transmission is crucial because in this way viral particles are dispersed maximum in the air. SARS-CoV-2 can be present in respiratory droplets and atmospheric aerosols. Aerosols having a diameter <10 μm can easily penetrate deep inside the lung and interact with alveolar epithelial cells. Thus, the accumulation of infectious aerosols in the air may rapidly spread COVID-19. Therefore, clearance of aerosols from the air is crucial to minimize airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Methods/Results: In this review, the latest and peer-reviewed publications obtained from Pubmed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus are evaluated to understand the underlying mechanisms of wet deposition and aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 dispersion. Infectious respiratory droplets may undergo the process of evaporation to produce respiratory droplet nuclei (≤5 μm in diameter), which is capable to suspend in the air for a long time. However, low relative humidity, high temperature, and speed of air are factors to influence aerosolized virus dispersion. Rain or precipitation is useful to remove air particulate matter to provide good air quality. It is reported that COVID-19 cases are less during monsoon. The wet deposition also affects the downward flux of aerosolized virus particles.

Conclusion: Overall, precipitation may reduce the airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission by removing aerosolized virus particles by wet deposition. However, rain intensity and total days of rainfall are crucial in this case.

Phytochemical Content and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Solanum americanum Mill. (Solanaceae) Methanol Leaf Extract in Wistar Rats

Cletus Anes Ukwubile — 2024-06-03

Background: The leaf of Solanum americanum Mill. has been used by some communities in Northeast Nigeria for the treatment of pain, inflammation, convulsion, diabetes, and other diseases for many decades.

Aim: This present study was carried out to evaluate the phytochemical contents as well as the anti-inflammatory activity of S. americanum methanol leaf extract in Wistar rat models.

Methods: The preliminary phytochemical screening of S. americanum methanol leaf extract (SAME) was determined following standard methods while the acute oral toxicity test of SAME was determined in five Wistar rats of opposite sex using the OECD guideline 425. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extract was evaluated using carrageenan and formalin-induced rat paw oedema.

Results: The results of the phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, and phytosterols. The total phenolics and total flavonoid contents were 345.12 ± 2.04 mg GAE and 88.24 ± mg QE/g respectively. Oral acute toxicity of SAME showed that extract was well tolerated by the animals at the dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight after one week. Neither signs of toxicity nor mortality were witnessed in the animals, especially within the first 24 hours of oral toxicity testing. The anti-inflammatory evaluation of extract at the doses of 300, 600 and 1200 mg/kg body weight (i.p.) showed a dose-dependent decrease in rat’s paw oedema in both carrageenan and formalin- induced rat paw oedema. These decreases were significant (p < 0.05) when compared to that of the standard drug (Diclofenac sodium 10 mg/kg; i.p.).

Conclusion: The results from the study showed the S. americanum methanol leaf extract possessed anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing the production of pro-inflammation mediators. It further justifies the acclaimed use of S. americanum in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammation.

Evaluation of Salivary C-Reactive Protein in Smokers with Periodontitis in Khartoum state

Anfal Sobhi Mohammed Ahmad — 2024-06-02

Objectives: Smoking widely affects oral health, including its role in the development of periodontitis. C - reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory biomarker that can be easily determined in saliva. This study was designed to assess Salivary C-Reactive protein in smokers with periodontitis.

Material and Methods: The study was a prospective cross-sectional study, conducted in Khartoum during the period from January to April 2023. One hundred participants were enrolled in this study, 50of them were cases (cigarette smokers with periodontitis), and the remaining 50 nonsmokers with healthy periodontium as the control group, saliva samples were collected for the assessment of the C reactive protein levels.

Results: Smokers with periodontitis had significantly higher levels of CRP compared to the control group (7.99 ± 0.44 vs 2.38±0.07 mg/L, p=0.000). Additionally, there was no correlation between the level of CRP and the age of the patients (p=0.9, r=0.018). also, no correlation was found between the level of CRP and the duration of smoking (p=0.611, r=0.074).

Conclusion: There were significant increase in salivary C reactive protein levels among study group, no correlation between age and duration with C reactive protein level.

Melanopsin and the influence of inner retinal photoreception

David John Mackay Smith — 2024-10-03

Almost all species exhibit daily cycles of physiology and behaviour driven by an endogenous rhythmicity. This clockwork only provides a selective advantage when synchronised (entrained) to external time, measured by the repetitive, daily rotation of the earth on its axis and its annual movement around the sun. Humans have been traditionally considered to be a diurnal species, active in daylight and inactive with night but with the advent of urban living and artificial sources of lighting these rhythms of evolutionarily adapted patterns of behaviour and metabolism are being disturbed and redistributed. The disharmony is strongly expressed with shift-workers having higher rates of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and possibly prostate and breast cancer. Can these changes in human behaviour also be reflected more subtly in increasing rates of disease and cancer throughout the community. As a skin cancer clinician see an increasing diagnosis of melanoma, particularly. Does this represent maladaptive patterns of sun exposure. This certainly seems to be the case with recreational, rather than occupational exposure patterns.

Gross changes in illumination at twilight, dawn and dusk, are the zeitgebers that entrain the endogenous clockwork, the circadian system. What percentage of the population regularly observe these changes of light and how influential is this on our well-being?

Laser Therapy and Osteoarthritis Disability: An Updated Snapshot Highlighting Highly Promising Cartilage Regeneration Associations

Ray Marks — 2024-10-10

Among the various non-pharmacological interventions shown to partially relieve painful disabling osteoarthritis, the most prevalent joint disease, laser therapy, initially reported as highly efficacious in Russia and Eastern Europe remains less well accepted in Western medicine contexts and especially as a salient and effective mobility restorative modality.

Building on prior research, the present 2020-2024 data review aimed to:
a) update the degree of support for continuing to research this topic, in general,
b) its cartilage regenerative/repair potential, commonly believed unachievable and tenable, in particular.
While not studied clinically to any degree, most experimental studies support a specific role for possible cartilage repair plus possible post-treatment improvements in symptoms associated with osteoarthritis, including pain, mobility, and function. Possible documented mechanisms for the observed results include the resolution or attenuation of pain and inflammation, enhanced cartilage tissue cell proliferation and increased matrix synthesis.

The Use of Rhythm and Drumming to Improve Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Steven Angel — 2024-12-18

Reading fluency and comprehension are important factors in many markers of success later in life including health, employment and addiction. Reading programs have historically shown poor results in improving levels of reading. In this research, we applied a novel approach involving the use of drumming and rhythm to unlock the literacy potential of struggling students. Two hundred and ninety-three subjects were recruited from detention camps and juvenile hall, while 25 4 th grade public school students comprised the other training. The Reading & Rhythm program was presented over a six-week period. Results of the study demonstrated significant
improvement in both reading fluency and reading comprehension. These results show great promise for a program that can help students improve reading literacy and thus give them support and a greater opportunity for future success.