Versatility of Naso-labial Flap in Reconstruction of Facial Defects.

Background: Reconstruction of facial defects is often challenging and is dependent on numerous factors including size of the defect, availability of donor site, any existing scar, patient's consent, prognosis, etc. There are various reconstruction modalities highlighted in the literature with their inherent merits and demerits. Considering the versatility of nasolabial flap, we present a case series of different facial defects where nasolabial flap has been used successfully for reconstruction. Case Reports: Three patients with different disease process in three different areas of face were reported. All underwent wide local excision and reconstruction with nasolabial flap. The result obtained was esthetically pleasing with minimal donor site morbidity. Conclusion: Nasolabial flap is a versatile flap and can be effectively used for reconstruction of small to moderate facial defects over any other flaps.

Flavonoids and stilbenoids as a promising arsenal for the management of chronic arsenic toxicity.

Rapid industrial and technological development has impacted ecosystem homeostasis strongly. Arsenic is one of the most detrimental environmental toxins and its management with chelating agents remains a matter of concern due to associated adverse effects. Thus, safer and more effective alternative therapy is required to manage arsenic toxicity. Based on existing evidence, native and indigenous plant-based active biomolecules appear as a promising strategy to mitigate arsenic-induced toxicity with an acceptable safety profile. In this regard, various phytochemicals (flavonoids and stilbenoids) are considered important classes of polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant and chelation effects, which may facilitate the removal of arsenic from the body more effectively and safely with regard to conventional approaches. This review presents an overview of conventional chelating agents and the potential role of flavonoids and stilbenoids in ameliorating arsenic toxicity. This report may provide a roadmap for identifying novel prophylactic/therapeutic strategies for managing arsenic toxicity.

DNA Methylation: A Promising Approach in Management of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders.

DNA methylation, in the mammalian genome, is an epigenetic modification that involves the transfer of a methyl group on the C5 position of cytosine to derive 5-methylcytosine. The role of DNA methylation in the development of the nervous system and the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease has been an interesting research area. Furthermore, mutations altering DNA methylation affect neurodevelopmental functions and may cause the progression of several neurodegenerative diseases. Epigenetic modifications in neurodegenerative diseases are widely studied in different populations to uncover the plausible mechanisms contributing to the development and progression of the disease and detect novel biomarkers for early prognosis and future pharmacotherapeutic targets. In this manuscript, we summarize the association of DNA methylation with the pathogenesis of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, such as, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington diseases, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and discuss the potential of DNA methylation as a potential biomarker and therapeutic tool for neurogenerative diseases.

An ayurvedic approach in the management of Guillain-Barre syndrome: A case study.

Guillain-Barre syndrome is an acute, frequently severe and fulminant polyradiculopathy that is autoimmune in nature. Guillain Barre syndrome is a rare disorder that causes immune systems to attack peripheral nervous system (PNS). A 46 year old male patient, presenting with sudden onset, complete paralysis of all four limbs (quadriplegia), unable to walk, stand, sit, difficulty in deglutition (dysphagia) and dysarthia, was having foley's catheter and Ryle's Tube brought by relative to Out Door Patient Department (OPD) of Government Ayurvedic Hospital, Nagpur; He was provisionally diagnosed as subacute sensory motor paraplegia. Previously patient admitted and treated in Government Medical College (GMC) Nagpur but did not show any sign of improvement so patient was admitted and treated with Ayurvedic treatment for about 50 days. As per Ayurvedic classics, this condition can be correlated with sarvan gagatavatavyadhi (~vata disorder affecting all parts of the body), which is apatarpana in nature (~diseases with deprived nourishment of body tissue) preceded by jvara (~(H/O fever before onset of GBS). Hence, the principle of treatment is santarpana cikitsa (~nourishing treatment). Santarpana (~nourishing treatment) includes bahyopakramas (~nourishing external treatment modalities), such as abhyanga (~oleation therapy) and sastikasalipindasveda (~sudation using of hot and processed sastika rice), karmabasti (~medicated enema) sirodhara (gentle pouring of medicated liquid over forehead) and jvaraghna cikitsa (~treatment of fever) using various Ayurvedic herbomineral compounds. Remarkable results were observed in the form of improvement in the muscle power from zero to five of all four limbs with improvement in speech. There was no difficulty post treatment in deglutition, sitting, standing and walking; and now patient has near to normal movements.