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INTRODUCTION: Reproductive tract infection (RTI) is the infection of the reproductive tract. Due to the hesitation in reporting the symptoms and receiving the treatment from the health centers, there is a significant dropout. The health care-seeking actions of the women reflects the attentiveness of the disease in that community and the inadequacy of the health care facility. Since the women from the rural area belongs to high-risk group for RTI, this study was conducted with the objective to assess the health care-seeking behavior about reproductive tract infection among rural women in the reproductive age group in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. Primary care physicians play a vital role in improving health care system, assessing the health-seeking practice helps in improvement and decision making and implementing. METHODS AND MATERIAL: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural field practice area of Chettinad hospital. A sample size of 330 was arrived by multi-stage random sampling and population proportion to size method. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire of DLHS- 4 on RTI/STI. Data entered in MS-EXCEL and analyzed using SPSS version 21 and results interpreted. RESULTS: The prevalence of RTI was found to be 50.3%. 60.8% of the affected females received treatment with majority of them in the group following home remedies. Significant association was noted between treatment seeking behavior, age, and the socioeconomic status (P- < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The women in the reproductive age group in the rural areas should be provided with regular health education regarding the symptoms of the RTI and also motivate them to seek appropriate treatment.
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AIMS: Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration, proliferation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix contribute to lumen loss after arterial injury leading to restenosis. Several studies indicated the role of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate signaling in neointimal formation. Cinaciguat, the novel soluble guanylate cyclase activator, currently being in phase IIb clinical trial, has been shown to exert antiplatelet and anti-remodeling effects in animal models of vascular pathology. In this study we investigated the effects of cinaciguat on post-injury arterial stenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=100) underwent endothelial denudation by wire injury of the right common carotid artery. Cinaciguat (10mg/kg/day orally) were administered to 50 rats (1-, 2-, 3-day and 1-, 3-week treatment time), while 50 rats received placebo. A 3-week treatment resulted in a significantly reduced vascular stenosis (17.53 ± 10.84% in the treatment group vs. 43.25 ± 30.83% in the control wire injury group) and neointima/media area ratio (0.45 ± 0.32 in the treatment group vs. 1.09 ± 0.69 in the control wire injury group). By using quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry, matrix-metallopreoteinase-9 (MMP-9) was found to be upregulated in the control-injured carotids over the whole follow-up, and cinaciguat significantly decreased MMP-9 expression by 3 weeks. As assessed by protein immunoblot, injury-induced local decrease of soluble guanylate cyclase ß1 subunit could be recovered by cinaciguat. In vitro wound healing assay with VSMCs revealed dose-dependent antimigratory and antiproliferative effects of cinaciguat. Plasma level of cyclic guanosine monophosphate was significantly elevated after 3 weeks of treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results show that cinaciguat prevents injury-induced neointimal hyperplasia by decreasing VSMC migration and proliferation through the regulation of MMP-9.