ABSTRACT
Amblyopia is a medical condition in which the visual inputs from one of the eyes is suppressed by the brain. This leads to reduced visual acuity and poor or complete loss of stereopsis. Conventional clinical tests such as Worth 4-dot test and Bagolini striated lens test can only detect the presence of suppression but cannot quantify the extent of suppression, which is important for identifying the effectiveness of treatments for amblyopia. A novel approach for quantifying the level of suppression in amblyopia is proposed in this paper. We hypothesize that the level of suppression in amblyopia can be measured by measuring the symmetry/asymmetry in the suppression experienced during a dichoptic image recognition task. Preliminary studies done on fifty one normal subjects prove that the differences between the accuracies of the left and right eyes can be used as a measure of asymmetry. Equivalence test performed using 'two-one-sided t-tests' procedure shows that the equivalence of the accuracies of left and right eyes for normal subjects is statistically significant (p = .03, symmetric equivalence margin of 5 percentage points). To validate this method, six amblyopic children underwent this test and the results obtained are promising. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first work to make use of VR glasses and dichoptic image recognition task for quantifying the level of ocular suppression in amblyopic patients.
Subject(s)
Amblyopia , Virtual Reality , Amblyopia/diagnosis , Child , Eyeglasses , Humans , Vision, Binocular , Visual AcuityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Morinda pubescens J.E.Sm. (Rubiaceae) is an important medicinal plant used in indigenous system of medicine i.e., Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the nephroprotective effect of M. pubescens in gentamicin induced acute renal failure in rats. METHODS: Nephrotoxicity was induced in male Wistar rats by administration of gentamicin (100 mg/kg, i.p.) once daily for 10 days. Simultaneously, the treatment was conducted with water extract bark of M. pubescens (200 mg/kg, p.o.) and its ethyl acetate fractions (100 mg/kg, p.o.) once daily for ten days. Silymarin (50 mg/kg, p.o.) is used as standard drug. Using renal biochemical markers creatinine, urea, uric acid, BUN, albumin, protein, and other parameters are kidney weight, body weight, urine volume and histopathology of the kidney. Statistical analysis was performed by using one - way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's test. RESULTS: It was observed that the water extract and its ethyl acetate fractions bark of M. pubescens has brought back the altered levels of biochemical markers and other parameters to the near normal levels. Histopathological study revealed treatment groups also shows the normal texture of kidney. CONCLUSIONS: The present study possessed nephroprotective activity but ethyl acetate fraction was found to exhibit greater nephroprotective activity than the water extract.
ABSTRACT
Mirabilis Jalapa Linn. is a widely used traditional medicine in many parts of the world for the treatment of various diseases viz. virus inhibitory activity, anti tumour activity. It is claimed in traditional medicine that the leaves of the plant are used in the treatment of inflammation. In the present study, the total alcoholic extract and successive petroleum ether fractions of leaves of Mirabilis Jalapa Linn were screened for its anti-inflammatory activity using carageenan induced rat paw edema and cotton pellet induced granuloma models. The total alcoholic extract at the dose of 300 mg/kg p.o and successive petroleum ether fraction at the dose of 200 mg/kg exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw edema model (p<0.01). In cotton pellet granuloma model, the total alcoholic extract at the dose of 300 mg/kg and successive petroleum ether fraction at the dose of 200 mg/kg inhibited granuloma formation significantly (p<0.05) indicating that both test samples inhibit the increase in number of fibroblasts and synthesis of collagen and mucopolysaccharides during granuloma tissue formation during the chronic inflammation. These experimental results have established a pharmacological evidence for the folklore claim of the drug to be used as an anti inflammatory agent.
ABSTRACT
Pandanus odoratissimus Linn.f. (Syn: Pandanus fascicularis Lamk) belongs to the family Pandanacea, is a palm like small tree or shrub, which usually grow in old world tropics and few warm temperate regions. Mostly all parts are medicinally used. In the present study, histological, physical, powdered characteristics and preliminary phytochemical investigations were carried out on the leaves of Pandanus odoratissimus Linn.f.
ABSTRACT
The present study deals with the macroscpical, microscopical and preliminary phytochemical investigation on Monochoria vaginalis P. The transverse section shows in the root, the presence of cork, cortex, xylem, phloem, pith etc. The diagnostic features of the roots are the presence of fibers associated with vessels, calcium oxalates, and xylem vessel which will help in the identification and authentification process of the drug. Preliminary phytochemical work of the alcoholic extract showed the presence of glycosides, flavonoids and tannins.