Therapeutic potential of medicinal plants for the management of scabies.

Sarcoptes scabiei (S. scabiei), a parasite mite which causes scabies disease resulting in serious public health concern. The long-term scabies disease can lead to complications such as septicemia, acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, heart disease, and secondary infections. Timely treatment to the affected patients is required to control the disease and get rid of the causative agent. Delayed diagnosis and inappropriate treatment can lead to serious consequences. The most common treatment strategy is the use of allopathic medicines which can immediately relieve the patient but have the drawback of side effects. The safe and cost-effective alternative treatment strategy is the use of medicinal plants which have beneficial therapeutic potential against variety of diseases due to the presence of many bioactive phytoconstituents with no or minimal side effects. For the present review, the published articles describing scabies disease and its phytotherapeutic modalities were searched through different data bases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, and ScienceDirect using the keywords like S. scabiei, prevalence of scabies disease, and phytotherapy of scabies. A large number of medicinal plants, such as Melaleuca alternifolia, Curcuma longa, Azadirachta indica, Rosmarinus officinalis, Capsicum annuum, Cinnamomum camphor, Solanum nigrum, and Eupatorium perfoliatum, have been reviewed for the promising future treatments of scabies. All the studied plants have many bioactive compounds with potential therapeutic effects against scabies and can be utilized for therapeutic purposes for this disease. This literature study has limitations because of the lack of sufficient data due to limited pre-clinical trials in this particular area. This review provides a baseline to explore the therapeutic potential of these medicinal plants against skin diseases. However, extensive studies are required to identify, authenticate, and characterize the bioactive compounds present in these plants which may lead to value addition in pharmaceutical industries providing the cost-effective way of treatment with minimal side effects.

Pattern of change in the frequency of Helicobacter pylori with perforated duodenal ulcer.

BACKGROUND: Peptic ulcers were believed to be caused by stress, dietary factors, and gastric acid, but the link between H. pylori and peptic ulcers was identified in 1983. To see the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with perforated duodenal ulcer and advise eradication therapy in these patients. This cross sectional study was conducted in Surgical Unit Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, during January 2007-June 2008. METHODS: A total of 50 cases were included in the study. All cases presenting to our unit with acute perforated duodenal ulcer were recruited. After resuscitation and baseline investigations, all underwent emergency laparotomy via upper midline incision, after thorough peritoneal lavage, the perforation margins were freshened and closed over an omental patch. Serum from every patient was tested for H. pylori and accordingly managed. RESULTS: Out of the 50 cases, 45 were males, and 5 were females. Age ranged from 20- 80 years old. All patients underwent emergency laparotomy. Postoperatively, all were started on PPI treatment and serum testing for H. pylori was done. Thirty-four (68%) turned out positive and 16 (32%) were found to be negative for H. pylori. CONCLUSION: There is still a high frequency of H. pylori infection in patients with perforated duodenal ulcer. But comparing these results with the various data available, there is a significant decline in H. pylori positive perforated duodenal ulcer patients.