A study on the modification of anti-inflammatory and analgesic action of aspirin by nifedipine.

INTRODUCTION: Aspirin has been used as an analgesic from time immemorial. But the recent advances on various aspects of it in reducing risk of various fatal and non fatal diseases warrant a re-look. OBJECTIVE: This study has been undertaker to assess the anti inflammatory and analgesic action of aspirin and Nifedipine alone as well as in combination and their individual and synergistic effect as anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti - inflammatory and anti - nociceptive effect of aspirin and nifedipine was studied in a group of albino rats of Sprague Dowly strain. Anti - inflammatory action of the drugs were tested in experimentally produced inflammatory model by injecting turpentine oil in to the synovial cavity of knee joint of rats and anti - nociceptive effect was studied by hot plate method. RESULTS: From the study it was observed that nifedipine alone was a better anti - inflammatory drug causing 40.10 percent reduction of experimentally produced inflammation in the studied rats on the 12th day of observation compared to aspirin alone (33.80 %) and aspirin - nifedipine combination (39.82%) but as an analgesic nifedipine alone (51.20%) was not found to be as effective as aspirin(88.96%) at 90 minutes of observation. However, when nifedipine was combined with aspirin, it potentiated the anti - nociceptive action of aspirin (107.64 %) at 90 minutes of observation which was statistically significant (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The above finding demonstrated that the dose of Non Steroidal Anti - inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) probably could be reduced when it is combined with Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs) and thus the adverse effect of NSAIDs could be reduced considerably. Student's t test was applied for statistical analysis.

Pharmacogenomics - therapeutic and ethical issues.

Pharmacogenomics deals with the genetic basis underlying variable drug response in individual patients. It encompasses sum of all genes. Numerous genes may play a role in drug response and toxicity. The newly emerging genomic technologies enable the search for relevant genes and their variants to include the entire genome and help in the search for candidate genes. Moreover pharmacogenomic analysis can identify the disease susceptibility genes representing potential new drug targets. The current concept of drug therapy is to apply treatment for a large population group whereas application of pharmacogenomic will help individual application of drug therapy or on smaller patient sub population but whether this individualized medicine will lead to improved and economically feasible therapy is yet to be seen. This is again complicated by various ethical and legal issues. In this article some of the issues are highlighted.

Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) and iodised salt in Assam: a few observations.

PIP: During 1992-1993 in India, a UNICEF-supported survey was conducted in Dibrugarh District of Assam State to determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), especially goiter. The prevalence of goiter remained high (42.2%) in Dibrugarh District (65.8% in 1989). 46.95% of all iodated salts had less than the optimum level of iodine (15-29.99 ppm). Storage practices affected the iodine content of the salt. For example, within a month and a half, the iodine content of salt stored in earthenware pots is reduced to about 25%. 82.4% of all women 14-45 years old did not perceive goiter as a disease. 98.13% did not know that iodized salt was available in their neighborhood. Yet, the sale of non-iodized salt has been banned in Assam since 1989. An in-depth study was conducted in Sonitpur and Tinsukia districts to determine whether raw salt was imported from the west coast (e.g., Gujarat) to Assam. Transport of iodized salt in remote areas (e.g., Sadia and Lido) took a long time in Tinsukia and storage in earthenware pots, resulting in deterioration of the quality of salt. Salt is transported to Assam in open wagons, which exposes the salt to the sun and the rains. Wholesalers store salt in thick polythene bags which are in turn kept in covered godowns. Retailers sell the salt from open verandas, which exposes the salt to rain and sun. Household storage practices include plastic or glass jars with or without a cover (80.89% and 12.15%, respectively), gourd shells (1.5%), bamboo containers (2.05%), and earthenware pots (3.41%). The quality of iodized salt sold by fraudulent traders was much lower than that sold by reputed firms. The government of India's IDD program monitors the quality of iodized salt. It provides feedback to the state government. Monitoring should be a systematic and continuous process. Assam's government has set up its own monitoring program, focusing on the household level (salt samples: 64.8%). During 1993-1994, 79.7% of salt samples had a satisfactory level of iodine and 2.7% had no iodine at all.^ieng