Road-map of pre-clinical treatment for Visceral Leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-azar, is the most lethal form of leishmaniasis, is still prevalent in many countries where it is endemic. It is a threat to human life caused by protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. The severity of the disease is further increased as the treated individuals might have a chance of developing Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) in the long run. Moreover, several countries have reported high number of HIV-VL co-infected patients. Therefore, there is a dire need for the development of efficient diagnostic methods and drugs in order to combat the disease and to control the spread of disease. At present, the treatment for VL entirely relies on therapeutic drugs as no vaccine is available yet. Ever since 1900s a series of drugs have been invented and used for treatment of VL; but the need for one such cost-effective treatment that would completely cure the disease with minimal side-effects, low relapse rate with high efficacy and less toxicity remains yet to be fulfilled. Therefore, identifying novel compounds is very crucial to develop potent antileishmanial agents. Thus, this review enlists several instances of drug development, including the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of antileishmanial drugs, different experimental animal models used to investigate the disease progression and to analyze treatment dosage and pharmacological aspect of drugs. Furthermore, the existing gap in drug development and future measures to improve the process are also discussed in this review.

Association of maternal risk factors with early childhood caries in schoolchildren of Moradabad, India.

BACKGROUND: Children who have caries in their primary teeth in infancy or toddlerhood tend to develop dental caries in their permanent dentition. Although risk indicators are helpful in identifying groups at risk, they give little information about the causes of difference in caries experience. AIM: To identify the association between maternal risk factors and early childhood caries among 3- to 5-year-old schoolchildren of Moradabad City, Uttar Pradesh, India. DESIGN: A total of 150 child-mother pairs participated in the study. The maternal risk factors were assessed by a pretested questionnaire. After obtaining the consent, the mothers and their children were clinically examined for dental caries using Radike criteria (1968). Saliva was collected from all the participating mothers for assessing the Streptococcus mutans level. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in mothers' caries activity, high level of S. mutans, educational level, socioeconomic status, frequency of maternal sugar consumption, and their child's caries experience (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Differences between children's situations in these underlying factors play out as consequential disparities in both their health and the health care they receive.

Anxiety Levels among Five-Year-Old Children Undergoing ART Restoration- A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) involves manually excavating the carious part of the tooth and restoring the prepared cavity with chemically adhesive restorative material [Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC)] and it may induce and/or impact the dental anxiety in children. It is well established that ART procedure is less anxiety producing when compared with other restorative procedures using dental drill. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiety levels among five-year-old children undergoing ART restoration in I.T.S. Dental College, Greater Noida, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 50, five-year-old children visiting the Outpatient Department (OPD) of ITS Dental College, Greater Noida was selected for ART treatment using Fuji IX GIC. Modified Venham Anxiety Scale based on their behaviour and heart rate of the children were measured and recorded before, during and after the ART procedure. Heart rate was measured using Radial Pulse examination method. Chi-square test was used and tests were conducted using IBM SPSS software (ver.20.0; IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: Before the ART treatment, heart rates and Modified Venham Anxiety Scores of majority of children were higher than that after the treatment. A p-value was statistically significant (0.028 and 0.048 respectively) for association of gender with heart rate and Modified Venham's score before the ART treatment. No statistically significant relation was found between the variables during and after the ART treatment. CONCLUSION: The level of anxiety for ART treatment in children was higher before the treatment than that during and after the treatment. There is a correlation between the gender of children and their level of anxiety for ART treatment.

Oral Radiology Safety Standards Adopted by the General Dentists Practicing in National Capital Region (NCR).

INTRODUCTION: With advancement in diagnostic techniques, the utilization of radiologic examination has risen to many folds in the last two decades. Ionizing radiations from the radiographic examination carry the potential for harm by inducing carcino-genesis in addition to the diagnostic information extracted. Radiation doses utilized in the course of dental treatment might be low for individual examinations but patients are exposed to repeated examinations very often and many people are exposed during the course of dental care. Therefore, principles of radiation protection and safety are necessary for the dentists to follow to ensure minimum and inevitable exposure. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and behaviour of general dentists practicing in the National Capital Region (NCR) regarding radiation safety during oral radiographic procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study. A total of 500 general dentists were contacted to participate in the study. The target population entailed of general dentists practicing in the National Capital Region. Data was computed and tabulated in Microsoft excel sheet and statistical analysis was performed with the help of SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: The total response rate recovered was 70.6% and the respondents comprised of 59% and 41% males & females respectively. Only 64.8% of the general dentists contemplated thyroid to be the most important organ for radiation protection. Only 28.8% of the general dentists followed the position & distance rule appropriately. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the knowledge and behaviour of the general dentists and the practices adopted by them regarding radiation safety is not satisfactory. To ensure the following of basic and necessary guidelines for radiation safety and protection, strict rules with penalties should be implemented by the state councils and new and interesting methods of education for this spectrum of the field should be introduced.

Reliability of India-specific regression formula for age estimation of population in and around Bahadurgarh, Haryana (India).

OBJECTIVES: The study was conducted to check the reliability of India-specific regression formula for age estimation of population in and around Bahadurgarh, Haryana (India). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted using digital orthopantomograms (OPGs) of 464 subjects (253 males and 211 females). Chronologic age (CA) was derived from that mentioned on the OPG. Each tooth in the left mandibular segment was scored using Demirjian's scoring and age was calculated using the regression formulas derived by Acharya. The difference of the chronologic and estimated age was used to check the reliability of India-specific regression formula. RESULTS: The mean estimated age was found to be significantly higher as compared to CA for overall as well as both the genders independently (p < 0.001). Difference (in ±) between estimated and CA ranged from 0 to 4.2 years. Mean difference in age was 0.85 ± 0.73 years for males and 0.87 ± 0.76 years for females. CONCLUSION: The published India-specific regression formula does not have reliability in the population of Bahadurgarh, Haryana and hence cannot be universally applied.