Gynostemma Pentaphyllum Tea Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.
Gynostemma pentaphyllum Tea Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.
J Nutr Metab. 2013; 2013: 765383
Huyen VT, Phan DV, Thang P, Hoa NK, Ostenson CG
Aims. To evaluate the effect of the traditional Vietnamese herb Gynostemma pentaphyllum tea on insulin sensitivity in drug-naïve type 2 diabetic patients. Methods. Patients received GP or placebo tea 6?g daily for four weeks and vice versa with a 2-week wash-out period. At the end of each period, a somatostatin-insulin-glucose infusion test (SIGIT) was performed to evaluate the insulin sensitivity. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA(1C), and oral glucose tolerance tests and insulin levels were measured before, during, and after the treatment. Results. FPG and steady-state plasma glucose (SIGIT mean) were lower after GP treatment compared to placebo treatment (P < 0.001). The levels of FPG in the control group were slightly reduced to 0.2 ± 1.5 versus 1.9 ± 1.0?mmol/L in GP group (P < 0.001), and the effect on FPG was reversed after exchanging treatments. The glycometabolic improvements were achieved without any major change of circulating insulin levels. There were no changes in lipids, body measurements, blood pressure, and no reported hypoglycemias or acute adverse effects regarding kidney and liver parameters. Conclusion. The results of this study suggested that the GP tea exerted antidiabetic effect by improving insulin sensitivity. HubMed – drug
Clinical Isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor Ogawa of 2009 from Kolkata, India: Preponderance of SXT Element and Presence of Haitian ctxB Variant.
PLoS One. 2013; 8(2): e56477
Kutar BM, Rajpara N, Upadhyay H, Ramamurthy T, Bhardwaj AK
Increase in the number of multidrug resistant pathogens and the accompanied rise in case fatality rates has hampered the treatment of many infectious diseases including cholera. Unraveling the mechanisms responsible for multidrug resistance in the clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae would help in understanding evolution of these pathogenic bacteria and their epidemic potential. This study was carried out to identify genetic factors responsible for multiple drug resistance in clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa, biotype El Tor isolated from the patients admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kolkata, India, in 2009.One hundred and nineteen clinical isolates of V. cholerae were analysed for their antibiotic resistance phenotypes. Antibiogram analysis revealed that majority of the isolates showed resistance to co-trimoxazole, nalidixic acid, polymixin B and streptomycin. In PCR, SXT integrase was detected in 117 isolates and its sequence showed 99% identity notably to ICEVchInd5 from Sevagram, India, ICEVchBan5 from Bangladesh and VC1786ICE sequence from Haiti outbreak among others. Antibiotic resistance traits corresponding to SXT element were transferred from the parent Vibrio isolate to the recipient E. coli XL-1 Blue cells during conjugation. Double-mismatch-amplification mutation assay (DMAMA) revealed the presence of Haitian type ctxB allele of genotype 7 in 55 isolates and the classical ctxB allele of genotype 1 in 59 isolates. Analysis of topoisomerase sequences revealed the presence of mutation Ser83 ? Ile in gyrA and Ser85? Leu in parC. This clearly showed the circulation of SXT-containing V. cholerae as causative agent for cholera in Kolkata.There was predominance of SXT element in these clinical isolates from Kolkata region which also accounted for their antibiotic resistance phenotype typical of this element. DMAMA PCR showed them to be a mixture of isolates with different ctxB alleles like classical, El Tor and Haitian variants. HubMed – drug
Predicting in silico which mixtures of the natural products of plants might most effectively kill human leukemia cells?
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013; 2013: 801501
El-Shemy HA, Aboul-Enein KM, Lightfoot DA
The aim of the analysis of just 13 natural products of plants was to predict the most likely effective artificial mixtures of 2-3 most effective natural products on leukemia cells from over 364 possible mixtures. The natural product selected included resveratrol, honokiol, chrysin, limonene, cholecalciferol, cerulenin, aloe emodin, and salicin and had over 600 potential protein targets. Target profiling used the Ontomine set of tools for literature searches of potential binding proteins, binding constant predictions, binding site predictions, and pathway network pattern analysis. The analyses indicated that 6 of the 13 natural products predicted binding proteins which were important targets for established cancer treatments. Improvements in effectiveness were predicted for artificial combinations of 2 or 3 natural products. That effect might be attributed to drug synergism rather than increased numbers of binding proteins bound (dose effects). Among natural products, the combinations of aloe emodin with mevinolin and honokiol were predicted to be the most effective combination for AML-related predicted binding proteins. Therefore, plant extracts may in future provide more effective medicines than the single purified natural products of modern medicine, in some cases. HubMed – drug
Doctor's bid for diversionary program begins with lesson on drug treatment
The first installment of a two-part hearing on Dr. Scott W. Houghton's application for accelerated rehabilitation began Friday with a lesson on prescribing the controlled substance Suboxone to drug-addicted patients. The hearing before Judge David P … Read more on TheDay.com
Nationally-known specialist says no "quick fix" for addiction
That included abusing alcohol and drugs as a teenager in New York and later while in the military. "I wasn't ready to get sober, I didn't want to get sober. I was going to placate the system is why I went to treatment on my intervention. So it really … Read more on WPDE