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Introduction: Hypertension is a global public health issue.Hypertensive heart disease is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the world.Hypertension is also a major contributor to the global disease burden of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.Poor adherence to medications is one of the major public health issue and challenge. Only one-third of the population reported successful control of blood pressure.Despite of the availability for effective treatment, over half of the patients being treated for hypertension drop out of care entirely within a year of diagnosis.Recent research suggests that poor adherence and poor compliance to antihypertensive medication (AHM) is a major hurdle in the management of hypertension and is usually associated with bad outcome of the disease and wastage of limited health care resources.Adherence to antihypertensive medication is a very effective step for controlling blood pressure and preventing complications.To prevent some of the complications of hypertension regular intake of the prescribed treatment in the form of medicines (pills) is very essential and important.The current study aimed to assess the level of compliance of hypertensive patients to their anti-hypertensive medications and to determine the socio-demographic correlates of compliance. Methods: A total of 512 patients were enrolled from the Department of Internal Medicine at King George's Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow according to the American Heart Association ( AHA ) guidelines. Both male and female patients of age between 35-75 years on anti – hypertensive medications, providing written consent were included in the study.An institutional-based descriptive crosssectional study was conducted among hypertensive patients.A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants from the study population. Sociodemographic data, medication adherence, factors affecting adherence were collected using a structured questionnaire and an 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale questionnaire was used to assess the level of adherence. The questionnaire had 8 questions and a score of 7 or 8 was classified as good adherence, 6 as moderate, and less than 6 as non adherence. On each visit at the OPD the questionnaire was provided to the patients. Results: A total of 62 patients were lost to follow-up, resulting in 450 patients out of 512 having hypertension further completed the study.The mean (±SD) age of the study participants was 54.5 (±10.6) years.Medication adherence was good among 115 (25.6%) patients and moderate among 165 (36.7%); 170 (37.8%) patients were nonadherent. Most patients (72.7%) had uncontrolled hypertension. Nearly half (49.6%) were unable to afford monthly medication.In bivariate analysis, nonadherence was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.44; P = .003) and long waiting times in the health care facility (OR, 2.93; P = .005); the presence of comorbidities (OR, 0.62; P = .01) was associated with good adherence. In multivariate analysis, nonadherence was associated with unaffordability of treatment (OR, 2.25; P = .002) and uncontrolled hypertension (OR, 3.16; P < .001). Good adherence determinants included adequate counseling (OR, 0.29; P < .001) and education (OR, 0.61; P = .02).The analysis was done using proportions and Chi-square test . Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine covariates associated with medication adherence. Conclusion: Low level of knowledge regarding hypertension related complications or associated risk factors was also noted.Patient education, family counselling, social support networks and also the use and importance of gadgets should be strengthened in health promotion programs in order to enhance compliance of hypertensive patients with the therapeutic regimen and to improve their quality of life. The level of poor adherence to antihypertensive medications and low level of knowledge on hypertension was a point of concern.The status of blood pressure control was significantly associated with the pattern of adherence.The barriers to adherence were cost of drug and more number of pills per day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Doxazosin is an alpha-1 antagonist used for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) symptoms and hypertension. An α (1)-adrenergic receptor antagonist called Doxazosin is used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia and excessive blood pressure. There is evidence linking peripheral α-adrenergic receptors to inflammation. Aim and Objective: To study the antidepressant effect of Doxazosin by an experimental model in swiss albino mice. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at King George’s Medical University, Lucknow. The present study was designed to evaluate antidepressant in an experimental model in Swiss albino mice. A total number of 18 female Swiss albino mice were included in the study. They were kept in the institutional animal house under standard conditions. They received normal pellet diet and water ad libitum. They were allowed to get acclimatized to the new environment for a period of 2 weeks. Mice were randomly divided into 3 groups, each group containing 6 mice. Results: In the present study antidepressant activity was observed by the period of immobility in Forced swim test. Each activity was conducted on 18 mice, 6 mice in each group (Group A: Vehicle, Group B: Doxazosin, Group C: Imipramine). Therefore on Day 1, period of immobility of mice in the above 3 groups was found to be comparable. On Day 11, period of immobility of mice in the above 3 groups was found to be comparable again. It was observed that there was a slight decrease in period of immobility indicating that Doxazosin (4 mg/kg) may have some weak antidepressant activity at Day 21. Decreasing period of immobility significantly more than control indicating that Doxazosin (4 mg/kg) may have moderate antidepressant activity at Day 31. Conclusion: Doxazosin (4 mg/kg) appeared to be a promising therapy option for patients presenting with depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]