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Background: Skin diseases are among the most common health problems worldwide and are associated with a considerable burden. Eczema is such a skin ailment which cause psychological, social and financial burden on the patient and their families. Management of eczema with antibiotics, antihistamines, steroids etc., are available but even after their use relapses, recurrences and other complications are very common., Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of leech application in the management of vicarcikā (Eczema) with standard clinical parameters viz. Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score, SCORing of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Index and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)., Materials and Methods: An open labeled clinical trial study without control group was conducted with 27 patients having the classical symptoms of vicarcikā (Eczema), selected as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria from outpatient department and inpatient department sections of Shalya Department, S.V. Ayurvedic Hospital, Tirupati. Minimum four sittings of leech application were carried out with 7 days interval. Pre- and post-treatment evaluation of the patient was done with Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score, SCORing of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Index and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)., Statistical Analysis: Analysis of the data was done with Student's paired t-test., Results: The total EASI score showed considerable reduction up to 54.45% (P < 0.01) and the SCORAD Index significantly reduced by 55% (P < 0.01). The life quality of the patient calculated by DLQI improved significantly by 62.36% (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Leech application gives significant relief for the symptoms of eczema. The life quality of the patient also improved significantly after leech therapy. No adverse reactions were reported during the entire course of study.

Background & Objectives: Monitoring of HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral treatment (ART) ideally requires periodic viral load measurements to ascertain adequate response to treatment. While plasma viral load monitoring is widely available in high-income settings, it is rarely used in resource-limited regions because of high cost and need for sophisticated sample transport. Dried blood spot (DBS) as source specimens for viral load measurement has shown promise as an alternative to plasma specimens and is likely to be a useful tool for Indian settings. The present study was undertaken to investigate the performance of DBS in HIV-1 RNA quantification against the standard plasma viral load assay., Methods: Between April-June 2011, 130 samples were collected from HIV-1-infected (n=125) and non-infected (n=5) individuals in two district clinics in southern India. HIV-1 RNA quantification was performed from DBS and plasma using Abbott m2000rt system after manual RNA extraction. Statistical analysis included correlation, regression and Bland-Altman analysis., Results: The sensitivity of DBS viral load was 97 per cent with viral loads >3.0 log 10 copies/ml. Measurable viral load (>3.0 log 10 copies/ml) results obtained for the 74 paired plasma-DBS samples showed positive correlation between both the assays (r=0.96). For clinically acceptable viral load threshold values of >5,000 copies/ml, Bland-Altman plots showed acceptable limits of agreement (-0.21 to +0.8 log 10 copies/ml). The mean difference was 0.29 log 10 copies/ml. The cost of DBS was $2.67 lower compared to conventional plasma viral load measurement in the setting., Interpretation & Conclusions: The significant positive correlation with standard plasma-based assay and lower cost of DBS viral load monitoring suggest that DBS sampling can be a feasible and economical means of viral load monitoring in HIV-infected individual in India and in other resource-limited settings globally.

Fistula in ano is treated conventionally, by using the surgical techniques like fistulectomy or fistulotomy. In this practice of surgery there are many complications like delayed healing and stenosis or incontinence. The period of convalescence is also long. But after the advent of 'Kshara Sutra' for the treatment of fistula in ano, the complications he reduced to negligible level. It has become a boon to the patients of fistula in ano. But still the quest is continuing to improve the efficacy of Kshara sutra , to make it more acceptable, of late Kshara sutra  is being prepared in different ways of changing materials used for preparation, One such modification of Kshara sutra  is preparing it by the use of latex expressed form the tender fruit of papaya. The advantages of this thread are low corrosiveness, less pain and speed cutting besides easy availability.

Dosha Dhatu Sammurchana is the basis of all pathogenisis. The state of Agni also should be considered in the pathogenisis. This will explain the disease at the cellular level in the parlances of Ayurveda. In cancer, enormous research is going on to understand the molecular and cellular level of Carcinogenisis, to formulate a cure for this disease. In Ayurveda with the help of various explanations can be made in the context of cancer. An effort is made in this paper in this regard which will definitely carve new ways in the field of cancer research.