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Eastern and south-eastern Serbia is a cultural crossroads between East and West, and due to its economic underdevelopment, the traditional use of medicinal plants remains crucial in healthcare even today. This study aimed to collect and preserve ethnopharmacological knowledge about musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory, and genitourinary disorders, which are common in the local population. Information was collected using semi-structured anonymous ethnobotanical interviews with location informants. According to respondents, monographs of official international authorities (European Pharmacopoeia, ESCOP, WHO, EMA, and PDR) have been reviewed to confirm the traditional use of medicinal plants. Out of a total of 161 respondents, 58 (36%) declared that they use plants to treat musculoskeletal diseases, 147 (91.3%) to treat respiratory diseases, 113 (70.19%) to treat circulatory diseases, and 25 (15.53%) to treat genitourinary diseases. Among the plants that are traditionally used for the treatment of diseases of these organ systems, the following are highlighted for future research: Verbascum phlomoides, Inula helenium, and Rosmarinus officinalis for musculoskeletal; Ocimum basilicum, Robinia pseudoacacia and Primula vulgaris for respiratory; Urtica dioica, Allium ursinum, and Rosa canina for circulatory and Apium graveolens, Zea mays and Calendula officinalis for treatment of genitourinary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the treatment of traumatic brain injury and haemorrhagic complications after intracranial pressure monitoring. Over 5 months, the Neurosurgery Service at Harborview Medical Center treated 314 patients with traumatic head injury. There were 247 males and 67 females with a median age of 35.16 years, and all were admitted to the hospital. Placement of an Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor was undertaken in 130 of these patients. Nineteen patients had more than one ICP monitor inserted, altogether, 155 procedures were carried out. The majority of the patients in this study were admitted with the diagnosis of a closed head injury, 10 patients had open head injury, and four suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

The traditional European medicinal plant Laserpitium siler L. was studied for the first time for the chemical composition and in vitro biological potential of extracts from fruits and aerial parts. Eight extracts were subjected to spectrophotometric detection and LC-MS quantification of phenolics. The bioactivity assessment comprised antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-denaturation, acetylcholinesterase, tyrosinase, a-amylase, and a-glucosidase inhibition assays. The spectrophotometric analyses showed that the alcoholic extracts contained the most phenolic acids and coumarins. Among the twenty quantified compounds in the methanolic extracts, chlorogenic acid (29.10 mg/kg in the fruits; 47.00 mg/kg in the aerial parts) and p-coumaric acid (7.50 mg/kg in the fruits; 9.50 mg/kg in the aerial parts) were the most abundant. The DPPH/ABTS/BBT tests showed the strongest antioxidant effect of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts. The results of the microdilution assay referred to stronger antibacterial than antifungal activity, with the essential oil being as effective as the antibiotics used. The extracts expressed promising activity against P. aeruginosa PAO1 biofilm formation and pyocyanin synthesis. The prevention of BSA denaturation by the ethanolic extracts was comparable to diclofenac (91.08%-fruits, 95.08%-aerial parts, and 95.60%-diclofenac). IC50 values showed greater enzyme inhibitory potential of aerial parts and the highest reduction of a-glucosidase activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]