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Objectives- A woman is pivot of a family, but they hardly pay attention to their health. The present study aimed to screen the women for common health problems under one roof. A programme “Swasth Mahila, Swasth Pariwar” was conducted in a small hospital set up and cost effective manner. Material and Methods- 408 women, above 18 years were screened for the study after obtaining their consent, 294 were enrolled and were subjected to a questionnaire regarding sociodemographic factors, dietary habits and medical history. Anthropometry and clinical examination was followed by laboratory investigations including Hb%, TLC, DLC, P/S for anaemia, Urine analysis, Blood Glucose. Vaginal cytology with special staining in patients complaining of vaginal discharge (n=128). After screening, patients were referred to separate special clinics accordingly for homoeopathic treatment and follow up. Collaboration with family planning department was done to educate them about family planning practices. Results- The prevalence of anaemia was 40.14% (mean haemoglobin 10.1g/dl). 64.4% had mild, 33.1% had moderate and 2.5% had severe anaemia. 92 % women had iron deficiency anaemia. The prevalence of diabetes was 11.57% and pre-diabetes was 28.9 %. 13 new diabetic and 35 UTI cases were identified. 45.3% women had bacterial vaginosis, 10.9% had trichomoniasis, 17.2% had candidiasis and 0.8% had candidiasis with bacterial vaginosis. All the facilities including consultation, medical examination and laboratory testing were free of charge. The expenditure on laboratory testing for each patient was Rs 300 (approx). Conclusion- This programme helped to identify nutritional, lifestyle disorders and to generate awareness to improve the sexual health status of women in a cost effective manner.Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 5(1): 86-90

Background Talactoferrin alfa is an oral dendritic cell (DC)-mediated immunotherapy (DCMI). We tested whether talactoferrin was superior to placebo in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and methods An FORTIS-M trial was an international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind comparison of talactoferrin (1.5g p.o. BID) versus placebo BID, in patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC whose disease had failed two or more prior regimens. Treatment was administered for a maximum of five 14-week cycles. The primary efficacy end point was overall survival (OS); secondary end points included 6- and 12-month survival, progression-free survival (PFS), and disease control rate (DCR). Results Seven hundred and forty-two patients were randomly assigned (2:1) to talactoferrin (497) or placebo (245). The median OS in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population was 7.66 months in the placebo arm and 7.49 months in the talactoferrin arm [hazard ratio (HR), 1.04; 95% CI, 0.873–1.24; P = 0.6602]. The 6-month survival rates were 59.9% (95% CI, 53.4% to 65.8%) and 55.7% (95% CI, 51.1% to 59.9%), respectively. The 12-month survival rates were 32.2% (95% CI, 26.3% to 38.2%) and 30.9% (95% CI, 26.8% to 35%), respectively. The median PFS rates were 1.64 months and 1.68 months, respectively (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.835–1.16; P = 0.8073). The DCRs were 38.4 and 37.6%, respectively [stratified odds ratio (OR), 0.96; 95% CI, 0.698–1.33; P = 0.8336]. The safety profiles were comparable between arms. Conclusions There was no improvement in efficacy with talactoferrin alfa in patients with advanced NSCLC whose disease had failed two or more previous regimens.

Oxytocin a peptide hormone has the distinction of being the first among the peptide hormones to be sequenced and biochemically synthesized. Oxytocin is secreted from neural as well as non-neural sources inside the body. Among the neural sources supra-optic and paraventricular nuclei of the brain are major sources of secretion, the arcuate nucleus being a minor source. There are many non-neural sources from which synthesis of Oxytocin has been reported. The important ones include interstitial cells of Leydig in testis, epididymis, prostate glands, corpus luteum inside ovary, uterus, oviduct, placenta and adrenal glands. Oxytocin directly acts on the smooth muscle cells and causes muscle contraction. Indirectly it stimulates synthesis of PGF2α inside the female genital tract. As such the Oxytocin is involved in a wide spectrum of activities from milk letdown, parturition, penile erection and ejaculation to social, sexual and maternal behavior. Because of the spectrum of its functions it has since been used therapeutically for conditions like facilitating parturition in uterine inertia, prevent bleeding after parturition and abortion, management of incomplete abortion, milk letdown, retention of placenta etc., although the success has not been predictable. However, Oxytocin is also being misused under the false impression that its use in dairy animals increases the milk yield. Oxytocin abuse is also rampant in fruits and vegetables. This article is an attempt to explore the body of knowledge with respect to functions, uses and most importantly the abuses of this wonderful hormone.