GNIPST BULLETIN 2013

1118-1177-4796-9849-7562-5062

TO GROW AS A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN THE FIELD OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE

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22nd March 2013

Volume No.: 23

Issue No.: 04

Vision

Contents

Message from GNIPST Letter to the Editor News Update Disease Outbreak News Health Awareness Forth Coming Events Drugs Update GNIPST Photo Gallery
For your comments/contribution OR For Back-Issues, mailto:gnipstbulletin@gmail.com

Campus News Students Section Editors Note Archive

1 EDITOR: Debabrata Ghosh Dastidar

GURU NANAK INSTITUTE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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MESSAGE FROM GNIPST

All the members of GNIPST are proud to publish the 23rd Volume of GNIPST BULLETIN. This bulletin has successfully completed its twenty months journey. We hope it has kept the readers updated of recent activities in pharmaceutical & biological sciences and also introduced them with the different activities of our esteemed institution. We are thankful to all of you for your great cooperation & support and are looking forward to the same in future.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

NEWS UPDATE

WORLD TB DAY: 24 March

24 March is an opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide and the status of TB prevention and control efforts. Read more

Global Rise in Type 1 Diabetes May Be Linked to Reduced Exposure to Pathogens in Early Life (19
MARCH 2013)

Countries with lower mortality from infectious disease exhibit higher rates of type 1 diabetes, according to a new study. The
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findings suggest that the as yet unexplained global rise in type 1 diabetes may be linked to reduced exposure to pathogens in early life. Read more

Millions of People in Asia Potentially Exposed to Health Risks of Popular Herbal Medicines. (18
MARCH 2013)

Scientists are warning that millions of people in Asia may be exposed to risk of developing kidney failure and bladder cancer by taking herbal medicines that are widely available in Asia. The medicines, used for a wide range of conditions including slimming, asthma and arthritis, are derived from a botanical compound containing aristolochic acids. Read more Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Also Reduces Cancer

Risk (18

MARCH 2013)

Following the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 steps for a healthy heart also reduces cancer risk. Meeting six or seven of the health factors can cut cancer risk in half. The benefits are cumulative, with cancer risk decreasing for each additional factor met.Read more

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Oral

Estrogen Risk

Hormone of

Therapy

Linked Surgery

to in

Increased

Gallbladder
MARCH 2013)

Menopausal Women (18

Oral estrogen therapy for menopausal women is associated with an increased risk of gallbladder surgery, according to a large-scale study of more than 70 000 women in France). Read more Under the Skin, a Tiny Laboratory (19
MARCH 2013)

Scientists have developed a tiny, portable personal blood testing laboratory: a minuscule device implanted just under the skin provides an immediate analysis of substances in the body, and a radio module transmits the results to a doctor over the cellular phone network. This feat of miniaturization has many potential applications, including monitoring patients undergoing chemotherapy. Read more Fish Peptide May Inhibit Cancer Metastasis.

(19

MARCH 2013)

Researchers have identified a peptide, or protein, derived from Pacific cod that may inhibit prostate cancer and possibly other cancers from spreading, according to preclinical research. Read more Brain Tumor Cells Killed by Anti-Nausea Drug.

(19

MARCH 2013)
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New research has shown for the first time that the growth of brain tumors can be halted by a drug currently being used to help patients recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. Read more New

Nanomedicine

Resolves (19

Inflammation,
MARCH 2013)

Promotes Tissue Healing

Researchers have developed biodegradable nanoparticles that are capable of delivering inflammation-resolving drugs to sites of tissue injury. The nanoparticles, which were successfully tested in mice, have potential for the treatment of a wide array of diseases characterized by excessive inflammation, such as atherosclerosis.
Read more

Potential Immune Benefits of Strong Vitamin D

Status in Healthy Individuals (20

MARCH 2013)

Research shows that improving vitamin D status by increasing its level in the blood could have a number of non-skeletal health benefits. The study reveals for the first time that improvement in the vitamin D status of healthy adults significantly impacts genes involved with a number of biologic pathways associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases.Read more Baffling Blood Problem Explained: 60-Year-Old

Health Mystery Solved

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(20

MARCH 2013)
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Some 200,000 people in Europe and a similar number in North America are "Vel-negative", a rare blood type, difficult for hospitals to identify, that can make blood transfusions turn deadly. For sixty years, researchers hunted -- unsuccessfully -- for the cause of Velnegative blood. Now scientists have found the culprit -- a tiny protein called SMIM1 -- and created a fast and easy DNA test for it.
Read more.

Implantable Telescope Lens to Treat Macular

Degeneration (21
MARCH 2013)

Available

at

Johns

Hopkins

Approximately two million Americans who have the advanced form of AMD, which affects the region of the retina responsible for central, detailed vision, and is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss and legal blindness in people over the age of 65. Now, a relatively new device, essentially an implantable telescope, is offering hope for those "aging eyes." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT), which works like the telephoto lens of a camera, in 2010.
Read more.

Energy Drinks May Increase Blood Pressure,

Disturb Heart Rhythm

(21

MARCH 2013)

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Energy drinks may increase blood pressure and disturb the heart's rhythm. Researchers who analyzed seven previously published studies found an increase of 3.5 points in systolic blood pressure for those consuming energy drinks. Consuming energy drinks may increase the chances of developing an abnormal heart rhythm. Read
more.

HEALTH AWARENESS

TUBERCULOSIS
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected. About one-third of the world's population has latent TB, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with disease and cannot transmit the disease.
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People infected with TB bacteria have a lifetime risk of falling ill with TB of 10%. However persons with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a much higher risk of falling ill. When a person develops active TB (disease), the symptoms (cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss etc.) may be mild for many months. This can lead to delays in seeking care, and results in transmission of the bacteria to others. People ill with TB can infect up to 10-15 other people through close contact over the course of a year. Without proper treatment up to two thirds of people ill with TB will die. Who is most at risk? Tuberculosis mostly affects young adults, in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 95% of cases and deaths are in developing countries. People who are co-infected with HIV and TB are 21 to 34 times more likely to become sick with TB (see TB and HIV section). Risk of active TB is also greater in persons suffering from other conditions that impair the immune system. About half a million children (0-14 years) fell ill with TB, and 64 000 children died from the disease in 2011. Tobacco use greatly

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increases the risk of TB disease and death. More than 20% of TB cases worldwide are attributable to smoking. Global impact of TB TB occurs in every part of the world. In 2011, the largest number of new TB cases occurred in Asia, accounting for 60% of new cases globally. However, Sub-Saharan Africa carried the greatest proportion of new cases per population with over 260 cases per 100 000 population in 2011. In 2011, about 80% of reported TB cases occurred in 22 countries. Some countries are experiencing a major decline in cases, while cases are dropping very slowly in others. Brazil and China for example, are among the 22 countries that showed a sustained decline in TB cases over the past 20 years. In the last decade, the TB prevalence in Cambodia fell by almost 45%. Symptoms and diagnosis Common symptoms of active lung TB are cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. Many countries still rely on a long-used method called sputum smear microscopy to diagnose TB. Trained laboratory technicians look at sputum samples under a microscope to see if TB bacteria are present. With three such tests, diagnosis can be made within a day, but this test does not detect numerous cases of less infectious forms of TB.
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Diagnosing MDR-TB (see Multidrug-resistant TB section below) and HIV-associated TB can be more complex. A new two-hour test that has proven highly effective in diagnosing TB and the presence of drug resistance is now being rolled-out in many countries. Tuberculosis is particularly difficult to diagnose in children. Treatment TB is a treatable and curable disease. Active, drug-sensitive TB disease is treated with a standard six-month course of four antimicrobial drugs that are provided with information, supervision and support to the patient by a health worker or trained volunteer. Without such supervision and support, treatment adherence can be difficult and the disease can spread. The vast majority of TB cases can be cured when medicines are provided and taken properly. Since 1995, over 51 million people have been successfully treated and an estimated 20 million lives saved through use of DOTS and the Stop TB Strategy recommended by WHO and described below. TB and HIV At least one-third of the 34 million people living with HIV worldwide are infected with TB bacteria, although not yet ill with active TB. People living with HIV and infected with TB are 21 to
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34 times more likely to develop active TB disease than people without HIV. HIV and TB form a lethal combination, each speeding the other's progress. Someone who is infected with HIV and TB is much more likely to become sick with active TB. In 2011 about 430 000 people died of HIV-associated TB. Almost 25% of deaths among people with HIV are due to TB. In 2011 there were an estimated 1.1 million new cases of HIV-positive new TB cases, 79% of whom were living in Africa. As noted below, WHO recommends a 12-component approach to integrated TB-HIV services, including actions for prevention and treatment of infection and disease, to reduce deaths. Through the implementation of this approach, an estimated 1.3 million lives were saved globally between 2005 and 2011. Multidrug-resistant TB Standard anti-TB drugs have been used for decades, and resistance to the medicines is growing. Disease strains that are resistant to a single anti-TB drug have been documented in every country surveyed. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to, at least, isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most powerful, first-line (or standard) antiTB drugs.
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The primary cause of MDR-TB is inappropriate treatment. Inappropriate or incorrect use of anti-TB drugs, or use of poor quality medicines, can all cause drug resistance. Disease caused by resistant bacteria fails to respond to conventional, first-line treatment. MDR-TB is treatable and curable by using second-line drugs. However second-line treatment options are limited and recommended medicines are not always available. The extensive chemotherapy required (up to two years of treatment) is more costly and can produce severe adverse drug reactions in patients. In some cases more severe drug resistance can develop. Extensively drug-resistant TB, XDR-TB, is a form of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis that responds to even fewer available medicines, including the most effective second-line anti-TB drugs. There were about 310 000 cases of MDR-TB among notified TB patients with pulmonary TB in the world in 2011. Almost 60% of these cases were in India, China and the Russian Federation. It is estimated that about 9% of MDR-TB cases had XDR-TB.

DISEASE OUTBREAK NEWS

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS

DRUGS UPDATES
FDA approves TOBI Podhaler to treat a type of

bacterial lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients (22

MARCH 2013)

The U.S. FDA approved TOBI Podhaler (tobramycin inhalation powder) for the management of cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that causes lung infections. Read more FDA approves first Botulism Antitoxin for use in

neutralizing all seven known botulinum nerve toxin serotypes (22

MARCH 2013)

The U.S. FDA approved Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (A, B, C, D, E, F, G)-(Equine) to treat patients showing signs of botulism following documented or suspected exposure to botulinum neurotoxin. The product is derived from horse plasma and contains a mixture of antibody fragments that neutralize all of the seven botulinum nerve toxin serotypes known to cause botulism.

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CAMPUS NEWS
The poster Approach to produce Insulin-Banana, presented in the PRAKRITI 2013 (Agriculture and Food Innovation Fest), organized by IIT, Kharagpur, by Mohua Das (B.Pharm., 4th yr.), Sourav Bagchi (B.Pharm., 4th yr.), Uddipta Ghosh Dastidar (B.Pharm., 4th yr.), was awarded first prize.

STUDENTS SECTION
WHO CAN ANS WER FIRS T???

() The blue colour variety of which flower blooms only once in 12 years in Annamalai, Nilgiri and Palni hills in Tamilnadu? () Which fruit is known as Togarashi in Japan?
Answer of Previous Issue Question:

A) Horlicks

B) Dewey Decimal System for classification of library books

Congratulation Sreemanti Mazumder, B.Pharm final year, for correct answer. Send your thoughts/ Quiz/Puzzles/games/writeups or any other contributions for Students Section & answers of this Section at
gnipstbulletin@gmail.com

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EDITORS NOTE I am very happy to publish the 4th issue of 23rd Volume of GNIPST BULLETIN. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to the newly launched facebook account GNIPST bulletin. You are cordially invited to add this account to your friend list. The current issues will also be directly available on facebook. I would like to convey my thanks to all the GNIPST members and the readers for their valuable comments, encouragement& supports. Special thanks to Dr. Prerona Saha for her advice; Mr. Soumya Bhattacharya, for his contribution in students section. It would be my great pleasure to receive the contributions, suggestions & feedback from your desk for further upliftment of this deliberation GNIPST BULLETIN.

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ARCHIVE The general body meeting of APTI, Bengal Branch has been conducted at GNIPST on 15th June, 2012. The programme started with a nice presentation by Dr. Pulok Kr. Mukherjee, School of Natural Products, JU on the skill to write a good manuscript for publication in impact journals. It was followed by nearly two hour long discussion among more than thirty participants on different aspects of pharmacy education. Five nonmember participants applied for membership on that very day. GNIPST is now approved by AICTE and affiliated to WBUT for conducting the two years post graduate course (M.Pharm) in

PHARMACOLOGY. The approved number of seat is 18.

The number of seats in B.Pharm. has been increased from 60 to 120. 2nd World Congress on Ga-68 (Generators and Novel Radiopharmaceuticals), Molecular Imaging (PET/CT), Targeted Radionuclide Therapy, and Dosimetry (SWC-2013) : On the Way to Personalized Medicine

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Dates 28 Feb 2013 02 Mar 2013 Location: Chandigarh, India.Details.

AICTE has sanctioned a release of grant under Research Promotion Scheme (RPS) during the financial year 201213to GNIPST as per the details below: a. Beneficiary Institution: Guru Nanak Institution of Pharmaceutical Science & Technology. b. Principal Investigator: Dr. LopamudraDutta. c. Grant-in-aid sanctioned:Rs. 16,25000/- only d. Approved duration: 3 years e. Title of the project: Screening and identification of potential medicinal plant of Purulia&Bankuradistricts of West Bengal with respect to diseases such as diabetes, rheumatism, Jaundice, hypertension and developing biotechnological tools for enhancing bioactive molecules in these plant.

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