Special Articles

Mr.Kirupakar .B.R

Design of experiments (DOE) is a useful tool for determining specific factors
affecting defect levels in a product.

During the
1920s, a British statistician named Ronald Fisher put the finishing touches on
a method for making breakthrough discoveries. Some 70 years later, Fisher's
method, now known as design of experiments, has become a powerful software tool
for engineers and researchers.

But why did it take engineers so long to
begin using DOE for innovative problem solving? After all, they were ignoring a
technique that would have produced successes similar to the following
modern-day examples:

John I. D’souza

The expanding arena of emerging drugs, increased sensitivity to clinical
outcomes and healthcare costs are driving the need for alternative drug delivery
methods and devices.

The drug delivery technology landscape has become highly competitive and
rapidly evolving. More and more developments in delivery systems are being
integrated to optimize the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the therapy.
New classes of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals (peptides, proteins and
DNA-based therapeutics) are fueling the rapid evolution of drug delivery technology.
These new drugs typically cannot be effectively delivered by conventional
means. The benefits from targeted, localized delivery of therapeutic agents
are other driving forces for the market.

Swarnali Das

Peptide and protein drugs have found an important position in therapeutics.

Many protein- and DNA-based drugs exhibit high sensitivity to the surrounding
physiological conditions as a result of their delicate physicochemical characteristics
and the susceptibility to degradation by proteolytic enzymes in biological fluids.
So, they need to be properly protected during administration and their release
needs to be precisely targeted and controlled.

O.A.Thusleem

The pharmaceutical sector is a major user of the patent system.

While only a small - and declining - number of new chemical entities are approved annually, thousands of patents are applied for to protect variants of existing products, processes of manufacture or, where admitted, second indications of known pharmaceutical products. Since patents confer exclusive rights regarding the production, sale and use of the patented subject matter, they can be used to restrain competition and set prices higher than those that would have existed if competitive products were available. This is the very purpose of the patent system, which is generally justified as necessary to encourage investments to develop new products and processes.¹

Talha jawaid

Researchers have discovered that rifampicin, an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis and leprosy, inhibit the formation of alpha synuclein fibrils that have already formed.

Because the aggregation of alpha synuclein in dopaminergic neuron is critical steps in pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Rifampicin or a related compound could provide a new approach to the treatment of PD. ¹

Alpha-Synuclein And Parkinsons Disease

PD is a common neurodegenerative disease disorder caused by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra.Current treatment is symptomatic- patients are usually given levodopa to improve motor symptoms.

Sumeet Dwivedi

Lantana camara Linn. is a significant weed of which there are some 650 varieties in over 60 countries or island groups.

It is established and expanding in many regions of the world, often as a result of clearing of forest for timber or agriculture. It impacts severely on agriculture as well as on natural ecosystems. The plants can grow individually in clumps or as dense thickets, crowding out more desirable species. In disturbed native forests it can become the dominant understorey species, disrupting succession and decreasing biodiversity. Being the noxious nature of the weed, it is used in the treatment of various ailments. The present paper reviews the phytochemical profile and therapeutic efficacy of the plant.

Vikash Kumar

What are “Me-Too” Drugs? ^{1, 2} : The Process of new drug development is complicated, time-consuming and expensive.

In modern chemotherapy, when drugs were discovered and developed through the process of screening thousands of molecules for a variety of disease conditions, using animal models, there has been a growing criticism that too many molecules were developed with similar chemical structure and the same pharmacological profile, with very little to distinguish them from each other in terms of their therapeutic utility.

M.Sugumaran

Pithecellobium species (leguminosae) are widely distributed in the tropics, chiefly in Asia and America.

Pithecellobium dulce Benth is one of the familiar species among them, native of Mexico extensively used for number of treatment in traditional medicines. Here the compounds isolated from different parts of P.dulce and biological activities of their extracts or the chemical constituents as reported in the literature since 1962 to 2007 have been reviewed.

Tarun Kumar Satpathy

Sunil Mistry

Diabetes is a complex and heterogeneous disorder presently affecting more than 100 million people worldwide and causing serious socio-economic problems.

Appropriate experimental models are essential tools for understanding the pathogenesis, complications, and genetic or environmental influences that increase the risks of type 2 diabetes and testing of various therapeutic agents. The animal models of type 2 diabetes can be obtained either spontaneously or induced by chemicals or dietary or surgical manipulations and/or by combination thereof. This review gives an overview on the animal models of type 2 diabetes with reference to their source, characteristic features, underlying principal and procedure to the investigators in diabetes research ^1,2.