Objective To test the hypothesis that women with high serum beta-HCG levels in early pregnancy are at higher risk of developing PIH. Methods Serum beta-HCG estimation was done by CLIA method in 200 women between 13 and 20 weeks of gestation, selected randomly for this study from July 2008 to Aug 2009. Multiple of median (MOM) was calculated from charts of norms available for that week of pregnancy. They were followed till delivery for development of PIH and pregnancy outcome and results analysed statistically with Chi-square test and Z test. Results Out of 200 cases, 178 (89 %) were finally evaluated. Of whom 22 (12.36 %) cases developed PIH. Beta HCG levels were considered raised if the levels were [2MOM.20 (83.33 %) out of 24 cases with beta HCG levels [2MOM developed PIH against 2 (1.2 %) cases out of 154 having beta HCG levels B2 MOM (P value\0.001).Also, higher levels of beta HCG are associated with increased severity of PIH (P value \0.01). The sensitivity was 90.91 %, specificity was 97.44 % and positive predictive value was 83.33 %. Conclusion The study concluded that the serum beta HCG estimation at mid trimester (13-20 weeks) is a good predictor of PIH and higher levels of beta HCG are associated with increased severity of PIH.

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Background: Diabetes is a multifactorial disease and a major cause for many microvascular and macrovascular complications. The disease will ultimately lead to high rate mortality if it is not managed properly. Treatment of diabetes without any side effects has always remained a major challenge for health care practitioners. Introduction: The current review discusses the various conventional drugs, herbal drugs, combination therapy and the use of nutraceuticals for the effective management of diabetes mellitus. The biotechnological aspects of various antidiabetic drugs are also discussed. Methods: Structured search of bibliographic databases for previously published peer-reviewed research papers was explored and data was sorted in terms of various approaches that are used for the treatment of diabetes. Results: More than 170 papers including both research and review articles, were included in this review in order to produce a comprehensive and easily understandable article. A series of herbal and synthetic drugs have been discussed along with their current status of treatment in terms of dose, mechanism of action and possible side effects. The article also focuses on combination therapies containing synthetic as well as herbal drugs to treat the disease. The role of pre and probiotics in the management of diabetes is also highlighted. Conclusion: Oral antihyperglycemics which are used to treat diabetes can cause many adverse effects and if given in combination, can lead to drug-drug interactions. The combination of various phytochemicals with synthetic drugs can overcome the challenge faced by the synthetic drug treatment. Herbal and nutraceuticals therapy and the use of probiotics and prebiotics are a more holistic therapy due to their natural origin and traditional use.

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