Background: Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic degenerative joint disease. Definite treatment of osteoarthritis is still undiscovered. This study was designed to evaluate and compare the chondroprotective efficacy of piroxicam and triamcinolone in rat model of osteoarthritis. Methods: This laboratory based experimental study was conducted in Pharmacology Department, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from April-June 2019. Osteoarthritis was induced by medial meniscectomy and anterior cruciate ligament resection in knee joints of twenty-four rats. They were divided in three groups with eight rats in each. Group I, II and III were control, piroxicam and triamcinolone groups that were treated by intra articular saline, piroxicam and triamcinolone once weekly for four weeks respectively and then gait pattern was scored. Animals were euthanized thereafter and samples were taken for histopathological analysis. Results: Comparison of gait score of control, piroxicam and triamcinolone groups exhibited a p-value of <0.01. Intergroup comparison of gait of group I and II, group I and III and group II and IV depicted p-value of <0.001,0.013 and 0.013 respectively. Likewise histopathological comparison of control, piroxicam and triamcinolone groups showed p-value of <0.01. While Intergroup histopathological comparison of group I and II, group I and III and group II and IV showed p-value of <0.001, <0.001 and 0.008 respectively. conclusion: Comparison of control group with treatment group proved chondroprotective efficacy of piroxicam and triamcinolone. On comparison of treatment groups, it was concluded that piroxicam has better chondroprotective efficacy as compared to triamcinolone.

Background: Dyslipidemia is becoming one of the most common problems worldwide predisposing towards atherosclerotic cardiovascular events and other issues like obesity. Statins are imperative for treating dyslipidemia. However statin-intolerance is a major hurdle due to the myopathy incurred with their usage, ranging from mild aches and pains without CPK elevation to marked increase in CPK levels with myonecrosis and even death in rare cases. Aim: Local identification of dyslipedemic patients with reduced vitamin D levels and intolerance to ≥2 statins (especially Atorvastatin), exhibiting statin induced myopathy with CPK elevation. Assessment of 3 months vitamin D therapy on myopathy and patient compliance to statins Place and duration of study: A 13 months study conducted in Army Cardiac Center Lahore . Methods: Upon Ethical Board Clearance (Ref No:F.39/NHRC/Admn/IRB/40)(IRB- Number: 1547) 60 dyslipidemic patients ranging from 40-70years of age, having CPK confirmed myopathy (CK levels >120micrograms/L) and intolerance to ≥2 statins (including Atorvastatin) along with hypovitaminosis D were assessed for enrollment based on strict inclusion and exclusion criteria at Army Cardiac Center Lahore. Results: Baseline investigations including CBC, renal, liver and thyroid function tests, vit D, vit B12, hepatitis B, C, FBS, CK, CK MB and lipid profile were performed.At the end of the study at 3rd month (2ndfollowup) investigations such as 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels, presence or absence of muscular pain as symptom of myopathy and CPK with its isoenzymes CK MB levels were repeated and compared with the baseline values Conclusion: In this study it is concluded that by replenishing vitamin D levels, Atorvastatin induced myopathy improves leading to more compliance towards the drug and resulting in improvement in lipid profile. Keywords: Dyslipidemia, Vitamin D, Myopathy, Atorvastatin

Background: In Pakistan, many people undergo tooth extractions every year due to various causes such as dental caries, periodontitis, and trauma. For a healthy alveolar bone after tooth extraction, some kind of intervention is always required. Honey can possibly help to improve bone healing after tooth extractions. Aim: To observe the effects of honey on bone healing of alveolar sockets after tooth extraction in humans. Method: It was an experimental study, conducted at Lahore general hospital over the period of 6 months. Twenty-four participants were included in the study through simple random sampling technique. After tooth extractions in both groups, honey was injected into extracted sockets of the experimental group while the control group was left as it was. Levels of BMP-2 were tested in saliva through the ELISA technique on days 1, 3, and 7 of tooth extraction. Results: In the control group, mean BMP-2 levels were 485.5± 52.63, 623.7 ±47.16 and 692.5± 11.86 while in the experimental group the mean values of BMP-2 were 494.3 ± 49.89, 703.6 ± 39.31 and 812.9 ± 34.40 at day 1, 3 and 7 respectively. The mean difference was calculated to be 8.75, 79.9, and 120.5. A significant difference (p-value <0.001) was noted in levels of BMP-2 between the experimental and control group on days 3 and 7. Conclusion: Raise in levels of BMP-2 in the experimental group when compared with the control group confirmed better bone healing. Hence, honey can be used to promote bone healing in post-extraction tooth sockets. This study can be used in future to improve bone quality and minimize ridge resorption after tooth extractions. Keywords: Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), Honey, Extracted Tooth sockets, bone healing, ELISA.

Background: Asthma is a debilitating chronic inflammatory disease of airway with frequent episodes of exacerbations. It confers great burden on health systems due to associated symptoms like cough, wheeze, chest tightness and shortness of breath. We have explored the effect of an important indoleamine inhibitor on important asthmatic parameters in this study. Aim: Exploration of an alternative pathway of indoleamine inhibition for the treatment of asthma in future. Methods: Forty Wester rats were divided into four groups (normal control, disease control, prednisolone treated, methyltryptophan treated) with ten animals each. Blood samples were collected for eosinophil count. PCR was performed for measuring the IL-5 expression of the lung tissue. Results:1MT significantly reduced the eosinophil levels and mRNA expression of IL-5 through indoleamine inhibition. Conclusion: The pathway of indoleamine inhibition has appeared significant for reducing the inflammation and allergic response in asthma. Further exploration of this pathway can open new dynamics for asthma treatment. Keywords: Asthma, indoleamines, cytokines, eosinophils, inflammation