Leprosy is a chronic infectious condition caused by Mycobacterium leprae and is endemic in many regions of the world. The diagnosis of this condition is usually clinical except in some situations where investigations are necessary to confirm the diagnosis of leprosy or classify its clinical form. Histopathology is the usual modality for conformation of diagnosis. This review focuses mainly on high resolution ultrasound, nerve conduction study, and other non-invasive investigations in leprosy.

Taila Kalpana- A liquid dosage form of Ayurveda used for both external and internal application, has an important role in clinical practice. Asanavilwadi taila is a preparation mentioned in Sahasrayogam taila prakaranam and in Chikitsa manjari Siro roga chikitsa. It is used in the treatment of diseases of eye, ear and head and found to be very effective. Based on the data collected about the production of Asanavilwadi tailam from various manufacturing companies, it was noted that large amount of Asanavilwadi tila tailam and Asanavilwadi kera tailam are produced. In the present scenario there is increase in the number of manufacturing companies, increased production of formulations and there is decreased availability of raw drugs. So, it is necessary to confirm the genuinity of formulations available in the market. But Asanavilwadi tailam has not been standardized yet in API. This work was initiated to develop a standard analytical parameter for Asanavilwadi tila tailam and Asanavilwadi kera tailam. Asanavilwadi taila is prepared both in the media of Tila taila and Kera tailam as both samples are used for clinical practice and physico-chemical analyses were done. Standard analytical protocol proposed by Pharmacopoeial Laboratory of Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India were taken as the study tool.

INTRODUCTIONBronchial asthma is the commonest chronic disease in industrialized nations. According to ISAAC study group (International study on asthma and other allergies in children) worldwide prevalence of bronchial asthma is 36%-38% in the year 1992.1 The prevalence of asthma in India has increased significantly in the last 20 years i.e. from 9% in 1979 to nearly 30% in 1999.Aerosol therapy has revolutionized the treatment of bronchial asthma in children as in adults. Different delivery systems used in children has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. Commonly used delivery systems include pressured metered dose inhaler (MDI) with or without spacer, dry powder inhaler (DPI) and nebulisers. Even though nebulisation is a simple technique, it is expensive and there is a need for power source.2-4 Some inconvenience is there with its use and there is a risk for bacterial contamination.So we conducted a study to compare the clinical efficacy of nebulised salbutamol and salbutamol metered dose inhaler (MDI) in the management of mild to moderate exacerbation of bronchial asthma in children. ABSTRACTBackground: Bronchial asthma is the commonest chronic disease in industrialized nations. Aerosol therapy has revolutionized the treatment of bronchial asthma in children as in adults. Even though nebulisation is a simple technique, it is expensive and there is a need for power source. The aim of the study was to compare the clinical efficacy of nebulised salbutamol and salbutamol metered dose inhaler (MDI) in children with mild or moderate exacerbation of Bronchial asthma. Methods: This study was a hospital based randomized control study carried out between March 2009 to December 2009 on children attending OP or casualty of Government Medical College, Alappuzha with mild or moderate exacerbation of bronchial asthma. Results: 60 subjects were selected for the study out of which 30 were assigned to salbutamol MDI group and the other 30 to salbutamol nebulisation group. After the administration of drug, all the studied variables showed significant improvement in both groups (p value <0.001). Percentage predicted PEFR increased by about 27% in nebulisation group and 26% in MDI group; however this difference was not statistically significant (P value = 0.99). Conclusions: In this study we concluded that the efficacy of salbutamol in mild or moderate acute exacerbation of asthma was similar when the drug is delivered either by nebuliser or MDI with spacer.

BACKGROUNDAmong all major chronic diseases, COPD is the only disease that shows a rising mortality. Estimates show that COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. While analysing the history and records of patients, it is evident that majority of COPD patients were getting treatment, which were different from the currently accepted guidelines. Aim of the Study-To determine the proportion of COPD patients getting treatment as per currently accepted guidelines from peripheral health care systems.