Background: The students, especially medical and dental undergraduates are more involved in the self-medication practice as they are empowered with good knowledge of drugs and diseases and have greater access to medicine. Recent studies have shown a greater prevalence of self-medication among medical and dental students. Objective: The objective of this study is to study the prevalence and risk factors of self-medication practices among medical and dental undergraduate students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 502, medical (252) and dental (250) students. A predesigned, pretested, and semistructured study questionnaire was used for the data collection of the present study. The students were contacted and they were given the self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was collected back once they finished it. The questionnaire did not include any identifying information of the students. All batch students were contacted. Results: Majority (35.9%) were aged 20 years. About 58.2% were females. There were 50.2% of medical and 49.8% of dental students. Almost no one agreed to have any kind of addiction; 53.8% were doing physical activity of <1 h. The prevalence of self-medication among students was 73.7%. It was 74.8% among dental students compared to 72.6% among medical students. The most common drug used for self-medication was paracetamol (30.3%). Most commonly, the drugs were used only for 1 day (33.5%). The most common condition for which the self-medication drug was used was cold (19.9%). No variable studied in the present study was found to be associated with self-medication. Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication among medical and dental students was very high. However, the drugs used were not harmful and the frequency of use was limited. The practice of self-medication was similar in the two groups and it was not associated with any factors.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the most common degenerative joint disorder that results in disability and increased morbidity. Conventional treatment of OA with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) often leads to serious adverse side effects that may increase morbidity and mortality. Glucosamine and Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties which may supplement NSAIDs. Hence this study was aimed to determine the effectiveness and safety of these drugs in the management of knee OAMethods: 76 (63.33%) female and 44 (36.67%) male patients of OA of the knees were divided equally into four groups depending upon the therapy with Glucosamine or MSM or their combination (study groups) or none of them (control group) for 12 weeks. After the written consent, a detail Clinical History& Examination, Biochemical investigations, X-rays of chest and knees and ECG were done. The outcome of the treatment was assessed by Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) Index and for any adverse drug effects.Results: After 12 weeks of study there was significant decrease in mean WOMAC pain scores (27.29-39.13) and total aggregate scores (23.53-37.14%) in study groups (p<0.01-p<0.001) as compared to control group (14.28 % and 8.82% respectively). Besides the relief of pain and improvement in physical functions were superior in patients treated with combination therapy. Conclusions: This study showed Glucosamine & MSM are effective in the management of OA of knee and are safe health supplement to NSAIDs while their combination was more superior and effective.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common non-communicable diseases in the present millennium which has become a global public health problem. The treatment of type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2 DM) often is initiated with monotherapy of oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs), which often do not decrease the plasma sugar levels effectively and consistently that will reduce short term and long-term complications associated with T2 DM. Hence the current study is aimed to determine the effectiveness of vitamin C supplementation with standard OADs on glycemic control.Methods: This study consisted of 120 T2 DM patients with 80 males and 40 females with a mean age of 50.88 yrs were divided into four groups with equal number of males and females in each group depending upon the OADs they received in solo or with vitamin C for 12 weeks. After the written consent, a detail clinical history, clinical examination, biochemical investigations including fasting plasma sugar (FPS), post prandial plasma sugar (PPS), glycosylated hemoglobin (HBA1c), serum creatinine, serum electrolytes, chest X-ray PA view and standard ECG were done. Repeat FPS, PPS and HBA1c were done after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of study.Results: After 12 weeks of study FBS, PPS and HBA1c decreased significantly (p<0.01) in study groups (Metformin and teneligliptin with vitamin C) as compared to control groups (OADs without vitamin C). Vitamin C supplementation with OADs found to be effective, well tolerated and devoid of any side effects.Conclusions: OADs are effective and affordable hypoglycemic agents with vitamin C supplementation.