Stevia rebaudiana is a nutrient rich natural sweetest plant of Asteraceae family. The leaves naturally contain diterpene glycosides (Stevioside and Rebaudioside-A), steviobioside and dulcoside, which are responsible for its sweet taste. Along with these compounds it also contains functional compounds like phenolic acids, free radical scavenging and antioxidant capability, flavonoids, condensed tannins, anthocyanins, nutraceutical properties, etc. Stevia exhibits strong antioxidant potential as a sugar substitute owing to the presence of various compounds with medicinal significance. However, in large amounts they also possess several beneficial effects on disease in which radicals are involved. As there is no targeted Covid-19 therapy available, Stevia crude extracts and steviol glycosides are suggested to treat Covid-19 patients. Stevia has many pharmacological and therapeutic applications as suggested by many preclinical and some clinical studies, these are nontoxic and possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal and anticarcinogenic activity. Antioxidants through their scavenging power are useful for the management of various diseases that aids in combating different chronic diseases as well as increase immunity against the severity of various infections like in case of Covid-19. It is also generally accepted that consumption of 5gm dried Stevia leaves is without health problems.

The anterior cerebral artery A1 segment aplasia is an anatomical variation of the Willis circle. It is very rare and mostly associated with the anterior communicating artery aneurysm, but this relationship has still not been thoughtfully explored. The hemodynamic factors are speculated to be the main pathophysiological mechanism of the aneurysm formation. The risk of the aneurysm rupture in the setting of A1 aplasia is not well elucidated. Endovascular treatment may have good outcome in short term. Long term studies are needed to evaluate the recurrence and recanalization rate. Here, we describe a case of unilateral anterior cerebral artery A1 segment aplasia associated with a ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm in which the endovascular embolization was successful performed without any complication.

Purpose: To study the effect of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab on central macular thickness in retinal vein occlusion patients at a tertiary care centre of North India. Material and methods: A retrospective, data based study was carried out on 89 patients of acute retinal vein occlusion, including 35 cases of CRVO and 54 cases of BRVO, presented to our OPD over a period of 10 years. All cases included in this study received intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (2.5mg/0.1ml) at presentation and were followed up every month post-injection to record any change in BCVA and CMT. Results: The mean age of patients in BRVO and CRVO group was 56.81+7.02 and 57.02+7.8 years. Mean CMT at baseline was 449.16+121.28 µm in BRVO group which significantly reduced to 304.84+78.14 µm at 1 month post-injection follow up visit. In CRVO group, mean CMT at baseline was 680.17+ 175.12 µm which significantly reduced to 399.97+88.43 µm at 1 month post injection. Mean BCVA in BRVO group at baseline was 0.96+0.36 LogMAR which got significantly improved to 0.65 +0.24 LogMAR at 1st month post-injection while in CRVO group, mean BCVA at baseline was 1.59+0.48 LogMAR which got significantly improved to 1.02+0.34 LogMAR at 1st month post-injection. Conclusion: Intravitreal bevacizumab is beneficial in the improvement of BCVA and treatment of macular edema due to venous occlusion. However, any beneficial effect on visual acuity and reduction of macular edema on OCT seen initially starts weaning off after 2 months and gradually reaching to baseline value at 6 months.

Seborrheic keratoses (KS) are benign skin tumors that start in middle-aged people and develop in the elderly. They are very limited pigmented lesions, single or multiple, with a warty surface. They most often sit on the head, neck, trunk and folds. Their size usually varies from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. We report a case of KS of the external auditory canal.

The sponge Suberites carnosuswas collected during low tides from West Coast of Mumbai. Crude extract was obtained by taking 10 gram of sponge samples in10 ml of methanol. In the present investigation we found the crude protein contents in Suberites carnosus as 0.096 mg/mL. The Neuromodulatory Na (+)-K+ ATPase activity and AChE on Sprague dawley rat brain and chicken brain extract may contribute to the pathogenesis of metabolic complications of the central nervous system, and that the undetectable enzyme activity in chicken brain convulsing chicken brain may result from considerable damage or necrosis of brain tissue during seizures. In A Ch E our study is evident that both the sponge extract showed enzyme inhibitor activity at certain concentrations. In hemolytic activity showed potent toxin which is responsible for hemagglutination. Hemagglutination activity is generated by the presence of protein and the protein found in sponges which usually show hemmaglutination activity that might be because of presence of lectin which showed hemolytic activity. In CAM study showed that methanolic extract has strong antiangiogenic activity. The protein bands showed lectins have variety of effects on cells, such as agglutination, mitogenic stimulation, redistribution of cell surface components, modifying the activity of membrane enzymes, inhibition of bacterial and fungal growth, cell aggregation, toxicity, immunomodulation.

For management and treatment of diabetes several medicinal plants are used worldwide as well as these are being utilized customarily for the management of diabetes in human. The current study explored Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) and gurmar (Gymnema Sylvestre) to determine their hypoglycemic activity compared to the standard drug metformin. Streptozotocin was used to induce diabetes in rats (55 mg/kg) intraperitoneal. For a time period of 60 days stevia (100mg/kg), gurmar (500mg/kg), and their combination (500mg/kg) was administered orally as well as metformin at the rate of 800μg/kg after 2 weeks of STZ injection. Hypoglycemic effects were shown best in combined stevia-gurmar extract than the individual doses of stevia and gurmar. (OGTT) oral glucose tolerance test and measurement of blood glucose levels were assessed. Reduction in body weight by STZ was also found to increase in all rats except stevia treatment. In conclusion, the extracts of stevia and gurmar showed hypoglycemic effect as well as improving body weight effects in diabetic rats. Therefore, it can be suggested that stevia as well as gurmar extracts have a potential in preventing diabetes and can be used as antidiabetics in herbal medicine.

In systemic scleroderma, pericardial involvement is usually silent and benign. Symptomatic pericarditis is rare and cardiac tamponade even more so. We report the case of a 56-year-old woman presenting with cardiac tamponade and whose etiologic investigation concluded to a final diagnosis of limited cutaneous systemic scleroderma. Clinicians should be wary of this diagnosis when dealing with acute-onset pericarditis.

Mucormycosis is an uncommon disease caused by fungus of the order Mucorales. The disease has an aggressive course with high morbidity and mortality. It usually affects immunocompromised patients with some systemic debility or some inciting factor like trauma or some invasive procedure. Rhinoorbitocerebral type is a common variety with a typical order of system involvement. The disease has diagnostic challenges due to non-specific presenting picture, non-specific radiological changes and non- specific diagnostic tests. Biopsy and histopathological examination form the definitive diagnosis. Early institution of systemic antifungal therapy with surgical debridement are the cornerstones in management. Particular rise in number of mucormycosis cases has been noted during COVID-19 pandemic. We present a case report of an immunocompetent child who presented during the early phase after first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, with an atypical presentation, with a progressive course, delayed diagnosis but an appropriate management and satisfactory outcome.

Background: This study aimed to determine patients’ perception of pain during scaling and determine its relationship with their level of dental anxiety. It also evaluated differences in the pain perception between genders and its relationship with age. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Periodontology Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. Supra-gingival scaling was performed on the six mandibular anterior teeth of 94 consenting participants. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to record the patient's pain level while the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to measure dental anxiety. Gender and age differences between Anxiety Scores and VAS was compared using Student’s unpaired t-test and ANOVA respectively. P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Females had higher overall Mean MDAS scores (12.87±4.79). Similarly, respondents aged 18-40years had higher Mean MDAS scores (12.00±4.65) than those aged 41-85years even though the association was not significant. Females also had higher OHI-S scores (2.57±1.22), Bleeding Index scores (48.57±39.38), Gingival Index (1.57±0.58) scores than males though the association was not significant. In addition, females had higher mean VAS scores (31.44±23.44) than males and those aged 18-40 years had higher mean VAS scores (31.44±23.44) than those aged 41-85 years though the association was not significant. Conclusion: Scaling and polishing was associated with higher pain and anxiety levels among females and younger respondents while patients with worse oral hygiene and gingival inflammation experienced more discomfort during the procedure. The proportion of patients that experienced severe pain increased with increased dental anxiety but the association was not significant. It is recommended that patients attending for scaling and polishing are screened with appropriate tools like MDAS while awaiting the procedure.