A wide range of drugs from different pharmacological groups have been tried in premenstrual syndrome by various investigators, with contradictory reports. Pyridoxine is reported to relieve autonomic and behavioural symptoms and NSAIDs to relieve physical symptoms. The present study evaluated and compared with placebo, the clinical efficacy of Pyridoxine and Mefenamic acid alone & in combination in relieving symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome( PMS) Material/ Methods- 80 female patients between 18- 45 years of age, diagnosed to be suffering from PMS were randomly divided into 4 groups (A,B,C,D) of 20 patients each. They received Placebo tablets, Pyridoxine HCl 100 mg OD, Mefenamic acid 250 mg TDS and a combination of Pyridoxine and Mefenamic acid respectively for 7 days preceeding menstruation. Patients filled 36 item PMTS self rating scale and 22 item daily diary for 2 months before treatment to record baseline symptoms and during treatment cycle. 22 symptoms were divided into 4 subsets of physical, anxiety related, depression related and fluid- electrolyte related symptoms to study effect of drugs. Results- Statistically significant improvement from baseline symptoms occurred in patients receiving Pyridoxine, Mefenamic acid and their combination (group B,C, D), but mean %age improvement in all the 3 groups was not significantly different from Placebo (p>0.05). Significant (p<0.05) improvement in subset of physical symptoms occurred with mefenamic acid alone, but not with combination of pyridoxine and mefenamic acid. Conclusion- Placebo controll group must always be included in Premensrual syndrome trials. Mefenamic acid 250 mg TDS for 7 days preceeding menses relieved physical symptoms of PMS. However the beneficial effect was lost on combining pyridoxine

Introduction Hypertension is a chronic illness associated with high morbidity & mortality. A large number of antihypertensive drugs alone or in various combinations are available and physicians need to choose the most appropriate drug for a particular patient. The standard treatment guidelines and drug utilization studies at regular intervals help physicians to prescribe drugs rationally. The present study was conducted to analyze the prescription patterns of antihypertensive drugs and adherence to JNC VII guidelines in a North Indian tertiary care hospital. Methods Drug utilization data of 500 hypertensive patients, attending medicine Out Patient Department of Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital from October 2010 to March 2011 was collected from 24 hour hospital pharmacy. Following groups of anti hypertensive drugs were analyzed; Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs), Beta Blockers, Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs), Diuretics, Alpha Adrenergic Blockers and Central Sympatholytics. Patients suffering from essential hypertension with or without other co-morbid conditions were included in the study. Frequency and proportion of prescribing different groups of anti hypertensive drugs as monotherapy or combination therapy and prescription of fixed drug combinations (FDCs) was analyzed. Results The most frequently prescribed antihypertensive drugs were diuretics followed by ARBs, Beta Blockers, CCB’s and ACE inhibitors. 42.6% received monotherapy and 57.4% received combination therapy. 41.6% patients received fixed drug combinations. The prescription pattern was found to be in accordance with JNC VII guidelines.

The present study is based on measurement of foot length of 200 students of two age groups - 6 to 8 yr & 12 to14 yr. Foot length (heel to tip of each digit), foot width, foot girth at metatarsophalangeal joints & stature were the parameters. Collected data was analyzed. Standard deviation, co-relation coefficient, sexual dimorphism, regression formulae and multiple regression equations were predicted. This study suggest a significant relationship between the foot dimensions & stature. If either of the measurement is known, the other can be predicted. This would be useful for anthropologist and forensic medicine experts.