Background: The Gestational Age (GA) is frequently over or under estimated, as the conventional gestational estimation is based on the Last Menstrual Period (LMP) and on ultrasonography (USG). Many people are unaware of their LMP and irregular menstruations and USG is bound to have a bias, thereby posing difficulties in the GA estimation.Aim: This study was aimed at estimating the (Placental Thickness) PT and at investigating the relationship between PT and the foetal growth parameters in normal singleton pregnancies. Materials and Methods:Two hundred eleven pregnant women were recruited in a cross sectional prospective study. The pregnancies were between 11 to 40 weeks and they were not complicated by either maternal or foetal diseases. The Biparietal Diameter (BPD), the Abdominal Circumference (AC), the Head Circumference (HC), the Femur Length (FL) and the PT were measured by USG by using a 3.5 MHz transducer. Results:The maximum mean PT in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and the combined trimesters were 16.5 mm, 23.78 mm, 35.81 mm and 28.49 mm respectively. The correlation between PT and the other foetal parameters was investigated by Pearson's correla-

Background: Polycystic ovarian disease is one of the most common causes of infertility in women of reproductive age. Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), a member of transforming growth factor (TGF) family which is secreted by granulosa cells of growing follicle, is found to be increased to three to four fold in Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) patients as evidenced by previous studies. But the level of AMH in relation to the infertile status of PCOS was not studied yet. The present study was focused to determine the discriminative power of AMH in infertility subjects with regular cycles and infertility subjects associated with PCOS. Methods:The subjects under study were one hundred and twenty infertile women of age group ranging from 27-35 years. Subjects, were further divided into sixty infertile with regular cycles as controls (Group1) and sixty infertile subjects with PCOS as cases (Group 2). Hormones like FSH, E2 and AMH were assayed for all the subjects. Mean and student t-test for all hormones were compared between controls and cases. The diagnostic power of AMH pertaining to sensitivity and specificity was evaluated by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results: Serum AMH level were two fold higher in PCOS patients than in controls. The mean value of AMH also shows a test of significance between the two groups. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the AMH assay was 0.95 in infertile group when 3.34ng/ml was used as cut off point indicating its better discriminative power and good diagnostic potency. Setting the AMH value at 3.34ng/ml sensitivity, specificity,Positive Predictive Value(PPV) and Negative Predictive Value(NPV) were observed 98% ,93%, 93% and 98% respectively. Conclusion:The diagnostic potency of Area Under Curve (AUC) for AMH in infertile subjects reflects that AMH is a potential marker for recruited non growing follicles rather than a simple marker for ovarian reserve as it is predominantly produced by small follicles rather than a simple marker for ovarian reserve. BACkgROundThe primary function of the human ovary is the production of sex steroid hormones and gametes. At around 20 weeks of foetal development, the female gamete forms primordial follicles and with the onset of menarche, the follicles grow in size. Recruitment of follicles for the ovulation process continues until the primordial follicle pool is exhausted, resulting in menopause in women.The size of the primordial follicle stocks is difficult to measure directly and studies have suggested that the number of growing follicles is correlated to the size of primordial follicle stock from which they are recruited [1, 2]. A marker is required to ascertain the transition from the primordial follicle to the growing follicle, which reflects the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the ovarian reserve. Transvaginal ultrasonography measurement of antral follicular count (AFC) and ovarian volume (OV) indicate and reflect the size of primordial follicle pool. The ovarian volume (OV) indirectl...

Aswagandharishtam is classical medicine for diseases pertaining to nervous system and digestive system prepared by a number of plants and plant parts. The present work is to know the types of biomolecules present in it by GC MS analysis. Aswagandharishtam was procured from standard Ayurvedic outlet and was subjected to Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry after due processing. The GC MS analysis of Aswagandharishtam has shown some promising molecules like Prostaglandin A2, Cholesterol, Piperine, Gentamicin a, d-Mannose, Eugenol, Pipradrol among others, which have activities similar to that of Aswagadharistham. This is a preliminary report where some clue about the various types of biomolecules present in Aswagandharishtam was obtained. Further work is on to prove the efficacy of this medicine by other parameters.

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Withaferin-A (WA) was evaluated for its neuroprotective efficacy on the dopamine (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum (ST) in aged rats. Wistar albino rats were divided into group I, young (3 months old); group II, aged (24 months old); group III, aged rats supplemented with WA (50 mg/kg bodyweight once per day for 30 days), and group IV, young rats supplemented with WA (50 mg/kg bodyweight). At the end of the experiment period, the animals were subjected to various motor behavior analyses, and were sacrificed by transcardial perfusion. The brains were dissected out and subjected to various analyses, including histological, histomorphometrical, and immunolocalization of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) enzyme. The data of rotarod analysis (p < 0.001) showed a significant motor impairment in aged rats (number of falls 10.2 ± 0.86) and reduction in retention time (31.23 ± 2.56 s) compared to young controls (2.41 ± 0.35 and 84.05 ± 5.15 s). The stride length was significantly reduced (p < 0.001) in aged rats (4.21 ± 0.57 and 4.38 ± 0.61 cm) when compared to young control rats (6.98 ± 0.25 and 7.13 ± 0.70 cm). The histomorphometric data of the aged animals showed a significant reduction in the neuronal diameter (p < 0.001), density (p < 0.001), and volume (p < 0.001) in the SN of aged rats when compared to young rats. Immunohistology demonstrated a marked reduction in the levels of TH enzyme in both the SN and ST of aged animals when compared to young rats. Both structural and functional impairments were reversed in the aged animals after the supplementation of WA (p < 0.001). The present study clearly indicates that WA attenuates the ageing-mediated motor degenerative changes in the SN and ST of aged rats and ascertains its neuroprotective potential.