Indian Traditional Treatments for Psoriasis:A Critical Appraisal of Available Evidence Supporting Efficacy

Objective To examine data from studies supporting the clinical efficacy of medical approaches from India traditional systems of medicines like Ayurveda,Unani,Siddha,and Homeopathy for psoriasis using outcome indicators employed in clinical practice and research.Methods Searches were conducted between December 2019 and September 2020 in databases PubMed,Scopus,Web of Science and Ovid Medline using search terms including traditional,complementary,psoriasis,Kushtha,Ayurveda,Siddha,Unani,Homeopathy and clinical.Controlled trials,case series and case reports published from India were included.Results Data of 17 selected studies were extracted.Treatment efficacy in terms of improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index(PASI)score or/and percentage reduction in score(PASI 50,PASI 75 and PASI 90)or/and patient-reported outcomes using instruments like Dermatology Life Quality Index and Psoriasis Disability Index were noted.All studies reported good improvement as per the study specific outcome.However,study characteristics,including study design,sample size,follow-up period,inclusion and exclusion criteria were heterogeneous,and the choice of outcome measures was not adequate to conclude the effectiveness of intervention.The use of some herbs as common ingredients in several formulations across different systems of medicines were noted in analyzing individual formulation.Conclusions Future studies must incorporate a comprehensive study design with specific outcome measures like PASI,PASI 75,PASI 90,quality of life parameters,compliance to medications,adverse reactions,remission period,relapse rate and cost-effectiveness with long term follow-up.The currently available evidence on the roles of these herbs at molecular level in psoriasis is preliminary.

Deregulated miRNA clusters in ovarian cancer:Imperative implications in personalized medicine

Ovarian cancer(OC)is one of the most common and fatal types of gynecological cancer.OC is usually detected at the advanced stages of the disease,making it highly lethal.miRNAs are single-stranded,small non-coding RNAs with an approximate size ranging around 22 nt.Interestingly,a considerable proportion of miRNAs are organized in clusters with miRNA genes placed adjacent to one another,getting transcribed together to result in miRNA clusters(MCs).MCs comprise two or more miRNAs that follow the same orientation during transcription.Abnormal expression of the miRNA cluster has been identified as one of the key drivers in OC.MC exists both as tumor-suppressive and oncogenic clusters and has a significant role in OC pathogenesis by facilitating cancer cells to acquire various hallmarks.The present review summarizes the regulation and biological function of MCs in OC.The review also highlights the utility of abnormally expressed MCs in the clinical management of OC.