Regional Institute of Medical Sciences

About: Regional Institute of Medical Sciences is a healthcare organization based out in Imphal, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 1199 authors who have published 600 publications receiving 4280 citations. The organization is also known as: RIMS.

Social isolation in Covid-19: The impact of loneliness.

Abstract: The world is facing a global public health crisis for the last three months, as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerges as a menacing pandemic. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities with this pandemic, there has also been significant socio-economic, political and psycho-social impact. Billions of people are quarantined in their own homes as nations have locked down to implement social distancing as a measure to contain the spread of infection. Those affected and suspicious cases are isolated. This social isolation leads to chronic loneliness and boredom, which if long enough can have detrimental effects on physical and mental well-being. The timelines of the growing pandemic being uncertain, the isolation is compounded by mass panic and anxiety. Crisis often affects the human mind in crucial ways, enhancing threat arousal and snowballing the anxiety. Rational and logical decisions are replaced by biased and faulty decisions based on mere ‘faith and belief’. This important social threat of a pandemic is largely neglected. We look at the impact of COVID-19 on loneliness across different social strata, its implications in the modern digitalized age and outline a way forward with possible solutions to the same. There is no doubt that national and global economies are suffering, the health systems are under severe pressure, mass hysteria has acquired a frantic pace and people’s hope and aspirations are taking a merciless beating. The uncertainty of a new and relatively unknown infection increases the anxiety, which gets compounded by isolation in lockdown. As global public health agencies like World Health Organization (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) struggle to contain the outbreak, social distancing is repeatedly suggested as one of the most useful preventive strategies. It has been used successfully in the past to slow or prevent community transmission during pandemics (WHO, 2019). While certain countries like China have just started recovering from their three-month lockdown, countries like Iran, Italy and South Korea have been badly hit irrespective of these measures and those like India have initiated nation-wide shutdown and curfews to prevent the community transmission of COVID-19. Ironically however, the social distancing is a misnomer, which implies physical separation to prevent the viral spread. The modern world has rarely been so isolated and restricted. Multiple restrictions have been imposed on public movement to contain the spread of the virus. People are forced to stay at home and are burdened with the heft of quarantine. Individuals are waking up every day wrapped in a freezing cauldron of social isolation, sheer boredom and a penetrating feeling of loneliness. The modern man has known little like this, in an age of rapid travel and communication. Though during the earlier outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Spanish flu, Ebola and Plague the world was equally shaken with millions of casualties, the dominance of technology was not as much as to make the distancing felt amplified (Smith, 2006). In this era of digitalization, social media, social hangouts, eateries, pubs, bars, malls, movie theatres to keep us distracted creating apparent ‘social ties’. Humankind has always known what to do next, with their lives generally following a regular trail. But this sudden cataclysmic turn of events have brought them face to face with a dire reckoning – how to live with oneself. It is indeed a frightening realization when a whole generation or two knows how to deal with a nuclear fallout but are at their wit’s end on how to spend time with oneself. Ironically, however, it has Social isolation in Covid-19: The impact of loneliness

Stress and hormones.

Abstract: In the modern environment one is exposed to various stressful conditions. Stress can lead to changes in the serum level of many hormones including glucocorticoids, catecholamines, growth hormone and prolactin. Some of these changes are necessary for the fight or flight response to protect oneself. Some of these stressful responses can lead to endocrine disorders like Graves' disease, gonadal dysfunction, psychosexual dwarfism and obesity. Stress can also alter the clinical status of many preexisting endocrine disorders such as precipitation of adrenal crisis and thyroid storm.

Preliminary studies on antiinflammatory and analgesic activities of Spilanthes acmella in experimental animal models

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the antiinflammatory and analgesic activities of the aqueous extract of Spilanthes acmella (SPA) in experimental animal models. MATERIAL AND METHODS: SPA was evaluated for antiinflammatory action by carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The analgesic activity was tested by acetic acid-induced writhing response in albino mice and tail flick method in albino rats. RESULTS: The aqueous extract of SPA in doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg showed 52.6, 54.4 and 56.1% inhibition of paw edema respectively at the end of three hours and the percentage of protection from writhing was 46.9, 51.0 and 65.6 respectively. In the tail flick model, the aqueous extract of SPA in the above doses increased the pain threshold significantly after 30 min, 1, 2 and 4 h of administration. SPA showed dose-dependent action in all the experimental models. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that SPA has significant antiinflammatory and analgesic properties.

Hypoglycemic activity of Ficus hispida (bark) in normal and diabetic albino rats

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To find out the hypoglycemic activity of Ficus hispida Linn. (bark) in normal and diabetic albino rats and to evaluate its probable mechanism of hypoglycemic activity if any. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Albino rats were divided into groups (n=6) receiving different treatments consisting of vehicle, water-soluble portion of the ethanol extract of Ficus hispida bark (FH) (1.25 g/kg) and standard antidiabetic drugs, glibenclamide (0.5 mg/kg) and 0.24 units of insulin (0.62 ml of 0.40 units/ml). Blood glucose was estimated by the glucose oxidase method in both normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats before and 2 h after the administration of drugs. To find out the probable mechanism of action of FH as a hypoglycemic agent, i) the glycogen content of the liver, skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, and ii) glucose uptake by isolated rat hemi-diaphragm were estimated. RESULTS: FH showed significant reduction of blood glucose level both in the normal (P<0.01) and diabetic (P<0.001) rats. However, the reduction in the blood glucose level was less than that of the standard drug, glibenclamide. FH also increased the uptake of glucose by rat hemi-diaphragm significantly (P<0.001). There was a significant increase in the glycogen content of the liver (P<0.05), skeletal muscle (P<0.01) and cardiac muscle (P<0.001). The amount of glycogen present in the cardiac muscle was more than the glycogen present in the skeletal muscle and liver. CONCLUSION: FH has significant hypoglycemic activity. Increased glycogenesis and enhanced peripheral uptake of glucose are the probable mechanisms involved in its hypoglycemic activity.

Antipyretic, antidiarrhoeal, hypoglycaemic and hepatoprotective activities of ethyl acetate extract of Acacia catechu Willd. in albino rats

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the antipyretic, antidiarrhoeal, hypoglycaemic and hepatoprotective effects of the ethyl acetate extract of Acacia catechu in experimental animal models. Materials and Methods: Ethyl acetate extract of Acacia catechu was evaluated for antipyretic activity in yeast induced pyrexia and for antidiarrhoeal activity in castor oil induced diarrhoea in albino rats. Hypoglycaemic activity was studied in both normal and alloxan (120 mg/kg, s.c.) induced diabetic albino rats. The hepatoprotective potential of Acacia catechu was evaluated by CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Results: Single administration of the ethyl acetate extract of Acacia catechu at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, p.o. showed significant antipyretic activity ( P Conclusion : The present study shows that ethyl acetate extract of Acacia catechu (cutch/katha) has significant antipyretic, antidiarrhoeal, hypoglycaemic and hepatoprotective properties.