Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

COMPARISON ON THE EFFECT OF TRYUSHANADI GUGGULU AND AMRUTHADI GUGGULU IN DYSLIPIDEMIA

Dyslipidemia is characterised by disorders in lipid metabolism and it is an independent and modifiable risk factor for CAD. Dyslipidemia leads to changes in serum lipoprotein levels. Dyslipidemia can be considered as a condition where kapha Agni,Rasa and medas are Pathologically modified due to Agnimandy and ahara -viharas. The Study drug, Tryushanadi guggulu and the comparison drug Amruthadi guggulu possess Kaphamedohara, deepana, pachana, ruksha and lekhana properties. The study drug Tryushanadi guggulu and Amruthadi guggulu was given to the study group and comparison group for a period of two months. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in action of Tryushanadi guggulu and Amruthadi guggulu in borderline elevation of Lipid profile.</jats:p

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Not AvailableClimate change associated heat stress was established to be the crucial factor, which negatively influences animal production. The animals possess several adaptive mechanisms which are helpful for their survival in harsh environmental conditions, but while doing so their productive performances are compromised. Among the various mechanisms, which helps to maintain homeostasis in animals, Physiological adaptability was considered one of the primary response mechanisms by which the heat stressed animals survive the heat stress. This review is therefore an attempt to provide the audience an updated review on the subject to signify the importance of physiological responses in animals and their role in surviving the stressful environment. Respiration rate (RR), pulse rate (PR), rectal temperature (RT), sweating rate (SR) and skin temperature (ST) are the cardinal physiological variables which helps to maintain the heat balance and homeostasis in the stressed animals. Among the various physiological variables, RR, RT and ST were established to be ideal indicators for quantifying heat stress in several farm animals. Therefore, these variables can be effectively used to assess the severity of heat stress in livestock. Although these variables are considered significant in establishing the heat stress impact in animals, a wide genetic variation was also established in these response mechanisms. Further, variations in physiological adaptability were also established between indigenous, cross bred and pure bred animals. The indigenous livestock breeds were tipped to be exhibiting less physiological variability as compared to their counterparts. These discussions vividly indicate the importance of studying in detail the physiological adaptive mechanisms in different farm animals and these efforts can help the farming community to identify the suitable agroclimatic zone specific livestock breeds which can go in long way to help to ensure climate resilient livestock production.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableA study was conducted to assess comparatively the growth performance of three different indigenous goat breeds during exposure to summer heat stress. The primary objective of the study was to observe the heat stress impact on the growth performance based on the body weight changes, allometric measurements, growth hormone (GH) concentration and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) mRNA expression pattern during the summer season in comparison with the local breed (Osmanabadi). Thirty-six ten-month- to one-year-old female goats of Osmanabadi, Malabari and Salem Black breeds were randomly divided into six groups, OC (n = 6; Osmanabadi control), OHS (n = 6; Osmanabadi heat stress), MC (n = 6; Malabari control), MHS (n = 6; Malabari heat stress), SBC (n = 6; Salem Black control) and SBHS (n = 6; Salem Black heat stress). Body weight was recorded at weekly intervals, whereas other growth and allometric measurements and blood collection were carried out at fortnightly intervals. Breed factor significantly (p < .05) influenced only few growth variables such as body weight, body mass index (BMI) and body condition score (BCS). However, heat stress treatment significantly (p < .05) reduced all growth parameters expect BMI. Further, the heat stress significantly (p < .01) increased plasma GH concentration in goats with significantly higher (p < .05) concentration recorded in OHS. Among the stress groups, the lower (p < .05) PBMC IGF-1 mRNA expression was recorded in OHS, while the higher (p < .05) expression was observed in SBHS indicating the extreme adaptive capability of Salem Black breed. Thus, the results indicated that the Salem Black breed performed much better compared to both Osmanabadi and Malabari breeds indicating the superior ability of this breed to adapt to heat stress challenges. The results also indicated that plasma GH and IGF-1 gene may act as ideal biomarkers for assessing the heat stress impact on growth performance in indigenous goats.ICAR-NIAN

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Not AvailableAgrobiodiversity in drylands consisting of large number of field crops, horticultural crops, grasses, shrubs and multi-purpose trees plays a very critical role in providing food, fodder, nutritional and environmental security to the inhabitants of drylands. Despite several bio-physical constraints, the drylands support high human and livestock population with limited resources resulting in over-exploitation of the natural resources. moreover, drylands are more vulnerable to global warming-mediated climate changes such as intense drought, sudden rainfall burst, high ambient temperature and appearance of new unforeseen diseases and pests. In addition to other technological interventions, the management of agro-biodiversity in drylands is expected to be a key factor for sustainability, food and fodder security and for improving livelihood in drylands. Genetic resources of dryland species include local landraces, improved elite material, traditional cultivars, genetic stocks and wild relatives of coarse cereals (pearl millet, barley, sorghum, maize and small millets), legumes (chickpea, mungbean, mothbean, clusterbean), horticultural crops, grasses, shrubs, medicinal plants and multipurpose trees. A large numberof exotic and indigenous germplasm accessions are conserved in National Gene Bank or Field Gene Banks at the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NPBGR) and elsewhere across globe. Characterization of genetic resources using prescribed descriptors has largely indicated existence of large variation for phenotypic, phenological, nutritional and stress-adaptation traits among available germplasm. research conducted so far has indicated that the genetic resources from drylands hold a unique advantage as they have evolved over centuries by natural and human selection under drought, high temperature or saline conditions. they are better adapted to the local conditions and would contribute in enhancing the resilience at the farm level. these resources could be of immense importance especially as sources of native genes conditioning resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses and also make unique study material to understand the mechanism of adaptation to abiotic stresses. they could also serve as an excellent genomic resource for isolation of candidate genes for tolerance to climatic and edaphic stresses for accelerating further genetic improvement. However, only a very small fraction of these accessions has been utilized so far because of operational difficulties in dealing with large number of germplasm accessions. the development of core and mini-core in recent past is expected to improve this situation. Formation of trait-specific gene pools is also likely to enhance the utilization of genetic resources to a greater extent. there are multiple and complex challenges for agrobiodiversity in drylands due to habitat destruction, high grazing/browsing pressure, invasion of other species, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and dilution of customary conservation practices. Critical assessment is needed for identifying geographical and trait-diversity gaps using GIS and other modern tools. additional explorations are needed in the regions where collection gaps have been indicated. Ex situconservation of genetic resources from such regions and distribution of germplasm to the stakeholders on regular basis would remain very crucial especially in the present scenario of climate change. Developing e-resources with detailed information like passport data, characterization and evaluation data with respect to individual accessions would certainly help in enhancing the utilization of genetic resources to broaden crop genetic base which is very essential to reduce the chances of disease epidemics and to adapt to the effects of climate change.Not Availabl