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Dyslipidemia is one of the most common risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. An increased level of cholesterol is responsible for atherogenesis, which ultimately leads to the development of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular diseases. According to a survey report, 36.3% patients are dyslipidemic; therefore, the problem is increasing day by day as a huge cause of morbidity and carries economic burden for society. These days, dyslipidemia is treated using lipid-lowering agents with lifestyle intervention; however, lipid-lowering agents produce various side effects. In Unani system of medicine, several drugs are used as lipid-lowering agents, which are comparatively safe. However, such drugs are still not validated on scientific parameters. Thus, a clinical trial was conducted with the objective to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Unani drugs in the management of dyslipidemia.
The study was designed as single-blind, randomized with standard control. Thirty patients of dyslipidemia were selected and randomly assigned to control and test groups, the test group comprising 20 patients and the control group comprising 10. The test group received the powder of Kalonji in the form of capsule (two capsules twice a day) and the control group received Lipotab(R) (two tablets once a day for 60 days). All the patients were assessed on subjective and objective parameters. The result was analyzed statistically using appropriate statistical tests.
The test drug shows significant results on few subjective and objective parameters in comparison to the control drug. Overall, improvement was observed in the test group without any clinically and statistically significant side effects or toxicity. The compliance to the treatment was found good.
The study revealed that the comparative analyses of both test and control drugs were not statistically significant, but improvements in subjective and objective parameters were present in both groups.

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Diabetes is one of the top killer diseases of mankind. Although it affects all the sect of society, its impact is mainly on affluent society. The today’s description of diabetes has almost stabilized, which mainly revolves around the role of pancreas, insulin, and its peripheral resistance along with other causes, to a lesser extent; however, this description needs reconsideration. The accelerating burden of the disease reveals that even the recent remarkable advancement in medical sciences does not have a justifiable answer to tackle and cease its ever-increasing load; therefore, there is a need of time to rethink about the preventive strategies, line of treatment, management, and all aspects of diabetes. However, various complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy claiming attractive concepts and line of management are in vogue. Unani system of medicine (USM) is the oldest among CAM, which has an entirely different and promising concept to understand all aspects of diabetes and offer a range of drugs to counter this disease. Unani physicians and philosophers have an entirely different insight of this disease. Jalinus (Galen/131-201 AD) was familiar with both kinds of diabetes, and he described both forms in his two different writings. In this paper, the authors tried to put forth the understanding of diabetes through the history and concept of diabetes described in USM.

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This study looks into the attitudes of Muslims toward immunization in Nigeria. It also analyzes the reasons for the reluctance to accept immunization by these people of the Islamic faith especially in the northern part of Nigeria. Among the major grievances of Muslims against mmunization is that the polio vaccine, according to source, was laced with substances that could render girls infertile, as part of the USA led a plot to depopulate Africa. Furthermore, it was alleged that the oral polio vaccine (OPV) was extracted from the monkey tissue, rendering it forbidden (haram) to Muslims. The method adopted for this research is purely derived from books, journals, documents, monographs, Internets, archives, newspapers, reports as well as the Glorious Qur’an and Ahadith. The study reveals that the OPV is truly extracted from the tissue of monkeys but had been processed and transformed involving various levels of chemical and biological processes. Therefore, this transformation had made it lawful (halal). Likewise, the OPV used in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia is of the same high quality worldwide and from similar sources. No evidence exists supporting the claim that the vaccine is used to depopulate the Muslim world. The population of Muslim countries that had adopted the OPV to eradicate polio has continued to grow at the same rate as it used to before polio campaigns. The paper, therefore, recommended that Muslims should allow their children to take immunization.

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Miscarriage is a common complication of early pregnancy; however; curettage and dilation are considered standard methods taking care of early pregnancy failure. Misoprostol has been used as an alternative agent for termination of early pregnancy. Therefore, this study was aimed to compare the efficacy and side effects of two different intravaginal misoprostol trials for the second trimester pregnancy termination of missed miscarriage between 14 and 23 weeks.
A clinical trial was carried out in Basrah Maternity & Children Hospital during the period from October 2011 to November 2012. A total of 100 women experienced missed miscarriages at 14-23 weeks of gestation were admitted for medical termination of pregnancy. Patients were divided into the following two groups:
Group 1: 50 patients received 400 g of intravaginal misoprostol/8 hours. Group 2: 50 patients received 800 g of intravaginal misoprostol/8 hours. The patients were followed up for 24 hours. The primary outcome measure was induction-miscarriage interval; the secondary outcomes were the rate of successful miscarriage and complete miscarriage; the incidence of side effects was compared in both groups.
The rates of successful termination of pregnancy in both groups 1 and 2 were 86% and 90%, respectively. The success rates of the drug in group 1 were 0%, 12%, 36%, 34%, 10%, and 4% after first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth doses, respectively; whereas, the success rates in group 2 were 24%, 34%, 24%, 12%, 4%, and 0% after first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth doses, respectively. The mean numbers of doses required to achieve response were 3.66 and 2.44 in groups 1 and 2, respectively. The mean induction to miscarriage interval was significantly shorter for group 2 than for
group 1 (15.46 ±9.21 hours and 22.96 ±9.44 hours, respectively) (P<0.00001). Drug dosages showed more side effects in group 2 patients than in group 1 patients with no significant differences. Miscarriages were reported more in group 2 patients (82%) than in group 1 patients (48%) (P<0.001) within 24 hours.
Both trials were effective for terminating the second trimester pregnancy of missed miscarriage. However, 800 mg intravaginal mistoprostol trial resulted in shorter induction-miscarriage interval. The non-significant higher incidence of side effects was reported in group 2 trial than in group 1 trial.

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The study aimed to isolate Propionibacterium acnes as a bacterial agent of acne vulgaris, study the antibacterial activity of extracts of Punica granatum L. (leaves, fruits, and crusts) against P. acnes, and compare these extracts with the selected antibiotics commonly used in the treatment of acne vulgaris.
A total of 143 patients (72 males: 71 females) aged between 14 and 18 years suffering from acne vulgaris were included in the study; specimens (swabs) were collected from these patients (both sex, various degree of acne) in the dermatology unit of Al-Basrah General Hospital and Alsader Teaching Hospital in Basrah City during October 2013–March 2014.
From a total of 147 cases of acne vulgaris, 104 cases (72.7%) reflected positive cultures. The double mode of isolation was found in 47 cases (45.2%) followed by other modes. The present study found that P. acnes is a more effective bacterial pathogen isolated from 143 cases of acne vulgaris followed by other bacterial pathogens. Three extracts (crust, leaves, and fruits) from P. grantum and eight standard antibiotics [Penicillin G (P), Chloramphenical (C), Cephalexin (CE), Bactrim (Sxt), Tetracycline (TE), Erythromycin (E), Kanamycin (K), and Gentamicin (CN)] were used to determine the antibacterial activity against P. acnes isolated from patients with acne vulgaris. The crust extract was found more effective, which gave 28 mm of inhibition zone with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging 600–750 mg\ml; leave and fruit extracts gave 20 mm (MIC: 700–900 mg\ml ) and 14 mm ( MIC: 1000–1200 mg\ml ) of inhibition zones, respectively; and the antibiotics Gentamicin and Cloxacillin gave 28 mm of inhibition zone followed by other antibiotics. The study evidenced the antibacterial activity of extracts of P. granatum L. (leaves, fruits, and crusts) against P. acnes in comparison with the selected antibiotics commonly used in the treatment of acne vulgaris.

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Eighty-two patients aged 1–91 years, who were operated on between 1989 and 2013, were included in this study. Bilobed flaps were used to repair 84 defects in 82 patients. Three flaps were elevated in a fasciocutaneous fashion, and 10 flaps were axial based on well-known vessels. Three flaps consisted of platysma, while the others were random based on unknown vessels. No donor site morbidity was reported, and a single partial necrosis in nasal alar reconstruction was observed. As a late complication, mild trapdoor deformities were found in two patients with upper cheek reconstruction. In three cases, venous stases were were observed in the distal part of the flaps during the early postoperative period. Bilobed flaps were frequently used in nose and infraorbital region.
A flap may consist of many shapes and lobes. The reasons for having more than one lobe are as follows: 1) the defect having features that cannot be closed with only one lobe and 2) one lobe is enough to close the defect, but to transfer the lobe to the defect might be associated with a visible morbidity and to facilitate the closure we may need a second lobe. Flaps used for the second situation are termed as bilobed flaps, while the ones used for the first situation are termed as two-lobed flaps.

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