Volume 36, Issue 4

Heart failure (HF) represents the final manifestation of various cardiovascular diseases, emerging as a significant global health challenge that impacts over 20 million individuals worldwide. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest pharmacological agents developed to address HF, focusing on their effectiveness in alleviating symptoms associated with the condition. It highlights the critical necessity for a more profound understanding of the multifaceted processes and pathways that contribute to HF pathogenesis. The methodology employed in this review demonstrates encouraging outcomes from numerous pharmaceutical agents evaluated for their ability to relieve HF symptoms, showcasing their effectiveness in improving patient experiences. However, a significant gap remains in tackling the fundamental issues underlying HF. The findings emphasize the intricate nature of HF and the obstacles faced in creating therapies that extend beyond mere symptomatic management. Currently, the predominant approach to HF treatment involves targeting the underlying mechanisms of the disease and addressing related neurohumoral imbalances. Despite the growing arsenal of treatments available for HF, patient outcomes continue to be suboptimal. Therefore, this review aims to illuminate potential therapeutic targets for more effective management strategies for HF, ultimately striving to enhance patient prognosis and quality of life.

Introduction Obesity is a major public health issue linked to various health complications. Retatrutide, a triple agonist peptide targeting the glucagon receptor, GIP receptor, and GLP-1 receptor, shows promise in addressing this need. Content This systematic review assessed the safety and efficacy of retatrutide for obesity treatment using available clinical trial data. We conducted a comprehensive search of databases, including PubMed, Cochrane and ClinicalTrials.gov, from their inception until March 15, 2025 following PRISMA guidelines. Summary Three articles were included in this systematic review, screening a total of 1,082 patients, with 691 randomly assigned to groups. The average age of participants was 54.26 ± 9.9 years, consisting of 335 men (48 %) and 356 women (52 %). Retatrutide was administered to 510 participants, while 130 received a placebo. The 12 mg dosage of retatrutide showed the most significant reductions in body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference. It also led to a higher percentage of patients achieving weight losses of ≥5 , 10, 15, and 20 %. Gastrointestinal adverse effects were the most commonly reported. Outlook Weekly subcutaneous injections of retatrutide in obese patients resulted in significant weight loss and metabolic improvements compared to a placebo.

Introduction Superficial lymph node (LN) enlargement is a common ultrasonographic finding and can be associated with a broad spectrum of conditions, from benign reactive hyperplasia to malignant lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs). LPDs, which include various hematologic malignancies affecting lymphoid tissue, present with diverse immune-morphological and clinical features, making differentiation from other malignant causes of lymphadenopathy challenging.  Content Radiologic assessment is crucial in characterizing lymphadenopathy, with ultrasonography serving as a noninvasive and widely available imaging modality. High-resolution ultrasound allows the evaluation of key features such as LN size, shape, border definition, echogenicity, and the presence of abnormal cortical thickening, loss of the fatty hilum, or altered vascular patterns, which aid in distinguishing benign from malignant processes. Summary This review aims to describe the ultrasonographic characteristics of lymphadenopathy, offering essential diagnostic insights to differentiate malignant disorders, particularly LPDs. We will discuss standard ultrasound techniques, including grayscale imaging and Doppler ultrasound, and explore more advanced methods such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), elastography, and artificial intelligence–assisted imaging, which are gaining prominence in LN evaluation. Outlook By highlighting these imaging modalities, we aim to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in lymphadenopathy assessment and improve early detection of LPDs and other malignant conditions.

Objectives This study will identify strengths and weaknesses of ADR reporting forms of study countries. Methods This was an observational study conducted at the Department of Pharmacology at Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College, Karnal. We obtained the WHO-UMC adverse event reporting guidance document for designing the ADR form for member countries. We similarly collected and analysed ADR forms from Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, the UK, and the US. Data fields were grouped into different subgroups. Results An analysis of ADR reporting forms from six countries revealed a total of 70 data fields. The US-FDA’s FORM 3500 has the most fields at 50 (71 %), followed by India’s CDSCO with 42 fields (60 %). According to WHO-UMC recommendations, Canada and Australia have the highest number of suggested fields at 10 (83 %). All forms were one page long except for the US-FDA’s, which is five pages. Conclusions Improving patient feedback and organisational engagement is essential to raise awareness of the reporting system. A proposed generic ADR form provides detailed information for causality assessment and could serve as a basis for a standard global reporting form.