Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 70
Page 71
Page 72
Page 73
Page 74
Page 75
Page 76
Page 77
Page 78
Page 79
Page 80
Page 81
Page 82
Page 83
Page 84
Page 85
Page 86
Page 87
Page 88
Page 89
Page 90
Page 91
Page 92
Page 93
Page 94
Page 95
Page 96
Page 97
Page 98
Page 99
Page 100
Page 101
Page 102
Page 103
Page 104
Page 105
Page 106
Page 107
Page 108
Page 109
Page 110
Page 111
Page 112
Page 113
Page 114
Page 115
Page 116
Page 117
Page 118
Page 119
Page 120
Page 121
Page 122
Page 123
Page 124
Page 125
Page 126
Page 127
Page 128
Page 129
Page 130
Page 131
Page 132
Page 133
Page 134
Page 135
Page 136
Page 137
Page 138
Page 139
Page 140
Page 141
Page 142
Page 143
Page 144
Page 145
Page 146
Page 147
Page 148
Page 149
Page 150
Page 151
Page 152
Page 153
Page 154
Page 155
Page 156
Page 157
Page 158
Page 159
Page 160
Page 161
Page 162
Page 163
Page 164
Page 165
Page 166
Page 167
Page 168
Page 169
Page 170
Page 171
Page 172
Page 173
Page 174
Page 175
Page 176
Page 177
Page 178
Page 179
Page 180
Page 181
Page 182
Page 183
Page 184
Page 185
Page 186
Page 187
Page 188
Page 189
Page 190
Page 191
Page 192
Page 193
Page 194
Page 195
Page 196
Page 197
Page 198
Page 199
Page 200
Page 201
Page 202
Page 203
Page 204
Page 205
Page 206
Page 207
Page 208
Page 209
Page 210
Page 211
Page 212
187 complications like diabetic nephropathy and diabetic retinopathy and cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension and waist to hip ratios in Caribbean type-2 diabetic patients. Therefore the use of the serum sialic acid as an inflammatory marker and possible indicator of microvascular complications in type-2 diabetic patients is recommended. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortal- ity worldwide and traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease have been thoroughly investigated. In recent years the use of biomarkers has emerged as a method to identify individuals at high risk with the aim of earlier identification and risk mitigation. Among the most promising non-traditional markers are BNP and NT-proBNP. Prof Nayak and his group determined the role of certain markers in identifying the risk of cardiovascular diseases in type 2 diabetic as well as non-diabetic patients. Their study conducted with Trindadian diabetic populationsshowed a signifi- cant correlation with elevated NT-proBNP and traditional risk factors hypertensiondiabetesdyslipidemia and elevated hs-CRP as compared with non-diabetics. NT-proBNP co-segregates with traditional risk factors for CVD among elderly diabetics and may be a useful additional screening test for those at risk of CVD. The research group studied the relationship of homocysteine hs-CRP with known cardiovascular risk factors of metabolic syndrome. They found that the serum C-reactive protein is signifi- cantly related to features of metabolic syndrome. Total plasma homocysteine appears to be independent of both hs-CRP and features of metabolic syndrome. Wound healing As a principal investigator Prof Nayak has formed a cluster group comprising biochemists pathologists pharmacologists and research students.He has screened many medicinal plants that are available in Trinidad and Tobago and has tested their efficacy in healing wounds. Summary Wound healing is a very systematic process characterized by four distinct but overlapping phases haemostasis inflammation proliferation and remodeling. Current methods used to manage chronic wounds include debridement tissue grafting antibiotic therapy and proteolytic enzyme therapy. Extensive studies of medicinal plants have been conducted to identify other possible methods of wound management outside the standard treatment methods. Evaluation of the wound-healing activity of selected traditional medicinal plants from Trinidad and Tobago Prof Nayak has screened various medicinal plants available in Trinidad and evaluated some of them for their wound healing activity using different wound models such as excision incision and dead space in rats. He has screened more than 50 medicinal plants to determine their wound healing as well as hypoglycaemic activity. Some of the plant and plant products which showed promising results aregrape skinHibiscus sp.Allamanda sp.Catha- ranthus sp.Carapa sp.grape and cranberry oils and noni. The various medicinal plants screened and tested are associ- ated with significant wound healing and hypoglycaemic activity. More specifically they have observed increased rates of wound contractionhydroxyproline contentand decrease in epithelializa- tion time with the extract of grape skin Morinda citrifolia noni Carica papaya cranberry and grape skin oils. These suggested to us that these medicinal plants play a significant role in hastening the process of wound healing. The group has extensively screened noni fruit which is widely available and used in Trinidad. The fermented juice of noni was found to have wound healing as well as anti-diabetic properties. The study suggests fermented juice of noni be used to control the blood sugar level in type 2 diabetic subjects. Selected Publications NayakB.S.D.RamsinghS.GoodingG.LegallS.BissramA.Moham- medA.RaychaudhuriB.SahadeoV.Pandohie and K.Figaro.Plasma adiponectin levels are related to obesity inflammation blood lipids and insulin in type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic Trinidadians. Primary Diabetes Care20104267-68. NayakB.S.TeelucksinghAvinash JagessarShivanand Maharaj and Nadira Maharaj. A cross sectional study comparing traditional risk factors with N-terminal pro-BNP in high risk groups for cardiovas- cular disease in Trinidad West Indies. Diabetes Metabolic SyndromeClinical Research Reviews2013718-11. Nayak B.S. J.R. Marshall D.D. Ramdath G. Isitor S. Xue and J. Shi. Wound healing properties of the oils of Vitis vinifera and Vaccinium macrocarpon.Phytother.Res.20112581201-1208.