Alka Ahuja | OMC - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alka Ahuja

Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology

Tobacco epidemic has become one of the biggest public health threats to the world as it kills mor... more Tobacco epidemic has become one of the biggest public health threats to the world as it kills more than 8 million people annually. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of waterpipe (shisha) use among Pre-medicine and Pharmacy students in the Muscat region. A validated questionnaire containing 32 questions on shisha use, knowledge & attitudes concerning shisha use, cessation, initiation trends and exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) was self-administered to 140 students. Approximately half of the students were Omanis and 19.4% of the students had smoked shisha at least once. About 22.9% of the students, felt that smoking made them more comfortable in social gatherings. Approximately 21.6% students smoked in places outside their homes, contributing to SHS. The prevalence of shisha and cigarette smoking were 2.9% and 4.3% respectively. Males and non-Omanis (64.7% and 42.4%) were found to be more susceptible to initiate smoking within a year. This study ...

International research journal of pharmacy, 2021

Methods: Physicochemical parameters assay was performed for seven brands of levofloxacin 500 mg f... more Methods: Physicochemical parameters assay was performed for seven brands of levofloxacin 500 mg film-coated tablet. Each brand was subjected to official and unofficial in vitro quality Vol.5 No.1

The present manuscript describes health problems that commonly affect elderly patients and explai... more The present manuscript describes health problems that commonly affect elderly patients and explain which and why some drugs increase the risk of having problems related to drugs. The physiological changes that occur with ageing and how these impact on drug therapy are also explained. A brief detail of drugs that commonly cause adverse drug reactions (ADR's) are covered along with a plan for preventing them and improving the quality of life.

Die Pharmazie, 1998

Buccoadhesive erodible tablets of trimcinolone acetonide were prepared using different bioadhesiv... more Buccoadhesive erodible tablets of trimcinolone acetonide were prepared using different bioadhesive polymers along with excipients like mannitol and PEG-6000. In vitro release characteristics were evaluated using a 'flow-thru assembly' which simulated the conditions of the human buccal cavity. The bioadhesive performance and the surface pH of the tablets was satisfactory. The optimized formulation containing 8.0 mg of triamcinolone acetonide, 2.5 mg of mannitol, 7.5 mg of PEG-6000, 2.0 mg of magnesium stearate along with carbopol-934P (CP-934P) and sodium carboxy methyl cellulose-DVP (SCMC-DVP) in the ratio of 1:4 was found to release the drug for a period of over 8 h without getting dislodged. Maximum in vitro drug release was found to be 79.08% in 8 h study. In vivo evaluation of placebo buccoadhesive tablets revealed adequate comfort, taste, non-irritancy during the period of study. None of the volunteers reported severe dry mouth/severe salivation or heaviness at the plac...

Journal of Pharmaceutical and BioSciences, 2017

In recent years, significant interest has been shown in the development of novel bioadhesive dosa... more In recent years, significant interest has been shown in the development of novel bioadhesive dosage forms for mucosal delivery of drugs. A drug administered through the buccal mucosa enters directly to the systemic circulation, thereby minimizing the first-pass hepatic metabolism and adverse gastrointestinal effect. The objective of the project was to develop a stable and robust formulation of buccal tablet of the selected antifungal drug miconazole nitrate for the treatment of oral candidiasis. Oral candidiasis is an opportunistic infection of the mouth, highly prevalent in a specific group of patients including AIDS patients. Without treatment, the lesion may spread to the esophagus, causing invasive esophageal candidiasis, which is categorized as an AIDS-defining illness. Miconazole nitrate has a broad-spectrum of activity against most pathogenic fungi and Gram-positive bacteria. The drug has poor aqueous solubility. It has the potential to be used in the treatment of all forms of both mucosal and systemic candidiasis. The result of the project would provide a process that would provide stable formulation of buccal tablet. In this project, buccal tablet was prepared by direct compression. Among different trials with direct compression, the trial batch showed satisfactory in vitro drug release profile as compared to that of innovator for sustained release formulation.

Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, May 1, 2000

Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nov 1, 2002

Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nov 1, 2000

Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 1997

Abstract Mucoadhesion in drug delivery systems has recently gained interest among pharmaceutical ... more Abstract Mucoadhesion in drug delivery systems has recently gained interest among pharmaceutical scientists as a means of promoting dosage form residence time as well as improving intimacy of contact with various absorptive membranes of the biological system. ...

Journal of Controlled Release, Nov 19, 2003

Buccal delivery of drugs provides an attractive alternative to the oral route of drug administrat... more Buccal delivery of drugs provides an attractive alternative to the oral route of drug administration, particularly in overcoming deficiencies associated with the latter mode of administration. Problems such as high first-pass metabolism and drug degradation in the harsh gastrointestinal environment can be circumvented by administering the drug via the buccal route (1-3). Moreover, buccal drug absorption can be promptly terminated in case of toxicity by removing the dosage form from the buccal cavity. It is also possible to administer drugs to patients who cannot be dosed orally to prevent accidental swallowing. Therefore adhesive mucosal dosage forms were suggested for oral delivery, which included adhesive tablets (4-6), adhesive gels (7, 8) and adhesive patches (9, 10).

Acta Scientific Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mar 18, 2020

Turkish Journal of Family Medicine & Primary Care, 2016

Background: Medical education is constantly evolving .It is more effective and long lasting if it... more Background: Medical education is constantly evolving .It is more effective and long lasting if it is self-initiated and self-directed. Active teaching and learning strategy (ATLS) is the process by which a medical student independently, or in a group, identifies his or her learning objectives and actively seeks information necessary to achieve objectives. The study aims at identifying the faculty's use of active teaching and learning strategies and to explore the perceived barriers to its use in undergraduate teaching in the medical college. Methods: A cross sectional survey based study was carried out at Oman Medical College. All teaching faculties consented to participate were included in the study. Data was collected on self-administered questionnaire in which core elements were divided-Active teaching and learning strategies, barriers for active teaching and learning strategies and self-perception of the faculty about attributes of students. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0). Data were expressed in frequencies, mean and percentages. Results: Total 60/ 74 faculty participated in the study; response rate is 81%; 38.3% are male and 61.7% are female. Almost half of them are 40-50 years old and 50% faculty having total teaching experience >10 years. Majority of faculty are using ATLS as personal interest besides course requirements. Faculty's barriers for not using ATLS are heterogeneous group of students (34%) and not being well prepared for that (41%), too much preparation time (40%), time constraint (46.7%) and lack of learning resources (41.6%). Conclusion: Study results concluded that faculty members are interested in active teaching and learning to improve their teaching and learn more about the use of active learning in the classroom. The main perceived barriers were lack of necessary class time, high comfort level with traditional lectures, and insufficient time to develop materials.

Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2004

THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MATERIALS ENGINEERING AND NANOTECHNOLOGY (ICMEN 2021)

Renal stone disease is a multi-factorial disorder resulting from the combined influence of epidem... more Renal stone disease is a multi-factorial disorder resulting from the combined influence of epidemiological, biochemical and genetic risk factors. Keeping the history in various parts of the world in our mind, our research was aimed to study the prevalence of renal stones based on the patients' socio-demographic factors such as sex, age, resident region etc. and to determine the risk factors of renal stones among Omani population in the North Batinah Governorate. Other objectives included study on management of renal stones at Sohar Hospital. All Omani in-patients who had renal stones and were admitted in the hospital from 1 st January, 2010 till 31 st May, 2012 were included in the study. The results showed that renal stones disease in Omani population was more common in the age group between 30 to39 years. It occurred in both men and women, but the risk was generally higher in men than in women. No association between the patients' age, gender and their resident place was f...

Asian Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Science, 2017

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis, 2016

In the presented work identification and quantification of some anti-inflammatory and analgesic d... more In the presented work identification and quantification of some anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, namely aceclofenac, diclofenac, paracetamol and para-aminophenol were carried out by validated HPLC-UV method. The chromatographic separation was achieved on HPLC C18 (100.0 × 2.1 mm, 1.7μm) column using isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-phosphate buffer (50: 50, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The UV detection was carried out at 275 nm for all the compounds. The elution of aceclofenac, diclofenac, paracetamol and para-aminophenol was occurred at 7.0, 9.2, 2.0 and 4.2 min, respectively. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 1–1000 μg/mL for aceclofenac and paracetamol, and 1–100 μg/mL for diclofenac and para-aminophenol. The developed method was validated according to ICH guidelines. The method was applied in the identification and quantitative determination of these compounds during routine quality control analysis and in stability studies.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by high blood sugar levels. Different types of diabetes are di... more Diabetes mellitus is characterized by high blood sugar levels. Different types of diabetes are discussed in the present article. This disease has high prevalence in GCC countries and a major contributor to this disease is obesity and life style. Various life style modifications and diet control can help in reducing this disease. A number of exercises and herbal remedies have been found useful and are discussed in detail in the chapter. Various therapies are also helpful in controlling diabetes. The article also discusses role of several postures, breathing techniques and meditations which are helpful in controlling stress and give relaxation.