Effects of lithium carbonate on the microanatomy of thyroid gland of albino rats.

Background: Lithium is routinely used to treat mania and other psychiatric disorders. It prevents the mood swing changes in bipolar disorders and the treatment is usually prolonged. Aim of current study was to observe histological changes in the thyroid gland of lithium carbonate treated albino rats. Methods: Sixty albino rats were taken and divided into two groups, group A (control group) of 15 animals, were fed with normal diet and group B of 45 animals, were fed normal diet along with lithium carbonate at the dose of 30mg/kg body weight daily. The animals were sacrificed at four, eight and twelve week’s interval, 5μm sections prepared and stained with haematoxylin and eosin stain. Results: Microscopic changes in thyroid gland of albino rats were evident after 8 weeks of drug administration which include marked pleomorphism, shrinkage in size of thyroid follicles, excess of colloid and marked vacuolations in acini. At 12th week of study, follicles were found both macro and micro follicular, with variable lining epithelium and hyperchromatic nuclei. Lining epithelium of some follicles was disrupted. The stroma was infiltrated with lymphocytes and eosinophils and there were some interfollicular hemorrhages. Conclusions: Lithium given over prolonged period will cause macro and micro follicular goiter with hyperplastic epithelium and hyper chromatic nuclei, hyperplasia of stroma with increased vascularity, sometimes hemorrhages and finally may lead to thyroiditis like picture. So, it is advised that patients on lithium therapy should be periodically evaluated for thyroid dysfunction.

Prevalence and factors associated with current smoking among high school adolescents in Karachi, Pakistan.

Our objective was to estimate the prevalence and evaluate factors associated with smoking among high school adolescents in Karachi, Pakistan. A school-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in three towns in Karachi, namely, Gadap Town, Bin-Qasim Town and Malir Town, from January through May 2003. Two-stage cluster sampling stratified by school type was employed to select schools and students. We recruited and interviewed 772 male students regarding socio-demographic factors, smoking history of students, their families/friends, number of siblings, and place of residence. The prevalence of smoking (30 days) among adolescents was 13.7%. Final multiple logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age, ethnicity, and place of residence, being a student at a government school (OR=1.6; 95% Cl: 1.0-2.7), parental smoking (OR = 1.7; 95% Cl: 1.1-2.8), uncle smoking (OR = 1.7; 95% Cl: 1.2-2.8), peer smoking (OR = 6.2; 95% Cl: 3.9-9.9), and spending leisure time outside home (OR = 3.9; 95% Cl 1.2-13.2) were significantly associated with adolescent smoking.

General physicians' perspective of sleep apnea from a developing country.

To assess the knowledge of general physicians about the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a self-administered questionnaire, containing 15 questions, was distributed to 160 doctors attending a pulmonary CME program in March 2002. After 15 minutes of response time, the questionnaires were collected. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS (Version 10.0) software. One hundred and twenty (75%) questionnaires were returned. Only 41% of responders had ever read an article about OSA and 36% had suspected it at least once in their practice. The majority (61-77%) of responders were aware of the common symptoms of OSA, but 55% did not recognize its association with hypertension. A significant number of doctors were not aware that OSA could occur in non-obese individuals (33%), women (42%) and children (39%). Only 25% of responders recognized that a history and blood tests were insufficient to make a reliable diagnosis of OSA. Half of the responders were aware of CPAP therapy for OSA, whereas 18% would have prescribed sedatives to treat sleep disturbances in OSA.