A study of her-2/ neu oncogene expression in benign and malignant ovarian tumors

Background: Ovarian cancers are very common worldwide with serous epithelial tumors being the most common. Her-2/neuprotoncogene encodes a protein belonging to the EGFR tyrosine kinase receptor family. Overexpression has been shown for poor prognosis in breast cancer. The study was done to find the association of ovarian tumors with Her-2/neu expression. Aim and objectives: To assess the clinicopathological profile of various ovarian tumors with special reference to age, histological type, grade, and stage of the tumor. To assess and compare the expression of Her-2/neu oncogene in benign and malignant ovarian tumors in relation to age, histological type, grade, and stage of the tumor. Method: The prospective study was done on 37 specimens received in the Department of Pathology; NIMS medical college from the period between 2015 to 2019. Results: All the benign and borderline tumors were negative for her-2/neu .48.6% of malignant tumors were her-2/neu positive. Conclusion: Her-2/neu positivity was seen in 24.3% of ovarian tumors. All the benign and borderline tumors were negative for her-2/neu. 48.6% of malignant tumors were her-2/neu positive.

A study of ocular infections amongst primary school children in Delhi.

The present study of ocular infections was conducted amongst primary school children residing in an urban slum and rural area of Delhi. A total of four schools were selected, two from urban slum in Central Delhi Rouse Avenue and two from a peripheral village on the outskirts of Delhi. All the children studying in the above mentioned schools and residing in the same area were covered. All the study subjects were interviewed, clinically examined and given a proforma to be filled by their parents. Of the total 775 subjects only 91 (11.74%) had ocular infections. Conjunctivitis was the most prevalent infection followed by trachoma, stye, blepharitis and chalazion. The type and prevalence of infection was similar, in both sexes and both areas, rural and urban. There was a significant rising trend of ocular infection with increase in age. A significant association was found between ocular infections and religion but the association with per capita income was not significant.

A study of malnutrition among children aged 6 months to 2 years from a resettlement colony of Delhi.

Nutritional status of 1661 children aged 6 months to 2 years who attended the Well Baby Clinic of UHC Gokulpuri, Delhi during the year 2000 was studied. 60.7% of them were malnourished. Undesirable practices of discarding the colostrum, not exclusively breast feeding the child till at least 4 months of age, delayed weaning, dilution of top milk, use of bottle and nipple for feeding the children are still widely prevalent.

Knowledge and attitude towards tuberculosis in a slum community of Delhi.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 208 adults (114 males and 94 females) aged 16-70 years, selected by systematic random sampling method in Lok Nayak Colony, Delhi to assess the knowledge and attitude towards tuberculosis (TB). Literacy rate was 28.4%. Only 174 (83.6%) heard of tuberculosis mainly from neighbours (64.9%) and friends (62.1%). Only 2.3% knew that TB was caused by a germ. Literates were more aware than illiterates regarding some signs and symptoms of TB i.e breathlessness (p=0.002), low grade fever (p=0.02), loss of appetite (p<0.001) and factors favouring TB e.g. overcrowding (56.4%) and poor diet (45.4%). Only 12.6% knew about the duration of treatment for 6-8 months and 1.7% knew about preventive role of BCG. Tendency to discriminate TB patients was evident from the findings e.g 71% respondents agreed upon isolating TB patients from the family, 74.1% on avoiding the patient in food sharing, on quitting job by the patient (33%), prohibiting marriage of the patient (27.6%), shunning him from attending social functions (18%), etc. Extensive health education directing towards attitudinal change by community involvement is needed to create awareness and remove myths about TB in such colonies.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of pravastatin and simvastatin in heart transplantation.

AIMS: Data on the safety and efficacy of HMG CoA reductase inhibitors in managing dyslipidemia in heart transplant recipients is inadequate. We undertook this study to evaluate the comparative safety and efficacy of simvastatin and pravastatin in lowering lipids in heart transplant recipients. METHODOLOGY: Forty eight patients (38 males) who received heart transplantation between 1995 and 1997, and who had no contraindications to statin therapy or history of myopathy were randomized to receive either pravastatin (n=24) or simvastatin (n=24) for six months. Detailed fasting lipid profiles, hepatic function tests, and serum creatinine phosphokinase were obtained regularly. Baseline and six month characteristics were compared using the unpaired student t test for continuous variables and Chi-square analysis or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. RESULTS: Baseline total cholesterol levels, LDL cholesterol levels, HDL cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels were similar in the two groups. At six months, the total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were greatly reduced in both groups, with greater reductions in the simvastatin group than in the pravastatin group. Only modest increases were noted in HDL cholesterol levels in the two groups. No significant adverse effects were noted, and no complications with drug withdrawals occurred. Patient compliance exceeded 97%. CONCLUSION: Simvastatin and pravastatin are safe and very effective in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol lowering in heart transplant recipients, with simvastatin being more efficacious than pravastatin in lipid lowering in this group of patients.

Why do some boys run away from home?

OBJECTIVE: Insufficient research has been done to look for the factors compelling children to make street, their home. The study was conducted at a Child Observation Home to which street children from all over Delhi, are brought. METHODS: Each boy admitted during the specified 6 months period was interviewed. Chi2 and Fisher's test were applied. A total of 400 boys were studied, 9.8% of these had not run away from their homes and 89.2% were "Runaways". These two groups were compared and following factors were found associated with the "Runaway" group. RESULT: Majority (55%) had left home between 10-12 year of age. They were more from "Joint" families. A higher percentage had literate fathers. A higher percentage had no parent earning and a higher proportion of "Not Runaways" had only the mother earning. Presence of a step parent, guardian other than the parents and intra-familial physical abuse were found associated with "Runaway" group. CONCLUSION: The most common reason for running away was; beating by parents/relatives, followed by a desire for economic independence (28.5%). Other reasons were maltreatment by step parent/s, being both parents dead argument with parent etc. The factors emerging can be useful for identifying high-risk families with children in pre adolescent age and hence for prevention and rehabilitation.

Life style and morbidity profile of geriatric population in an urbans community of Delhi.

A cross-sectional study was carried to find out the lifestyle pattern and morbidity profile of geriatrics residing in urban community of Vikram Nagar, Delhi. Women constituted 56.25% and men 43.75% of a total of 128 study subjects. Hindus were 89.06% and Sikhs 10.93%. Age group of 60-75 years accounted for most of the study population. 85% of the subjects complained of one or more health problems. 90.62% of them suffered from dental problems. A significantly higher proportion of women suffered from problems of locomotion/joints and anemia as compared to men whereas genitourinary problems were higher in men as compared to women. 42.55 of the women and 30.76% of the men were obese. Current smokers constituted 15.62% of the women and 30.76% of the men were obese. Current smokers constituted 15.62% of the population whereas 30.35% of the men were current consumers of alcohol. 12.5% used tobacco. As low as 10.15% of the population engaged in regular physical activity. 55.46% of the subjects were vegetarian. 22.65% suffered from disturbed sleep pattern. Smoking showed statistically significant association with hypertension and respiratory tract diseases. Physical activity showed association with obesity and disorder of locomotion. Behavior and lifestyle modification in the form of primordial prevention and counseling of the high risk groups should be carried to improve the quality of life of the aged.

Awareness about pulse polio immunization among the general population in Delhi.

A study was conducted in three intensive pulse polio immunization (IPPI) centres in Delhi on 24th September, 2000 to assess the awareness about poliomyelitis and the IPPI programme. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit the information from 182 accompanying persons (41 males and 141 females) by qualified medical doctors. Majority (92.9%) of the respondents knew that the administered drops were polio vaccine. Major sources of information were television (32.9%), relatives or friends (24.2%), health staff (20.9%), poster or leaflets (15.9%). Only 18.1% knew the next IPPI day. Out of 43 claiming to know the number of subsequent IPPI days during 2000, only 22 could tell correctly. A large number of respondents (86.2%) knew that IPPI would help in preventing polio in children. Paralysis of limbs as a clinical feature of polio was known to 70.3%, 45.6% knew that polio cannot be cured and 21.9% perceived that polio could also lead to death. The nationwide intensive awareness campaign for polio eradication was found to be partially effective in disseminating the information.

Effectiveness of syndromic approach in management of reproductive tract infections in women.

Syndromic approach was used to identify reproductive tract infections (RTI) by a trained public health nurse among 130 ever-married women aged 15-45 years selected by a systematic random sampling method in a resettlement colony, Chandigarh. A lady medical officer in the dispensary examined and treated 48 (37%) referred symptomatic women as per syndromic approach guidelines. They were suffering from vaginitis (52.1%), cervicitis (20.8%), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) (14.6%), urinary tract infections and PID (4.2%) and 4 did not have any clinical abnormality. Poor menstrual hygiene was observed among 72.7% women with RTI. Follow-up done after one month showed effectiveness in terms of symptomatic relied in 72.7% while 9.1% discontinued treatment and 4.5% did not comply with the medications. Training of nurses, health workers, dais, anganwadi workers regarding RTI identification and referral using syndromic approach and promotion of menstrual hygiene, genital hygiene and health care seeking behaviour would help in reducing the burden of RTI in the community.

Difficulties of the staff posted for intensive pulse polio immunization in Delhi.

Forty three staff members present on 18 booths for intensive Pulse Polio Immunization were interviewed anonymously during the first round of the programme on 24th October, 1999 to find out their problems likely to affect successful implementation of the programme. The observation revealed some of the problems such as long distance between residence and the booth (46.5%), difficulty in locating the booth (72%), lack of training (90.7%), improper meals (69.7%) and lack of toilet facilities (37.2%). Suitable modifications should be made in light of the observations to secure full support of the staff for success of the programme.

Vasculopatía del injerto cardíaco: conceptos actuales / Cardiac allograft vasculopathy

La causa principal de muerte tardía en los receptores de trasplante cardíaco es la vasculopatía del injerto, también llamada ateroesclerosis del trasplante cardíaco, la cual ocurre en el 15 por ciento a 20 por ciento de los trasplantes de corazón. Difiere de la ateroesclerosis convencional en que es un proceso de hiperplasia de la íntima concéntrico y difuso, rara vez con calcificación y con la lámina elástica interna intacta. La porción distal de los vasos coronarios es la que primero se ocluye, ocurriendo en forma rápida. Con alguna frecuencia se asocia a vasculitis leve. Aunque no hay una razón definida para la ocurrencia de esta vasculopatía, se han involucrado causas inmunológicas y no inmunológicas que afectan a las células endoteliales y llevan a la proliferación de la mioíntima. El ultrasonido intravascular y la angioscopía parecen ser medidas diagnósticas más sensibles para su detección que la angiografía coronaria. Actualmente se estima que el único tratamiento definitivo es el retrasplante, pero con resultados regulares

Preventing gastro-enteritis deaths: recommendations based on a 3 years study.

Based on epidemiological investigation of 75 gstro-enteritis deaths that occurred in 22 major hospitals of Delhi during 1990-92, this paper deals with the observations pertaining to the role of physicians and health infrastructure in the management of gastro-enteritis patients. Majority of the patients visited private practitioners/clinics in the first instance. Hospital stay in 44% of cases was 6 hours or more, by which time dehydration and/or electrolyte imbalance should have been corrected. Still, in 54.5 percent out of these, dehydration was the cause of death, while in 18.2 percent electrolyte imbalance co-existed. Record maintenance at various hospitals was far from satisfactory. The study, highlighting the need for proper rehydration and timely referral enlists recommendations that might help in preventing gastro-enteritis deaths.

Teachers' awareness and opinion about AIDS: implications for school based AIDS education.

Two hundred thirteen teachers of one secondary and four primary schools of East Delhi were interviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes about AIDS and their opinions regarding school based AIDS education. Observations revealed that majority of the teachers were aware of various aspects of HIV/AIDS. However, they also had some misconceptions regarding transmission of the disease. Though, most of the teachers opined that they could play an important role in educating the students as well as the community regarding AIDS/STDs, three fourths of them had never discussed AIDS/STDs with their students. Majority of teachers were in favour of starting class room based education on AIDS/STDs, beginning from secondary classes onwards, and more than half opined that class teacher could educate the students better than the doctors or parents. The results suggest that after being properly trained, teachers can be effectively utilized for educating the students.