Serum progesterone levels and sleep habits in premenopausal and postmenopausal females

Objectives: To evaluate the sleep habits in pre and postmenopausal femalesand to find out the relationship between serums progesterone levels and sleep habits

Study Design: Cross sectional study

Place and Duration: At Islamic International Medical College Rawalpindi from 1[st] March 2010 to 31[st] March 2011

Methodology: A total of 60 females were randomly selected out of which 30 were premenopausal [Group A] and 30 were postmenopausal [Group B] females. The sleep habits were assessed by sleep questionnaire and blood sample was taken for serum progesterone levels and were analyzed by enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay [ELFA] technique

Results: The comparison between pre and postmenopausal females was done on the basis of their sleep habits and statistically significant results were found which showed that postmenopausal females had lesser sleep duration than premenopausal females [p=0.011]. Postmenopausal females had more frequency of nocturnal arousals than premenopausal females [p<0.01], postmenopausal females awoke in morning without an alarm while most of the premenopausal females needed an alarm to wake up [p= 0.000] and postmenopausal females woke up earlier in the morning than premenopausal females [p=0.000]. Serum progesterone levels of postmenopausal females were lower than premenopausal females [p= 0.000]

Conclusions: Serum progesterone levels affect the sleep pattern of females across the menstrual cycle and menopause. As the serum progesterone levels decline after menopause; the sleep habits of females get affected and have relatively poor sleep quality, more evening tiredness and more dream remembrance as compared to premenopausal females

"KAP" survey of female undergraduate medical students of an Arab community, regarding coronary heart disease and its association to eating habits and physical inactivity

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of female undergraduate medical students regarding coronary heart diseases

Study Design: A survey research

Place and Duration: Public University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1[st] November - 31[st] December 2013

Methodology: A questionnaire was designed to reflect the knowledge, attitude and daily practices of the students. A total of 100 students, from 2[nd] and 3[rd] year Medical program of a public university in Saudi Arabia were randomly distributed the questionnaire. Incomplete forms were excluded from the study [n=97]. After filling in the responses, a percentage analysis was done

Results: The results reflected a deficient knowledge of coronary heart diseases among students, especially unawareness of the risk factors. Fifty one and 38% of the students respectively did not know the association of physical inactivity and over-eating, to coronary heart disease. Non-healthy attitudes and practices of frequent junk food consumption [30%], overeating [13%], and inactive lifestyle [77%] was observed in the survey

Conclusion: Proper counseling and training of the medical students for better understanding of the disease and its risk factor prevention is required

Students' perspective of and innovative assessment strategy of anatomy

The purpose of this study was to reflect the responses of medical education from the prespective of undergraduate medical students through feed back of an innovative formative assessment strategy. Retrospective, observational study. This study was conducted at the Department of Anatomy, Al Nafees Medical College, Islamabad during May 2012. A feedback questionnaire was filled by the fist year MBBS student in the musculoskeletal module of a PM and DC recognized medical college. A comparison of traditional viva voce and an electronic stage [e stage] examination in Anatomy was made. Majority of the students rated e stage a better option of assessment regarding uniformity, structured evaluation, and self assessment, through and in depth preparation, time economy and non biased approach. However 23% still opted for the traditional viva voce examination as the future preference of assessment. Majority of the students thought that the e stage was a more structured, uniform, time economical, through assessment tool, which had less examination fear and examiner bias. It not only provides a better opportunity to satisfy the examiner but also is a better self assessment tool requiring elaborate exam preparation before taking the exam. The preferred choice of 77% of the students was e stage in comparison to 23% opting for traditional viva voce. Extensive research work and new innovations are required, in the field of medical education in the way of curricula evolvement. In the same time the students' feedback of new adopted strategies should also be given due weight age instead of just imposing the change

Comparison of power point presentation, transparency overhead projector [TOHP] and black board for undergraduate medical teaching

Use of technology in modern education is inevitable. Nowadays the most common ways of lecture delivery include PowerPoint presentation, transparency overhead projector [TOHP] and black board [chalk and talk] methods. Limited researches are available to compare the effectiveness of these teaching tools in public sector universities of Pakistan. Our Objective was to compare the students' perception regarding these three teaching tools in Dow Medical College Karachi. A cross sectional, questionnaire based study. This study was conducted at Dow Medical College, Karachi from April to September 2010. A cross sectional, questionnaire based, study was done. Questionnaire consists of MCQs, grading and open ended questions. A sample size of 314 subjects was taken including students from all current batches in Dow Medical College, Karachi. Information was collected to compare different features among Power Point presentation, transparency overhead projector [TOHP] and black board [chalk and talk] tools. Our study depicted that student overall preferred the use of PowerPoint presentation in lectures than blackboard and overhead projector. The students have a more favorable response towards PowerPoint presentation than Blackboard and Transparency for better inclusion of content, understanding of text and figures, use of examples and illustrations and for summarizing the lecture. [p=<0.001]. On the other hand, they preferred blackboard over Power Point presentations and transparency for facilitation of interaction between teacher and students, coping with teaching speed and stressing on important and relevant points. [p=<0.001]. The result also indicated that the students considered blackboard and PowerPoint presentation equally effective than transparency to develop interest in learning and to grasp the contents. [p=<0.001]. Our study concluded that PowerPoint presentation and Black Board teachings are equally important and should be used as an instruction tool for their respective aspects of learning. One teaching modality is not enough to cope up with student's level of understanding and thus a combination of modern and traditional style of teaching should be incorporated

Mobile phone radiations, possible disruptor to early retinal development

This study was conducted with an objective to investigate the effects of mobile phone induced radiations on retinal morphogenesis of chick embryo. Experimental Study. This study was conducted at Anatomy department, Regional Centre, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Islamabad from Jan. 2006 to Jan. 2007. Chicken embryos were exposed to mobile phone silent mode ringing by placing a GSM operated phone in the centre of the fertilized eggs developing in the incubator. This phone was ringed upon for 15 minutes twice daily for one experimental subgroup and 25 minutes twice for the other subgroup. The control and experimental groups were sacrificed at the end of 10 post incubation days. The retinae of the embryos were dissected out and statistically compared for the heights of different retinal layer after paraffin processing of sections. For lower dosage [15 minutes of ringing] of mobile phone induced EMFs. Thickness of the rods and cones layer and inner plexiform layer of the treated subgroup was significantly less than the control. On increasing the dosage to 25 minutes, thickness of the pigment epithelial layer of the treated group was significantly more than the control group. All the other layers were more in thickness in this subgroup but this difference was not statistically significant. The results of the study conclude that mobile phone radiations have a dose dependant regulatory effect on the early developmental process of chick embryo retina. EMFs dose Mobile phone induced EMFs disrupt the developmental process of embryonal retinogenesis. This effect is influenced differently at different levels exposure

Testicular morphology; effects of mobile phone induced electromagnetic fields on mice testes

To study the effects of mobile phone induced Electromagnetic fields [EMFs] on testis of young mice. Department of Anatomy, College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Regional Center, Islamabad. January to June, 2008. Experimental animal study. This study was conducted on two groups of young BALB-c [6 weeks of age] purchased from National Institute of Health Islamabad. These animals were divided into two groups control and treated, each consisting of twenty animals. The treated group was exposed for one month to mobile phone induced EMFs by placing a mobile phone in the floor of the cage. This phone was rung upon from any other line or cell phone twice daily for 15 minutes. The control group was kept under identical conditions except for mobile phone on the cage floor. Histological comparison of testis of the both group animals showed a significant increase, in the number of tubules with sperms in the lumen, increased sub capsular congestion of vessels, presence of vacuolation and giant cells in germinal epithelium and abnormal cells in the lumen of seminiferous tubules of the treated group. The results indicate altered testicular morphology of the EMFs exposed mice

Can fetal mortality be reduced by estimating maternal blood gas levels during intrapartum period?

The purpose of this study was to observe the affect of maternal asphyxia influencing the fetus and compare the maternal arterial blood gases [ABGs] and acid base levels of normal full term females with the full term females showing any subjective signs of fetal asphyxia during intrapartum period. In this case control study maternal ABGs and acid base levels of 40 normal term pregnant ladies were compared with 40 other term pregnant females with subjective signs of fetal asphyxia [i.e. fetal heart rate > 160bpm or< 120bpm, meconium staining of liquor, or Apgar score < 7 at one minute] during intrapartum period. Lactic acid and pH were also estimated to assess the acid base balance. There was considerable difference of lactic acid [LA] and Pco2 levels, which were significantly increased [P<0.025] in asphyxiated mothers [AM] as compared with control mothers [CM]. No significant difference was observed regarding pH values, ,bicarbonate ions [HCO[3]], base excess[BE],carbon dioxide content [CtCO[2]] andpercentage saturation of oxygen [%O[2]SAT] levels in both CM and AM groups. The levels of hemoglobin [Hb], packed cell volume [PCV], partial pressure of oxygen [PO[2]] and oxygen content [O[2]CT] in AM group were found significantly lower [P<0.0001] as compared to CM group. This study reveals a strong correlation between the fetal asphyxia and the mothers suffering from anemia, hypoxia or acidemia which may cause the fetal asphyxia during intrapartum period and need for proper investigations like blood gas and acid base analysis during intrapartum period for intervention in earlier phases of labor to prevent feto-ma-ternal mortality