Attitude of researchers towards ethics committee at a medical research institute in Coimbatore: a cross sectional study

Background: The role of ethics committees has been well defined, but many researchers regard ethical review as a road block to research.Methods: To assess the attitude of the researchers towards the ethics committee, a cross sectional study was conducted among 80 researchers, which includes both faculty and undergraduate students at a medical research institute.Results: Our study shows that though most of the researchers agreed that ethics committee is mandatory, they felt that ethics committee review delays research projects, undermined the role of non-medical members in the committee, felt annoyed about the documentation and answering the full board queries and presentations.Conclusions: Study concludes that though the researchers have understood the critical role of ethics committee, they lack a positive attitude when it comes to the ethics committee functioning. Therefore, training should be conducted for researchers, which addresses these issues, so that the misunderstandings and conflicts are minimized.

Role of MRI in Detecting Cerebral Anomalies and Cerebral Hypoperfusion in Surviving Twin after the Co Twin Demise of Monochorionic Twin Pregnancy.

Aim: To demonstrate the role of MRI in detecting cerebral anomalies and cerebral hypo perfusion in surviving twin after the co twin demise of monochorionic twin pregnancy. Case Presentation: 28 year old second gravida came for routine antenatal sonography at 29 weeks. Her routine anomaly scan at 20 weeks for her twin gestation was unremarkable. Present antenatal sonography revealed monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy with demise of one of the twins at 23 weeks. Ultrasound and doppler evaluation did not exhibit abnormality in surviving twin whereas MR evaluation revealed changes in feral brain due to ischaemia. Discussion: Mono chorionic twin pregnancies are associated with numerous complications due to vascular anastomotic channels in the shared placenta. Complications include Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, Anaemia - polycythemia sequence, selective intra uterine growth retardation, cotwin demise, neurological damage in surviving twin. Though prenatal Doppler sonography is often used for neurological assessment of the surviving twin, in utero Magnetic Resonance Imaging of foetal brain aids in definitive diagnosis of cerebral pathologies. Conclusion: MRI plays an important role in assessing cerebral hypo perfusion injuries and cerebral anomalies.