Thinking out of the box: alternative career choices for young doctors in Pakistan

The number of young medical graduates in Pakistan is increasing every year. Most of whom wish to specialize in a particular clinical field. Considering the competition faced for specialty training selection and later on for job placement, it is suggested that these young graduates should explore some alternative careers as well. Opportunities can be availed and decision made based on graduates' personal interest, preference to work in Pakistan or abroad, and availability of suitable employment in local and international hospitals among other factors. Careers in the basic medical sciences, medical education, medical research, medical writing and bioethics can be considered, too. There are very few trained professionals in these fields in Pakistan and once trained, these young doctors will hopefully find rewarding employment

Effect of fructose in acetaminophen induced liver injury in rats

Low dose fructose was used in hepatotoxic rats to assess its hepatoprotective role. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of fructose on liver function using enzyme assays and morphologic changes. Quasi-Experimental study. Departments of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Pathology, Army Medical College and National Institute of Health from Jan 2007-Jan 2008. One hundred and twenty healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected Acetaminophen [APAP] [650 mg/kg] to induce acute hepatotoxicity, fructose [1g/kg] and N-acetyl cysteine [NAC] [1200 mg/kg] intraperitoneally. Blood samples was taken after ten hours and serum was separated and centrifuged. Serum alanine aminotranferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alkaline phosphatase, albumin and total bilirubin were measured using kit method. Liver biopsy was taken to observe the necrotic changes. APAP had 200% elevation of serum ALT and AST [p<0.01]. Serum alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin and albumin were insignificant as compared to controls in all the groups [p>0.05]. Fructose and APAP co-administration [group III] had insignificant effect on serum ALT [p= 0.6] and AST [p= 0.9] as compared to APAP group [p>0.05]. NAC [group IV significantly decreased serum transaminases compared to groups II and III [p<0.01]. Fructose did not reduce centrilobular necrosis produced by APAP, while NAC had significant cytoprotection in this animal model. Low dose fructose [1g/kg] has no hepatoprotective role in acute APAP hepatotoxicity in vivo and NAC hepatoprotection. Additional studies are needed to understand the combined interaction of fructose and APAP, as fructose is being extensively consumed by general population in form of commercial beverages

Levels of inflammatory markers and their correlation with dyslipidemia in diabetics

To measure the levels of inflammatory markers [serum ferritin and high sensitivity C-reactive protein] and dyslipidemia in diabetics and to find a correlation between these inflammatory markers and dyslipidemia. Comparative study. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from March 2007 to February 2008. The study included 30 known type-2 diabetic patients randomly inducted from diabetic clinics of Rawalpindi. Healthy volunteers [n=30] having blood glucose less than 6 mmol/L were inducted as the comparison group. Fasting blood samples of diabetics and controls were analyzed for glucose, glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c], lipid profile, high sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] and serum ferritin. The diabetic subjects had significantly higher levels of glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, hs-CRP and ferritin as compared to normal subjects [p < 0.001], while the level of HDL cholesterol was significantly lower in diabetics [p < 0.001]. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between the inflammatory markers, hs-CRP and ferritin, and the parameters of dyslipidemia i.e. total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides [p<0.001 r=0.72] except for HDL cholesterol, which had an insignificant negative correlation with the inflammatory markers [p>0.05 r = -0.10]. Low-grade inflammation exists in Diabetes mellitus and it is positively related with dyslipidemia [except for HDL cholesterol] in diabetics