Autism Spectrum Disorders-A Review on The Preventive Aspects

Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder presenting with defects in social commu-nication skills and repetitive sensory motor behaviour. There has been increasing concern regarding this dis-order due to its increase in incidence and prevalence in recent years. Since it stays for lifelong and has no spe-cific pharmacological treatment, many studies are being conducted to find ways of preventing this disorder. Better understanding of the causative factors will lead to better development of prevention strategies. This review aims at highlighting the methods of prevention of ASD which are mostly focussed on the environmen-tal factors causing ASD as well as the ongoing researches on development of drugs and genetic modification using animal models. Some studies have shown preventive effects of factors such as nutrition supplements such as Vitamin D and folate, breastfeeding and avoiding exposure to harmful chemicals and drugs. The aim is to prevent the occurrence of the disorder and preventing the severity of symptoms wherever possible. Still more studies are needed to establish the exact association between the possible causative factors and ASD so that clinical trials can be done to establish the preventive effects in future.

Physical Activity and Diet as a Perceived Panacea to Mental Illness of Women in India: Reality Check

Looking towards the evidence of physical activityand dietary effect on mental health, a massive search of literatures was done and it was concluded that, lifestyle behavioral practices like yoga, exercises and healthy food intake enhances self-esteem capacity and promotes a healthy life by balancing emotions and cognition with daily hurdles.The narration reports the means of preventing mental illness like depression, anxiety and stress among married women through the light of physical activity and diet. However,lack ofexercise and negligence towards mainstreaming of mental health services in primary health care raises the burden of common mental disorders in the community.

Fungemia due to Trichosporon mucoides in a diabetes mellitus patient: A rare case report.

Trichosporon species are widely distributed in nature and can occasionally belong to the human microbiota. For many years, Trichosporon beigelii, the only species of this genus, was found as the aetiological agent of superfi cial skin infection called white piedra. However, many cases of invasive trichosporonosis caused by different newly delineated species of Trichosporon have been published in increasing numbers in recent past years, especially in immunocompromised persons. We report a rare case of fungemia due to Trichosporon mucoides in a diabetes mellitus patient, which will add to the emerging list of trichosporonosis infections.

Epidemiology of animal bites and rabies cases in India. A multicentric study.

Rabies, a disease of antiquity continues to be a major public health problem in India. Multiple factors contribute to high mortality and morbidity due to animal bites. An effective strategy for control of rabies takes into account the epidemiology of animal bites, rabies and factors influencing post exposure treatment. The study was carried out as a part of Agreement for Performance of Work (APW) from World Health Organization (WHO) during the period April 2001 to September 2002. Two sets of proformae were developed and used after field testing to interview cases of animal bites and get retrospective information about rabies cases. The study was carried out at six selected centres across the country viz. Delhi, Hyderabad, Raipur, Jamnagar, Coonoor and Rajahmundry and was co-ordinated by National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi. The officials engaged in the study work were thoroughly trained in the study methodology before the start of the study itself. To maintain quality and uniformity supervisory checks were done during the survey. A total of 1357 fresh animal bite victims were interviewed (exit interview) from the anti-rabies centres (ARCs). Dog bites caused maximum morbidity (92%). Second most common biting animal was monkey (3.2%), followed by cat (1.8%), fox (0.4%) etc. Most bites (64.3%) were unprovoked bites by stray (64.7%) animals. In this study 72.4% animal bite victims were males and 47.5% were children in age group of 2-18 years. 63% had Category III exposure as per the WHO classification. Before coming to ARCs 58.5% people had washed the wound with water/soap or water alone. Some of the bite victims (10.8%) had also applied chillies, salt, turmeric powder, lime, snuff powder, paste of leaves, acid, ash given by Peer Baba (magician) etc. These practices varied from one region to another. The practice of wound washing at the ARC which is an important component of animal bite management was being practiced at only one of the six centres. Of the six centres, Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG) was available and was being used at only two centres. The study was conducted in public sector ARCs where Nervous Tissue Vaccine (NTV) was available free of cost. All the centres were using NTV except Coonoor, which is using indigenously produced Tissue Culture Vaccine along with NTV. Analysis of 192 case records of rabies cases, from two centres, revealed that dog bites caused maximum mortality (96.9%). Nearly 40% were children below 15 years of age and 78.6% were males indicating that it is an exposure related disease. In all cases, failure to seek timely and appropriate treatment led to development of disease. This paper provides an overview of epidemiology of animal bites and retrospective information about rabies patients. There is a need to strengthen Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programme regarding merits of local wound management including "do's and don'ts". ARCs should be strengthened in terms of facilities and availability of safe and effective anti rabies immunobiologicals. There is a need to create awareness regarding epidemiology and at-home and hospital management of animal bites among the service providers and general community.