Status of mental stress among medical students: Experience from medical colleges in Bihar

Background: Admission in medical colleges exposes students to a new educational environment. Then, they encounter the pressure of huge syllabus, language hurdles, peer stress, stress of hostel life, etc. The coping capability in these stressful conditions varies student to student. Aim and Objectives: In this study, we aimed to ascertain the level of stress assessed by a validated questionnaire among first-year medical students. Materials and Methods: This was an online survey-based study. A validated questionnaire Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was used to ascertain the level of perceived stress. The questionnaire assesses the perceived stress for the past 1 month period. Questionnaire link was distributed among 200 students. Data were tabulated and presented by descriptive statistical tests such as mean, standard deviation, and percentage. The inferential statistical test – Chi-square test and ANOVA were conducted in Microsoft Excel 2010. Results: A total 103 student submitted completed questionnaire (survey response rate 51.5%). Among the students, 27.18% was in “no stress” category and 72.82% was among different level of “stress” category. Among the stressed students, 39.81% was in “mild stress,” 18.45% was in “moderate stress,” and 14.56% was in “severe stress.” Mean score of these four groups showed statistically significant (P < 0.001) difference when tested by ANOVA. Conclusion: The majority of medical students have mild stress. A significant percent also suffers from moderate-to-severe stress. Teacher and the stakeholders should take necessary steps to help those students in coping up with stress related to studies by counseling and other interventions.

Melanosis tubae et ovarii: An overlooked entity?

Melanosis is a rare benign entity defined by the deposition of brownish-black pigment in a wide variety of organs especially the gastrointestinal tract, peritoneum, fallopian tubes and ovaries. Melanosis of the fallopian tube is widely known as pigmentosis tubae. Literature has mentioned ovarian teratomas and serous cystadenomas to be associated with the ovarian and peritoneal melanosis. We report five such cases of tubo-ovarian melanosis. The cases include mature teratoma and serous cystadenoma as well as melanosis of the fallopian tubes with otherwise normal ovarian histology. The importance of recognising this entity lies in its differential diagnosis.

Synthesis and anti-hyperlipidemic activity of 3H-benzo [4, 5] thieno [2, 3-d] [1, 2, 3] triazin-4-ones: possible mechanism of altered lipid metabolism

The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-hyperlipidemic activity of newly synthesized tricyclic benzothieno 1, 2, 3-triazine derivatives namely CP-1 [3-[methyl]-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro,3H-benzo[4,5] thieno [2,3-d][1,2,3] triazin-4-one], CP-2 [3-[ethyl]- 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro,3H-benzo[4,5] thieno [2,3-d][1,2,3] triazin-4-one] and CP-6 [3-[2-chloro phenyl]-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro,3H-benzo[4,5] thieno [2,3-d][1,2,3] triazin-4-one] against dexamethasone and Triton WR-1339-induced hyper- lipidemia in rats. Anti-hyperlipidemic activity of the test compounds were evaluated against dexamethasone [10 mg/kg, subcutaneous [s.c.]] and Triton WR-1339 [200 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [i.p]] induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Administration of single dose of Triton WR-1339 [200 mg/kg i.p] and dexamethasone [10 mg/kg s.c.] for 8 consecutive days to adult wistar rats caused severe hyperlipidemia characterized by marked increase in serum cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C and triglyceride levels along with an increase in atherogenic index. Serum HDL-C levels were decreased significantly compare to normal control. Pretreatment with Atorvastatin [10 mg/kg, p.o.], CP-1 [25 and 50 mg/kg], CP-2 [25 and 50 mg/kg] and CP-6 [25 and 50 mg/kg] showed significant and dose-dependent protection against dexamethasone and Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia in rats by maintaining serum total cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C and HDL-C levels within the normal range. Also, a significant decrease in atherogenic index was observed. The anti-hyperlipidemic effect of CP-6 was comparable with reference standard Atorvastatin. Furthermore, CP-6 was found to be more potent than CP-1 and CP-2. These findings suggest that CP-1, CP-2 and CP-6 possess significant anti-hyperlipidemic activity against experimental animal models of hyperlipidemia