Organization for rare diseases India (ORDI) - addressing the challenges and opportunities for the Indian rare diseases' community.

In order to address the unmet needs and create opportunities that benefit patients with rare disease in India, a group of volunteers created a not-for-profit organization named Organization for Rare Diseases India (ORDI; www.ordindia.org).

A systematic review of asthma and health literacy: a cultural-ethnic perspective in Canada.

Background: Asthma is one of the most common inflammatory lung diseases and its prevalence and incidence have increased in many developed and developing countries. Asthma places a heavy burden on healthcare expenditures and productivity, which in turn diminishes the quality of life of the individuals involved as well as their families. The goal of improving a patient's knowledge about asthma management should include the enhancement of the individual's skills with the hopeful outcome of improving how the individual manages the condition.

The prediction of adverse maternal outcomes in preeclampsia.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate whether clinical variables reflecting the multiorgan dysfunctions of preeclampsia can predict adverse maternal outcomes of preeclampsia; (2) to determine the usefulness of the mean platelet volume (MPV):platelet ratio as a novel measure of platelet consumption in predicting the severity of preeclampsia.

Method: A retrospective chart review was conducted of cases of preeclampsia seen in 3 tertiary level units from January 2001 to December 2001. Candidate predictors of adverse maternal outcome were gestational age (GA) on admission to hospital, blood pressure, proteinuria, urine output, uric acid, creatinine, aspartate transaminase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase, bilirubin, albumin, fraction of inspired oxygen:oxygen saturation (FIO2:SaO2) ratio, platelet count, MPV, MPV:platelet ratio, fibrinogen, and seizures.

Levels of antibodies against cytomegalovirus and Chlamydophila pneumoniae are increased in early onset pre-eclampsia.

Objective: The origins of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia lie in a mismatch between feto-placental demands and utero-placental supply, a situation that also arises in normotensive intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Could reactivated chronic infection be both a trigger for these differential maternal responses to the same underlying pathology and a link between pre-eclampsia and its attendant lifelong risks of atherosclerosis?

Design: Nested case-control study.

Setting: Tertiary obstetric centre.