Flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenoids: a new hope for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic syndrome characterized by a hyperglycemic state and multi-organ failure. Millions of people worldwide are suffering from this deadly disease taking a hit on their pocket and mental health in the name of its treatment. Modern medical practices with new technological advancements and discoveries have made revolutionary changes in the treatment.

Erythrodermic dermatophytosis: an alarming consequence of steroid abuse and misuse. A multicentre prospective study from India.

Erythroderma is usually attributed to some of the commoner causes such as eczematous disorders, psoriasis, malignancies, idiopathic situations and drug-induced scenarios. Rarely, erythroderma has been found to result from dermatophytic infections. Erythrodermic dermatophytosis may be a direct sequel of extensive tinea corporis (with or without a background of topical steroid misuse), paraneoplastic phenomenon, an id reaction or congenital erythrodermic disorders, with subsequent development of dermatophytosis.

Scrub Typhus Masquerading as Limbic Encephalitis.

Scrub typhus, an acute febrile infectious disease prevalent in the 'tsutsugamushi triangle', is a mite-born rickettsial zoonosis, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. The clinical presentation is protean and involves multiple organ systems of the body, including central and peripheral nervous systems. We report a 22-year-old previously healthy Indian woman who presented with clinical (confusion, excessive sleepiness, cognitive dysfunction and focal seizures) and neuroimaging features of limbic encephalitis.

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Effect of Adverse Childhood Events and Perception Toward Parents on Emotional Intelligence.

Emotional intelligence describes how well an individual understands and manages his or her emotions. Parenting styles and early life events have an important bearing on emotional intelligence. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of adverse childhood events and perception toward parents on the various domains of emotional intelligence among medical interns.

Hallmarks of Clinical Aspects of Parkinson's Disease Through Centuries.

James Parkinson published a treatise "An Essay on The Shaking Palsy" in 1817. However, there is historical evidence that there were rudimentary descriptions of the disease long before Parkinson brought it to light. Later day physicians have added to the spectrum of the motor aspects of the disease over the last 200 years and the gamut of its clinical presentation is now known to be more ubiquitous than what was supposed earlier.

Hyperhomocysteinemia, a biochemical tool for differentiating ischemic and nonischemic central retinal vein occlusion during the early acute phase.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to differentiate ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) from nonischemic CRVO during the early acute phase using plasma homocysteine as a biochemical marker.

Methods: Fasting plasma homocysteine, serum vitamin B12, and folate levels were measured in 108 consecutive unilateral elderly adult (age >50 years) ischemic CRVO patients in the absence of local and systemic disease and compared with a total of 144 age and sex matched nonischemic CRVO patients and 120 age and sex matched healthy control subjects.

Results: Homocysteine level was significantly increased in the patients with ischemic CRVO in comparison with nonischemic CRVO patients (p = 0.

Increased Soluble TNF Receptor-1 and Glutathione Peroxidase may Predict Carotid Intima Media Thickness in Females with Cushing Syndrome.

Objective: Cardiovascular events are the most common cause of mortality in Cushing syndrome (CS). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of novel factors on atherosclerosis in endogenous CS.

Methods: A total of 22 female patients with CS and 33 normal female controls underwent evaluation of fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-1β, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor [sTNFR]-1, and sTNFR2), glutathione peroxidase (GPx; measure of oxidative stress), carotid intima media thickness (CIMT; a measure of atherosclerosis), and percent change in flow-mediated vasodilation (%FMV) of the brachial artery, a measure of endothelial dysfunction.

Factors predicting mortality in newborn ventilation.

Objective: Prediction of mortality among newborns on mechanical ventilation is difficult. Our aim was to develop a scoring system for predicting mortality among such neonates.

Methods: This multi centre prospective study was performed to develop and validate a scoring system among two equal cohorts of ventilated newborns in India.

Pyomyositis: a diagnostic problem.

A case of a 45-year-old lady presenting with symptoms suggestive of pancreatitis is described. Initially the findings on Imaging were ambiguous while the enzyme studies were against the diagnosis of pancreatitis. Recurrence of symptoms and with Increased intensity prompted repeated imaging and further investigations.

Hydrocele of the canal of Nuck.

Hydrocele of the canal of Nuck is an uncomon and infrequently reported finding in women. A 24-year-old female presented with a painless left groin swelling which was soft, cystic, non-tender with 7.5 cm x 5 cm in measurement.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma--a rare pathology.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma is a rare and highly aggressive pulmonary malignancy in children. The clinical features, radiologic, cytologic, gross and histopathological features of one such case in a 9 year old girl is discussed along with a short review of literature.

Epidemiological study of eclampsia in a referral teaching hospital.

The present study is a retrospective analysis of 864 eclampsia patients managed at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata during the period January 1999 to December 2001. The incidence of eclampsia was seen in about 2.27% cases.

Tuberculosis of the gall bladder.

An unusual presentation of tuberculous involvement of gall bladder in the absence of clinically detectable tuberculosis elsewhere is described. Tuberculosis, a rare lesion in the gall bladder was seen in a case associated with chronic cholecystitis with acute exacerbation. This organ is supposed not to be involved by tuberculosis due to high concentration of bile-acids in pure bile.

Safe motherhood--a long way to achieve.

Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the most important index for monitoring the progress of safe motherhood programmes. A retrospective analysis of all maternal deaths at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta from 1st January, 1995 to 31st December, 1997 was carried out. There were 29,563 live births and 203 maternal deaths giving cumulative MMR of 686.

Stromal sarcoma of breast: a case report.

A 34 years unmarried female was admitted with an ulcerated foul smelling growth in her right breast. On examination the fungating mass measured 17.5 cm x 15 cm in central and lower part of right breast involving the nipple and areola.

Demographic survey of opinions towards smoking: a pilot study.

A survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire, on 865 smokers to analyse their opinions towards some general aspects of smoking. The subjects were mostly males (97.11%) and belonged to the age group of 21 to 50 years (80%).