The Journey and Progress of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

Background: Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTBH) associated with the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) is one of the largest hospitals associated with a medical college in the National Capital of Delhi, India. The Department of Neurosurgery was initially established here in 1997, but since its inception, has made rapid strides in terms of infrastructure and quality of patient care.

Objective: The main objective of this article is to depict the history and path of progress of the Neurosurgery Department, from its inception to its present status, along with the inherent and existing challenges in running the department.

The study of healthcare facility utilization problems faced by pregnant women in urban north India.

Objectives: Sub-Saharan African countries account for nearly half of maternal deaths, and Southern Asian countries are second in the 85% of deaths that occur worldwide. Despite this fact, there is a rapid enhancement in the number of skilled health workers. There has been a sharp increase of 53% in 1990 and 61% in 2007 in trained birth attendant utilization shows that attention is being paid to the management of labor services.

Iron Profile in Term Small for Gestational Age Infants at 10 Weeks of Age and Correlation With Maternal Iron Profile : A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Term small for gestational age (SGA) babies are at risk for developing iron deficiency anemia. The association between maternal and infant iron stores is not clear.

Objective: To assess proportion of term SGA neonates developing iron deficiency anemia by 10 weeks of age, and measure correlation between iron profile and hepcidin of babies at birth and at 10 weeks of age with maternal iron profile.

The Role of Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT), Line Probe Assay (LPA), Liquid Culture, Acid-Fast Bacilli (AFB) Smear and Histopathology in the Diagnosis of Osteoarticular Tuberculosis.

Background: There is a paucity of data on the role of molecular methods in the diagnosis of osteoarticular tuberculosis. The present study was conducted to define the role of molecular (CBNAAT, LPA), phenotypic (AFB smear and culture) and histopathological evaluation in the diagnosis of osteoarticular TB.

Methods: Seventy-seven consecutive cases of osteoarticular tuberculosis were grouped into presumptive TB cases (group A) and presumptive drug-resistant cases (group B).

High-Throughput RNA Sequencing Analysis of Plasma Samples Reveals Circulating microRNA Signatures with Biomarker Potential in Dengue Disease Progression.

The circulating microRNA (miRNA) profile has been widely used for identifying potential biomarkers against viral infections. However, data on circulating microRNA expression patterns in dengue patients are scanty. Considering the impact of severity caused by dengue infection, circulating miRNA profiles in plasma of dengue patients may prove to be valuable for developing early prognostic markers for the disease severity.

Seasonal Variation in Serum 25-hydroxy Vitamin D and its Association with Clinical Morbidity in Healthy Infants from Northern India.

Objective: To evaluate the seasonal change in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) level in healthy infants and to relate it to common childhood morbidities.

Methods: 72 healthy breastfed infants residing in Delhi were enrolled at the end of summer and followed till the end of winter [mean (SD) duration 200 (10) d]. Serum 25-OHD was estimated at baseline and follow-up.

Correlation of altered expression of a long non-coding RNA, NEAT1, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells with dengue disease progression.

The association of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with dengue disease progression is currently unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify lncRNAs in different categories of dengue patients and evaluate their association with dengue disease progression. Herein, we examined the expression profiles of lncRNAs and protein-coding genes between other febrile illness (OFI) and different grade of dengue patients through high-throughput RNA sequencing.

RNA-Seq analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveals unique transcriptional signatures associated with disease progression in dengue patients.

Patients infected with Dengue virus usually present a mild, self-limiting febrile dengue infection (DI) that occasionally leads to a potentially lethal complication, called the severe dengue (DS). The ability to identify the prognostic markers of DS could allow an improved disease intervention and management. To identify the transcriptional signatures associated with the dengue disease progression, we carried out the high-throughput sequencing of the RNA isolated from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the dengue patients of varying severity and compared with that in the patients with other febrile illnesses (OFIs) or the healthy controls.

Possible Role of Trichophytin Antigen in Inducing Impaired Immunological Clearance of Fungus in Onychomycosis.

The immunology of onychomycosis is poorly understood. Th1 and Th17 are the principal effector cells responsible for protective immunity against fungi, while it is assumed that Th2 responses are associated with deleterious effects. The study was conducted to appraise the role of interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) in onychomycosis patients and to study skin reactivity to trichophytin antigen in them.

Efficacy and Safety of Drotaverine Hydrochloride in Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain: A Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Drotaverine hydrochroride in children with recurrent abdominal pain.

Design: Double blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Pediatric Gastroenterology clinic of a teaching hospital.

Prevalence of Depression in People Living with HIV/AIDS Undergoing ART and Factors Associated with it.

Background: HIV/AIDS is one of the most devastating illnesses that humans have ever faced. Depression in HIV/AIDS patients is very common but the factors affecting it are not well studied.

Aims And Objectives: HIV/AIDS though such a big public health problem worldwide, not enough data is available regarding association of HIV and Depression.

Symptomatic relapse of HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis: recurrent cryptococcal meningitis or Cryptococcus-related immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome?

Cryptococcosis, a significant opportunistic infection, has become a global concern since the advent of immunosuppressive chemotherapy or in immunodeficient patients. Host responses range from a harmless colonization to disseminated disease. An accurate or definitive diagnosis in patients with cryptococcal meningitis is often delayed because of the similar clinical presentation and biochemical or cerebrospinal fluid findings to those of a variety of infectious and non-infectious aetiologies, most of which are also especially prevalent in developing countries.

Strangulation deaths during 1993-2002 in East Delhi (India).

Strangulation is one of the common modes of violent asphyxias. Frequently, the deaths from strangulation are homicidal in nature. To study the pattern of the strangulation deaths in the capital city of Delhi, a retrospective analysis of 10 years records from the period 1993-2002 was undertaken in the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at UCMS and GTB Hospital.

Malignant chondroid syringoma.

Malignant chondroid syringoma (MCS) is a rare tumor, of the sweat gland; only a few hundred such cases are reported in literature. A female presented with a subcutaneous swelling on the scalp with repeated recurrence and positive regional lymph nodes. Adequate planning for the treatment of this case was possible as preoperative diagnosis of MCS was documented by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC).