Attention is drawn to a number of recently described skin conditions and a number of new treatments which, in the opinion of the writer, warrant more extensive publicity
The tremendous research advances in recent decades in the three widely used methods of fertility regulation (family planning), namely hormonal steroidal contraception, sterilisation and legal abortion, have been presented and discussed. The considerable health benefits accruing to the woman, in particular, and to the society, in general, from the practice of these fertility regulation methods. especially in the context of developing countries, have been reviewed. Recent research advances in the area of fertility augmentation (infertility management) have been presented and discussed. The manner in which some of the future trends in fertility regulation are likely to develop has been briefly stated.
The code of ethics derived from the Hippocratic Oath needs to be supplemented by a formal curriculum in Medical Ethics and Medical Humanities in our Medical schools. The need and justification for it, a review of the medical ethics curricula in American. European. British and Australian Universities, together with an outline of the proposed curriculum is described.
There is overwhelming evidence that the microangiopathic complications (retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy) of diabetes can be minimised, prevented or improved by optimal blood glucose control. There is little evidence to show otherwise. This paper reviews evidences to demonstrate that poor diabetic control predisposes to diabetic microangiopathy. The only way to minimise diabetic microangiopathy is to avoid hyperglycaemia and achieve euglycaemia for most part of the day. In doing so the dangers of hypoglycaemia must be clearly recognized and avoided.
A review of recent data available on the nutritional health of Indian children seems to suggest that malnutrition is a major problem among poor Indian preschool and school children. Examination of indirect indicators of malnutrition reveals that for Indians, the annual percentage decrease in TMR is the lowest and incidence of low birth weight and perinatal mortality rate the highest. While there is very little documentation in the extent and severity of protein-malnutrition among Indian children, hospital admission returns for severe PEM show a predominance of Indian preschool children. This suggest that moderate forms of malnutrition may even be more widely prevalent amongst this group of the population thus posing a great problem from the public health point of view. The prevalence of moderate PEM as represented by acute ("wasting") and chronic forms ("stunting") was found to be the highest among Indian urban and rural children. Biochemical studies indicate widespread prevalence of anemia, vitamin A and B deficiencies especially among Indian preschool children. The presence of high parasitic infections may exacerbate such deficiencies. The causes of malnutrition are multiple and complex. Low family income as a consequence of high unemployment rate (8%) and low wages, lack of basic sanitation and adequate housing, large family size, alcoholism and apathy among parents, ignorance of good nutrition and disturbed conditions in the home environment have been identified as some of the factors that may contribute towards malnutrition in this community. Thus the viscous cycle of malnutrition appears to have gained a foothold in the poor Indian community. As has been well documented, the social implications of malnutrition are many, the most important being its effect on education. It is now well known that malnutrition hinders intellectual development; it interferes with a child's motivation, ability to concentrate, and ability to learn and cope with the school situation. Malnutrition thus could be one of the contributory factors to the generally poor performance in studies, to the low aspiration for higher education and to the alarming drop-out rate (60%) found among Indian school children. While this review attempts to highlight some of the nutritional problems confronting the Indian poor, it is clearly essential from a national view-point that community level surveys should be further undertaken to assess the nutritional health of this group. The problem of malnutrition among poor Indian children is real and needs urgent recognition and remedial measures from both public and political sectors alike.