New set of students at KAP College vow to serve in rural areas
Aug 2, 2013, 01.24AM IST TNN
TRICHY: It was a new beginning for students of the K A P Viswanatham Government Medical College (KAPVGMC), as they stepped into the college portals for the first time after gaining admission into the 15th batch of the MBBS course, which commenced on Thursday. As part of this, the students pledged to dedicate their noble service to the rural service.
A total of 85 students enrolled into the MBBS course under the state merit quota. Of the total 100 seats, the 15 seats are reserved for national quota. The first day of the college for these students was marked by a function to welcome the freshers. Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of this college presided over the event and advised the students to minimize the use of mobile phone and maximize their period of study as well as to make use of library.
In an interaction with few students, it was found that most of them were first-generation medicine students. It showed that not only the children of doctors but also others too win the race to become future doctors. B Sowmya, a student from Dindigul, who is a first medicine student in her family told TOI, "It was my grandparents' wish to produce a doctor in our family. And, I was also determined to become a doctor in a Government College. With the support of my father L Boomirajan, a farmer and my mother V Santhanalakshmi, I achieved this feat. After successful completion of my course, I would dedicate my service to the rural people."
Another first generation medicine student K Kaviya from Peravoorani in Thanjavur district also echoed the same view. "It was my lifetime aim to serve the rural people. I have felt the difficulties of rural people in getting quality medical treatment. I want to serve them to prove that it is a noble profession," Kaviya said, whose father is working as a tailor abroad.
Asked whether they would have joined medicine if they had not secured a seat in a government college, the students said 'no'.
In addition to the 100 seats, the Medical Council of India has approved to increase the number of seats to 150 from this year. So, the counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.
Thursday, August 1, 2013

New set of students at KAP College vow to serve in rural areas
Aug 2, 2013, 01.24AM IST TNN
TRICHY: It was a new beginning for students of the K A P Viswanatham Government Medical College (KAPVGMC), as they stepped into the college portals for the first time after gaining admission into the 15th batch of the MBBS course, which commenced on Thursday. As part of this, the students pledged to dedicate their noble service to the rural service.
A total of 85 students enrolled into the MBBS course under the state merit quota. Of the total 100 seats, the 15 seats are reserved for national quota. The first day of the college for these students was marked by a function to welcome the freshers. Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of this college presided over the event and advised the students to minimize the use of mobile phone and maximize their period of study as well as to make use of library.
In an interaction with few students, it was found that most of them were first-generation medicine students. It showed that not only the children of doctors but also others too win the race to become future doctors. B Sowmya, a student from Dindigul, who is a first medicine student in her family told TOI, "It was my grandparents' wish to produce a doctor in our family. And, I was also determined to become a doctor in a Government College. With the support of my father L Boomirajan, a farmer and my mother V Santhanalakshmi, I achieved this feat. After successful completion of my course, I would dedicate my service to the rural people."
Another first generation medicine student K Kaviya from Peravoorani in Thanjavur district also echoed the same view. "It was my lifetime aim to serve the rural people. I have felt the difficulties of rural people in getting quality medical treatment. I want to serve them to prove that it is a noble profession," Kaviya said, whose father is working as a tailor abroad.
Asked whether they would have joined medicine if they had not secured a seat in a government college, the students said 'no'.
In addition to the 100 seats, the Medical Council of India has approved to increase the number of seats to 150 from this year. So, the counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.
New set of students at KAP College vow to serve in rural areas
Aug 2, 2013, 01.24AM IST TNN
TRICHY: It was a new beginning for students of the K A P Viswanatham Government Medical College (KAPVGMC), as they stepped into the college portals for the first time after gaining admission into the 15th batch of the MBBS course, which commenced on Thursday. As part of this, the students pledged to dedicate their noble service to the rural service.
A total of 85 students enrolled into the MBBS course under the state merit quota. Of the total 100 seats, the 15 seats are reserved for national quota. The first day of the college for these students was marked by a function to welcome the freshers. Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of this college presided over the event and advised the students to minimize the use of mobile phone and maximize their period of study as well as to make use of library.
In an interaction with few students, it was found that most of them were first-generation medicine students. It showed that not only the children of doctors but also others too win the race to become future doctors. B Sowmya, a student from Dindigul, who is a first medicine student in her family told TOI, "It was my grandparents' wish to produce a doctor in our family. And, I was also determined to become a doctor in a Government College. With the support of my father L Boomirajan, a farmer and my mother V Santhanalakshmi, I achieved this feat. After successful completion of my course, I would dedicate my service to the rural people."
Another first generation medicine student K Kaviya from Peravoorani in Thanjavur district also echoed the same view. "It was my lifetime aim to serve the rural people. I have felt the difficulties of rural people in getting quality medical treatment. I want to serve them to prove that it is a noble profession," Kaviya said, whose father is working as a tailor abroad.
Asked whether they would have joined medicine if they had not secured a seat in a government college, the students said 'no'.
In addition to the 100 seats, the Medical Council of India has approved to increase the number of seats to 150 from this year. So, the counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.counselling for rest of the seats will be over shortly.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
world hepatitis day 2013 "Know It Confront It"
Nearly 2.50 lakh people in India die of viral hepatitis annually, which affects approximately one in twelve persons worldwide, experts said on 'World Hepatitis Day'.
Stating that some 500 million people are living with chronic viral hepatitis in India, they said that intensive awareness programme is urgently needed to be launched in every nook and corner of the country "with a spirit of commitment to fight the killer disease".
Virologists said that hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver and most commonly caused by a viral infection, has five main types A, B, C, D and E which are of great concern because of the burden of illness and deaths they may cause and the potential for outbreaks and epidemic spread.
In particular, types B and C lead to chronic diseases in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer. Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water.
Cautioning about spurt in Hepatitis B, C and D which usually occur as a result of contact with infected body fluids, experts said that about 130–170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus and more than 3.50 lakh die from hepatitis C-related liver diseases each year.
They said that approximately 70-80 per cent of people with acute Hepatitis C do not have any symptoms "which is a cause of concern".
World Hepatitis Day was launched by the World Hepatitis Alliance in 2008 in response to the concern that chronic viral hepatitis did not have the level of awareness nor the political momentum seen with other communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Speaking o, Hepatitis is a silent killer as it rarely presents symptoms until very late. Studies reported from various parts of India estimate that about 20 million Indians are Hepatitis B carriers and about 8 to 10 million may have silent Hepatitis C virus infection.
Stating that some 500 million people are living with chronic viral hepatitis in India, they said that intensive awareness programme is urgently needed to be launched in every nook and corner of the country "with a spirit of commitment to fight the killer disease".
Virologists said that hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver and most commonly caused by a viral infection, has five main types A, B, C, D and E which are of great concern because of the burden of illness and deaths they may cause and the potential for outbreaks and epidemic spread.
In particular, types B and C lead to chronic diseases in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer. Hepatitis A and E are typically caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water.
Cautioning about spurt in Hepatitis B, C and D which usually occur as a result of contact with infected body fluids, experts said that about 130–170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus and more than 3.50 lakh die from hepatitis C-related liver diseases each year.
They said that approximately 70-80 per cent of people with acute Hepatitis C do not have any symptoms "which is a cause of concern".
World Hepatitis Day was launched by the World Hepatitis Alliance in 2008 in response to the concern that chronic viral hepatitis did not have the level of awareness nor the political momentum seen with other communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Speaking o, Hepatitis is a silent killer as it rarely presents symptoms until very late. Studies reported from various parts of India estimate that about 20 million Indians are Hepatitis B carriers and about 8 to 10 million may have silent Hepatitis C virus infection.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Fasting Protect Brain
Fasting may protect against disease; some say it may even be good for the brain

A new surge of interest in fasting suggests that it might indeed help people with cancer. It might also reduce the risk of developing cancer, guard against diabetes and heart disease, help control asthma and even stave off Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
New research on fasting suggests it might reduce the risk of developing… (Washington Post Illustration/ )
“We know from animal models,” says Mark Mattson at the National Institute on Aging, “that if we start an intermittent fasting diet at what would be the equivalent of middle age in people, we can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”
Until recently, most studies linking diet with health and longevity focused on calorie restriction. They have had some impressive results, with the life span of various lab animals lengthened by up to 50 percent after their caloric intake was cut in half. But these effects do not seem to extend to primates. A 23-year study of macaques found that although calorie restriction delayed the onset of age-related diseases, it had no impact on life span. So other factors, such as genetics, may be more important for human longevity.

Some even argue that we are evolutionarily adapted to going without food intermittently. “The evidence is pretty strong that our ancestors did not eat three meals a day plus snacks,” Mattson says. “Our genes are geared to being able to cope with periods of no food.”
Trying out a fast
Fasting will leave you feeling crummy in the short term because it takes time for your body to break psychological and biological habits, researchers say. There isn’t really agreement, though, on what fasting entails. To research this article, I am trying out the “5:2” diet, which allows me 600 calories in a single meal on each of two weekly “fast” days. (The normal recommended daily intake is about 2,000 calories for a woman and 2,500 for a man.) Proving that fasting is not necessarily about losing weight, I am allowed to eat whatever I want on the five non-fast days.
A more draconian regimen than the 5:2 plan has restricted-calorie fasts every other day. Then there’s total fasting, in which participants go without food for one to five days. (Fasting for more than about a week is considered dangerous.) This might be a one-off experience, or repeated weekly or monthly.
Different regimens have different effects on the body. A fast is considered to start about 10 to 12 hours after a meal, when you have used up all the available glucose in your blood and start converting glycogen stored in liver and muscle cells into glucose to use for energy. If the fast continues, there is a gradual move toward breaking down stored body fat, and the liver produces “ketone bodies,” short molecules that are byproducts of the breakdown of fatty acids. These can be used by the brain as fuel. This process is in full swing three to four days into a fast.

Various hormones are also affected. For example, production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) drops early and reaches very low levels by Day 3 or 4. It is similar in structure to insulin, which also becomes scarcer with fasting, and high levels of both have been linked to cancer.
As for treating cancer, Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, thinks that short-term complete fasts maximize the benefits. He has found that a 48-hour total fast slowed the growth of five of eight types of cancer in mice, the effect tending to be more pronounced the more fasts the animals undertook.
Fasting is harder on cancer cells than on normal cells, he says. That’s because the mutations that cause cancer lead to rapid growth under the physiological conditions in which they arose, but they can be at a disadvantage when conditions changes. This could also explain why fasting combined with conventional cancer treatment provides a double whammy. Mice with gliomas — very aggressive forms of cancer and the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor in people — were more than twice as likely to survive a 28-day study if they underwent a 48-hour fast accompanied by radiation therapy as were those that did not fast.
Could fasting prevent cancers from developing in the first place? Evidence is scant.

A new surge of interest in fasting suggests that it might indeed help people with cancer. It might also reduce the risk of developing cancer, guard against diabetes and heart disease, help control asthma and even stave off Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
New research on fasting suggests it might reduce the risk of developing… (Washington Post Illustration/ )
“We know from animal models,” says Mark Mattson at the National Institute on Aging, “that if we start an intermittent fasting diet at what would be the equivalent of middle age in people, we can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”
Until recently, most studies linking diet with health and longevity focused on calorie restriction. They have had some impressive results, with the life span of various lab animals lengthened by up to 50 percent after their caloric intake was cut in half. But these effects do not seem to extend to primates. A 23-year study of macaques found that although calorie restriction delayed the onset of age-related diseases, it had no impact on life span. So other factors, such as genetics, may be more important for human longevity.

Some even argue that we are evolutionarily adapted to going without food intermittently. “The evidence is pretty strong that our ancestors did not eat three meals a day plus snacks,” Mattson says. “Our genes are geared to being able to cope with periods of no food.”
Trying out a fast
Fasting will leave you feeling crummy in the short term because it takes time for your body to break psychological and biological habits, researchers say. There isn’t really agreement, though, on what fasting entails. To research this article, I am trying out the “5:2” diet, which allows me 600 calories in a single meal on each of two weekly “fast” days. (The normal recommended daily intake is about 2,000 calories for a woman and 2,500 for a man.) Proving that fasting is not necessarily about losing weight, I am allowed to eat whatever I want on the five non-fast days.
A more draconian regimen than the 5:2 plan has restricted-calorie fasts every other day. Then there’s total fasting, in which participants go without food for one to five days. (Fasting for more than about a week is considered dangerous.) This might be a one-off experience, or repeated weekly or monthly.
Different regimens have different effects on the body. A fast is considered to start about 10 to 12 hours after a meal, when you have used up all the available glucose in your blood and start converting glycogen stored in liver and muscle cells into glucose to use for energy. If the fast continues, there is a gradual move toward breaking down stored body fat, and the liver produces “ketone bodies,” short molecules that are byproducts of the breakdown of fatty acids. These can be used by the brain as fuel. This process is in full swing three to four days into a fast.

Various hormones are also affected. For example, production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) drops early and reaches very low levels by Day 3 or 4. It is similar in structure to insulin, which also becomes scarcer with fasting, and high levels of both have been linked to cancer.
As for treating cancer, Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, thinks that short-term complete fasts maximize the benefits. He has found that a 48-hour total fast slowed the growth of five of eight types of cancer in mice, the effect tending to be more pronounced the more fasts the animals undertook.
Fasting is harder on cancer cells than on normal cells, he says. That’s because the mutations that cause cancer lead to rapid growth under the physiological conditions in which they arose, but they can be at a disadvantage when conditions changes. This could also explain why fasting combined with conventional cancer treatment provides a double whammy. Mice with gliomas — very aggressive forms of cancer and the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor in people — were more than twice as likely to survive a 28-day study if they underwent a 48-hour fast accompanied by radiation therapy as were those that did not fast.
Could fasting prevent cancers from developing in the first place? Evidence is scant.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
European Stroke Conference 2013 London
Attended European Stroke Conference at London from 28may to 1st June 2013. Teaching sessions are very useful.
Award for neurologist
Tamil Nadu The Hindu May 09 2008
 
Award for neurologist
Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI: M. A. Aleem, neurologist and epileptologist of ABC Hospital, will be conferred ‘Dr. Banumathi Muguranathan’ Award, instituted by Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tamil Nadu state branch.
The award was given to him for his “Tamil excellence in medical publication, articles and oration. Dr. Aleem has presented over seven research articles in Tamil and published 10 books on neurological and medical disorders in Tamil. He will receive the award on May 11, during the 62nd annual State medical conference of IMA to be held at Kumili.
 
Award for neurologist
Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI: M. A. Aleem, neurologist and epileptologist of ABC Hospital, will be conferred ‘Dr. Banumathi Muguranathan’ Award, instituted by Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tamil Nadu state branch.
The award was given to him for his “Tamil excellence in medical publication, articles and oration. Dr. Aleem has presented over seven research articles in Tamil and published 10 books on neurological and medical disorders in Tamil. He will receive the award on May 11, during the 62nd annual State medical conference of IMA to be held at Kumili.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Teleneurology
Teleneurology enables neurology to be practised when the doctor and patient are not present in the same place, and possibly not at the same time. The two main techniques are: (1) videoconferencing, which enables communication between a doctor and a patient who are in different places at the same time (often called realtime or synchronous), and (2) email, where the consultation is carried out without the patient being present, at a time convenient to the doctors involved (asynchronous or store-and-forward teleneurology). Some problems that can be solved by teleneurology include: (1) patients admitted to hospital with acute neurological symptoms rarely see a neurologist; (2) delayed treatment for acute stroke; (3) non-optimum management of epilepsy; (4) unproductive travel time for neurologists; (5) extremely poor access to a neurologist for doctors in the developing world; (6) long waiting times to see a neurologist. Neurology is a specialty that, because of the emphasis on accurate interpretation of a history, does lend itself to telemedicine. It has been a late starter in realizing the benefits of telemedicine and most of the publications on teleneurology have been in the last five years. Its uptake within the neurological community is low but increasing. Telemedicine requires a significant change in how neurologists practise. The evidence to date is that teleneurology can narrow the gap between patients with neurological disease and the doctors who are trained to look after them.
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