Trichy doctors to operate on parasitic twins
Dec 26, 2013, 01.40AM IST TNN[ R Gokul ]
TRICHY: Two-day old parasitic twins have been admitted to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) here on Wednesday. The doctors will conduct a risky surgery on them to remove their extra limbs on December 30. A surgery of this type will be the first in the history of MGMGH.
"It will be one of the rarest of rare surgeries. Their extra two legs and two arms are conjoined with chest. So, it will be a complicated surgery," said Dr D Baskaran, head of paediatric surgery department at the MGMGH.
The conjoined twins, which have the medical condition called 'parasitic pagus', were born to a poor couple Mamundy and Vijaya who are residents on the outskirts of Manapparai. This is their fifth baby.
Vijaya gave birth to the twins at a private hospital in Manapparai on Tuesday. Considering the complication, the babies were referred to the MGMGH on Wednesday. The two arms and two legs of the infants are conjoined with the chest. "We have decided to take up the rarest of the rare surgery on Monday. Such cases will happen in one in one-million babies," said Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College which is part of the MGMGH.
Dr Aleem also said that MGMGH doctors have never performed such a surgery. "We are proud to take up the challenge and our team of doctors will succeed in the task," said Dr Aleem.
The doctors said the MGMGH has all the facilities to conduct the planned surgery which will commence at 8am on Monday. "Many tests have to be conducted before the surgery. The costs cannot be calculated because we will be doing it for the first time. The doctors from our hospitals will only be part of the task because we have all the specialists as far as this surgery is concerned," said Dr Baskaran.
On the success rate of the surgery, Dr Baskaran said "The success rate is very low. Nevertheless, we will try our best to make our attempt successful."
"Medical conditions like 'parasitic pagus' is very uncommon anywhere in the world," said Dr Baskaran.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Fast food and Kids
Children find themselves amidst a complex society that is undergoing breathtaking changes. Concepts, relationships, lifestyles are metamorphisised to accommodate the new jet-setting age. Food is no exception. Healthy nutritious foods have been replaced by the new food mantra - JUNK FOOD! Junk food comprises of anything that is quick, tasty, convenient and fashionable. It seems to have engulfed every age; every race and the newest entrants are children. Wafers, colas, pizzas and burgers are suddenly the most important thing. The commonest scenario is a child who returns from school and plonks himself in front of the television, faithfully accompanied by a bowl of wafers and a can of cola. Children suddenly seem to have stepped into a world of fast foods and vending machines, totally unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves.
The years between 6-12 are a time of steady growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects how they grow, feel and behave. Changes in our society have intensified the need for food skills, to the extent that they need to become a part of the child's basic education for good health and survival. The vast majority of working mothers with school age children are laboured with exhausting commutes, upswings in the households, and stress, leading to a situation where parents get to spend limited time with their children. Traditional food skills are not passed on automatically from parent to child. Most people have forgotten that the primary reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so distant past, food was treated with reverence because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal was sharing experience with the others. Today family dinners are rare. In many ways, our culture is structured to foster poor eating habits. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of enticing junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting sop. We should be constructing an environment that protects our children. Instead we have a highly seductive environment that undermines eating habits.
For children who have less vision of the heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or diabetes that might befall them decades later, the tentacles of a junk food environment are virtually inescapable. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could beginning clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. What children eat from puberty affects their risks of prostate and breast cancer. Osteoporosis and hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially vulnerable. Poor diets can slow growth, decay new teeth, promote obesity and sow the seeds of infirmity and debilitating disease that ultimately lead to incurable disease and death or worse make life insufferable.
Most of the times these junk foods contain colors that are laced with colors, those are often inedible, carcinogenic and harmful to the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, the effects of it emerging after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause hyperactivity and lapses of concentration in children. Children suffering from Learning Disabilities are often advised against eating food with artificial coloring. Chocolates, colas, flavored drinks and snack tit bits are full of artificial coloring.
Not surprisingly, junk food not only has physiological repercussions, but also psychological ones - far reaching ones that affect the child's intellect and personalities. Coping intelligently with their dietary needs increases their self-esteem, and encourages further discovery. School days are full of educational challenges that require long attention spans and stamina. Poor nutritional habits can undermine these pre-requisites of learning, as well as sap the strength that children need for making friends, interacting with family, participating in sports and games or simply feeling god about themselves.
Junk foods are often eaten in instead of regular food, an essential Indian diet that consists of wholesome chapatis and vegetables or snacks like upmas and idlis. Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satiation and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. There is simply no substitute for the feeling that descends, when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world and this primarily stems from GOOD HEALTH! There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for nurturing our children and endowing them with a legacy of good health.
The years between 6-12 are a time of steady growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects how they grow, feel and behave. Changes in our society have intensified the need for food skills, to the extent that they need to become a part of the child's basic education for good health and survival. The vast majority of working mothers with school age children are laboured with exhausting commutes, upswings in the households, and stress, leading to a situation where parents get to spend limited time with their children. Traditional food skills are not passed on automatically from parent to child. Most people have forgotten that the primary reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so distant past, food was treated with reverence because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal was sharing experience with the others. Today family dinners are rare. In many ways, our culture is structured to foster poor eating habits. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of enticing junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting sop. We should be constructing an environment that protects our children. Instead we have a highly seductive environment that undermines eating habits.
For children who have less vision of the heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or diabetes that might befall them decades later, the tentacles of a junk food environment are virtually inescapable. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could beginning clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. What children eat from puberty affects their risks of prostate and breast cancer. Osteoporosis and hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially vulnerable. Poor diets can slow growth, decay new teeth, promote obesity and sow the seeds of infirmity and debilitating disease that ultimately lead to incurable disease and death or worse make life insufferable.
Most of the times these junk foods contain colors that are laced with colors, those are often inedible, carcinogenic and harmful to the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, the effects of it emerging after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause hyperactivity and lapses of concentration in children. Children suffering from Learning Disabilities are often advised against eating food with artificial coloring. Chocolates, colas, flavored drinks and snack tit bits are full of artificial coloring.
Not surprisingly, junk food not only has physiological repercussions, but also psychological ones - far reaching ones that affect the child's intellect and personalities. Coping intelligently with their dietary needs increases their self-esteem, and encourages further discovery. School days are full of educational challenges that require long attention spans and stamina. Poor nutritional habits can undermine these pre-requisites of learning, as well as sap the strength that children need for making friends, interacting with family, participating in sports and games or simply feeling god about themselves.
Junk foods are often eaten in instead of regular food, an essential Indian diet that consists of wholesome chapatis and vegetables or snacks like upmas and idlis. Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satiation and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. There is simply no substitute for the feeling that descends, when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world and this primarily stems from GOOD HEALTH! There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for nurturing our children and endowing them with a legacy of good health.
Health effect of Fast Food in Indian children
Forty per cent of Indian parents admitted that they often give into their children's demands for junk food, according to a recent survey .But the next time you're thinking about buying dinner on the go, bear in mind the impact it will have on your kids before the day is over.
Fast food will encourage your child to eat more
The fats, sugar and salt in fast food draw kids like a magnet, largely because they appeal to a child's "primordial tastes". "From an evolutionary point of view, humans are hard-wired to crave high-calorie food as a survival mechanism, so each time we see, smell or eat junk food, many chemicals and neurotransmitters are released in our body$
"When your child bites into a burger, his brain reward system gets activated since dopamine, which is the main neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure and excitement, gets secreted. And then he will feel a complete lack of control and an intense demand from his brain for more.
If that isn't enough to convince you to ditch the takeaway, a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (a medical journal published by the American Medical Association) found that once children have eaten fast food, they consume more calories and fewer nutrients for the rest of the day. On days when kids ate fast food, compared with days when they ate at home, adolescents and young children consumed an additional 309 and 126 calories, respectively.
Fast food will damage arteries immediately
Experts have known for years that long-term consumption of junk food clogs arteries, but recently they've recognised that this damage begins the same day. A study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology indicates that damage to the arteries occurs almost immediately after just one - that's right, one - junk food meal.
Fast food will cause school work to suffer
Diet has a significant effect on children's study habits. Junk food and foods with high-sugar content deplete energy levels and the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. "If a kid is having sweets, chocolate croissants or sweetened beverages during the first break time at school instead of his fruit portion or his sandwich, he would definitely feel hungry within an hour and that would disrupt his concentration in class, and could affect his overall performance in school.
children who ate fast food four to six times within a given week tested significantly lower in maths and reading compared with children who did not.
Fast food will make your kid depressed
Eating foods rich in antioxidants, such as fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats, such as cold-water fish and nuts, leads to positive energy and moods - both of which derive from positive brain function. A diet high in fast food lacks these nutritional benefits, increasing the risk of depression.
Fast food will put your child off healthy food
The artificial taste of junk food is thought to be addictive and children used to spicy junk food may have trouble adjusting their palates to relatively blander healthy foods.
"Another problem is that junk food tends to replace other, more nutritious, foods. "When children are snacking on chips and cookies, they're usually not having enough fruits and vegetables, which will decrease their vitamin C and fibre intakes."
Fast food will cause constipation
Fast food typically lacks fibre. The less fibre children consume, the more likely they are to develop constipation, which can cause abdominal pain and discomfort. Will they know about it by the end of the day? Probably.
Fast food will make them irritable
"The high content of sugar in junk food causes fluctuations in children's blood glucose levels. "This makes them edgy, sleepy and irritable throughout the day and leaves them with no motivation to be active."
Fast food will ruin bedtime
Having sugary drinks or fruit juice with dinner even twice a week can affect children's sleep and wake-up cycle. The caffeine from sodas acts as a stimulant, keeping them awake longer and negatively affects their metabolism. "Studies have shown that moderate to high caffeine consumers [100 to 300mg of caffeine] have more disturbed and more interrupted sleep than low- or no-caffeine consumers.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Achievers Award 2013 to Dr.M.A.Aleem
Achievers award 2013 was given by st. Joseph college alumni Trichy to Dr.M.A.Aleem vice principal HOD and professor of neurology kapv Govt medical college. and MGM Govt hospital Trichy for his dedicated recognised service in the field of medicine-neurology by hon 'ble justice S. Rajaswaran judge Madras High Court on 14.12.2013 in the presence of st Joseph college Rector Rev Dr.S. John Britto SJ.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
stem cell therapy under CM health insurence scheme
Though the state government has taken an initiative to promote cord blood banks to cell therapy affordable to the poor, awareness on the promising treatment method is low in tier-2 cities like Trichy, as was revealed during a seminar held here on Friday. Moreover, crucial facilities required to encourage the treatment is lacking.
Stem cell therapy is used in the treatment of several genetic diseases, cancers, and blood disorders. Blood harvested from umbilical cord is stored for retrieval for future use. Stem cells (undifferentiated biological cells) taken from the blood are injected into damaged tissue to treat disease or injury.
"Knowledge about the advantages of stem cell therapy is low in our city. At the same time, we have treated many patients, including six-year-old to 94-year-old, through stem cell therapy in a span of eight years," said Dr P Ramachandran, plastic surgeon at Maruthi Hospital in the city, while addressing the students of KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College.
As storing cord blood in private hospitals is not financially feasible to many, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) has plans to set up a facility. Already, some private hospitals in the city are trying to persuade parents of new-born babies to store umbilical cord blood, though no such facility exists in Trichy unlike Chennai and Bangalore. In May 2013, the state government had announced Rs 9 crore grant to the cord bank of a private company in Chennai. As per the initiative the poor can store cord blood free of cost under the chief minister's comprehensive health insurance scheme. Unfortunately, many are not aware of the facility
However, oncologist Dr Arun Seshachalam, a member of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), is of the view that it will take a while before stem cell therapy picks up in the state. "A lot of research is on to make it useful for treating many complicated disease. Currently, stem cell therapy has proved to be a definite treatment for blood cancer and thalassemia. At the same time, the cost of treatment is very high," said Dr Seshachalam.
Interestingly, several doctors and medicine students are yet to regard the emerging field seriously and start learning about the therapy. "We organise workshops to make our students keep abreast of latest developments in stem cell therapy. If the facility is available in government hospital, many poor will be benefited," said Dr D Saminathan, head of department of paediatrics, MGMGH.
Commenting on the necessity of providing stem cell therapy at MGMGH, Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of KAP Viswanatham government medical college, said a facility for it could be set up at the super-speciality block which is under construction on the MGMGH campus.
Stem cell therapy is used in the treatment of several genetic diseases, cancers, and blood disorders. Blood harvested from umbilical cord is stored for retrieval for future use. Stem cells (undifferentiated biological cells) taken from the blood are injected into damaged tissue to treat disease or injury.
"Knowledge about the advantages of stem cell therapy is low in our city. At the same time, we have treated many patients, including six-year-old to 94-year-old, through stem cell therapy in a span of eight years," said Dr P Ramachandran, plastic surgeon at Maruthi Hospital in the city, while addressing the students of KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College.
As storing cord blood in private hospitals is not financially feasible to many, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) has plans to set up a facility. Already, some private hospitals in the city are trying to persuade parents of new-born babies to store umbilical cord blood, though no such facility exists in Trichy unlike Chennai and Bangalore. In May 2013, the state government had announced Rs 9 crore grant to the cord bank of a private company in Chennai. As per the initiative the poor can store cord blood free of cost under the chief minister's comprehensive health insurance scheme. Unfortunately, many are not aware of the facility
However, oncologist Dr Arun Seshachalam, a member of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), is of the view that it will take a while before stem cell therapy picks up in the state. "A lot of research is on to make it useful for treating many complicated disease. Currently, stem cell therapy has proved to be a definite treatment for blood cancer and thalassemia. At the same time, the cost of treatment is very high," said Dr Seshachalam.
Interestingly, several doctors and medicine students are yet to regard the emerging field seriously and start learning about the therapy. "We organise workshops to make our students keep abreast of latest developments in stem cell therapy. If the facility is available in government hospital, many poor will be benefited," said Dr D Saminathan, head of department of paediatrics, MGMGH.
Commenting on the necessity of providing stem cell therapy at MGMGH, Dr MA Aleem, vice-principal of KAP Viswanatham government medical college, said a facility for it could be set up at the super-speciality block which is under construction on the MGMGH campus.
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