Gender based perspectives about organ donation among students in a medical school in North India

Background: Deaths due to organ failure are reaching alarming numbers mainly due to paucity of organ donation. The medical students who are the future doctors hold promise to alleviate this paucity by willing to register as a donor themselves as well as facilitating cadaver organ donation process. Objective was to assess the perspectives (awareness and attitudes) of medical students regarding organ donation.Methods: The present cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 280 undergraduates’ students of Government Medical College Jammu, J and K, India. A pretested and self administered 22 item questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics (5), to assess awareness (11) and attitude (6) about organ donation.Results: Higher proportion of female students were aware about transplantation of human organ act (p<0.05). Awareness about organ donation card was very poor among both the sexes. Only 77.50% of the respondents were aware of the legal age for organ donation. Higher proportion of male students considered themselves to be future organ donor (p<0.05) although both the sexes wanted to be informed more on organ donation. Organ could be wasted (47.14%) was the main barrier among respondents for organ donation.Conclusions: The awareness and attitude among the respondents were found to be non-desirable on many parameters. Authors suggest introduction of a teaching module which should include all aspects of organ donation in medical schools starting from first profession onwards

Emergency contraception: knowledge, attitude and practices among recently married females in a rural area of North India

Background: Emergency contraception (EC) is indicated after unprotected sexual intercourse to prevent unintended pregnancy and its harmful consequences. Its optimum use can avoid unintended child birth or unsafe abortion which can in turn lower maternal mortality. So, the present study aimed to study the knowledge, attitude and practices of recently married females towards EC in a rural area of Jammu.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among recently married females visiting the OPD in CHC RS Pura during the course of the three months and were willing to participate. Information was obtained using a questionnaire and results were presented as proportions.Results: 90% respondents had ever heard of EC with media being the main source of information. 91% knew oral pills being used as EC and 81% had correct knowledge of time regarding its usage. 85% would recommend it to friend/relative if required and 73% were willing to use EC themselves in case of unprotected sex. 70% of the respondents had ever used EC.Conclusions: High awareness, positive attitude and adequate usage of EC among currently married females is a good sign which is probably due to high literacy among them. But it should not make the authorities complacent, rather interventions intended to combat maternal mortality through use of regular contraceptives besides EC need to be promoted among the target groups

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Gender based perspectives about organ donation among students in a medical school in North India

Background: Deaths due to organ failure are reaching alarming numbers mainly due to paucity of organ donation. The medical students who are the future doctors hold promise to alleviate this paucity by willing to register as a donor themselves as well as facilitating cadaver organ donation process. Objective was to assess the perspectives (awareness and attitudes) of medical students regarding organ donation.Methods: The present cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 280 undergraduates’ students of Government Medical College Jammu, J and K, India. A pretested and self administered 22 item questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics (5), to assess awareness (11) and attitude (6) about organ donation.Results: Higher proportion of female students were aware about transplantation of human organ act (p&lt;0.05). Awareness about organ donation card was very poor among both the sexes. Only 77.50% of the respondents were aware of the legal age for organ donation. Higher proportion of male students considered themselves to be future organ donor (p&lt;0.05) although both the sexes wanted to be informed more on organ donation. Organ could be wasted (47.14%) was the main barrier among respondents for organ donation.Conclusions: The awareness and attitude among the respondents were found to be non-desirable on many parameters. Authors suggest introduction of a teaching module which should include all aspects of organ donation in medical schools starting from first profession onwards

Trigeminal Herpes Zoster: Early Recognition and Treatment –A Case Report

Herpes zoster is a clinical manifestation of the reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus infection. It is a self-limiting viral infection characterized by painful vesicular eruptions with erythema typically presenting as unilateral dermatomal rash of considerable morbidity, especially in elderly patients. It can be fatal in immunosuppressed or critically ill patients. We present a case of a 52-year-old male who presented with herpes zoster infection involving the V3dermatome, focusing upon early intervention in the management of this condition