A descriptive study of the prevalence of hypothyroidism among antenatal women and foetal outcome in treated hypothyroid women

Background:The objective of the study was to find out the prevalence of hypothyroidism among pregnant women and to study the foetal outcome in antenatal mothers in whom treatment was initiated early in pregnancy.Methods:This was a descriptive study conducted in the department of OBG Sree Gokulam Medical College, Venjaramoodu, Trivandrum from April 2013 to Oct 2014. 500 antenatal women coming for routine antenatal check up in the first trimester to antenatal OP were screened for hypothyroidism.TSH(thyroid stimulating hormone) was done in the first trimester and the prevalence of hypothyroidism was estimated. Patients were diagnosed as having subclinical or overt hypothyroidism based on the FT3 (free T3) and FT4 (free T4) results. Patients detected with hypothyroidism –both subclinical and overt were started on appropriate dose of L-thyroxin depending on her gestational age, body weight and level of TSH. Every 6weeks TSH levels were estimated and the dose of the drug adjusted. All these patients were followed up for their foetal outcome such as intrauterine demise, hyperbilirubinemia, prematurity, stillbirths and neonatal hypothyroidism.Results: In the present study, the prevalence of hypothyroidism was 5.6% of which 4% were having subclinical and 1.6% was having overt hypothyroidism. No significant difference in foetal complications, perinatal mortality and morbidity was noted between hypothyroid and euthyroid women.Conclusions:TSH testing should be included in routine antenatal investigations for early detection of subclinical and overt hypothyroidism among antenatal women and early treatment should be initiated so as to prevent complications.1.       Akhter SN, Tarannum R, Kabir MS. Pregnancy in overt and subclinical hypothyroidism and its fetomaternal outcome. Med Today. 2014;25(2). 2.       Sahu MT, Das V, Mittal S, Aggarwal A, Sahu M. overt and subclinical hypothyroid dysfunction among Indian pregnant women and its effect on maternal and foetal outcome. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2010;281(2):215-20.3.       Ajmani SN, Aggarwal D, Bhatia P, Sharma M, Sarabhai V, Paul M. Prevalence of overt and subclinical thyroid dysfunction among pregnant women and its effect on maternal and foetal outcome. J Obstet Gynecol India. 2014;64(2):105-10.4.       Nirmala CV. Maternal outcome of hypothyroidism in pregnancy- a south Indian perspective. Am J Clin Med Res. 2014;2(2):47-50.5.       Goel P, Radotra A, Devi K, Malhotra S, Aggarwal A, Huria A. Maternal and perinatal outcome in pregnancy with hypothyroidism. Indian J Med Sci. 2005;59 (3):116-7.6.       Cleary-Goldman J, Malone FD, Lambert-Messerlain G, Sullivan L, Canick J, Porter TF, et al. Maternal thyroid hypo function and pregnancy outcome. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;112(1):85-92.7.       Casey BM, Dashe JS, Wells CE, McIntre DD, Byrd W, Leveno KJ, et al. Subclinical hypothyroidism and pregnancy outcomes. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;105(2):239-45.8.       Allan WC, Haddow JE, Palomaki GE, Williams J R, Mitchell ML, Hermos RJ, et al. Maternal thyroid deficiency and pregnancy complications implications for population screening. J Med Screen. 2000;7(3):127-30.9.       Stagnaro-Green A, Abalovich M, Alexander E, Azizi F, Mestman J, Negro R, et al. Guidelines of the American Thyroid Association for the diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during pregnancy and postpartum. Thyroid Off J Am Thyroid Association. 2011;21(10):1081-125.10.    Cite this article as: Prasad DR, Nair NV, Deepika K.A descriptive study of the prevalence of hypothyroidism among antenatal women and foetal outcome in treated hypothyroid women.Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2016;5:1892-6. Basnet P, Aggarwal N, Suri V, Dutta P, Mukhopadhyay K. Comparison of Maternal and perinatal outcome in pregnant women with hypothyroidism diagnosed before conception with hypothyroidism diagnosed during pregnancy Univers Coll Med Sci. 2014;2(2)

DNA barcoding of gobiid fishes (Perciformes, Gobioidei)

Gobiids constitute a major proportion of fish population in both tropical and temperate freshwater as well as marine ecosystem. Due to their small size, cryptic ecology and ambiguous morphological characters, gobiids diversity was not documented completely. In this study, DNA barcodes were generated for 11 species of gobiids, collected from the Ashtamudi Lake, India. The mitochondrial COI gene was amplified using universal primers and the resulted 650 bp amplicon was sequenced. The COI barcodes clearly distinguished all the species with high interspecific genetic distance values than intra-specific values based on K2P (Kimura 2 Parameter) model. The average genetic distance (K2P model) within species, genus and family was 1.2%, 22.2% and 25.3%, respectively. In addition to barcode-based species identification system, Nucleotide Diagnostic (ND) characters specific for species were identified. The Neighbor-Joining tree revealed distinct clusters shared by the species of same genera

Base and Catalyst-Free Synthesis of Nitrobenzodiazepines via a Cascade NNitroallylation- Intramolecular Aza-Michael Addition involving o-Phenylenediamines and Nitroallylic Acetates

Published ArticleA [4+3] annulation of o-phenylenediamines with primary nitroallylic acetates affords nitrobenzodiazepines (NBDZs) in good to excellent yield. The reaction which proceeds in MeOH at room temperature in the absence of any base or catalyst involves a cascade SN2 Nnitroallylation- intramolecular aza-Michael addition sequence. In the case of mono-N-arylated ophenylenediamines and o-aminobenzamides, the reaction stops at the SN2 stage affording nitroallylic amines. On the other hand, reaction of o-aminobenzamides with secondary nitroallylic acetates delivers SN2’ products. Formation of stable SN2 and SN2’ products provides insights into the reactivity of primary and secondary nitroallylic acetates and also the mechanism of formation of nitrobenzodiazepines

Recent trends in the mobulid fishery in Indian waters

Mobulidae are zooplanktivorous elasmobranchs, found circumglobally in tropical, subtropical and temperate coastal waters. It comprises of two recognized species of manta rays (Manta spp.) and nine recognized species of devil rays (Mobula spp.). Although the reports of mobulid fishery in India were only from 1960s, however it was commercially exploited only after 2007 for their valuable gillrakers. Mobula diabolus, M. tarpacana, M. japonica, M. kuhlii, M. thurstoni, Manta birostris and M. alfredi are the seven species which contributes to mobulid fishery. White gilled Mobula tarpacana is highly targeted for its high priced gill raker which fetches upto Rs. 8,000 kg-1 in dry weight. Few mobulid species has already reached the IUCN Red List status. Thorough monitoring of mobulid fish exploitation level is essential in India. It is necessary to ensure standardized sampling and modelling methodologies to estimate the stock position of these fishes from Indian waters

Unusual landing of the whitetip reef shark Triaenodon obesus at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

T. obesus, the only member of its genus, is a small shark usually not exceeding 1.6 m in length. This species is easily recognisable by its slender body and short but broad head, tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, and white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins

Unusual landing of the spotted ocean triggerfish Canthidermis maculata at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

Unusual landing of the ocean triggerfish Canthidermis maculata (Family: Balistidae) was observed at Cochin Fisheries Harbour (CFH) on 11th January 2013 (Fig 1a & b). About 300 kg of fishes were landed in gillnet operated off Cochin at a depth of 20- 30 m. The species is occasionally seen in stray numbers in trawl landings at CFH and this is for the first time a landing of this magnitude is observed at CFH. The fishes were sold at the landing centre @ ` 30 – 40/- per kg for local consumption

Heavy landings of the shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

During January - February 2013, heavy landings of the shortfin mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus (Family: Lamnidae) by multiday gillnet-hooks and line units were observed at Cochin Fisheries harbour (CFH) (Fig. 1a & b). I. oxyrinchus is generally seen in the landings by gillnet-hooks and line units (operated off the west coast of India extending from Kerala to Gujarat coasts) at CFH, but in small numbers of larger specimens. The start of 2013 fishing season witnessed heavy landings of this species, of a wide size range (100 – 220 cm total length; 7 – 75 kg weight), dominating the shark landings at CFH second to Carcharhinus falciformis on certain days. The length-frequency distribution as well as detailed biological aspects of this species is currently being studied as part of the Institute research project on “Assessment of elasmobranch resources of Indian Seas

Training Manual on "Know Your Marine Biodiversity and Environment (MarBiE 2)" Taxonomy of Marine Organisms

Sustainable fisheries management aims to protect fishery resources to ensure the long-term viability of fish stocks and marine ecosystems. It combines theoretical disciplines, like population dynamics, with practical strategies, like avoiding overfishing and curbing illegal fishing practices. Correct taxonomy and systematics tools permit the classification of practically all fish species. This capacity is of particular value for fisheries management biological and ecological research as well as to issues related to fisheries products for human consumption. However, its usefulness is hindered by the lack of expertise in this area and the decrease in the number of taxonomists. Specimens have to be identified at species level using standard morphometric and meristic procedures applied by taxonomists. With sustainability being the critical issue of the hour, developing a younger breed of qualified taxonomists in the different marine realm is of outmost importance. It is physically difficult to identify and collect data on every organism in an ecosystem; therefore, taxonomic studies focus exclusively on specific taxonomic groups, which highlights their significance. The application of contemporary techniques will enhance our understanding of evolutionary linkages. This can entail educating a new generation of specialists on the systematics of the relevant group or persuading more experienced experts to write assessments of the group. The credibility of species occurrence records from current databases and literature needs to be thoroughly evaluated

National Marine Debris Management Strategy to conserve marine ecosystems

Marine debris which is defined as any persistent,manufactured or processed solid material discarded,disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastalenvironment is one of the most pervasive, yetpotentially solvable, pollution affecting the world’soceans, coastal ecosystems and rivers. Whereasimpacts of most anthropogenic activities are usuallyfound near the point source, marine debris has beenfound to impact even distant locations, oftenaffecting uninhabited areas also. According toUnited Nations Joint Group of Experts on theScientific Aspects of Marine EnvironmentalProtection (GESAMP), 60 to 80%, of the global litterfound in the coastal and marine ecosystems hasoriginated from land and only the rest from seabased activities. The slow degradable nature ofmarine litter and the potential to pollute all spheresof oceans irrespective of point source has raisedthe alarm bells