Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
The Enigma of COVID-19:
The Enigma of COVID-19: _____ Caveat: Medicine is an ever-changing science. As COVID-19 pandemic is continuing worldwide, new research and clinical experience broaden our knowledge and necessitates changes in prevention and treatment. I have quoted sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards accepted at the time of publication of this article. However, in view of the possibility of human error or changes in medical sciences, readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other sources. ______ Prologue: An epidemic happens when a disease spreads between large numbers of people in a short period of time. When an epidemic goes global, it is called a pandemic. The 1918 influenza pandemic was the deadliest event in human history (50 million or more deaths, equivalent in proportion to 200 million in today’s global population). […]
DRUG ADDICTION
Drug Addiction: _ Intravenous injection of heroin typically causes a rush within seven to eight seconds. This method of drug use provides the highest intensity and quickest onset of the initial rush but is also the most dangerous. Also, approximately 10% of new HIV infections worldwide are attributable to injecting drug use, often of an opiate such as heroin. ______ Prologue: Drugs are fascinating because they change our awareness. The basic reason people take drugs is to vary their conscious experience. Seeking pleasure is a human trait and certain chemicals which give a feeling of high or pleasure have always been used by some people everywhere. Of course, there are many ways to alter consciousness, such as listening to music, dancing, exercising, day dreaming and participating in religious rituals etc. and the list suggests that changing consciousness is something people like to do. People use substances (drugs) to alter their […]
VULNERABLE PLAQUE
Vulnerable Plaque: ____ ____ Prologue: Worldwide more than 17 million people die every year from cardiovascular disease (CVD) with this number projected to increase to over 23 million by 2030. The vast majority of acute ischemic vascular events occur in relation to an underlying atherosclerotic plaque. Atherosclerotic plaque represents the hallmark lesion of atherosclerosis. Plaque rupture is the dominant initiating event, responsible for 60–70% of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), while plaque erosion is responsible for most of the remainder. Irrespective of the mechanism, the consequence is exposure of a thrombogenic substrate to circulating blood. This in turn triggers platelet aggregation and the coagulation cascade which compromises vascular blood flow resulting in downstream end-organ ischemia and infarction. These events occur abruptly and often without warning. Despite major advances in treatment of coronary artery disease patients, a large number of victims of the disease who are apparently healthy die suddenly without prior […]
NIPAH
Nipah: _____ Figure above shows burial of a victim of Nipah virus in Kozhikode, India. _____ Prologue: An outbreak of probable encephalitis hit Siliguri, India in 2001. All hell broke loose when a cardiologist by the name of Dr Ajit Maity and a nurse associated with Medinova Florence Nursing Home fell victim to this disease. It was reported that both had contracted it while treating a patient. A few other doctors, nurses and paramedics were taken severely ill in another hospital. Ten among those infected medics later died. Soon, Siliguri started resembling a ghost town. The roads were deserted, shops shut and schools were closed for a week. There was misinformation circulated based on rumour and gossip. But worst of all was that some doctors secretly fled. Some doctors were apprehended at Jalpaiguri Railway Station and Bagdogra Airports by citizens before they could slip away. Red-faced politicians had flown in […]
ORGAN DONATION & TRANSPLANTATION (ODT)
Organ Donation & Transplantation (ODT): ____ Jemima Layzell died of a brain aneurysm in 2012 and her organ donations have helped eight people including five children. ____ Prologue: In 1894, the surgeon Otto Lanz (1865–1935) warned his colleagues not to scoff at a treatment “which aims at replacing the organ that has lost its function in the organism”. Today, no one would doubt the seriousness of a surgeon who treats a disease by replacing an organ. However, it was only around 1900 that the idea of organ replacement became self-evident. The introduction of antibiotics, massive vaccinations of the general population to prevent infectious diseases, and organ transplantation may be considered the miracles of twentieth century medicine. Organ transplantation is the best therapy for terminal and irreversible organ failure. Transplantation has given many a new lease on life and, to many more, an extension that would have otherwise been impossible. […]
