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Biomedical subjects

A K Ghosh

Publications and source records attributed to A K Ghosh.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Genetic load in an isolated tribal population of South India.

The Kota of Nilgiri Hills, Tamilnadu, are an isolated tribal population and occupy the lowest stratum in the local social hierarchy. They have developed an economic symbiotic relationship with other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills (e.g., Toda, Kurumba, Badaga), but have almost no social relationship with other communities, such as the Hindu and Muslim, communities, etc. The total population of the Kota is about 1200. Consanguineous marriages are highly favoured in this group. This paper presents data on prenatal, infant and adolescent mortality in relation to the degree of inbreeding. No perceptible difference has been found in mortality figures between consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages. This may be due to the long history of inbreeding among the Kota. No case of visible congenital malformation has been noticed. The estimates of genetic load as revealed by inbreeding data indicate that genetic load in the Kota is low (perhaps about 1 lethal equivalent per gamete); it is also low in comparison with that in other Indian populations.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1978

Second trimester abortion with 5% intraamniotic saline--a pilot study.

The risk of hypernatremia and related postabortion complications resulting from the intraamniotic administration of a 20-25% hypertonic saline solution, a widely used procedure all over the world, prompted this trial of 5% saline. Midtrimester abortion was induced in 150 women with a 5% saline solution administered intraamniotically at the National Medical College, Calcutta, India, from August 1974 to October 1975. The abortion was complete within 48 hours in 90% of the cases. All the fetuses were delivered dead. In one case, hysterotomy was performed because of severe bleeding. The immediate complication rate was 36% (12% serious). The follow-up complication rate was 2%. One patient died on the seventh postabortal day due to severe, uncontrolled septicemia. The authors conclude that because this procedure is simple and low cost and because it reduces the risk of hypernatremia it should be a welcome addition to service programs in developing countries.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1978

Management of non-specific urethritis in men. Evaluation of six treatment regimens and effect of other factors including alcohol and sexual intercourse.

A trial comparing the efficacy of three different tetracyclines, each in two different dosage regimens, in the treatment of non-specific urethritis is described. There was a significant association between the retreatment rate and sexual intercourse. Age, race, duration of symptoms, previous infection, and indulgence in alcohol did not appear to influence the results whereas treatment of sexual contacts before resumption of sexual intercourse significantly reduced the retreatment rate. Single-dose treatment with doxycycline was shown to be ineffective. Treatment with doxycycline for seven days or triple tetracycline for seven days was less effective than triple tetracycline for 21 days or oxytetracyline for seven or 21 days, all of which gave the same success rate.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Cryosurgery of genital warts in cases in which podophyllin treatment failed or was contraindicated.

A total of 56 cases with warts in which podophyllin treatment was either contraindicated or a failure, were treated with nitrous oxide using a Keymed 500 cryosurgical appliance. Forty-three patients who completed treatment were followed-up for three months. Thirty-seven of these had received applications of podophyllin twice weekly for an average period of three months before cryosurgery. The remaining cases in whom podophyllin was considered to be contraindicated included five with vulval warts (two were pregnant, two were bronchial asthmatics taking oral prednisolone, and one was taking oral clomiphene citrate), and a diabetic patients with penile warts. Thirty-two were cured and 11 relapsed. The latter were re-treated at the end of the follow-up period with two freezing cycles of 45 seconds at an interval of 30 minutes. Seven were cured and the remaining four men who failed to respond belonged to the podophyllin-resistant group and included three with metal warts and one homosexual with anogenital warts. Cryosurgery gave a cumulative success rate of 91%. A single freezing cycle was free from complications but a double freezing cycle was often followed by severe local reaction.

Cryosurgery↗
PubMed1977

A population genetic study of the Kota in the Nilgiri Hills, South India.

A population genetic study among the Kota of the Nilgiri Hills, South India, involved tests for abnormal haemoglobins, 5 red cell antigen systems, 4 serum protein and 13 red cell enzymes systems. Twelve systems are invariant in the Kota. The most distinctive characteristics are extremely low frequency of the A1 gene and complete absence of A2 in the ABO system, r(cde) in the Rh system, LDH cal-1 among the enzyme systems as well as absence of abnormal haemoglobins. A comparison of gene frequencies in those systems, which show variation, suggests that the Kota are more similar to the Toda than to any other tribal or caste population of the area. Genetic distance as well principal component analysis also reveals that the Toda and Kota are close to each other, in agreement with tradition.

Blood Group Antigens↗