Background : Understanding cancer magnitude, risk and trends will be of help in cancer control programs. Aim : To study trends in cumulative risk up to 64 years of age as lifetime risk of developing major cancers in India during the years 1982 to 2000. Design : Retrospective. Setting : Secondary sources of cancer-registration data. Materials and Methods : Data on age-specific cancer-incidence rates were collected for patients 0-64 years of age of either sex for 10 major cancer sites from the National Cancer Registry Program (NCRP) reports of India from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Bhopal and Delhi; and Barshi registries for the years 1982 or 1988 to 2000. Statistical Analysis : Cumulative risks computed for lifetime development of cancer. Linear trends were studied using simple linear regressions. Results : The lifetime risk among females for the10 cancer sites ranged from 0.02 to 3.3% and from 0.04 to 2.4% for the years 1982 and 2000 respectively; whereas among males, it ranged from 0.04 to 0.89% and from 0.05 to 0.95% respectively. Significant (P < 0.05) increasing trends were observed for breast, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), gallbladder, thyroid and ovary cancers among females; while declining trends were observed for cervix, mouth, stomach, esophagus and tongue cancers. Among males, significant (P < 0.05) increasing trends were observed for NHL and prostate cancer; whereas declining trends were observed for stomach, liver, hypopharynx and tongue cancers. Cancers of mouth and esophagus showed increasing trends (P < 0.05) in some regions and declining trends (P < 0.05) in some other. Conclusion : Significant and higher rates of positive trends in lifetime cancer risks for breast cancer among females and for NHL among both sexes were observed.

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Poisoning with Cleistanthus collinus frequently causes cardiac manifestations such as rhythm disturbances and also results in other manifestations such as metabolic acidosis and hypokalemia. We present the case of a patient who presented with a rare myasthenic crisis-like syndrome requiring assisted ventilation due to Cleistanthus collinus poisoning, which responded to treatment with neostigmine.

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Internet, from a long time, has opened up a myriad resource of knowledge and applications for academicians, researchers and clinicians alike in all health care professions across the globe. Basic endocrinologists are exploring through bench-top protocols to understand endocrine system and to design therapeutic interventions. Clinicians are required to continuously look for new developments relating to investigation, diagnosis and therapeutic options in their everyday practice for better quality of life of patients. All these require managing a large body of information. Now, these innovative technologies have opened up newer avenues for endocrinologists. As internet is serving the backbone for modern technologies, it is of utmost necessity to use and refine internet applications for future endocrinologists. Increasingly, easy access to internet has dramatically reduced barriers in sharing information among basic and clinical endocrinologists. Considering the growing scope for endocrinologists in the use of internet, it is necessary to understand internet as a source of information and backbone of modern applications. This review illustrates the expanding roles of the internet for endocrinologists and provides a ready-to-use compilation of useful academic, research, clinical resources, and is expected to introduce, stimulate and guide endocrinologists into the realm of WWW.

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Primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA), or pachydermoperiostosis, is a rare benign disorder of unknown etiology. It is characterized by clubbing, periosteal reaction, and thickening of the skin. Disease usually progresses slowly, and natural arrest may occur. Reported herein is the case of a 28-year-old male patient with progressively increasing swelling of large joints of lower limbs with severe anemia. He was diagnosed as a case of pachydermoperiostosis with myelofibrosis, which is a rare association. The development of myelofibrosis makes primary HOA a disease with unfavorable outcome.

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Background and Objectives : Nutritional anemia is associated with impaired performance of a range of mental and physical functions in children, along with increased morbidity. Iron supplementation at a later age may not reverse the adverse effects. National Nutritional Anemia Control Program was launched in India in 1970, but it failed to make any impact. The present study was undertaken to find out prevalence of anemia and its correlates in rural Wardha in children 6-35 months of age. Materials and Methods : Seven hundred seventy-two children between 6 months and 35 months of age were studied for anemia by cluster-sampling method. The hemoglobin was estimated in the child by 'Filter paper cyanmethemoglobin method.' Pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic and other variables. Data was analyzed by SPSS 12.0.1. Results : Mean hemoglobin level was 98.5 ± 12.9 gm/L. Prevalence of anemia was 80.3%. Only 1.3% children had severe anemia (hemoglobin <70 gm/L). The univariate analysis showed that anemia is significantly associated with age of the child, education of mother and father, occupation of father, socioeconomic status, birth order and nutritional status as measured by weight for age. The final model suggested that only educational status of the mother, occupation of the father, birth order and nutritional status of the child were significantly associated with anemia. Interpretation and Conclusion : For short-term impact, appropriate nutritional interventions remain the only operational intervention as only the nutritional status (weight for age) is a modifiable factor. But for long-term sustained impact, policy makers need to focus on improving maternal education and reducing family size.

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Background : The propaganda for the use of condoms remains one of the mainstay for prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. In spite of the proven efficacy of condom, some moral, social and psychological obstacles are still prevalent, hindering the use of condoms. Aims : The study tried to construct a short condom-attitude scale for use among the migrant workers, a major bridge population in India. Settings and Design : The study was conducted among the male migrant workers who were 18-49 years old, sexually active and had heard about condoms and were engaged in nonformal jobs. We recruited 234 and 280 candidates for Phase 1 and Phase 2 respectively. Materials and Methods : Ten items from the original 40-item Brown's ATC (attitude towards condom) scale were selected in Phase 1. After analysis of Phase 1 results, using principal component analysis six items were found appropriate for measuring attitude towards condom use. These six items were then administered in another group in Phase 2. Utilizing Pearson's correlations, scale items were examined in terms of their mean response scores and the correlation matrix between items. Cornbach's alpha and construct validity were also assessed for the entire sample. Results : Study subjects were categorized as condom users and nonusers. The scale structure was explored by analyzing response scores with respect to the items, using principal component analysis followed by varimax rotation analysis. Principal component analysis revealed that the first factor accounted for 71% of the variance, with eigenvalue greater than one. Eigenvalues of the second factor was less than one. Application of screen test suggests only one factor was dominant. Mean score of six items among condom users was 20.45 and that among nonusers was 16.67, which was statistically significant ( P < 0.01). Cornbach's alpha coefficient was 0.92. Conclusion : This tailor-made attitude-toward-condom-use scale, targeted for most vulnerable people in India, can be included in any rapid survey for assessing the existing beliefs and attitudes toward condoms and also for evaluating efficacy of an intervention program.

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