Background. This study determined and compared responses of 5th- and 6th (final)-year medical students on their attitudes to psychiatry as a profession. Also elicited were their choices of area of future medical specialisation.

Background. Deliberate self-harm (DSH) ranges from behaviours aiming to communicate distress or relieve tension, but where suicide is not intended, to suicide. Not all individuals are prone to DSH, which suggests that there are factors that protect against it. Identifying these could play an important role in the management and ...

Background. Cannabis has been a topic of political and medical controversy in many countries over the past century. Although many publications on this topic are available, there is currently no comprehensive evaluation of global research activities in the field.

Aim. To review applications for involuntary admissions made to the Mental Health Review Boards (MHRBs) by institutions in Gauteng.

The article examines the legal requirements relating to the informed consent of mentally ill persons to participation in clinical research in South Africa. First, the juridical basis of informed consent in South African law is outlined; and second, the requirements for lawful consent developed in South African common law and ...

Sperm DNA integrity is of vital importance for foetal development and birth of healthy offspring. Oxidative stress and consequent DNA damage are the major cause of decline in semen quality in men with varicocele. A preliminary study was conducted on 11 men with clinical varicocele who also had high levels ...

Background & objectives: Bifidobacteria colonize the gut after the first week of life and remain an important component of the gut microbiota in infancy. This study was carried out to characterize the diversity and number of bifidobacteria colonizing the gut in Indian neonates and to investigate whether asymptomatic infection with ...

Background & objectives: Neonatologists often prefer fresh blood (<7 days) for neonatal transfusions. The main concerns for stored RBCs are ex vivo storage lesions that undermine red cell functions and may affect metabolic status of neonatal recipients. This study was designed to evaluate serial in vitro changes of biochemical parameters ...

Background & objectives: We characterized HCV antibody prevalence, viral persistence, genotype and liver disease prevalence among IDUs in Chennai, India as the study of the association of HIV with each of these states is important and there are no data available.

Background & objectives: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome is high among Asians including Indians. Scarce information is available about the magnitude of metabolic syndrome in rural areas and hence present study in rural area of Wardha district, central India.

Background & objectives: HIV is a major health challenge for prison authorities. HIV in prisons has implications for HIV in the general community. The aim of this paper was to gather information on HIV risk, prevalence, prevention and treatment in prisons in India.

Background & objectives: Serotonin transporter polymorphisms, 5-HTTVNTR and 5-HTTLPR, have been found to be associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and particularly with neurotic characteristics. In the present study we looked for an association between OCD and these polymorphisms in OCD patients and controls of south Indian origin.

Background & objectives: Information available on HIV-2 and dual infection (HIV-1/2) is limited. This study was carried out among HIV positive individuals in an urban referral clinic in Khar, Mumbai, India, to report on relative proportions of HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1/2 and baseline characteristics, response to and outcomes on antiretroviral ...

Proper intake of dietary nutrients is considered crucial for preventing the initiation of events leading to the development of carcinoma. Many dietary compounds have been considered to contribute in cancer prevention including zinc, which plays a pivotal role in host defense against the initiation and promotion of several malignancies. Zinc ...

The CD4+ T lymphocytes are the crucial cells in the cascade of events in forming immune response to the foreign antigen and hence monitoring the CD4+ T cell counts to understand the extent of immune deficiency is a common practice. CD4+ T cells are also the primary target cells for ...