Natl Med J India
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Osteoporosis, a silently progressing metabolic bone disease that leads to loss of bone mass, is widely prevalent in India and osteoporotic fractures are a common cause of morbidity and mortality in adult Indian men and women. This review of the international patterns of osteoporosis reveals two distinctive clinical features of this disease in Indians. Firstly, hip fractures occur at a relatively earlier age in Indian males and females, compared to their western counterparts; and secondly, a higher male-to-female ratio suggests that Indian males are at a higher risk for hip fractures. ⋯ With the increase in life expectancy, osteoporosis has become a formidable public health problem in India and a multidisciplinary approach is needed to identify its aetiological factors and devise strategies for mass prevention of calcium and vitamin D deficiency (possibly by fortification of food with these nutrients). Another issue that needs to be addressed is the social dogma against hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women. These measures, coupled with health education of the masses, should help promote bone health and control osteoporosis in India.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Adjuvant therapy for colon cancer--what's the FUFA?
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The clinical spectrum of dengue fever ranges from asymptomatic infection through severe haemorrhage and sudden fatal shock. Increased capillary permeability is the diagnostic feature of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). The pathophysiology of DHF/dengue shock syndrome (DSS) is related to sequential infection with different serotypes of the virus, variations in virus virulence, interaction of the virus with environmental or host factors and a combination of various risk factors. ⋯ Since all four serotypes of the dengue virus have been implicated in various outbreaks in this country and several outbreaks of DHF/DSS have been recorded since the first report in 1963, further epidemics of the disease are likely. The situation is aggravated by the recent emergence of DHF/DSS in Sri Lanka. In view of the potential of this disease to spread, effective preventive and control measures should be a priority.