Government General Hospital

About: Government General Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Chennai, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cardiothoracic surgery. The organization has 1188 authors who have published 683 publications receiving 5946 citations.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: confirmation of linkage to chromosome 19p13.3 and identification of a potential second locus, on 19q13.4.

Abstract: Summary Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant disease with variable expression and incomplete penetrance, characterized by mucocutaneous pigmentation and hamartomatous polyposis. Patients with PJS have increased frequency of gastrointestinal and extraintestinal malignancies (ovaries, testes, and breast). In order to map the locus (or loci) associated with PJS, we performed a genomewide linkage analysis, using DNA polymorphisms in six families (two from Spain, two from India, one from the United States, and one from Portugal) comprising a total of 93 individuals, including 39 affected and 48 unaffected individuals and 6 individuals with unknown status. During this study, localization of a PJS gene to 19p13.3 (around marker D19S886) had been reported elsewhere. For our families, marker D19S886 yielded a maximum LOD score of 4.74 at a recombination fraction (θ) of .045; multipoint linkage analysis resulted in a LOD score of 7.51 for the interval between D19S886 and 19pter. However, markers on 19q13.4 also showed significant evidence for linkage. For example, D19S880 resulted in a maximum LOD score of 3.8 at θ=.13. Most of this positive linkage was contributed by a single family, PJS07. These results confirm the mapping of a common PJS locus on 19p13.3 but also suggest the existence, in a minority of families, of a potential second PJS locus, on 19q13.4. Positional cloning and characterization of the PJS mutations will clarify the genetics of the syndrome and the implication of the gene(s) in the predisposition to neoplasias.

How stigmatizing is stigma in the life of people living with HIV: a study on HIV positive individuals from Chennai, South India.

Abstract: The nature and intensity of AIDS stigma are shaped by the social construction of the epidemic in different locales. Stigma therefore needs to be discussed in its cultural context. This clinic-based study aims at understanding stigma among 203 HIV positive individuals from Chennai, South India. The study throws light on the impact of stigma on the quality of life among these individuals. It also discusses the gender implications of stigma. This study brings out the findings that actual stigma experienced among those infected with HIV is much less (26%) as compared to the fear of being stigmatized or perceived stigma (97%). Internalizing of stigma was found to have a highly significant negative correlation with quality of life in the psychological domain and a significant negative correlation in the environmental domain. However individuals who did experience actual stigma seemed more determined to live and experience an above moderate quality of life. The implication of this study encourages HIV infected individuals to rise above stigma, avoid internalizing their stigmatized feelings and work toward a better quality of life. Health providers need to address these issues in their care for HIV infected individuals.

Instrument to assess burden on caregivers of chronic mentally ill.

Abstract: The family is a major source of support for the mentally ill in India. Although Indian families show tremendous resilience in caring for their ill relatives, they experience a lot of physical and emotional distress. The burden assessment schedule (BAS) aims to assess both objective and subjective burden experienced by the primary care givers of chronic mentally ill patients. Stepwise ethnographic exploration has been used in the development of this 40 item instrument. Reliability exercises have been carried out throughout the development of this schedule. Criterion validity has been established by comparing with another standardized instrument to assess burden, which has been developed in India.

Prevalence of dementia in a rural setting : A report from India

Abstract: A study to estimate the prevalence of dementia in a rural population was conducted in a community located on the outskirts of Madras city in South India. Seven hundred and fifty elderly 60 years of age and older, selected using the cluster sampling technique, were interviewed using the Geriatric Mental State schedule (GMS). The prevalence of dementia was 3.5%, the percentage increasing with age. These rural prevalence estimates were higher than in urban settings (WHO multicentre study on cognitive impairment and dementia in developed and developing countries, unpublished) and male/female differences were negligible. The difficulties associated with the use of the GMS in a non-literature rural population are discussed. The implications of these findings for India's growing elderly population are highlighted.