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Biomedical subjects

C Gnanamuthu

Publications and source records attributed to C Gnanamuthu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis presenting as subdural haematoma.

The authors report a 39-year-old woman who presented with intermittent, excruciating nuchal and occipital headache. Magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography scans showed bilateral subdural haematomas with veno-occlusive disease of the superficial and deep venous systems. There were bridging collaterals with scalp veins, bleeds from which could explain the subdural haematoma. There was acute on chronic veno-occlusive disease with an acute rise in intracranial pressure and a bleed from the vein of Galen.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Clinical and laboratory features and response to treatment in patients presenting with vitamin B12 deficiency-related neurological syndromes.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical and laboratory features of patients admitted with vitamin B12 deficiency-related (B12def) neurological syndromes. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A hospital-based retrospective and prospective study conducted at a referral teaching hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients admitted with vitamin B12 deficiency-related neurological disorders during a three-year period from June 2000 to May 2003 were included. Data regarding clinical and laboratory features were obtained. Follow-up was done at least six months following treatment with parenteral vitamin B12. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 63 patients (52 males) with a mean age of 46.2 years were studied. The mean duration of symptoms at presentation was 10.3 months. Myeloneuropathy (54%) was the commonest neurological manifestation, followed by myeloneuropathy with cognitive dysfunction (34%), and peripheral neuropathy (9%). Neuropsychiatric manifestations and dementia were observed in 38% and 19% of patients respectively. All the patients had megaloblastic changes in the bone marrow smear. Eleven (17.5%) patients had both hemoglobin and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) within the normal range. Follow-up after at least six months of therapy with parenteral B12 showed improvement in 54% patients. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion of B12def is required in patients presenting with myelopathy, cognitive decline, or neuropathy. A normal hemoglobin or MCV does not exclude B12def; therefore, other tests such as bone marrow smear and serum vitamin B12 assay are essential, as the condition is often reversible with treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Recent experience with Rett syndrome at a tertiary care center.

Rett syndrome (RS), a neurological developmental disorder, is one of the commonest causes of cognitive impairment in girls and women. These patients are often initially misdiagnosed as idiopathic mental retardation, cerebral palsy, or autism. Despite several reports from the West, there are very few reports from the Indian population. We present four female children with RS and emphasize the importance of early diagnosis.

Brain↗
PubMed2002

Autosomal recessive limb girdle myasthenia in two sisters.

Limb girdle myasthenic syndromes are rare genetic disorders described under the broad heterogeneous group known as congenital myasthenic syndromes and present with mixed features of myasthenia and myopathy. The familial limb girdle myasthenia has been described as one with selective weakness of pectoral and pelvic girdles, showing a positive response to edrophonium chloride. A report of two sisters affected by this disorder is presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Hemispherotomy for paediatric hemispheric epilepsy.

We present here the results of our series of peri-insular hemispherotomy for intractable hemispheric epilepsy. There were 6 children in this series with a mean age of 10.2 years and mean duration of seizures of 7.2 years. The seizure results were excellent in all children and they also showed significant improvement in functional status. This procedure has significant advantages when compared to other forms of hemispherectomy. However, a larger experience with longer periods of follow-up is needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Acquired dural fistulae in benign intracranial hypertension: a short case report.

Venous sinus thrombosis has been regarded as a known cause of intracranial hypertension. We report a case of long-standing raised intracranial hypertension (ICT) that presented with deteriorating vision in both eyes. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the brain and cerebral angiography showed blockage of superior saggital sinus and sigmoid sinuses with bilateral dural arteriovenous fistulae (DAVF) formation.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Outcomes in the Guillain Barre syndrome: the role of steroids.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is one of the commonest demyelinating diseases of the peripheral nervous system. This retrospective cohort study reports the outcomes of 97 patients in a large teaching hospital in South India. Fifty patients were treated with steroids and 47 had no steroids. Twenty one of the 41 evaluable patients in the steroid group had functional improvement at discharge as compared to 20 of 42 evaluable patients in the non-steroid group. Six patients in each group had worsening of their weakness. Steroids did not show any significant beneficial effect in either improving the disability scores at discharge (steroid-0.42 vs. non-steroid-0.29) or in reducing the duration of ICU stay (4 vs. 8 median days). A higher proportion of patients on steroids developed complications (p = 0.02). The median duration of hospital stay was 16 days in the steroid group as opposed to 14 days in the group not treated with steroids. The mortality was 6 in the steroid treated group and 5 in the non-steroid group. Steroids have no significant benefit on the outcome of GBS.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Delayed effects of exposure to organophosphorus compounds.

In a group of 34 industrial workers, chronically exposed to organophosphorus (OP) compounds, serum pseudocholinesterase activity was depressed significantly in the exposed group as compared to the control group. There was a significantly higher incidence of peripheral neuropathy among the workers exposed to OP compounds, as compared to the control group. Mild to profound sensorineural hearing deficits were detected in both the exposed and control groups. As the pre-exposure hearing status of the workers was not known and since many other factors can also cause pathological changes in the cochlear nerve, a definite conclusion about the ototoxic nature of the OP compounds could not be drawn.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Sequence analysis of human T cell lymphotropic virus type I strains from southern India: gene amplification and direct sequencing from whole blood blotted onto filter paper.

Human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection in India has been found to be associated with adult T cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) among life-long residents of southern India. To examine the heterogeneity of HTLV-I strains from southern India and to determine their relationship with the sequence variants of HTLV-I from Melanesia, 1149 nucleotides spanning selected regions of the HTLV-I gag, pol, env and pX genes were amplified and directly sequenced from DNA extracted from whole blood blotted onto filter paper and from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, obtained from one patient with HAM/TSP, two with ATLL and eight asymptomatic carriers from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Sequence alignments and comparisons indicated that the 11 HTLV-I strains from southern India were 99.2% to 100% identical among themselves and 98.7% to 100% identical to the Japanese prototype HTLV-I ATK. The majority of base substitutions were transitions and silent. No frameshifts, insertions, deletions or possibly disease-specific base changes were found in the regions sequenced. The observed clustering of the Indian HTLV-I strains with those from Japan, as determined by the maximum parsimony method, suggested a common source of HTLV-I infection with subsequent parallel evolution. Amplification of DNA from blood specimens collected on filter paper may be useful for the study of other blood-borne pathogens.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Laryngeal stridor in myasthenia gravis.

Two patients with laryngeal stridor secondary to myasthenia gravis are reported. The cause of bilateral abductor weakness in myasthenia is discussed; anticipation of the stridor in myasthenic patients is highlighted.

Adult↗