22 March, 2013

India needs more neuro-rehab centres

India needs more dedicated neuro-rehabilitation centres as the country has the world's highest incidence of head injuries in road accidents, a doctor said Wednesday.

In India about one lakh lives are lost every year in road accidents and over one million suffer from serious head injuries, Rajendra Prasad, senior neurosurgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital here, said on the occasion the World Head Injury Awareness Day.

"India has the rather unenviable distinction of having the highest rate of head injury in the world. More than one lakh lives are lost every year and over one million suffer from serious head injuries," Prasad said.

"Only a few neuro rehabilitation centres are there in the country. There is a urgent need for more dedicated centres for quality care," he said.

According to Prasad, dedicated neuro rehabilitation centres will help millions of people who have traumatic brain injuries in accidents.

"The patients can undergo a neuro rehabilitation therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy that helps them in coming out of the trauma," said Prasad.

He also said the police personnel can play a major role as they are the first to reach the scene of a road accident.

"Police personnel are the first to reach an accident site, and can save the patient from a severe traumatic brain injury and even death," said Prasad, who is also the executive director of the Indian Head Injury Foundation (IHRF).

"They need to be trained to give the most basic care to a road accident victim. Nearly 50 percent of brain-injury deaths caused by road accidents can be reduced," he said.

Prasad said the first hour of a brain injury is considered the 'golden hour' as the first responder can save the life of the victim and also prevent the person from a severe traumatic injury.

"Traumatic brain injuries range from minor to severe, sometimes leaving a patient crippled for his entire life. Apart from police personnel, we need trained paramedical staff, ambulances which would reach on time," Prasad added.

Nearly 65 percent of road accident victims are in the age group of 15-45 years. Pedestrians and motorcyclists are the most common victims of such accidents in India.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.03.2013

Abused women may give birth to autists

Women who underwent physical, emotional, or sexual abuse when they were children are more likely to have a kid, who is suffering with autism compare to others who faced no abuse.

According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), woman who experienced the most serious abuse were three-and-a-half times more likely to have a child with autism.

The researchers examined data from more than 50,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II and found that it was not just women exposed to the most serious levels of abuse who had higher risk of having a child with autism, but also a large number of women who experienced moderate abuse.

While about 2 percent of women reported the most serious abuse, even women in the top 25 percent of abuse severity— that includes women who experienced moderate levels of abuse —were 60 percent more likely to have a child with autism compared with women who did not experience abuse.

The authors said that these observations suggest that abuse in childhood is not only harmful to person who directly experiences it, but could also increase risk for serious disabilities in the next generation.

The researchers also looked at nine pregnancy-related risk factors to see if they were linked to higher risk of having a child with autism in women, who were abused as children.

These nine risk factors—including gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and smoking—have been earlier associated with an increased likelihood of having a child with autism.

The study has been published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.03.2013

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working

Pablo Picasso