Muthusamy Thangaraj

Dysphagia in Patients with Stroke: A Prospective Study

Introduction: Dysphagia affects the vast majority (more than 50%) of acute stroke patients. It is important from the point of view of treating neurologists to identify and manage dysphagia in stroke patients because there is emerging evidence from studies to show that early detection of dysphagia reduces subsequent pulmonary complications in these patients. We conducted this study of patients with dysphagia at various period of stroke and their presentation over a period of 1 year. Current research aimed to study dysphagia and its relation with type of stroke and to study the outcome of patients having post-stroke dysphagia. Material and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted in the department of neurology at a medical institute situated in an urban area. All patients diagnosed with stroke and having dysphagia were included in this study on the basis of a pre-defined inclusion criteria. Patients having any exclusion criteria were excluded from the study. Imaging studies were reviewed to know type of stroke and involved territory of the brain. Patients were followed up for 1 year and management, complications and outcome was studied. Results: Out of 70 patients there were 42 males and 28 females with a M:F ratio of 1:0.66. Majority of the patients (82.85%) were more than 40 years of age while young stroke patients consisted of 17.14% of the studied cases. On the basis of imaging the most common type of stroke was found to be caused by posterior circulation infarcts (30%) followed by partial anterior circulation ischemic stroke (25.72%), total anterior circulation ischemic stroke (21.42%), lacunar infarct in (7.15%) and hemorrhagic stroke (15.71%). Conclusion: Dysphagia is seen in almost two-third cases of stroke and may have severe consequences if not managed properly. It is important from the point of view of treating neurologists to identify and treat this condition so as to prevent morbidity and mortality in these patients. More research is urgently needed to develop more effective swallowing therapies.

Genetic Fitness and Bottleneck of Threadfin (Sea Catfish), Arius arius (Hamilton, 1822) in South Indian Coastline

AbstractTo resolve the taxonomy and assess the population structure of threadfin (sea catfish), Arius arius in south Indian coastal regions this study was designed using morphometric and molecular markers. The analyses found homogeneity among the populations, which was characterized by high gene flow and no isolation by distance. Genetic continuity was consistently observed between east and west coasts of Indian populations, which were confirmed by different estimates of genetic structure. Further more, the observed low nucleotide diversity with high haplotype diversity could be the attribute of genetic bottleneck with rapid population expansion of this species in recent years. The present study underlies the importance of understanding the biological significance of genetic differentiation to establish management strategies for the exploited A. arius populations.

DNA Barcoding of Sharp Tail Sunfish Masturus lanceolatus Lienard, 1840 (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae)

Detailed analyses on morphometry (expressed as % standard length and % head length), meristic characters and mitochondrial barcode region sequence of the sharp tail sunfish Masturus lanceolatus Lienard, 1840 have made to confirm the species identity. Further, investigations on phylogenetic relationships between species of the Molidae family have been taken into consideration by constructing neighbor-joining tree to fulfill the gaps on taxonomical validation and their biological information.