Sunil K Pandya

Brain abscess caused by Cladosporium trichoides

Brain abscess caused by the fungus Cladosporium trichoides is rare. Only 20 cases of brain abscess caused by this fungus are reported in the literature. We report a case of brain abscess caused by Cladosporium trichoides in a healthy adult male. The relevant literature on this subject is reviewed.

Whither Short-Course Chemotherapy for Tuberculous Meningitis?

Short-course chemotherapy is well established for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis but not for extrapulmonary disease. We present a series of 35 cases in which chemotherapy for tuberculous meningitis was given for a period of less than 2 years. Short-term therapy was associated with recrudescence of tuberculous meningitis and, in some cases, with the development of deep cerebral infarcts and permanent neurological deficits. We think short-term chemotherapy for tuberculosis of the central nervous system is inadequate.

Medical Council of India : the rot within.

The Medical Council of India is a statutory national agency charged with several responsibilities. Sadly, it is plagued by inefficiency, arbitrariness and lack of transparency. It has been functioning for some years as the fiefdom of one person--Dr Ketan Desai. He has been re-elected president of the council despite strictures against him by the High Court of New Delhi. This essay provides data that may help the reader identify the rot within the Council. Permitted optimism, we may hope that this essay and similar observations by others will prompt a change for the better. At present such optimism is not justified.

Henry Molaison’s operation for epilepsy: a case study in medical ethics

Dr. William Beecher Scoville, an eminent American neurosurgeon of the 1940s, offered to treat Mr Molaison for his intractable epilepsy. During the operation, he removed large portions of both of Mr. Molaisons temporal lobes. Such an operation had never been performed earlier as the function of these parts of the brain was not clearly understood and neurosurgeons such as Dr. Wilder Penfield of Canada feared they could cause grave damage to the patient. Mr. Molaison developed severe loss of memory to the extent that a few minutes after meeting someone, he had no recollection of the meeting and he could not find his way to his own home. Mr. Dittrich, grandson of Dr. Scoville, has analysed the operation on Mr. Molaisons brain against the background of neurosurgery in the 1940s. This essay discusses the ethical aspects of Dr. Scovilles operation in the light of current understanding and practice.

Tarnishing reputations: the downside of medical activism.

in the late 1960s, I was warned of this possibility. Criticisms of that section of the medical profession that hurt patients or illtreated them or cheated them inevitably drew censure of my action. While there was never any dispute about the facts laid down by me in my papers, the admonitions I received were against tarnishing the profession. I was upset at this as I have always taken great care to point out that the miscreants were only a proportion of the professionals. Even so, I was roundly criticised at a public meeting of doctors under the aegis of the Indian Medical Association for censuring any member of the profession.

Reply to: Stem cell transplantation in India: tall claims, questionable ethics: a response

[ 85 ] 3. Nichi-In has been working with several institutes on research using stem cells/progenitor including the Institute of Pathology of the ICMR where we have been working on finding solutions to several diseases prevalent among the lower socioeconomic sections of the country such as persistent corneal ulcers, burns etc. We do this as a commitment to society with an aim of developing cost effective remedies; we want to see that these newer technologies should not remain accessible only to the affluent. The unjustifiable remarks made in the article will only dampen the spirits of people like us who have

A shunting procedure for cerebrospinal fluid fistula, employing cannulation of the third and fourth ventricles

A modified third/fourth ventriculoperitoneal shunt is described. This procedure was used to deal with postoperative cerebrospinal fluid fistulae refractory to treatment by simpler routine measures. The possible indications of the operation are discussed.

Department of Neurosurgery, Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College and King Edward VII Memorial (K.E.M.) Hospital, Mumbai

Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College and King Edward VII Memorial (K.E.M.) Hospital, Mumbai were inaugurated in 1925. This article traces its illustrious history and of the eminent neurosurgeons who shaped its destiny.

The functioning of the Medical Council of India analysed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Health and Family Welfare.

On March 8, 2016, the 92nd report on the functioning of the Medical Council of India (MCI) (1) was placed before both Houses of Parliament by Professor Ram Gopal Yadav, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Health and Family Welfare.

At last – a home grown ethics text!

Dr Timms went on to study medical law and ethics at the National Law School of India University in Bangalore (2009– 10) and to train in bioethics under the ICMR – NIH modules in 2011–12. Among her many educational activities is her work as adjunct assistant professor in the Health and Humanities Division at St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore. She joins Dr Manjulika Vaz and Dr Mario Vaz as an important member of their team. Fittingly, she is also adjunct faculty on research ethics at her alma mater in Vellore. Among her other interests is the collection of bells, especially those with pure ring tones. She had 257 of them at last count.