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Showing posts from August 7, 2011

Diagnostic Dilemma

I had a call today from a friend of mine - patient with 9 months history of head ache and vomiting presenting with "meningism". (Clinical Signs of Meningitis). CSF (Fluid surrounding the brain) studies normal. the consultant was not sure what he was dealing with. to add to this, the patient was HIV positive.... Diagnostic dilemma's are not unusual in Medicine. Dilemma occurs when clinical signs point to one diagnosis but investigations do not support the same. With a pre-existing illness some of the dilemma are more complex. you need second opinion from more experienced clinicians to sort out dilemma like these! And that was the expectation from me - but at the end of the consult all I could give was a few differential diagnosis - could be 1 - Crypto 2 TBM 3 Toxo 4 Lymphoma etc.....A final diagnosis could only be possible by identifying the "fungus" or Bacteria" - the root cause....for which the patient had to be referred else where....for a closer scru

Genes...down the generations...

Why is it that  some of your "not so acceptable" traits are observed by you in your children....is there a selective transmission of your "bad genes"? And one feels it is much worse than what you have even!...."accentuation".... At the same time one observes some "transference" of "good" characteristics too....but generally it is much "pronounced than what you have or had....Is there a selective "accentuation" or "mutation" to "dominance" of good genes..? With genetic manipulation possible now, could these change in the future - custom made gene selection - made to order genes - book it in advance...! But the "accentuation" of  bad in your children is more of a perception - perception from  a mindset -  the feeling that "we were and our age people are better than the current generation"...and so the bad is "accentuated" or "pronounced".....a "Better th

“Bipolar” men of God….and God’s messengers….

Read through the bible, the prayers and the cries of God’s men and God’s messengers – one thing stands out – they were “bipolar” - not that they had a “Psychiatric illness” but their mind and emotions would oscillate between “ecstasy” in the goodness and greatness of God on one hand at the same time cry out in despair and desperation due to various issues which were affecting their heart and mind… Jeremiah – one who was called and kept to bring Gods word to Israel in the book of Jeremiah 20 – says -   “God, you deceived me….your word brought be insult and reproach all day long….cursed be the day I was born….cursed be the man who brought by father the news of my birth…..why did I ever come out of the womb – as to end my days in shame…..the phase of depression……even to the point of giving up on life or cursing his own existence… Sandwiched between these cries of desperation and confusion in the same chapter you also see – Sing to the Lord, give praise to the Lord, for he rescues the li