Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common disorders of the brain. One of every ten people will have at least one epileptic seizure during a normal lifespan, and a third of these will develop epilepsy. In children the most common forms of convulsion are febrile seizures. Water electrolyte imbalance occurs during acute febrile illness and hypocalcaemia is one of them. Hypocalcaemia is also present in cases of seizures. To find out significance of calcium levels in cases of seizures this study was conducted. Aims: To assess the level of ionized calcium in cases of febrile seizure. Methods: This Case -Control study was conducted on fifty cases of febrile seizures and fifty age, weight matched controls and calcium deficiency determined in both groups. The serum ionized calcium levels were estimated by ion selective electrode method using Na, K, Ca analyzer. Results: Mean ionized calcium level was 4.62±0.26mg/ dl and 4.88±0.27 mg/dl in study and control groups respectively and this difference was found statistically extremely significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that a considerable percentage of children having febrile seizures are suffering from low level of calcium.

Background: The association of hemoglobin levels with thyroid status in pregnancy was not studied in detail. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the levels of hemoglobin, thyroid function and its association with hemoglobin levels in first trimester of pregnancy.Methods: Fifty pregnant women who didn’t start any supplementation were recruited from the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient department. Fifty age matched controls were recruited from the residents and staff of the hospital.  Thyroid profile and hemoglobin levels were measured in both the groups. The association was seen between hemoglobin levels and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.Results: The hemoglobin levels are significantly low in first trimester pregnant women. Further, the increased TSH levels are negatively correlated with low hemoglobin levels.Conclusions: Screening of hemoglobin levels in first trimester itself will be beneficial to prevent the complications of pregnancy. Further, hypothyroidism also present and associated with reduced hemoglobin. So, early diagnosis of these deficiencies will be useful to start giving supplements to avoid unwanted effects in pregnancy.

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Background: According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, India, with 32 million diabetic individuals, currently has the highest incidence of diabetes worldwide; these numbers are predicted to increase to 80 million by the year 2030. Deficiency of vitamin D has been associated with increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular diseases. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in our country. About 70% of adults in both rural and urban areas were found showing manifestations of vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, we designed this study to assess the vitamin D status of the study population by measuring serum 25(OH) D levels, and its association with oxidative stress markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods: This is a cross sectional study with Group 1 (n=147): Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics and Group 2 (n=147): Apparently healthy individuals. Blood was collected by venipuncture. 5ml of blood was collected and allowed to clot. Serum was separated and stored in refrigerator to estimate the oxidative stress markers and vitamin D levels. Estimation of vitamin D levels and oxidative stress markers were carried out by commercially available kits.Results: Vitamin D levels are significantly low in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics when compared to controls (p < 0.000), whereas the FBG levels are significantly high in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics when compared to controls (p < 0.000). The TAOS levels are significantly low in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics when compared to controls (p <0.000), whereas the MDA levels are significantly high in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics when compared to controls (p < 0.000). The oxidative stress marker TAOS (r = 0.71; p < 0.000), was positively correlated and MDA (r = - 0.85; p < 0.000), was negatively with Vitamin D in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.Conclusions: From this study, it is concluded that, lower levels of vitamin D is associated with increased oxidative stress. Therapeutic interventions to increase the vitamin D levels and reduce the oxidative stress should be included as a part of treatment inn newly diagnosed type diabetics.

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