The conventional teaching and learning methods in medical education yearns for a change. The newer and effective small group interactive teaching methodologies are being looked into. Problem based learning and case based learning modules were taken into consideration in this study. Although PBL is student centred but it lacks able guidance of the teacher involved and effective participation of all the students. The deficiencies encountered in PBL are taken care of in case based learning study. It is a guided enquiry approach where the teacher plays a vital role in the preparation of the case based problem, organizing the CBL session under his guidance and providing constructive and relevant information during the sessions. Students are the speakers and presenters. Generally, most of the studies refer to the advantages of CBL and PBL in regard to traditional teaching. This study compares the learning effectiveness amongst the two approaches. A total of 126 first year medical students were included in the study. Students were divided into two groups such that both the groups have similar academic knowledge. The effectiveness of the teaching methodologies was reflected in the better performance of the students in the evaluation tests conducted after the said sessions. Both the groups performed better in the evaluation tests conducted after the PBL and CBL session. But the performance was better in the group which attended CBL on the same topic. The difference in the mean marks of the two groups being statistically significant. . However it seems important to develop more consistent research in this field, namely, longitudinal studies with larger samples.

The teaching method in undergraduate MBBS curricula is expected to develop a vast range of intellectual, visual and manual skills, in the learning and incorporate large amounts of factual information to practice technical and technological procedures. Problem based learning (PBL) is small group teaching and learning program, which emphasizes and stimulates the team work and problem solving ability, independent learning and create a broader understanding of the complexity of medicine. The students must become proficient in assessing their individual learning progress and that of their peers. So our study aims to evaluate the efficiency of PBL in the enhancement of knowledge of 126 learners. We measured the student preference regarding PBL system. The participants were divided into 2 groups on the basis of before theory and after theory test marks and were sex matched. After that group-I attended revision of theory class and group-II attended PBL class with the same teacher on the same topic. After revision theory class and the PBL session, learner's response was increased significantly when compared with before and after theory class. When we compared PBL with after theory revision class the learning knowledge was significantly increased (p-values 0.00). Students who used the problem-based learning method showed better understanding of the subject and it also encouraged active student participation in the learning process.

Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death globally and it is a major cause of long-term, physical, psychological, and social disability among the elderly. Increasing evidence shows that ischemic injury and inflammation account for its pathogenic progression. So, we studied the association of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM1) polymorphism with ischemic stroke, stroke severity, and outcome. Aims and Objectives: To compare ICAM1 469 E/K polymorphism in ischemic stroke patients with healthy controls, and to study its association with stroke severity and outcome. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients of ischemic stroke and hundred healthy individuals were included. The stroke severity was assessed clinically and radiologically. Outcome was measured at three and six months of stroke onset. Genomic DNA was used for Allele-Specific PCR to detect ICAM1 469 E/K polymorphism. The subjects were categorized into EE, EK, and KK genotypes. Results: The odds of EK genotype to develop stroke was 0.41 (95 % CI; 0.17 - 0.92) (p = 0.07) and of KK genotype was 0.41 (95 % CI; 0.11 - 0.87) (p = 0.04) compared to EE genotype. Subjects with ICAM1K allele had significantly reduced risk of stroke compared with those with E allele. (RR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.35-0.87) (p=0.03). Conclusion: Subjects with ICAM1K allele had significantly reduced the risk of developing stroke. 469 E/K polymorphism of the ICAM1 gene does not significantly affect stroke severity, mortality, and outcome.