A canthosis nigricans (AN) is a skin condition characterized by dark, coarse, velvety to grey, thickened skin folds; commonly found at the back of the neck, axilla, elbows, groin, under the breasts, and at the belt line around the umbilicus. In severe cases, acrochordon may also develop on the discolorations. [1] AN is associated with insulin resistance and is highly correlated with hyperinsulinemia, type 2 diabetes and obesity. [2] Western literature report a high rates of association between AN and type 2 diabetes in nonwhite as well as in other ethnic groups. [3] The prevalence of AN in the literature varies from 7% in an unselected population to 74% in obese persons; whereas little information is available on its prevalence in young adult subjects. [4,5] To the best of our knowledge there are very few studies showing the prevalence of AN in relation to various anthropometric measurements in Indians. As adolescent obesity rates increase, the appearance of AN earlier in life has also increased. There are currently only a couple of studies in young Indians regarding this association. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the association between AN and multiple health parameters in young males. SUBJECTS AND METHODSAn analytical cross-sectional design was utilized to assess the relationship between the presence of AN and the dependent variables of body mass index A B S T R A C TBackground: Acanthosis nigricans (AN) is a skin condition associated with insulin resistance, and highly correlated with hyperinsulinemia, type 2 diabetes, and obesity; with scarcity of information regarding its status in young adult subjects. Aim: To determine the association between the presence of AN with biochemical parameters and anthropometric variables. Subjects and Methods:This analytical cross-sectional study included young male subjects from outpatient department of Medicine of a tertiary care center in North India. They were divided into three group of 40 subjects each. Group I consisted of subjects having AN, Group II consisted of obese/overweight subjects without AN, and Group III consisted of control subjects without AN or obesity. Covariates included family history of diabetes. Results: There was a signifi cant positive association (P < 0.001) between AN and high body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, waist-hip ratio (WHR), and systolic blood pressure (BP) even when controlled for obesity. For lipoproteins, insulin, and diastolic BP, the association even though signifi cant, was inconsistent when obesity was taken into consideration. Conclusion: Individuals with AN have lower high-density lipoproteins, and higher BMI, fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum insulin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, and systolic as well as diastolic pressure. Irrespective of being obese, AN is associated with a high BMI, WHR, FBG and systolic BP in young adults.

CONTEXT: The outbreak and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has led to a global exigency of colossal and monstrous proportions in terms of public health and economic crisis. Till date, no pharmaceutical agent is known to manage in terms of prevention and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by a novel virus. AIMS: The aim of the present work was to understand the underlying disease profile and dynamics that could provide relevant inputs and insight into pathophysiology and prevent further spread and evolve management strategies of COVID-19 patients from data-driven techniques. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A retrospective observational descriptive study was conducted on 29 COVID-19 patients admitted at a premier medical institution of North India in the months of February and March 2020. METHODS: The patients were diagnosed with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected. RESULTS: The mean age of population was 38.8 years with male preponderance, of which two patients were residents of Italy, and others hailed from semi-arid and Western sandy arid regions of Rajasthan (urban population). The major presenting symptom complex of said COVID-19 sample population included fever (48%), cough (31%), and shortness of breath (17%). Most of the patients (83%) had no comorbidity. No clinical correlation (r) could be appreciated between the duration of test positivity and age of afflicted COVID-19 patients (r = −0.0976). CONCLUSIONS: The present evaluation of various facets of the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19 is an attempt to portray early clinical and epidemiological parameters of the menace of COVID-19 patients admitted at SMS Medical College and Attached Hospitals, Jaipur.

We analyzed the data of 102 confirmed patients with novel Coronavirus 2 infection (COVID-19) during the early period of nationwide lockdown announced in India after the declaration of pandemic. We analyzed epidemiological, clinical characteristics and outcome of hospitalization in 102 patients with positive results for novel corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) RNA testing which were traced on the basis of history of travel, contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, resident of hotspot areas or presence of symptoms, thus providing an accurate estimate of the proportion of asymptomatic cases in the initial population. Of 102 patients enrolled in the study, 83.3% (85/102) were asymptomatic and 16.67% (17/102) were symptomatic. Seventy-seven (75.49%) were males and 24.50% (25/102) were females. Eighteen (17.6%) patients had associated comorbidities, the most prevalent of which were diabetes mellitus 10.8% (11/102), hypertension 7.8% (8/102), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 3.92% (4/102), chronic kidney Disease (CKD) 0.98% (1/102), coronary artery Disease (CAD) 0.98% (1/102) and cerebro-vascular disease (CVD) 0.98% (1/102). The clinical spectrum among symptomatic COVID-19 patients varied from dry cough and fever to respiratory failure and multi-organ failure. Twelve (11.76%) patients were kept in intensive care unit (ICU). Ninety-nine (97.05%) patients recovered while three (2.94%) died during hospital stay. With majority of COVID-19 cases in India being asymptomatic, changes in biochemical and inflammatory profile were small and insignificant in asymptomatic patients when compared to symptomatic patients. Elevated NLR, lymphopenia, age and presence of comorbidities were associated with increased severity and poor outcome.

Thyroid dysfunctions in patients with betathalassemia are the result of iron toxicity to thyroid cells. The present study was conducted in 160 subjects divided into two groups-Group A comprised of 80 diagnosed cases of β-thalassemia major above 12 years of age receiving regular blood transfusions for more than last 3 years and at least 10 transfusions in a year. Group B comprised of age and sex matched 80 healthy individuals. We found that prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with betathalassemia major was 20% patients, which was significantly (p<0.0001) higher than the group B, in which prevalence of hypothyroidism was only 3.75%.