Rare ‘Sleeping Beauty’ syndrome affects Kerala girl who once slept for five days at a stretch

 


The girl would suddenly fall asleep, even while standing or sitting on a sofa or anywhere. She once even slept for five days at a stretch.

It was impossible to wake her up even after an hour or two, when one would assume she had got enough sleep.

Parents of the child, Liya, who was four years old, were left dazed by what they learnt. She was having ‘sleep attacks’ that left her in deep sleep for hours, with some bouts lasting between 10-12 hours and even five days.

“In a desperate moment we tried shining a torch into her eyes”, said Linu Denny, her mother. Nothing would wake her up; it was frightening, she said.

The trips to hospitals started with the sleep attacks that began in October last year.
“What I found was that she was tremendously hungry before the attacks”, said Linu. “Hungry, irritable and crying.”

The doctors found high blood pressure and even high blood sugar in the child, but the heart rate was low, the mother said.

Liya’s developmental parameters did not follow a normal timeline. She had delayed speech and showed certain autistic features. Linu and her husband Denny Anthikkadan, a rice mill worker in Kanjoor, Kalady, had sought help earlier. She started speaking only when she turned three.

Eight ‘attacks’ so far
The girl has had eight sleep attacks since October. She was treated also for non-convulsive epileptic attacks earlier, and it was during one such episode that she was found to be bleeding from nose and mouth. The ESI hospital that was sending them to referral centres then sent her to Aster Medcity.

Dr. Akbar Mohammed Chettali, paediatric neurologist treating the child, said it was a rare case of a sleeping disorder called Kleine-Levin syndrome or ‘Sleeping Beauty’ syndrome. It is a rare neurological disorder with only around one or two cases per million, he said.

A neuropsychiatric disorder, it had earlier been found in a few cases in small children who had autistic features. But no studies have linked it with autism, he added.

A study was done using Polysomnography: recording brain waves, the oxygen level in blood, heart rate and breathing as well as eye and leg movements to diagnose sleep disorders. Consultations with other specialities followed, indicating prolonged REM (rapid eye movement, deep) sleep. Investigations through clinical criteria and diagnosis through exclusion pointed to Kleine-Levin syndrome, said Dr. Chettali. The child has responded to treatment.

The sleep attacks are expected to come down with age, the doctor said.

 Three college students dismissed

 They were known to be trouble makers and frequently quarrelled with lecturers

Thiru Vi Ka Government Arts College authorities here have dismissed three students who allegedly quarrelled with lecturers frequently . The college has also been shut indefinitely.
Dakshinamurthy and Prakash, both third year students of B.A. (History) and Dinesh, pursuing third year BBA, were found obstructing smooth functioning of the college. A few days ago, two lecturers of the college had complained that they were manhandled by three students and a report was forwarded to the Department of Higher Education in Chennai.

Principal P. Permal also took note of the cases pending in police stations against the three and the outcome of an RDO inquiry on certain activities while dismissing them.

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Banning colourblind students from pursuing MBBS regressive, says SC

AmitAnand Choudhary

New Delhi:





Can a student suffering from colour blindness be allowed to pursue medical courses? The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a plea of two students to open the door of medical colleges for them, saying the present practice of Medical Council of India (MCI) not permitting colourblind students to take admission in MBBS courses is regressive and should be done away with.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar appointed an expert committee of senior doctors to find out streams in which such students could be allowed. It said students with colour blindness were allowed to study medical courses in many other countries and the rules or guidelines followed in the country needed to be revived to allow such students to pursue courses where colour blindness might not be a handicap.

“Total exclusion for admission to medical courses without any stipulation in which they really can practise and render assistance would tantamount to regressive thinking.When we conceive of global phenomenon and universal brotherhood, efforts are to be made to be within the said parameters. The march of science, apart from our constitutional warrant and values, commands inclusion and not exclusion,“ the bench said.

The court directed MCI to constitute a committee of experts from genetics, ophthalmology , psychiatry and medical education from AIIMS and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, to examine the issue. The court directed that the committee submit its report in three months.

No income tax on VRS for staff of sick PSU: HC

Chennai:  TIMES NEWS NETWORK





In a significant ruling, the Madras high court said the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) package, equal to salary for 72 months, paid to willing employees of Hindustan Photo Film (HPF) Manufacturing Company Limited in Ooty was in the nature of compensation and no income tax should be deducted. On their part, employees accepting the package shall vacate and hand over possession of the quarters within a month of the date on which they receive the monetary benefits, the court said.

Justice T S Sivagnanam, concurring with the submissions of senior counsel R Vaigai, said: “The benefit, which will accrue to the employees, is in the nature of compensation, which is pursuant to a decision taken by the government of India specifically for the employees of HPF. Therefore, the amount would be exempted from income tax in terms of the first proviso under Section 10 (10B) of the IT Act. Therefore, provisions of Section 10 (10B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 are attracted and accordingly , the same shall not fall within the definition of income, while computing the total income of concerned employee and income tax cannot be deducted from the severance package paid to the employees of HPF.“

Quick to realise the ruling could lead to other public sector undertakings preparing similar severance packages for their employees, counsel for the Centre said the government of India would appeal against it in the Supreme Court. Once a public sector giant with a monopoly in X-ray films market, HPF became a white elephant since 1987 when salary stagnated and staff had either no or little work. A VRS package was readied by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs which approved a proposal for providing non-plan budgetary support of `181.54 crore for voluntary retirement at the 2007 notional pay scale.

The HPF Workers' Welfare Centre termed VRS unfair and illegal. It sought payment of 72 months' salary on 2007 payscale to each employee, non-deduction of income tax on severance package, special performance allowance, adjustable advance paid to employees and permission for employees to occupy staff quarters till May 1, 2016 at the same rate of rent.
Contentious issues boiled down to 72 months' salary as severance package instead of 60 months, exemption from income tax and no eviction from the quarters.

`If money found unaccountable, total tax will be around 83.5%'





More than 200 individuals and companies have deposited unaccounted money to the tune of `600 crore in various bank accounts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after demonetisation was announced on November 8 last year. Most of the accounts in which such deposits were made are in rural Tamil Nadu, but some are in Chennai. Many such instances were reported in suburban areas and districts adjoining cities, said income tax sources.

  Officers told TOI that an individual in Tiruchengode in Namakkal district deposited `246 crore in a branch of the Indian Overseas Bank.“We were following him for more than 15 days after finding that he had deposited cash in a rural branch of the IOB. First, he tried to hide, but after a few days he agreed to jo in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and pay 45% of the total money as tax. As per PMGKY, 25% of the money will be retained with the government without any interest,“ a senior I-T investigation wing official told TOI.The cash deposited by the individual was in old demonetised currencies. There are several similar in dividuals and companies who have deposited cash in their accounts and accepted that they were unaccounted income.“Most of them have joined the PMGKY scheme, which comes to an end on March 31. We hope the total unaccounted money will go up to `1,000 crore before the month end. We are also warning people who are still not on board that the heat will increase from April 1,“ said the official. Soon after December 31, 2016, all banks in the country were told to send the list of account holders who had deposited cash above `2.5 lakh after demonetisation. “ All the lists were sent to our headquarters and with the help of a software we scrutinized it and dispatched them to our regional offices for follow-up action. After we received the TN and Puducherry list, it was divided between investigation wing and the assessment wing in the I-T. All deposits with PAN were taken over by the investigation wing,“ said the official.

Across the country , the I-T department found `85 lakh transactions to be suspicious. “In TN and Pondy , we found 28,000 accounts to be suspicious and some of the accounts had deposits in cash to the tune of `85 lakh or move. In the first instance, we send a mail to the account holder asking for details. Most of them have replied and some of the cases have been closed or they have joined the PMGKY scheme accepting that the cash was black money ,“ he said. But in some cases, despite sev eral reminders, the account holders have not replied. “We will wait till the end of the month and go behind them. If they accept on their own, the tax is only 45%. But if we find the money to be unaccounted, then the total tax will be around 83.5%,“ the official warned. 





5,000 chicken & mutton sellers strike, Lucknow goes vegetarian 

 

 Urooj Khan 

Lucknow:





The city of Nawabs, known for its mouthwatering Awadhi delicacies, was forced to turn vegetarian on Saturday when more than 5,000 shops selling mutton and chicken went on strike protesting the Yogi government's crackdown on unlicensed abattoirs and meat outlets. Famous eateries of Lucknow like Tunday's and Mubeen's showed solidarity by downing their shutters.The strike is now threatening to spread with Meat Murga Vyapar Kalyan Samiti , UP giving a call for a statewide stri ke from Sunday .

  Murga Vypar Mandal of Kanpur has already announced it will join the strike from Sunday . In Noida and Ghaziabad, roadside meat shops, including those selling chicken, have disappeared overnight. However, the licenced shops have decided not to join the strike. But even among operators in these shops, there is wariness about the current situation, leading to a general downturn in business.
In Bareilly, while 60-odd licensed mutton shops were open on Friday , roadside outlets remained closed fearing a crackdown. In Agra, mutton supply was very low while chicken was available. In the state capital, Lucknow Murga Mandi Samiti (LMMS) and MMVKS held a meeting in the morning and decided to shut the supply . LMMS represents more than 50 wholesalers who supply chicken to about 5,000 retailers, besides restaurants, hotels and small food joints in the city. MMVKS represents about 600 dealers.
LMMS representative Sanjay Saxena said applications for licences of many dealers were gathering dust at Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) since 2010. “We were forced to work without licence because LMC is neither issuing fresh licences nor renewing old ones for three years. Our legal business turned illegal because of apathy of the authorities and now the crackdown has hit our livelihood,“ said Saxena.

Refuting the allegations, LMC veterinary officer AK Rao said, “Of all 602 licences, 340 have been renewed and approximately 130 cancelled because they were flouting the Supreme Court guidelines, according to which no butcher shop should be adjacent to religious places and educational institutions.“





Mar 27 2017 : The Times of India (Chennai)

 

12 kids fall ill after nurses administer `expired' injections

Hyderabad:    TIMES NEWS NETWORK





At least 12 children were allegedly administered expired antibiotics at the state-run Gandhi hospital, causing them temporary loss of motor skills and triggering cold shivers, seizures and vomiting. The negligence comes just ten days after the hospital's staff refused to give a free wheel chair to a patient.

According to family members, the children were given amoxicillin clavulanate and potassium clavulanate antibiotics from expired vials around 7.30pm on Saturday to treat bacterial infections and fever.

Within 20 minutes, they started vomiting and had sudden seizures. According to hospital authorities, the drug supplier was Uttaranchal-based Maxmed Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, which is under investigation.On Sunday , the hospital moved the children to the ICU to take extra precautions. State government also suspended two staff nurses and a duty doctor.

“After the doctor gave an injection to my grandson, he suffered loose motions and began vomiting. He was unable to move. We came here to get better treatment, but negligence by the hospital staff has left us shocked,“ said Rahmat Bano, grandmother of a child named Junaid Ahmed.

Telangana health minister Laxma Reddy said he was looking into the allegations, while the director of medical education (DME) M Ramani said an external inquiry was underway and a report of would be submitted on Monday evening.