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| National Consensus Meeting on Thyroid Cancer |
In 2003, the Department of Endocrinology conducted a National Consensus Meeting on Thyroid Cancer, where numerous experts from all over the country examined the state-of-the-art evidence in the management of thyroid cancer, as well as the data from all the large centres in India. Several working groups were formed, and the meeting included endocrinologists, endocrine surgeons, as well as nuclear physicians. The meeting was held with a clear objective of evolving a position statement for the management of thyroid cancer from an Indian perspective. The position statement was published in the Journal of Thyroid Research and Practice in 2003.
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| National Workshop on Tropical Pancreatitis |
| In 2004, the Departments of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Gastrointestinal Surgery together conducted a workshop to start a National Multicenter Study on Tropical Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Diabetes in India. At this meeting, the research workers initiated a proposal to form the Indian Pancreatitis Study Group. The initial phase of the study has now begun, and an online data assimilation initiative has been set up at www.ipans.org. The findings of this study, it is hoped, will offer interesting insights into the genesis of this rare disease with a reported prediliction to the tropical regions of the world, particularly the state of Kerala. |
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| Paediatric and Adolescent Endocrine Clinic |
| The clinic is held semi-monthly on the second and fourth Thursdays in conjunction with the Paediatric Department in order to provide specialized care for children and adolescents with growth disorders, early or delayed puberty, thyroid diseases, bone diseases, diabetes, or other endocrine disorders. |
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| The Indian Thyroid Society |
| This is a registered society started in 2003, when the National Consensus Meeting on Differentiated Thyroid Cancer was held at AIMS. The Society is comprised of endocrinologists, nuclear physicians and surgeons, as well as general physicians with an interest in Endocrinology. The Society is led by Dr. R. V. Jayakumar and Dr. Harish Kumar, who are its president and secretary respectively. The annual meeting of the society was held at Cochin in April 2004. |
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| The Journal of Thyroid Research and Practice |
| This is a peer-reviewed journal which is being brought out by the Department of Endocrinology at AIMS. The journal has original articles, case reports and reviews meant for all doctors interested in thyroid diseases. In 2005, the journal published a position statement on thyroid hormone replacement therapy in hypothyroidism. Recently, the journal has received an ISSN number. Dr. R. V. Jayakumar is the editor-in-chief and Dr. Unnikrishnan A. G. is the executive editor. |
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| www.indianthyroidsociety.com |
The website of the Indian Thyroid Society was recently launched from the Department of Endocrinology at AIMS. The website, edited by Dr. Unnikrishnan, is a free website that aims at informing patients and doctors about thyroid diseases. Normal and abnormal thyroid function as well as thyroid disorders are explained to the patient in very simple terms. In addition, state-of-the-art information on thyroid disorders, downloadable articles, quizzes, as well as all the copies of the Journal of Thyroid Research and Practice are available for the medical fraternity and health professionals. |
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National Conference of the Indian Thyroid Society |
In 2004, the Department hosted the Annual Conference of the Indian Thyroid Society, and all the leading institutions in the country, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, CMC Vellore, and SGPGI Lucknow participated and presented their institutions’ experience in the management of Graves Disease. Deliberations were conducted between endocrinologists, nuclear physicians as well as thyroid surgeons, and controversies in Graves Disease were discussed extensively. |
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| Diabetes and Endocrinology Updates |
Starting from 2005, the Department of Endocrinology has initiated the Amrita Diabetes and Endocrine Update (ADIEU) Programmes, which are a forum for discussing all endocrine-related issues. The focus of these updates is to bring a clinical perspective to the science of endocrinology, to provide an academic link bringing together the clinician and the researcher, and to discuss clinical and scientific issues in the realm of Endocrinology. These meetings will be conducted with the best faculty chosen from all over the country, and will serve as yearly symposia to highlight a certain theme. In 2005, the theme was clinical endocrinology, i.e. the application of laboratory tests and bedside assessment of the endocrine patient, as well as common management issues, and the meeting was held keeping the postgraduate endocrinology trainee in mind. Future meetings will have a broader perspective and could evolve into symposia to discuss a highly focused aspect of the science of endocrinology. The theme for ADIEU 2006 was the metabolic syndrome, and this meeting focused on several niche areas in the metabolic syndrome including prediabetes, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, obesity, polycystic ovarian disease and therapeutic strategies. |
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