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BOLLYWOOD-BUZZ HEALTHLINES “I grew up admiring Nutan, Waheeda, and Madhuri” A rare genetic disorder actress Hrishitaa Bhatt, who was last seen playing Maya in 'Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho' plays the role Dr. Swarkar Sharma human body. As DNA is inherited, these instructions are of a Bengali woman in Agnihotri's 'just released inherited from parents to children. '. Jaideep Pandey in conversation with the 34 Jammu and Kashmir State is mainly a hilly Sometimes, if an error occurs in a gene (mutation), that year old, who is more popularly known as Niharika Singh terrain, so majority of the population groups could be by chance, the biological instructions are affect- in Uttar Pradesh. ed or changed, resulting in a disease situation. And once Tell us about your role in 'Junooniyat'. exist in small geographic pockets through out this change appears, may be inherited to next generation Well, Junooniyat' is basically a love story and I am play- and in due course mutation and disease keeps accumulat- ing Mishti in the movie, who is a Bengali girl and has lost the state. With geographic isolation and most ing in the family. It may attain alarming proportions if her husband at a very early age. And when you will see me of the population groups practicing and unchecked as we had seen in Arai Village. So, it is very crit- and Yami on screen, you will feel as if we are sisters, but ical to identify families where such disorders exist. Though Mishti is Yami’s brother's wife. I am a catalyst in the movie performing marriages preferentially identification and characterization of such disorders is who plays the lead role in taking Yami and Pulkit's love- within particular subgroups, result in high complicated, it is relatively easy to find if a disorder is story forward. And although it is a guest appearance, I am Genetic or hereditary. The rule of the thumb is, if a disor- sure people will like and remember it. inbreeding in the state. der could not be diagnosed conventionally or the exact 'Junooniyat' is a kind of love-story that has cause is not known, might have a genetic component been put forward by in a com- Adding to it, majority of population of Jammu and Kashmir practice consanguinity (i.e. marriage with in the involved. Patients suffering from such disorders most of pletely different manner. And I can say that some- the times do not respond to conventional therapy or one like Vivek ji only can come up with such a family). Scientific evidences now confirm that high con- script. sanguinity cause high incidence of rare genet- Your experience working with Vivek Agni- ic disorders. In light of such population struc- hotri? ture in J&K, a high incidence of rare genetic I think he is a wonderful director and I always wanted disorders is expected in the state. Unfortu- to work with him. And when he told me about the role, I nately, due to lack of good clinical and diag- agreed to do it. It was an amazing experience working with nostic resources, many of these have not been him, will surely like to do more work with him in future. diagnosed or misdiagnosed. One co-actor you had the best chemistry with. Very recently, our team has successfully I think that is for my audience to tell me because frankly characterized one such disorder and identi- I really cannot be selective because I think as an actor the fied the genetic cause of it. The research work first key rule is to have a chemistry with your co-actor in has now been acclaimed by international sci- the movie, no matter what role you are playing, be of a love entific community and last week been pub- interest, or a daughter, or a wife. So, I think chemistry is lished in the renowned scientific journal, something that should be lucid on screen and bring out Nature Scientific Reports. This discovery has solved the mystery of decades old crippling a kind of bond that the two people share. I think the audi- skeletal disorder of Arai village of Poonch ence is the better judge when it comes to chemistry with Well I would say director as well as script because even District, Jammu and Kashmir, . co-stars. if the script is great and the director is not good then the The team identified it as Progressive How was your experience working with Yami script can go wrong. So it really does matter that both Pseudorheumatoid Dysplasia (PPD). Other- and Pulkit. should be good at the time. The director could be a fresh- wise rare, due to lack of characterization and The experience of working with both of them has been er also, but at the same time it has to be a blend of both. proper management, the disorder has gained excellent. In-fact many people on the sets were surprised The Director is the captain of the ship and the script is the alarming proportions in the village. to see the bonding between me and Yami, because nor- ship itself. In many of such disorders, that are not mally we don't find such good chemistry between the two You will seen performing on "Mast Hawa" in lethal in early age, individuals remain normal female co-stars. 'Shorgul'. Would you agree that a political drama, at birth and have disease symptoms later in Any actress you grew up admiring. especially when it is based on UP and Bihar, is age that keep on intensifying with advance- I grew up admiring Nutan ji a lot, Then I was quite incomplete without an item number. ment of age, sometimes resulting in loss of young. And I remember that I loved watching Waheeda ji Somehow I don't know why but yes, in a cliched sense. life. These disorders as such appear rare how- ( I have been a dancer and loved watch- And moreover such stories do not have a lot of scope for ever, if unattended in due course may turn ing her since the age I can understand what's happening music and dance, especially if there is no element of a love out to be huge problem. Worldwide, Genet- in the film. story. So, to break the monotony and to add some Masala, ics has started to attain key position in healthcare servic- despite treatment, partial relief or symptoms do not van- To watch anybody dance or act looked so nice and beau- they put in an item number. es and rare disorders screening and Orphan drug devel- ish and reappear. tiful. I think I really looked up to these women beside there How would you rate as a opment is attaining importance as altogether these pose The main key component: more than one person is are lot more. Also Sridevi and Madhuri because I have director? huge health burdens. However, such practices are still affected in extended family (that involves, paternal and grown up watching them. I can say that I love , she Well I am nobody to rate him. I have always had respect lacking in India, especially Jammu and Kashmir. maternal grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousin etc). Such is wonderful. So for that matter, lot of actress, I would say. for his work from the day I met him. I think now he is Understanding the basics of inheritance is essential as disorders ask for special approach and I invite sharing I think Neetu Singh was also a different kind of an actress somebody. In-fact while we were shooting for 'Haasil' it helps to figure out the plausibility of a disorder as an such information at swarkar. sharma@ smvdu.ac.in or in her time and yes I think somewhere they have all (2003), he hardly spoke because he was so new and he inherited disease or genetic disease. For a brief overview, [email protected], to help you or the family in better inspired me. had just done some television, but he was brilliant as Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) contains biological instruc- understanding. What is more important to you while signing a always. And I think he is going to be one of those who will tions (called the genes) for the various functions in the (The author is Co-ordinator, Human Genetics Research Group, School of Biotech- film. Script or the director? be making a mark in the Indian cinema. (TWF) nology Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Katra.) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Lifestyle and Fertility Issues Dr Richa Sharma & Dr Amit Basnotra It’s a common saying that we beget of what we do in Life ! Toxicants enter the body in one Same is happening in today’s time as too much of inter- ference with nature by human activities has resulted into or more of three ways: inhalation, compensation in form of deterioration of health- mental,physical,reproductive etc.Its high time to keep a ingestion, or absorption through check on all we do and respect our nature and keep our environment clean and healthy and bless coming genera- the skin. After entering the body, tions with a healthy and quality life and relieve them of all toxicants are distributed to various poisons and toxins mixed in air we breathe and water and other ingradients we consume.Lets Pledge to make Earth tissues and subject to metabolism A HEAVEN in this birth only. To enlighten our readers hereby we are sharing few and excretion. thoughts as all starts with awareness and correct approach.Its not something new but actually what we all pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion. know already but not accepting it due to X-Y-Z fears and Chemical: Hexachlorobenzene hesitations. Sources: Pesticides, fungicide Background Effect on males- Our bodies evolved to be ‘in tune’ with their environ- ment. This connection is vital for reproduction, as birth of Male reproductive function is known to be highly sen- the young must coincide with plentiful food, and thus a sitive to many chemicals and physical agents generated by high chance of survival. Most mammals are therefore ‘sea- industrial or agricultural Such agents are commonly pres- sonal breeders’ and switch their sexual behaviour and fer- ent in some occupational activities and in the general envi- Neeraj Dubey than real-life friends. tility on and off, guided by the amount of daylight (pho- ronment. When used responsibly, the internet can be a great place to In a global era of Information & Communications Technol- toperiod), but influenced also by other factors, such as interact socially, meet new people, and even start romantic rela- Environmental hazards to male reproductive function ogy (ICT) - Internet Addiction, otherwise known as computer energy intake/balance (that is, availability of food) tionships. However, online relationships can often be more were revealed 30 years ago, when pesticide manufactur- addiction, online addiction, or Internet addiction disorder Although humans are not intense than those in real life. Our fantasies are given free reign (IAD), covers a variety of impulse-control problems, including, and the idea of being with our online love can exceed all realis- ‘seasonal breeders’ — we addiction to social networking, chat rooms, texting, and mes- tic expectations. Since few real-life relationships can compete show sexual behaviour and saging to the point where virtual, online friends become more with these wild, fantasy relationships, the internet addict will reproduce all year round — important than real-life relationships with family and friends. prefer to spend more and more time with their online friends. our fertility is influenced The internet provides a constant, ever-changing source of infor- Another problem is that about 50% of people online lie about profoundly by our environ- mation and entertainment, and can be accessed from most their age, weight, job, marital status, or gender. When online ment, including season and smart phone’s as well as tablets, laptops, and desktop comput- friends meet and the real-life person fails to match the online food intake. ers. E-mail, blogs, social networks, instant messaging, and mes- persona, it can create profound emotional disappointment. An increasing number of sage boards allow for both public and anonymous communica- Helping a child or teen with an Internet addiction: - It’s a reports suggest that chemi- tion about any topic. But how much is too much internet usage? fine line as a parent. If you severely limit a child or teen’s inter- cal and physical agents in Each person’s internet use is different. You might need to use net use, they might rebel and go to excess. But you should mon- the environment, intro- the internet extensively for your work, for example, or you might itor computer and smart phone use, supervise online activity, duced and spread by human rely heavily on social networking sites to keep in touch with far- and get your child help if he or she needs it. If your child or teen away family and friends. Spending a lot of time online only activity, may affect male fer- is showing signs of internet addiction, there are things that you becomes a problem when it absorbs too much of your time, tility in humans. Humans can do to help: - causing you to neglect your relationships, your work, school, or are exposed to many envi- * Encourage other interests and social activities: - Get your other important things in your life. If you keep repeating com- ronmental agents that may child out from behind the computer screen. Expose kids to oth- pulsive internet behavior despite the negative consequences in be hazardous to their repro- er hobbies and activities, such as team sports, scouts, and after your off-line life, then it’s time to strike a new balance. Many ductive capacity of both school clubs. people turn to the internet in order to manage unpleasant feel- males and females * Monitor computer use and set clear limits: - Restrict the ings such as stress, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. When Common culprits - use of computers or tablets to a common area of the house where you have a bad day and are looking for a way to escape your you can keep an eye on your child’s online activity, and limit Need A check Right problems or to quickly relieve stress or self-soothe, the internet time online. This will be most effective if you as a parent follow Now-Its Now or Never !! ers and agricultural workers in contact with the nemato- can be an easily accessible outlet. Losing yourself online can suit. If you can’t stay offline, chances are your child won’t either. Environment, lifestyle and infertility — its an temporarily make feelings such as loneliness, stress; anxiety, cide, 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), suffered There are a number of steps you can take to get your inter- inter-generational issue depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air. As much com- from severely impaired spermatogenesis, leading to infer- net use under control. While you can initiate many of these your- The effects of adult lifestyle — primarily smoking fort as the internet can provide, though, it’s important to self, it’s important you get some outside support as well. It can and diet in women, and sedentary habits generally — are tility . Due to the widespread use of such chemicals, and remember that there are healthier (and more effective) ways to be all too easy to slip back into old patterns of usage, especial- important factors affecting the fertility of men and women, their potential for leakage into the environment, they con- keep difficult feelings in check. These may include exercising, ly if you use the internet heavily for work or other important and can also impact the fertility of their children. stitute a putative hazard to male fertility. meditating, and practicing simple relaxation techniques. For activities: - Substances with potentially harmful effects on repro- many people, an important aspect of overcoming internet and Effects: Development abnormalities of the male * Strengthen your support network: - The more relation- ductive health are present in water, air, soil, dust, food, computer addiction is to find alternate ways to handle these dif- reproductive tract, increased the risk of spontaneous abor- ships you have in real life, the less you will need the Internet for and consumer products. Individuals may encounter these ficult feelings. tion social interaction. Set aside dedicated time each week for friends toxicants in the home, community, school, or workplace. Risk factors for Internet addiction: - You are at greater risk and family. If you are shy, try finding common interest groups Effect on Females of internet addiction if:- Toxicants enter the body in one or more of three ways: such as a sports team, education class, or book reading club. Reproductive toxins may contribute to a spectrum of * You suffer from anxiety: - You may use the internet to dis- inhalation, ingestion, or absorption through the skin. This allows you to interact with others and let relationships adverse effects on reproductive health. These effects tract yourself from your worries and fears. An anxiety disorder After entering the body, toxicants are distributed to vari- develop naturally. like obsessive-compulsive disorder may also contribute to ous tissues and subject to metabolism and excretion. Tox- include menstrual irregularities, early or delayed puber- * Therapy and counseling for internet addiction: - Therapy excessive email checking and compulsive internet use. ty, infertility, subfertility, early pregnancy loss, fetal death, can give you a tremendous boost in controlling internet use. icants, or their metabolites, travel to target organs, such * You are depressed: - The Internet can be an escape from Cognitive-behavioral therapy provides step-by-step ways to as the thyroid, ovaries, or testes, where they exert biolog- impaired fetal growth, low birthweight, premature birth, feelings of depression, but too much time online can make stop compulsive internet behaviors and change your percep- ical effects. and structural (e.g., cardiac defect) or functional (e.g., things worse. Internet addiction further contributes to stress, tions regarding internet, smart phone, and computer use. Ther- For eg. learning disability) birth defects. isolation and loneliness. apy can also help you learn healthier ways of coping with Chemical: Lead Conclusion- Act Now and Save your fertility by protect- * You’re an unhappy teenager: - You might be wondering uncomfortable emotions, such as stress, anxiety, or depression. Sources: Metals ing environment. where you fit in and the internet could feel more comfortable (The author is Asstt. Professor, GCET – Jammu) Effects: Decreased semen quality, increased time to (The authors are Senior IVF Consultant Delhi and Senior Gastroentrologist Delhi)