Tuesday, Nov 23, 2004
Tuesday, Nov 23, 2004 |
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Thiruvananthapuram
By Our Special Correspondent
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NOV. 22. The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology here will be hosting an international symposium, from November 25 to 27, on a branch of biotechnology dealing with steroid hormones, which include sex hormones, corticosteroids produced by the adrenal glands and Vitamin D. The Director of the Centre, Raghava Varman Thampan, told presspersons that scientists of global stature from different countries would attend the symposium on `Steroid Hormone Receptor Superfamily and Molecular Signalling.' This was first of such international meeting on the subject to be held in India. Dr. Thampan said the scientists who are scheduled to participate in the symposium included Pierre Chambon of France, who discovered the primary structure of human estrogen receptor, J.R. Tata from the United Kingdom, Constantin Sekeris from Greece and Virendra Mahesh from the United States. The former Director of the National Institute of Immunology G. P. Talwar would deliver a lecture.
Osteoporosis
He said scientists across the globe were now trying to find a cure for osteoporosis, the weakening of bones that occurred in women after menopause. Though hormone replacement therapy could check osteoporosis, the administration of artificially produced hormone caused breast cancer in majority of women. Scientists were probing for a way to prevent this. As these diseases are related to aberrant functions of estrogens, it was essential to have full knowledge of the molecular details of hormone action. The molecular endocrinology laboratory of the Centre, headed by him, was working in this area and hence had taken the lead to organise the symposium. He said that the osteoporosis was not common among older women of Kerala. The disease and its cure were more of a priority for West. However, with change in lifestyles, osteoporosis had started occurring in Kerala also. Asked whether the Centre would give priority to study of why Kerala women used to be free of the disease in the past as that might lead to a cure, Dr. Thampan said that might happen in future. The interest of different research groups working at the Centre might converge on that. The Centre was now focussing on application research for production of drugs so that collaboration with the industry would become possible. It had got a patent on research relating to peptides. On the proposal for Central takeover of the institution, he said that nothing could be said about that at this stage. However, the Union Government was interested in the proposal, he added.
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