Alpha Hospital & Research Centre Institute of diabetes & Endocrinology 2B/2C, Gate lock Road, Mela Anupannady (Near East Madurai Railway Station), Madurai-625009, Tamilnadu, India.
Alpha Hospital & Research Centre
Institute of diabetes & Endocrinology
2B/2C, Gate lock Road, Mela Anupannady (Near East Madurai Railway Station),
Madurai-625009, Tamilnadu, India.
Mobile : +91- 9600009449, 9600009419, 9952622224
Email : info@alphahrc.com
Diabetes and Endocrinology Institute
Endocrine Clinic
AlphaHRC provides Comprehensive Endocrine, Thyroid and Diabetes Care with a humane touch.
Education
1-year certificate course organized in association with IMA CGP
Research
The research wing of AlphaHRC is committed to various epidemiological studies.
WELCOME
Welcome and thanks for stepping in to our Alpha Hospital and Research Centre (AlphaHRC) website. AlphaHRC is a state of art speciality hospital that provides quality medical care for endocrine and allied diseases with international standards. Endocrinology is a speciality of medicine that deals with problems in endocrine glands and hormones secreted by them. Endocrine disorders are increasingly prevalent in the community and the common one includes Diabetes mellitus, Thyroid disease, Short stature, Obesity, Infertility, Pubertal and Gonadal problems. We are the first of its kind in Tamilnadu (southern state of India) to have an exclusive speciality endocrine hospital.We value foremost the quality of care patients receive and their right to participate with their physician in treatment decisions.
We are also involved in various research programs. We aim to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical practice, our patients receive the best of healthcare possible. We are One of the no1 hospitals in tamilnadu for Diabetes and Endocrinology.
Endocrinology
Endocrine glands are ductless glands that secrete hormones. There are various Endocrine Glands including Pituitary gland, Thyroid gland, Adrenal gland, Pineal gland, Thymus, Pancreas, Testis and Ovary. The hormones secreted by these glands include Insulin, Thyroxin, Cortisol, PTH, Prolactin, Growth hormone, Testosterone, estrogen and many more. Hormones are vital for growth, maturation, reproduction and survival of any individual.
The LOGO signifies
The circle as an concept was chosen because: Circles occur frequently in nature and is the sun, the moon, and the stars that guide us; In superficial it may look two people joining hands, But what you see inside, it is the shape of the thyroid gland.
The logo contains 4 quarter circle and 2 small rounds - Total of 6 components. There are 6 major endocrine glands in our body, 4 are paired and 2 are unpaired.
ALPHA stands for: Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet denotes beginning. Alpha also denotes dominance and is the first in order of importance; "the alpha male in the group of chimpanzees"; "the alpha star in a constellation is the brightest or main star".
About Us
Who we are
Alpha Hospital and Research Centre (Alpha AHRC) is a Specialty Hospital in Madurai, Tamilnadu. It is located at a distance of 5 km from Railway Junction, 7.2 km from Airport and takes 15 minutes drive from Heart of the city. It is well connected by Air, Rail and Road Transport. We have a 2 Theatres septic and aseptic Theatre.
They are well equipped technology with trained doctors, nurses, nutritional counselors, diabetic educators, clinical psychologists, behavior therapists and physiotherapists for patients requiring critical care.
Our Hospital is deeply committed to the highest standards of excellence in medical care. At the same time we place a lot of importance on the traditional values of hospitality and compassionate patient care. Our primary concern is to ensure that your health and comfort receives special attention and that you are given the best possible care once you enter the portals of our hospital.
AlphaHRC was setup to keep pace with the advancement in patient care and also to contribute to the growth of medical science. Our mission; 1) To provide quality, state of art and affordable medical care through our various medical clinics, 2) To strengthen medical research, 3) To train doctors and healthcare professionals in the speciality of endocrinology, 4) To create community awareness.
Medical clinics: Endocrine disease and its associated co-morbidities affect the quality of life and creates huge economic burden to an individual and their family. The interesting part of endocrinology is that most of the diseases are treatable. We have an expert team to provide best comprehensive medical care to our patients through various clinics.
1. Diabetes clinic
2. Thyroid clinic
3. Pediatric endocrinology clinic
4. Growth clinic
5. Reproductive endocrinology clinic
6. Obesity clinic
7. Bone clinic
8. Metabolic clinic
9. Podiatry clinic
Medical research: Basic research, epidemiological studies and clinical researches are done by us. Dr.V.Kumaravel is a principal investigator for various international multi centric clinical trials. He will also be heading our research programme. We have a basic research lab and intend to study islet cell biology in diabetes patient. We would be starting our Islet cell transplant programme in near future. We have under taken various collaborative work with universities and medical schools both at national and international level.
Medical Education: AlphaHRC conducts regular CME programme for the doctors, nurses and diabetes educators. We do plan to have PhD and diploma courses in various clinical and nonclinical areas related to diabetes, thyroid and endocrinology. We will also be providing training for clinical research.
Community awareness: AlphaHRC conducts regular camps and awareness programme for the public regarding diabetes, thyroid and various endocrine disorders. We are doing CHOP (Childhood Obesity Prevention) programme, an initiative to prevent childhood obesity.
About us Doctors
Dr.V.Kumaravel. MD., MSc.Diab (Lond)., DNB(Endo)., MNAMS
Dr. V.Kumaravel is the Chief Endocrinologist and Director of our hospital. He will also be heading our research activities.
He did his primary schooling in VMJ School and his higher secondary education in Vikaasa School, Madurai. He did his MBBS and MD at Madurai medical college. He completed his MSc diabetes from Roehampton University, London and Endocrinology DNB from Amrita institute of medical sciences, Kochi.
He moved to Chennai where he was a consultant Endocrinologist in various hospitals namely ACEER, MV diabetes Hospital, Indian Institute of Technology and Madras Medical Mission. He has undergone special training in Islet cell transplantation in University of Minnesota, Mineapolis, USA. He then came back to his home town Madurai to set-up this prestigious institute.
He has a vast clinical research experience and has been a principal investigator for various multinational trials. He has been involved in various epidemiology trials and his passion includes prevention of childhood obesity and to set up islet cell transplant programme in India. He has many national and international publications to his credit and has authored many textbooks.
Dr. Aruna Chelliah, MD
Dr. Aruna Chelliah is the Consultant Endocrinologist of our hospital. She did her MBBS at Madurai Medical College. She completed her MD in Internal Medicine from Interfaith Medical Center, New York, USA and Fellowship in Diabetes, Metabolism & Endocrinology from University of New Mexico, New Mexico, USA.
She was a Consultant and Division Chief, WellSpan Endocrinology, WellSpan Health, York, Pennsylvania, USA. Attending, 2004 – York Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program, York, Pennsylvania, USA. Attending and Mentor for medical students, residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
She headed The Clinical Effectiveness Team for in-patient and out-patient diabetes management and also headed the Quality Assessment and Improvement projects for Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology for WellSpan Health. She also authored the guidelines for in- patient and out-patient diabetes management for WellSpan Health. Led WellSpan Endocrinology, to be recognized as the first specialty Patient Centered Medical Home in Central Pennsylvania
She also designed CPOE – Computerized Provider Order Entry system for Electronic Medical Records for in-patient and out-patient Diabetes and Endocrinology and also assisted with the diabetes management protocol for pre-op, intra-op, and post-op Cardiothoracic and Orthopedic surgeries to reduce post-op infections, morbidity, mortality and hospital stay.
Services Offered
Diabetes clinic
AlphaHRC provides comprehensive diabetic care with a humane touch. Our team consists of a doctors, nurses, nutritional counselors, diabetic educators, clinical psychologists, behavior therapists and physiotherapists. This clinic will deal with following diabetic problems.
i. Cause of diabetes: Whether Type 1 or Type 2 or other causes.
ii. Treatment of diabetes: Including latest modalities like Insulin pump, jet injectors and continuous glucose monitoring.
iii. Complications of diabetes: Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diabetes complication like nerve, kidney, heart, eye, brain, foot problems.
iv. Diagnosis of diabetes.
Diabetes foot (Podiatry) clinic
Helps in evaluation and treatment of diabetic foot disorders. We are also involved in foot rehabilitation after amputation and in prevention of foot problems. We have podiascan to assess the foot pressures, sensitometers to assess nerve problems and Doppler to assess blood supply to foot.
Thyroid clinic
Helps in evaluation of thyroid problems associated with increase or decrease secretion, Thyroid swelling, thyroid cancers. We will be providing Ultrasound guided biopsy and alcohol ablation for treatment of thyroid nodule.
Pediatric endocrinology clinic
This clinic will deal with childhood hormone problems like short stature, early or late puberty, obesity, decrease academic performance and pituitary problems.
Reproductive endocrinology clinic
This clinic will exclusively treat patients with irregular periods, decreased sperm count, infertility, (Galactorhea) milk secretion from breast, sexual problems, decreased facial hair in males and increased facial hair in females.
Bone clinic
This clinic will treat Osteoporosis, Pagets disease and calcium related disease. The main aim of this clinic is to prevent bone fractures due to osteoporosis.
Metabolic clinic
This clinic will evaluate the causes and complications of obesity. The treatment provided will be at par with the international standards with the scientific background. This clinic will also evaluate and treat cholesterol problems and hypoglycemia.
SPECIALIZE IN
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus may occur due to decreased insulin secretion or ineffective insulin action. This results in increased blood sugars that may cause serious immediate and long term problems. Diabetes if not treated appropriately may end up in blindness, kidney damage, neuropathy, non-healing ulcers, ischemic heart disease (Heart attacks), stroke, decreased blood flow to the limbs and sexual dysfunction. The prevalence of diabetes is increasing rapidly and the need for exclusive diabetes hospital is a mandate of time, to tackle this dreadful disease.
The interesting part of diabetes is that, it is can be prevented and complications can be halted by early diagnosis and treatment.
The Diabetes is one of the major causes of premature illness and death worldwide. Diabetes causes 6 deaths every minute and one in 20 deaths in the world is due to the condition. Every year it is estimated that 3.2 million people in the world die due to the diabetes or its related causes. Diabetes is an important 'silent killer disease' as there is usually no early symptom of the disease. Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure in the world. Besides this every year it is responsible for 5% or 5 million blindness in adults and one million limb amputations. Diabetes is also an important cause of heart disease, stroke and cataract. Without timely diagnoses and adequate treatment, complications and morbidity from diabetes rise exponentially.
We specialize in Insulin pump and continuous glucose monitors. Our vision and mission is to establish clinical islet cell transplant programme.
Thyroid
Thyroid gland is a butterfly shape gland located in front of the neck. It secretes a hormone called T3 and T4 with the help of iodine. Secretions of these hormones are regulated by TSH, another hormone secreted by pituitary gland in brain. Problem in thyroid gland could arise from decreased or increased secretion of thyroxine hormone and enlargement of thyroid gland that could be benign or cancerous enlargement.
The common thyroid diseases include:
1. Hypothyroidism
2. Hyperthyroidism
3. Thyroid cancer
Thyroid disease can affect from new born baby to elderly. Thyroid disease in pregnancy is a major concern as it can affect both the mother and fetus. A thyroid disorders have varied symptoms and high index of suspicion is required to diagnose this disease at the earliest. The common features include weight gain or weight loss, menstrual problems, infertility, short stature, constipation, hair fall, dry skin, poor academic performance, depression, eye changes and neck swelling.
Thyroid disease is easily diagnosed by simple blood tests. The tests should be done in state of art laboratory equipments for the best results. Nuclear scans are a useful tool in the diagnosis of thyroid disease. Radioiodine treatment has revolutionized treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancers. Radioiodine therapy is a safe nonsurgical modality of treatment of increased thyroid function.
Reproductive Endocrinology
Reproductive life of a female commences with menarche and ends with menopause. In males it starts with spermarche, but there is no definite event like menopause although the concept of Andropause is increasingly recognized. The hormonal problem that arises during this period can affect the fertility and sexual life of an individual and can have adverse psychosocial impact.
Reproductive endocrinology is a subspecialty of endocrinology that deals with:
1. Poly cystic ovarian disease (PCOD)
2. Hirsutism (Hair growth in female)
3. Infertility
4. Irregular periods
5. Galactorhea (Milk secretion without child birth)
6. Problems with prolactin
7. Breast atrophy in females
8. Sexual dysfunction in males and females
9. Decreased sperm count
10. Breast development in male
11. Decreased facial hair in male
We are the first of its kind in India to have an exclusive clinic for reproductive endocrinology. This clinic will include an endocrinologist, gynecologist, cosmetologist, andrologist and other supportive staff members.
Pediatric Endocrinology
Pediatric endocrinology deals with endocrine problems that arise in a new born child to adult. Normal hormonal environment is vital for children as growth, maturation, puberty and even brain development of a child is dependent of hormones. Thyroid hormone is essential for nerve growth, stature and normal puberty of a child. Growth hormone is required for the stature and penile growth. Similarly estrogen, LH and FSH are required for normal pubertal maturation in female and testosterone, LH and FSH are required for normal pubertal maturation in males. Endocrine gland growth and cancers can also occur in children.
The common diseases that requires pediatric endocrinology work-up includes:
1. Diabetes mellitus
2. Short stature or tall stature
3. Early breast development or menarche in female
4. Absent breast or late menarche in females
5. Breast development in boys
6. Early and delayed puberty in boys
7. Small penis in boys
8. Thyroid problems in children
9. Pituitary problems
10. Adrenal problems in children
11. Ambiguous genitalia (Genitals that are neither male nor female)
12. Low sugar (hypoglycemia) in new born
13. Calcium problems in children
Hormonal disorders that arise in children are traumatizing not only to the child, but also to its family and society. The interesting fact is that most are easily treatable if recognized appropriately. We have expertise and dedicated team to recognize, evaluate and treat these disorders.
Bone
Bones are very important in an individual life not only because they provide stature and stability, but they also function as a storehouse for various minerals and are important source of blood cell formation. This clinic will treat Osteoporosis, Vitamin-D-deficiency, Paget's disease and calcium related disease. The main aim of this clinic is to prevent bone fractures due to osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis affects at least 1/3rd of females above 70 yrs of age and every 30seconds someone in the world suffers hip fracture due to osteoporosis. 1/3rd of them die within one year due to complications associated with fracture and is a devastating disease in elderly. A simple DEXA scan can tell whether you have osteoporosis or not and your FRAX score will give your fracture risk.Indian population have higher risk of developing osteoporosis as they are nutritionally deficient in calcium and Vitamin D in their younger years and fail to achieve peak bone mass around 25 – 30years. Early marriage and frequent pregnancies weakens their bone health further. Osteoporotic fractures usually occur at least a decade earlier in Indian population when compared to the west.
Pagets disease is another important bone disease that requires endocrine work-up and treatment.
Vitamin-D-deficiency is very common, yet unrecognized problem. Most of the musculoskeletal symptoms that arise in an individual are due to vit-D-def and are completely curable.
Parathyroid disease can affect the calcium metabolism and bone. Increased PTH leads to increased calcium and bone problem and decreased PTH hormone is associated with low calcium and Tetany.
Metabolism
Obesity and cholesterol abnormality is common metabolic problems that are closely linked with hormones. Obesity can be due to variety of reasons like nutritional, thyroid problem, cortisol problem, genetic and familial. Predominant reason for obesity is increased dietary intake with decreased physical activity.
TV + FOOD - EXERCISE = OBESITY
Obesity has become a major health concern as it increases the chance of diabetes, hypertension, and osteoarthritis, gall stone disease and cancer. An obese individual will lose 5 years of his lifespan due to obesity related problems compared to a person with normal weight.We run a Fit your fat programme for weight reduction. This clinic will evaluate the causes and complications of obesity. Hormonal abnormality will be treated accordingly.Thyroid and cortisol problems are easily treatable causes of obesity.Weight loss should be gradual and vigilant follow-up is necessary to prevent rebound weight gain. Behavior and lifestyle changes are the most important ways for a successful weight loss program. These changes focus on gradual, permanent changes in eating and exercise habits. The treatment provided will be at par with the international standards with the scientific background. Bariatric surgery will be provided for appropriate patients.This clinic will also deal with various problems and causes associated with low sugars (Hypoglycemia). Our special focus is on lipid-associated disorders.
EDUCATION
Courses
Course Director: Fellowship in clinical endocrinology
1-year certificate course organized in association with IMA CGP
Faculty: Fellowship certificate in Diabetes
1-year certificate course organized in association with IMA CGP
