IV Dr Amitava Sen was a multifaceted personality. In addition to being a clinician, he was an avid academician. He served as a professor and head at the Calcutta National Medical College (Kolkata, West Bengal, India) and a senior consultant neonatologist at the Society for Applied Studies (Kolkata). He also served as the editor of the Bulletin of the National Neonatology Forum of India. He was a brilliant teacher and mentored several teachers. He was one of the pioneers of the Purulia model, a sick neonatal care unit (SNCU) that was set up in the Purulia district in West Bengal. This SNCU played a significant role in drastically reducing the high neonatal mortality rate in the district, and hence, went on to become a model SNCU to other states in India. Being a keen philatelist, he started the column Perinatology Through Medical Philately in Perinatology—Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Care. He promptly sent his contributions (on different themes related to mothers and newborns) along with the photographs of the stamps in an impeccable manner. His write-ups were crisp and clear. This unique column was appreciated by the journal’s readers. He was a person with genuine appreciation for the journal and provided constructive criticism and encouraging inputs for over a decade. During the past several years, he had health issues and breathed his last on May 7, 2023. We will miss his valuable inputs and his presence, especially when the journal celebrates its silver jubilee next year. May his soul rest in eternal peace! Dr Ranjan Kumar Pejaver RESEARCH ARTICLES PERINATOLOGY • Vol. 13 • No. 4 • Jan–Mar 2013 153 Special Feature Perinatology Through Medical Philately Dame Kate Isabel Campbell and Retrolental Fibroplasia Amitava Sen* *Correspondence Dr Amitava Sen Senior Consultant, Neonatology Society for Applied Studies Kolkata, West Bengal India Email: amitavasen@vsnl.net Australian Post has honored 5 remarkable Australians with the release of new stamps titled “Medical Doctors– Legacy,” on April 10, 2012. One of these stamps honored Dame Kate Isabel Campbell (1899–1986), a pediatrician and the pioneer of neonatal intensive care (Figures 1 and 2). Kate Isabel Campbell was born on April 22, 1899 in Melbourne, Australia. Her parents had limited means. As a bright student at the primary school she was awarded scholarships to attend the College and then the medical school at the University of Melbourne. She obtained her MBBS degree in 1922 and MD in 1924. She graduated with the future luminaries, (Sir) Frank Macfarlane Burnet, (Dame) Jean McNamara, and others. As a student, she showed her power of clinical observation and sympathy with patients. After graduation she became one of the first female resident medical staff at the Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, and the first honorary pediatrician at the Women’s Hospital, Melbourne. Figure 1. Postage stamp of Dame Kate Isabel Campbell, Australia, 2012 (enlarged) Figure 2. Maxcard with a postage stamp of Dame Kate Isabel Campbell and First Day postmark, Australia, 2012 RESEARCH ARTICLES PERINATOLOGY • Vol. 14 • No. 1 • Apr–Jun 2013 20 Special Feature Perinatology Through Medical Philately Down Syndrome Awareness Amitava Sen* *Correspondence Dr Amitava Sen Senior Consultant, Neonatology Society for Applied Studies Kolkata E-mail: amitavasen@vsnl.net Down Syndrome Federation of India has defined Down syndrome (or Down’s syndrome) as a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always been a part of the human condition, being universally present across races, gender, or socioeconomic lines, and affects approximately 1 in 800 births worldwide, causing intellectual and physical disability, and associated medical issues.¹ Down Syndrome (DS) is the most common and readily identifiable chromosomal abnormality in humans. This condition is caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. DS can be identified in a baby at birth or even before birth by prenatal screening. It is typically associated with a delay in cognitive ability and physical growth, and a particular set of facial and physical characteristics. The average intelligence quotient (IQ) of young adults with DS is around 50% of the IQ of normal young adults without this condition. History DS is named after John Langdon Down (1828–1896), a British physician who described the syndrome in 1866.² The condition was clinically described even earlier by Figure 1. World Down Syndrome Day; Romania, 2011 Figure 2. World Down Syndrome Day; Mexico, 2012 Figure 3. 6th World Congress on Down Syndrome; Spain, 1997 RESEARCH ARTICLES PERINATOLOGY • Vol. 14 • No. 2 • Jul–Sep 2013 72 Special Feature Perinatology Through Medical Philately Fiona Juliet Stanley: A Living Legend Amitava Sen* *Correspondence Dr Amitava Sen Senior Consultant, Neonatology Society for Applied Studies Kolkata 700064, West Bengal E-mail: amitavasen@vsnl.net Professor Fiona Juliet Stanley¹ is an exceptional medical scientist who has been honored with a postage stamp (Figure 1) during her lifetime by her country (one of the 6 stamps showing eminent Australian medical scientists as Australian Legends, 2002). Professor Stanley is one of Australia’s best regarded pediatricians and epidemiologists and a major force behind improving health conditions in Australia’s Aboriginal maternal and child health. She was born on August 1, 1946 in Sydney, Australia. In 1956 her family moved to Perth, Western Australia (WA) as her father, a researcher on polio, was honored with the Foundation Chair of Microbiology, University of WA. In her childhood, she loved reading about scientists like Marie Curie. Education and Training She studied medicine and graduated from the University of WA in 1970. As part of her studies, she did a clinical post at the Aboriginal Clinic in Perth. The Figure 1. Fiona Juliet Stanley, Australia 2002 In loving memory of Professor Dr Amitava Sen A Revered Legendary Neonatologist
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAwNDg=