Iofendylate is a molecule, used as a radiocontrast agent for performing myelography studies. It was marketed under the trade names Myodil. Iofendylate is a lipophilic substance and as such it was recommended that the physician remove it from the patient at the end of the myelography study, a difficult and painful part of the procedure. Moreover, because complete removal could not always be achieved, iofendylate's persistence in the body might sometimes lead to arachnoiditis, a painful and debilitating lifelong disorder of the spine; as a result, the substance, used extensively for over three decades, became the subject of multiple lawsuits filed around the world. Iofendylate's use ceased when water-soluble agents suitable for spinal imaging became available in the late 1970s. With those substances it was no longer necessary to manually remove the contrast agent as it would be removed by the body. With the advent of MRI, myelography studies are nowadays much less-frequently performed. Metrizamide Report from FOX News about the repercussions of Pantopaque use

Y. Ravindranath Rao is researcher, he is known for his studies on tribes and castes those belonging to Konkani-speaking groups. Ravindranath Rao had his early education in Udupi district, he did his master's degree in sociology with a rank and qualified in Gandhian studies from Karnatak University, Dharwad. He was awarded Ph. D. from Mangalore University in 1995. He was principal of Saint Mary's Syrian College, Brahmavara of Mangalore University, Karnataka, he is a visiting professor of many universities in South India. He has NGO funded research projects to his credit, he presented and chaired in World Congresses held in South Africa and Japan. His study on Kudubis explored many issues in which non recognition as Scheduled Tribe is a prominent one. In 2003, Goa state declared Kudubis as Scheduled Tribe and scheduling Kudubis of Karnataka is in the process. 2003 – Tribal Tradition and Change: A study of Kudubis of South India, Mangalore: Mangala publications 2014 – Report of a Socio-Economic Survey of Kudubis of Karnataka, Mangalore: World Konkani Centre 2017 – Konkani Kharvis of Karnataka: A Socio-Economic Survey Report, Mangalore: World Konkani Centre