Indian J Med Res
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Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are genetic metabolic disorders which result from deficiency of lysosomal enzymes or defects in other lysosomal components. Molecular genetic testing of LSDs is required for diagnostic confirmation when lysosomal enzyme assays are not available or not feasible to perform, and for the identification of the disease causing genetic variants. The aim of this study was to develop a cost-effective, readily customizable and scalable molecular genetic testing strategy for LSDs. ⋯ This testing approach was found to be reliable, easily customizable and cost-effective for the molecular genetic evaluation of LSDs. The same strategy may be applicable, especially in resource poor settings, for developing cost-effective multigene panel tests for other conditions with genetic heterogeneity.
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Observational Study
Trends of humoral immune responses to heterologous antigenic exposure due to vaccination & omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection: Implications for boosting.
Vaccination and natural infection can both augment the immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but how omicron infection has affected the vaccine-induced and hybrid immunity is not well studied in Indian population. The present study was aimed to assess the durability and change in responses of humoral immunity with age, prior natural infection, vaccine type and duration with a minimum gap of six months post-two doses with either ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BBV152 prior- and post-emergence of the omicron variant. ⋯ Anti-RBD IgG antibodies were detected in 85 per cent of participants after a median gap of eight months following the second vaccine dose. Omicron infection probably resulted in a substantial proportion of asymptomatic infection in the first four months in our study population and boosted the vaccine-induced humoral immune response, which declined but still remained durable over 10 months.
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The diagnosis of scrub typhus (ST) is usually done using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) due to its ease of performance and reading objectivity. The cut-off value for ELISA needs to be calculated for each geographical location as it depends on zonal endemicity of the disease. This study was, therefore, undertaken to calculate the pan-India cut-off for anti-Orientia tsutsugamushi (OT) immunoglobulin M (IgM) by ELISA. ⋯ The cut-off calculated for India was similar to the previous cut-off that was used until now.
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Investment in mental health is quite meagre worldwide, including in India. The costs of new interventions must be clarified to ensure the appropriate utilization of available resources. The government of Gujarat implemented QualityRights intervention at six public mental health hospitals. This study was aimed to project the costs of scaling up of the Gujarat QualityRights intervention to understand the additional resources needed for a broader implementation. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that human resources were the major cost contributor of the programme. Given the shortage of trained human resources in the mental health sector, appropriate planning during the scale-up phase of the QualityRights intervention is required to ensure all staff members receive the required training, and the treatment is not compromised during this training phase. As only about two per cent increase in financial cost can improve the quality of mental healthcare significantly, the State government can plan for its scale-up across the State.