According to a study done by the University of Cambridge said that Air Pollution is linked to COVID-19 has higher mortality. During research when samples were taken from region to region it was found that people who are exposed pollution found to be at higher risk of COVID-19. Now in India as Air pollution has worsened the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has started its own research on the matter at the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur. Director General of CSIR, Dr Shekhar C. Mande, speaks on the subject and about other Covid-related developments like the “Feluda test”, in an exclusive interview with Medically Speaking Excerpts:
Q. Is CSIR going to do research on the link between air pollution and Covid-19?
A. Of course, but the research will take some time to accomplish. Our labs are working on it already and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur has started some work too.
Q. When is CSIR expected to complete its research on whether Covid-19 is air-borne or not?
A. Researchers have started compiling the results of the airborne study. They are conducting this research at two centres in Hyderabad and Chandigarh. Samples for the study have been collected from various places of India, from places like ICUs, hospital corridors, waiting rooms, places where healthcare workers are most at risk, high rise structures, etc. We are detecting how far this virus can travel. We have taken samples multiple times and are still sampling from different locations with different distances from patients, 4ft, 8ft and 12ft. Now, we have to wait for the results which are expected to come in the next ten days.
Q. CSIR has tied-up with the UP government. Which projects are the CSIR going to focus on?
A. We are going to work with the UP government on the types of projects which are required. If they have some ambitious plans on agriculture, the pharma industry or the environment, we will work as a knowledge partner. We are proposing some documents along with the UP government on pharma and we will be doing many other projects too.
Q. When will “Feluda” come to the market? How does it work?
A. It’s almost ready to enter the market. Feluda stands for FnCas9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay. It detects active Covid-19 infection by using a CRISPR CAS 9-based readout on a paper strip. Detection takes place in less than an hour. It doesn’t require a real-time PCR machine, will be cheap, and can be performed at the point of care settings where a simple PCR machine is present. The virus has regenetic material RNA and we need to detect that particular RNA. We first do a reaction called RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) in which we make DNA from RNA and amplify those copies of DNA. Then there is an enzyme which actually tries to match with the virus. It goes to the correct site and identifies the sequence for Covid. A paper strip is dipped into a solution, and if it is Covid-19 RNA, then you get a band that can be seen. The test gives its results in 45 minutes.
Q. What should be the comprehensive distribution and delivery mechanism for vaccines?
A. The Government of India is coming up with a very comprehensive plan and will take very considered decisions as a high priority. Those plans are pretty much in place and the people who have drawn these plans are technical experts in their area and therefore it’s going to be very robust.
Q. In your opinion, who should get the vaccine first?
A. People who are at high risk should get the vaccine first because they are handling Covid-19 patients every day. They deserve to get the vaccine first.
By Dr Sheffali Gulati
Epilepsy that fails to get controlled by two antiseizure drugs is unlikely to respond to the addition of other medications. These children are designated to have drugresistant epilepsy. The principal treatment options for these children include either surgery or starting them on a ketogenic diet.
The choice of surgery cannot be exercised in all patients: Epilepsy surgery is curative in specific diseases, and in certain conditions, it may be associated with permanent disabilities. Also, the expertise for performing epilepsy surgery is available only in a few centres across the country. The other option includes initiating a ketogenic diet.
There are three main methods of providing these diets. The classical ketogenic diet often requires the patient to get admitted to the hospital, strict adherence to protocol and weighing the food items. The modified Atkins diet is less severe than the ketogenic diet. The low glycemic index therapy diet requires only minor diet modifications. So far, there has been adequate evidence about the efficacy of the ketogenic diet and the modified Atkins diet.
The child neurology division of the department of paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, carried out a first-of-itskind trial (The DIET Trial). They compared the three primary dietary therapies. This research showed that the seizure burden reduced by more than 50% in 67% of children receiving a ketogenic diet, 52% receiving a modified Atkins diet, and 59% of patients receiving a low glycemic index therapy diet. Also, the side effects were least with a low glycemic index therapy diet.
Thus, this study adds a modified Atkins diet and low glycemic index therapy diet to the armamentarium for the management of drugresistant epilepsy. The added benefit is that since the study has been conducted in India, it can benefit a large population of drug-resistant epilepsy with local dietary menus.
The writer is chief, child neurologist at AIIMS.
By Dr Narendra Saini
SARS-CoV-2,Covid 19,Update
Cases : 39,152,334 deaths :1,102,425
US Cases 8,216,315 death 222,717
India : Cases 7,365,509
death :112,146
Brazil : cases 5,170,996 deaths : 152,513 (worldometer)
Blood type O least vulnerable to Covid, A and AB at most risk: Study
New research suggests that people with O blood type are less likely to contract the novel coronavirus. For such blood type, the risk of developing severe symptoms, including organ failure, is also reduced. However, people who have blood types A and AB are the most vulnerable to the infection.Team gathered information from the Danish health registry data of more than 4,73,000 Covid-19 positive individuals.They found that the A and AB blood types were at higher risk of severe symptoms than those with O or B and they have greater rates of lung and kidney injury from the virus
face coverings (nose &mouth) should be part of new normal.
Smoking in any form at this time should be banned in public places as it may increase the spread of virus
Teamwork and feeling of openness is important for winning this Corona war
Dr Narendra Saini
Chairman Scientific
committee DMC
Chairman AMR committee IMA Hq
Past Sec Gen IMA
Director SAINI DIAGNOSTICS ICMR approved lab for RTPCR testing
According to the Union Health Ministry India’s Doubling Time has sharply increased to 70.4 days but in month of August it was just 25.5 days.
Union Health Ministry has Tweeted that it also indicates fall in daily new cases “This indicates a substantial fall in the daily New Cases and the consequent increase in time taken to double the Total Cases”.
COVID-19 TRACKER
Confirmed cases: 72,39,389
Recovered: 63,01,927 (87.05%
Active cases: 8,26,876 (11.42%)
Deaths: 1,10,586 (1.53%)
By Dr Narendra Saini
SARS-CoV-2,Covid 19,Update
Cases : 38,363,600 deaths :1,090,811
US Cases 8,090,253 death 220873
India : Cases 7,239,389
death :110,617
Brazil : cases 5,114,823 deaths : 151063 (worldometer)
What is the antibody cocktail Trump received?
Technological advances over the last century have made it possible from using convalescent serum to the utilization of recombinant fully human antibodies.To genetically humanize the immune system of mice has provided an efficient source of naturally selected, fully human antibodies. These manufactured copies in lab to mimic the human body’s natural antibodies.In COVID-19 infection
researchers evaluated antibodies produced by people who had recovered from and they selected pairs of antibodies that could simultaneously bind to different parts of the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.These monoclonal antibodies in experimental studies reduced viral load and alleviate symptoms in patients with COVID-19.These can be therapeutic substitute for the naturally-occurring immune response.Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have made REGN-COV2 cocktail antibodies in lab which is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (REGN10933 and REGN10987) and was designed specifically to inhibit the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 by blocking the different part of spike protein of virus.These antibodies can be delivered to people via injection, providing “passive immunity” and protection from the disease immediately, though they must be re-administered to remain effective over time till body develop its own immunity to infection.According to Regeneron,the company provided a single 8-gram dose of REGNCOV2, for use by the US President Trump
face coverings (nose &mouth) should be part of new normal.
Smoking in any form at this time should be banned in public places as it may increase the spread of virus
Teamwork and feeling of openness is important for winning this Corona war
Dr Narendra Saini
Chairman Scientific
committee DMC
Chairman AMR committee IMA Hq
Past Sec Gen IMA
Director SAINI DIAGNOSTICS ICMR approved lab for RTPCR testing
Rashtriya Kamdehnu Aayog (RKA)chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria launched a “chip” which is made of cow dung. Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) is claiming that it reduces radiation from mobile phones significantly.
“This is a radiation chip.You can keep it in your mobile it reduces radiation significantly.It will keep you away from diseases,” Vallabhbhai Kathiria said this during the launch of nationwide campaign ‘Kamdehnu Deepawali Abhiyan’.The chip named Gausatva Kavach is manufactured by Rajkot based Shrijee Gaushala.
Resident doctors association of Hindu rao hospital to protest outside tomorrow at Vigyan Bhawan demanding intervention of Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on delayed salaries since 3.5 months.These doctors are protesting and striking since 8days but administration hasn’t not given any assurance to the doctor’s.