Anti-leprosy vaccines: current status and future prospects.

Different types of leprosy vaccines are currently used in field trials in India. The rationale behind their use, the parameters for determining their efficacy, their merits and demerits are discussed and the future prospects are highlighted.     

应用脂质体凝集反应板快速检测活动性结核病患者抗原

背景：共有1360例临床确诊的肺内结核、肺外结核患者标本及其他非结核标本。目的：建立一种快速、敏感、特异的检测不同临床标本中结核分枝杆菌糖脂抗原的方法。 研究设计：在1-乙基-3-3-二甲基氨丙基碳化二亚胺氢氯化物和N-羟基丁二酰胺溶液中将亲和纯化的兔抗糖脂抗体（IgG）结合在脂质体颗粒（0．2～0．4um）上，制备TB／M检测板的反应试剂。 结果：当检测样本中存在糖脂抗原时，连接抗体的脂质体在4min内会出现1个深蓝色的凝集点。而正常健康入或其他疾病患者的样本未见凝集点。结果显示该方法检测活动性肺结核患者临床样本中的结核分枝杆菌糖脂抗原的敏感性可低至1ng／ml，临床灵敏度为97．4％，特异性为96．9％。 结论：TB／M检测试验比较经济（一次检测只需4个印度卢比或0．09美元）、快速（4min），似乎有助于结核病流行国家大规模检测结核性脑膜炎、肺结核和其他肺外结核患者多种生物学标本（脑脊液、胸液、关节液、血清和组织活检标本）。     

External Carotid Artery Ligation in Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Oral Cavity and Oropharynx: an Oncological Emergency

The purpose of this study is to investigate the outcomes of emergency external carotid artery ligation in head and neck cancer patients. It is a retrospective observational study of 11 patients with oral cavity and oropharynx cancers who underwent external carotid ligation as an emergency procedure. Prior tracheostomy was done in all the patients as part of the procedure. Parameters studied were the efficacy and safety of the procedure in the form of control of haemorrhage, any postoperative neurological deficit, morbidity and mortality. The study evaluates the efficacy of the intervention purely as an emergency procedure, and oncological outcomes have not been reported. Analysis was done using simple frequencies and proportions. The oropharynx is the most common site of tumour bleeding in head and neck malignancies. Bleeding following external carotid ligation stopped in all the patients immediately without any postoperative mortality or morbidity. No patient had any neurologic deficits postoperatively. There was one case of rebleeding. Emergency external carotid ligation in tumours of the oral cavity and oropharynx is a life-saving and simple procedure with limited morbidity. Prior tracheostomy is recommended in all the patients.     

Genetic Diversity in Drumstick of Andaman Islands and Their Relatedness with Probable Introduction Sites from Mainland India

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - The study investigated genetic diversity in Moringa oleifera Lam. samples (63) from nine islands in Andaman...     

Vocal cord schwannoma: a rare case report

Schwannomas of the larynx are rare benign tumors, most commonly involving aryepiglottic folds or false vocal folds. When a tumor involves vocal cord, it causes clinical symptoms like hoarseness of voice and foreign body sensation. We report the CT and magnetic resonance imaging findings in a 19-year-old male patient with vocal cord mass histologically diagnosed as a vocal cord schwannoma.     

The sociocultural dimension in leprosy vaccine trials

This paper briefly describes organizational, operational, and sociocultural aspects of the phase-III clinical trials of the ICRC anti-leprosy vaccine in Maharashtra, India. Our experience is that vaccine trials can be launched quickly and more cost effectively by using the services of health personnel from the existing public health infrastructure. That is why the trials could be launched in just 4 months after receiving the financial grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi (India). At the community level, a person-to-person approach in Health Education scores over audio-visual aids and the mass media. The compliance in target groups is increased when preventive programmes are backed-up by curative services and when their privacy and daily routine are not disturbed.     

Employment status of leprosy patients with deformities in a suburban slum

In a poor slum area in suburban Bombay, a study of 129 leprosy patients with deformities revealed that only 46% were employed before the appearance of deformities and most of them had lost their jobs after deformities had appeared. Health education on care of anesthetic extremities did not have the desired impact on the patients, many of them had worsening of their deformities during the phase of their employment because they had to take up any kind of work in order to make a living. They were mostly poorly educated and lacked special skills. The only feasible alternative in this kind of situation appears to be a selective community-based rehabilitation of leprosy patients with deformities.