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Byline: Surbhi. Tyagi, Aparna. Mohan, Asha. Tyagi, Chanchal. Nigam Dear Editor, Pre-eclampsia is a common obstetric emergency with neurological manifestations including convulsions, infarcts, haemorrhage and cerebral oedema.[1] Brain death without [...]

Toll‐like receptor (TLR)7 is a pattern recognition receptor that critically contributes to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). DS‐7011a is an anti‐TLR7 monoclonal antibody that prevents TLR7 from signaling. The aim of this first‐in‐human, double‐blind, randomized, and placebo‐controlled study was to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and pharmacodynamics of single ascending intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) doses of DS‐7011a in healthy subjects (HS) (NCT05203692). On day 1, 80 HS received DS‐7011a or placebo 6:2 in 10 cohorts (7 treated IV and 3 SC) of 8 each and were followed for 8 weeks until day 57. Safety was evaluated by recording treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs), pharmacokinetics by measuring plasma DS‐7011a, immunogenicity by measuring plasma anti‐drug antibodies (ADAs), and pharmacodynamics by evaluating the suppression of interleukin‐6 production ex vivo in whole blood. DS‐7011a was safe and well tolerated across all cohorts. TEAEs were mostly mild in severity and not drug‐related. DS‐7011a exposure increased with the dose but was not dose proportional, as the elimination of lower doses was accelerated by target‐mediated drug disposition. Terminal half‐life was about 15‐17 days and Tmax upon SC administration was about 5 days. DS‐7011a induced ADAs in about half of HS but with no impact on clinical findings and pharmacokinetics. Pharmacodynamic (PD) response also increased with the dose and at the higher doses was of large extent (>90%), early onset, and lasting duration. DS‐7011a showed favorable safety, pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and PD properties that support its development for the treatment of SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Aparna. Mohan, Usha. Shenoy, Selvin. Thomas, Kripa. Thomas Introduction India has among the world's largest population of diabetic patients.[1] Literature suggests that diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the most common [...]

Byline: Asha. Tyagi, Devansh. Garg, Aparna. Mohan, Rashmi. Salhotra, Ishita. Vashisth, Ananya. Agrawal, Sanika. Deshpande, Sonali. Deep, Sacchidananda. Das, Rajeev. Malhotra, Rajeev. Pradhan, Aparajita. Panda Background and Aims: Despite the [...]

This study provides evidence for the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Vitex negundo leaf extract. The UV–Visible (UV–Vis) spectrum of ZnO NPs and calcinated ZnO NPs (ZnO-C) showed peaks at 370 nm and 374 nm, respectively, confirming zinc ion reduction to zinc oxide. The ZnO NPs and calcinated counterparts were further characterized by FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM and EDX. FTIR results revealed the presence of alcoholic and aromatic groups, like flavonoids, in the leaf extract. The XRD pattern showed a distinctive Wurtzite crystalline phase with a hexagonal shape. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis data revealed that ZnO's surface area and pore size is 22.8 m2/g and 12.9 nm, whereas ZnO-C exhibited a surface area of 23.5 m2/g and pore size of 13.1 nm. The SEM data demonstrated numerous irregular and agglomerated flakes fusing to form a roughly spherical morphology with the size, in the range of 15–20 nm and 11–16 nm for ZnO and ZnO-C NPs, respectively. The results of the antimicrobial assay by disc diffusion method and MIC testing revealed that ZnO and ZnO-C NPs exhibited moderate to high antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms, indicating their application against bacterial infection. In addition, the ZnO NPs significantly disrupted the biofilm of Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as confirmed by CV assay and fluorescent microscopy. This study presents a green method for producing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Vitex negundo leaf extract. The UV-visible spectra confirmed successful zinc ion reduction to ZnO, and various characterizations (FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, BET) revealed their unique properties. Notably, there is a comparison done with the calcinated and non-calcinated ZnO NPs. Both exhibited promising antimicrobial activity, also disrupting biofilms of Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To achieve the goals of the end tuberculosis (TB) strategy, strategies for management of TB infection (TBI) have to be expanded. The first step to devise policies is to understand the distribution and determinants of TBI in the community. The objectives of the study were to estimate the prevalence of TBI using Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) and its determinants among the adult population of Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. Materials and Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study using the stratified cluster sampling was carried out among the adults. TBI was detected using IGRA conducted on whole blood sample. Data on determinants were collected using a structured questionnaire by the face-to-face interview. The prevalence of TBI was estimated. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to identify the determinants. Results: Age standardized prevalence of TBI among 396 adults was 20.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 16.52–24.48). On adjusting for the possible confounders, increasing age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.028; 95% CI 1.008–1.048; P = 0.005), history of contact with active TB disease (adjusted OR 7.61; 95% CI 4.43–13.05; P < 0.001), childhood contact (adjusted OR 8.20; 95% CI 3.14–21.41; P < 0.001), and household contact (adjusted OR 10.12; 95% CI 5.39–18.98; P < 0.001) were found to be the determinants of TBI in this population. Conclusion: The present study observed that nearly one-fifth of the adult population in the Thiruvananthapuram district has TBI. For the programmatic management, factors such as increasing age and contact history may be considered for the elimination of TBI in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]