The first genetically confirmed cohort of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy from Northern India.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is the third most common form of hereditary myopathy. Sixty per cent of the world's population lives in Asia, so a significant percentage of the world's FSHD participants is expected to live there. To date, most FSHD studies have involved individuals of European descent, yet small-scale studies of East-Asian populations suggest that the likelihood of developing FSHD may vary. Here, we present the first genetically confirmed FSHD cohort of Indian ancestry, which suggests a pathogenic FSHD1 allele size distribution intermediate between European and North-East Asian populations and more asymptomatic carriers of 4 unit and 5 unit FSHD1 alleles than observed in European populations. Our data provides important evidence of differences relevant to clinical diagnostics and underscores the need for global FSHD participation in research and trial-ready Indian FSHD cohorts.

The Pitfalls of NIHSS: Time for a New Clinical Acute Stroke Severity Scoring System in the Emergency?

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Stroke severity scales serve as reliable means to track a patient's neurological deficit, predict outcome, and guide treatment decisions in clinical practice. The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was introduced over 30 years ago, marking a significant milestone in the field of stroke. Over the years, there have been notable advancements in acute stroke care. Despite several modifications made to NIHSS, none has yet succeeded in effectively capturing all the complex effects of a stroke. This review focuses on the pitfalls of NIHSS and emphasizes the need for a quick and comprehensive clinical and upgraded version of the stroke severity rating scale.

STENOSIS: Long-term single versus dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with ischaemic stroke due to intracranial atherosclerotic disease - a randomised trial.

Rationale: Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) is a pathological process that causes progressive stenosis and cerebral hypoperfusion, leading to stroke occurrence and recurrence around the world. The exact duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for ICAD is unclear in view of long-term risk of bleeding complications. Aim: The current study aims to study the efficacy and safety of long-term DAPT (up to 12 months) in patients with ICAD. Sample size: Using 80% power and an alpha error of 5 %, presuming a 10%-15% drop-out rate, a total of 2200 patients will be recruited for the study. Methodology: This is a prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trial. Study outcomes: The primary outcomes include recurrent ischaemic stroke (IS) or transient ischaemic attack and any intracranial haemorrhage (ICH), major or minor systemic bleeding at the end of 12 months. Secondary outcomes include composite of any stroke, myocardial infarction or death at the end of 12 months. The safety outcomes include any ICH, major or minor bleeding as defined using GUSTO (Global Use of Streptokinase and tPA for occluded Coronary Arteries) classification at the end of 12 months and 1 month after completion of the drug treatment phase. Discussion: The study will provide level I evidence on the duration of DAPT among patients with IS due to ICAD of more than or equal to 50%.

Bridging the gap between statistical significance and clinical relevance: A systematic review of minimum clinically important difference (MCID) thresholds of scales reported in movement disorders research.

Background: Minimum clinically important difference (MCID) is the smallest change in an outcome measure that is considered clinically meaningful. Using validated MCID thresholds for outcomes powers trials adequately to detect meaningful treatment effects, aids in their interpretation and guides development of new outcome measures. Objectives: To provide a comprehensive summary of MCID thresholds of various symptom severity scales reported in movement disorder. Methods: We conducted systematic review of the literature and included studies of one or more movement disorders, and reporting MCID scales. Results: 2763 reports were screened. Final review included 32 studies. Risk of bias (RoB) assessment showed most studies were of good quality. Most commonly evaluated scale was Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) (11 out of 32). Four studies assessing MDS-UPDRS had assessed its different sub-parts, reporting a change of 2.64,3.05,3.25 and 0.9 points to detect clinically meaningful improvement and 2.45,2.51,4.63 and 0.8 points to detect clinically meaningful worsening, for the Part I, II, III and IV, respectively. For Parts II + III, I + II + III and I + II + III + IV, MCID thresholds reported for clinically meaningful improvement were 5.73, 4.9, 6.7 and 7.1 points respectively; while those for clinically meaningful worsening were 4.7, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.3 points, respectively. MCID thresholds reported for other scales included Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSRS), and Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Scale (BFMD). Conclusion: This review summarizes all the MCID thresholds currently reported in Movement disorders research and provides a comprehensive resource for future trials, highlighting the need for standardized and validated MCID scales in movement disorder research.

Outcomes of COVID-19 disease and its effect on disability in patients with multiple sclerosis and other allied demyelinating disorders.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed challenges for clinicians with respect to questions regarding vulnerability of patients with chronic autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating central nervous system (CNS) disorders. OBJECTIVES: We assessed outcomes of COVID-19 disease among patients with CNS demyelinating disorders and its effect on neurological disability. METHODS: This was an electronic survey in which a structured questionnaire was distributed to patients registered with neuroimmunology and MS clinics at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. The patients were enquired for their primary disease characteristics, occurrence and course of COVID-19 infection and its effect on their underlying disability, if any. Patients visiting clinics in person were also assessed and data from both sources was pooled. RESULTS: 61 patients with these disorders reported to have contracted COVID-19 infection (mean age- 35.60+10.28 years, females-75.4%, MS-85.2%). None of them suffered from severe/critical COVID-19 despite heterogeneity of disease modifying therapy (DMT) use. DMTs were not associated with increased risk of lymphopenia during illness. 3.3% patients reported fresh relapse and 16.4% had worsening of their neurological disability during/after COVID-19 infection with half of them not attaining their baseline status on follow-up. None of demographic or biochemical parameters were predictive of this neurological worsening. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that patients with these disorders might not be at heightened risk of severe COVID-19. Adverse effect of COVID-19 infection on neurological disability needs further exploration.

The role of susceptibility-weighted imaging & contrast-enhanced MRI in the diagnosis of primary CNS vasculitis: a large case series.

Primary CNS Vasculitis (PCNSV) is a rare, diverse, and polymorphic CNS blood vessel inflammatory condition. Due to its rarity, clinical variability, heterogeneous imaging results, and lack of definitive laboratory markers, PCNSV diagnosis is challenging. This retrospective cohort analysis identified patients with histological diagnosis of PCNSV. Demographic data, clinical presentation, neuroimaging studies, and histopathologic findings were recorded. We enrolled 56 patients with a positive biopsy of CNS vasculitis. Most patients had cerebral hemisphere or brainstem symptoms. Most brain MRI lesions were bilateral, diffuse discrete to confluent white matter lesions. Frontal lobe lesions predominated, followed by inferior cerebellar lesions. Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) hemorrhages in 96.4% (54/56) of patients, either solitary microhemorrhages or a combination of micro and macrohemorrhages. Contrast-enhanced T1-WIs revealed parenchymal enhancement in 96.3% (52/54 patients). The most prevalent pattern of enhancement observed was dot-linear (87%), followed by nodular (61.1%), perivascular (25.9%), and patchy (16.7%). Venulitis was found in 19 of 20 individuals in cerebral DSA. Hemorrhages in SWI and dot-linear enhancement pattern should be incorporated as MINOR diagnostic criteria to diagnose PCNSV accurately within an appropriate clinical context. Microhemorrhages in SWI and venulitis in DSA, should be regarded as a potential marker for PCNSV.

Safety and efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjunct to standard treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke: a randomized controlled pilot trial (NACTLYS).

There is a pressing clinical need for thrombolytic agents that can effectively disaggregate arterial thrombi in acute ischemic stroke without significantly increasing the risk of bleeding. This pilot study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjunctive therapy to intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA or alteplase). A randomized, open-label, blinded assessor pilot study was conducted. Patients presenting with an acute ischemic stroke within 4.5 h from onset were randomized into two groups: intravenous NAC and rtPA or rtPA alone. Primary outcomes included intracerebral hemorrhage, symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, extracranial bleeding, and adverse reactions. Secondary outcomes comprised major neurological improvement assessed by (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale) NIHSS at 24 h, recanalization on first run of angiography in patients who underwent thrombectomy or on repeat vascular imaging at 24 h, modified Rankin scale, and three-month mortality. Forty patients were enrolled, with 21 receiving only rtPA and 19 receiving NAC with rtPA. Baseline characteristics were comparable among groups. No significant differences were observed in adverse events (p = 0.99), intracranial hemorrhage (p = 0.21), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (p = 0.47), or extracranial bleeding (p = 0.21). Median NIHSS at 24 h was significantly lower in the intervention group (p = 0.03). Functional outcomes and three-month mortality were similar between groups (p = 0.85 and p = 0.99 respectively). The co-administration of N-acetylcysteine with alteplase did not significantly alter safety profiles, morbidity, or mortality at 3 months. While no substantial differences were noted, a slightly improved early neurological outcome was observed in the intervention arm. The study's findings were constrained by a small sample size, emphasizing the necessity for future large-scale trials to comprehensively evaluate the safety and efficacy of N-acetylcysteine as a thrombolytic agent in acute ischemic stroke.Trial Registration Clinical Trials Registry India-CTRI/2019/05/019305.

Spectrum of various CNS inflammatory demyelination diseases following COVID-19 vaccinations.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although rare, neurological adverse events have been reported post-COVID-19 vaccination. This study reports 16 patients diagnosed with CNS inflammatory demyelinating diseases (CNS-IDD) within 6 weeks of COVID-19 vaccine administration. METHODOLOGY: A prospective observational study was conducted from June 2021 to May 2022. All patients were diagnosed according to the latest international guidelines with CNS-IDD within 6 weeks of COVID-19 vaccine exposure. Data regarding the demographic profile, clinical features, type of COVID-19 vaccination, radiological findings and occurrence of symptoms were noted and further analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: We reported 16 cases (median age 40 years) of CNS demyelination: fourteen occurred in temporal association with ChAdOx1-S vaccine and two in association with BBV152 vaccine. Median time duration of presenting symptoms after vaccination was 19 days (3-40 days). The most common presentation was myelitis (7/16 patients), followed by optic neuritis (6/16 patients). Demyelination events were reported after first and second dose in thirteen and five patients respectively, although two patients reported such events after both vaccine dosages. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) IgG antibodies were positive in eight patients. Tumefactive demyelination was seen in four patients. Management included high-dose methylprednisolone, PLEX, IVIG or a combination of those, with a favourable outcome in the majority of cases. CONCLUSION: Although a rare event, awareness regarding potential demyelinating episodes post-COVID-19 vaccination can help in early diagnosis. The presence of increased MOG-IgG antibodies with temporal association in post-COVID vaccine patients raises a possibility of an immunogenic phenomenon leading to demyelinating disorders.

IMPETUS Stroke: Assessment of hospital infrastructure and workflow for implementation of uniform stroke care pathway in India.

BACKGROUND: India accounts for 13.3% of global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to stroke with a relatively younger age of onset compared to the Western population. In India's public healthcare system, many stroke patients seek care at tertiary-level government-funded medical colleges where an optimal level of stroke care is expected. However, there are no studies from India that have assessed the quality of stroke care, including infrastructure, imaging facilities, or the availability of stroke care units in medical colleges. AIM: This study aimed to understand the existing protocols and management of acute stroke care across 22 medical colleges in India, as part of the baseline assessment of the ongoing IMPETUS stroke study. METHODS: A semi-structured quantitative pre-tested questionnaire, developed based on review of literature and expert discussion, was mailed to 22 participating sites of the IMPETUS stroke study. The questionnaire assessed comprehensively all components of stroke care, including human resources, emergency system, in-hospital care, and secondary prevention. A descriptive analysis of their status was undertaken. RESULTS: In the emergency services, limited stroke helpline numbers, 3/22 (14%); prenotification system, 5/22 (23%); and stroke-trained physicians were available, 6/22 (27%). One-third of hospitals did not have on-call neurologists. Although non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) was always available, 39% of hospitals were not doing computed tomography (CT) angiography and 13/22 (59%) were not doing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after routine working hours. Intravenous thrombolysis was being done in 20/22 (91%) hospitals, but 36% of hospitals did not provide it free of cost. Endovascular therapy was available only in 6/22 (27%) hospitals. The study highlighted the scarcity of multidisciplinary stroke teams, 8/22 (36%), and stroke units, 7/22 (32%). Lifesaving surgeries like hematoma evacuation, 11/22 (50%), and decompressive craniectomy, 9/22 (41%), were performed in limited numbers. The availability of occupational therapists, speech therapists, and cognitive rehabilitation was minimal. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the current status of acute stroke management in publicly funded tertiary care hospitals. Lack of prenotification, limited number of stroke-trained physicians and neurosurgeons, relatively lesser provision of free thrombolytic agents, limited stroke units, and lack of rehabilitation services are areas needing urgent attention by policymakers and creation of sustainable education models for uniform stroke care by medical professionals across the country.

Video Teleconference Administration of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status: An Experience in Indian Subjects with Cognitive Dysfunction.

Objective: To determine the feasibility, reliability, and acceptability of video teleconference (VTC)-based neuropsychological assessment using Addenbrooke's cognitive examination-III (ACE-III). Methods: This study was performed from January 2022 to April 2022, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. We administered ACE-III using video-teleconferencing and compared the scores to face-to-face (FTF) testing for the eligible participants. We also conducted a participant's satisfaction survey of VTC-administered ACE-III compared to FTF-administered ACE-III, using a 7-point Likert scale. Results: We screened 37 participants and 24 (64.9%) successfully underwent ACE-III testing through VTC. We included 20 patients (mean age: 62.7 ± 10 years, mean education: 12.0 ± 4.6 years, 85% men) for final analysis, (who completed both VTC and FTF-administered ACE-III). Nine patients had major neurocognitive disorder (dementia), eight had mild neurocognitive disorder (MCI), and three had subjective cognitive decline (SCD). The two tests were administered at a median gap of 36 (18,74.5) days. The Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of ACE-3 total scores (0.97) and the subdomain scores was high (>0.8). There was "very low" to "no" bias on the Bland-Altman plots, across all domains. The mean overall satisfaction score was 4.1, indicating that VTC is "as good as" FTF. Conclusions: Results support the feasibility and acceptability of remote administration of ACE-III via VTC. There is a good agreement between the ACE-III scores across VTC and in-person conditions.

Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) in Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Neurological Conditions: Review of Concept and Methods.

The concept of the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) emerged from the recognition that statistical significance alone is not enough to determine the clinical relevance of treatment effects in clinical research. In many cases, statistically significant changes in outcomes may not be meaningful to patients or may not result in any tangible improvements in their health. This has led to a growing emphasis on the importance of measuring patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical trials and other research studies, in order to capture the patient perspective on treatment effectiveness. MCID is defined as the smallest change in scores that is considered meaningful or important to patients. MCID is particularly important in fields such as neurology, where many of the outcomes of interest are subjective or based on patient-reported symptoms. This review discusses the challenges associated with interpreting outcomes of clinical trials based solely on statistical significance, highlighting the importance of considering clinical relevance and patient perception of change. There are two main approaches to estimating MCID: anchor-based and distribution-based. Anchor-based approaches compare change scores using an external anchor, while distribution-based approaches estimate MCID values based on statistical characteristics of scores within a sample. MCID is dynamic and context-specific, and there is no single 'gold standard' method for estimating it. A range of MCID thresholds should be defined using multiple methods for a disease under targeted intervention, rather than relying on a single absolute value. The use of MCID thresholds can be an important tool for researchers, neurophysicians and patients in evaluating the effectiveness of treatments and interventions, and in making informed decisions about care.

Atypical Presentations of Childhood Simple Partial Seizures: a Case Series.

Childhood epilepsy can masquerade as a variety of psychiatric disorders or behavioural abnormalities. Differentiating between simple partial seizure and psychiatric disorders remains a challenge. We report on three children with simple partial seizure, each presented atypically with migraine, tingling sensations, and/or crying spells. When dealing with atypical symptomatology, clinicians should utilise a multidirectional, rather than unidirectional, diagnostic approach when making their diagnosis.

A Real-World Experience of Azathioprine Versus First-Line Disease-Modifying Therapy in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis-A Prospective Cohort Study.

Azathioprine (AZA) has demonstrated efficacy in multiple randomized control trials (RCTs) for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS). However, we still need comparative real-world data with other first-line disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). We aimed to assess AZA's effectiveness regarding relapses, disability progression, time to the first relapse, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity, and safety compared with other approved first-line DMTs in an Indian population in a real-world setting. We conducted a single-center prospective study of treatment-naive RRMS patients between 2017 and 2019. We evaluated the effects of AZA and other approved DMTs on clinical and radiological measures. Among 192 eligible patients (F:M ratio 2.84:1), 68 patients (35.4%) were on AZA, 68 patients (35.4%) were on dimethyl fumarate (DMF), 32 patients (16.7%) on interferon (IFN beta-1a), and 16 patients (8.3%) on teriflunomide (TFL). Four treatment groups were comparable: AZA v/s DMF v/s TFL v/s IFN beta-1a. In primary outcomes, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of change in the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score at three months (p-value = 0.169), six months (p-value = 0.303), 12 months (p-value = 0.082), and 24 months (p-value = 0.639), the number of relapses (p-value = 0.229), and time to the first relapse (p-value > 0.05 in all groups). In the secondary outcome, there was no significant difference between the treatment groups on serial MRI parameters used according to "Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis" (MAGNIMS) 2016 criteria (p-value > 0.05). In safety outcomes, leukopenia was significantly more common in the AZA group (p-value = 0.025), flu-like symptoms (p-value = 0.0001), and injection site reactions (p-value = 0.035) were significantly more common in the IFN beta-1a group. Our study suggests AZA is as effective as other approved DMTs and a good alternative as a first-line treatment for multiple sclerosis's clinical and radiological activity in real-world settings on short follow-up. Based on these results, more randomized controlled trials of AZA v/s DMF or other DMTs are needed for more robust outcomes.

Utility of in-house and commercial PCR assay in diagnosis of Covid-19 associated mucormycoss in an emergency setting in a tertiary care center.

Introduction. Invasive mucormycosis (IM) is a potentially fatal infection caused by fungi of the order Mucorales. Histopathology, culture, and radiology are the mainstays of diagnosis, but they are not sufficiently sensitive, resulting in delayed diagnosis and intervention. Recent studies have shown that PCR-based techniques can be a promising way to diagnose IM.Hypothesis/Gap Statement. Early diagnosis of fungal infections using molecular diagnostic techniques can improve patient outcomes, especially in invasive mucormycosis.Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of our in-house mould-specific real time PCR assay (qPCR) in comparison with the commercially available real time PCR (MucorGenius PCR), for the early diagnosis of mucormycosis in tissue samples from patients with suspicion of invasive mucormycosis (IM). This in-house assay can detect and distinguish three clinically relevant mould species, e.g. Aspergillus spp., Mucorales and Fusarium spp. in a single reaction with only one pair of primers, without the need for sequencing.Methodology. We enrolled 313 tissue samples from 193 patients with suspected IM in this prospective study. All cases were classified using EORTC/MSGERC guidelines. All samples were tested using traditional methods, in-house qPCR, and MucorGenius PCR.Results. Using direct microscopy as a gold standard, the overall sensitivity and specificity of in-house qPCR for detection of IM was 92.46% and 80% respectively, while that of the MucorGenius PCR was 66.67% and 90% respectively. However, co-infection of IM and IA adversely affected the performance of MucorGenius PCR in detection of IM.The in-house PCR detected Aspergillus spp. in 14 cases and Fusarium spp. in 4 cases which showed clinical and radiological features of fungal sinusitis. The in-house qPCR also performed better in detecting possible cases of IM. This aids early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to improve patient outcomes.Conclusion. Because the in-house PCR is not only sensitive and specific, but also entirely based on SYBR Green for detection of targets, it is less expensive than probe-based assays and can be used on a regular basis for the diagnosis of IM in resource-constrained settings. It can be used to distinguish between mucormycosis and fungal sinusitis caused by Aspergillus and Fusarium in high-risk patients, as well as to accurately detect Mucorales in fungal co-infection cases.

Escalate: Linezolid as an add on treatment in the intensive phase of tubercular meningitis. A randomized controlled pilot trial.

Most drugs used in the treatment of Tuberculous Meningitis have limited CNS penetration thereby limiting efficacy. CSF penetration of linezolid is 80-100%.The study was a prospective, randomized, open label with blinded outcome assessment pilot trial carried out in patients with TBM. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio into two treatment groups either to receive standard ATT alone or add on oral 600 mg BD Linezolid for 4 weeks along with standard four drug ATT [HRZE/S]. Primary outcome was safety and mortality at the end of one and three months measured by intention to treat analysis. 29 patients were recruited and 27 completed three months of follow up. There was no significant difference in terms of mortality with Odds ratio (95% CI) of 2 (0.161-24.87; p = 1) at one month and 0.385 (0.058-2.538; p = 0.39) at three months. There was a significant improvement in GCS in Linezolid group at one month and mRS within the Linezolid group at one and three months. No major safety concerns were observed. The sample size is underpowered to draw any definitive conclusions but improvement in mRS and GCS as well as mortality change make a case for a large sample size trial.