Neuropsychological Rehabilitation for Epilepsy in India: Looking Beyond the Basics.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (NR) helps manage cognitive deficits in epilepsy. As internationally developed programs have limited applicability to resource-limited countries, we developed a program to bridge this gap. This 6-week caregiver-assisted, culturally suitable program has components of (1) psychoeducation, (2) compensatory training, and, (3) cognitive retraining and is called EMPOWER (Indigenized Home Based Attention and Memory Rehabilitation Program for Adult Patients with Drug Refractory Epilepsy). Its efficacy needs to be determined. METHODS: We carried out an open-label parallel randomized controlled trial. Adults aged 18-45 years with Drug Refractory Epilepsy (DRE), fluency in Hindi and or English, with impaired attention or memory (n = 28) were randomized to Intervention Group (IG) and Control Group (CG). The primary outcomes were objective memory (Auditory Verbal Learning Test), patient and caregiver reported everyday memory difficulties (Everyday Memory Questionnaire-Revised), number of memory aids in use, depression (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale) and quality of life (Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31). Intention to treat was carried out for group analysis. In the absence of norms necessary for computing Reliable Change Indices (RCIs), a cut-off of +1.0 Standard Deviation (SD) was utilized to identify clinically meaningful changes in the individual analysis of objective memory. A cut-off of 11.8 points was used for quality of life. Feedback and program evaluation responses were noted. RESULTS: The majority of the sample comprised DRE patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who had undergone epilepsy surgery. Group analysis indicated improved learning (p = 0.013), immediate recall (p = 0.001), delayed recall (p < 0.001), long-term retention (p = 0.031), patient-reported everyday memory (p < 0.001), caregiver-reported everyday memory (p < 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.039) and total quality of life (p < 0.001). Individual analysis showed improvement in 50 %, 64 %, 71 %, 57 %, and 64 % of patients on learning, immediate recall, delayed recall, long-term retention, and total quality of life respectively. Despite improvements, themes indicative of a lack of awareness and understanding of cognitive deficits were identified. Overall, the program was rated favorably by patients and caregivers alike. CONCLUSION: NR shows promise for patients with DRE, however larger studies are warranted. The role of cognition in epilepsy needs to be introduced at the time of diagnosis to help lay the foundation for education and acceptance.

Influence of the severity of periodontal disease on the outcome of non-surgical endodontic therapy: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of severity of periodontal disease on periapical healing after non-surgical endodontic therapy (NSET). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective study, subjects (n = 45) requiring NSET in a mandibular molar tooth with the diagnosis of pulp necrosis and asymptomatic apical periodontitis exhibiting radiographic periapical index (PAI) score ≥ 3 and concomitant endodontic periodontal lesion (CEPL) without communication were enrolled. After dividing as per the classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions, subjects were equally allocated into three groups. Group I- only endodontic lesion {control: healthy periodontium (n = 15)}, Group II- CEPL having stage I and II periodontitis (n = 15) and Group III- CEPL having stage III periodontitis (n = 15). Standardized two-visit NSET was performed with 2% chlorhexidine gel as an intracanal medicament. Periodontal therapy was instituted wherever required. Subjects were recalled at 6-and 12-months for clinical and radiographic assessment. Chi-square test was performed to evaluate the difference between the groups. RESULTS: At 12-month follow-up, all teeth in the three study groups were asymptomatic. On radiographic evaluation of the periapical region, healing was observed in 80%, 47% and 50% of teeth in Groups I, Group II and Group III, respectively. However, the difference was not statistically significant between the groups (p = 0.150). CONCLUSION: The severity of periodontal disease had no influence on periapical healing after NSET in teeth with concomitant endodontic periodontal lesions without communication. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Periodontal disease has significant impact on apical periodontitis however severity of the periodontitis does not negatively impact the apical periodontitis.

Nutrition morbidity interactions in pre-school children.

Background & objectives: Research studies in the 1970s reported that in pre-school children, undernutrition increased the risk of infections and infections aggravated undernutrition. Over decades, there has been a reduction in prevalence of undernutrition and improvement in access to healthcare for treatment of infections. A mixed longitudinal study was undertaken to assess whether over time there were any changes from the earlier reported effect of undernutrition prior to infection on the risk of morbidity and effect of morbidity on nutritional status in pre-school children. Methods: Pre-school (0-59 months of age) children from urban low- and middle-income families whose parents were willing to allow their participation in the study were enrolled. Information on sociodemographic profile of the families was collected at enrolment. Weight of all children and length in infants were recorded every month; length/height in children 12-59 months of age was recorded once in three months. Morbidity information was collected through fortnightly visits. Results: 3888 pre-school children were followed up in 74636 home visits. Among these children, underweight and wasting were associated with a small increase in risk of infections. The odds ratio for risk of infection for underweight children was 1.09 (95% CI: 1.02 to 1.16) and for wasting was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.08 to 1.29). The deterioration in Z scores for weight-for-age and body mass index-for-age in children during illness and convalescence was small but significant (P<0.001). Interpretation & conclusions: The increased risk of infections in undernourished children living in overcrowded tenements in areas with poor environmental hygiene was not significant, perhaps because the risk of infection in normally nourished children was also high. The deterioration in nutritional status following infection was small because of the ready access to and utilization of health and nutrition care.

Vitamin D status & bone health in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Background & objectives: Vitamin D plays an important role in bone metabolism, and liver is the intermediary site of vitamin D metabolism. The purpose of this study was to study the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and bone health in patients with cirrhosis. Methods: Prospectively, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level were assessed in cirrhotics by chemiluminescence method. Endocrine Society Clinical practice guideline was used to define deficiency and insufficiency of vitamin D. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and the World Health Organization criteria was used to define osteoporosis and osteopenia. The lowest T score at the left hip neck or lumbar spine was taken as osteoporosis or osteopenia. The Child-Turcotte-Pugh score was used to assess the severity of cirrhosis. Results: Cirrhotics (n=350, male: 278, compensated: 210) were included. Mean serum 25(OH)D level was 8.75 ng/ml. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and low-BMD (osteopenia and osteoporosis) was 89.4 and 86 per cent, respectively. VDD, insufficiency and osteoporosis was found in 86.7, 11.9 and 33.8 per cent, respectively, in patients with compensated cirrhosis; and 93.6, 3.6 and 40 per cent, respectively, in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Body mass index of >25 kg/m2 was protective for bone health. Interpretation & conclusions: VDD and low-BMD is prevalent in Indian patients with cirrhosis and should be looked for in patients with cirrhosis for its prevention.

Ultrasonography of the neck in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

INTRODUCTION: In resource-limited settings, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often goes undiagnosed as polysomnography (PSG) is expensive, time-consuming, and not readily available. Imaging studies of upper airway have been tried as alternatives to PSG to screen for OSA. However, racial differences in upper airway anatomy preclude generalizability of such studies. We sought to test the hypothesis that ultrasonography (USG), an inexpensive, readily available tool to study soft tissue structures of the upper airway, would have predictive value for OSA in South Asian people. METHODS: Adult patients with sleep-related complaints suspicious for OSA were taken for overnight PSG. After the PSG, consecutive patients with and without OSA were studied with submental ultrasonography to measure tongue base thickness (TBT) and lateral pharyngeal wall thickness (LPWT). RESULTS: Among 50 patients with OSA and 25 controls, mean age was 43.9 ± 11.4 years, and 39 were men. Patients with OSA had higher TBT (6.77 ± 0.63 cm vs 6.34 ± 0.54 cm, P value = 0.004) and higher LPWT (2.47 ± 0.60 cm vs 2.12 ± 0.26 cm, P value = 0.006) compared to patients without OSA. On multivariate analysis, TBT, LPWT, and neck circumference were identified as independent factors associated with OSA. These variables could identify patients with severe OSA with a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 76%. CONCLUSION: Patients with OSA have higher tongue base thickness and lateral pharyngeal wall thickness proportionate to the severity of the disease, independent of BMI and neck circumference. These findings suggest that sub-mental ultrasonography may be useful to identify patients with severe OSA in resource-limited settings.

Evaluation of a paraffin-based moisturizer compared to a ceramide-based moisturizer in children with atopic dermatitis: A double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Moisturizers are first-line therapy for treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). Although there are multiple types of moisturizers available, head-to-head trials between different moisturizers are limited. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if a paraffin-based moisturizer is as effective as ceramide-based moisturizer in children with AD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this double-blind, randomized comparative trial of pediatric patients with mild to moderate AD, subjects applied either a paraffin-based or ceramide-based moisturizer twice daily. Clinical disease activity using SCOring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), quality of life using Children/Infants Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI/IDLQI), and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were measured at baseline and at follow-up at 1, 3, and 6 months. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were recruited (27 ceramide group and 26 paraffin group) with a mean age of 8.2 years and mean disease duration of 60 months. The mean change in SCORAD at 3 months in the ceramide-based and paraffin-based moisturizer groups was 22.1 and 21.4, respectively (p = .37). The change in CDLQI/IDLQI, TEWL over forearm and back, amount and days of topical corticosteroid required, median time to remission and disease-free days at 3 months were similar in both groups. As the 95% confidence interval (CI) of mean change in SCORAD at 3 months in both groups (0.78, 95% CI: -7.21 to 7.52) was not within the predefined margin of equivalence (-4 to +4), the conclusion of equivalence could not be proven. CONCLUSION: Both the paraffin-based and ceramide-based moisturizers were comparable in improving the disease activity in children with mild to moderate AD.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Ocular Ultrasonography in Identifying Raised Intracranial Pressure among Pediatric Population.

INTRODUCTION: Role of CT scan, MRI, ophthalmoscopy, direct monitoring by a transducer probe in identifying raised intracranial pressure (ICP) in emergency department is limited. There are few studies correlating elevated optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measured by point of care ultrasound (POCUS) with raised ICP in pediatrics emergencies. We studied the diagnostic accuracy of ONSD, crescent sign, and optic disc elevation in identifying increased ICP in pediatrics. METHODS: Prospective observational study was done between April 2018 and August 2019 after ethics approval. Out of 125 subjects, 40 patients without clinical features of raised ICP were recruited as external controls and 85 with clinical features of raised ICP as study subjects. Their demographic profile, clinical examination, and ocular ultrasound findings were noted. This was followed by CT scan. Out of 85 patients, 43 had raised ICP (cases) and 42 had normal ICP (disease controls). Diagnostic accuracy of ONSD in identifying raised ICP was evaluated using STATA. RESULTS: The mean ONSD in case group was 5.5 ± 0.6 mm, 4.9 ± 0.5 mm in disease control group and external control group was 4.8 ± 0.3 mm. Cut-off of ONSD for raised ICP at ≥4.5 mm had a sensitivity and specificity of 97.67% and 10.98%, while ≥5.0 mm showed a sensitivity and specificity of 86.05% and 71.95%. Crescent sign and optic disc elevation had good correlation with increased ICP. CONCLUSION: ONSD ≥5 mm by POCUS identified raised ICP in pediatric population. Crescent sign and optic disc elevation may function as additional POCUS signs in identifying raised ICP.

Evaluation of plasma and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as an early diagnostic marker of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill trauma patients.

Background and Aims: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication of severe trauma associated with high mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of plasma and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as an early marker of AKI assessed by RIFLE criteria as reference in trauma patients in intensive care unit (ICU). Material and Methods: This was a prospective observational study. Four hundred and eighteen patients admitted in the trauma ICU with age ≥18 years without known renal diseases were followed-up (serum creatinine, urine output, and estimated glomerular filtration rate) for 5 consecutive days. As per RIFLE criteria, 70 patients were broadly classified as AKI and rest of the patients (n = 348) as non-AKI. Plasma and urine samples of AKI (n = 70) and non-AKI (n = 70) patients were further assessed for 3 consecutive days following admission. Results: Mean plasma NGAL (pNGAL) was significantly elevated in AKI patients as compared with non-AKI patients; on admission: 204.08 versus 93.74 ng/mL (P = 0.01); at 24 h: 216.73 versus 94.63 ng/mL (P = 0.01); and 48 h: 212.77 versus 86.32 ng/mL (P = 0.01). Mean urine NGAL (uNGAL) at 48 h was also significantly elevated: 15.45 ng/mL in AKI patients as compared with 13.48 ng/mL in non-AKI patients (P = 0.01). Plasma and urine NGAL levels were significantly associated with increased mortality. Conclusion: pNGAL had good predictive value on admission (area under the receiver operative characteristic [AUROC] 0.84), at 24 h (AUROC 0.88) and 48 h (AUROC 0.87), while uNGAL had moderate performance at 24 h (AUROC 0.61) and 48 h (AUROC 0.71). pNGAL can be used as an early and potent diagnostic and predictive marker of AKI and mortality in critically ill trauma patients.

Autophagy-associated HMGB-1 as a novel potential circulating non-invasive diagnostic marker for detection of Urothelial Carcinoma of Bladder.

Urothelial carcinoma of bladder (UBC), a highly prevalent urological malignancy associated with high mortality and recurrence rate. Standard diagnostic method currently being used is cystoscopy but its invasive nature and low sensitivity stresses for identifying predictive diagnostic marker. Autophagy, a cellular homeostasis maintaining process, is usually dysregulated in cancer and its role is still enigmatic in UBC. In this study, 30 UBC patients and healthy controls were enrolled. Histopathologically confirmed tumor and adjacent normal tissue were acquired from patients. Molecular expression and tissue localization of autophagy-associated molecules (HMGB-1, RAGE, beclin, LC-3, and p62) were investigated. Serum HMGB-1 concentration was measured in UBC patients and healthy controls. ROC curves were plotted to evaluate diagnostic potential. Transcript, protein, and IHC expression of HMGB-1, RAGE, beclin, and LC-3 displayed upregulated expression, while p62 was downregulated in bladder tumor tissue. Serum HMGB-1 levels were elevated in UBC patients. Transcript and circulatory levels of HMGB-1 showed positive correlation and displayed a positive trend with disease severity. Upon comparison with clinicopathological parameters, HMGB-1 emerged as molecule of statistical significance to exhibit association. HMGB-1 exhibited optimum sensitivity and specificity in serum. The positive correlation between tissue and serum levels of HMGB-1 showcases serum as a representation of in situ scenario, suggesting its clinical applicability for non-invasive testing. Moreover, optimum sensitivity and specificity displayed by HMGB-1 along with significant association with clinicopathological parameters makes it a potential candidate to be used as diagnostic marker for early detection of UBC but requires further validation in larger cohort.

A study on the effect of mobile phone use on sleep.

Background & objectives: Several studies have been conducted globally to assess the impact of usage of mobile phones on quality and duration of sleep as also on day time sleepiness. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of mobile phone usage on the quality and composition of sleep in a sample from Indian population. Methods: The study was conducted at two tertiary care hospitals in north India from July 2014 to September 2019. A total of 566 participants were recruited in this study from both the centres. Sleep quality was assessed with the help of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. Subsequently, actigraphy was done in 96 participants and polysomnography in 95 participants. Results: Of the 566 participants, 128 (22.61%) had PSQI ≥5, reflecting poor sleep quality. A higher use of mobile phone was significantly associated with a poor sleep quality as a component of PSQI questionnaire (P=0.01) and higher overall PSQI score (P=0.01). The latency from sleep onset to N2 and N3 sleep stages was significantly shorter in participants having a higher mobile phone usage as compared to those with a lower usage [Median (range): 13.5 min (1.5-109) vs. 6.5 min (0-89); P=0.02] and [Median (range): 49 min (8.5-220.5) vs. 28.75 min (0-141); P=0.03], respectively. Interpretation & conclusions: This study focused on the maladaptive changes brought on by mobile phone usage on sleep. More studies with larger sample sizes need to be done that may serve to confirm the hypothesis generating findings of our study.