Evaluation of the mosquitocidal efficacy of fluralaner, a potential candidate for drug based vector control.

Vector control is a key intervention against mosquito borne diseases. However, conventional methods have several limitations and alternate strategies are in urgent need. Vector control with endectocides such as ivermectin is emerging as a novel strategy. The short half-life of ivermectin is a limiting factor for its application as a mass therapy tool for vector control. Isoxazoline compounds like fluralaner, a class of veterinary acaricides with long half-life hold promise as an alternative. However, information about their mosquitocidal effect is limited. We explored the efficacy of fluralaner against laboratory reared vector mosquitoes-Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi, and, Culex quinquefasciatus. 24 h post-blood feeding, fluralaner showed a significant mosquitocidal effect with LC50 values in the range of 24.04-49.82 ng/mL for the three different mosquito species tested. Effects on life history characteristics (fecundity, egg hatch success, etc.) were also observed and significant effects were noted at drug concentrations of 20, 25 and 45 ng/mL for Ae. aegypti, An. stephensi, and, Cx. quinquefasciatus respectively. At higher drug concentration of 250 ng/mL, significant mortality was observed within 1-2 h of post blood feeding. Potent mosquitocidal effect coupled with its long half-life makes fluralaner an excellent candidate for drug based vector control strategies.

Comparative Evaluation of Different Tissues and Molecular Techniques for the Zoonotic Surveillance of Scrub Typhus.

Background and Objectives: Scrub typhus (ST) is detected in one-fourth of patients with acute febrile illnesses, confirming its nationwide re-emergence. The disease, if not diagnosed, can lead to multiple organ dysfunction and mortality. Being a vector-borne zoonotic disease, the molecular survey for pathogens in animal hosts is essential to predict the risk of its transmission to humans. Hence, this study aimed at identifying the effective animal tissue and molecular technique for zoonotic surveillance of ST infection in small animal hosts. Methods: Rodents/shrews were trapped from seventeen randomly selected villages in Puducherry between July and September, 2022. The presence of Orientia tsutsugamushi in ectoparasites and tissues including blood, lung, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, brain, and intestine retrieved from the animals was screened by nested PCR targeting 56 kDa, real-time PCR (qPCR) targeting 47 kDa and traD, and conventional PCR targeting groEL. The Weil-Felix test was carried out to detect antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi in rodent/shrew serum samples. Diagnostic accuracy measures of the molecular tests were calculated for each of the tissues by latent class modeling. Results: O. tsutsugamushi detected in the rodents/shrews were identified to be Karp-like and Kawasaki-like strains. Upon statistical analysis, qPCR targeting 47 kDa exhibited the highest accuracy measures in most of the tissues analyzed, with perfect sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 97% for intestine and lung samples for the epidemiological surveillance, respectively. Interpretation and Conclusion: The study recommends qPCR targeting 47 kDa gene and analysis of intestine and lung along with blood for the zoonotic surveillance of ST infection.

The lymphatic filariasis treatment study landscape: A systematic review of study characteristics and the case for an individual participant data platform.

BACKGROUND: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) targeted by the World Health Organization for elimination as a public health problem (EPHP). Since 2000, more than 9 billion treatments of antifilarial medicines have been distributed through mass drug administration (MDA) programmes in 72 endemic countries and 17 countries have reached EPHP. Yet in 2021, nearly 900 million people still required MDA with combinations of albendazole, diethylcarbamazine and/or ivermectin. Despite the reliance on these drugs, there remain gaps in understanding of variation in responses to treatment. As demonstrated for other infectious diseases, some urgent questions could be addressed by conducting individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses. Here, we present the results of a systematic literature review to estimate the abundance of IPD on pre- and post-intervention indicators of infection and/or morbidity and assess the feasibility of building a global data repository. METHODOLOGY: We searched literature published between 1st January 2000 and 5th May 2023 in 15 databases to identify prospective studies assessing LF treatment and/or morbidity management and disease prevention (MMDP) approaches. We considered only studies where individual participants were diagnosed with LF infection or disease and were followed up on at least one occasion after receiving an intervention/treatment. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We identified 138 eligible studies from 23 countries, having followed up an estimated 29,842 participants after intervention. We estimate 14,800 (49.6%) IPD on pre- and post-intervention infection indicators including microfilaraemia, circulating filarial antigen and/or ultrasound indicators measured before and after intervention using 8 drugs administered in various combinations. We identified 33 studies on MMDP, estimating 6,102 (20.4%) IPD on pre- and post-intervention clinical morbidity indicators only. A further 8,940 IPD cover a mixture of infection and morbidity outcomes measured with other diagnostics, from participants followed for adverse event outcomes only or recruited after initial intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The LF treatment study landscape is heterogeneous, but the abundance of studies and related IPD suggest that establishing a global data repository to facilitate IPD meta-analyses would be feasible and useful to address unresolved questions on variation in treatment outcomes across geographies, demographics and in underrepresented groups. New studies using more standardized approaches should be initiated to address the scarcity and inconsistency of data on morbidity management.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown during 2020 on the occurrence of vector-borne diseases in India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: India imposed one of the world's largest nationwide lockdown in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 which was partly extended up to December. Some of the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on the economy, research, travel, education, and sports were readily apparent; the same was less obvious in the occurrence of vector-borne diseases (VBDs). The objective of this study was to statistically determine the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the occurrence of VBDs in India. METHODS: The reported incidence of VBDs such as malaria, dengue, Chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, and kala-azar in India during the years 2015-2019 was analyzed by fitting Poisson and negative binomial (NB) models for each VBDs separately. The number of cases reported was compared with the number of cases predicted for each year from 2015 to 2020 for all the VBDs under study to infer whether or not the lockdown had any impact on their prevalence in India. RESULTS: The percentage of the actual case was lower by 46, 75, 49, 72, and 38 respectively for malaria, dengue, Chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, and kala-azar when comparing the lockdown period and the year before lockdown (2020 vs. 2019). The number of cases predicted for the year 2020 based on the trend of the five preceding years (2015-2019) also showed a great variation between actual and predicted cases. The differences in cases were considered as the cases missed in 2020 were largely due to the lockdown. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The analysis showed that the lockdown had a considerable impact on the occurrence of VBDs.

Analysis of entomological indices for transmission of Japanese encephalitis in Malkangiri district, Odisha State, east central India during 2015-2019.

There have been repeated episodes of the outbreak of Japanese encephalitis (JE) in Malkangiri district of Odisha State in the recent past. In the current study, we aimed to assess the entomological parameters of JE vectors in the district. Prevalence of JE vector species, their per man hour density (PMHD), dusk index (DI), human blood index (HBI), infection status and other factors responsible for transmission of JE were assessed over 5 years (2015-2019). Culex vishnui was the predominant JE vector species (32.0%) collected, followed by Cx. whitmorei (27.1%) and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (18.0%). The PMHD was higher in cattle shed (CS) than human dwelling (HD) and outdoor resting collection (ODRC) sites for all the JE vector species, except An. barbirostris. In particular, the PMHD of Cx. vishnui (8.02), Cx. whitmorei (5.71) and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (5.01) were significantly higher in CS than HD and ODRC. The DI of Cx. vishnui (2.47), Cx. whitmorei (1.66) and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus (1.59) was significantly higher in CS compared to HD and ODRC. The HBI of Cx. vishnui was 0.015, whereas the HBI of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was 0.009 in the study area. Among the 829 pools of JE vector species subjected to PCR, JE virus was isolated from one pool of Cx. vishnui. Based on the abundance of JE vectors and JE virus isolation from Cx. vishnui, it is requisite to implement systematic and long-term control measures for effective control of JE vector species in Malkangiri district, Odisha State.

Screening of FDA Approved Drugs Against SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease: Coronavirus Disease.

At the end of December 2019, a new strain of coronavirus was identified in the Wuhan city of Hubei province in China. Within a shorter period of time, an unprecedented outbreak of this strain was witnessed over the entire Wuhan city. This novel coronavirus strain was later officially renamed as COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) by the World Health Organization. The mode of transmission was human-to-human contact and hence resulted in a rapid surge across the globe where more than 24 million people have been infected with COVID-19. In the current scenario, finding potent drug candidates for the treatment of COVID-19 has emerged as the most challenging task for clinicians and researchers worldwide. Identification of new drugs and vaccine development may take from a few months to years based on the clinical trial processes. To overcome the several limitations involved in identifying and bringing out potent drug candidates for treating COVID-19, in the present study attempts were made to screen the FDA approved drugs using High Throughput Virtual Screening (HTVS). The COVID-19 main protease (COVID-19 Mpro) was chosen as the drug target for which the FDA approved drugs were initially screened with HTVS. The drug candidates that exhibited favorable docking score, energy, and emodel calculations were further taken for performing Induced Fit Docking (IFD) using Schrodinger's GLIDE. From the flexible docking results, the following four FDA approved drugs Sincalide, Pentagastrin, Ritonavir, and Phytonadione were identified. In particular, Sincalide and Pentagastrin can be considered potential key players for the treatment of COVID-19 disease.

Insights on the Quest for the Structure-Function Relationship of the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier.

The molecular identity of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) was presented in 2012, forty years after the active transport of cytosolic pyruvate into the mitochondrial matrix was first demonstrated. An impressive amount of in vivo and in vitro studies has since revealed an unexpected interplay between one, two, or even three protein subunits defining different functional MPC assemblies in a metabolic-specific context. These have clear implications in cell homeostasis and disease, and on the development of future therapies. Despite intensive efforts by different research groups using state-of-the-art computational tools and experimental techniques, MPCs' structure-based mechanism remains elusive. Here, we review the current state of knowledge concerning MPCs' molecular structures by examining both earlier and recent studies and presenting novel data to identify the regulatory, structural, and core transport activities to each of the known MPC subunits. We also discuss the potential application of cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) studies of MPC reconstituted into nanodiscs of synthetic copolymers for solving human MPC2.

Making the decision to donate eyes: Perspectives from the families of the deceased in Madurai, India.

PURPOSE: To identify factors affecting family members' decision whether to donate eye organs. METHODS: A community-based case-control study based on in-home interviews with families of deceased individuals who had or had not donated eye organs, in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. Data collected were knowledge and awareness of eye donations, whether the deceased individual had expressed or pledged willingness to donate, and family members' attitudes and willingness to donate their own eye organs. RESULTS: Seventy-six families of donors and 256 families of non-donors completed the survey. Multivariable analysis showed that the following variables were significantly associated with a donation: age, whether the deceased had registered for eye donation, pre-expressed willingness of deceased to donate, whether family members personally know beneficiaries of eye donations, and higher score on a scale evaluating knowledge and awareness about eye donation. The majority of donors' families (71%) had been encouraged by someone to donate. Among non-donor families, a substantially larger fraction (52.8%) indicated they would have donated had someone reminded or encouraged them to do so, in comparison with those who indicated lack of awareness or knowledge (14.5%). CONCLUSION: Community programs are likely to be effective if they encourage individuals to pledge their eyes or express their willingness to donate their eyes to family members in advance of death; they increase public awareness of the value of eye donation. A friend, family member, neighbor or counselor approaching bereaved families and having a dialogue about eye donation would substantially increase the probability of a decision to donate.

Evaluation of bio-efficacy and durability of long-lasting insecticidal nets distributed by malaria elimination programme in Eastern India.

BACKGROUND: Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are the most favoured vector control tools worldwide. Timely monitoring and evaluation of LLINs is important to sustain the impact of this promising vector control method and for replacement of worn-out and those rendered ineffective. During the mid-2017, LLINs were distributed by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) in high malaria endemic districts of the eastern coastal state of Odisha. The study was carried out to assess the field performance of the LLINs post 30 months of distribution in Koraput district of Odisha state. METHODS: A total of 130 households were randomly selected from three villages of Laxmipur CHC in Koraput district, Odisha, India; one each from hilltop, foothill and plain terrain. The net users were interviewed to elicit information on usage, washing practices, physical integrity, bio-efficacy and survivorship of LLINs to confirm the claimed three-year life of the LLINs. RESULTS: 74.8% of the LLINs were physically present after 30 months of distribution. The numbers (%) of LLINs used previous night varied from 30 to 61% between study villages. 74% respondents were using the LLINs throughout the year and 26% only seasonally. Of the total, 85% of the nets were reported to be washed and 95% nets were dried under shade as recommended. Altogether, 58% of the surveyed nets were found torn with holes. Of these, 74 (57%) nets were in good condition, 10 (8%) nets were in serviceable and 45 (35%) nets were badly torn and needed replacement. A total of 45 (93.75%), 68 (80%) and 71 (63.8%) LLINs were physically present in hilltop, foothill and plain villages, respectively. The LLINs did meet the efficacy criteria, given the 100% mortality to the exposed Anopheles jeyporiensis mosquitoes post 30 months distribution. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study were communicated to the programme officials of the state and LLINs were replenished soon after 31st month post-distribution of LLINs.

Molecular dynamics and ligand docking of a hinge region variant of South African HIV-1 subtype C protease.

HIV-1 protease is an important antiretroviral drug target due to its key role in viral maturation. Computational models have been successfully used in the past to understand the dynamics of HIV-1 protease variants. We performed molecular dynamics simulations and induced fit docking on a wild-type South African HIV-1 subtype C protease and an N37T↑V hinge region variant. The simulations were initiated in a cubic cell universe and run in explicit solvent, with the wild-type and variant proteases in the fully closed conformation and under periodic boundary conditions. The trajectory for each simulation totalled 20 ns. The results indicate that the N37T↑V hinge region mutation and insertion alter the molecular dynamics of the flap and hinge regions when compared to the wild-type protease. Specifically, the destabilisation of the hinge region allowed a larger and protracted opening of the flap region due to the formation of two key hinge/cantilever salt-bridges, which are absent in the wild-type protease. Domain-domain anti-correlation was observed between the flap and hinge region for both models. However, the N37T↑V variant protease displayed a lower degree of anti-correlation. The mutations affected the thermodynamic landscape of inhibitor binding as there were fewer observable chemical contacts between the N37T↑V variant protease and lopinavir, atazanavir and darunavir, respectively. These data elucidate the biophysical basis for the selection of hinge region insertion mutations by the HI virus.

Leptospiral Uveitis: Usefulness of Clinical Signs as Diagnostic Predictors.

PURPOSE: To analyze the diagnostic predictive ability of clinical variables. METHODS: Demographic and clinical variables of 172 serologically proven leptospiral uveitis patients were compared with 200 controls of non-leptospiral uveitis. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified diagnostic predictors. A receiver operating characteristic curve tested the performance of the model. RESULTS: Of all variables, male gender, farming as an occupation, and clinical features such as non-granulomatous panuveitis, hypopyon, and vitreous infiltration in the absence of retinochoroiditis constituted the predictive parameters, with the sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 90.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple logistic analysis detected clinically diagnostic predictors that can assist primary care ophthalmologists. Clinical diagnosis can further be confirmed by serology at tertiary care centers.

Multiplex Cytokine Analysis of Aqueous Humor from the Patients with Chronic Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To compare the levels of cytokines and growth factor in aqueous humor of the patients with chronic primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) and cataract. METHODS: Aqueous humor samples were collected from 19 chronic PACG patients and compared with 14 nonglaucomatous controls presenting for cataract surgery. The levels of 27 cytokines and growth factors were measured in the aqueous samples using multiplex bead immunoassay and compared across groups. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of interleukin (IL)-8 (p < 0.001), eotaxin (p < 0.001), interferon gamma-induced protein (IP)-10 (p < 0.001) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1-beta (MIP-1ß; p < 0.001) were observed in aqueous of chronic PACG patients compared to controls. In comparison to controls, significantly lower levels of IL-9 (p = 0.001), IL-17 (p < 0.001), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α; p < 0.001), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF; p < 0.001), and IL-5 (p = 0.001) were observed in chronic PACG eyes. All other assayed cytokines-IL-1ß, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1rα), IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, fibroblast growth factor-basic (FGF-basic), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1-alpha (MIP-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -showed no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the aqueous cytokine levels of chronic PACG eyes differ significantly from nonglaucomatous eyes. This is the first study reporting significantly increased levels of eotaxin, MIP-1ß, and IP-10 and lower levels of TNF-α, IL-5, IL-9, IL-17, and GM-CSF in chronic PACG patients, suggesting a plausible role of these inflammatory cytokines in its pathogenesis.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Outcomes of Cataract Surgery in Nanophthalmos With and Without Prophylactic Sclerostomy.

PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate visual outcomes and complications during and after cataract surgery with or without prophylactic sclerostomy in nanophthalmic eyes with visually significant cataract. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Sixty nanophthalmic eyes of 60 patients with visually significant cataract were randomly assigned to cataract surgery alone (control group, n = 31) or cataract surgery with concomitant prophylactic sclerostomy (sclerostomy group, n = 29). Surgery was performed using phacoemulsification or manual small-incision cataract surgery (SICS) based on the LOCS III grading score. Group differences in intraoperative and postoperative complications were analyzed and risk factors assessed. RESULTS: Fewer complications were noted in eyes receiving sclerostomy (5/29, 17.2%) as compared to control group eyes (12/31, 38.7%), though differences were marginally significant (P = .065). Four control group, but no sclerostomy group, eyes developed postoperative uveal effusions (P = .04). In multivariable models, sclerostomy decreased the odds of an intraoperative or postoperative complication by 80% (odds ratio [OR] = 0.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.04-0.92, P = .039); SICS was associated with a significantly higher risk of complications as compared to phacoemulsification (OR = 5.95, 95% CI = 1.49-23.73, P = .012), while high preoperative intraocular pressure (OR = 4.54, 95% CI = 0.99-20.9, P = .052) and greater lens thickness (OR = 3.38, 95% CI = 0.88-12.91, P = .075) demonstrated a marginally significant association. CONCLUSIONS: Cataract surgery in eyes with nanophthalmos is associated with a high risk for vision-threatening complications. Performing a simultaneous prophylactic sclerostomy with cataract surgery reduces complication rates, particularly uveal effusions. Cataract surgery at earlier stages by phacoemulsification may be more beneficial than undergoing manual SICS.

Energetics of Glutathione Binding to Human Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 1 Gamma: Isothermal Titration Calorimetry and Molecular Dynamics Studies.

The energetics of ligand binding to human eukaryotic elongation factor 1 gamma (heEF1γ) was investigated using reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidised glutathione (GSSG), glutathione sulfonate and S-hexylglutathione as ligands. The experiments were conducted using isothermal titration calorimetry, and the findings were supported using computational studies. The data show that the binding of these ligands to heEF1γ is enthalpically favourable and entropically driven (except for the binding of GSSG). The full length heEF1γ binds GSSG with lower affinity (K d = 115 µM), with more hydrogen-bond contacts (ΔH = -73.8 kJ/mol) and unfavourable entropy (-TΔS = 51.7 kJ/mol) compared to the glutathione transferase-like N-terminus domain of heEF1γ, which did not show preference to any specific ligand. Computational free binding energy calculations from the 10 ligand poses show that GSSG and GSH consistently bind heEF1γ, and that both ligands bind at the same site with a folded bioactive conformation. This study reveals the possibility that heEF1γ is a glutathione-binding protein.

Effectiveness of Glaucoma Counseling on Rates of Follow-up and Glaucoma Knowledge in a South Indian Population.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of traditional counseling and patient-centered counseling, either alone or with recorded audio counseling reinforcement, on glaucoma knowledge and clinical follow-up. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Newly diagnosed adult glaucoma patients were randomized to 1 of 3 categories of glaucoma counseling: traditional counseling, patient-centered counseling, or patient-centered counseling with audio counseling reinforcement. Demographic and clinical information from each subject was ascertained, and all subjects completed the Glaucoma Knowledge Assessment before and after counseling sessions at the time of diagnosis and at 1-month follow-up. Patients were instructed to return to clinic for routine follow-up at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after enrollment. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine factors associated with appropriate clinical follow-up. RESULTS: Overall, only 13.5% of subjects had appropriate clinical follow-up at 1 year, defined as attending at least 3 follow-up visits during that interval, and there was no significant difference between counseling groups. The mean glaucoma knowledge assessment score (GKAS) improved by 77.6% with the initial counseling intervention (P < .0001), decreased by 17.4% within a 1-month period following initial counseling, and improved by 22.8% (P < .001) after the second counseling intervention. Monthly household income over 2500 rupees, GKAS greater than 5 after initial counseling, and undergoing any ocular surgical procedure were all independent predictors of appropriate follow-up. CONCLUSION: While all 3 counseling methods resulted in transient improvement of patient knowledge regarding glaucomatous disease, follow-up rates were poor for all groups. Poor retention of glaucoma knowledge may impact the likelihood of patient follow-up, and reinforcement with repeated counseling may be beneficial with regard to both disease knowledge and follow-up.

The Effect of Counseling on Cataract Patient Knowledge, Decisional Conflict, and Satisfaction.

PURPOSE: Cataract is the leading cause of non-refractive preventable blindness, and comprehensive strategies to increase cataract surgery rates are imperative, including high-quality supportive patient education. We evaluated the effectiveness of non-physician pre-surgical counselors teaching patients about cataract and cataract surgery in improving patient knowledge, decisional conflict, and satisfaction. METHODS: A survey was given before and after 61 newly-diagnosed cataract patients underwent pre-surgical counseling at the Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India. The survey measured change in cataract knowledge and decisional conflict, a measure of anxiety surrounding the decision to undergo surgery, along with patient satisfaction. Multiple regression was used to identify factors that influenced change in knowledge. RESULTS: Both patient knowledge scores and decisional conflict scores improved following counseling (mean difference +2.0, p = 0.004 and +8.4, p < 0.0001, respectively). Multiple regression analysis identified female sex (ß = 2.5, p < 0.001) and being illiterate (ß = 1.7, p = 0.04) as important predictors of increased knowledge post-counseling. CONCLUSION: Counseling both improved knowledge and reduced decisional conflict about cataract surgery, particularly among patients who had traditionally had more limited access to healthcare such as women and illiterate patients. Increased use of high quality counseling might help to further reduce the global burden of cataract and other forms of blindness.

Effectiveness of low vision services in improving patient quality of life at Aravind Eye Hospital.

CONTEXT: In India, where the heavy burden of visual impairment exists, low vision services are scarce and under-utilized. AIMS: Our study was designed to survey the effectiveness of low vision exams and visual aids in improving patient quality of life in southern rural India. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The low vision quality of life (LVQOL) questionnaire measures vision-related quality of life through 25 questions on a Likert scale of 0-5 that pertain to (1) mobility, distance vision, and lighting; (2) psychological adjustment; (3) reading and fine work; and (4) activities of daily living. This tool was translated into Tamil and verbally administered to 55 new low vision referral patients before their first visit at the low vision clinic at Aravind Eye Hospital. Low vision aids (LVAs) were prescribed at the discretion of the low vision specialist. 1-month later, the same questionnaire was administered over the phone. RESULTS: About 44 of 55 low vision patients completed baseline and follow-up LVQOL surveys, and 30 normal vision controls matched for age, gender, and education were also surveyed (average 117.34 points). After the low vision clinic visit, the low vision group demonstrated a 4.55-point improvement in quality of life (from 77.77 to 82.33 points, P = 0.001). Adjusting for age, gender, and education, the low vision patients who also received LVAs (n = 24) experienced an even larger increase than those who did not (n = 20) (8.89 points, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Low vision services and visual aids can improve the quality of life in South Indian rural population regardless of age, gender, and education level. Thus, all low vision patients who meet the criteria should be referred for evaluation.