The Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network Supports High-Quality Surveillance.

With 762 laboratories, the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN) is the largest laboratory network coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Like the Global Polio Laboratory Network, the GMRLN has multiple tiers, including global specialized laboratories, regional reference laboratories, national laboratories, and, in some countries, subnational laboratories. Regional networks are supervised by regional laboratory coordinators reporting to a global coordinator at WHO headquarters.

Use of Measles and Rubella Rapid Diagnostic Tests to Improve Case Detection and Targeting of Vaccinations.

Efforts to control and eliminate measles and rubella are aided by high-quality surveillance data-supported by laboratory confirmation-to guide decision-making on routine immunization strategies and locations for conducting preventive supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) and outbreak response. Important developments in rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for measles and rubella present new opportunities for the global measles and rubella surveillance program to greatly improve the ability to rapidly detect and respond to outbreaks. Here, we review the status of RDTs for measles and rubella Immunoglobulin M (IgM) testing, as well as ongoing questions and challenges regarding the operational use and deployment of RDTs as part of global measles and rubella surveillance.

A measles IgM rapid diagnostic test to address challenges with national measles surveillance and response in Malaysia.

Introduction: A lateral flow rapid diagnostic test (RDT) enables detection of measles specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody in serum, capillary blood, and oral fluid with accuracy consistent with enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The objectives of the study were: 1) to assess measles RDT inter-reader agreement between two clinic staff; 2) to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the measles RDT relative to standard surveillance testing in a low transmission setting; 3) to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of staff in clinics using the RDT; and 4) to assess the impact of RDT testing on the measles public health response in Malaysia.

Materials And Methods: The clinic-based prospective evaluation included all suspected measles cases captured by routine measles surveillance at 34 purposely selected clinics in 15 health districts in Malaysia between September 2019 and June 2020, following day-long regional trainings on RDT use.

Tonic extracellular glutamate and ischaemia: glutamate antiporter system x regulates anoxic depolarization in hippocampus.

In stroke, the sudden deprivation of oxygen to neurons triggers a profuse release of glutamate that induces anoxic depolarization (AD) and leads to rapid cell death. Importantly, the latency of the glutamate-driven AD event largely dictates subsequent tissue damage. Although the contribution of synaptic glutamate during ischaemia is well-studied, the role of tonic (ambient) glutamate has received far less scrutiny.

The TinMan study: feasibility trial of a psychologically informed, audiologist-delivered, manualised intervention for tinnitus.

Objective: To develop a manualised psychological treatment for tinnitus that could enhance audiologist usual care, and to test feasibility of evaluating it in a randomised controlled trial.

Design: Feasibility trial, random allocation of patients to manualised treatment or treatment as usual, and mixed-methods evaluation. Senior audiologists, and adults with chronic tinnitus.