Publications by authors named "Unnikrishnan G"

Background And Objectives: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) associated disease (MOGAD) is an antibody-mediated inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the CNS with varied presentations like optic neuritis (ON), transverse myelitis, and cortical encephalitis. This study aims to highlight the significance of low MOG IgG antibody positivity and its diagnostic implications in a real-world cohort.

Methods: In this retrospective observational study, serum and CSF from suspected MOGAD cases were tested at a tertiary healthcare centre's Neuroimmunology Laboratory.

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Anti γ aminobutyric acid B(GABA B) receptor encephalitis is a rare form of autoimmune encephalitis. Our aim is to study the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of anti GABA B receptor encephalitis. This is a retrospective case series from the Neuroimmunology laboratory of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, India from 2016 to 2021.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study aimed to evaluate how well the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test can detect mpox infections in humans by analyzing data from various studies for sensitivity and specificity.
  • - Researchers conducted a systematic search across multiple databases and included twelve studies, concluding that the PCR test demonstrated high levels of accuracy with a pooled sensitivity of 0.99 and specificity of 1.
  • - The findings indicate that PCR is a reliable diagnostic tool for mpox, and this meta-analysis is the first of its kind to summarize its diagnostic accuracy in the scientific literature.
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Objective: The study aims to compare the effectiveness of behavioural therapy and inhalational sedation in reducing dental anxiety among patients visiting dental clinics.

Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane databases, Scopus, and Google scholar through August 2024. All the randomized control trials, cohort studies, case control, cross-sectional studies that evaluated the effectiveness of behavioural therapy with inhalational/conscious sedation among children and adults to reduce dental anxiety were included.

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  • Chronic tympanic membrane perforations, often caused by conductive hearing loss and repeated otitis media, typically require surgical intervention known as tympanoplasty, which faces challenges due to limitations in graft material availability.
  • A synthetic graft material, primarily made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and enhanced with cross-linked gelatin, has been developed to meet the needs for better cell adhesion, biocompatibility, and desired mechanical properties.
  • The new graft material demonstrates tunable mechanical strength and favorable acoustic properties, making it a promising candidate for clinical applications in treating chronic tympanic membrane perforations.
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Background And Objectives: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) is the noninvasive technique of choice for early detection of cardiac involvement in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD and BMD, respectively), but is seldom used in routine clinical practice in the Indian context. We sought to determine the prevalence of CMRI abnormalities in patients with DMD and BMD and to compare the CMRI parameters with the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics.

Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted on patients genetically diagnosed with DMD and BMD who could complete CMRI between March 2020 and March 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The article discusses a genetically confirmed case of a young woman with progressive muscle weakness and eye movement problems, linked to a novel mutation in the ORAI-1 gene.
  • * Muscle imaging revealed fatty infiltration and a biopsy indicated congenital fiber-type disproportion, expanding the known symptoms of ORAI-1-related myopathy to include these specific features.
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Introduction: GNE myopathy is a rare slowly progressive adult-onset distal myopathy with autosomal recessive inheritance. It has distinctive features of quadriceps sparing with preferential anterior tibial involvement. Most patients eventually become wheelchair bound by 10-20 years after onset.

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The physico-chemical and biological properties of natural rubber latex (NRL), entailing its biodegradability and biocompatibility, render it a promising material for various biomedical applications. This research explores the facile blending of NRL with dextrin in different compositions to investigate its potential as a prospective UV shielding transdermal patch for biomedical applications. The superior compatibility between the polymers after blending and the improved thermal stability have been established through FTIR, DSC, and TGA examinations, respectively.

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Congenital Muscular Dystrophies (CMD) are phenotypically and genotypically heterogenous disorders with a prevalence of 0.68 to 2.5/100,000, contributing to significant morbidity and mortality.

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The requirement for accurate treatments for skin diseases and wounds, generated a rising interest towards multifunctional polymer composites, that are capable of mimicking the natural compositions in human body. Also, electroactive composite films disseminate endogenous electrical stimulations that encourage cell migration and its proliferation at wound site, proposing greater opportunities in upgrading the conventional wound patches. In this work, the composite film made of graphene oxide, AgO, PVA and chitosan were developed for wound healing applications, by the solution casting method.

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Scientific research targeted at enhancing scaffold qualities has increased significantly during the last few decades. This emphasis frequently centres on adding different functions to scaffolds in order to increase their usefulness as instruments in the field of regenerative medicine. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of a multifunctional sustainable polymer scaffold, specifically Polycaprolactone (PCL) embedded with hydroxyapatite co-doped with vanadium and strontium (HVS), for bone tissue engineering applications.

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Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of morbidity in civilian as well as military populations. Computational simulations of injurious events are an important tool to understanding the biomechanics of brain injury and evaluating injury criteria and safety measures. However, these computational models are highly dependent on the material parameters used to represent the brain tissue.

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Introduction Mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) before colorectal surgery is a common practice to reduce bacterial levels and infection. However, recent studies and data analyses have shown that this practice may increase the incidence of postoperative septic complications. Limited information is available regarding MBP for rectal surgeries.

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We report on the first realization of a novel neutral atom qubit encoded in the spin-orbit coupled metastable states ^{3}P_{0} and ^{3}P_{2} of a single ^{88}Sr atom trapped in an optical tweezer. Raman coupling of the qubit states promises rapid single-qubit rotations on par with the fast Rydberg-mediated two-body gates. We demonstrate preparation, readout, and coherent control of the qubit.

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Recessive desminopathies are rare and often present as severe early-onset myopathy. Here we report a milder phenotype in three unrelated patients from southern India (2 M, 1F) aged 16, 21, and 22 years, who presented with childhood-onset, gradually progressive, fatigable limb-girdle weakness, ptosis, speech and swallowing difficulties, without cardiac involvement. Serum creatine kinase was elevated, and repetitive nerve stimulation showed decrement in all.

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Background: Electrocardiography (ECG) remains an excellent screening tool for cardiac assessment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but an accurate interpretation requires comparison with age-matched healthy controls.

Objective: We examined various ECG parameters in children with DMD, in comparison with age-matched controls.

Methods: Standard 12-lead ECG tracings of serial patients were screened for quality and selected.

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The nanosystems for delivering drugs which have evolved with time, are being designed for greater drug efficiency and lesser side-effects, and are also complemented by the advancement of numerous innovative materials. In comparison to the organic nanoparticles, the inorganic nanoparticles are stable, have a wide range of physicochemical, mechanical, magnetic, and optical characteristics, and also have the capability to get modified using some ligands to enrich their attraction towards the molecules at the target site, which makes them appealing for bio-imaging and drug delivery applications. One of the strong benefits of using the inorganic nanoparticles-drug conjugate is the possibility of delivering the drugs to the affected cells locally, thus reducing the side-effects like cytotoxicity, and facilitating a higher efficacy of the therapeutic drug.

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Background: Hirayama disease (HD) is a cervical compressive myelopathy. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is identified as the best surgical approach. We evaluated surgical outcomes and factors influencing ACDF in HD.

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Article Synopsis
  • Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) and hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies (HSAN) are rare disorders affecting sensory and autonomic neurons, making them hard to study due to limited data.
  • A large international study identified 80 new pathogenic variants in 73 families across known CIP/HSAN-related genes, expanding knowledge on these diseases.
  • Advanced methodologies like in silico predictions and metabolic tests improved variant classification, crucial for guiding future gene-specific treatments in clinical trials.
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Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) are a rare group of inherited disorders caused by gene defects associated with the neuromuscular junction and potentially treatable with commonly available medications such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and β2 adrenergic receptor agonists. In this study, we identified and genetically characterized the largest cohort of CMS patients from India to date. Genetic testing of clinically suspected patients evaluated in a South Indian hospital during the period 2014-19 was carried out by standard diagnostic gene panel testing or using a two-step method that included hotspot screening followed by whole-exome sequencing.

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Background: Kennedy disease (KD) is a slowly progressive lower motor neuron degenerative disease. The prevalence of KD is unknown in India.

Aim: To describe the phenotypic and laboratory features of an Indian cohort of KD patients.

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Background: The phenotypic spectrum of Fukutin-related protein (FKRP) mutations is highly variable and comprises of limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) R9 (previously LGMD 2I) and FKRP related congenital muscular dystrophies.

Objective: To identify the distinct genotype phenotype pattern in Indian patients with FKRP gene mutations.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the case files of patients with muscular dystrophy having a genetically confirmed FKRP mutation.

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Dysferlinopathies are a group of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies causing significant disability in the young population. There is a need for studies on large cohorts to describe the clinical, genotypic and natural history in our subcontinent. To describe and correlate the clinical, genetic profile and natural history of genetically confirmed dysferlinopathies.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly from explosive blasts, is a major cause of casualties in modern military conflicts. Computational models are an important tool in understanding the underlying biomechanics of TBI but are highly dependent on the mechanical properties of soft tissue to produce accurate results. Reported material properties of brain tissue can vary by several orders of magnitude between studies, and no published set of material parameters exists for porcine brain tissue at strain rates relevant to blast.

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