An association study of severity of intellectual disability with peripheral biomarkers of disabled children in a rehabilitation home, Kolkata, India.

The current investigation has identified the biomarkers associated with severity of disability and correlation among plethora of systemic, cellular and molecular parameters of intellectual disability (ID) in a rehabilitation home. The background of study lies with the recent clinical evidences which identified complications in ID. Various indicators from blood and peripheral system serve as potential surrogates for disability related changes in brain functions. ID subjects (Male, age 10 ± 5 yrs, N = 45) were classified as mild, moderate and severe according to the severity of disability using standard psychometric analysis. Clinical parameters including stress biomarkers, neurotransmitters, RBC morphology, expressions of inflammatory proteins and neurotrophic factor were estimated from PBMC, RBC and serum. The lipid peroxidation of PBMC and RBC membranes, levels of serum glutamate, serotonin, homocysteine, ROS, lactate and LDH-A expression increased significantly with severity of ID whereas changes in RBC membrane ß-actin, serum BDNF, TNF-α and IL-6 was found non-significant. Structural abnormalities of RBC were more in severely disabled children compared to mildly affected ones. The oxidative stress remained a crucial factor with severity of disability. This is confirmed not only by RBC alterations but also with other cellular dysregulations. The present article extends unique insights of how severity of disability is correlated with various clinical, cellular and molecular markers of blood. This unique study primarily focuses on the strong predictors of severity of disability and their associations via brain-blood axis.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To identify ADHD children, to show the prevalence of the disorder in the age group of 5-12 years and to study their socio-demographic variables, associated medical and co-morbid psychological problems. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional case study of ADHD children presenting to a child guidance clinic in a busy pediatric hospital over a one year period. The diagnosis of ADHD was based on DSM IV criteria. RESULTS: Of the 238 children referred, 37 were diagnosed as ADHD. 64.9% of the referrals were from pediatricians. The prevalence of ADHD in pediatric clinic was 15.5%, the inattention subtype was predominant. The mean age of boys and girls with ADHD was 8.49 years and 6.82 years respectively. The male to female ratio was 6.4:1. Majority of patients were from middle socio-economic status belonging to Hindu families. 27.0% of children had developmental problems. Oppositional defiant disorder was the most prevalent while depression was the least prevalent co morbid problem. CONCLUSION: ADHD is prevalent in India and the bunch of these children are mostly presenting to the pediatrician. They need to be aware of the profile of this disorder for early detection and intervention.