Objective: To assess, analyse, and infer the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on people living with locomotor disability in North India. Methods: Patients with locomotor disabilities who met the inclusion criteria received a questionnaire that had already undergone testing and validation. It covered topics highlighting the effect of the pandemic on general health, financial burden, psychological and mental health, social life and behaviour, disability and comorbidity management, transportation, and healthcare accessibility during the pandemic. In order to gauge the pandemic’s effects on the population of people with locomotor disabilities, the answers to the questions were collected and analyzed. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected people living with locomotor disability, ranging from loss of wages and financial crisis to anxiety, depression and lack of sleep. People with disabilities had limited reach to health and community services that were vital for them, including basic life and functional needs, besides risks of mistreatment and other psychological consequences. Conclusion This analysis suggests that the root cause of pandemic disparities is the lack of disability-inclusive planning and, more significantly, the pre-existing socioeconomic disparities and challenges that disabled people have been experiencing for a long time. We suggest that unambiguous public health and policy responses should be incorporated, and health, social participation, and socioeconomic disparity causes for disabled people should be addressed in tandem.

Objective:Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS)is a pathophysiological disorder affecting reproductive and metabolic indices in females.The present study was designed to compare the efficacy of metformin and D-chiro-inositol in PCOS patients.Methods:In a tertiary care hospital in North India,prospective observational research was undertaken on 100 patients with PCOS,which was diagnosed based on European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Guidelines and ultrasound of lower abdomen.The study involves various clinical characteristics into considera-tion for the determination of statistical significance(P＜0.05)in PCOS patients.Student's t-test along with the association between PCOS and patients taking metformin and D-chiro-inositol,as well as their impact on various biochemical parameters,were investigated finally using Pearson Correlation Analysis.Results:This study comprises 50 patients taking metformin and 50 patients taking D-chiro-inositol in women suffering from PCOS.Body mass index(BMI)and waist-to-hip ratio(WHR)were statistically significant(P＜0.05)within the groups of both metformin and D-chiro-inositol.Biochemical parameters such as luteinizing hormone(LH),follicle stimulating hormone(FSH),anti-mullerian hormone(AMH)and glycated hemoglobin(HbA1c)were found to be statistically significant(P＜0.05)in both groups.LH,FSH and AMH(14.40±0.52;14.28±0.53;1.99±0.10)were comparatively lower in patients taking D-chiro-inositol as compared to metformin group(14.17±0.42;19.88±1.01;2.61±0.04).HbA1c(3.71±0.08)with P＜0.05 was found to be decreased more in metformin group as compared to patients taking D-chiro-inositol(4.90±0.09).A positive correlation was found between HbA1c and LH in metformin,& HbA1c and FSH in D-chiro-inositol groups,respectively.Conclusion:The results indicate that D-chiro-inositol shows better results in reducing clinical variables involved in causing PCOS as compared to metformin whereas metformin has better glycemic control in PCOS patients.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an upcoming treatment modality for patients with schizophrenia. A series of recent observations have demonstrated improvement in clinical status of schizophrenia patients with tDCS. This review summarizes the research work that has examined the effects of tDCS in schizophrenia patients with respect to symptom amelioration, cognitive enhancement and neuroplasticity evaluation. tDCS is emerging as a safe, rapid and effective treatment for various aspects of schizophrenia symptoms ranging from auditory hallucinations-for which the effect is most marked, to negative symptoms and cognitive symptoms as well. An interesting line of investigation involves using tDCS for altering and examining neuroplasticity in patients and healthy subjects and is likely to lead to new insights into the neurological aberrations and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The mechanistic aspects of the technique are discussed in brief. Future work should focus on establishing the clinical efficacy of this novel technique and on evaluating this modality as an adjunct to cognitive enhancement protocols. Understanding the mechanism of action of tDCS as well as the determinants and neurobiological correlates of clinical response to tDCS remains an important goal, which will help us expand the clinical applications of tDCS for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia.
Hallucinations ; Humans ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Neuronal Plasticity ; Schizophrenia*

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a novel brain stimulation technique which has kindled hope in alleviating motor, language as well as cognitive deficits in neuronal injury. Current case report describes application of tDCS in two phases using two different protocols in a patient with hypoxic injury. In the first phase anodal stimulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improved the language fluency. Subsequently, after 6 months second phase application of anodal stimulation over posterior parietal region targeted arithmetic and working memory deficits. Individualising the treatment protocols of brain stimulation, based on the lesion and the functional deficits, for neuro-rehabilitation is emphasised.
Brain ; Clinical Protocols ; Cognition Disorders ; Dyscalculia ; Hope ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; Memory, Short-Term ; Neurons ; Parietal Lobe ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Rehabilitation ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation