Drugs like LSD, barbiturates, amphetamines, etc., are used as medicines to help patients with mental illness. However, excessive doses and abusive usage are harmful. Enumerate the major adverse effects of such drugs in humans.
Harmful effects of drugs like LSD, barbiturates, are
(i) Anxiety, shakiness, nausea and sweating, loss of mind control.
(ii) Reckless behaviour, vandalism and violence.
(iii) Lack of interest in personal hygiene, fluctuations in weight and appetite.
(iv) Withdrawal, isolation, depression, fatigue, aggressive behaviour.
(v) Social adjustment problems
(vi) Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and life threatening.
(vii) Excessive doses of drugs may lead to coma and death may occur due to respiratory failure, heart failure or cerebral haemorrhage.
What is Pulse Polio Programme of Government of India? What is OPV? Why is it that India is yet to eradicate polio?
Pulse Polio is an immunisation campaign established by the Government of India in 1995-96 to eradicate poliomyelitis (polio) in India by vaccinating all children under the age of five years orally against polio virus.
This project deals with the ways to fight poliomyelitis through a large scale immunisation programme, co-operating with various international institutions, state governments and Non-Governmental Organisations. In 1995, following the polio eradication initiative of World Health Organisation (1988), India launched Pulse Polio Immunisation Program along with Universal Immunisation Program which aimed at 100\% coverage.
Having mate on unprecedented progress in polio eradication, India is now gearing up to be declared polio free by 2014 by guarding itself against the import of polio virus from neighbouring countries and by boosting routine immunisation.
Oral Polio Vaccine
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) is a live-attenuated vaccine, produced by the passage of the virus through non-human cells at a sub-physiological temperature, which produces spontaneous mutations in the viral genome.
OPV also proved to be superior in administration, eliminating the need for sterile syringes and making the vaccine more suitable for mass vaccination campaigns. OPV also provides long lasting immunity than the salk vaccine.
One dose of OPV produces immunity to all three poliovirus serotypes in approximately 50\% of recipients. India is yet to eradicate polio because inspite of many initiatives taken by government, few cases has been reported.
The last reported cases of polio in India was in West Bengal and Gujarat on 13 January 2011. Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries. If no fresh case is reported till 2014, the country will be declared polio free.
July 30, 2013 a nine-month old boy from Navi Mumbai has been found positive for Vaccine-Derived Polio-Virus(VDPV) type 2 and was on ventilator at BJ Wadia Hospital in Parel. This is the fourth such case recorded in the country that year.
In India the main obstacle in the eradication of polio had been the refusal of polio vaccine by certain communities on account of illiteracy and misinformation.
What are recombinant DNA vaccines? Give two examples of such vaccines. Discuss their advantages.
Recombinant DNA vaccines are made up of a small circular DNA (plasmid) that has very tiny piece of pathogen DNA incorporated in it to produce one or two specific proteins of the pathogen.
This recombinant DNA is introduced in to the bacteria or yeast cells, where it can use cell's machinery to produce polypeptides of pathogen. These are used as vaccine to trigger a range of immune responses.
Vaccines produced by using this approach allow large scale production. e.g.,
(i) Hepatitis-B vaccine produced from yeast.
(ii) Bird flu DNA vaccine.
Advantages
(i) Recombinant DNA vaccines are advantageous over killed or attenuated vaccines since, they does not get virulent or mutated again as it is seen in case of attenuated vaccines.
(ii) Secondly these are highly pure, specific and elicits strong immune response.