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Gene and cell therapies for a variety of life-limiting illnesses are under investigation, and a small number of commercial products have successfully obtained regulatory approval. The cost of treatment is high, and clinical studies evaluating safety and efficacy are performed predominately in high-income countries. We reviewed the current status of gene and cell therapies in low- and middle-income countries and highlighted the need and current barriers to access. The state of product development in Brazil, South Africa, and India is discussed, including lessons learned from American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT)-sponsored virtual symposia in each of these countries., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is the major health concern in the Indian subcontinent. A genome-wide association study carried out with non-diabetic Indians showed association of MTNR1B variants with fasting glucose. MTNR1B mediates the effect of melatonin on insulin secretion. In light of the growing importance of MTNR1B in the etiology of T2D, we sought to test its association with the disease in the south Indian type 2 diabetics. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms of MTNR1B (rs10830962, rs10830963, rs3847554, rs1387153 and rs2166706) were genotyped in 346 T2D patients and 341 non-diabetic controls. None of the SNPs differed significantly between patients and controls with respect to allele and genotype frequencies. Linear regression analysis after adjustment for age, sex and BMI showed a significant positive association of rs3847554 with fasting glucose under recessive model (β=14.98, p=0.012). Haplotypes constituted by minor alleles of rs3847554, rs1387153, rs2166706, rs10830963 and major allele of rs10830962 showed significant positive correlation with fasting glucose (p<0.05). Though the results obtained are suggestive of MTNR1B role in T2D etiology, they need to be confirmed with much larger sample sizes., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between periodontal health and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a case-control design., Materials and Methods: A total of 500 patients, 250 with AMI and 250 with coronary heart disease (CHD) were included in this study. The patients in the AMI group were admitted in the department of Medicine, Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim-Goa because of AMI. The patients in the CHD group had no documented history of recent acute coronary events. Medical history was taken and data on serum lipid values, decayed teeth, missing teeth, filled teeth, probing depth (PD), simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded. Sample proportions were compared by Pearson's chi-square test and quantitative variables with Student's t-test. The relation of clinical parameters and conventional risk factors with AMI was assessed with multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: All the serum lipids and dental parameters were statistically different between AMI and CHD groups (p <0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that serum lipids, number of decayed teeth, mean PD, percentage of sites with BOP, and oral hygiene were significantly associated with AMI (p <0.05)., Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that periodontal disease may be associated with AMI. We propose that prospective randomised studies are needed to determine whether periodontal disease is a risk factor in the occurrence of AMI.

The periodontal status and treatment needs were assessed in 575 dentists between 20-64 years in some places of India. The Community periodontal Index of Treatment Needs was used. The influence of age, sex, educational qualifications and diet on periodontal treatment needs were analysed. The time that would be required to cater to the treatment requirement of the dentists examined was also calculated. Periodontal diseases was found to be highly prevalent (99.6%) but mostly of low to moderate periodontitis. The prevalence and severity and treatment needs increased with age. Among those who needed treatment 99.6% required Oral hygiene instructions and motivation, 70.6% required scaling and 1.7% required complex periodontal treatment. Periodontal treatment needs was less in females than males. Higher educational qualifications showed increased periodontal treatment needs. Diet did not have any significant influence on the periodontal treatment needs. The treatment time calculated was 821 hours of dental hygienists work and only 10 hours of specialists work. On the basis of this study, it can be said that if dentists do not believe in prevention themselves, they will lack the conviction and the enthusiasm necessary to support the development of a preventive programme so necessary in India where the magnitude of the periodontal problem is enormous and hence they will not be able to achieve the targets laid down by the IDA Workshop on "Oral Health for all by the year 2000 AD."