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Biomedical subjects

R M Chaturvedi

Publications and source records attributed to R M Chaturvedi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Anti-leprosy vaccines: current status and future prospects.

Different types of leprosy vaccines are currently used in field trials in India. The rationale behind their use, the parameters for determining their efficacy, their merits and demerits are discussed and the future prospects are highlighted.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The sociocultural dimension in leprosy vaccine trials.

This paper briefly describes organizational, operational, and sociocultural aspects of the phase-III clinical trials of the ICRC anti-leprosy vaccine in Maharashtra, India. Our experience is that vaccine trials can be launched quickly and more cost effectively by using the services of health personnel from the existing public health infrastructure. That is why the trials could be launched in just 4 months after receiving the financial grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi (India). At the community level, a person-to-person approach in Health Education scores over audio-visual aids and the mass media. The compliance in target groups is increased when preventive programmes are backed-up by curative services and when their privacy and daily routine are not disturbed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Immunogenic "subunit" of the ICRC antileprosy vaccine.

The administration of a vaccine containing ICRC bacilli, which is currently undergoing clinical trials in India, induces persistent lepromin conversion in lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients and lepromin-negative healthy subjects, with "upgrading" of tissue response in the former. A sonicate of ICRC bacilli, when subjected to gel-filtration chromatography using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), yields a high molecular weight glycolipoprotein (PP-I) with an apparent molecular weight of 10(6) daltons. PP-I, which brings about lepromin conversion in lepromin-negative healthy subjects, is a major immunogen of the organism, and carries epitopes for both B and T cells. A similar high molecular weight glycolipoprotein (PP-I Mycobacterium leprae) has been isolated from the sonicate of M. leprae. The two PP-I fractions exhibit a close antigenic relatedness at both B- and T-cell levels. However, they differ in their chemical composition and carry different charges. PP-I of ICRC is not only a good immunogen. Its high lipid content provides the necessary built-in adjuvant that would make it a good candidate for a "subunit" antileprosy vaccine. Also, since it carries epitopes for both B and T cells, PP-I ICRC could be used for "molecular engineering" to obtain molecules which selectively stimulate T-cell immunity which is the dominant host defense against M. leprae.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effects of ICRC antileprosy vaccine in healthy subjects.

Long-term effects of the administration of the ICRC antileprosy vaccine in healthy subjects have been investigated both in household contacts of leprosy patients and noncontacts in a general population. Each volunteer received a dose of vaccine containing either 0.5 x 10(9) or 1.7 x 10(7) bacilli intradermally. The vaccine induces a dose-dependent lepromin conversion in negative subjects at 8 weeks after vaccination. One year later, the conversion rates are more than 90% in both high- and low-dose groups. Lepromin conversion is stable for at least 3 years. When administered to the lepromin-positive contacts, the vaccine induces a statistically significant increase in intensity of the reaction at 6 months. During the 3-year observation period, the subjects have remained healthy and no untoward effects, including any neurological lesions, have been observed. There has also been no change in the circulating level of antibodies against the phenolic glycolipid-I antigen of Mycobacterium leprae as a result of vaccination. The vaccine thus induces not only stable immunity but is safe and, being given as a single injection, has a high acceptability. Its field trials will begin soon.

Adolescent↗