NIMHANS

Departments

Department of

 Neurovirology

The
Department came to existence in 1985 and the department was officially inaugurated on 31st of March 1986 by Noble Laureate Dr. Baruch Blumberg. The laboratory complex has been designed and equipped availing the help of various leading virologists in the country. The facilities include cubicles for handling normal and infected cell cultures, an immuno-diagnostic laboratory and a separate departmental animal house to keep virus infected animals.

Objectives

• To provide routine diagnostic services such as virus isolation and antibody detection
• To conduct basic and applied research in the field with particular reference to Neuro-psychiatric disorders /li>
• To impart teaching to students of the institute

Equipments

The equipments available include laminar flow cabinets, ultra low temperature freezers (-80 0), CO 2 incubator, high voltage electrophoresis equipment, column chromatography apparatus, ELISA reader, refrigerated super speed centrifuge, fluorescence microscope and inverted phase contrast microscope, water purification system.

Clinical Services

Diagnosis of the viral infections of the nervous system. The type of investigations includes Virus isolation, viral antibody detection and viral antigen detection, more emphasis using rapid viral diagnostic methods. It has been working as a reference laboratory for the diagnosis of the viral infection of nervous system for several centres in India.

Diagnostic tests for the following viruses :

• Japanese encephalitis virus
• Measles
• Herpes simplex
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Cytomegalovirus
• Human T Lymphotropic virus type 1
• Human immunodeficiency viruses
• Rabies, and
• Poliomyelitis

Human Resouce Development

• Conducting Training programs for hospital staff on AIDS.
• Conducting public education programme in AIDS at various institutions in Karnataka.
• To conduct training program for medical microbiologists in the country, on "Diagnostic virology".

Research/ Contributions

• Main Areas of Research:
• Japanese encephalitis
• Viral hypothesis of mental disorders, and
• Sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis

• Original Contributions Rreported:
• Original Contributions Rreported:
• JEV persists in the human CNS
• JEV induces autoimmune response to neural antigens in over 40% of the patients
• JEV infection predisposes to Guillain-Barre syndrome in patients from endemic areas
  
  HTLV-I is not associated at present with tropical myeloneuropathies in South India.
  
  In vitro maintenance of cysticercus cellulosae was first achieved, fetched international patent for the development of a novel diagnsotic test

• Role of immunological parameters as prognostic indicators in determining the outcome of treatment of patients with Japanese encephalitis.
• To develop a recombinant C-DNA library of Indian isolate of JEV
• To generate JEV specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in mice
• In the field of psychovirology:
• Viral hypothesis of acute functional psychosis
• Viral antibody studies in obsessive compulsive disorders
• Viral antibodies in microcephaly, and
• Viral antibodies in chroic fatigue states

Future Plans

• To establish national registry for viral infections of nervous system.
• To conduct research on immunology of Japanese encephalitis
• To investigate molecular basis of neurotropism of JEV
• The role of interferon and immunoglobulines in the therapy of Japanese encephalitis
• HIV related neuronal dysfunction.
• To concentrate on AIDS education
• To conduct short term laboratory training program for diagnostic virology for post-graduate students in microbiology