1. A Review of Current Preventive, Diagnostic and Curative Strategies for Diabetes Mellitus
   Author: Commissioned ICTPH - WPS 1
   
   
   This paper attempts to understand the current scenario of diabetes mellitus. Towards this, the paper discusses diabetes mellitus with a special focus on how the disease is diagnosed and managed and the subsequent treatment strategy. Several instances of various non invasive and inexpensive diagnosis techniques have been described in this paper. Authors provide tentative directional focus for ICTPH.
   
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2. Current Interventions for Diarrhoeal Diseases
   Author: Commissioned ICTPH - WPS 2
   
   
   Diarrhoea, a preventable disease, afflicts majority of children less than 5 years of age in developing countries including India. This paper summarises the current diagnosis techniques available for diarrhoea and the management techniques being practiced throughout developing countries. Also preventive strategies to avoid diarrhoea have been discussed. The paper concludes with potential areas of interest for ICTPH to get involved in containing the disease.
   
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3. A Review of Current Preventive, Diagnostic and Curative Strategies for Malaria
   Author: Commissioned ICTPH - WPS 3
   
   
   A key factor identified in suitably managing malaria is availability of early diagnosis. This paper discusses the prevalence of malaria globally as well as in India. The author describes various current diagnostic strategies along with the new techniques for diagnosis of Malaria. Also, effectiveness of different preventive and curative strategies has been outlined here. The authors have enumerated several areas of interest in the malaria domain, of these; highest priority is assigned to early diagnosis and prevention techniques.
   
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4. A Review of Current Preventive, Diagnostic and Curative Strategies for Tuberculosis
   Author: Commissioned ICTPH - WPS 4
   
   
   Current scenario of tuberculosis, especially with the rise in cases of MDR tuberculosis and HIV co infection, the need for better preventive, diagnostic and curative techniques is felt. This paper discusses in-depth, the various rapid diagnostic tests and curative strategies in existence as well as in early stages of development. Efforts are required to come up with improved and faster diagnostic techniques.
   
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5. Multi- micro nutrient Supplementation for Pregnant Women: What does the evidence show?
   Author: Commissioned ICTPH - WPS 5
   
   
   A major health issue in India is maternal and perinatal mortality. These are consequences of malnourishment of the pregnant individual in developing countries. Supplementations have been a key intervention targeted to reduce the mortality rates. This paper discusses the two supplementation strategies deployed, namely two or less micro nutrient and the multi micronutrient supplement. Broad areas of involvement of ICTPH in this area have been defined by the author and include research in multi micronutrient supplementation.
   
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6. Perinatal and Childhood Nutrition and its Impact on Cognitive Function and Adult Diseases
   Author: Undurti N. Das
   
   
   Maternal malnutrition, preterm birth, and childhood malnutrition may have an impact on physical growth and intellectual ability of affected children. Fetal and infant malnutrition can predispose to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. Maternal, infant, and childhood protein, folic acid, and vitamin B12 deficiency, and elevated homocysteine levels could impair metabolism of essential fatty acids and cause decrease in the concentrations of their long-chain metabolites: arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids and their metabolites. These metabolic derangements may cause cognitive impairment, endothelial dysfunction, susceptibility to various infections, and low-grade systemic inflammation that predisposes to the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases.
   
   Since these nutrient deficiencies are more common in low to middle income families of developing countries, it is essential that effective measures are implemented to prevent impaired physical growth, cognitive function and adult diseases. Even in the developed countries malnutrition in the form of overnutrition may have similar consequences. Hence ensuring optimal nutrition during pregnancy, lactation,infancy, childhood, and adolescence is essential to ensure physical, mental, and psychological wellbeing of the growing children so that the development of adult diseases are prevented or postponed and this, in turn, reduces the burden of diseases on the health care system of the nation.
   
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7. Lipids in Health and Diseases
   Author: Undurti N. Das
   
   
   Coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cancer, depression schizophrenia,Alzheimer's disease, and collagen vascular diseases are low-grade systemic inflammatory conditions that are a severe burden on health care resources. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) and their metabolites: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA), and arachidonic acid (AA) and their products: prostaglandin E1, prostacyclin, lipoxins, resolvins, and protectins suppress inflammation, augment healing, and are of benefit in the prevention and management of these conditions. Hence, supplementation of EFAs could reduce burden of these disease(s).
   
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8. Pathological Retinal Angiogeneisis and Polyunsaturated Fats
   Author: Undurti N. Das
   
   
   Retinopathy of prematurity in children, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are characterized by vessel loss followed by hypoxia-driven destructive neovascularization. Damage to the retinal pigment epithelium and a chronic aberrant inflammatory response increase the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tumour necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) that initiate and perpetuate pathological retinal angiogenesis. Anti-VEGF approaches are of limited benefit in the treatment of AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and retinopathy of prematurity. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): arachidonic (AA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA), and their products lipoxins, resolvins, and protectins play an important role in the pathogenesis of pathological retinopathy in view of their anti-inflammatory; wound healing, and neuroprotective actions. Lipoxins, resolvins and protectins prevented hyperoxia-induced retinopathy in experimental animals suggesting that they are useful in the prevention and treatment of destructive angiogenesis.
   
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