MV ACT
In a country where over 380 people die on the roads every day, the only law governing road safety at the moment is the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. “This law was last amended in 2001. It has been 13 years since any change has been brought to the law. At least 18 lakh people have meanwhile, been killed on Indian roads. The road transport and highways ministry has now circulated the draft of a new bill – Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014 – which aims at increasing penalties for traffic offences and tightening the licensing system.
The cabinet is expected to discuss the bill soon and Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said the bill would be introduced in Parliament this session. Seeing the way our Parliament is functioning, this non-partisan Bill may get delayed.
KOLKATA BUSES
The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to run a behind-the-wheel refresher training for state bus drivers so that the swank AC buses are better protected. Apprehensive of the accidents caused by the drivers and that very expensive buses are damaged beyond repair, the state transport department has embarked upon the reorientation training where the drivers will not only be trained to drive the buses safely, but they would be sensitised on road safety and warned about punitive actions.
Thanks to funding from Jawaharlal Nehru National Urba Renewal Mission (JnNURM), the state has developed a fresh fleet of buses which have gone a long way towards improving urban transport system. But all these buses have been going through regular wear and tear and the state public transport system is perhaps the most dangerously run system with speeding and recklessness of bus drivers causing accidents. The buses are priced at Rs 1.1 crore each.
ADVANCES IN CONCUSSION TREATMENT
More than a million Americans have a traumatic brain injury every year. Right now, doctors have little recourse when treating these injuries. The standard of care is rest and “activity to tolerance,” which means a patient can be active until symptoms occur.
Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy are working on re-purposing an asthma drug to curb the injury associated with a brain injury. This approach targets a very early step in the injury process. Research shows that there are at least three phases of injury during a concussion. When the head is hit, there can be nerve damage, bruising and even blood clots. “The primary injury itself sets in motion the secondary injury pathways… hours to days after the original trauma.” Secondary injury can include reduced blood flow, further nerve damage and inflammation that can lead to long-term changes in emotions and behaviour.
“Since there’s the delay between primary injury and secondary injury, Ms Heidrich the Lead Researcher believes that there is a therapeutic window of opportunity.” She believes that an off-patent drug that reduces inflammation in asthma patients can do the same in brain injury patients. Her testing shows that when administered shortly after a head injury, the drug reduces inflammation and stops some of the secondary symptoms from developing. “It’s a novel approach. Most of the past studies have been focused on preventing neuro-cell death and cell death occurs much later,” she explained.
It’s an approach that Alyssa Blood is excited about. Blood is also working on the project. She’s also suffered four concussions, the last of which made her sick for two and a half years. “I had horrible headaches. I didn’t even know how bad my headaches were until I got better.” She reported being sensitive to light, had trouble focusing in class and feared she would never get better. Her injuries inspired her to become a doctor.
Now the researchers are looking to partner with a pharmaceutical company to bring the drug to market. They envision that soon medics would be able to use this drug for early intervention in concussion cases.