Project SWADESH, a recent initiative by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the National Brain Research Centre (DBT-NBRC), is grabbing headlines due to its unique proposition for managing Neurological disorders. Particularly noteworthy is the involvement of NBRC, India’s solitary institute committed to advancing Neuroscience Research and Education.
This groundbreaking project signifies the first large-scale multimodal neuroimaging database constructed expressly for the Indian population. It brings together big-data architecture and analytics in an effort to streamline the assessment of various disease categories under a single platform.
Structure and Functioning of Project SWADESH
The project is assembled on a big-data architecture that categorizes and examines six modules. These modules include neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Parkinson’s disease; neuropsychiatric complications such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; neurodevelopmental issues like autism and epilepsy; Covid-19-related disorders; other disorders; and a category for healthy subjects.
It’s worth noting that this system is supported by JAVA-based workflow environments and Python, both prominent computer programming languages. The robust storage system backing this project warrants quality control, data analysis reports, and data backups, thereby ensuring efficient operation.
Importance of Project SWADESH
The integration of multi-site data and collaborative research worldwide stands to benefit significantly from the development of this project. Moreover, by conducting multimodal brain studies, greater understanding can be gained about Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.
Understanding Neurological Disorders
Neurological disorders represent diseases that affect the central and peripheral nervous system, comprising the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripheral nerves, nerve roots, autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscles.
Some common non-communicable neurological disorders include Stroke, Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple sclerosis. Meanwhile, Encephalitis and Meningitis fall under communicable neurological disorders. There are also injury-related neurological disorders like Traumatic brain injuries and Spinal cord injuries.
Neurological Disorders Scenario in India
In India, neurological disorders account for 10% of the total disease burden. The prevalence of non-communicable neurological disorders is on the rise, primarily due to an ageing population.
From 1990 to 2019, the contribution of non-communicable neurological disorders to total DALYs (disability adjusted life-years) in the country has almost doubled, from 4% to 8.2%. In the same period, the contribution of injury-related neurological disorders saw a threefold increase – from 0.2% to 0.6%.
Issues such as high blood pressure, air pollution, dietary risks, high fasting plasma glucose, and high body-mass index are leading contributors to the increasing burden of Neurological Disorders in India.
Last Modified: February 13, 2024