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Background: Yoga is increasingly being used as a complementary mode of treatment for epilepsy along with pharmacotherapy; however, the quality of reporting and bias of studies on yoga in epilepsy is uncertain. Objective: This study was performed to systematically evaluate the reporting quality and bias of the published studies on yoga in epilepsy. Materials and methods: PubMed and Cochrane databases were searched for studies investigating the efficacy of yoga in epilepsy or describing the patients' or caregivers' knowledge, attitude, influence, and practice of yoga in epilepsy. The reporting qualities of the studies were appraised by standard reporting checklists (CONSORT, STROBE, COREQ, and modified CONSORT) and the risks of bias were assessed using standard tools (Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool, Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and ROBINS-I tool) according to the study designs. Results: Fifteen studies (four randomized control trials, seven observational studies, three non-randomized interventional studies, and one was a mixed-method study) were included. The reporting qualities of the studies which evaluated the role of yoga in epilepsy were comparatively poor from the methodological perspective and the risks of bias were comparatively high than those which described the knowledge, attitude, influence, and practice of yoga in epilepsy. Conclusion: The reporting qualities of studies in relation to yoga and epilepsy were not satisfactory and the risks of bias were high. Hence, it is imperative to be cautious before widely recommending yoga in epilepsy.

The Indo–Swiss symposium on advances in pharmacogenomic strategies for implementation of personalized medicine was conducted as a part of the JIPMER Integrated Pharmacogenomics Program (JIPP), held in Puducherry, India on 23 November 2019. The symposium focused on the growing contribution of pharmacogenomic information in designing treatment strategies and promoting better approaches to personalized medicine. The primary objective of this symposium was to bridge gaps in understanding the basics and recent advances in the field of pharmacogenomics. This symposium sought to promote interaction between the Indian and Swiss researchers to initiate future collaborative research projects. This symposium also served as a platform for young researchers to present their research findings as posters to the audience.

Background: Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is one of the most common methods to obtain safety data. Lack of awareness is a major reason for under reporting. Hence, this study was undertaken to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of the postgraduates about pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting in Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bengaluru, a tertiary care teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among postgraduate students in a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India to evaluate the participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) on ADRs and Pharmacovigilance. A pre-designed and validated question¬naire containing 14 questions was used to assess knowledge, attitude and practice. The filled KAP questionnaires were analyzed and their percentage value was calculated by using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Results: A total of 120 postgraduate students participated in the study. Around 81% of participants agreed that reporting of ADRs is a professional obligation and all ADRs should be reported. They did not have adequate knowledge regarding the purpose of monitoring ADRs and 22.5% of study participants were unclear as to where and how to report ADRs. Unfortunately, only 12.5% of participants actually reported ADRs due to lack of proper sensitization and knowledge of pharmacovigilance and ADR. Conclusion: This study revealed that the postgraduate students have a good attitude towards ADR reporting. However, they lack knowledge and the actual practice of ADR reporting is still lacking among them. There is a need to create awareness among the health care professionals about ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance. Educational interventions targeting the medical fraternity should be implemented to help improve spontaneous reporting and knowledge of pharmacovigilance and ADR.

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