National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) has set up an advanced Neurobiology Centre which will provide a platform for rapid and comprehensive translational research on a variety of neurological, psychiatric and clinical problems.
The facility located within the NIMHANS campus in Bangalore has 11 labs focusing on molecular genetics, cognitive sciences, neuro virology, cell culture, tissue culture, EPS (Extrapyramidal Signs part of neural network in the brain) , neuro sciences, neurology, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and neuro chemistry to detect inborn metabolic errors. The lab will be commissioned in January 2011.
“With NIMHANS being recognized as an institute of national importance by the Union government, the state-of-the-art Neurobiology Centre will give a fillip to the mental and neuro medical research”, Dr P Satish Chandra, director, vice chancellor and Professor of Neurology, NIMHANS told Pharmabiz.
The Neurobiology Centre will allow us provide faster access to treatment and in order to expand services, there was a need to modernize its existing infrastructure for which NIMHANS is submitting its proposal to seek Rs.35 crore assistance from the Standing Financial Committee of the Union Government, he added.
For the fiscal 2010-2011, it received from the Union government around Rs. 113 crore under the Plan and non Plan outlays. Karnataka government chipped in Rs.18 crore under its plan and non plan allocation. The institute had a internal accruals to the tune of Rs.26 crore from fee of patients and students, training and convention centre.
With the Rs.35 crore assistance, we would invest not only in equipment in the Neurobiology Centre, but expand departments of emergency-trauma, out-patient and increase capacity of the 100-bed causality centre, he added.
It will also team up with the Sanjay Gandhi Accident Trauma Research Centre located next to NIMHANS to mutually offload patients with orthopaedic and chest rib injuries to their premises and take on the brain injured victims for care. It will increase working in unison with the departments of psychology, psychiatry and social welfare to maximize patient care and rehabilitation.
It has set up Special Clinics for de-addiction, obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders. A Peripheral Centre of Care for child-adolescence counselling has been opened at BTM Layout in Bangalore.
Recognizing the indispensability of accident and emergency services at NIMHANS, three hi-tech ambulances have been donated by State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of India.
On the academic front, it will introduce Fellowship programmes in child-adolescence psychology, epilepsy, movement disorders, de-addiction and trauma care. It will also increase the seats from 18 to 22 for psychology, from 12 to 18 for Social Work and in Neurology from 6 to 8 next year. Its College of Nursing has also increased intake of students going by the rising demand. Present personnel strength at NIMHANS is 1,700 of which 800 are students and 175 constitute its faculty. “The increased seats would help meet the growing demand for qualified mental health professionals,” stated Dr Chandra.