Departments of Immunopathology and Pediatrics, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh organized the 6th National conference on Inborn Errors of Immunity on 26th and 27th November,2022 under the guidance of Prof. Surjit Singh, Head, Dept. of Pediatrics and Dean (Research), PGIMER, Chandigarh and Prof. Biman Saikia, President ISPID. The theme of this conference, which was organized under the aegis of Indian Society for Primary Immune Deficiency (ISPID) in collaboration with the Foundation for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (FPID), USA, headed by Dr. Sudhir Gupta was “To B: Antibody Deficiency Disorders”.
Inborn errors of immunity are important yet underdiagnosed. This is primarily due to the lack of awareness of the physicians and lack of availability of diagnostic testing, particularly in India. However, due to recent advances in diagnostic techniques, including next generation sequencing, these are being increasingly diagnosed. Targeted treatment and bone marrow transplants have shown a remarkable success in some of these disorders, further emphasizing the need for accurate and timely diagnosis.
Prof. Vivek Lal, Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh was the chief Guest of the program and Prof. NK Mehra, Head Transplant Immunology and Immunogenetics, SRL Limited, Gurgaon and former Dean Research, AIIMS, New Delhi was the guest of honor.
The one-and-a-half-day program discussed several key aspects pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of specific immune deficiency disorders. Dr. Sudhir Gupta, President FPID, USA commenced the program with his excellent talk on Selective IgM deficiency: the spectrum followed by inauguration ceremony addressed by Dr. Biman Saikia, President ISPID, Dr. Sudhir Gupta, Prof. NK Mehra, Prof. Vivek Lal, Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and Dr. Amit Rawat, General Secretary, ISPID. The lectures were delivered by the reputed national and international faculty, creating awareness about Antibody deficiency disorders including common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and B-cell defects in several inborn errors of immunity including chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), neonatal screening for B-cell defects, gene therapy for Hyper IgM syndrome, immunoglobulin replacement therapy, anti-cytokine autoantibodies in IEI and IEIs associated with susceptibility to EBV infection, vaccination in antibody deficiency disorders, Hyper IgD syndrome in India, autoimmunity in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Dr. Neena Kapoor, a pioneer in hematopoietic stem cell transplant in IEIs, Los Angeles, USA delivered a highly educative lecture on HSCT in IEIs. Furthermore, of the 35 abstracts received, 6 were selected for oral presentation and rest were presented as e-poster by the delegates all over the country. Dr. Vaishnavi V Iyengar, BJ Wadia Hospital, Mumbai, Dr. Madhubala Sharma, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and Dr. Anit Kaur, PGIMER, Chandigarh received awards for 3 best oral presentations during the valedictory function. Dr. Vijaya Gauri, BJ Wadia Hospital, Mumbai, Dr. Neha Singh, Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore, and Dr. Akshaya Chougule, BJ Wadia, Hospital, Mumbai received awards for best poster presentation. A quiz was also conducted for educating and motivating the MD, DM and Ph.D students in the field of PID. Dr. Kunal Kashi, Dr. Disha, pursuing MD Pediatrics at PGI, Chandigarh, Ms. Vibhu Joshi, pursuing Ph.D. at PGI, Chandigarh and Dr. Abarna, pursuing DM Pediatric Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, PGIMER, Chandigarh were awarded for best performance in PID Quiz.
Finally, Prof. Sudhir Gupta, Prof. Surjit Singh congratulated the delegates and the organizing team on successful completion of the program. Prof. Biman Saikia and Prof. Amit Rawat delivered vote of thanks.