Zeitschrift für Genetik und Genome

Understanding the intricate relationship between genetics and neurodegenerative disorders has been a longstanding challenge in the field of neuroscience. Parkinson's disease (PD), characterized by the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra, has been associated with both genetic and environmental factors. Leveraging the groundbreaking potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), researchers have embarked on a groundbreaking study involving 95 participants from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) to explore the differentiation of iPSCs into DA neurons and investigate the impact of varying genetic risks. This pioneering research aims to shed light on the cellular context of genetic risk in PD pathogenesis.

Introduction: Coronavirus has caused a major burden to mankind since the end of the year 2019 and is still persisting. School going children play a vital role in sustaining the human race and it is necessary to educate them about Coronavirus disease and inculcate in them the preventive measures to minimize its outbreak. This study is aimed to determine the level of awareness and knowledge on preventive measures of this disease and to find their association with demographic variables in high school students.

Methods: A close ended questionnaire based demographic study was done to assess the awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 on 242 school children, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. The collected data was statistically analyzed.

Results: The study revealed that the highest percentages of students were in the age group of 14 years (41.73%) and majority of them were female (52.89%). Most of the students were residing in urban area (67.35%). The maximum source of knowledge about the disease was from mass media (75.61%). Awareness associated studies showed significance with the variables of age group (P=0.004), area of residence (P=0.04), and nutritional status of the students (P=0.016), while the knowledge related studies showed significance with only nutritional status of the students (P=0.001). Students residing in rural area decreased the odds of awareness. Female students and 13 years of age students having marginal nutrition have increased the odds of having awareness. Students who are having good health increased the odds of knowledge while those who were over nutrition decreased the odds of knowledge on preventive measures. (P<0.05 was considered as significant).

Conclusion: The study denotes that the efforts of the global health authorities in imparting the necessary steps through mass media to save the public were successful. More awareness and knowledge through mass media increases the tendency of gaining knowledge and awareness towards COVID-19. It is suggestible to include modern technologies and also breathing exercises in school curriculums to protect the students from COVID-19. Further study on various aspects of this respiratory disease with larger sample size will help in acquiring an indepth knowledge on corona virus.