PGI PAEDIATRICIAN AWARDED BEST PRESENTATION AWARD AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

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Chandigarh 26^th August:- Dr. Prateek Bhatia, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics (Hematology Lab), PGI, Chandigarh was awarded the Best Presentation Award for his research award study entitled "Establishing phenotypic and genotypic screening model to identify children with iron refractory iron deficient anemia (IRIDA)"at the recently concluded 28th International Pediatric Congress held at Vancouver, BC, Canada.  The conference was widely attended by many distinguished Pediatricians from world over. 

The research study was carried out at Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Molecular research laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, APC, PGI, Chandigarh. Their study found a prevalence of oral iron refractoriness as 11% cases out of 550 cases of microcytic hypochromic anemia screened. Of these 11% cases, around 40% had the iron refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA) phenotype based on hepcidin and ferritin levels. These cases with IRIDA phenotype on genetic sequencing analysis of TMPRSS6 gene revealed variations (mutations/polymorphisms) in around 55% cases thus identifying one of the major underlying genetic changes for oral iron refractoriness in our population cohort.