DADA2 – deficiency of the enzyme ADA2, Adenosine Deaminase 2, explained Prof Sharma, is a recently discovered and a rare genetic disease that usually starts in childhood.

It is a journey that Professor (Dr) Aman Sharma, rheumatology unit, Department of Internal Medicine, PGIMER, describes as a by-product of the urgent need to find answers and solutions to help alleviate the pain of others, when one is up against the wall.

In a time when Covid-19 has consumed the medical fraternity, PGIMER has something to be upbeat about. In a virtual press conference Prof. Jagat Ram, director, said that pioneering research done by rheumatologists from PGIMER in the field of systemic vasculitis has shown the world that a disease known as DADA2, which was previously known to occur predominantly in children, also occurs in adults.

The researchers were led by Prof. Aman Sharma, whose paper titled ‘Deficiency of Adenosine Deaminase 2 (DADA2) in Adults and Children: Experience from India,’ has been published online in ‘Arthritis and Rheumatology’, an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology with an impact factor of 9.6. This paper immediately created a buzz on Twitter and the journal showed an Altmetric score of 32. The paper entered in the top five per cent of all research outputs scored by Altmetric within 48 hours of it appearing online.

DADA2 – deficiency of the enzyme ADA2, Adenosine Deaminase 2, explained Prof Sharma, is a recently discovered and a rare genetic disease that usually starts in childhood. It can cause recurrent strokes, severe systemic inflammation, immune deficiency and damage of body’s tissues and organs.

This disease was recognised only very recently in 2014, and is caused by a defect in ADA2 gene which results in deficiency of ADA2 enzyme.