Page 109 - Health Medical Pharma
Sugary drinks may boost cancer growth: Study
Consuming just one or two cups of sugar-sweetened drinks daily may accelerate the growth of intestinal tumours, say scientists who also discovered how sugar can directly feed cancer growth. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medicine in the US conducted the study on mice. "An increasing number of observational studies have raised awareness of the association between consuming sugary drinks, obesity and the risk of colorectal cancer," said Jihye Yun, assistant professor at Baylor. "We know that obesity increases the risk of many types of cancer including colorectal cancer; however, we were uncertain whether a direct and causal link existed between sugar consumption and cancer," said Yun. Researchers generated a mouse model of early-stage colon cancer where APC gene is deleted. "APC is a gatekeeper in colorectal cancer. Deleting this protein is like removing the breaks of a car," Yun said. "Without it, normal intestinal cells neither stop growing nor die, ...
Obesity could cause reproductive problems in women with type 1 diabetes
A recent study has revealed that obesity may play a role in reproductive problems in women with type 1 diabetes.The study was presented at ENDO 2019; the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La. Earlier studies have shown that type 1 diabetes is associated with menstrual irregularities and lower rates of fertility."Women with type 1 diabetes remain at risk of significant reproductive problems despite improvements in current therapies, and this may be partly explained by the high prevalence of obesity in this group," said lead researcher Eleanor Thong, M.B.B.S., Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Clayton, Australia.The researchers analysed data from the large community-based Australian Longitudinal Study in Women's Health (ALSWH). A total of 23,752 women aged 18-23 and 34-39 were included in the study.Of these women, 162 had type 1 diabetes. The researchers found 24 per cent of women with type 1 diabetes were obese, compared with 16 percent of those ...
'Partnership with all stakeholders key to make India TB-free by 2025'
Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan Sunday stressed on the partnerships with all stakeholders including doctors, paramedics, frontline health workers and community partners for achieving the goal of eliminating tuberculosis from the country by 2025. The systems of care for TB patients should be patient centric, and sympathetic to their wellbeing, she emphasised at an event to markthe World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. Reiterating India's commitment to eliminate TB in the country by 2025, Sudan stated that India has been able to eliminate polio, yaws (skin disease) due to the sturdy health systems, especially at the primary healthcare levels. "Partnerships with all stakeholders hold the key to making India TB-free," she said as she led the participants of the event to take apledge to unite together to contribute and support towards making India TB free by 2025, 5 years before the global target of 2030. Various presentations made at the event highlighted the key changes introduced in the ...
Dim light escalates breast cancer's spread to bones
Exposure to dim light at night may contribute to spreading of breast cancer to bones, researchers have shown in an animal study.
Sree Chitra Institute develops anti-cancer drug
The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technoloy (SCTIMST) here has developed an anti cancer anti-inflamatory drug conjugated to the human serum Albumin. It is an intravenous delivery system, enabling 100 fold increase in drug bio-availability and is a mix of human serum albumin and a plant based drug, an institute source told PTI. "We have done the initial animal trials and it has been proved anti inflamatory. Already the technology has been transferred. The clinial trials will take some time as it has to be done in various stages and will be undertaken by the company", the source added. This combination is the first of its kind as human albumin which is more compatible to the human body is being used. Clinical trials in humans have to be completed and results assessed as the ensuing steps towards commercialisation. The institute has also developed the technology of isothermal based DNA amplification device to detect TB bacterium in sputum samples in .
UAE Government launches programme to held overweight employees shed extra kilos
The UAE Government has launched a programme for the overweight employees to shed extra kilos and adopt a healthy lifestyle, according to a media report. Titled "Lose to Win", the programme has been launched by the Ministry of Health and Prevention and encourages those struggling with weight issues to learn how to induce positive changes in their lifestyle, the Gulf News reported. "The programme involves adopting a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity, helping employees lose excessive weight within eight weeks," the report said. The programme team comprises nutritionists and health educators from Health and Education Department of the ministry. Apart from awareness sessions, the programme includes a workshop on healthy nutrition where the participants are briefed on essential topics, including how to read food labels as well as explaining the make-up of balanced diets, the report said.
Automated tech can detect eye surface cancer
Researchers have developed an automated, non-invasive technique for diagnosing eye surface cancer, which may reduce the need for biopsies, prevent therapy delays and make treatment far more effective for patients. The method, described in the journal The Ocular Surface, comprises the custom-building of an advanced imaging microscope in association with state-of-the-art computing and artificial intelligence operation. The result is an automated system that is able to successfully identify between diseased and non-diseased eye tissue, in real-time, through a simple scanning process. "Clinical symptoms of ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) are known to be variable and in early stages can be extremely hard to detect so patients may experience delays in treatment or be inaccurately diagnosed," said Abbas Habibalahi, a researcher at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP). "The early detection of OSSN is critical as it supports ...
Night-time dim-light exposure could make breast cancer spread to bone
Breast cancer patients, who expose themselves to dim-light at night, take note! A recent study has found out that dim-light exposure at night could likely lead breast cancer to spread to bone.Study presented at Endocrine Society's annual meeting, ENDO 2019, has shown dim-light exposure at night may lead breast cancer to spread to bone for the first time in an animal study."To date, no one has reported that exposure to dim light at night induces circadian disruption, which then increases the formation of bone metastatic breast cancer," said Anbalagan."This is important, as many patients with breast cancer are likely exposed to light at night as a result of lack of sleep, stress, excess light in the bedroom from mobile devices and other sources, or night shift work." said Muralidharan Anbalagan, Ph.D., assistant professor, Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orlean.More than 150,000 U.S. women had breast cancer in 2017 that metastasised, or spread outside the breast, according ..
Automated way to detect eye surface cancer developed
Australian researchers have developed a new automated non-invasive technique for diagnosing eye surface cancer, offering the potential to reduce the need for biopsies, prevent therapy delays and make treatment far more effective for patients.
Menstrual cycle influences sleep quality in women: Study
Young women are more likely to experience sleep disruption in the days leading up to their menstrual period, a study has found. "Sleep is more disrupted in the several days directly prior to menses in young healthy women," said Anne E Kim, a medical student at Case Western Reserve University in the US. "Increased sleep disruption was found in the late luteal phase, which corresponds with the days directly prior to menses," said Kim. Menstrual phase affected sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), number of awakenings per night, and sleep fragmentation index, in keeping with increased sleep disruption in the late luteal phase. Compared with the early follicular phase, sleep efficiency decreased by 3.3 per cent, WASO increased by 15 minutes, and number of awakenings per night increased by three in the late luteal phase. Researchers collected daily sleep data from 10 healthy women between the ages of 18 and 28 who had regular menstrual cycles. The researchers tracked the women's
Decoded: How does oestrogen protect bones?
Researchers have found a new molecular link between oestrogen and bone ageing, which may eventually lead to new strategies to treat osteoporosis among post-menopausal women.
IMA calls for unity among stakeholders to eliminate TB by 2025
The Indian Medical Association Sunday organised a mass awareness program on World Tuberculosis Day and appealed to all stakeholders to work together as a unit towards the goal of eliminating the disease from the country by 2025. The program was simultaneously carried out in all the 1,750 branches of IMA throughout the country. Sensitizing the public through such events will be a step closer towards eliminating TB from the country, IMA national president Dr Santanu Sen said. The program aims to increase awareness about the dreaded disease among the public and the ways to curb the instances and related mortality and morbidity by 2025. The slogan for the event, inaugurated by Dr Sen, was 'IMA ka naara, TB se Chutkara', aiming to get rid of the disease. The event witnessed release of as many balloons into the air to mark the 137th World TB Day. This World TB Day commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that ...
Smokers notice health warnings more on plain packs
Health warnings on plain-packaged cigarettes affect smokers more than those marked on branded packs, finds a new study.
Smart speakers could assist doctors in operating rooms
Smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home that are customarily used to liven up your living room, can be programmed to assist physicians in hospital operating rooms, scientists say. The devices offer a conversational voice interface that allows interventional radiology (IR) physicians to ask questions and retrieve information needed for their patient treatments without breaking sterile scrub. "During treatment, IRs rely on nuanced medical information delivered in a timely manner. When you're in the middle of a procedure, you need to remain sterile, so you lose the ability to use a computer," said Kevin Seals, a fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US. "This smart speaker technology helps us to quickly and intelligently make decisions relevant to a patient's specific needs," said Seals, lead author of the study. The researchers at UCSF developed a device-sizing application for the Google Home smart speaker. The application processes ...
Amazon Alexa can aid doctors during surgeries
Amazon Echo with in-built Alexa or Google Home smart speakers can not only play your favourite songs at home but can also assist doctors during medical procedures, say researchers.
New therapy to treat 'tennis elbow' without surgery
Tennis elbow, painful chronic condition that affect job performance and quality of life, can be effectively treated without surgery, scientists say. The condition, also known as lateral epicondylitis, stems from repetitive stress injuries that occur in activities such as sports, typing and knitting, and the injury is common in carpenters, cooks and assembly line workers. Researchers found that through transcatheter arterial embolisation (TAE), an image-guided, non-surgical treatment that decreases abnormal blood flow to the injured area to reduce inflammation and pain, the condition may be treated. "Tennis elbow can be difficult to treat, leaving many patients unable to perform the simplest tasks, such as picking up their children, cooking dinner, or even working on a computer," said Yuji Okuno, founder of the Okuno Clinic in Japan. "With this frustration, many patients turn to invasive major surgery after years of failed physical therapy and medication use," said Okuno, lead author ..
Fathers-to-be who smoke may harm their babies
Fathers-to-be, take note! Smoking may increase the baby's risk of developing congenital heart defects -- the leading cause of stillbirth, a study has found. Congenital heart affect eight in 1,000 babies born worldwide. Prognosis and quality of life continues to improve with innovative surgeries, but the effects are still lifelong. The findings, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, suggest that fathers-to-be should quit smoking. "Fathers are a large source of secondhand smoke for pregnant women, which appears to be even more harmful to unborn children than women smoking themselves," said Jiabi Qin, from Central South University in China. "Smoking is teratogenic, meaning it can cause developmental malformations. The association between prospective parents smoking and the risk of congenital heart defects has attracted more and more attention with the increasing number of smokers of childbearing age," said Qin. According to researchers, this was the first ...
Common weight-loss drug safe for long-term use
A common form of drug for weight-loss used for a short period, may also be safe and effective for long-term treatment, said researchers.
Sonam Kapoor to raise funds for cancer survivors
Actress Sonam K. Ahuja will be walking for designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla for a fashion show by the Cancer Patients Aids Association (CPAA) to raise funds for cancer surviours here. She says she is a huge believer in using her voice to support social and health issues.
Transgender men have functional ovaries after a year of testosterone injections
The ovaries of transgender men appear to remain functional even after a year of receiving hormonal treatment with testosterone, according to a small Israeli study presented Saturday in the United States. Transgender men are born female but self-identify as male. Not all of them undergo gender reassignment surgery but lots of them take hormones to make their bodies more masculine. Doctors from Tel Aviv-Sourasky Medical Center studied 52 transgender men aged between 17 and 40 for a year after they began receiving injections of testosterone. They had access to the complete results for 32 of them, which is a small sample but studies of this kind are rare. "Our research shows for the first time that after one year of testosterone treatment, ovary function is preserved to a degree that may allow reproduction," said the study's lead investigator, Yona Greenman. "This information is important for transgender men and their partners who desire to have their own children," Greenman said. The ...