Page 11 - Health Medical Pharma
Pakistan's 'heaviest' man shifted to hospital for treatment
Pakistan's heaviest man, who weighs over 330 kg, has been shifted to a military hospital here after the wall of his house was broken by emergency service personnel wit the help of the army. Noorul Hassan, 55, a resident of Sadiqabad district of Punjab province, some 400kms from Lahore, is suffering from extreme obesity. On Tuesday, personnel from the Rescue 1122 had to break the wall of his house to take him outside as he was too big to pass through the main gate of his house. Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa made special arrangements for Hassan's transfer and treatment after he appealed to him for help on social media. Hassan, who is unable to move freely due to being overweight and also because of other medical complications, will get treatment, including laparoscopic surgery, at the hospital in Lahore. On Tuesday, he was shifted to a military hospital for examination in Lahore. Later, he was shifted to Shalamar Hospital Lahore, a health facility under public-private ...
AES crisis: Hospital urges political parties to not disturb
Even as hospitals in Muzaffarpur grapple to deal with the outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), leaders from various political parties along with officials among others have been trooping in to take stock of the situation, which authorities say is hampering their work."Political leaders visiting hospitals is causing a disturbance in work. I urge the political parties to go to villages and try to raise awareness instead. There is no need of them in hospitals," said Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) Superintendent Sunil Kumar Shahi.As many as 112 children have died of AES in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district including 93 children at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) and 19 others at Kejriwal Hospital."Till now, 372 children have been admitted here, of which 118 have been discharged and 57 will be discharged soon. It is unfortunate that we have lost 93 lives due to AES here," Shahi said.Meanwhile, relatives of patients, mostly children, admitted to the ..
Bihar Encephalitis: More doctors deputed in Muzaffarpur
In the wake of the growing number of deaths due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, the State Health Society has deputed more doctors from neighbouring districts.The death toll due to encephalitis rose to 112 on Wednesday, officials said. As many as 93 children have died at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) while 19 others lost their lives at Kejriwal Hospital.The State Health Society had on Tuesday ordered to delegate more doctors in Muzaffarpur from Darbhanga, Supaul, Madhubani, Samastipur and Sitamarhi districts.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Tuesday visited SKMCH to take stock of the encephalitis outbreak. Earlier, Kumar had announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the children who died due to the AES.He had also given directions to the health department, district administration and doctors to take necessary measures to fight the outbreak.The AES is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms ...
Drug boosts growth in children with dwarfism: Study
A ground-breaking drug that helps regulate bone development may boost growth rates in children with achondroplasia -- the most common type of dwarfism -- according to scientists who conducted a global trial. The drug vosoritide was tested in children aged five to 14 years, according to the research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. According to researchers, achondroplasia is caused by overactivity of a signal that stops growth, and could be likened to overwatering a plant. "This drug basically kinks the hose so that the plant gets the right amount of water and can resume regular growth," said Ravi Savarirayan, a professor at Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia. Achondroplasia is a genetic bone disorder affecting about one in every 25,000 infants. It is caused by a mutation in the FGFR3 gene that impairs the growth of bones in the limbs, the spine, and base of the skull. The most common health complications experienced by children with achondroplasia are .
Elucidata expanding aggressively in India
Elucidata, the data science start-up focused on making better drugs, faster, has announced its plans to double its workforce by 2019. The company has already begun ramping up its India operations.Additionally, as part of its global expansion strategy, Elucidata has hired two senior leaders; Sony Kadvan as Vice President, Engineering and Jim Martin as Vice President, Business and Market Development.Launched in 2015 by IIT Bombay and MIT graduate Abhishek Jha and IIT Delhi alumnus Swetabh Pathak, Elucidata uses data science to reduce the time taken to discover life-saving drugs, impacting human lives significantly.The company's flagship platform 'Polly', a cloud-based, integrated biomedical data platform, helps analyze, visualize, interpret and share vast amounts of omics datasets - from 1000s of patients, 1,000,000s of samples, 21,000 genes, 10,000 small molecules, and 30,000 proteins - to generate insights.The start-up has raised USD 1.7 million in seed funding led by Hyperplane ...
R'than govt directs officials to remain alert over AES
The Rajasthan government has directed officials to remain alert in the state after over 100 children died in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). Directions have been issued to the health department and all government hospitals to remain aler and make prior arrangements to deal with the disease, Health Minister Raghu Sharma said The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to urgently constitute a team of medical experts for the treatment of the children in Bihar's Muzaffarpur. The disease appears with symptoms that may include headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, trouble speaking, memory problems, and problems with hearing. Causes of encephalitis include viruses like herpes simplex virus and rabies as well as bacteria, fungi, or parasites.
With encephalitis death toll at 112, this govt hospital in Muzaffarpur reeks of apathy
Despite encephalitis claiming lives of 112 children in Muzaffarpur, apathy seems to have plagued the administration as the state-run hospital here lacks basic infrastructure facilities and hygiene.The sight of Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), where over 300 children ailing with encephalitis were admitted, is dismal, to say the least.An insufficient number of beds, erratic electricity supply and dirt lurking in every corner - the condition is much worse when it comes to the Department of Pediatrics of the hospital.The state of affairs is such that two or even more than two children are made to accommodate on one bed with attendants adjusting in whatever little space they can manage. Some are given mattresses to lie down on the floor.Many in the hospital use handheld fans for relief owing to the simmering temperatures coupled with inadequate electricity supply."The condition has remained the same for a long time. There's no bed for the patients and we don't have any ...
Cause of fatal disease that turns babies' lips, skin blue identified
Scientists using gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 have identified the cause -- and a potential treatment -- of a fatal respiratory disorder in newborn infants that turns their lips and skin blue. The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate mice that mimic the mostly untreatable disorder called Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia with Misalignment of Pulmonary Veins (ACDMPV). The model allowed researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital in the US to pinpoint the ailment's cause and develop a potential and desperately needed nanoparticle-based treatment. ACDMPV usually strikes infants within a month of birth. The disease starves the pulmonary system of oxygen after the lung's blood vessels do not form properly during organ development. The lack of tiny blood vessels called alveolar capillaries causes hypoxia, inflammation and death, researchers said. "There are no effective treatments other than a lung transplant, so the need for new therapeutics is urgent," said Vlad Kalinichenko, at the ...
Chattisgarh tribals to get free nutritious food, access to medical facilities: Baghel
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced on Wednesday that tribals living in the forest regions of Bastar would soon get free nutritious food through gram panchayats and access to medical facilities. The announcement comes in the wake of over 100 children deaths in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). Baghel said the state government would be launching two new schemes for tribals, related to malnutrition and healthcare facilities. These schemes will play a pivotal role in improving the health status of tribals. The state government will provide nutritious food to the forest dwellers to combat malnutrition and, as part of another scheme, tribals will have mobile healthcare facilities in weekly markets. These schemes will soon be launched from Bastar region as a "pilot project". Bastar is considered to be worst Naxal-affected region in Chhattisgarh. "Bastar region has the highest malnutrition level across Chhattisgarh. We have inherited this
Nitish Kumar should himself resign on the basis of morality: RJD leader over deaths in Muzzafarpur due to Encephalitis
RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Wednesday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should resign from his post on moral grounds over the death of over 100 children Muzaffarpur due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)."The one who has the steering in his hands, shouldn't he run the vehicle properly? The steering is in Chief Minister's hands. Then who else will be held responsible for this. He (Nitish Kumar) should himself resign on the basis of morality. Since many years, they couldn't find a cure to this disease and maintain the hospitals. Also, they didn't fulfill whatever they promised," Singh told ANI here."The state government is responsible for this. Since last 15-20 years, children have been dying because of this. But who takes note of the deaths in rural areas? Around 300-400 children have died there. Secondly, every year specialists come here but it has not been found yet why this disease is breaking out. Somebody said it is because of litchi fruit, while the other ..
SC to hear on June 24 plea on encephalitis outbreak in Bihar's Muzaffarpur
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on June 24 a plea seeking a direction to urgently constitute a team of medical experts for treatment of children suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.A vacation bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant said it would take up the public interest litigation (PIL) on Monday after advocate Manohar Pratap mentioned the matter for urgent hearing.The petition, filed by two advocates, has sought a direction to the Centre and the Bihar government to immediately arrange a 500-bed ICU (intensive care unit) with required medical professionals to deal with the emergent situation, which has occurred due to the outbreak of AES.Advocates Manohar Pratap and Sanpreet Singh Ajmani have also pleaded a direction to the Bihar government to notify an "extraordinary government order" directing all private medical institutions in the affected area to admit and provide treatment free of cost to the patients.The PIL ...
NIN develops pre-pregnancy nutrition kit
Underscoring the importance of pre-conception nutrition, a city-based institute has developed a kit to address the pre-pregnancy nutritional needs of women. The kit with a ready-reckoner chart tries to inform the newly-wed couples and their family members on ways to ensure nutrition, personal hygiene and immunisation of woman before conception, during pregnancy and two years after the child birth, Director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), R Hemalatha said. The kit would be launched in the next two months, she said adding it would be brought out in different languages and distributed through marriage registries and model rural health facilities. According to Hemalatha, preconception risks like under nutrition, anaemia, malnutrition, low Body Mass Index, overweight, smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of adequate physical activity and sanitation as well as hygiene are to be addressed irrespective of pregnancy planning, which is essential to improve outcomes. "The .
Australian state legalizes euthanasia for the terminally ill
Australia's state of Victoria on Wednesday became the first in the country to legalize euthanasia for the terminally ill as the law on voluntary assisted death (VAD) entered into force.
Fear of new foods may up heart disease, diabetes risk
Food neophobia -- or fear of new foods -- may lower the quality of a person's dietary intake, and increase the risk of lifestyle disorders such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Food neophobia is an eating behaviour trait in which a person refuses to taste and eat food items or foods they are not familiar with. Researchers from University of Helsinki in Finland and University of Tartu in Estonia examined the independent impact of eating behaviour, and especially food neophobia, on dietary quality as well as lifestyle diseases and their risk factors. "The findings reinforce the idea that a versatile and healthy diet plays a key role, and even has an independent role in health," said Markus Perola from the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare. The study monitored individuals aged between 25 and 74 years during a seven-year follow-up. Food neophobia has been observed to be a strongly hereditary trait: twin studies have found that up to 78 per cent of it may be .
Bihar: AES death toll mounts to 112 in Muzaffarpur
The death toll due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district rose to 112 on Wednesday, officials said.As many as 93 children have died at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) while 19 others lost their lives at Kejriwal Hospital.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Tuesday visited Sri Krishna hospital to take stock of the encephalitis outbreak.Earlier, Kumar had announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the children who died due to AES.He had also given directions to the health department, district administration and doctors to take necessary measures to fight the outbreak.AES is a viral disease which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headache.
Bengal is in national centre-stage but for wrong news (Column: Political Calculus)
Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen repeatedly said that for the development of the country, primary necessity is primary health and education services. If health is not given importance then a country or a nation cannot prosper. The backbone of a country is the development of these two.
After encephalitis deaths, Odisha orders testing of litchi fruit
Amid the outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Bihar which claimed 109 lives, Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das has directed officials to ascertain toxic content in litchi fruit being sold in the state.The directive has come in the wake of reports that encephalitis is spreading in litchi growing areas of Bihar, including Muzaffarpur district and other parts of the country and that consumption of the fruit was among the factors for the spread of the disease.The Department of Health and Family Welfare asked the Food Commissioner to collect and test the sample of Litchi being sold in the market.Earlier, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey had said a team that was formed to ascertain the cause of Encephalitis concluded that sleeping on an empty stomach at night, dehydration due to humidity and eating litchi on an empty stomach were some of the causes of the disease.Encephalitis is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions, and ...
PIL in SC seeks steps to check outbreak of AES
A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking direction to the Centre to dispatch a team of medical professionals to review and assist in preventing the outbreak of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Hospital services in Bengal back to normal as junior doctors resume work
Patients heaved a sigh of relief on Tuesday after junior doctors resumed work at all state-run hospitals following their week-long stir that had disrupted healthcare services across West Bengal. All the 14 medical college and hospitals in the state started functioning, with normal work resuming at outdoor facilities, pathological units and other departments. The patient turnout was high at all the hospitals, including the Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital, which was the epicentre of the junior doctors' agitation. "Most of our colleagues have resumed work and they are helping the seniors in delivering regular services in the outpatient departments (OPD) since Tuesday morning," a spokesperson of a joint forum of junior doctors told PTI. Since many junior doctors were in Kolkata to take part in the agitation, they could not reach their workplaces in far-off areas on Tuesday morning, he said, adding, "They will resume work as soon as they reach the hospitals." "It is a ..
AES outbreak: Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi visit SKMCH in Muzaffarpur
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday visited the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur to take stock of the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome outbreak, which has claimed the lives of over 109 children.Earlier in the day, he issued a direction to SKMCH and Kejriwal hospital, asking them to conduct an environmental study and analysis of affected areas.He also gave a direction to convert SKMCH into a 2500-bed hospital, which currently has 610 beds.Out of 2,500 beds, 1,500 must be arranged immediately in the 1st phase, he said.He also said that a 'Dharamshala' will be built in Muzaffarpur for relatives and families of the children who are admitted in the hospital.AES also called "Chamki Fever", is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headaches.Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the Centre would set up a state-of-the-art research centre here within
