Page 114 - Health Medical Pharma

FDA approves drug for treating postpartum depression

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug specifically developed for severe depression after childbirth. The agency on Tuesday approved Sage Therapeutics' Zulresso, an IV drug given over 2 days. Sage said Zulresso will cost USD 34,000 without insurance, plus costs for staying in a hospital or infusion centre. Whether the treatment gets covered by insurance is determined by each insurance company, which also sets the out-of-pocket costs, depending on the plan. In a company-funded study of new mothers with moderate or severe postpartum depression, half the women given Zulresso had depression end within 2 days, about double the rate of those in a comparison group given dummy treatments. Postpartum depression affects about 400,000 American women a year. It often ends on its own within a couple weeks, but it can continue for months or even years. It can be treated with antidepressants, which can take six to eight weeks to work and don't help everyone, or with ...

UN: Gene editing for human reproduction is 'irresponsible'

A panel convened by the World Health Organization said it would be "irresponsible" for scientists to use gene editing for reproductive purposes, but stopped short of calling for a ban. The experts also called for the UN health agency to create a database of scientists working on gene editing. The recommendation was announced Tuesday after a two-day meeting in Geneva to examine the scientific, ethical, social and legal challenges of such research. "At this time, it is irresponsible for anyone to proceed" with making gene-edited babies since DNA changes could be passed down to future generations, the experts said in a statement. Last year, Chinese researcher He Jiankui rocked the scientific community with his announcement that he helped make the world's first gene-edited babies, altering the DNA of twin girls to try to make them resistant to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. WHO's announcement comes after an international group of scientists and ethicists called for a temporary ban on ...

Rallis to suspend operations of Ankleshwar plant in Gujarat due to fire

The Gujarat Pollution Control Board has directed Tata group firm Rallis to suspend its operations in its plant at Ankleshwar due to fire causing injury to four persons. In a filing to the BSE, Rallis India said it has received a letter Tuesday from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board directing the company to suspend its operations at one of its units in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, caused by a flash fire during transfer operations. "While there was no environmental and material impact to the plant, unfortunately four persons were injured who are undergoing medical treatment. The company is taking appropriate steps to restore the said unit's operations at the earliest," it added. The company said the annual shutdown of the unit is also being advanced from April 1 as earlier planned to mitigate any financial impact.

Low adherence to statin raises heart disease risks

While statins prevent risk of death due to heart disease, a new study finds only about six per cent patients adhere to the medication, which may increase their risk of major cardiovascular event.

Chinese woman nearly dies after injecting juice

In a bizarre case, a woman in China nearly killed herself after self-injecting liquidised fruit -- a concoction of 20 fruits -- in her effort to stay healthy, the media reported.

Jindal Saw gets ratings revision in credit ratings from CARE

Non convertible debentures - CARE AA; Stable (Revised from CARE AA-; Positive) Long term banking facilities - CARE AA; Stable (Revised from CARE AA-; Positive)

A brain circuit can help reverse craving for liquor

Scientists have found that they can reverse the urge to drink alcohol, finds a study, which may open the door to developing drug or gene therapies to control alcohol addiction.

Research finds better way to treat PTSD patients

Researchers of a recent study have found a way to improve treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by changing how the brain responds to fearful conditions.Researchers found that by changing how the brain learns to respond in any situation, one can change how it responds to fearful situations that results in trauma. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.The study suggests an improvement to exposure therapy, the current gold standard for PTSD treatment and anxiety reduction which helps people gradually approach their trauma-related memories and feelings by confronting those memories in a safe setting, away from the actual threat.In a study of 46 healthy adults, researchers compared participants' emotional reactions to replacing an unpleasant electric shock on the wrist with a surprise neutral tone, instead of simply turning off the shocks. Omitting the feared shocks is the current norm in exposure therapy. The participants' brain activity was measured by ...

Antibacterial coating helps astronauts fight superbugs on ISS

Scientists have developed a novel antimicrobial coating that can prevent drug-resistant bacterial contaminations aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and help protect astronauts in their journey beyond the Moon and Mars. Extreme spaceflight conditions can force these bacteria to toughen up, while simultaneously lowering the immune defenses of the stressed, isolated crew. These effects and the risk of infection grow with mission duration. "Spaceflight can turn harmless bacteria into potential pathogens," said Elisabeth Grohmann of Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin in Germany. "Just as stress hormones leave astronauts vulnerable to infection, the bacteria they carry become hardier -- developing thick protective coatings and resistance to antibiotics -- and more vigorous, multiplying and metabolising faster," said Grohmann. To make matters worse, the genes responsible for these new traits can be readily shared among different species of bacteria, via direct contact or .

Tea Board expects prices to firm up in 2019

The Tea Board is expecting better prices in 2019 on the back of strong fundamentals, a senior official said on Tuesday. The official also said the board would focus on quality and compliance with new Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) norms. S Soundararajan, Director of Tea Promotion, Tea Board, said that production in 2018 was 1,350 million kg. "We expect the figure to be similar in 2019. Domestic consumption is also growing at 2.2 per cent year-on-year," he told PTI. As the fundamentals are good, prices are likely to firm up this year, he said. "Prices should go up. We had stopped plucking in many states during December to February, which has led to a production shortfall of 25 million kg," Soundararajan said. This, he said, would likely have a positive impact on the prices. He, however, said prices did not go up as expected last year. Regarding e-auction, the official said a professor of IIM-Bangalore has been mandated to conduct a study on it. "The ..

IPL schedule: KKR gets relief, to play all home matches at Eden

Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will play all their Indian Premier League home matches at the Eden Gardens despite West Bengal going into polls during all seven phases of general elections. The BCCI on Tuesday released the full schedule of the round robin league matches starting March 23 till May 5. As usual, there will be a total 56 matches that will be played during the six-week tourney. Among the round robin matches there are 12 afternoon starts (4 pm matches) on the weekends. The IPL operations team has ensured that no team plays their home matches at the alternate venues as the general elections will be held in seven phases from April 12 to May 19. Even Kings XI Punjab, who had played a few of their home matches in Indore during earlier editions, will play all their matches in Mohali. "The biggest challenge was to ensure that KKR gets to play all their matches at the Eden Gardens as West Bengal is the only state which is going to polls on all seven dates. However with ...

China conducts world's 1st remote surgery using 5G

The first remote surgery on a human using 5G technology was successfully conducted in China.

Your neighbourhood may make you obese: Study

Moving to a neighbourhood with a high obesity rate is likely to make a person become overweight, say researchers who suggest that your social circles can inadvertently influence your weight. "Social contagion in obesity means that if more people around you are obese, then that may increase your own chances of becoming obese," said Ashlesha Datar, a senior economist at University of Southern California in the US. "In other words, living in a community where obesity is more common can make sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating and overweight or obesity more socially acceptable," said Datar, one of the authors of the study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Obesity is linked to many factors, including eating and exercise habits, genetics and the environment. Research shows that living in certain communities carries a higher risk of obesity than living in other communities, but this association has been challenging for scientists to explain. Researchers studied military families ..

New coating helps astronauts fight superbugs on ISS

Researchers have developed an anti-microbial coating that reduced the growth of bacteria on contamination-prone surfaces at the ISS, and could help protect astronauts beyond the Moon and Mars from the antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

Zydus receives final approval from the USFDA for Acyclovir Ointment

Acyclovir is an antiviral drug which stops the growth of certain viruses. This medication is used to treat the first outbreak of genital herpes infection. It is also used to treat non-life threatening herpes infections of the skin and around the mouth (cold sores) in people with a weakened immune system.

Chronic inflammation causes loss of bone healing ability in elderly

A recent study has found out the reason why injured bones do not heal as well with age. The study shows that chronic inflammation is the main reason behind bones ability to heal with time.The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS). The results revolve around the known breakdown, due to wear and tear, of the protein machines and large molecules necessary for the life of human cells, the remnants of which trigger the immune system.First studied in its role in destroying invading microbes, this system also can react to the body's own proteins to cause inflammation, a response that fights infection at the site of injury and transitions into the healing process."Our results argue that age-associated inflammation called 'inflamm-aging' is the culprit in the decline in the number and function of the skeletal stem cells that enable bones to heal," says senior study author Philipp Leucht, MD, assistant professor in the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery .

Your friends may influence you to become obese

Besides genes and an unhealthy diet, your friends can also play a role in making you overweight, says a study, which found that obesity can spread through communities like a 'social contagion'.

Sugary drinks may increase risk of early death

Women who drink sugar sweetened beverages are at an increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases, researchers have warned.

Decoded: Why some young adults engage in unsafe sex

Factors such as gender, sexual orientation and the desire to form lasting romantic relationships appear to influence sexual risk-taking among young adults, a new study suggests.

AI can make eye doctors more effective: Google research

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help eye doctors improve the accuracy of their diagnoses, according to a study from the Google AI research group which shows that physicians and algorithms working together are more effective than either alone. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, diagnosing disease faster and potentially with greater accuracy than physicians, some have suggested that technology may soon replace tasks that physicians currently perform. The research, which will be published in the journal Ophthalmology, one of the first to examine how AI can improve physicians' diagnostic accuracy. This study expands on previous work from Google AI showing that its algorithm works roughly as well as human experts in screening patients for a common diabetic eye disease called diabetic retinopathy. For their latest study, the researchers wanted to see if their algorithm could do more than simply diagnose disease. They wanted to create a new computer-assisted system that could ..