Page 122 - Health Medical Pharma
Zydus receives USFDA final approval for Atenolol and Chlorthalidone Tablets
This medication is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks and kidney problems. Atenolol belongs to a class of drugs known as beta blockers. It works by blocking the action of certain natural chemicals in your body, such as epinephrine on the heart and blood vessels. This effect lowers the heart rate, blood pressure and strain on the heart. Chlorthalidone is a 'water pill (diuretic) and causes the body to get rid of extra salt and water. It also helps to relax the blood vessels so that blood can flow easily.
Forgetting drains brain more than remembering: Study
Choosing to forget something uses more brain power than trying to remember it, according to a study that could lead to treatments to help people rid themselves of unwanted memories. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that in order to forget an unwanted experience, more attention should be focused on it. The study extends prior research on intentional forgetting, which focused on reducing attention to the unwanted information through redirecting attention away from unwanted experiences or suppressing the memory's retrieval. "We may want to discard memories that trigger maladaptive responses, such as traumatic memories, so that we can respond to new experiences in more adaptive ways," said Jarrod Lewis-Peacock, an assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin in the US. "Once we can figure out how memories are weakened and devise ways to control this, we can design treatment to help people rid themselves of unwanted memories," ...
Piramal Enterprises gains after launching Mitigo in US
Piramal Enterprises rose 1.22% to Rs 2689.20 at 9:43 IST on BSE after the company launched Mitigo in the US market.
Trump favours making daylight saving time 'permanent'
US President Donald Trump has said that he will be fine with a permanent daylight saving time, which ends an annual ritual of changing clocks twice a year.
Parrikar undergoes routine scan at GMCH: CMO
Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Monday underwent a "routine" medical scan at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) near here, his office said. Parrikar, 63, has been treated for a pancreatic ailment since the last one year. "The Chief Minister visits the GMC for routine scan," stated a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). After visiting the GMCH, Parrikar returned to his private residence at Dona Paula. He had visited the state-run facility on March 3 for regular check up. The senior BJP leader, who has been in and out of hospitals at various places since last February, was admitted to the GMCH on February 23, where he was treated by a team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and experts from the state-run facility. He was discharged on February 26. Apart from the GMCH, Parrikar had undergone treatment at hospitals in the USA, Mumbai, and AIIMS in Delhi.
Swine flu menace continues unabated in the country; death toll 75
Seventy-five swine flu deaths were reported last week, pushing the death toll due to the virus to 605 this year, Union Health Ministry data showed Monday, as the menace continued unabated across the country. Over 19,380 people have tested positive for the virus, according to the data compiled until Sunday. Rajasthan reported the highest number of swine flu cases (4,551) and deaths (162) followed by Gujarat (118 deaths and 3,969 cases), the data showed. Delhi was third with 3,362 swine flu cases and seven deaths. Swine flu claimed 71 lives and infected 357 people in Madhya Pradesh. In Maharashtra, 52 people died due to the virus while 675 were affected by it. Himachal Pradesh reported 34 deaths and 298 cases; Punjab 31 deaths and 517 cases, Uttar Pradesh 18 deaths and 1,431 cases while Haryana reported 14 deaths and 982 cases. Karnataka reported 14 deaths and 825 cases of swine flu and Telangana 12 deaths and 818 cases. As the number of swine flu cases has been on a rapid increase, the
Piramal Critical Care launches Morphine Sulfate injection in US
Piramal Critical Care Monday said it has launched in the US Morphine Sulfate injection with Mitigo trademark used for treatment of intractable chronic pain. The injection has been launched in 10 mg/ml and 25 mg/ml concentrations, Piramal Critical Care said in a statement. "We are pleased to support intrathecal therapy for pain management with FDA approval and our launch of Mitigo," Piramal Critical Care CEO Peter DeYoung said. Piramal Critical Care has established itself as the leader in US intrathecal therapy with Gablofen which it has successfully integrated post acquisition from Mallinckrodt, he added. It is a business division of Piramal Enterprises and present in anesthesia, pain management, and intrathecal therapy segments.
WHO launches strategy to fight 'inevitable' flu pandemics
The World Health Organization on Monday launched a strategy to protect people worldwide over the next decade against the threat of influenza, warning that new pandemics are "inevitable". Influenza epidemics, largely seasonal, affect around one billion people and kill hundreds of thousands annually, according to WHO, which describes it as one of the world's greatest public health challenges. WHO's new strategy, for 2019 through 2030, aims to prevent seasonal influenza, control the virus's spread from animals to humans and prepare for the next pandemic, WHO said. "The threat of pandemic influenza is ever-present," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. The world has suffered through a number of devastating influenzas pandemics, including the Spanish Flu, which in 1918 killed tens of millions of people globally. Three pandemics have occurred since -- in 1957, 1968 and in 2009 -- when the H1N1 swine flue pandemic claimed around 18,500 lives in 214 countries. "Another ...
Laurus Labs gets nod to make malaria tablets
: City-based drug-maker Laurus Labs Ltd Monday received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for hydroxychloroquine tablets 200 mg meant to treat a certain type of malaria. The tablet is also used, usually with other medications, to treat certain auto-immune diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis), a press release said here. Hydroxychloroquine is therapeutically equivalent to plaquenil tablets 200 mg of Concordia Pharmaceuticals, Inc, the release said. Also, Laurus Labs received a tentative approval for an ANDA (abbreviated new drug application) for Abacavir, Dolutegravir and Lamivudine tablets from the US FDA, it said. The products would be commercialised from Laurus's manufacturing site in Visakhapatnam, it added.
Delhi consumer forum seeks Max Healthcare response on medical negligence plea
The state consumer forum here has sought response of a healthcare major on a plea claiming gross medical negligence on its part that allegedly led to the death of a 24-year-old youth two years back. The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum issued notice to Max Healthcare Institute Limited seeking its stand on the petition which has alleged that negligence and unfair trade practices by one of its hospitals here led to the death of law student Krishi Singh in 2017. According to a complaint filed by the victim's father, Singh was first taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital from where he was referred to Max Super Speciality Hospital at Shalimar Bagh here on April 28, 2017 after accidentally falling from the third floor of a flat in Dwarka. Although he was admitted in the emergency ward of Max hospital at 7:21 AM, it took almost five to six hours to conduct a CT scan and MRI as the hospital was waiting for payment of Rs 4 lakh for the scans throughGS, Singh's father, Jagvinder ...
India's 1st female unrelated bone marrow donor fought odds to
Resisting family pressure, a Tamil Nadu woman, whose daughter is suffering from thalassemia major, a serious blood disorder, has donated her bone marrow to a three-month-old infant afflicted with critical autoimmune disease, becoming the first female unrelated bone marrow donor in the country, doctors said. The bone marrow harvested from the 26-year-old Masilamani, hailing from Mudhalipalayam village near Coimbatore, was transplanted on the infant hailing from the national capital in January this year. Though the child is still in hospital, doctors are confident he would survive since a graft failure or rejection of the bone marrow by the body would have caused his death within a couple of days. Bone marrow harvesting involves a procedure during which stem cells are collected with a needle placed into the soft centre of the bone. "I believe I'm blessed. I managed to break away from the misconceptions of our society to save a child. I feel like I am the mother of the ...
Laurus Labs gets USFDA nod for malaria, auto-immune diseases drug
Drug firm Laurus Labs Monday said it has received approval from the US health regulator for its Hydroxychloroquine tablets used for treatment of malaria and certain autoimmune diseases. The company has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Hydroxychloroquine tablets in the strength of 200 mg, Laurus Labs said in a filing to the BSE. The product is generic version of Concordia Pharmaceuticals Inc's Plaquenil tablets in the same strength, it added. Hydroxychloroquine tablets are used for treatment of certain type of malaria. It is also used, usually with other medications, to treat certain autoimmune diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis) when other medications have not worked or cannot be used, Laurus Labs said. "The company has also received a tentative approval for an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Abacavir, Dolutegravir, and Lamivudine, tablets 600 mg/50 mg/300 mg from USFDA," it added. The products will be ...
Novel device to help minimise scarring in cosmetic surgery
Scientists have developed a new device that could help minimise scarring during surgery by ascertaining the orientation of skin tension lines, which is important for wound-healing post-operation. Human skin is a complex tissue that exhibits properties that arise primarily from the alignment of collagen fibres in the dermis layer of the skin, ultimately causing skin tension lines. These lines are vital for surgery, as they are used to guide incisions that produce the least conspicuous scars, according to the study published in the journal Acta Biomaterialia. There are many skin tension guidelines to help surgeons make incisions that create unnoticeable scars, said researchers from Binghamton University in the US. However, skin anisotropy, or the skin's property of having directionally dependent mechanical properties, is believed to vary from subject to subject, with no single guideline universally recognised as the best to implement for surgical applications. Skin is easier to stretch .
Mumbai: 25 IIT-B students suffer food poisoning; discharged
Twenty-five girl students had taken ill after consuming sweets in the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay campus in suburban Powai here, officials said Monday. They were promptly provided medical treatment at the hospital in the premier institute's campus and discharged, an IIT-B public relations officer said. The students of H-10 Hostel in the campus Saturday complained of giddiness after eating sweets following which they were rushed to hospital, an official said. He said samples of the sweets they consumed have been sent for laboratory analysis, adding that the cause of the food poisoning is yet to be ascertained. A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation team visited the IIT-B campus after the incident and carried out an inspection of the mess where the sweets were prepared. The mess will remain closed till Tuesday as part of sanitisation works, an official said.
New method developed to help predict mortality in elderly
Researchers have developed a method to assess the "age" of patients' immune systems, thus predicting mortality in older adults.
Air pollution may harm cardiovascular system of unborn baby: Study
Small unseen particles in air pollution inhaled by pregnant women may damage the cardiovascular system of the unborn baby and delay its growth and development, according to a study unveiled Monday. Researchers from Rutgers University in the US found that early first trimester and late third trimester were critical windows during which pollutants most affect the mother's and foetus' cardiovascular systems. "These findings suggest that pregnant women, women of child-bearing years who may be pregnant and those undergoing fertility treatments should avoid areas known for high air pollution or stay inside on high-smog days to reduce their exposure," said Phoebe Stapleton, an assistant professor at Rutgers University. "Pregnant women should also consider monitoring their indoor air quality," Stapleton said in a statement. What a mother inhales affects her circulatory system, which is constantly adapting to supply adequate blood flow to the foetus as it grows, according to the study ...
Indian defence lab develops 'combat drugs' to reduce casualties in Pulwama type attacks, warfare
With 90 per cent of gravely wounded security personnel succumbing to injuries within a few hours, DRDO's medical laboratory has come up with a range of 'combat casualty drugs' that can extend the golden hour till the trooper is shifted to hospital. The spectrum includes bleeding wound sealants, super absorptive dressings and glycerated salines, all of which can save lives in the event of warfare in jungle and high altitude areas as well as in terror attacks, scientists said. Citing the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama where 40 CRPF soldiers were killed, they said the medicines could have brought down the death toll. According to developers of the drugs at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, chances of survival and minimum disability are highest when effective first aid care is given within the golden hour. Scientists at INMAS, entrusted with research and development in a number of areas ...
New optical imaging system to help find tiny tumours
An imaging system which could be deployed to find tiny tumours, as small as a couple of hundred cells, deep within the body has been developed by scientists, including those of Indian origin. The researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US used their imaging system, named "DOLPHIN," which relies on near-infrared light, to track a 0.1-millimetre fluorescent probe through the digestive tract of a living mouse. They also showed that they can detect a signal to a tissue depth of eight centimeters, far deeper than any existing biomedical optical imaging technique. The researchers, including Neelkanth Bardhan, a postdoctoral fellow at MIT, and one of the lead authors of the study, hope to adapt their imaging technology for early diagnosis of ovarian and other cancers that are currently difficult to detect until late stages. "We want to be able to find cancer much earlier," said Angela Belcher, a professor at MIT. "Our goal is to find tiny tumours, and do so in a
New Zealand captain Williamson taken to hospital
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was taken to hospital Monday, midway through the second Test against Bangladesh, for scans on his injured left shoulder. A team spokesman described it was a "precautionary" measure. Williamson injured the shoulder while fielding on Sunday and twice needed attention by medical staff when he batted. Despite the discomfort, Williamson made 74 before he was dismissed. New Zealand were 275 for three midway between lunch and tea on the fourth day to lead Bangladesh by 64 on the first innings. The first two days of the Test were washed out but fine weather is forecast for the remainder of the match.
This LS polls, candidates will have to advertise their criminal records
The Election Commission has made it compulsory for candidates contesting polls to advertise their criminal antecedents in TV and newspapers at least three times during electioneering. Though directions in this regard were issued on October 10, 2018, the rule will be used for the first time in this Lok Sabha election, scheduled to be held from April 11 to May 19. The results will be announced on May 23. According to the directions, political parties too will have to give publicity to the criminal records of candidates fielded by them. This means that candidates and parties contesting the election will have to publicise their criminal records at least on three different dates in widely circulated newspapers and popular TV channels during the campaign period. Candidates who do not have records have to mention that. The candidates will now have to fill up an amended form (number 26). They will have to inform parties about their antecedents such as cases in which they have been convicted ..