Page 123 - Health Medical Pharma
Intensive pulse polio immunization prog launched in Nagaland
Nagaland Health and Family Welfare Department on Sunday launched the first round of 'Intensive Pulse Polio Immunization' programme. Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, I Himato Zhimomi, administered the first two polio drops to an infant at Naga Hospital here marking the launch of the three-day programme to sustain polio eradication drive. "The department is targeting to administer polio drops to all eligible children upto five years throughout the state in 2,274 polio booths manned by 9096 health personnel and 455 supervisors along with vaccines and other logistics," said Naga Hospital Managing Director, Dr Thorhusie Karity. Healthcare providers and volunteers would be conducting house-to-house visits to check whether any eligible children has been left out of the immunization programme. More than 17 crore children below five years across the country will be given polio drops as part of the central government's drive to sustain polio eradication from the ..
New operation theatre complex at AIIMS to reduce waiting list of patients
AIIMS has set up a state-of the-art modular operation theatre complex for performing advanced orthopaedic surgeries, thus expanding the existing facilities to reduce the waiting list of patients. Till now, there were four operation theatres, which were "grossly insufficient" to cater the huge number of patients requiring surgery, resulting in a long waiting list, said Rajesh Malhotra, head of orthopaedics department and chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre. "To ease the patient burden and envisaging future requirement, a need for separate and dedicated modern modular operation theatres was felt which would cater to all orthopaedic sub-specialties. "The highly complex orthopaedic surgeries demand highest standards of asepsis and operation theatre environment and the orthopaedic surgery facility cannot be shared by any other speciality," Malhotra explained. An expansion of the existing surgery facilities to seven OTs was extremely important for the optimum functioning of the department, he ...
How Indian parents are nurturing screen addiction in toddlers (IANS Special)
If you are one of those parents who hand over a smartphone or a tablet to your toddlers while feeding them or to keep them entertained, beware this habit can not only make them sedentary but also push them into severe digital addiction in their formative years.
Key gene behind breast cancer identified
Australian researchers have tracked an elusive cancer-promoting gene that appears to be behind aggressive breast cancers, paving the way for crucial therapeutic drug treatment for the deadly disease.
Blood holds key to liver regeneration, study suggests
The liver is the only organ in the body that can regenerate. A recent study shows that the blood-clotting protein fibrinogen may hold the key as to why some patients who undergo a liver resection, a surgery that removes a diseased portion of the organ, end up needing a transplant because the renewal process doesn't work."We discovered that fibrinogen accumulates within the remaining liver quickly after surgery and tells platelets to act as first responders, triggering the earliest phase of regeneration. But if fibrinogen or platelets are inhibited, then regeneration is delayed," said James Luyendyk, lead author of the study published in the Journal Blood.Platelets are blood cells that help form clots and stop bleeding. When they receive information from fibrinogen, they go into action and accumulate in the remaining part of the liver to help restore it, increasing the chances of a fully functional liver and successful recovery.Using samples from patients undergoing liver resection and
Vitamin D may help control asthma: Study
Besides making bones strong, higher levels of Vitamin D can also help children with asthma to become more resilient to harmful respiratory effects caused by indoor air pollution, say researchers including one of an Indian-origin.
President launches pulse polio programme for 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind, here on Saturday, launched the 2019 pulse polio programme by administering polio drops to children below five years at the Rahstrapati Bhawan.
Sarbananda Sonowal pioneers 'Mission Assam QualiTEA' to accelerate growth of tea growers
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal pioneered 'Mission Assam QualiTEA' in the state's Agricultural University in order to improve the economic status of tea growers.Under the scheme, the state government aims to encourage and provide financial assistance to Assam's small tea growers to thrust the value of the tea industry.With the new scheme in place, thousands of small tea growers from the state received cash incentives from the state government. Each small tea grower from 33 districts of Assam was given 5,000 rupees per bigha.The novel scheme is expected to benefit small tea growers in the North-eastern state. Soon after launching the scheme, Sonowal told ANI: "The tea growers are indigenous sons of the soil and if they are not provided land patta, they will be deprived of it. It is because of their hard work that led to the economic growth of the state. So, it is our sole responsibility to solve their problems and the state government has already taken initiative to provide ...
Conference on Yoga's role in treating heart diseases begins in Rishikesh
An international two-day conference on the role of meditation and Yoga in treating cardiovascular diseases began here Saturday with noted Yoga therapist H R Nagendra underlining the effectiveness of the ancient discipline in curing lifestyle diseases. "Our sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol diet and late sleeping habits are taking a toll on our health. Change in lifestyle, lack of physical activity, bad dietary and sleeping habits are at the root of the high incidence of cardiovascular diseases today. Yoga and meditation can cleanse our system and help us lead a healthy life," he said. However, the Yoga therapist said advertising Yoga as an ancient system which could cure all ailments was not enough. "Advertising is not enough. In today's scientific times, everything needs evidence. The benefits of Yoga will have to be proven through scientific research. Then alone more and more people will embrace it," he said. Nagendra also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing Yoga ..
Swine flu claims 111 lives in 2 months in Gujarat
In just a little over two months, swine flu has claimed 111 lives in Gujarat even though the State Health Department claims it had declined in the past few days.
Migraine raises risk of dry eyes: Study
Suffering from migraine? You could be at higher odds of having chronic dry eye disease, says a new study.
Yo-yo dieting may raise women's heart disease risk
Yo-yo dieting -- weight cycling, or the cyclical loss and gain of weight -- can make it harder for women to control a variety of heart disease risk factors, according to a research.
Fasting-mimicking diet can treat inflammatory bowel disease: Study
Eating a low calorie diet that mimics fasting can help reduce intestinal inflammation and repair the gut, and help treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
A nap a day keeps high blood pressure away: Study
Napping may do more than just rebooting our energy level and improve our mood. It can also keep high blood pressure at bay, a recent study suggests."Midday sleep appears to lower blood pressure levels at the same magnitude as other lifestyle changes. For example, salt and alcohol reduction can bring blood pressure levels down by 3 to 5 mm Hg," said co-author Manolis Kallistratos.Overall, taking a nap during the day was associated with an average 5 mm Hg drop in blood pressure, which researchers said is on par with what would be expected from other known blood pressure-lowering interventions. In addition, for every 60 minutes of midday sleep, 24-hour average systolic blood pressure decreased by 3 mm Hg."These findings are important because a drop in blood pressure as small as 2 mm Hg can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack by up to 10 per cent. Based on our findings, if someone has the luxury to take a nap during the day, it may also have benefits for high ...
Gene triggering antibiotic reaction risk identified
Researchers have identified a gene that increases the risk of a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to the commonly prescribed antibiotic vancomycin.
Prez launches Pulse Polio programme for 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind launched the Pulse Polio programme for 2019 on Saturday by administering polio drops to children below five years at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Kovind administered the polio drops on the eve of National Immunisation Day, which is observed on Sunday, a statement issued by the Health Ministry said. More than 17 crore children below five years across the country will be given polio drops as part of the central government's drive to sustain polio eradication from the country, it said. Speaking at the function, Union Minister for Health J P Nadda said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Universal Immunisation Programme is focusing to protect children from more diseases than ever before and has introduced several new vaccines like pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, rotavirus vaccine and measles-rubella vaccine in the recent past. "To provide additional protection to our children, the government has also introduced the injectable inactivated polio ...
Hookah is harmful for heart, reveals study
Smoking tobacco through Hookah results in inhaling more toxic chemicals than a cigarette.The study published in the American Heart Association's journal, called Circulation, states that a single session of hookah, that typically lasts 30 or more minutes, typically results in greater exposure to carbon monoxide than a cigarette and that the toxic chemicals, in addition to tobacco, harm the heart and blood vessels.Hookah is also known as Narghile, Arghile, Shisha and Goza. It has a water bowl containing tobacco, has a head with holes in the bottom, a body, a flexible hose with a mouthpiece, and burning charcoal that is placed on top of the tobacco bowl.The tobacco for hookah comes in various flavours and often colourful packaging, which appeals to the youth. The sweetness of the flavours masks the harshness of smoke that makes it easier to continue smoking hookahs."Many young people mistakenly believe that smoking tobacco from a hookah is less harmful than cigarette smoking because the .
Auto-immune diseases on rise among women of reproductive age: Experts
With a growing number of women of reproductive age being diagnosed with autoimmune diseases such as lupus and APS, experts believe the disorder is adversely affecting fertility in such females and in some cases may even lead to miscarriage, foetal death and premature birth. According to doctors, there is a rise in the cases of autoimmune diseases among women, including those of reproductive age. Earlier there were very few female cases of autoimmune diseases in the OPDs. However, due to improvement in tests, 75 per cent of such cases are now diagnosed among females, they said. Dr Uma Kumar, head of Rheumatology department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi outlined a case study of a 27-year-old woman patient who had to undergo two abortions within a period of one and half years. Unaware of the exact reason behind the failure in delivery, the woman visited several gynecologists within a short span of time to figure out what was wrong. Understanding her ...
Free diagnostic services in govt hospitals: Roy Burman
Tripura Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman has said that a number of diagnostic services are now being provided free in government hospitals in the state. He said the BJP-IPFT government which came to power in in the state in March last year introduced the free diagnostic services in government hospitals. "Prescription audit system was introduced to ensure accountability in public healthcare and Intensive Care Units (ICU) were made free for patients of all categories since April last year," Burman told reporters here on Friday. The minister said a host of diagnostic and treatment services like dialysis are offered to patients for free in different government hospitals along with free medicines for all by the BJP-IPFT government. "Public healthcare is provided 24 hours in 83 out of 112 Primary Health Centers (PHC) in Tripura, including in far flung areas. 65 medical officers of the state were trained in seasonal and vector borne diseases like influenza, Japanese ...
California man learns he's dying from doctor on robot video
Ernest Quintana's family knew he was dying of chronic lung disease when he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, unable to breathe. But they were devastated when a robot machine rolled into his room in the intensive care unit that night and a doctor told the 78-year-old patient by video call he would likely die within days. "If you're coming to tell us normal news, that's fine, but if you're coming to tell us there's no lung left and we want to put you on a morphine drip until you die, it should be done by a human being and not a machine," his daughter Catherine Quintana said Friday. Ernest Quintana died Tuesday, two days after being taken to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center emergency department in Fremont. Michelle Gaskill-Hames, senior vice president of Kaiser Permanente Greater Southern Alameda County, called the situation highly unusual and said officials "regret falling short" of the patient's expectations. But the hospital also defended its use of telemedicine and said its ..