Page 154 - Health Medical Pharma

Swine flu claims 15 lives in Pb, eight in Haryana

Swine flu has claimed 15 lives in Punjab and eight in neighbouring Haryana this year, officials said Friday. More than 270 patients were found affected by the flu in Punjab this year, said Dr Gagandeep Singh Grover, the state nodal officer for swine flu. "Fifteen people have died due to H1N1 infection from January 1 until Thursday," Grover said. He said 15 others swine flu patients from across Punjab have died, but due to other ailments. Amid the mounting cases of the H1N1 infections in the state, the Punjab government has set up isolation wards at three government medical colleges, 22 district hospitals and 41 sub-divisional hospitals. It has also announced free treatment for all suspected and confirmed cases. Health minister Brahm Mohindra, who had recently held a high-level meeting with the senior officers of the health department to review the state's preparedness, has been constantly monitoring the situation. Grover said awareness drives are being carried out and health officials

Novel pill could replace injections to deliver insulin: Study

Researchers have developed a drug capsule that could be used to deliver oral doses of insulin, potentially replacing injections for patients with Type-2 diabetes, says a new study.

Indulgent desserts may make you chose healthier meal: Study

Choosing a high-calorie indulgent dessert may lead you to pick up healthier main and side dishes, according to a study. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, placed either a healthy or less healthy dessert (fresh fruit vs lemon cheesecake) at the beginning or end of a university cafeteria line. When diners picked the cheesecake first, they then chose lower-calorie main or side dishes and ultimately consumed fewer calories than diners who chose the fresh fruit first. Those effects were not found when either dessert was placed at the end of the food line, researchers said. "We believe diners who chose the indulgent dessert first then picked healthier main and side dishes to make up for their high-calorie dessert," said Martin Reimann, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona in the US. "Diners who picked the healthier dessert may have thought they already had done a good deed for their bodies so they deserved higher-calorie food further down the ...

Researchers find clues to a functional HIV cure

A new study now has identified a measurable indicator that could prove instrumental in the fight against HIV.George Mason University's Yuntao Wu, focused on cofilin, a key protein that regulates cells to mobilise and fight against infection.In an HIV-infected patient, cofilin dysfunction is a key factor in helper T cell defects, according to the research recently published in the journal Science Advances.Helper T cells augment the body's immune response by recognising the presence of a foreign antigen and then helping the immune system mount a response.Wu said, "When you have an infection, you need to mobilise the T cells," adding, "In HIV infection, there is a profound depletion of helper T cells in lymphoid tissues, such as those in the gut."Wu and his team found that patients with HIV have "significantly lower" levels of cofilin phosphorylation--which provides a control of cofilin's activity with the addition of a phosphate--than healthy patients. Cofilin is a key protein that ...

Heavy drinking in teens may lead to increased risk for psychological problems

A recent study has suggested that binge drinking in adolescence is associated with increased risk for psychological problems and alcohol use disorder later in life.According to researchers some of these lasting changes are the result of epigenetic changes that alter the expression of a protein crucial for the formation and maintenance of neural connections in the amygdala -- the part of the brain involved in emotion, fear and anxiety. Their results, which are based on the analysis of postmortem human brain tissue, are published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.Epigenetics refers to chemical changes to DNA, RNA or specific proteins associated with chromosomes that change the activity of genes without changing the genes themselves. Epigenetic modifications are involved in the normal development of the brain, but they can be influenced by environmental or even social factors, such as alcohol and stress. These kinds of epigenetic alterations have been linked to changes in behavior .

New prostate cancer prediction tool has unmatched accuracy

A novel machine-learning framework that distinguishes between low- and high-risk prostate cancer with more precision than ever before has been developed by researchers, including one of Indian origin. The framework, described in the journal Scientific Reports, is intended to help physicians -- in particular, radiologists -- more accurately identify treatment options for prostate cancer patients, lessening the chance of unnecessary clinical intervention. "By rigorously and systematically combining machine learning with radiomics, our goal is to provide radiologists and clinical personnel with a sound prediction tool that can eventually translate to more effective and personalised patient care," said Gaurav Pandey, an assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine in the US. "The pathway to predicting prostate cancer progression with high accuracy is ever improving, and we believe our objective framework is a much-needed advancement," Pandey said. Prostate cancer is one of the ...

Eating walnuts may lower depression risk: Study

Consuming walnuts may lower the prevalence and frequency of depression, and improve concentration levels, according to a study carried out in American adults. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US found that depression scores were 26 per cent lower for walnut consumers and eight per cent lower for consumers of other nuts, compared to those who did not eat nuts at all. The study, published in the journal Nutrients, found that walnut consumption was more closely associated with higher energy levels and better concentration, compared to other nuts. "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one out of every six adults will have depression at some time in their life. It is important to find low-cost interventions, such as dietary changes, that are easy to implement and may help reduce the incidence of depression, said lead investigator Lenore Arab, from UCLA. "Walnuts have previously been investigated for their role in ...

Novel approach brings hope in targeting cancer cells: Study

Researchers could provide a novel approach to targeting and destroying difficult-to-treat cancer cells, providing new therapeutic options for a broad range of cancers, finds a new study.

Smile Train India Launches a Toll-free Cleft Helpline on National Cleft Day

/ -- 200 medical professionals pledge support for Smile Train's Right to Smile campaign To mark the second annual National Cleft Day, Smile Train India has officially launched the country's first toll-free national cleft helpline - Smile Train India Cleft Helpline. The helpline - 1800 103 8301, is accessible to people throughout India who are looking for information about cleft treatment. The number also serves as a way for those in need to have access to invaluable referral information to the closest Smile Train partner hospital, so they can receive 100%-free, quality and safe cleft treatment. The establishment of the cleft helpline would not have been possible without the generous support from GSK Consumer Healthcare India, under their CSR initiatives. Talking about the initiative, Mamta Carroll, Vice President and Regional Director - Asia, Smile Train shared, "Smile Train India has been committed to supporting world-class cleft treatment in India, and has already supported over ...

Zydus Cadila gets USFDA nod for drug to treat seizures

Zydus Cadila Friday said it has received final approval from the US health regulator to market Carbamazepine extended-release tablets, used to treat certain types of seizures. Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant agent. It works by reducing excessive nerve signals in the brain and restoring the normal balance of nerve activity. Zydus Cadila has received the final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Carbamazepine extended-release tablets USP in the strengths of 100 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg, the company said in a BSE filing. Zydus Cadila said the drug will be produced at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad. The group has more than 248 drug approvals, and so far filed over 350 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) since it started filings in 2003-04. Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading 0.54 per cent up at Rs 323.60 apiece on BSE.

Prior dengue infection may protect against Zika: Study

The higher a person's immunity to dengue virus, the lower their risk of Zika infection, according to a study which followed nearly 1,500 people living at the heart of the 2015 Zika outbreak in Brazil. The study, published in the journal Science, also provides evidence that Brazil's Zika epidemic has largely petered out because enough people acquired immunity to reduce the efficiency of transmission. "Take that with a grain of salt, though," said Ernesto TA Marques, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the US. "Our study was in a very small urban area, and it is likely that in other parts of Brazil, even different neighbourhoods within the same city, people are still susceptible to Zika infection," Marques said. Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health in the US tapped into a long-running study of the health of people living in urban slums in Salvador, a city in northeast Brazil. Study participants gave multiple blood samples before, during and after the ...

Exercise may help fight depression in seniors: Study

Here's another reason to add physical exercise to your daily routine. According to a recent study, exercising may help fight depression by stimulating muscle-generated mood boosters. According to research, the underlying mechanisms that make us feel good when we exercise, persist into old age and highlight the importance of staying active."A previous study demonstrated these mechanisms in healthy young adults, however, it was unknown whether the muscle deterioration which accompanies aging would preclude older adults from achieving similar exercise-induced benefits. This could have important implications concerning the use of exercise as a treatment or a preventative strategy for depression in seniors," said David Allison, lead author on the study which was published in the American Journal of Physiology.Muscle loss is a common problem in the elderly, which may restrict that pathway, and therefore increases the risk of mental depression, says Allison.For the study, a group of healthy

New 'Trojan horse' drug kills cancer from inside

A novel cancer drug which acts as a 'Trojan horse' to destroy tumours from the inside has shown promising results across six different forms of the deadly disease, scientists say. In patients with advanced, drug-resistant cancers, over a quarter with cervical and bladder tumours, and nearly 15 per cent with ovarian and lung tumours, responded to the new treatment, said researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK. The innovative new drug, called tisotumab vedotin (TV), releases a toxic substance to kill cancer cells from within. The results, published in The Lancet Oncology, are so positive the drug has now moved forward to phase II trials in cervical cancer and will be tested in a range of additional solid tumour cancers. The researchers led a global clinical trial of nearly 150 patients with a variety of cancer types who had stopped responding to standard treatments. They found that a significant minority of cancer patients responded to the drug, with their tumours ...

Researchers develop new prostate cancer prediction tool: Study

Researchers,, including one of an Indian-origin, have developed a novel machine-learning framework that can distinguish between low and high-risk prostate cancer with more precision than ever before, according to a new study.

Ashutosh Raghuvanshi appointed Fortis Healthcare CEO with effect from March

He replaces Bhavdeep Singh, who had tendered in his resignation as the CEO on November 8 last year citing professional and personal reasons

1,196 swine flu cases recorded in Delhi

Around 100 fresh cases of swine flu, recorded on Thursday, pushed the total number of people affected by the disease here this year to 1,196, according to Directorate General of Health Services.

Danish nurse jailed for drawing son's blood for years

A Danish court on Thursday sentenced a mother to four years in jail for aggravated abuse for having unnecessarily drawn a half-litre (one pint) of blood from her son weekly for five years. A trained nurse, the 36-year-old woman began drawing her son's blood when he was 11 months old, averaging about once a week for the next five years. The mother said she would not appeal the verdict handed down by the district court in the western town of Herning. "It's not a decision that I took consciously. I don't know when I started doing what I had no right to do. It came gradually. I threw the blood down the toilet and put the syringes in the garbage," she told the court. The boy, today aged seven and who lives with his father, suffered an intestinal illness shortly after birth but as the years went by doctors could not explain why he had so little blood in his system. To remedy the situation, doctors gave him 110 blood transfusions over the years. They eventually grew suspicious of the mother,

Nawaz Sharif shifted back to jail from hospital

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is serving a seven-year imprisonment in a corruption case, is sent back to jail from the hospital in Lahore where he spent six days. "Mian Sahib has been sent back to Kot Lakhpat Jail (Lahore) on his request as the government was showing non-serious attitude towards his health issues," Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of Sharif, told reporters outside the hospital here on Thursday. She said Sharif, 69, had been in the Services Hospital since Saturday last but the government was making fun of his health condition. "Everyone knows that he has heart issues but despite this the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government is shifting him to one hospital to another. There was no heart specialist at the Services Hospital exposing his life at risk," she lamented and warned if anything happened to her father because of his poor health Prime Minister Imran Khan's government will be responsible. Sharif was shifted to the Services Hospital from Kot Lakhpat ...

The reasons behind a nagging backache

Poor posture at the workplace and a sedentary lifestyle -- there are many lifestyle habits that might be ruining your back, and you may not even be realising it.

Delhi in grip of swine flu; 103 fresh cases on Thursday: Official

Over 100 fresh cases of swine flu were recorded in Delhi on Wednesday, taking the total number of people affected by the disease in the city this year to 1,196, according to a senior official. According to a report of the Directorate General of Health Services, the death toll due to swine flu in Delhi this year stands at six and till Wednesday, 1,093 had been affected by the disease in the city this season. "Delhi is in grip of swine flu. Today, 103 fresh cases were recorded," the official said. The DGHS report had also mentioned deaths of five more persons from co-morbidity. As per the report, of the six persons who have died of swine flu this year, one belonged to Delhi, while the rest were residents of other cities. Amid the mounting cases of the H1N1 infections in the city, the Delhi government Wednesday issued a health advisory, prescribing the do's and don'ts. Delhi on Tuesday had recorded one death due to swine flu and 1,019 positive cases. Till Monday, the Delhi government had