Page 169 - Health Medical Pharma
Researchers design new anti-influenza drugs
Researchers from LSTM and Imperial College London have designed drugs which could help combat potential new flu pandemic.The drugs work by targeting the receptors of the cells by which the virus gains entry to the human body.In a paper published in the Journal of Immunology the team, led by LSTM's Professor Richard Pleass, show that by engineering a part of an antibody they can target the viral proteins that allow flu to mutate and become deadly to humans.Global annual influenza outbreaks account for 3,00,000 - 6,50,000 respiratory deaths, mostly in children and the elderly.Speaking about the study, Professor Pleass explained that influenza vaccines have limited public health impact during pandemics, and current influenza vaccines are less efficacious than vaccines for many other infectious diseases. "This is because influenza viruses that circulate in human and animal populations mutate two key viral surface proteins, haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), thus allowing them to .
Night shifts may cause DNA damage: Study
Working night shifts can damage a person's DNA, increasing the risk of cancer as well as cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases, a study has found. For the study published in the journal Anaesthesia, researchers analysed blood samples of 49 healthy full-time doctors taken at different times. "Although this work is very preliminary, it is clear from the results that even a single night of sleep deprivation can trigger events that may contribute to the development of chronic disease," said Siu-Wai Choi, of the University of Hong Kong. Researchers found that on-call doctors who were required to work overnight on-site had lower DNA repair gene expression and more DNA breaks than those who did not work overnight. In these overnight on-site call doctors, DNA repair gene expression decreased and DNA breaks increased after sleep deprivation. Damaged DNA increased after only one night of sleep deprivation. This DNA damage may help explain the increased risk for cancer and ...
Adults take girls' pain less seriously: Study
A new study conducted by Yale and published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology found that American adults believe boys to be in more pain than girls.The observation was made based on how much pain a child is experiencing based on reactions to a finger-stick.The researchers attribute this downgrading of the pain of girls and/or upgrading of the pain of boys to culturally ingrained, and scientifically unproven, myths like "boys are more stoic" or "girls are more emotive."The study saw a diverse group of American adults watching the same video of a 5-year-old receiving a finger-stick at a pre-Kindergarten doctor's visit. They were later asked to rate how much pain they thought the child was actually experiencing.While all participants watched an identical video of an identical child exhibiting identical pain-display behaviours, the group who knew the child as "Samuel" said he was in more pain than the group who knew her as "Samantha." This new research backs up studies done on gender
Cervical Cancer: Early detection, treatment crucial
Cervical cancer is the second most deadly cancer for women just after breast cancer and India shares the burden of around one-fourth of the world cancer patients. It is estimated that over 96,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and over 60,000 die from the disease in the country.Given such high mortality and morbidity, the awareness about the disease seems to be abysmally low."Cervical cancer is a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) but the awareness about the disease is extremely poor in common people, which makes containing cervical cancer a challenge. While societal barriers prevent women from seeking medical help in advance, it forces women to come out at a later stage when the disease has reached an advanced stage," Dr Anjila Aneja, Fortis La Femme, New Delhi said during a week-long awareness campaign for cervical cancer that began on January 21.Speaking to ANI, Dr Aneja stressed the need to set up more pap smear test centres across the country."Diagnostic ...
Night shift can damage your DNA: Study
Do you frequently work in night shifts? Lack of proper sleep and night-time wakefulness can cause damage to the structure of the human DNA and lead to many diseases, including cancer and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular, neurological and pulmonary diseases, warns a study.
Social media spreading 'fake news' about vaccines
Social media is being increasingly used to spread misinformation about vaccinations, according to a report which found that at least two in five parents are exposed to negative messages about vaccines. The report by Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) in the UK showed that the perceived risks of side effects are the key concern among those who choose not to vaccinate. Across a range of vaccines including measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), influenza, and fear of side effects was the most common reason for choosing not to vaccinate. While all vaccines have potential side effects, in reality they only affect some people and are typically mild, short-lived, and far outweighed by the benefits of immunisation. "It is 21 years since Andrew Wakefield published his infamous and now widely discredited paper on an alleged link between the MMR vaccine and autism, and Europe is still living with the consequences -- as we have seen with the resurgence in measles rates in recent years," said ...
A bad phase isn't an unsuccessful period: Manisha Koirala
A bad phase is not an unsuccessful period but it can teach you new lessons, actress Manisha Koirala said here on Sunday.
30% increase in undergraduate medical seats in last four-and-half years: PM Modi
Emphasising the increase of 30 per cent in undergraduate medical seats in the last four-and-half years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that NDA government is giving priority to healthcare so that all citizens are healthy and healthcare is made affordable."The numbers of undergraduate medical seats have been increased by almost 30 per cent in last four-and-half year. The launch of Ayushman Bharat is also a big step. It is a carefully thought out approach to ensure the implementation of universal health coverage for our country. The 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres are being set up to provide comprehensive primary care and preventive health services," said Prime Minister Modi.Further outlining the effect of Ayushman Bharat, he said: "One crore fifty-seven lakh persons of Tamil Nadu state are covered in this scheme. In just over three months about 89,000 beneficiaries were admitted and an amount of more than Rs 200 crore has been authorised for admitted patients of ..
Delhi hospital successfully treats Tanzanian police officer
A team of doctors here have successfully treated a middle-aged Tanzanian police officer who was suffering from a blood clot condition.
Use compulsory license and put ceiling to curb prices of patented medicines: Govt panel
In order to cut prices of patented medicines for cancer and rare diseases, a high-level government panel has made a series of far reaching recommendations including granting "compulsory license" to any Indian pharma company to produce drugs without the consent of the patent holding firms. The report, a copy of which is with PTI, also recommended putting a ceiling price on life-saving medicines after analysing the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of various countries, a standard followed in majority of the western world to fix medicine prices. Multinational pharmaceutical companies sell most of the patented drugs in India and they have been vehemently opposing any sort of price cap or grant of compulsory licensing to any other company to produce drugs being sold by them. The Indian pharmaceutical market has an annual turnover of around Rs 2.3 lakh crore. While majority of these revenues come from sales of generic drugs, around 30 per cent of it comes from patented drugs. The committee ...
Ibuprofen, aspirin may boost cancer survival
Regular use of common type of medications, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, may significantly improve survival for patients with head and neck cancer, a study has found. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) improved the overall five-year survival rate from 25 per cent to 78 per cent for patients whose cancer contained a specific altered gene, known as PIK3CA, according to researchers from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US. The survival for patients whose gene was not altered in their tumour, was unaffected by NSAID use. This is the first study to show a strong clinical advantage of regular NSAID use for head and neck cancer patients with mutations in the PIK3CA gene and may indicate a clear, biological reason to implement NSAID therapy in certain cases of the disease, researchers said. "Our results suggest that the use of NSAIDs could significantly improve outcomes for not only head and neck cancer patients, but also patients with other cancers that ...
NDA government committed to strengthening initiatives for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said the NDA government was committed to strengthening initiatives for ensuring universal healthcare and as part of it had taken the AIIMS brand to various parts of the country. Addressing the gathering after laying the foundation stone for AIIMS at Thoppur near here, he outlined the initiatives taken by the Centre on the health care front. The AIIMS reflects the vision of "Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat," he said. AIIMS in New Delhi had cultivated a brand name for itself in healthcare and with the AIIMS in Madurai to come up "we can say that this brand of health care has been taken to all corners of country from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to Madurai, from Guwahati to Gujarat," he said. Expressing confidence that the proposed AIIMS will benefit the entire Tamil Nadu, he said "the NDA government is giving great priority to health sector so that every one is healthy and healthcare is affordable." Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana,
Social media propagating negative information on vaccination
Negative messages about vaccines propagated on the social media are acting as the main barrier to vaccinations, a report from the UK-based charity Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has revealed.
Aurobindo recalls nearly 5 lakh bottles of blood pressure drug in US
Drug firm Aurobindo is recalling close to 5 lakh bottles of blood pressure lowering drugs in the US after the American health regulator found certain deviations from Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations. According to the latest Enforcement Report by the the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), the Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma is recalling 1,62,301 bottles of Amlodipine and Valsartan Tablets, 3,12,095 bottles of Valsartan and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets and 20,604 bottles of Valsartan tablets in the US. The drug firm is recalling the drugs after FDA lab confirmed presence of an impurity N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDEA) contained in the API used to manufacture the product, above the interim acceptable daily intake level of 0.083 parts per million. The company's US-based arm Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc is recalling the lots. The USFDA has classified it as a Class-II recall, which is initiated in a "situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause
Women gain weight in high demand jobs: Study
Women who face heavy psychological pressures at work are more likely to gain weight, a study claims. The study, published in the journal International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, included data from over 3,872 participants in Sweden. "We were able to see that high job demands played a part in women's weight gain, while for men there was no association between high demands and weight gain," said Sofia Klingberg, a researcher at University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The participants in the study were investigated on three occasions over a 20-year period with respect to such variables as body weight and demands and control at work. They were followed either from age 30 to 50 or from 40 to 60. To estimate the level of job demands, the respondents were asked about their work pace, psychological pressures, whether there was enough time for their duties and how often the demands made were contradictory. The questions about control at work covered such matters as how often
Gum disease linked to Alzheimer's risk
Poor oral health can play a role in onset of Alzheimer's disease, say researchers who found evidence of the link between bacteria in a common type of gum disease and people with dementia.
Your slim figure is because of your skinny genes
It's not only healthy food and exercise, but skinny genes that hold the key 'to staying slim', say researchers who found that slim people have a genetic advantage when it comes to maintaining their weight.
Aspirin, ibuprofen can improve survival rate of cancer patients
Regular use of a common type of medication such as aspirin and ibuprofen significantly improves the survival rate for a third or more patients with head and neck cancer, a new study has found.
Gaining weight? Heavy work pressure may be the reason
It turns out gaining weight because of heavy work pressure is not just an abstract concept. A recent study suggests that heavy pressures at work seem to predispose women to weight gain irrespective of whether they have received an academic education or not.As part of a study, researchers were able to see that high job demands played a part in women's weight gain, while for men there was no association between high demands and weight gain.The women and the men in the study were investigated on three occasions over a 20-year period with respect to such variables as body weight and demands and control at work. They were followed either from age 30 to 50 or from 40 to 60.To estimate the level of job demands, the respondents were asked about their work pace, psychological pressures, whether there was enough time for their duties and how often the demands made were contradictory.The results show that the respondents with a low degree of control in their work more frequently gained ...
Loss of muscle, weight linked with disability after stroke: Study
The loss of muscle and body weight can be associated with disability following a stroke, according to a recent study. "Body wasting in the course of a disease called cachexia is observed in cancer and chronic diseases like heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease," says Nadja Scherbakov, lead author of the study."Stroke is the main cause of adult disability. It is a common understanding that this is all due to brain injury and impaired innervation. Our findings show that the amount of skeletal muscle throughout the body declines after stroke," adds Scherbakov."This opens the door for treatment options such as dietary supplementation and exercise training to prevent muscle wasting after stroke," adds Scherbakov. The study has been published in 'Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.' The study examined changes in body weight and composition during the year after an ischaemic stroke and their association with disability. The researchers found that ..