Page 193 - Health Medical Pharma

Worms may hold key to longer, stronger life: Study

Scientists have uncovered a cause of declining motor function and increased frailty in tiny ageing worms - and a way to slow it down. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, identify a molecule that can be targeted to improve motor function and indicate that similar pathways may be at play in ageing mammals as well. As humans and animals age, our motor functions progressively deteriorate. Millimetre-long roundworms called nematodes exhibit ageing patterns remarkably similar to those of other animals, and they only live about three weeks, making them an ideal model system for studying ageing. "We previously observed that as worms age, they gradually lose physiological functions," said Shawn Xu, a professor at the University of Michigan in the US. "Sometime around the middle of their adulthood, their motor function begins to decline. But what causes that decline?" Xu said. To better understand how the interactions between cells changed as worms aged, Xu and his ...

Luxmi Tea keen to sell Makaibari brand through e-tailers

Luxmi Tea, owner of the prestigious Makaibari orthodox variety, is keen to tap the vast online market through major e-tailers such as Amazon and Flipkart. "We are already selling online through 'Makaibari.com' to the subscribers. We are considering a tie-up with Flipkart and Amazon", Director of Luxmi Tea Rudra Chatterjee told PTI. He said that the tea was being sold in packets sizing at 250 gm and 500 gm through online, adding that the total production volume of Makaibari variety annually was one lakh kg. Chatterjee said that Luxmi Tea was having a total production volume of 20 mkgs per annum, with an average yield at 25 quintals per hectare. The group had also acquired gardens in Rwanda and producing eight mkgs, Chatterjee said. Luxmi Tea had also acquired four gardens in Assam from Williamson Magor group. The group, which was having business interests in carpet weaving under the 'Obeetee' brand, also acquired a cabinet maker company in UK namely Masons and Mews ...

Slow down skin ageing

The health of your skin mirrors the health of your body. With a healthy diet and proper lifestyle, you can delay ageing, say experts.

An egg a day may keep diabetes away

Eating an egg daily can have a beneficial effect on the blood metabolite profile that is related to a lower risk of Type-2 diabetes, a new study shows.

Spinach-protein may offer treatment for alcohol abuse, mood disorders

A large protein found in spinach may aid in the development of new medications for millions around the world dealing with alcohol use disorders, chronic pain and mood disorders, researchers said.

Kindness can help heart patients recover from emotional trauma

Heart attack patients can suffer substantial emotional trauma after treatment, and showing kindness may help them find their way back to emotional wellbeing, a study has found. The emotional whiplash can range from phobia about moving in case their heart rate rises, to difficulty accepting a new identity as someone with a serious health condition, according to a study published in the journal Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. The study found emotional trauma following a heart attack was more common in men who saw themselves as alpha males who, after becoming a heart patient, saw themselves as the runt in the litter, weak and likely to be 'picked off' by life and other people. The research by Samantha Meredith, a PhD student University of Portsmouth in the UK, found cardiac rehabilitation played a huge role in helping people find their way back to emotional wellbeing. The study examines cardiac patients navigating shock and grief, including depression, feelings of ...

Wireless system can control brain neurons with light

Scientists have created a sophisticated, wireless system that uses light to control neurons in the brain, a therapy that could be used to turn off pain receptors or reducing the effects of severe neurological disorders. Optogenetics is a biological technique that uses light to turn specific neuron groups in the brain on or off. Researchers may use optogenetic stimulation to restore movement in case of paralysis or, in the future, to turn off the areas of the brain or spine that cause pain, eliminating the need for - and the increasing dependence on - opioids and other painkillers. "We're making these tools to understand how different parts of the brain work," said Philipp Gutruf, a professor at University of Arizona in the US. "The advantage with optogenetics is that you have cell specificity: You can target specific groups of neurons and investigate their function and relation in the context of the whole brain," said Gutruf, first author of the research published in Nature ...

AI can detect Alzheimer's six years before diagnosis

In a revolutionary study, researchers have discovered that artificial intelligence could help detect Alzheimer's diseases from brain scans much before actual diagnosis happens.Researchers at UC said that by the time a definitive diagnosis is made for Alzheimer's, too many neurons are dead already, making it essentially irreversible.So the researchers built a machine learning algorithm that studies brain scans to diagnose early-stage Alzheimer's before a clinical diagnosis could be made, Fast Company reported.The AI was able to correctly identify 92 percent of patients who developed Alzheimer's in the first test set and 98 percent in the second test set, making correct predictions on an average of six years before the patient received diagnosis.The early diagnosis could help doctors treat the degenerative disease much before it becomes difficult to contain.

1 killed, 15 injured after vehicles pile-up in Muzaffarpur due to dense fog

One person was killed and 15 others were injured in a pile-up of several vehicles due to dense fog on the National Highway 28 in Muzaffarpur on Friday morning.The injured people have been rushed to the hospital for the medical treatment.Earlier on Thursday, several people sustained injuries in a pile-up of 25 vehicles because of dense fog on the Kanjhawala-Bawana road of outer Delhi.

Vista Pharmaceuticals awaits USFDA approval for launch of generic Dofetilide

TIKOSYN (Generic: Dofetilide) is a CARDIAC drug which went OFF PATENT on 09 October 2018 and the drug molecule, TIKOSYN is owned by Pfizer.

Bristol-Myers to buy Celgene for $74 billion in largest biopharma deal

(Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Thursday it would buy Celgene Corp for about $74 billion, combining two of the world's largest cancer drug businesses in the biggest pharmaceutical deal ever.

Monkey fever outbreak reported in Shivamogga district of Karna

An outbreak of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), also known as monkey fever, has been reported in some villages of Shivamogga district following which authorities have taken measures, including vaccination, to combat it, an health official said Thursday. A team of doctors and para-medics had been deputed to the affected areas and a door-to-door verification was on to identify people affected by KFD, Shivamogga District Surveillance Officer (DSO) Dr B S Shankarappa said. Allaying fears, he said early diagnosis was the key to control KFD, a tick-borne viral hemorrhagic fever endemic to South Asia, and people with poor immunity level might be more susceptible to it. Since the disease is caused by tick, the district authorities were distributing insect repellent. Besides, a vaccination drive was also underway, the DSO said. The virus spreads through parasitic ticks which latch on to monkeys and is transmitted to human through tick bites. It was first reported in the country ...

Rajkot to get AIIMS at Rs 1,200 crore, says Gujarat Dy CM

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Thursday said the Centre has given its go-ahead to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rajkot at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore.

Swine flu claims two lives in Rajasthan

Two people died of swine flu on Thursday in Rajasthan while a total of 44 new cases tested positive in the state, health officials said here.

Ex-Argentina president in intensive care after heart attack

Former Argentina president Fernando de la Rua was in intensive care on Thursday after suffering a heart attack, medical sources said. The 81-year-old, president from 1999-2001, was surrounded by his wife and two sons, according to press reports, with the official Telam news agency citing a medical source saying: "He's in a delicate state." De la Rua has suffered several health problems in recent years, undergoing an operation to open a clogged heart artery in 2014 while he had cardiac problems requiring surgery in both 2017 and 2018. He was also hospitalised for a heart problem in 2001 during his presidency. He has remained away from the political sphere ever since fleeing the presidential palace on December 20, 2001 by helicopter as riots raged in major cities, including Buenos Aires and Rosario, with the country lurching through an institutional and economic crisis.

This implantable device uses light to treat bladder problems

Researchers have developed a tiny, implantable device that may one day help people, who suffer from urinary incontinence, bypass the need for medication or electronic stimulators.

Hearing loss raises depression risk in elderly

Older adults with age-related hearing loss are more likely to have greater risk of depressive symptoms, finds a study.

Man accidentally swallows toothbrush, gets relief at AIIMS

A 36-year-old man, who accidentally swallowed a toothbrush while cleaning his throat on the advice of a quack, had it removed by doctors at the AIIMS through a non-surgical procedure. The 12-cm-long toothbrush was removed by performing an endoscopy, a procedure in which a snare was used to pull it out from the upper abdomen. A resident of Seemapuri in Delhi, Avid had swallowed the toothbrush on December 8 while thoroughly cleaning his throat. He did not tell anyone about it immediately. But, the next morning when he woke up with pain in the stomach, he was taken to the nearest Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Avid still did not inform the doctors that he had accidentally swallowed a toothbrush. The doctors there tried to offer him relief by administering pain killers but that did not work. An Xray and a CT scan of the chest was done but the cause of the pain could not be ascertained, Dr Praveen Aggarwal, head of the department of emergency medicine at AIIMS, said. Then a CT scan of the ...

Artificial sweeteners may do more harm than good: BMJ

There is no compelling evidence to indicate important health benefits of artificial sweeteners, and potential harms cannot be ruled out, according to a review of over 50 studies published in The BMJ. Growing concerns about health and quality of life have encouraged many people to adopt healthier lifestyles and avoid foods rich in sugars, salt, or fat, said researchers from the University of Freiburg in Germany. Foods and drinks containing non-sugar sweeteners rather than regular ("free") sugars have therefore become increasingly popular, they said. Although several non-sugar sweeteners are approved for use, less is known about their potential benefits and harms within acceptable daily intakes because the evidence is often limited and conflicting. To better understand these potential benefits and harms, a team of European researchers analysed 56 studies comparing no intake or lower intake of non-sugar sweeteners with higher intake in healthy adults and children. Measures included ...

Celebratory firing: Family of deceased woman donates her kidneys

In an act of benevolence, the family of a woman architect, who died Thursday after being critically injured in celebratory firing during a New Year's eve party here, has donated her kidneys. The woman was wounded in celebratory firing during the party at former Bihar MLA Raju Singh's farm house here. Singh and his driver Hari were arrested Thursday, police said. Archana Gupta, 42, was on life support at the Fortis hospital in Vasant Kunj where she was brought to on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1. "Till Wednesday, the patient continued to be in a critical state and on life support. Despite best efforts by our team of doctors, the patient could not be revived and was declared brain dead on January 2," according to hospital authorities. Thereafter, the proposal to donate her organs for a larger cause was discussed with the family. Post consultation, the "family agreed to donate her kidneys," they said. According to NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant ...