Page 204 - Health Medical Pharma

President Kovind calls for holistic health system

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday underlined the need for evolving a holistic health system, which is uniformly affordable and accessible.Speaking at the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Anaemia, Thalassemia and Other Genetic Blood Disorders at the Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences in Karimnagar, he said that the country has made significant strides in the field of healthcare. However, he also asserted that a lot still needs to be done."We still have a long way to go in evolving a holistic healthcare system, one which is uniformly affordable and accessible. Strengthening public hospitals, municipal hospitals, charitable hospitals, and primary health and wellness clinics must receive priority," he said."We need to spread awareness on healthcare issues especially in rural areas and among disadvantaged sections," he added.

NGO writes to NHRC on talc issue

Amid reports that a product of a leading firm allegedly contained cancer-causing asbestos, a city-based NGO has written to the NHRC, seeking its intervention in the matter. In a letter written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Toxics Watch Alliance (TWA) has cited media reports and claimed that a national laboratory in Lucknow has "corroborated" the findings. The NGO has said that it has sought to draw the "urgent attention" of the rights panel, towards the relevance of the report on the baby talc powder manufactured by global major Johnson & Johnson. "In view of the above, I seek Commission's urgent intervention to recommend complete stoppage of ongoing exposure of Indians to carcinogenic asbestos fibers-contaminated talc powder of Johnson & Johnson and other companies in India," the NGO's director Gopal Krishna was quoted as saying in the statement. Following orders of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), drug inspectors have seized samples of various baby .

ITA calls industry meet to mitigate human-elephant conflict in tea gardens

Concerned by the growing incidents of human elephants conflict in Assam, the Indian Tea Association has organized a meet at Kolkata to consider an industry-wide collaboration to address human-elephant conflict faced by the tea gardens of Assam and West Bengal.

Long way to go for holistic healthcare system: President

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said India has a long way to go in evolving a holistic healthcare system, which is uniformly affordable and accessible to citizens both in rural and urban areas.

Novel protein linked to skin cancer identified

Researchers have identified a specific protein responsible for melanoma metastasis that may provide an improved understanding of how the cancer spreads.

Decoded: What helps people live well with dementia

Psychological aspects such as optimism, self-esteem, loneliness and depression are closely linked to the ability to optimise quality of life and well-being in both people with dementia and caregivers, a new study suggests.

E-bandage can speed up wound healing: Study

Researchers have developed a self-powered bandage that generates an electric field over an injury, dramatically reducing the healing time for skin wounds.

Balaji Amines gets revision in credit ratings

From India Ratings & Research

Optimism, self-esteem can help those battling dementia

Factors such as optimism and self-esteem can help improve the well-being and quality of life of those suffering from dementia, a new study has found.The team of researchers pointed out that psychological aspects such as optimism, self-esteem and whether they encountered loneliness and depression, was closely linked to the ability to optimise the quality of life and well-being in people with dementia.Experience in other areas of life influences psychological well-being and perceptions of living well. Physical health and fitness were also termed important. For people with dementia social activity and interaction also ranked highly.For these people, their social situation and their ability to manage everyday life were important factors. The full findings were published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Association Disorders.Lead author of the study Linda Clare said: "It's so important to find ways for the 50 million people worldwide who have dementia to live as well as possible. .

Prez lauds Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme

President Ram Nath Kovind Saturday lauded the NDA government's flagship health insurance programme Ayushman Bharat, saying it was aimed at ensuring none were deprived of healthcare due to lack of financial resources. Kovind stressed the need for strengthening public, municipal and charitable hospitals and primary health and wellness clinics across the country for better healthcare. "Healthcare challenges are numerous and so are our achievements. The Ayushman Bharat initiative aims to ensure that nobody is deprived of healthcare due to lack of financial resources...," he said in his speech at a programme in Prathima Hospitals here. Kovind, on a four-day customary southern sojourn to the city, said he was happy to note that within the first three months of the launch of the scheme, six lakh people needing secondary and tertiary care had benefited. "...an amount of Rs 800 crore has been authorised for their treatment," Kovind said. The scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on .

AI system learns to diagnose, classify intracranial haemorrhage

Researchers have developed a system using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to quickly diagnose and classify brain haemorrhages and to provide the basis of its decisions from relatively small image datasets.

Docs pitch for mandatory newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism

Doctors in the national capital have pitched for mandatory newborn screening (NBS) in the country stating Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM), often referred to as congenital metabolic diseases or inherited metabolic disorders, can be cured if diagnosed early. Experts said early diagnosis can help prevent brain damage. There is also a need for more awareness on IEM among parents, they said. As compared to 90 per cent of children in China who go through newborn screening, the number is just 2 per cent in India, Dr Seema Kapoor, Division of Genetics in the Department of Paediatrics at Lok Nayak Hospital, said at a panel discussion on IEM, held at AIIMS recently. IEM is a rare genetic (inherited) disorder in which the body cannot properly turn food into energy. The disorder is usually caused by defects in specific proteins (enzymes) that help break down (metabolize) parts of food. In India, the exact incidence is not known, but based on estimates in other countries, 3-4 babies out of 1000 .

Himalayan marmot genome offers clues to life at extremely high altitudes

Researchers have sequenced the first complete genome of the Himalayan marmot, which may help better explain how the mammals survive at altitudes of up to 5,000 metres. Marmots are found in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Pakistan and on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China, where many of them face extreme cold, little oxygen, and few other resources. The findings, which appear in the journal iScience, hint at the genetic mechanisms underlying high-altitude adaptation and hibernation, said researchers at the Xi'an Jiaotong University in China. They also serve as a valuable resource for researchers studying marmot evolution, highland disease, and cold adaptation. "As one of the highest-altitude-dwelling mammals, the Himalayan marmot is chronically exposed to cold temperature, hypoxia, and intense UV radiation," said Enqi Liu of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center. "They also hibernate for more than six months during the wintertime," Liu said. Those striking ...

Internet-based interventions can help reduce problem drinking

Alcohol abuse in adults can be more effectively tackled through Internet-based interventions, which are often more accessible and acceptable than face-to-face counselling, scientists say. According to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, Internet-based interventions for adult problem drinking (iAIs) could serve as a first step toward changing problem-drinking behaviors and seeking more intensive treatment if needed. Global estimations continue to show increasing morbidity, mortality and social harm caused by all types of problem drinking. Although brief face-to-face interventions are effective, they are rarely used. Internet-based interventions could overcome this treatment gap because they are more accessible and scalable, and they are more acceptable to problem drinkers. Researcher from VU University in the Netherlands investigated the effectiveness and moderators of treatment outcomes in Internet-based interventions for adult problem drinking. They performed systematic ..

Rise in breast cancer leading to more ovarian cancer: Experts

Breast cancer, the leading cause of mortality among women in India, is being seen as an augmenting factor in the rise in ovarian cancer cases as well, according to medical experts.

'Mortality due to heart diseases increases by 50% in winter'

Various studies have shown that the number of heart attacks and related deaths are higher in winter months. The mortality rate due to heart attacks may be as much as 50 percent higher in the cold.As the temperatures drop, it becomes difficult to retain heat inside your body. The fall in our body's internal temperature is too dangerous for people living with cardiovascular problems who may suffer from angina or chest pain when exposed to cold weather. In fact, winter is the most vulnerable time for patients having a background history of heart diseases.According to doctors, it is imperative to not ignore irregular discomfort in chest, severe sweating, pain in the neck, arms, jaws and shoulders or shortness of breath during winter, which are major symptoms of heart failures.Speaking about the same, Dr. Anil Dhall, Venkateshwar Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi said, "The main reason for the increase in heart-related ailments in winter could be the rise in blood pressure. The arteries become ..

Mumbai: Apollo Hospitals launches state-of-the-art bone marrow transplant unit

Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai, a multi-specialty tertiary care hospital accredited with JCI and NABH quality accreditation, recently launched an advanced 3-bed HEPA filtered Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit.The new unit, a standalone dedicated facility for bone marrow transplantation, will bring international standards of cancer care to offer patients from Navi Mumbai and surrounding areas an accessible facility for bone marrow transplant.The state-of-the-art advanced BMT unit will provide quality cancer care and treatment and will be supported by an experienced and qualified team of haemato-oncologists, BMT Physician and trained nursing staff.The BMT unit will cater to patients with blood cancer including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma as well as other hematological disorders like thalassemia, aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease and inherited immune deficiency disorders.Bone Marrow Transplant is a life-saving procedure and is the only way to cure many of the patients diagnosed with .

Mediterranean diet can boost effect of statins

A recent study has found that statins - a class of drugs often prescribed by doctors to help lower cholesterol levels in the blood - are more effective for those who follow the Mediterranean diet.The findings of the Italian study have been published in the International Journal of Cardiology.The traditional Mediterranean diet is rich in fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals, olive oil, wine in moderation, fish and low in meat and dairy products"We found that statins and Mediterranean Diet together were more effective, as compared to one or the other considered separately, in reducing the risk of cardiovascular mortality. Likely, a Mediterranean diet facilitated the beneficial effect of statins, that in our real-life study were generally used at low doses," said Marialaura Bonaccio, first author of the study.Researchers also analysed the potential underlying mechanisms of this positive interaction, so far poorly explored, between drugs and eating habits.Licia Iacoviello further said, ...

Modi, Palaniswami condole death of '5 rupees doctor' Jayachandran

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami on Friday condoled the death of S. Jayachandran, popularly known as the 'five rupees doctor'.

Cost of HIV/AIDS treatment down globally due to Indian firms: VP Naidu

Due to the ability of the Indian pharma companies to produce drugs at economical rates, the cost of HIV/AIDS treatment has gone down to USD 400 per year from USD 12,000, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Friday, hailing the country's "spectacular" contribution to global healthcare He said India has always taken a "bold and exemplary" stand against "blind patent" protection that benefit global pharma giants and asserted that providing essential drugs and medicines at cost-effective prices was the key focus of the government. Noting that India has since ancient times a very systematic, scientific and rational approach to treatment of diseases, he said the country it has now become the third largest drug manufacturer in the world. Addressing the 70th Indian Pharmaceutical Congress, held at Amity University, in Noida, the Vice President saidpresently over 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs used globally to combat AIDS are supplied by the Indian pharmaceutical firms. "Due to the ...