Page 219 - Health Medical Pharma

Brain responds more quickly to angry voices: Study

We notice aggressive or threatening voices much faster than those that sound normal or happy, scientists say. According to the study published in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, our attention is more focused on threatening voices to enable us to clearly recognise the location of the potential threat. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland showed how our brain leverages resources when we sense danger to allow for adequate survival behaviour. Sight and hearing are the two senses that allow human beings to detect threatening situations. Although sight is critical, it does not allow for a 360-degree coverage of the surrounding space -- unlike hearing. "That's why we are interested in how fast our attention responds to the different intonations of the voices around us and how our brain deals with potentially threatening situations," said Nicolas Burra, a researcher at UNIGE. To examine the brain's response to threats in the auditory ...

Goa missing out on medical tourism: Health Minister Rane

Goa is missing out on medical tourism as it has failed to attract patients from abroad, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said Sunday. He said private and government hospitals will have to work unitedly to ensure Goa becomes a destination for people from other countries looking for quality health care. "We are missing the boat as far as medical tourism is concerned. We are still not in a position to attract people from other countries to Goa to get operated," Rane said. "There are other states which are achieving this (medical tourism). I strongly believe private and government (health sectors) need to work in a united manner to achieve this," Rane added. He said there should be integration of private and government health care establishments since it was not possible for the state to work alone to improve medical facilities. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Healthway Hospital here, a facility started by 50 private doctors from Goa. He said Goa had started ..

Maha's KEM model for Goa organ, tissue transplant organisation

Goa will set up a state organ and tissue transplant organisation on the lines of the one at KEM Hospital in Mumbai, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said Sunday. Such a mechanism would help Goa have a registry of people requiring organ transplant, he added. The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court had, two days ago, asked the state government to set up a State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) within six months. The bench, comprising Justices R M Borde and P K Chavan, had also asked authorities to make available necessary cross-matching facilities. The court's directions came in response to a petition by NGO Mango Foundation seeking to direct the state and Central governments to notify Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) as SOTTO. The plea also sought that such a SOTTO at GMCH be linked to the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) West as well as National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO). Rane said his ministry was

Winter care for your little ones

The winter season can bring some key challenges for new parents as newborns are a little more sensitive and need extra care in the cold season. Ensure their skin is well moisturised and protected, say experts.

Thermometer, glucometer among four devices notified as drugs for regulation

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) would regulate the import, manufacture and sale of these devices from January 1, 2020

Internet therapy platforms may help fight depression: Study

Scientists have found that a series of self-guided, internet-based therapy platforms effectively reduce depression. Researchers from Indiana University (IU) in the US reviewed 21 pre-existing studies with a total of 4,781 participants. In the past several years, many internet-based apps and websites have made claims to treat depression. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, focussed on those applications that provide treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of psychotherapy that focuses on changing thought patterns and behaviour to alleviate symptoms of depression and other mental disorders. Previous studies had examined the effectiveness of individual internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy apps, or iCBT, using a range of methods. Until this study, however, no review had examined whether the effects of these treatments were inflated by excluding patients with more severe depression or additional conditions such as anxiety or alcohol ...

Infections during childhood may affect mental health: Study

According to a recent study, serious infections during childhood can be associated with a subsequent increased risk of mental disorders.Researchers at the Aarhus University found that infections, which require hospitalisations, can lead to an 84 per cent increased risk of being diagnosed with any mental disorder and an about 42 percent increased the risk of using psychotropic drugs.The findings of the study are published in the Journal of JAMA Psychiatry.The team associated the less severe infections, majorly treated with antibiotics, with increased risks of 20-40 percent of mental disorders."The surprising finding was that the infections in general -- and in particular, the less severe infections, those that were treated with anti-infective agents -- increased the risk for the majority of mental disorders," said Ole Kohler-Forsberg, lead researcher of the study.For the study, the researchers analysed health data of more than 1 million people and took a close look at their medical ...

Assam tea body slam 'chaiwala' Modi

The largest tea body of Assam on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who often refer to himself as a "chaiwala", for not being considerate towards the state's tea garden workers' plight and urged him to implement the promised minimum wage of Rs 350 before the new year starts.

Human brain responds to aggressive voices more quickly: Study

Human brains notice a voice much faster when it is considered threatening or aggressive than when it is perceived as normal or happy in an auditory environment, according to a new study.

Birth control pills may block blood flow to brain

Turns out, birth control pills increase the risk of ischemic strokes which are usually caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. This keeps blood from flowing to the brain.According to stroke specialists at the Loyola University, oral contraceptives increase the risk of ischemic stroke, but this risk is very small among women who do not have other stroke risk factors.The findings of the study appeared in the journal MedLink Neurology.Several mechanisms were proposed to explain why oral contraceptives increase stroke risk during the research, including raising blood pressure and making blood hypercoagulable."The ideal drug is one with the lowest estrogen and progestin doses that will be effective in preventing pregnancy while minimizing adverse effects," said neurologist Sarkis Morales-Vidal.In women with other stroke risk factors, the risk is higher and, in most cases, oral contraceptive use is discouraged. These risk factors include high blood pressure,

VIMSAR junior doctors end cease work

With the Odisha government asking director A K Pujahari to go on leave, the junior doctors of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla ended their cease work and resumed duty on Saturday. Prakash Mohapatra took over as the new director in-charge of the institute. The junior doctors were on a stir to press for their demands since November 17. The cease work of the 240 junior doctors and 150 house surgeons of the institute impacted health services at the biggest healthcare centre of western Odisha. "Considering the greater interest of the patients who depend on VIMSAR for health services, we have decided to postpone the cease work. The house surgeons will also join their duty and the undergraduate students will attend the classes," Vice-president of Junior Doctors Association, Himanshu Mishra said. The agitation made the Odisha government form a team to conduct a probe into allegations against Pujahari of indulging in unproven clinical .

Karnataka's 111-year-old pontiff recovers from liver operation

Karnataka's 111-year-old revered pontiff Shivakumar Swami of Siddaganga Mutt at Tumakuru recovered from a liver operation he underwent at a hospital in Chennai, an official said on Saturday.

UK government calls for reducing tablets taken by older people

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Saturday called for a drive to reduce the number of tablets and pills taken by older people after a survey found nearly half of over 75-year-olds were taking five or more medicines, with the percentage rising as people get older.

Goa's NOTE hails Union health ministry's anti-tobacco drive

Goa-headquartered NGO National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication Saturday welcomed the Union Health ministry's initiative to make government offices and buildings tobacco-free. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan had recently written to chief secretaries of states to make offices and buildings of their respective governments tobacco-free in order to protect public health. The letter added that state governments would get technical help in this regard from the Union Health ministry. "We welcome such an initiative which will go a long way to save people from falling prey to tobacco. Recently the Union Health and Family Welfare ministry made its Nirman Bhawan office tobacco-free. It is an appreciable step," said NOTE general secretary Shekhar Salkar. Salkar, an oncologist with a private hospital here, said tobacco was the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, adding that India was the third largest tobacco-producing and second largest tobacco-consuming nation. He

1.8 cr Maha children given Measles-Rubella vaccine in 10 days

The Maharashtra government Saturday said 1.8 crore children between the ages of nine months and 15 years had been administered the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine in the last 10 days. A six-week long MR vaccination drive started in the state on November 27 and it aims to cover 3.38 crore children by December 31. Maharashtra Health Minister Deepak Sawant Saturday said the drive, under which MR vaccines are being given free of cost at government hospitals and dispensaries, had achieved 35 per cent of its target. He said the drive had been implemented successfully in 96,000 schools in the state. He informed that Bhandara district had completed 60 per cent of its target, the highest in the state so far. Districts like Sindhudurg, Gadchiroli, Kolhapur and Yavatmal had also done well, he said, while Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar and Dhule had achieved about 40 per cent of the target.

Masculine faces perceived as more competent than feminine: Study

Faces that are seen as competent or talented are perceived as more masculine than feminine, say researchers while noting that this can pose a threat to social justice.

Inflammatory bowel disease ups prostate cancer risk: Study

Men with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are four to five times at higher risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to researchers including one of Indian-origin.

India's first artificial heart valve technology launched

In line with the Make in India initiative, global medical device maker Meril Life Sciences on Saturday launched its first indigenously designed and manufactured artificial aortic valve for patients who are at a high risk or unwilling to undergo open heart valve replacement surgery.

Initiative to improve TB patients' adherence to treatment launched in Delhi

The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) of the Union health ministry has launched an initiative at the Lok Nayak Hospital here to improve patients' adherence to TB treatment. The initiative has been launched in collaboration with Caredose, a Delhi-based medicine management company, Founder and CEO of Caredose, Gauri Angrish, said the "CAREDOSE TB Medicine Adherence Tracking" initiative would change the way medicines were dispensed and dose adherence was tracked and managed, in a scientific manner and at a price point that was relevant for India. "The country is home to an estimated 28 lakh tuberculosis patients and our innovative technology intervention will surely ensure a huge dent in this number. Currently, the medicine schedule adherence needs improvement as the existing systems depend on patients' inputs and are therefore unreliable, which is a major cause of failed treatment," Angrish said. The process involves a "smart dispenser", which is an ICT ...

Wasp venom offers hope against lung diseases

MIT engineers have developed new antimicrobial peptides, which can combat bacteria causing respiratory and other infections, based on a naturally occurring peptide produced by a South American wasp.