Page 230 - Health Medical Pharma

Snoring may up cardiac risk in women

Women who suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) as well as snoring may be at a greater risk of impairment of cardiac function than men, says a new research.

Lab grown 'mini-placentas' can mimic early pregnancy

Scientists have created artificial mini-placentas in the laboratory after nearly three decades of research, offering hope for tackling miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births as well as transform pregnancy research.

GSK says looking at a merger for its consumer healthcare unit

(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc on Thursday confirmed it was considering a merger of its consumer healthcare business as part of a review of its Indian Horlicks nutrition business and other consumer healthcare nutrition products.

Amarinder discharged from hospital, advised rest

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was on Thursday discharged from the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here and has been advised rest by doctors.

Govt committed to provide 'Health For All': Patel

Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel Thursday said the government was committed to attain the highest possible levels of health and wellbeing for all its citizens by providing 'Health For All'. Addressing the 15th India Health Summit, an annual flagship event on healthcare organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Patel said that one of the biggest policy initiatives was the release of the National Health Policy, 2017 after a gap of 15 years which paves the way for universal health coverage and reduction of out-of-pocket expenses. 'Health For All' is a programming goal of the World Health Organisation, which envisions securing the health and wellbeing of people. She said that the other policy achievements in the past four years include the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 and HIV/AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act 2017 and the MCI Ordinance. Speaking on Ayushman Bharat scheme, Patel said that it was a step towards fulfilling the vision of the National Health ...

Platelets grown from fat tissues in lab

Scientists have developed a way to grow human platelets in the laboratory from stem cells derived from fat tissue -- an advance that may reduce the dependence of patients with cancer and other disorders on donated blood. Platelets are a component of blood that helps with clotting. Platelet transfusions can be life-saving for patients dealing with cancer or the effects of chemotherapy, infections, immune disorders, or platelet disorders. Over 4.5 million platelet units of plasma are transfused every year worldwide, a need that currently must be met by human donors. Since donated platelets have a shelf life of less than a week, supplies often fall short of patient needs. In addition, donated platelets are subject to inherent safety risks due to infection from the donor and immune response in the recipient. In the new study, researchers led by Yumiko Matsubara of Keio University in Japan, built on previous efforts to prove that fat tissue could be used to create a stem cell line that ...

Experts lambaste Chinese scientist for creating gene-edited babies

The organising committee of the second International Summit on Human Genome Editing have called Chinese scientist He Jiankui's claims of creating the first gene-edited twin babies as "unexpected and deeply disturbing" and "irresponsible" on Thursday.The Chinese scientist sent shockwaves with his claims, where he stated that he had modified the embryos of the new-born twins to create the world's first gene-edited children. He was one of the speakers at the summit on Wednesday.The experts further called for an independent assessment to verify He's claims. "We recommend an independent assessment to verify this claim and to ascertain whether the claimed DNA modifications have occurred," David Baltimore, the committee's chairman stated at the conference while reading out a statement regarding the incident.The committee further mentioned that the editing of the gene was "irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms".The experts pointed out that inadequate medical indication,

Centre, states need to come together for better healthcare: Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the Centre and state governments need to come together for providing better healthcare to the people and proper utilisation of resources.

'Zapping tumours may reduce side effects of cancer therapy'

Scientists in the US are developing a new technology that can reduce the side effects of cancer radiation therapy by shrinking its duration from minutes to under a second. Built into future compact medical devices, the technology -- which is used for high-energy particle physics -- could also help make radiation therapy more accessible around the world. The researchers from US Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University are working on two projects to develop possible treatments for tumours -- one using X-rays, the other using protons. The idea behind both is to blast cancer cells so quickly that organs and other tissues do not have time to move during the exposure -- much like taking a single freeze frame from a video. This reduces the chance that radiation will hit and damage healthy tissue around tumours, making radiation therapy more precise. "Delivering the radiation dose of an entire therapy session with a single flash lasting less than a ..

This antibiotic could help prevent Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

Researchers have found that antibiotic minocycline can increase the lifespan of aged roundworms by preventing the build-up of proteins, revealing a protective mechanism that could be used to help prevent age-related neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

Frequent sauna use may cut cardiovascular death risk: Study

Regular sauna use may lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people aged 50 years and above, according to a study. Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland found that mortality from CVD among people who used a sauna four to seven times a week was 2.7 fatal CVD events per 1,000 person years. Mortality was 10.1 events per 1,000 person years in those who used a sauna once a week, according to the study published in the journal BMC Medicine. Person years refers to the total number of years that participants remained in the study. It is a way of measuring the number of new events in the study population in a given time period, with a lower number of events indicating a lower risk. "An important finding of this research is that more regular sauna use is associated with a lower risk of death from CVD in middle-aged to elderly women as well as in men," said Jari Laukkanen, professor at the University of Eastern ...

Successful knee replacement surgery performed at Smt. S.R. Mehta & Sir K.P. Cardiac Institute

When does a person become old? This is a philosophical question and when this question was put to Chanchalben Sukhlal Shah who was born on 17th of Feb. 1919; she said, "When you dwell only in the past - that is old." She came to meet Dr. Nilen Shah at S. R. Mehta Hospital; 3 weeks ago; limping badly as her knees were hurting. This was the first time Dr. Shah was examining a 100-year-old patient with knee pain, was talking to her and her relatives; explaining that to relieve her pain a knee replacement would be required.Without batting an eyelid, Chanchalben asked when can the surgery be done and whether the doctor would do both the knees together. Dr. Shah had to explain that considering the circumstances, it would be best only to operate on the more painful - the left side.The left knee replacement surgery on Chanchalben at 100 years was duly carried out at S. R. Mehta Hospital at King's Circle, Mumbai by Dr. Nilen Shah and his team recently. Obviously, extra precautions were taken ..

Neuland Laboratories successfully completes USFDA inspection of Pashmylaram unit

With zero observations under Form 483

Frequent sauna use may boost heart health, reduce death risk

Regular sauna use is associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people aged 50 years and above, a new study says.

Amarinder Singh suffering from fever

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who is suffering from fever, was discharged from PGIMER here Thursday after spending a night at the hospital, officials said. Doctors have advised Singh to rest as he still has mild fever, they said. He was taken to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh Wednesday for a medical checkup after he complained of fever and body ache. His medical tests were clear, an official spokesman said Thursday.

Zydus Cadila gets USFDA nod to market generic Lansoprazole tablets

Drug firm Zydus Cadila Thursday said it has received final nod from the US health regulator to market generic Lansoprazole tablets used for treating conditions caused by stomach acid. The final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) is to market Lansoprazole delayed release orally disintegrating tablets in the strengths of 15 mg and 30 mg, Zydus Cadila said in a statement. The product "will be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad," it added. Lansoprazole tablets are used for the treatment of conditions such as ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome that are caused by stomach acid, Zydus Cadila said. The company has also received tentative approval from the USFDA for generic Linagliptin tablets in the strength of 5 mg, it added. Linagliptin tablets will be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at SEZ, Ahmedabad, Zydus Cadila said. The product ..

Can sauna lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease?

Yes, you heard that right! Apart from relaxing you, frequent sauna use is linked to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in men and women aged 50 years and over.The study has been published in the journal BMC Medicine.Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland found that mortality from CVD among people who used a sauna four to seven times a week was 2.7 fatal CVD events per 1,000 person years, compared to 10.1 events per 1,000 person years in those who used a sauna once a week.Person years refers to the total number of years that participants remained in the study. It is a way of measuring the number of new events in the study population in a given time period, with a lower number of events indicating a lower risk.Professor Jari Laukkanen, the corresponding author, said: "An important finding of this research is that more regular sauna use is associated with a lower risk of death from CVD in middle-aged to elderly ...

'Mini human placenta' may help prevent reproductive disorders

Scientists have successfully created 'mini-placentas' that can provide a window into early pregnancy and help transform our understanding of reproductive disorders such as still-birth and miscarriage. Many pregnancies fail because the embryo does not implant correctly into the lining of the womb (uterus) and fails to form a placental attachment to the mother. Yet, because of the complexities of studying this early period of our development, very little is understood about what is happening normally and what can go wrong. Animals are too dissimilar to humans to provide a good model of placental development and implantation. "The placenta is absolutely essential for supporting the baby as it grows inside the mother," said Margherita Turco, from the University of Cambridge in the UK. "When it doesn't function properly, it can result in serious problems, from pre-eclampsia to miscarriage, with immediate and lifelong consequences for both mother and child. But our knowledgec of this ...

Biocartis partners with AstraZeneca on lung cancer diagnostics

(Reuters) - Belgian molecular diagnostics company Biocartis Group said on Thursday it had entered into an agreement with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to obtain faster lung cancer molecular diagnostic biomarker results in Europe.

Should you trust Dr. Google with your health problems?

Turns out, women experiencing symptoms of breast cancer vary in how they value, use and trust 'Dr. Google' when making sense of their signs of cancer, a new study has revealed.The study appeared in the Journal of Health, Risk and Society. Researchers from the University of Surrey, led by Dr Afrodita Marcu, investigated whether women sought health information online when experiencing potential breast cancer symptoms and, if so, whether they found it useful.The researchers interviewed 27 women, aged between 47 and 67 years old, and found different levels of engagement with the internet for health information that was driven by a range of attitudes and levels of trust.Some women, particularly those with no formal educational, were found to be less positive about the usefulness of 'Dr Google' and were largely against using the internet for health information, claiming that this could lead to misdiagnosis or to unnecessarily worry about what their symptoms might mean.Researchers also found