Page 237 - Health Medical Pharma
New test to detect E. coli in food quickly
Researchers have developed a novel testing kit that can detect Escherichia coli (E.coli) -- a deadly pathogen -- much more quickly than existing methods.
Try hypnotherapy to get relief from IBS
Hypnotherapy could help relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), finds a study.The findings have been published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology journal.Hypnotherapy might help relieve irritable bowel syndrome complaints for some patients for as long as 9 months after the end of treatment, according to a randomised controlled trial of 354 adults with IBS in primary and secondary care.After 3 months of treatment, adequate relief of IBS symptoms was reported by more patients who received individual (40 percent; 41/102 for whom data were available) and group hypnotherapy (33 percent; 31/91) than those given education and supportive care (17 percent; 6/35), and these benefits persisted at 9 months follow-up (42 percent [38/91], 50 percent [40/80], and 22 percent [7/31]).Importantly, the findings suggest that group hypnotherapy is as effective as individual sessions, which could enable many more patients with IBS to be treated at reduced cost.The study is the ...
Medical experts must collaborate for solutions to diseases that are difficult to treat
The non-surgical and minimally-invasive Stem Cell Technology has emerged as the most promising medical procedure for diseases like diabetes, heart problems and is increasingly being recognized as mainstream medical science, said prominent international and Indian doctors participating in STEMCELL XPRESS, an international conference on Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine & Anti-Ageing processes.StemCell Xpress opens today with 3 days stem cell workshop and international conference. Cosmostem Institute of Regenerative Asthetic Medicine and StemGenn Therapeutics conducted stem cell training and doctors and scientists participated across the country.The global Regenerative Medicine market is expected to touch USD 39 billion by 2021, up from about USD 13 billion in 2016 with India contributing a handsome share of that.The market for this kind of medicine in India is pegged to grow at 20-25 percent annually and reach USD 146 million by 2021, the doctors said.The conference underpinned the .
Traumatic childhood linked to psychotic experiences
Researchers have found a link between trauma in childhood and psychotic experiences at the age of 18.The University of Bristol study has been published in JAMA Psychiatry. The findings are the first to comprehensively examine the association between different types of trauma, and their timing in childhood with later psychotic experiences using a large population study. Psychotic experiences include abnormal experiences such as hearing voices or feelings of paranoia.Researchers used Bristol's Children of the 90s longitudinal data to examine 4,433 participants who had clinical interviews and attended clinics at the age of 18. The study concludes that between 25 and 60 per cent of the young people who reported psychotic experiences (five per cent of the sample) would not have developed these if they had not been exposed to trauma such as bullying, domestic violence or emotional neglect as a child.The results were consistent regardless of socio-economic status or genetic risk of mental ...
lupin launches India's first chatbot for patients
Launched at the 46'h Annual Meeting of the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes, ANYA is an intelligent and patient-friendly chat bot trained to help patients with health-related concerns as part of their diseasemanagement. As a start to digitize the patient journey in the overall healthcare space, Lupin is starting with ANYA to address queries related to diabetes.
How music helps people with dementia
The positive impact of music on human psyche has been known for a long time. Now, according to a new study, music may even help in improving the mood of people with dementia.The findings have been published in the journal Geriatrics & Gerontology.The study of 51 individuals living with dementia, who attended community-based adult day health centers, behavioural observations of a music intervention, showed a positive change in mood and a decrease in agitation. Participants demonstrated significant increases in joy, eye contact, eye movement, being engaged, and talkativeness, and a decrease in sleeping and moving or dancing.For the study, each participant listened to personalised music using headphones, which prompted social interaction with one another and/or the researchers while listening. After 20 minutes, participants were brought back to the center's usual activities and were observed for 20 more minutes."The promising results of this affordable and meaningful intervention ...
Paris hospital halts stool study after donor deluge
A Paris hospital which made a public appeal for stool samples for a study on intestinal diseases said Friday it had suspended the project after being inundated by donors hoping for an easy 50 euros. "We had to cancel the call for donors and halt the study because it had gotten out of control," professor Harry Sokol, the gastroenterologist leading the study at the Saint-Antoine hospital, told AFP. Originally donors were sought via posters at the hospital and at medical schools, offering compensation of 50 euros (USD 57) if accepted. "Someone took a picture and it spread rapidly on the internet and social media, because the message had been altered: People thought it meant: Give us your stools, we'll give you 50 euros," Sokol said. The telephone hotline and email for potential donors was quickly overwhelmed, "and even after we cut off the number people were calling the hospital switchboard, some even showed up in person, and it's still going on," he said. In fact the rigorous selection .
City hospital offers fresh lease of life to Uzbek girl suffering from bone cancer
A 10-year-old girl from Uzbekistan suffering from bone cancer got a new lease of life after undergoing a unique surgical procedure at a city hospital. Mftuna Kamilova was suffering from pain and swelling on her left thigh and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a very aggressive and malignant cancer that normally affects thigh or leg bones, said Dr Aashish Chaudhry, the managing director and the head of orthopaedics and joint replacement department of Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital. Once diagnosed with the critical and life-threatening disease, her parents began searching all over the Internet and came across Dr Chaudhry with whom they discussed her case. They brought Mftuna to Delhi and got her admitted at Aakash Healthcare on November 15. "In most cases of osteosarcoma, doctors suggest amputation. But considering her young age, we had to save her limb. "One option was to replace the tumour-affected bone with a metal implant (customized prosthesis), but it was too expensive
Scientists develop enzymes using radio frequency
For the first time ever, scientists have developed enzymes using radio frequency radiation. The study was published in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering Journal.The method required making a special complex consisting of enzymes and magnetic nanoparticles. The particles then adsorb radio emission and convert it to heat that accelerates enzymatic processes by more than four times."There are very few studies out there that explore enzyme manipulation through the radio waves. We were the first who managed to increase the activity of a non-thermostable enzyme. Typically, these enzymes change the conformation at high temperatures and then stop working. But placed within the rigid framework of nanoparticles, the enzyme is stabilized from structure rearrangements as the nanoparticles mechanically restrict the enzyme mobility," said Andrey Drozdov, a lead researcher.Such a method could also be used used to create radio-controlled biochemical systems and adjust metabolism in living ...
Tihar inmate dies at city hospital after battling cancer
A Tihar inmate in his late 30's who was allegedly suffering from cancer died Friday at a city hospital, prison authorities said. "Sikander was a cancer patient. Ten days ago, he was admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where he was undergoing treatment for his disease," Ajay Kashyap, Director General Tihar Jail said. He was admitted to the hospital after his condition became serious, police said, adding, he passed away there Friday morning. Further details are awaited.
CSIR researching on cannabis for treating cancer, epilepsy
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is doing a research on the medicinal use of cannabis for treating diseases like cancer, epilepsy and sickle cell anaemia.
Ebola in Congo now infecting newborn babies: WHO
The World Health Organisation says a worrying number of the newest Ebola cases amid Congo's ongoing outbreak are in patients not usually known to catch the disease: babies. In an update published this week, the UN health agency reported 36 new confirmed cases of Ebola, including seven in newborn babies and infants younger than 2 years old. Six cases were reported in children aged between 2 and 17 and one case was in a pregnant woman. While Ebola typically infects adults, as they are most likely to be exposed to the lethal virus, children have been known in some instances to catch the disease when they act as caregivers. Few cases of Ebola in babies have been reported, but experts suspect transmission might happen via breast milk or close contact with infected parents. Ebola is typically spread by infected bodily fluids. WHO noted that health centers have been identified as a source of Ebola transmission, with injections of medications "a notable cause." WHO called Congo's current ...
CSIR-IIIM, BOHECO to develop cannabis based drugs for cancer, epilepsy, sickle cell anemia
Research to develop cost-effective cannabis based drugs for treatment of cancer, epilepsy and sickle cell anaemia is being conducted by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR - IIIM) in collaboration with Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO). Currently, cannabis is being cultivated at the Jammu-based IIIM research station which has obtained licence from the state government to grow cannabis to study their medicinal properties so that drugs can be developed for Indian population. Cannabis based formulations which have been approved in other countries are being imported for fast tracking clinical approvals in India and also trials on animals are being conducted as of now. IIIM Director Ram Vishwakarma said they want to conduct clinical trials of the drugs on terminally ill patients at the Tata Memorial Hospital for cancer, at AIIMS for epilepsy and Sickle Cell Institute Chhattisgarh(SCIC) for sickle cell anaemia. Vishwakarma said that ...
Lupin launches chatbot for patients for health-related queries
Drug maker Lupin said Friday it has launched a computer programme specially designed to provide medically verified information for health-related queries. The Mumbai-based firm has come up with a chatbot named 'ANYA', which is the first of its kind to be launched in the country for disease awareness, Lupin said in a statement. A chat bot is a computer programme or an artificial intelligence (AI) which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Chatbot as a technology has enormous potential to aid in medical assistance and to support in building awareness and breaking myths associated with various therapies, Lupin President - IRF Rajeev Sibal said. The company is taking the first step to offer this artificial intelligence based chatbot for patients and health-givers and believe this will be a game changer in the field of disease management in the future, he added. This will also be a significant step in providing better access in rural markets as we adopt and launch ...
Hypnotherapy may help relieve IBS symptoms: Study
Gut-directed hypnotherapy delivered by psychologists may offer a new treatment option for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a study claims. The study, published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology journal, found that hypnotherapy in group or individual sessions helped relieve IBS complaints for some patients for as long as nine months after the end of treatment. Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy used along with other forms of psychological or medical treatment. "Our study indicates that hypnotherapy could be considered as a treatment option for patients with IBS, irrespective of symptom severity and IBS subtype," said Carla Flik from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. "It is also promising to see that group hypnotherapy is as effective as individual sessions, which may mean that more people could be treated with it at lower cost, should it be confirmed in further studies," Flik said. After three months of treatment, adequate relief of IBS symptoms was .
Hypnotherapy may offer treatment for irritable bowel syndrome: Study
Gut-directed hypnotherapy delivered by psychologists can potentially offer a new treatment option for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), that affects around one in five people worldwide, say researchers.
Young men more prone to Ankylosing Spondylitis
Young adults in their late twenties and early thirties are experiencing a chronic condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). AS is a condition which can affect anyone, but primarily it impacts young males in their teenage and the age group of 20-30 years.It is an irreversible, inflammatory and autoimmune disease which occurs when an overgrowth of the bones results in the spine's bones fusing together which results in a rigidity of the spine.Prevalent amongst 1 in 100 of the adult population, AS also affects bones of the neck, back, inner thighs, hips and can severely disrupt mobility and cause damage to a person's posture.If left undiagnosed and untreated, the disease can lead to structural damage and can bend the spine and neck to an extent where it may become impossible for one to lift their head high enough to see what's in front of the spine. This is known as 'structural damage progression.' The pain occurs usually during mornings, especially 30-45 minutes after waking up. The .
Sugar supplement mannose may help fight cancer: Study
Mannose sugar, a nutritional supplement, may both slow tumour growth and enhance the effects of chemotherapy in multiple types of cancer, a study conducted in mice has found. The study, published in the journal Nature, is a step towards understanding how mannose could be used to help treat cancer. Tumours use more glucose than normal, healthy tissues. However, it is very hard to control the amount of glucose in your body through diet alone. The researchers from the University of Glasgow in the UK found that mannose can interfere with glucose to reduce how much sugar cancer cells can use. "Tumours need a lot of glucose to grow, so limiting the amount they can use should slow cancer progression," said Professor Kevin Ryan from the University of Glasgow. "The problem is that normal tissues need glucose as well, so we can't completely remove it from the body," Ryan said. The study found a dosage of mannose that could block enough glucose to slow tumour growth in mice, but not so much that
NASA scientists concerned about toilet microbes on ISS
NASA is concerned over the strains of the bacterium Enterobacter, identified on the toilets of the International Space Station's (ISS), which can raise potential health implications for future missions, say Indian-origin scientists at the US space agency.
'ISS microbes should be monitored to avoid threat to astronaut health'
Scientists have identified strains of the bacterium Enterobacter on the International Space Station (ISS), which they say should be studied for potential health implications for astronauts on future missions. Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and California Institute of Technology in the US investigated five strains of Enterobacter that were isolated from the space toilet and the exercise platform on the ISS in March 2015. To identify the species of Enterobacter collected on the ISS and to show in detail the genetic make-up of the individual strains, the researchers compared the ISS strains to all publicly available genomes of 1,291 Enterobacter strains collected on Earth. "To show which species of the bacteria were present on the ISS, we used various methods to characterise their genomes in detail," said Kasthuri Venkateswaran from JPL. "We revealed that genomes of the five ISS Enterobacter strains were genetically most similar to three strains newly found on ...