Page 243 - Health Medical Pharma

Exposure to road traffic noise may up obesity risk: Study

Long-term exposure to road traffic noise may increase the risk of obesity, according to a study. Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in Spain analysed the data from 3,796 adults. "Our analysis shows that people exposed to the highest levels of traffic noise are at greater risk of being obese," said Maria Foraster from ISGlobal. "For example, we observed that a 10 decibel (dB) increase in mean noise level was associated with a 17 per cent increase in obesity," Foraster said. The study, published in the journal Environment International, also analysed exposure to noise generated by aircraft and railway traffic. It found no significant associations except in the case of long-term exposure to railway noise, which was associated with a higher risk of being overweight but not of obesity. Being overweight was only associated with exposure to traffic-related noise in the cross-sectional analysis. The researchers found no association between noise exposure ...

Organs of brain-dead girl travel 170 km-long green corridor for transplants in Bengal

The liver and kidneys of a 13-year-old brain-dead girl were transported through a 170-kilometre-long green corridor to the city, saving three lives, officials said on Monday.

Yoga improves body satisfaction: Study

Practising yoga can improve people's attitude towards their own bodies, potentially preventing adverse consequences of body dissatisfaction such as eating disorders and poor mental health. For the study published in the journal Body Image, researchers interviewed 46 young adults who practiced yoga at least 30 minutes a week, on average, over the past year. "The results of this study give great insight into the small tweaks instructors and studios can employ to improve the positive impact of yoga on people with poor body image," said Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a professor at the University of Minnesota in the US. About 82 per cent of participants of the study expressed that yoga has a positive impact on their body image, while 28 per cent found that the influence of yoga can also be negative. However, all but one of the respondents who indicated that yoga can have a negative impact on their body image also discussed its positive impact. People who felt that yoga harmed their self-image ..

Noise pollution in hospitals is a rising problem: Study

Noise pollution is becoming a rising issue in hospitals, a recent report suggests.Noise in hospitals is known to hinder communication among staff, causing annoyance, irritation, and fatigue, and detrimentally impacting the quality and safety of healthcare. High noise levels and noise-induced stress impact negatively on staff performance and wellbeing, compromising caring behaviour and contributing to burnout.The team of researchers highlighted that it can also impact a patients' ability to rest, heal and recover since it has been linked to the development of ICU psychosis, hospitalisation-induced stress, increased pain sensitivity, high blood pressure, and poor mental health. The findings are published in the journal of BMJ."Even in intensive care units, which cater for the most vulnerable patients, noise levels over 100dB have been measured, the equivalent of loud music through headphones. Even in intensive care units, which cater for the most vulnerable patients, noise levels over ..

Here's how having a lazy eye can affect a child's self-esteem

According to a recent study, having 'lazy eye' can affect a child's self-esteem.Academic performance, interactions with peers, and athletic ability are factors connected to self-esteem in school children.The research looked at whether the condition "lazy eye" or amblyopia, where one eye has reduced vision due to misalignment or blur, was associated with lower self-perception by children of their competence, appearance, conduct, and self-worth. The findings are published in the journal of JAMA Ophthalmology.The study included 50 children with amblyopia, along with 13 others without it but with misalignment or blur of one eye, and 18 children with no such eye conditions in a control group for comparison. It was found that children with "lazy eye" had lower scholastic, social and athletic scores on a self-perception profile than the children in the control group.Reading speed was associated with self-perception of academic competence while aiming and catching skills were associated with .

Pakistan polio team caught faking data, wasting vaccines

A team of Pakistani polio vaccinators were caught faking data and wasting polio vaccines here, police said on Monday.

AIIMS launches research project on air pollution's impact on health

As the National Capital Region (NCR) battles poor air quality during winter, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has started a research project to study the effects of air pollution on public health.

Women more resilient to physical activity than thought

Women can be just as resilient as men in undertaking arduous physical activity with appropriate training and preparation, a study has found. Researchers showed that women who underwent extreme physical training and completed a transantarctic expedition did not show any more negative health effects than would be expected in men. It has been reported that the female reproductive system and stress responses are more sensitive to the negative effects of extreme physical activity. There is some evidence that arduous physical activity can suppress normal female reproductive hormone activity, impair bone strength and elevate stress hormone levels to a greater extent than in men. However, the reasons underlying these reported gender differences in response to extreme endurance exercise remain poorly understood. Robert Gifford and colleagues from the University of Edinburgh in the UK examined the effects of extreme exercise on hormone levels and the health of six women participating in the ...

Nafisa Ali suffering from peritoneal, ovarian cancer

Veteran actress Nafisa Ali is suffering from peritoneal, ovarian cancer and says her children are the reason for her to get better through her struggle to overcome the disease.

Exposure to traffic noises may up obesity risk: Study

People who are exposed to road traffic noise for prolonged periods may be at increased risk of obesity, a study has found. The study, published in the journal Environment International, was based on data from 3,796 adults. "Our analysis shows that people exposed to the highest levels of traffic noise are at greater risk of being obese," said Maria Foraster, from Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in Spain. "For example, we observed that a 10 decibel increase in mean noise level was associated with a 17 per cent increase in obesity," said Foraster. Researchers also analysed exposure to noise generated by aircraft and railway traffic and found no significant associations except in the case of long-term exposure to railway noise, which was associated with a higher risk of overweight but not of obesity. The methodology and design of the study were chosen to allow the authors to look at the data from two different perspectives. Cross-sectional analysis was used to study the ..

Smartphone-based Remidio Fundus-On-Phone Camera, Developed by Remidio Innovative Solutions, Outperforms Traditional Table-top System in Detecting Diabetic Retinopathy

/ -- Smartphones have revolutionized the world in countless ways by opening new possibilities beyond just as a phone. Healthcare industry is embracing this with a rigour like never before. Major drivers for this leap are their portability, relative affordability and ease of use. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/652990/Remidio_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/786106/Remedio_Fundus_on_Phone.jpg ) One of the high impact areas for such smartphone-based technologies is in mass screening for preventable blindness due to Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). A team of researchers from Aravind Eye Hospitals led by Dr Rengaraj Venkatesh and Dr Sabyasachi Sengupta scientifically assessed the use of smartphone-based screening for DR in a 2-year prospective study. The primary outcome of the study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the Remidio Fundus-On-Phone (FOP), a smartphone-based, portable fundus camera, and of TOPCON TRC-50DX, a traditional desktop fundus camera

Dr Reddy's Labs gains after plant clears USFDA audit

Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 2.66% to Rs 2536.55 at 9:17 IST on BSE after the company said that it received zero observations from audit of formulations plant in Andhra Pradesh by the US drug regulator.

Chris Maloney recovering from depression

Singer Chris Maloney has revealed his depression is "in remission" following brain shock therapy.

Organs of brain dead girl travels 170 km for transplants

The liver and kidneys of a 13-year-old girl, declared brain dead, was on Sunday transported across a stretch of 170 km in the state for transplants at a city hospital, officials said. A team of doctors of SSKM Hospital here travelled to Durgapur Mission Hospital in West Burdwan district and collected the liver, kidneys and corneas of Madhusmita Bayen and left for Kolkata in a convoy, they said. Deputy Commissioner, Asansol Police Commissionerate, Abhishek Modi told reporters the organs were transported in a convoy and passed through a green corridor covering a 170-km distance via Panagarh Bypass-Burdwan-Dankuni-Santragachhi. A senior doctor at SSKM said the two kidneys were expected to be transplanted on two patients from North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, after cross-matching on Sunday midnight. The liver would be transplanted on another patient from North 24 Parganas district, the doctor said, adding, all arrangements have been made to start the transplantations ..

Infants born to obese mothers can develop liver disease, obesity: Study

Infants born to obese mothers can develop liver disease and obesity, a recent study suggests.Childhood obesity is a world-wide epidemic with recent predictions saying that 57 percent of today's children will be obese by age 35. That parallels the rate of maternal obesity which is nearly 40 percent. Obesity increases the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which impacts at least 30 percent of obese children. NAFLD can lead to liver failure, requiring a transplant.As part of the study, published in the journal of Nature Communications, researchers looked at two-week old infants born to normal weight mothers and obese mothers. They took stool samples from infants from both groups and colonized them inside germ-free mice.They discovered that the gut microbes from babies born to obese mothers caused metabolic and inflammatory changes to the liver and bone marrow cells of the mice. Then, when fed a Western-style high fat diet, these mice were predisposed to more rapid weight ..

New inflammation inhibitor could treat sepsis

Researchers have developed an anti-inflammatory drug molecule that could lead to better treatments for diseases such as sepsis and potentially other autoimmune diseases.

Boil on leg worsens Lalu's health condition: RIMS doctor

The health condition of RJD president Lalu Prasad, who is serving jail term in fodder scam cases, has deteriorated due to a festering boil on his right leg, the doctor attending him said Sunday. Yadav is currently lodged in a paying ward of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here. The sugar level and blood pressure of the RJD chief, who is a diabetic, have shot up in the past two to three days due to the boil, Dr Umesh Prasad of the RIMS, who attends Prasad, told PTI. The former Bihar chief minister's dose of insulin has been increased to bring down the sudden increase in sugar level, he said. The doctor said Yadav's creatinine level has also increased to 1.85 from 1.5 and so has the while blood cell count to 12,000, the normal range of which is between 4,000 and 8,000. "It will take some time for the infectious boil to heal," the doctor, who is monitoring the RJD chief's health condition round-the-clock, said. Due to the boil, the RJD chief is experiencing difficulty ..

AI system can predict treatment effectiveness

Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can compare different treatments and identify the most suitable alternative for a patient. Traditionally, the effectiveness of medical treatments is studied by randomised trials where patients are randomly divided into two groups: one of the groups is given treatment, and the other a placebo. Scientists including those from Aalto University and University of Eastern Finland showed that there may be other ways to evaluate treatment effectiveness. According to Professor Olli-Pekka Ryynanen from the University of Eastern Finland, the method opens up new and significant avenues for the development of medical research. "We can now predict the treatment outcome in individual patients and to evaluate existing and new treatment methods. With this method, it is also possible to replace some randomised trials with modelling," said Ryynanen. In the study published in the journal Healthcare Informatics Research, the ...

Weightlifting may be good for your heart: Study

Lifting weights for less than an hour a week may reduce your risk for a heart attack or stroke by 40 to 70 per cent, a study has found. The research by Iowa State University (ISU) in the US also showed that spending more than an hour in the weight room did not yield any additional benefit. "People may think they need to spend a lot of time lifting weights, but just two sets of bench presses that take less than 5 minutes could be effective," said Duck-chul Lee, associate professor at ISU. The results -- some of the first to look at resistance exercise and cardiovascular disease -- show benefits of strength training are independent of running, walking or other aerobic activity. In other words, you do not have to meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic physical activity to lower your risk; weight training alone is enough. Researchers analysed data of nearly 13,000 adults. They measured three health outcomes: cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke that did not result in

Google halts project to build glucose-sensing contact lens

Google's parent company Alphabet has put on hold a project to build glucose-sensing contact lens for people living with diabetes due to unsatisfactory results from clinical work.