Page 28 - Health Medical Pharma
Brain wiring changes when mastering new skills: Study
Mastering a new skill -- whether a sport, an instrument, or a craft -- causes new neural activity patterns to emerge in the brain, a study has found. While it is understood that a healthy brain is capable of learning these new skills, how the brain changes in order to develop new behaviours is a relative mystery. More precise knowledge of this underlying neural circuitry may eventually improve the quality of life for individuals who have suffered brain injury by enabling them to more easily relearn everyday tasks. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in the US reveals what happens in the brain as learners progress from novice to expert. The research, published in the journal PNAS, showed that new neural activity patterns emerge with long-term learning and established a causal link between these patterns and new behavioral abilities. "We used a brain-computer interface (BCI), which creates a direct connection between our subject's neural ...
Patients suffer as junior doctors strike work in Bengal
Health services in West Bengal's state-run hospitals suffered as juniors doctors on Wednesday continued their strike protesting an attack on a colleague at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Practo, AFPI to help doctors adopt digital technology
Digital healthcare platform Practo on Wednesday announced a partnership with Academy of Family Physicians of India (AFPI) to collaborate towards greater understanding and adoption of digital healthcare technology in India.
Researchers led by Indian-American scientist test vaccine they hope for Alzheimer's
A team of researchers led by an Indian-American scientist are working on a vaccine they hope could prevent Alzheimer's disease by targeting a specific protein commonly found in the brains of patients affected by the neurodegenerative disorder, according to a media report. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and die. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia a continuous decline in thinking, behavioral and social skills that disrupts a person's ability to function independently. Researchers at the University of New Mexico led by Dr Kiran Bhaskar, associate professor in the varsity's Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, have started to test the vaccine on mice. It has not yet been shown if it works in people, CBS News reported. Bhaskar, who's been passionate about studying the disease for the last decade, says the work started with an idea in 2013. "I would say it took about five years or so to get from ...
Daily HIV prevention pill urged for healthy people at risk
Doctors should offer a daily HIV prevention pill to healthy people who are at high risk of getting infected with the virus, an influential health care panel recommended Tuesday. The new guidelines aim to help cut the nearly 40,000 new HIV infections in the US each year. Screening people for the HIV virus also is critical. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reiterated its long-standing advice that everyone ages 15 to 65 and anyone who's pregnant should be regularly screened, a step to early, life-saving treatment. But the latest recommendations went a step further. Studies show that if people who are still healthy take certain HIV drugs every day, it dramatically reduces their chances of being infected by an HIV-positive sexual partner or from injection drug use. The approach is called PrEP, or preexposure prophylaxis. One brand a two-medication combo pill named Truvada so far is approved for preventive use in the U.S. The task force said PrEP is only for people at high risk ..
Most children died in Muzaffarpur due to hypoglycemia: Health Secy
Thirty children have died this month in two hospitals in Muzaffarpur with most of them being victims of hypoglycemia and not Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) as being reported in the media, officials said Tuesday. Thirty children have died till Tuesday that included seven at Kejriwal hospital, Muzaffarpur and 23 at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, a release issued by Muzaffarpur District Public Relations Officer Kamal Kumar Singh said. Health Department's Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar told reporters in Patna, "A total of 26 children have died till yesterday, 80 per cent of them were the victims of hypoglycemia, a condition caused by very low level of blood sugar." He, however, refused to give district wise break-up of the 26 children's death. "A team led by director-in-chief, Health Services has gone to Muzaffarpur to take stock of the situation prevailing there," Kumar said. Considering the gravity of the situation, a seven- member team would be visiting Muzaffarpur to ..
Medical services disrupted in Bengal as jr doctors stop work
Healthcare services were disrupted in West Bengal Tuesday after junior doctors stopped working in all the state-run medical institutions following the assault on an intern in a city hospital after the death of a patient. Five persons, who were seen assaulting the junior doctors in a CCTV footage, were arrested in connection with the matter, police said. The doctors started the protest after an intern at the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital was seriously injured, following a clash between junior doctors and relatives of the patient who died late Monday night due to alleged medical negligence. The agitation of junior doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital later spread to other medical colleges and hospital leading to disruption of regular services. All the departments, including pathological laboratories, out-patient department stopped working following the agitation of the junior doctors. West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) president and Trinamool Congress MLA ...
Junior doctors threaten strike in Bengal on Wednesday
Protesting against an attack on junior doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the Doctors' Forum on Tuesday proposed to cease work at the outpatient departments (OPDs) of all state-run hospitals in West Bengal on Wednesday, a member of the Forum said. The emergency services, however, will remain active at all hospitals, he said.
Two initiatives against blindness 'successfully' implemented
In a major initiative to address the problem of avoidable blindness in the country, the Union Ministry of Health, the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and other organisations have successfully implemented two pilot initiatives on diabetic retinopathy (DR) and retinopathy of prematurity (RoP). The initiatives were implemented in 14 states across the country between 2014-2019, a PHFI press release said here Tuesday. They were implemented by PHFI's Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, (IIPH-H) with technical support from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 10 states for DR and four states for RoP. Apart from prevention, screening and treatment, the key successes of the initiatives were providing "world-class training and equipment, effective advocacy and increasing public awareness about the two conditions", the release said. "Importantly, they have set the standard for tackling Indias non-communicable diseases (NCD) burden ...
Vardhan directs officials to expedite formulation of national policy for treatment of rare diseases
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Tuesday directed ministry officials to expedite the process of formulating the National Policy for Treatment of Rare Diseases (NPTRD) in consultation with all stakeholders. The policy was announced by the government in 2017 with a corpus of Rs 100 crore to provide financial aid for treatment of patients suffering from rare ailments. However, in November last year, the health ministry put the policy and the corpus on hold, saying the focus was currently on communicable and non-communicable diseases. Since then, there have been several representations to the central government from organisations including LSDSSI seeking reinstatement of the policy and funds to support patients. Chairing a high-level meeting to review the status of National Programme for prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Strokes (NPCDCS), Vardhan also stressed on accelerating interventions to tackle the rising burden of non-communicable ...
Man dies in Palghar hosp; son, friend assault doctor
Two persons have been booked for allegedly assaulting a doctor at the sub-district hospital in Dahanu in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said Tuesday. An official said the 17-year-old son of a patient who died at the hospital Monday and his friend punched Dr Ocean D'Souza, the medical officer on duty at the facility, several times, leaving the latter with a nose injury. Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said the two, both residents of Vangaon nearby, have been charged under relevant sections of the IPC for assault, adding that no arrests had been made as yet.
Researchers develop 'one-two punch' to destroy cancerous ovarian cells
Researchers have developed a two-step combination therapy 'one-two punch' to destroy cancer cells.The study published in the journal 'Nature Communications' showed the superior therapeutic effectiveness of the 'one-two punch' on cells of ovarian cancer patients, based on the manipulation of the state of cellular aging."In the case of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC)--the most common and lethal ovarian cancer--we act in two stages. First, we force the cancer cells to age prematurely i.e., we force them into senescence. This is the first therapeutic punch. We throw our second punch using senolysis, destroying and eliminating them. This strategy requires excellent coordination of the two steps," explained Francis Rodier, a researcher at the Universite de Montreal.The team of researchers, led by Rodier and his colleague Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, discovered that EOC cells enter senescence following chemotherapy in combination with PARP inhibitors. PARPs are enzymes that help repair damage to ..
Health Ministry proposes to ban electronic smoking devices by classifying them as 'drugs'
Going tough on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes, the health ministry has proposed to classify such alternative smoking devices as "drugs" under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, in a bid to ban their manufacture, sale, distribution and import. According to official sources, the proposal has been approved by the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), the government's top advisory body on technical matters related to medicines in the country. The move comes amid a raging debate over the harm-reduction aspects of ENDS. Some organisations claim that these devices help in smoking cessation and are less harmful alternatives to traditional cigarettes, while the government is seeking to ban them contending they pose health risks to users, similar to those of conventional cigarettes. ENDS are devices that heat a solution to create an aerosol, which also frequently contains flavours, usually dissolved into propylene glycol and glycerin. There are various types of ...
Initiatives on avoidable blindness develops models to prevent, treat sight of millions of Indians
In a first of its kind initiative, to address the problem of avoidable blindness in India, the Ministry of Health, Government of India, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and partners successfully implemented two pilot initiatives focusing on a comprehensive health system approach to Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).This was implemented in 14 states across the country between 2014-2019.The initiatives were implemented by the Public Health Foundation of India's Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad (IIPH-H) with technical support from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 10 states for DR and 4 states for ROP.Apart from prevention, screening, and treatment, the key successes of the initiatives were providing world-class training and equipment, effective advocacy and increasing public awareness about these two ...
Abbott launches sensor enabled catheter in India
Drug firm Abbott Tuesday said it has launched sensor enabled HD grid mapping catheter, a device that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform surgical procedures, in the country. The company has launched the product after receiving clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) last year, Abbott said in a statement. The catheter employs a new design that allows physicians to see things differently, capturing and analysing data in a novel manner to create highly detailed maps of the heart that better differentiate healthy from unhealthy tissue, it said. "The new mapping catheter builds upon company's innovative products designed to improve how physicians perform cardiac ablation procedures, including cardiac mapping systems and treatment catheters," the statement said.
Make 'Right to Health' a fundamental right, NGO urges Vardhan
A non-profit organisation has urged Union Health Ministry to make 'Right to Health' a fundamental right to enable people avail quality healthcare in the country. Chairman and Founder Member of Public Health and Holistic Human Development Foundation, Ajay Kumar met Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in this regard. He also congratulated the minister for a successful launch of the ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme. Kumar apprised Vardhan about the sufferings of common masses due to non-availability of quality hospitals and doctors at affordable cost, especially in the far-flung areas of the country. "We have suggested that this alarming situation be handled effectively by making health a fundamental right, which will enable easy access of common men to health facilities," a statement issued by the NGO said. Vardhan, in turn, assured them that he will do his best to improve health care facilities, it said.
Free dialysis facilities in 18 hospitals in Assam: Sarma
Assam government would provide free hemo-dialysis facilities in 18 hospitals in the state, Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Tuesday. The free dialysis facilities would be provided free under public-private partnership model as part of the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme under National Health Mission, Sarma said. The first free dialysis service will begin at Nalbari's Swahid Mukanda Kakati Civil Hospital on June 14 and subsequently it will be started in seven other hospitals by June 20 next, the minister told reporters here. In the next three months, free dialysis facility will be provided in seven more centres followed by three more within six months, thereby covering 18 hospitals, he said. In Nalbari, the first session of providing free dialysis was held on June four and after the positive response, it was decided to go ahead and formally launch on June 14. The other places where free dialysis will be provided by June 20 are Darrang's Mangaldai Civil .
Medical services disrupted in WB as junior docs stop work over colleague's assault
Healthcare services were disrupted in West Bengal after junior doctors stopped working in all state-run medical institutions following the assault on an intern in a city hospital after the death of a patient. The agitating junior doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital said there will be no work at any medical college and hospital in the state until they are given full protection. West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) president and Trinamool MLA Nirmal Maji told PTI that officials were trying to persuade the doctors to resume work. "The chief minister has sent MoS Health Chandrima Bhattacharya, Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma, myself and other senior officials to talk to them. We are looking into their demand and hopefully the matter will be solved quickly," Maji said. The doctors began the protest after an intern at the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital was seriously injured following a clash between junior doctors and relatives of a patient who died late Monday ...
DR Congo minister declares measles epidemic
DR Congo's health minister has declared an epidemic of measles, with the country already struggling to contain the outbreak of deadly Ebola disease since last August. Medical teams have confirmed 677 cases of measles among 87,000 suspected cases in 23 provinces, Oly Ilunga Kalenga said in a statement Monday. The tally represents a seven-fold increase on the same period in 2018, he added. He urged parents to vaccinate their children. In April, 2.24 million children aged between six and 59 months were vaccinated over four days, and another immunisation campaign covering 1.4 million children will be launched "in the coming days," he said. "To stop the chain of measles transmission and prevent future epidemics, at least 95 per cent of the population have to be vaccinated," the minister said. The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the east of the country, has claimed more than 1,300 lives since August 1.
Compounds from scorpion venom may help treat bacterial infections
Scientists have discovered two colour-changing compounds in scorpion venom that could help fight bacterial infections such as drug-resistant tuberculosis. The researchers from National University of Mexico and Stanford University in the US isolated the compounds in the venom of Diplocentrus melici -- a scorpion native to Eastern Mexico. They also synthesised the compounds in the lab and verified that the lab-made versions killed staphylococcus and drug-resistant tuberculosis bacteria in tissue samples and in mice. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlight the potential pharmacological treasures awaiting discovery in the toxins of scorpions, snakes, snails and other poisonous creatures. "By volume, scorpion venom is one of the most precious materials in the world. It would costs USD 39 million to produce a gallon of it," said Richard Zare, who led the research team. "If you depended only on scorpions to produce it, nobody could ...
