Page 288 - Health Medical Pharma

First-ever live conference on cancer awareness held in J-K

In order to promote awareness on cancer, a 24-hour live video conference workshop was held in Jammu, as part of a two-day cancer awareness program.Crabethon is the first-of-its-kind live conference aimed at assisting common people to connect with oncologists and specialists around the world in order to discuss the dreaded disease.Deepak Abrol, the Convener of this event, said that about 60 per cent of cancer is preventable, provided people adopt healthy lifestyles. He added that leaving tobacco and controlling Human Papillomavirus and Hepatitis B through vaccination programs can also help reduce the spread of cancer.Speaking to ANI, Abrol said that spreading awareness is the only way to get rid of the stigma attached to the disease. He also said that the awareness drive will go a long way to help people realise that Cancer, like any other disease, is treatable and curable at the same time.A studio was created for people to interact live with a panel of experts through live streaming .

Diet, weight may affect response to bipolar disorder treatment

A new clinical trial has shown that how people respond to treatment for Bipolar Disorder may be influenced by their weight and the overall quality of their diet, including whether they are eating a diet high in foods thought to contribute to general inflammation.These are early results, but if replicated may mean that treatment of some mental health problems could benefit from the inclusion of dietary advice.Bipolar Disorder (which used to be called 'manic depression') is characterised by episodes of mood swings, between being very up or very down with periods in between the two extremes.The fact that there are two opposite sets of symptoms means that finding an effective treatment is difficult. While current medications are useful, they are better at targeting mania symptoms (the 'up' phase), leaving a lack of effective treatment for people experiencing depressive episodes.Now a group of Australian, German and American scientists has shown those who have a high-quality diet, a less ..

Two swine flu deaths in Maharashtra's Beed district

Two persons have died in Beed district of Maharashtra due to swine flu infection in the last 15 days, a health department official said here Saturday. Another six patients have been found to have contracted swine flu (H1N1 virus) infection and their condition was stable, the official said. Gururaj Ranganath Thalkari (65), resident of Yusufwadgaon in Kej tehsil, and another person died of swine flu, he said. While Thalkari died Friday, the other person died on September 28. District Civil Surgeon Dr Ashok Thorat said that swabs of 38 suspected swine flu patients were sent to Pune for lab testing, of which six were found to be positive. All of them were treated and are now stable, he said. "We have prepared a special ward for swine flu patients. Necessary medicines are available and we are fully prepared to treat the disease," Dr Thorat said. Assistant Health Commissioner Dr Pradip Aaute visited the Beed civil hospital Friday to take a stock of the situation.

Understanding orthopaedic complications of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition caused by a brain injury that takes place before, during or shortly after birth. It affects muscle tone and control, which can result in involuntary movements or abnormal walking.The deformities are majorly caused by increased muscle tone. The primary orthopaedic conditions most affected in cerebral palsy are balance, impacted fine and gross motor function, impaired muscle tone, impaired movements, coordination and control, impaired oral motor function, etc.Dr Rakesh Lalla of Fortis Hospital has shed light on the orthopaedic complications of cerebral palsy.Muscle Contracture: This condition is incurable, but it is not progressive, though living with it could mean that the patient would have repressed movement and experience excruciating painHip Dysplasia: Deformity of the hip joint is a characteristic of Hip Dysplasia occurring in a patient with cerebral palsyFoot-orthopaedic health: Abnormal muscle contractions in the feet can lead to flat ...

Drinking thrice a week is safer: Study

To drink or not to drink, that's the question. A latest study has added one more conclusion to the ever-confusing question about whether to drink regularly and how much should one limit the amount.According to a study, conducted by Washington University School of Medicine researchers, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, while ascertaining the exact overall impact of low-level alcohol use on health is complex, limiting it to three times a week may be safer.The study, which aims to evaluate the association between low-level drinking and mortality, found that the minimum risk of low-level drinking for all-cause mortality is approximately three occasions in a week, limited to 1 to 2 drinks per occasion.Those who drink 4 to 7 times weekly have a higher hazard ratio of all-cause mortality. Even as there are other studies claiming the health benefits of alcohol, the researchers conclude that daily drinking, even at low levels, is detrimental to one's ...

Nearly 40 individual HPV types linked to HIV infection

Scientists have for the first time identified 37 individual types of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that are specifically linked to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Grape compound can help protect against lung cancer: Study

Researchers have found that a molecule -- resveratrol -- found in grape skin, seeds and red wine can protect against lung cancer.

DNA tool can assess disease risk by predicting person's height

Scientists say they have developed a new DNA tool that uses machine learning to accurately predict people's height and assess their risk for serious illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. The tool, or algorithm, builds predictors for human traits such as height, bone density and even the level of education a person might achieve, purely based on one's genome, according to the research published in the journal Genetics. "While we have validated this tool for these three outcomes, we can now apply this method to predict other complex traits related to health risks such as heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer," said Stephen Hsu from Michigan State University (MSU) in the US. Further applications have the potential to dramatically advance the practice of precision health, which allows physicians to intervene as early as possible in patient care and prevent or delay illness, researchers said. The research analysed the complete genetic makeup of nearly 500,000 adults in the UK ...

Discovery helps fight against drug-resistant TB

Each year, approximately 10 million people fall ill with tuberculosis and around 1.7 million die from the devastating disease worldwide. One of the main antibiotics for TB is rifampicin, however, many strains of the tuberculosis-causing bacteria - Mycobacterium tuberculosis - have developed resistance to it.Approximately 600,000 people are diagnosed with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis every year. Now, researchers from Newcastle University and Demuris Ltd have identified that a naturally occurring antibiotic, called kanglemycin A - related to the antibiotic rifampicin - is active against rifampicin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.It is hoped that this compound and the enhanced understanding gained from these studies may lead to effective new drug treatments in the future.Nikolay Zenkin, lead author of the study, said: "Treatment of TB involves a cocktail of antibiotics administered over many months, and resistance to several key antibiotics is becoming a major public health ...

FDA approves first self-assisted hearing aid device

In a first, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the marketing of a new hearing aid that enables users to fit, programme and control it on their own, without assistance from a health care provider.

New AI tool can predict Alzheimer's risk

A team of scientists, including one of an Indian-origin, has successfully trained a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm that may soon help doctors to make accurate predictions regarding cognitive decline leading to Alzheimer's disease and provide intervention.

13 jawans injured after Army vehicle turns turtle in J&K

At least 13 Army men were injured when their vehicle met with an accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district Saturday, defence sources said. The Army vehicle turned turtle near Kanipora in the south Kashmir district Saturday morning, they said. Thirteen jawans were injured and they have been taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment. Their condition has been stated as stable, the sources said. Further details are awaited.

Cancerous tumour removed from 4-yr-old girl's kidney

A four-year-old girl got a new lease of life after doctors at a city hospital here removed a cancerous tumour from one of her kidneys. The girl was experiencing unbearable pain on her abdomen, following which she was admitted to the hospital. She was diagnosed with life-threatening Wilms' tumour, a doctor said. Wilms' tumour is a type of cancer that primarily affects children, said Dr Prashant Jain, senior consultant of Paediatric Surgery and Paediatric Urology at BLK Centre for Child Health. Also known as nephroblastoma, it is the most common cancer of the kidneys in children. Most often it affects those aged between two and four years and becomes much less common after five, Dr Jain explained. The patient had a lump in the abdomen. On evaluation, it was found that she had large well defined, non tender mass occupying the whole of left abdomen and also extending beyond the midline, doctors said. Ultrasonography and CECT scan revealed that there was huge tumour which was arising from .

Scientists discover gene signature linked to spinal cord injury

Scientists have determined a gene signature that is linked to the severity of spinal cord injury in animals and humans.The discovery of key genes that are switched on or off in response to spinal cord injury could inform the development of biomarkers that predict recovery and possibly pinpoint new targets for treatment.At the moment, there are no widely available treatments capable of immediately restoring motor and sensory function after injury. A major barrier is the lack of understanding of the complex cascade of biological processes that occur when a spinal cord injury happens.Senior author Michael Skinnider said, "Our understanding of the pathophysiological processes triggered by spinal cord injury is fragmentary. We set out to integrate the data from decades of small-scale studies using a systems biology approach."The team first reviewed past experiments to find genes associated with the response to spinal cord injury, searching through more than 500 studies. They found 695 ...

Study finds standard treatment for common STD

A new study could change the way doctors treat a common sexually transmitted diseases (STD).Professor Patricia Kissinger and a team of researchers found the recommended single dose of medication isn't enough to eliminate trichomoniasis, the most common curable STD, which can cause serious birth complications and make people more susceptible to HIV.Globally, an estimated 143 million new cases of trichomoniasis among women occur each year and most do not have symptoms, yet the infection is causing unseen problems. The recommended treatment for more than three decades has been a single dose of the antibiotics metronidazole or tinidazole.The researchers recruited more than 600 women for the randomized trial in New Orleans; Jackson, Mississippi; and Birmingham, Alabama. Half the women took a single dose of metronidazole and the other half received treatment over seven days.Kissinger and her team found the women who received multiple doses of the treatment were half as likely to still have .

Vice-Prez for stepping up campaign on organ donation

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu Friday called for stepping up the campaign for organ donation to meet the huge demand in viewof rising incidence of kidney, liver, heart and other organ failures. Naidu, who was speaking at the 29thannual conference of the Indian Society of Organ Transplantation here, said only a miniscule number in the country were getting donated organs though the requirement is massive. "Of the 85,000 liver failure patients on waitlist annually, less than 3 per cent get the organ. Similarly, while two lakh kidney failure patients (are) registered for organ transplantation, only 8000 get the kidney. And barely one per cent get heart/lung among the thousands on waitlist," an official release quoted him as saying. Though there was a major leap in cadaveric organ donations in the last 4-5 years, the demand remained largely unmet because of low rates of organ donation at 0.8 per million population, he said. The rate of organ donation was 36 per million and ..

300 admitted to hospital after food poisoning in Manipur vilage

Over 300 people in a village in Imphal East district were hospitalised after consuming a wedding feast on Friday evening. They were rushed to the district hospital at Khangabok in Thoubal district.

Diabetes may be detected 20 years before diagnosis: Study

Early signs of Type-2 diabetes can be detected 20 years before diagnosis, according to a new research.

J&J faulty hip implants: SC seeks report from Centre's expert committee

New Delhi, Oct 5 (ANI) The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to submit its expert committee's report while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which alleged that 14,525 persons have undergone faulty hip implants marketed and sold by Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd (J&J).A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph asked the Centre to file its response on the PIL and also to submit the report of the expert committee within two months.The PIL filed by Arun Kumar Goenka, a family member of one of the victims, sought direction to trace all the patients who have been fitted with alleged faulty hip implants used for hip replacement surgeries."Take appropriate steps for protecting the fundamental rights under Article 21 (right to life) for 14,525 patients who had undergone the deputy acetabular surface replacement (ASR) hip implant surgeries since 2005," advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma, appearing for the petitioner, contended.The ...

Ketone supplement more effective for weight loss: Study

Consumption of ketone supplements was found to be more effective for reducing body weight than low-carbohydrate and high-fat ketogenic diets, a new animal study has suggested.