Page 326 - Health Medical Pharma
34 girls of Pune orphanage admitted to hospital due to food poisoning
At least 34 girls of an orphanage were admitted to a hospital for suspected food poisoning.The incident took place on Monday in Pune's Talegaon Dabhade village. All girls were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.Twenty-three girls were discharged immediately after treatment, while 11 others are still under observation.More details are awaited.
Expert panel formed to determine compensation to patients who have faulty hip implants
The Centre has constituted a five-member expert committee to determine the quantum of compensation to be given to patients who have "faulty" hip implants, manufactured by DePuy International, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson. Apart from the five-member expert panel, the Union Health Ministry has also asked states and union territories to constitute separate committees so that they can receive such complaints from affected patients. In a letter, the ministry has also asked the states and UTs to bring out advertisements in newspapers so that the affected patients can approach the state-level committee or the state drug controller concerned. The move comes after a panel, constituted earlier by the Union Health Ministry to investigate complaints about articular surface replacement (ASR) hip implant devices, said in its report that the pharma giant "suppressed" facts on the harm of surgeries afterwards which was conducted on patients in India using "faulty" hip replacement systems. It .
WHO SEAR nations commit to make essential medicines, diagnostics accessible to all
Countries in WHO's South-East Asia Region, including India, Tuesday committed to make essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices "affordable and accessible to all" within the region and beyond. Health ministers and officials of the 11-member countries taking part in the 71st session of the WHO Regional Committee in New Delhi signed the 'Delhi Declaration' aimed at improving access to essential medical products. "Access to safe, effective and affordable medical products vital to prevent sufferings and impoverishment resulting from high out-of-pocket expenses on healthcare by families, especially the poor," said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South-East Asia Region. Medical products are a major component of out-of-pocket healthcare spending, which has pushed 65 million people into poverty in the South-East Asia region, the global health body said in a statement. It pointed out that though significant efforts have been made by countries in recent ...
UP to launch Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Yojna on Sept 28": Minister
The ambitious 'Ayushman Bharat - Jan Arogya Yojna' will be launched on September 28 in Uttar Pradesh, benefitting 1.18 crore families of the state, said Health Minister Siddhartnath Singh Tuesday. Singh said the implementation of the scheme would create over 2000 new jobs, besides imparting impetus to medical services. The scheme would entitle about 1.18 crore families of the state to avail free medical facilities and treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh per family, said Singh adding that they would be entitled for treatment of even serious ailments like heart attack and cancer. The minister said a total of 1,350 diseases, including those persisting from the past, has been included in the scheme for treatment. Singh said the expenses on medicine, medical tests including X-ray, MRI and ultrasound would also be covered under the scheme. The financial burden on the scheme would be borne by the Central and state governments in 60:40 ratio, he added.
Cornea donation in 2017 highest in 50 years: National Eye Bank chairman
National Eye Bank chairman Jeewan S Titiyal said Tuesday that a record 1,844 corneas were retrieved from donors in 2017, the highest in the past 50 years. "As many as 1,285 corneal transplant surgeries were conducted last year, which amounts to a utilisation rate of 70 per cent," he said. A window of "six to eight hours" after the death of a person is considered the "optimum time" on an average for donation of eyes for transplant surgery, but in some cases corneas have also been accepted after 24 hours, the senior doctor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here said. Titiyal was addressing a press conference at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at the premier health institute here to mark the 33rd Eye Donation Fortnight celebrations. "Six hours is the cut-off period for donation of eyes in places where the climate is warm and humid, and about eight hours in cold conditions or where the body has been kept in cooled environment having a ...
Drive to encourage UK doctors to write letters to patients in plain English
The UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges on Tuesday issued a new guidance for hospital doctors to write letters directly to patients and and in simple English, rather than using medical terminology or Latin words, to improve communication between doctors and patients. The "Please Write to Me" drive by the representative body for the country's 2,50,000 doctors, aims at cutting down on the use of acronyms and complex medical jargons that make it difficult for common people to understand their conditions. "Doctors who have adopted the practice say their communication style has become more patient-centred. GPs (general practitioners) find the letters easier to understand and spend less time interpreting the contents for the patient," the academy's new guidance stated. "Most importantly, patients find such letters more informative, supportive and useful," it noted. The new initiative is aimed mainly at doctors working in outpatient clinics, although it is being promoted as best practice ...
Protein key to malaria parasite's lifecycle identified
Scientists have identified a proein that plays a key role in the lifecycle of the malaria parasite, paving the way for novel treatments that could save thousands of lives worldwide. Malaria remains a significant threat to human health with approximately 216 million cases annually and over 400,000 deaths worldwide, according to researchers from University of Glasgow in the UK. It is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which has a complex lifecycle involving transmission to humans via the Anopheles mosquito. Researchers including those from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK showed that a regulator protein, AP2-G, may hold the key to finding new approaches to prevent the disease. The study, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, found that AP2-G is the master switch in the parasite that controls a pattern of gene expression essential for the parasite to successfully infect mosquitoes. The findings highlight a potential new target for approaches that may unlock a new potential
Dassault Systemes helps Ashok Leyland unify virtual, physical testing
Global 3D experience major Dassault Systemes on Tuesday announced that commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland has expanded the use of its "3DEXPERIENCE" platform by adopting the "Global Validation, Proven Performance" (GVPP) industry solution experience.
To appoint external agency to scrutinise internal controls: Fortis Healthcare
Fortis Healthcare has said it will appoint an external agency to undertake scrutiny of its internal controls and compliances after an investigation found systemic lapses in funds allegedly taken out of it by erstwhile promoters Singh brothers. The company had in February this year decided to carry out an independent investigation through an external legal firm following allegations of siphoning off nearly Rs 500 crore by the founding family through inter-corporate loans (ICDs). "With respect to the other matters identified in the Investigation Report, the Board will appoint an external agency of repute to undertake a scrutiny of the internal controls and compliance framework in order to strengthen processes and build a robust governance framework," Fortis Healthcare said in its Annual Report for 2017-18. The company further said, "Towards this end, they will also evaluate internal organisational structure and reporting lines, the delegation of powers of the Board or any committee ...
Factbox - Challenges facing German pharmaceutical company Bayer
Bayer is considering job cuts and outsourcing as part of a wide-ranging review of drug research and development that will last until at least November, a person familiar with the company told Reuters.
8,000 new combinations to slow down antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Biologists have identified over 8,000 new combinations of antibiotics that are surprisingly more effective at killing harmful bacteria than the prevailing ones.
India's July tea output drops 6.7 percent on lower rains - Board
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's tea production fell 6.7 percent in July from a year ago to 151.38 million kgs as plucking fell in the top two producing states due to lower rainfall, the state-run Tea Board said on Tuesday.
Dementia can be predicted 10 years in advance: Study
Dementia can be predicted ten years in advance, according to a Danish study which may help prevent the disease in high-risk individuals. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, provides 10-year absolute risk estimates for dementia specific to age, sex and common variation in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. Dementia is a major cause of disability in older adults worldwide, yet no effective treatment is currently available, said researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Reduction of risk factors for dementia may have the potential to delay or prevent development of the disease, they said. Age, sex and common variation in the APOE gene identify high-risk individuals with the greatest potential to benefit from targeted interventions to reduce risk factors. The APOE protein is key for metabolising cholesterol and to clear beta-amyloid protein from the brain in individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Recently, it was estimated that one-third of ...
Rotavirus vaccine launched in UP
The Rotavirus vaccine that prevents diarrhoea in infants and children was launched in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday by state Women, Child and Family Welfare Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
IVF children at increased hypertension risk: Study
Children conceived through assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF may be at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure early in life, among other heart related complications, a study has found. Developed in 1978, assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has helped millions of individuals and families who cannot conceive naturally. The most common ART methods are in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which can expose the gamete and embryo to a variety of environmental factors before implantation. Researchers from University of Bern in Switzerland assessed the circulatory system of 54 young, healthy ART adolescents (mean age 16) by measuring ambulatory blood pressure, as well as plaque build-up, blood vessel function and artery stiffness. Body mass index, birth weight, gestational age, and maternal BMI, smoking status and cardiovascular risk profile were similar between the ART adolescents and 43 age- and sex-matched control ...
Infants can distinguish between leaders and bullies: Study
Infants can distinguish between respect-based power asserted by a leader and fear-based power wielded by a bully, a study has found. The study, published in the journal PNAS, analysed infants' eye-gazing behaviour, a standard approach for measuring expectations in children too young to explain their thinking to adults. This "violation-of-expectation" method relies on the observation that infants stare longer at events that contradict their expectations. Previous studies had shown that infants can recognise power differences between two or more characters, said Renee Baillargeon, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US. "For example, infants will stare longer at scenarios where larger characters defer to smaller ones," Baillargeon said. "They also take note when a character who normally wins a confrontation with another suddenly loses," she said. Baillargeon developed a series of animations depicting cartoon characters interacting with an individual ...
Rotavirus vaccine inducted in UP's routine immunisation programme
The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday inducted rotavirus vaccine in the routine immunisation programme to protect 57 lakh children in the state from diarrhoea. Launching the vaccine, state Women and Child Welfare Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said the government was of the firm opinion that the vaccine will play a monumental role in bringing down infant mortality rate in the state. "Rotavirus can cause extreme diarrhoea in children and can even be fatal in some cases. I am extremely happy that we have inducted the rotavirus vaccine in the routine immunisation programme, which will protect our children from this deadly virus," she said. A media workshop was conducted on the occasion to sensitise the participants on the importance of the work so they can spread awareness and educate the masses about the importance of the vaccine, an official release said. Emphasising on the importance and use of the vaccine, national immunisation officer Dr A P Chaturvedi said, "All newborns must be ...
Researchers develop neutrophil 'nanosponges' to cure arthritis
Researchers have developed neutrophil "nanosponges" that can safely absorb and neutralise a variety of proteins that play a role in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.Nanosponges are nano-sized particles designed to look like red blood cells and protect the body.Injections of these nanosponges are known to be effective while treating severe rheumatoid arthritis. Administering the nanosponges early on, also prevented the disease from developing."Nanosponges are a new paradigm of treatment to block pathological molecules from triggering disease in the body. Rather than creating treatments to block a few specific types of pathological molecules, we are developing a platform that can block a broad spectrum of them, and this way we can treat and prevent disease more effectively and efficiently," said senior author Liangfang Zhang.The new nanosponges are nanoparticles of biodegradable polymer coated with the cell membranes of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell.Neutrophils are ...
Study provides 10-year risk estimates for dementia
A new study has provided 10-year absolute risk estimates for dementia, specific to age and sex, which may help identify high-risk individuals who could potentially benefit from early targeted prevention.Dementia is a major cause of disability in older adults worldwide, yet no effective treatment is currently available. Reduction of risk factors for dementia may have the potential to delay or prevent the development of the disease. Age, sex and common variation in the APOE gene identify high-risk individuals with the greatest potential to benefit from targeted interventions to reduce risk factors.The apolipoprotein E (APOE) protein is key for metabolising cholesterol and to clear ß-amyloid protein from the brain in individuals with Alzheimer's disease.The study looked at the data of people and linked it to diagnoses of dementia. Researchers found that a combination of age, sex and a common variation in the APOE gene could identify high-risk groups, with a 7 per cent risk for women and .