Page 378 - Health Medical Pharma

Delhi starvation deaths: Docs say girls' stomachs, bladders were empty as if they hadn't eaten for days

The three minor sisters who were found dead in east Delhi's Mandawali area were "visibly malnourished" when they were brought to a hospital, and the autopsy showed that their "stomachs were empty" as if they had not eaten for over a week, doctors said. The girls, aged eight, four and two, were brought to the LBS Hospital in Mayur Vihar by their mother and a friend at around 1 pm on Tuesday. The hospital authorities later declared them brought dead. "The post-mortem was conducted on Tuesday evening itself, and it was over by 6:30 pm. On Wednesday, they wanted a review, so chemical toxicology was also suggested. And, therefore, a medical board was set up and a second autopsy was conducted at the GTB Hospital," Medical Superintendent of LBS Hospital Dr Amita Saxena said. Asked what the forensic experts found after the post-mortem, she said, "There were no injury marks. It looked like a typical case of malnutrition, with dishevelled, monkey-like faces and no trace of fat in the ...

Feeling faint while standing up linked with dementia risk: Study

Any sudden drop in blood pressure in middle-aged people, which makes them feel faint, dizzy or light-headed while standing up, could be a sign of increased risk of dementia or stroke later, say researchers.

Decoded: Why depression affects sleep

Brain areas associated with short-term memory, self and negative emotions are linked with depression which may cause the patients to dwell on bad thoughts and experience poor sleep quality, suggests a study.

Gene linked to most Parkinson's disease cases identified

Scientists have found that a gene, previously linked only to three-four per cent of people with Parkinson's disease, could play an important role in most people with the neurodegenerative disease.

Hormone that prevents chemotherapy side-effects identified

A naturally occurring hormone could help make chemotherapy treatments more effective for lung cancer patients and even prevent kidney damage, a serious side effect of cancer therapies, a study has found. Despite advances in immunotherapy for lung cancer, most patients are still treated with chemotherapy based on a drug called cisplatin. However, less than a third of these patients will see benefits, and they often develop serious side effects including kidney damage. In an effort to improve outcomes for lung cancer patients, researchers from Garvan Institute for Medical Research and the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Australia discovered that a protein called activin is a culprit in both chemotherapy resistance and chemotherapy-induced kidney damage. "In chemotherapy-resistant tumours in mice, activin gets switched on in response to the damage caused by chemotherapy," said Neil Watkins, who began the research at Hudson Institute. "Cancer cells can then enlist activin to ...

Naturally occurring hormone to overcome chemotherapy resistance

Australian researchers have identified a naturally occurring hormone that could help make chemotherapy much more effective for people with lung cancer, as well as prevent their kidneys from damage -- a serious side effect of the treatment.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd up for fifth straight session

The stock is quoting at Rs 10599, up 0.36% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd is up 32.13% in last one year as compared to a 11.42% jump in NIFTY and a 15.68% jump in the Nifty FMCG.

Blue Star Engineering & Electronics wins order worth Rs 100 cr for supply of CT scanners

Uttar Pradesh Medical and Health Services, Lucknow

Gene that drives arthritis severity identified

Scientists have identified a gene that increases the severity of arthritis, and could pave the way to treat patients diagnosed with the autoimmune condition. Through a series of experiments - on synovial cells from the inner lining of joints in humans and animals, and in animal models of arthritis - researchers from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the US showed that the gene HIP1 is a driver in inflammatory arthritis severity. This is the first time that HIP1 has been implicated in arthritis severity and in cell invasiveness. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease affecting more than 1.3 million Americans. The disease can cause disability and deformation of joints and affects roughly one per cent of the world's population. Drugs currently available to treat rheumatoid arthritis target the body's immune response but raise the risk of immunosuppression and susceptibility to infections such as herpes zoster and pneumonia. "There have been major advances in the treatment of .

Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd rises for third consecutive session

The stock is quoting at Rs 2110, up 1.04% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd is down 19.48% in last one year as compared to a 11.4% spurt in NIFTY and a 8.7% spurt in the Nifty Pharma index.

Cheese your way to good health (Health Notes)

Cheese is fattening! Cheese is for thin people! Common myths we have when it comes to cheese.

Feel dizzy when standing up? You may be at risk of dementia, scientists say

People who feel faint, dizzy or lightheaded when standing up - caused by a a sudden drop in blood pressure - may be at a greater risk of developing dementia or stroke decades later, a study has found. The study, published in journal of the American Academy of Neurology, involved 11,709 people with an average age of 54 who were followed for an average of 25 years. Participants met with researchers up to five times over the course of the study. None had a history of heart disease or stroke at the beginning of the study. "Orthostatic hypotension has been linked to heart disease, fainting and falls, so we wanted to conduct a large study to determine if this form of low blood pressure was also linked to problems in the brain, specifically dementia," said Andreea Rawlings, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US. For the study, low blood pressure upon standing was defined as a drop of at least 20 millimetres of mercury (mmHg) in systolic blood pressure, which is the ..

Tickborne diseases likely to increase: Study

The incidence of tickborne infections has risen significantly over the past decade.They are imperative, therefore, public health officials and scientists have built a robust understanding of pathogenesis, design improved diagnostics and also developed preventive vaccines.Leading scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stated that bacteria causes most tickborne diseases in the United States, with Lyme disease representing the majority of reported cases.The spirochete borrelia burgdorferi is the primary cause of Lyme disease in North America; it is carried by hard-bodied ticks that then feed on smaller mammals, such as white-footed mice, and larger animals, such as white-tailed deer.Although there are many factors contributing to increased Lyme disease incidence in the U.S., greater tick densities and their expanding geographical range have played a key role, the authors write.Although most cases ..

Study suggests similarity between proposed biosimilar and omalizumab: Glenmark

Drug major Glenmark Pharma today said that results from a phase 1 study suggests similarity between the company's proposed biosimilar GBR 310 and the reference product omalizumab, marketed in the US under the brand name Xolair. Glenmark's proposed biosimilar GBR 310 is for use in treatment of respiratory or allergic diseases. Glenmark in a regulatory filing said, results from a phase 1 study suggest similarity in pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, safety and immunogenicity profiles between its proposed biosimilar GBR 310 and reference product omalizumab, marketed in the US under the brand name Xolair. "We are pleased with the rapid progress made in the development of GBR 310, and look forward to meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) this fall with the goal of advancing this proposed biosimilar candidate, said Kurt Stoeckli, President and Chief Scientific Officer at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. The company said that the now completed phase 1 study enrolled 168 healthy ...

Multiple pregnancies might make women's cells age faster

Multiple pregnancies might make women's cells age more quickly, a new study suggests.A Northwestern University study, led by Calen Ryan and Christopher Kuzawa of Northwestern and Dan Eisenberg at the University of Washington, helps explain why women with many children tend to show signs of accelerated aging.The findings were reached by looking at two separate markers of cellular aging telomere length and epigenetic age in hundreds of young women with different reproductive histories in the Philippines.Lead author of the study, Ryan said, "Telomere length and epigenetic age are cellular markers that independently predict mortality, and both appeared 'older' in women who had more pregnancies in their reproductive histories."Cellular aging was accelerated by between 0.5 and 2 years for each additional pregnancy, a surprisingly large effect according to the researchers.Senior author of the study, Kuzawa said, "Paradoxically, even though a woman's biological age was higher with each child .

Dr Reddy's launches Hervycta to treat cancer in India

Drug major Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) today announced the launch of Hervycta, indicated for the treatment of certain types of cancer, in India. Hervycta (Trastuzumab), a biosimilar of Roche's Herceptin in India, is used for treatment of early breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer and metastatic gastric cancer). Hervycta is available in strengths of 150 mg and 440 mg multiple dose vials, the company said in a regulatory filing. "We strive every day to do what matters most for patients. Hervycta is a step forward in our effort to accelerate access to cancer patients in India, in the Oncology biosimilar space," Dr Reddy's Laboratories CEO-Branded Markets (India and Emerging Markets) MV Ramana said. Quoting Ipsos data, the company said the Herceptin and its biosimilars had India sales of Rs 290 crore for the most recent 12 months ending in December 2017. Dr Reddy's currently has four biosimilar products commercialised in India and various emerging markets, and an active pipeline of ..

Focus: Amgen's new migraine drug hits insurance hurdles

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc's push to get patients on its new $575 a month migraine drug before competition emerges in September is facing barriers from insurers.

Assault during pregnancy may result in pre-term babies

Turns out, physical assault during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, can significantly increase the rates of babies born at very low birth weights.According to a study published by researchers at Princeton University, Stanford University and the University of Michigan, assault during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight and pre-term babies.The researchers merged birth records with the locations of reported assault crimes reported by the New York City Police Department, which responded to almost 200,000 domestic violence incidents in 2017.To understand the toll of violence on pregnancy, they compared women assaulted during pregnancy with women who reported assault after giving birth.They found that babies born to mothers assaulted during pregnancy were 66 percent more likely to be low birth weight and 39 percent more likely to be born pre-term compared to babies born to mothers who reported being assaulted after giving birth.Study co-author Janet M. Currie said, "While ...

Traffic jams in the brain?

Turns out, 'Traffic jams' can also occur in your brain and they can be damaging.Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have been able to confirm that they have been able to prove disrupted transportation routes in nerve cells are a significant cause of Parkinson's disease.Nerve fibres give nerve cells their characteristic long shape. Measuring up to one metre in length, they form the contact points to other nerve cells.In order to carry out the important task of communicating with other nerve cells, the fine branches of these nerve fibres and their ends, called synapses, must be regularly supplied with energy from the cell body.If this energy supply is interrupted, the synapses are destroyed. Connections between nerve cells are then disrupted, which can lead to the cells dying off. This process is typical for the development of brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease.Researchers have now succeeded in demonstrating that a type of 'traffic jam' in the

Biomarkers to prevent stillbirth detected

New biomarkers discovered in maternal blood may allow doctors to prevent stillbirth, a research has found.Lead author, David Wishart said, "When we started analyzing the blood of women who experienced stillbirth and compared them to healthy women, we noticed there's a chemical difference. "This suggested that we could predict and potentially prevent stillbirths."Using a mass spectrometer, Wishart and his colleagues examined maternal blood and identified four chemicals that showed up consistently in mothers who experienced stillbirth.Combining this with demographic information about the mothers, the researchers discovered biomarkers for predicting signs of the first-trimester stillbirth, including a fifth, previously unknown blood chemical, called verruculotoxin."Verrucotoxin is likely produced by microbes and fungi. This is intriguing because there's anecdotal information about people living in certain areas where there are high mould instances of having high instances of stillbirth,"