Page 382 - Health Medical Pharma

This artificial intelligence model mimics human brain

A team of US researchers has developed an "artificial synapse" that does not process information like a digital computer but rather mimics the way human brain completes tasks.

China vaccine maker hit by police, graft probes as scandal widens

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Changsheng Biotechnology, the Chinese vaccine maker accused of falsifying data, plunged deeper into crisis on Tuesday as both police and the country's top graft watchdog launched investigations into the firm.

Focus: Eisai/Biogen to advance Alzheimer's drug, provide fresh hope

(Reuters) - Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc will move forward with late-stage clinical trials of their Alzheimer's disease drug, BAN2401, and are working with regulators to design the next studies and gain expedited review as a breakthrough therapy.

Brain zapping during sleep may boost memory

Delivering a non-invasive brain stimulation when a person is sleeping can improve their memory, a study has found. The transfer of memories from the hippocampus to the neocortex for long-term storage is thought to be enabled by synchronisation of these parts of the brain during sleep. Researchers from the University of New Mexico in the US sought to enhance this natural process of overnight reactivation or neural replay to improve memory with a closed-loop transcranial alternating current stimulation system matching the phase and frequency of ongoing slow-wave oscillations during sleep. Participants were trained and tested on a realistic visual discrimination task in which they had to detect potentially threatening hidden objects and people such as explosive devices and enemy snipers. The researchers found that when participants received stimulation during overnight visits to their sleep laboratory, they showed improved performance in detecting targets in similar but novel situations .

Virtual reality to help students experience dementia first hand

Virtual Reality (VR) simulations with models of real-life patients can help students experience dementia first-hand and gain better understanding of progressive cognitive diseases, including Alzheimer's, say researchers.

China vaccine maker Changsheng plunges again after police launch probe

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology plunged by its daily limit of 10 percent in early Tuesday trade, after police launched a probe into illegal behavior by the firm and China's President Xi Jinping called for swift action.

Connection between smell and memory uncovered

A mechanism that allows the brain to recreate vivid sensory experiences from memory has been uncovered.Neurobiologists at the University of Toronto shed light on how sensory-rich memories are created and stored in our brains.Using smell as a model, the findings offered a novel perspective on how the senses are represented in memory and could explain why the loss of the ability to smell has become recognized as an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease.Lead author of the study, Afif Aqrabawi said, "Our findings demonstrate for the first time how smells we've encountered in our lives are recreated in memory."There is a strong connection between memory and olfaction - the process of smelling and recognizing odours.Examining this connection in mice, Aqrabawi found that information about space and time integrate within a region of the brain important for the sense of smell - yet poorly understood - known as the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON).The AON has a well-documented involvement in ...

Childhood blindness gene discovered

Our genome is made up of 20,000 genes, all of which may cause diseases.Researchers from the University Of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, - working in collaboration with scientists from Pakistan and the USA - have investigated a recessive genetic disorder that destroys the eyes from developing and results in childhood blindness.After analysing the genomes of each member of a consanguineous family with affected children, the geneticists pinpointed pathogenic mutations in a new gene, MARK3, as being the cause.Professor Stylianos Antonarakis said, "In our attempts to uncover new recessive genetic disorders, we looked at families where there was consanguineous marriage and where both parents carried one copy the mutant gene and passed it on to the child."The geneticists directed their interest at an unknown illness that prevents the eyes from developing properly and gradually destroys them."We found that the disorder was present in children from consanguineous parents. As a result, we ...

Robert Wilkie named Veterans Affairs secretary

Pentagon undersecretary Robert Wilkie was, on Monday, confirmed as the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs by the United States Senate, ending months of uncertainty over the post.The Senate voted in favour of Wilkie's appointment as the new Veterans Affairs secretary, with the final vote standing at 86-9.In a statement, US President Donald Trump praised Wilkie as someone who has "dedicated his life to serving his country with honour and pride and displayed great patriotism and a commitment to supporting and empowering America's armed forces and veterans," CNN reported.On a related note, the US President is scheduled to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City on Tuesday.The nine lawmakers who voted against Wilkie's nomination were mostly Democrats - Bernie Sanders, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein of California, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Elizabeth Warren and

Lutemax protects the eyes

Lutemax protects the eyes against blue light damage.Lutein and the zeaxanthin isomers (RR-zeaxanthin and RS [meso]-zeaxanthin) are found in high concentration in the macula--a region of the eye that provides the highest visual acuity and is also exposed to high levels of blue light.In a new study, Lutemax 2020 supplementation was shown to protect photoreceptors against blue light damage by mitigating oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress--a primary mechanism associated with photoreceptor damage and visual impairment.Lutemax 2020 is a naturally-derived ingredient from marigold flowers best known for providing all three macular carotenoids--lutein and both zeaxanthin isomers (RR-zeaxanthin and RS [meso]-zeaxanthin.Beyond this new research, Lutemax 2020 has demonstrated other vision health and performance benefits in multiple studies including LAMA (Lutein, Vision and Mental Acuity) I and II and B.L.U.E. (Blue Light User Exposure).As potent antioxidants and filters of blue light, ...

New virus linked to inflammatory bowel disease

Turns out, there is a key connection between viruses and inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.A study led by a researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus focused on viruses inhabiting bacteria in the intestine known as bacteriophages or simply phages."Phage numbers are elevated at the intestinal mucosal surface and increase in abundance during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), suggesting that phages play an unidentified role in IBD," said Duerkop, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Nature Microbiology.IBD poses significant health burdens worldwide and has inspired intense investigation into the environmental factors causing persistent inflammation of the intestine. Microbial communities are critical in maintaining intestinal health but changes in the composition of these organisms may cause an inflammatory response by the body.According to the researchers, most studies looking at how these microbial ...

Tata Trusts launches nationwide hunt for healthcare innovators

Tata Trusts today launched a nationwide hunt for innovators and entrepreneurs in healthcare. The programme - "Social Alpha Quest for Healthcare Innovations" - has been launched with an objective to foster innovation to solve key healthcare challenges and achieve health equity in the country, Tata Trusts said in a statement here today. The welfare organisation has launched the nationwide hunt in association with Social Alpha and PATH Impact Lab". "This is India's first nationwide search programme that is designed to solve key healthcare challenges, eliminate disparities and achieve health equity in India," said the statement. "Under the programme, among various innovations, the detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV, TB, chikungunya, HCV etc will be focused prominently," it said. The selected startups will be supported by Tata Trusts - PATH Impact Lab and their network of mentors for a period of up to 15 months and will receive various ...

11 people found HIV positive in Faizabad

Eleven people in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad district were found HIV positive during a test survey from April to June in which 1,124 TB patients were also identified, a district official said today. The state Health Department conducted a test survey in rural areas of the district during which blood samples of 5,806 people were collected, the official said, adding seven male and four female were diagnosed with the virus. The district administration is taking care of the HIV positive patients, providing them free treatment, medicines and other help, District Magistrate Anil Kumar Pathak said. "We are trying to probe the reasons how that they got infected with the virus and we are also trying to find out if they have transmitted it to others in their knowledge," the DM said.

Sharif demands medical facilities in jail

A medical board which examined Nawaz Sharif today recommended the immediate shifting of the jailed former Pakistan prime minister to a hospital but the PML-N supremo insisted that the required medical facilities should be provided to him in the jail itself, according to a media report. Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, are serving jail terms of 10 years and 7 years respectively in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, after an accountability court convicted them on July 6 over the family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. A four-member medical board comprising cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik, Medical Specialist Dr. Shaji Siddiqui, neurologist Dr Sohail Tanvir and Dr Mashood examined Sharif to decide about shifting him to the hospital following health related complications, sources said. Sharif has multiple health issues like heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. He already underwent open heart surgery in London in 2016. Citing family sources, Urdu langauge daily 'Jang' said that

Chinese president calls latest pharma scare "vile"

Chinese President Xi Jinping today described a vaccine safety scandal as "vile" and "shocking" as police opened a criminal investigation into the firm responsible and its management. Xi, on a trip to Africa, echoed the calls from Premier Li Keqiang for a thorough investigation and stern action over the latest safety scare to hit the pharmaceutical industry. "Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology's illegal production of vaccines is vile in nature and shocking," Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The mounting scandal stemming from a sub-standard rabies vaccine has raised questions about the safety of China's entire vaccine industry and sent drug company shares tumbling today. The China Food and Drug Administration announced late Sunday that it had ordered all production stopped at Changchun Changsheng, a subsidiary of one of the country's largest vaccine makers. Police in the northeastern city of Changchun, where the company is based, said on social media they had opened a ...

'Magical' royal bee jelly offers promise to combat cancer: Study

Royal jelly -- a natural bee product -- long known for its mysterious growth effects on future queen honey bees, while hailed by some as an anti-ageing, cholesterol-lowering super supplement, might also help fight cancer, finds new research.

IZMO wins multi-crore order from leading OEM in Mexico

For its Car Visualiser Product

Govt schemes fail to stop anemia, maternal mortality for

Government interventions have failed to stop anemia and maternal mortality for Adivasi women in Assam's tea plantations, a Delhi based NGO, Nazdeek, said in a report released here today. "Adivasi women in Assam face multiple barriers to combating anemia and accessing adequate maternal health care. Various government interventions meant to combat anemia are insufficient and unsuccessful in reaching the women they are intended to serve," said the Nazdeek report. Nazdeek's website describes itself as a legal empowerment organization committed to bringing access to justice closer to marginalized communities in the country. "There are many health services mandated by law to combat anemia and decrease maternal mortality, but they are not reaching women on the ground," Nazdeek co-founder and Executive Director Jayashree Satpute told reporters. Free nutritional supplements vital for women during pregnancy owed to them under government scheme are not being disbursed to any woman .

China police probe vaccine maker after scandal sparks fury

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A vaccine scandal in China, which has prompted angry reactions from citizens fed up with safety scares, is sending ripples across the local drug market and threatening Chinese ambitions to play a larger role in the global pharmaceutical arena.

'Possible origin of human speech revealed'

Scientists have shed new light on the underpinnings of human speech by identifying neural circuits in the brains of monkeys, which they say could represent a common evolutionary origin of social communication. According to a study published in the journal Neuron, these circuits are involved in face recognition, facial expression, and emotion. And they may very well have given rise to our singular capacity for speech. Working with rhesus macaque monkeys, the researchers from Rockefeller University in the US had previously identified neural networks responsible for recognising faces - networks that closely resemble ones found in the human brain. In the latest study, Winrich Freiwald and colleagues investigated the patterns of activation that occur within and between various networks to better understand how the brain coordinates the intricate task of social communication. They used a novel experimental setup to take Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of the brains of monkeys as they