Page 39 - Health Medical Pharma
College student in Kochi suspected to have Nipah, Ker govt takes precautions
The Kerala government Monday said a college student here is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. The Kerala Health Department has initiated precautionary measures to deal with the possible outbreak of Nipah virus. State Health Minister K K Shailaja said in Thiruvananthapuram that the 23-year-old college student, who has been admitted to a private hospital here, is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. She said isolation wards have been set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital in Kochi. Although the state government is awaiting a report from the Pune Virology Institute to confirm if the student has contracted the Nipah virus, the Health department in the state has geared up to deal with a possible outbreak, officials said here. A meeting of officials of the Health Department ..
Drinking coffee may not cause stiff arteries: Study
Drinking coffee, including in people who consume up to 25 cups a day, may not be as bad for arteries and heart as previously thought, a study unveiled Monday claims. Arteries carry blood containing oxygen and nutrients from our heart to the rest of your body. If they become stiff, it can increase the workload on the heart and increase a person's chance of having a heart attack or stroke. The study, by researchers from the Queen Mary University of London in the UK, of over 8,000 people debunks previous studies that claimed drinking coffee increases arterial stiffness. Previous suggestions that drinking coffee leads to stiffer arteries are inconsistent and could be limited by lower participant numbers, researchers said. Coffee consumption was categorised into three groups for the study. Those who drink less than one cup a day, those who drink between one and three cups a day and those who drink more than three. People who consumed more than 25 cups of coffee a day were excluded, but no .
Facial recognition technology used to monitor patient safety in ICU
Scientists have used facial recognition technology to predict when patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at high risk of unsafe behaviour, such as accidentally removing their breathing tube. The research suggests that the automated risk detection tool has the potential as a monitor of patient's safety and could remove some of the limitations associated with limited staff capacity that make it difficult to continuously observe critically-ill patients at the bedside. "Using images we had taken of a patient's face and eyes we were able to train computer systems to recognise high-risk arm movement," said Akane Sato from Yokohama City University Hospital in Japan. "We were surprised about the high degree of accuracy that we achieved, which shows that this new technology has the potential to be a useful tool for improving patient safety," Sato said. Critically ill patients are routinely sedated in the ICU to prevent pain and anxiety, permit invasive procedures, and improve patient ..
High body fat associated with 4 fold increase in mortality risk in heart bypass surgery patients
New study has shown that a higher body fat mass increases the mortality in heart bypass surgery patients by over four times, while body mass index (BMI) by itself was not associated with the increase in deaths.The study is being presented at the 'Euroanaesthesia' congress in Vienna, Austria (1-3 June)."Overall, our study showed that unlike BMI, lower lean body weight and higher fat mass in patients were independently associated with increased mortality after heart bypass surgery," said Dr Xavier Leroy, one of the researchers.The team performed a retrospective study of 3373 patients who had undergone elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass from January 2013 until December 2016.Patient BMI (measured using the WHO definition) and body composition were calculated from clinical and administrative records and compared to patient mortality within 30 days of the operation.A further analysis was performed to investigate the association of BMI and body composition with a prolonged .
Fathers play an important role in brain development: Study
The bigger the brain in relation to body size, the more intelligent a living organism is. However, mothers of many mammals cannot bear the energetic costs of developing a large brain on their own, they are reliant on additional help from fathers.Mammalian species with large brains are smarter than small-brained mammals. However, developing a large brain comes at a price. An infant expends around two-thirds of its energy on supplying nourishment to its brain alone. That huge amount of energy must be continually available in the form of milk and, later on, through the intake of food.The females of many large-brained animal species cannot bear the energetic costs of rearing offspring on their own, they are reliant on additional help.Previously, it was generally assumed that it is immaterial whether it is the father or other members of the group who assist the mother in caring for offspring. However, evolutionary biologist Sandra Heldstab and her colleagues Karin Isler, Judith Burkart, ...
Haryana CM encourages public to cycle for good health
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday encouraged the public to cycle to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy.
New study shows coffee not as bad for heart as claimed in previous studies
Contradicting previous studies that claimed coffee is bad for arteries, a new study has suggested that coffee does not make the arteries stiffer.According to the study presented at the 'British Cardiovascular Society Annual Conference' in Manchester, previous suggestions that drinking coffee leads to stiffer arteries are inconsistent and could be limited by lower participant numbers.Arteries carry blood containing oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. If they become stiff, it can increase the workload on the heart and increase a person's chance of having a heart attack or stroke.Dr Kenneth Fung, who led the data analysis for the research at Queen Mary University of London, said "Despite the huge popularity of coffee worldwide, different reports could put people off from enjoying it. Whilst we can't prove a causal link in this study, our research indicates coffee isn't as bad for the arteries as previous studies would suggest."Although our study included ...
Blood transfusion during liver cancer surgery associated with increased risk of cancer recurrence
In a study, researchers have claimed that receiving blood transfusion during liver cancer surgery (hepatocellular carcinoma) increases the risk of cancer recurrence and dying prematurely.The risk was markedly increased even when only a small amount of blood was transfused, researchers said.The study is being presented at the 'European Society of Anaesthesiology' in Vienna, Austria (1-3 June).Findings showed that transfusion of one to four units of blood increased the risk of cancer recurrence by 23 per cent and death by 55 per cent compared to matched controls."Our findings from a large cohort highlighted a significant association between red blood cell transfusions and the risk of cancer recurrence as well as a dose-response relationship between the number of transfusions and death after curative surgery for liver cancer," said Dr Ying-Hsuan Tai from Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital in Taiwan who led the research."The reason why blood transfusions substantially worsen ...
8 infants dead after AC failure in Pakistan hospital
At least eight infants died due to the alleged failure of the air-conditioning (AC) system in a hospital in Pakistan, officials said.
Your health in middle age predict how healthy you'll be later in life: Study
Researchers have identified factors associated with brain health in middle age in order to develop ways to preserve brain function when people are older. According to the findings, people's health in middle age predicts how healthy you'll be later in life.Cognitive decline is the medical term for a decline in your abilities to think, remember, and make decisions. Researchers know now that cognitive decline may begin in midlife and can develop over a period of 20 years or so.In a new study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society(JAGS), researchers identified factors associated with brain health in middle age in order to identify ways to preserve brain function when people are older.Several studies have shown links between changes in the senses and the development of cognitive decline. In earlier studies, the research team responsible for the new JAGS report found that problems with hearing, vision, or the sense of smell were associated with poorer cognitive ...
Woman "wrongly" diagnosed with cancer at govt hospital in Ker,
A woman was "wrongly" diagnosed with cancer and subjected to chemotherapy at a Government Medical College Hospital here, following which a probe has been ordered by the Kerala government. Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja has ordered an inquiry into the allegations that the middle aged woman was subjected to chemotherapy treatment at the hospital on the basis of a report from a private lab where her sample was tested, officials said Sunday. According to the woman from Mavelikkara, she had undergone treatment at the General surgery department of the hospital on February 28 for a lump on her breast. Her samples were taken and sent for testing at the hospital laboratory as well as a private lab. Chemotherapy was started immediately after the doctors at the Oncology department of the hospital received the report from the private lab, which said she had been diagnosed with cancer. However, the report from the hospital lab came two weeks later and it said it was not ...
Obamacare led to better cancer outcomes: studies
A pair of studies have found that Obamacare led to an increase in early-stage ovarian cancer detections and helped nearly erase racial differences in the timely treatment of a range of cancers. The findings, which were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, come as the administration of President Donald Trump is renewing its efforts to strike down the Affordable Care Act signed into law by his predecessor Barack Obama. The study on ovarian cancer screening was led by Anna Jo Smith at the Johns Hopkins Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Baltimore. "Having health insurance plays a major role in whether or not a woman has access to care providers who can monitor symptoms and act on those symptoms if necessary,"she said. The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer is 75 per cent, but the figure drops dramatically to 30 per cent for those diagnosed at a later stage. The ACA was signed into law on March ..
Rajasthan to enact a 'right to health' law: Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Sunday said his government will soon enact a law on "right to heath" to ensure good health services to everyone in the state. Our government is working on a right to health bill which will be introduced soon. The aim of our government is to provide good health services to everyone, Gehlot said at a function here. He said the free medical scheme launched by his earlier government was appreciated worldwide and nearly 17 states of the country introduced similar schemes on this pattern. The chief minister also called upon private players in the medical field to serve the society instead making health care a business. Right to heath was promised by the Congress in its election manifesto during the December 2018 assembly elections in the state. The congress had promised quality health services to citizens through a law right to health. Gehlot was speaking at a free medical camp for heart diseases at Shree Satya Sai College here. Health minister Raghu ...
Baby boy branded to 'cure' his fever; dies of infected wound
Four days after he was branded with hot iron, a one-year-old baby boy died at a hospital in Ahmedabad Sunday, doctors said. Vipul, the boy, was branded by a village quack at Vaseda village in Vav tehsil of Banaskantha district Wednesday. Branding is administered as a traditional cure for fever and some other medical conditions by quacks in villages, said Sunil Acharya, a doctor at a hospital in Deesa where the boy was treated briefly before being shifted to Ahmedabad. Vipul was having fever for ten days, and he was branded on the left arm by the village quack Wednesday, he said. "The boy had pneumonia. After being branded with hot iron, his condition became critical. We referred the case to Rajasthan Hospital in Ahmedabad Friday," the doctor said. Gautam Jain, a doctor at Rajasthan Hospital, confirmed that the infected burn injury claimed Vipul's life. "This superstitious practice (of branding) still prevails in remote parts of rural areas of the state," Dr Jain said.
A drug that improves survival for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer
A new study reveals that Enzalutamide, an oral androgen receptor inhibitor can yield better outcomes and increase survival for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC).This study was published in the journal 'New England Journal of Medicine'.Interim analysis of the ANZUP-led international randomized, phase III ENZAMET trial demonstrated that among men with mHSPC who received testosterone suppression, those also given enzalutamide survived longer overall than those who were also given standard nonsteroidal androgen receptor inhibitors.Among trial participants, 80% of those treated with enzalutamide were alive after three years compared to 72% of the men who received the standard inhibitors."These findings are truly practice-informing, adding an effective drug option in treating mHSPC," said study co-chair Christopher Sweeney."Adding enzalutamide to testosterone suppression in men with mHSPC can give much better cancer control and much longer survival," Sweeney ...
Spending time in sunshine may decrease risk of inflammatory bowel disease
It turns out, spending an hour a day outside in the sun reduces children's risk of inflammatory bowel disease.More than 800,000 people live with the two life-long disorders which make up IBD -- Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis."Taking children to play outside in the sun could be life-changing. It doesn't have to be all at the same time. But, we found children who were outside and exposed to the sun for an extra half hour a day in total, had a lower risk of developing IBD by almost 20 per cent, said lead researcher of the study Robyn Lucas, from the ANU College of Health and Medicine.The team of researchers found even short periods of sun exposure were associated with a lower risk of children developing IBD.The findings were published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.They found every 10 minutes of sun exposure was associated with a lower risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease by six per cent. At this stage what the researchers have shown is that ..
Small mark, Big meaning: Tahira Kashyap shares endearing video on Cancer Survivor Day
On 'Cancer Survivor Day', Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana's wife and cancer survivor, Tahira Kashyap sent out a powerful message for all the brave souls fighting a battle with cancer.Tahira has been vocal about her fight with cancer.This Cancer Survivor Day, she shared a video on Instagram where she boldly called her 'scar', a birthmark.The video set in the backdrop of a hospital features Tahira laying on a hospital bed and surrounded by doctors. She starts by saying, "A small mark, a big meaning."The one-minute twenty-seven second clip carries a heavy message.Sharing the video, Tahira wrote, "I hope this video is taken in the right spirit. Not each of us has same cancer, or the same stage, or even the same circumstances."She continued, "But what is same within each of us, is the burning fire to survive, the hope to cheat any ultimatum given to us, the invincible human spirit which gives us the courage to endure and the will to revive, the resilience of a warrior... and all this ...
Depression sufferers at risk of multiple chronic diseases, study suggests
Depression and chronic diseases share a similar biological pathway. Latest findings suggest that, women who experience symptoms of depression are at risk of developing multiple chronic diseases.According to a recent study, women who experienced symptoms of depression, even without a clinical diagnosis, were at risk of developing multiple chronic diseases."These days, many people suffer from multiple chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. We looked at how women progress in the development of these chronic diseases before and after the onset of depressive symptoms," said Xiaolin Xu, UQ School of Public Health Ph.D. scholar and one of the lead researchers.The study found 43.2 per cent of women experienced elevated symptoms of depression and just under half the cohort reported they were diagnosed or taking treatment for depression.Women from the depressed group were 1.8 times more likely to have multiple chronic health conditions before they first ...
Terrorists hurl grenade at National Conference leader's residence
Terrorists hurled grenade at the residence of National Conference leader Ghulam Mohi Ud din Mir in Muran, Pulwama on Sunday.The grenade exploded outside the compound wall. No loss of life or injury has been reported.According to reports, the incident took place at around 5 pm. Further details are currently awaited.
Cold-parenting may lead to premature ageing in offspring
Unsupportive parenting styles may have several negative health implications for children including premature ageing and higher disease risk later in life, says a study.