Page 393 - Health Medical Pharma
Ticks are more likely to attack blood group A: Study
People with type A blood could be more at risk of being bitten by a tick, including bugs that cause the potentially fatal Lyme disease, a study says.
IIT scientists create mini-organs that mimic hair growth
Scientists from IIT Delhi have developed a silk-based hydrogel that emulates the process of hair growth, an advance that may help screen novel drugs for treating hair loss without using animal tests. A study, published in the Journal of Cellular Physiology, shows how the three-dimensional mini organs can mimic the different stages of hair growth in humans. Hair loss is a common ailment, and can be stressful for the people experiencing it. A number of factors including genes, illness, trauma and surgeries can lead to temporary or permanent hair loss. However, alopecia - condition that occurs due to abnormal growth cycle or reduction in the size of hair follicles - is the major reason contributing to permanent hair loss, researchers said. Numerous oils, creams, and medicines are commercially available but successful treatment of alopecia is still a far-fetched dream. "The major reason for such inefficiency is there is no suitable human cell-based in vitro models available for drug ...
Lupin gets UK health regulator's nod for Goa facility
Drug firm Lupin today said it has received approval from the UK health regulator for its Goa facility. The facility was inspected by the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK MHRA) in March 2018 and there were no critical or major observations cited, Lupin said in a filing to BSE. Commenting on the development, Lupin MD Nilesh Gupta said, "The outcome of this inspection is a positive and encouraging sign for us, and is a testament to our commitment to maintain global manufacturing standards and best practices." This approval from UK MHRA is a significant development for the company's Goa plant, the filing added. Shares Of Lupin were today trading at Rs 838.75 per scrip on BSE, down 3.06 per cent from its previous close.
Working women in India prefer snacking on almonds, fruits: Study
Healthy snacking is a source of energy for a majority of working women and homemakers in India, with nearly 62 per cent of them preferring to munch on almonds and fresh fruits when low on energy, according to a study. The study conducted by market research agency IPSOS found that 95 per cent of respondents preferred to snack healthy at all times, of whom 81 per cent of women ranked almonds as the healthiest snack along with fresh fruits. The quantitative study aimed to identify snacking preferences of working women and homemakers. A total of 3,055 working women and women homemakers between 21 and 45 years of age were interviewed across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Jaipur, Pune, Bhopal and Visakhapatnam. Working women and homemakers across the age group want their snack to be healthy yet tasty, while also wanting their snacks to be natural and nutritious, the study found. There is a definite shift towards healthy snacking across different demographic profiles. This study ...
Structured programs can improve elderly mobility
Turns out, a regular program of structured physical activity, performed in the clinical setting, could reduce mobility loss in older adults.In a pilot study conducted at the Tufts University, the researchers attempted to translate the physical activity benefits in older people.It revealed that bringing the physical activity intervention from a controlled clinical environment into a community-based setting for older adults was safe and feasible. Participants demonstrated sustained improvements in their mobility over the six-month study period.Further, the researchers noted that the physical activity program was associated with increases in executive cognitive function, improvements in quality of life, and a notable reduction in the occurrence of falls. No serious adverse events occurred among physical activity participants during the study."The overarching objective of the pilot study was to translate the physical activity program from a rigorously controlled clinical setting to a ...
Nursing notes may help ICU patients survive
A new study revealed that nursing regular notes are a good indicator of whether intensive care unit (ICU) patients will survive.Hospitals typically use severity of illness scores to predict the survival of ICU patients. These scores include lab results, vital signs, and physiological and demographic characteristics gathered within 24 hours of admission.Researchers at the University of Waterloo used the large publicly available intensive care unit (ICU) database containing patient data between 2001 and 2012. After some inclusion and exclusion criteria, such as the need for at least one nursing note for a given patient, the dataset used in the analysis included details about more than 27,000 patients, as well as the nursing notes.The researchers applied an open-source analysis algorithm to extract adjectives in the text to establish whether it is a positive, neutral or negative statement. A multiple logistic regression model was then fit to the data to show a relationship between the ...
Mortality from heart failure higher in women
Death rates from heart failure are higher for women than men, according to a study."This is the first of a series of studies to examine the sex differences in heart failure incidence, outcomes, care delivery and access in Ontario," said Dr. Louise Sun, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario.Heart failure is a major cause of illness and death and accounts for 35 percent of total female cardiovascular deaths. Recent research indicates heart failure rates have declined, although information on sex differences in outcomes for men and women is lacking.To understand sex differences in heart failure outcomes, researchers looked at data on more than 90 000 patients diagnosed with heart failure in Ontario over 5 years (2009 to 2014).Of the total cases, 47 percent were female and were more likely to be older and frailer, to have lower income and to have multiple chronic illnesses.The number of new heart failure cases was lowest in 2011 and 2012, then began to rise the following ..
Kiwi cricket legend Hadlee faces more cancer surgery
New Zealand cricketing great Richard Hadlee will undergo a second round of surgery after cancer spread to his liver, his wife Dianne said Monday. Hadlee's family revealed last month that he had a tumour removed after being diagnosed with bowel cancer and was expected to make a full recovery after a course of chemotherapy. Dianne Hadlee provided an update on the 67-year-old's condition on Monday. "This week, Richard will undergo further surgery after secondary cancer was discovered in his liver," she said in a statement. "Medical advice is that it's still at a very early stage and is operable." Hadlee is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, and was the first to take 400 Test wickets. By the time he retired in 1990, he had played 86 Tests and taken 431 wickets at 22.29. He was also a hard-hitting batsman with a Test career total of 3,124 runs, including two centuries and 15 half-centuries, at an average of 27.16.
Routinely screening can prevent opioid use
A new study suggests that routine screening and proper treatment for patients can prevent the opioid abuse.Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University outlined the use of opioids and its treatment."Treatment can save lives," said Todd Korthuis, author of the study. "The national opioid epidemic can turn around if we embrace opioid use disorder as a chronic medical condition that needs treatment instead of a moral issue or the result of poor willpower, " he added.The study highlighted one of the many dire consequences of the opioid epidemic i.e more people are turning to injection drug use after their opioid prescriptions are cut off, which in turn has led to an increase in life-threatening infections of the skin, joints, blood, bone and more.These serious infections then require expensive and lengthy hospital treatments.Earlier, it was also revealed that religious involvement may help a person to avoid or not use opioids, especially for women.The findings appeared in the ...
Mumbai cops help woman passenger deliver twins in train
A 30-year-old woman delivered twins on Sunday morning while onboard the LTT-Visakhapatanam express train at Mumbai's Kalyan railway station, with the help of two lady constables.According to the Central Railways, its officials received information about a woman, named Shaikh Salma Tabassum - resident of Narayan Nagar, Ghatkopar - having labour pain while travelling with her family.Thereafter, on-duty Sub Inspector Nitin Gaur, along with RPF lady staff Head Constables Neelam Gupta and Surekha Kadam pressed into action and attended to the woman at Kalyan in the presence of Railway Medical Staff.Post the delivery, the lady passenger, along with her twins, was taken to Rukmanibai Hospital for further treatment and care.The mother and twins are healthy and doing well.
17 picked Nipah virus from 1st victim: Kerala govt report
A detailed study by the Kerala government in the recent outbreak of Nipah virus has suggested that 17 of the 19 infected people might have contracted the deadly virus from the first victim, 26-year-old Mohammed Sabith. Sabith, who died on May 5, was among the 17 people who lost their lives after they contracted the virus. Two people had recovered. As per available records, it has been found that Sabith contracted the Nipah virus from fruit bats and 17 others -- including three from his family i.e. father, younger brother and a paternal aunt -- got infected from him, government sources said. Besides, the virus from him is also suspected to have infected four other people at the Peramabra Taluk Hospital, Kohzikode, where he was first brought, the sources in the state surveillance department of the Kerala Health Services said, adding that 10 others in the Kozhikode medical college hospital, where he was taken for a CT scan in the radiology department, also picked the virus from him. One .
'Remarkable' increase in patients at OOATs centres between Jun-Jul, claims Pb govt
The Punjab government today claimed that there was a "remarkable" increase in patients at the Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOATs) centres between June and July, an official spokesperson said. The official spokesperson, who said the OOATs centres were witnessing excellent response to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's appeal to people to join the government's efforts to wipe out the drug menace from the state. Giving details of the manifold increase, the spokesperson said the average registration in the OOATs centres has increased from 70 new patients per day in June to 408 new patients per day in July. Yesterday, the number of new patients to be registered in the OOAT centres was 681. Further, the average footfall in the OOATs has increased from 2,345 patients per day (old and new) in June to 4,408 patients per day (old and new) in July. Yesterday, the total footfall in the OOAT centres (old and new) was 6,673. The number is expected to go up substantially over the next two ...
Obesity alone does not increase early death risk: Study
Obesity alone does not increase risk of early death, say scientists who have found that obese patients with no other metabolic risk factors, do not have an increased rate of mortality. The study could impact how we think about obesity and health, said Jennifer Kuk, an associate professor at York University in Canada. "This is in contrast with most of the literature and we think this is because most studies have defined metabolic healthy obesity as having up to one metabolic risk factor," said Kuk. "This is clearly problematic, as hypertension alone increases your mortality risk and past literature would have called these patients with obesity and hypertension, 'healthy'. This is likely why most studies have reported that 'healthy' obesity is still related with higher mortality risk," he added. Kuk's study showed that unlike dyslipidemia, hypertension or diabetes alone, which are related with a high mortality risk, this is not the case for obesity alone. The study followed 54,089 men ..
Staying barefoot may improve children's motor skills
Staying barefoot might improve children's motor skills like jumping and balancing compared to those who wear shoes all the time, according to a study.
Food-induced anaphylaxis less severe in infants: Study
Symptoms of food-induced anaphylaxis in infants are less severe than in toddlers and older children, a new study suggests.
Deaths from cardiovascular disease rising in India: Study
More than one quarter of all deaths in India in 2015 were caused by cardiovascular disease, which is mostly affecting the rural populations and young adults, according to a new study. Led by Prabhat Jha, director of the Centre for Global Health Research of St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, the study said the rate of dying from ischaemic heart disease -- cardiac issues caused by narrowing of the heart's arteries -- in populations aged 30-69 years increased rapidly in the rural areas of the country and surpassed those in the urban areas between 2000 and 2015. In contrast, the probability of dying from stroke decreased overall, but increased in India's northeastern states, where a third of premature stroke deaths occurred and only one sixth of the population lives. In these states, deaths due to stroke were about three times higher than the national average, according to the study published in the Lancet Journal. "The finding that cardiac disease rose nationally in India and that stroke
Testosterone therapy can prevent drastic weight loss in cancer patients
A testosterone therapy can help prevent loss of body mass in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and help improve their quality of life. Many cancer patients suffer from a loss of body mass known as cachexia. Approximately 20 per cent of cancer related deaths are attributed to the syndrome of cachexia, which in cancer patients is often characterised by a rapid or severe loss of fat and skeletal muscle. Melinda Sheffield-Moore, a professor at University of Texas in the US showed that the hormone testosterone is effective at combatting cachexia in cancer patients There are currently no established therapies targeting this loss of skeletal muscle, and without an intervention, patients lose muscle function and become fatigued and weakened. The research, published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, may help cancer patients increase quality of life and maintain eligibility to receive standard of care therapy if cachexia ensues. "We hoped to demonstrate these patients ...
UK health care award-winner wants unique rehab centre in India
An Indian-origin health care professional, who was recently awarded for her work to improve the quality of patient care in the UK's state-funded National Health Service (NHS), has said her dream is to start a rehabilitation and re-employment centre in India. Kashmira Sangle, who trained as a physiotherapist in Maharashtra before moving to the UK in 2003, was awarded the Windrush 70 Award for Clinical Excellence last month as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the NHS recognising the significant contribution made by ethnic minorities to the health service. Sangle was honoured for her work to improve the provision of wheelchairs in Berkshire, south-east England. It is my dream to start a rehabilitation and re-employment centre in India for spinal injury patients and victims of road accidents who are permanently house-bound. The centre will provide independence of mobility to these patients and help them gain employment, thus integrate them back in the society, she said. I ...
Testosterone treatment can bring new hope for cancer patients
Treatment with hormone testosterone could be effective at combating a condition of loss of body mass in cancer patients and improving the quality of life, say researchers.
Herpes virus may up Alzheimer's risk
Herpes virus can increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study which also found that antiviral drugs can significantly reduce the risk of the neurodegenrative disorder. In a research published in the journal Neurotherapeutics in February this year, Taiwanese epidemiologists looked at subjects who suffered severe herpes infection and who were treated aggressively with antiviral drugs. Scientists from University of Manchester and University of Edinburgh in the UK say that the study shows that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) leads to an increased risk of developing the disease. It also supports the viability of a potential way to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. "This article and two others by different research groups in Taiwan provide the first population evidence for a causal link between herpes virus infection and Alzheimer's disease, a hugely important finding," said Ruth Itzhaki, a professor at the University of Manchester in the UK. The .