Page 55 - Health Medical Pharma

Breastfeeding makes women less prone to heart diseases

Mothers who breastfeed their babies are less prone to heart diseases that develop later in life, a study has found.The findings of the study were presented at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019."These findings indicate that breastfeeding lowers the risk of heart disease in women. However, this is an association study only, we are now interested in looking at establishing the underlying causes of this protective effect," said Prof Irene Lambrinoudaki, University of Athens.Breastfeeding has earlier shown to reduce the risk of postpartum depression and the risk of certain cancers in women. It has also been established that breastfeeding can help mothers to maintain healthy body weight and regulate their blood sugar.Researchers measured markers of heart and blood vessel health in postmenopausal women, in relation to their history of breastfeeding.After adjusting for other cardiovascular health risk factors, including body weight, age, cholesterol levels, and ...

Odisha govt suspends four doctors in cyclone-hit Puri

The Odisha government on Saturday suspended four doctors for dereliction of duty in Puri district which has been badly hit by the recent Cyclone Fani.

Heart attacks more severe in morning than night

Heart attacks that mostly happen in the morning tend to be more severe than cardiac arrests at night, warn researchers.

Specialised microscope can diagnose skin cancer, perform surgeries: Study

The device allows imaging of living tissue up to about one millimetre in depth using an ultrafast infrared laser beam

Fast walkers more likely to live longer: Study

People who habitually have a fast walking pace are more likely to live longer than their slow-walking peers, a study claims. The study, conducted by researchers from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre in the UK, used data from 474,919 people. It showed that walking pace was linked to life expectancy in all individuals irrespective of weight. Underweight individuals with a slow walking pace had the lowest life expectancy (an average of 64.8 years for men, 72.4 years for women). The same pattern of results was found for waist circumference measurements. This is the first time research has associated fast walking pace with a longer life expectancy regardless of a person's body weight or obesity status. "Our findings could help clarify the relative importance of physical fitness compared to body weight on life expectancy of individuals," said Professor Tom Yates, a professor at the University of Leicester in the UK. "In other words, the .

Electric field-based dressing fights bacterial infections

Amid growing antibiotic resistance, Indian-origin researchers have developed a way to charge up the fight against bacterial infections using electricity.

Stepped alcohol treatment helps HIV-positive people with drinking problem

Stepped alcohol treatment has helped HIV positive people coping with alcohol addiction, claimed researchers.Stepped care is used to treat patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and depression.It entails the use of different treatments that are "stepped up," or increased in intensity over time, in response to patients' needs.The stepped-care patients were offered evidence-based treatments, including medication, motivational therapy, and specialty care at either an outpatient or residential treatment facility.At the end of the study period, the researchers found that patients who received integrated stepped care fared better overall.After 52 weeks, stepped-care patients had fewer heavy drinking days, drank less per drinking day, and had more days of abstinence, the researchers noted."We saw overall improvements in drinking. We also found improved HIV outcomes at the 52-week mark," said Jennifer Edelman, the lead author of the study."Over time, the patients receiving ...

Insulin-producing beta cells may change function in diabetes: Study

Researchers revealed that insulin-producing beta cells can change their own function in diabetes. They found that the RNA messaging system which tells proteins how to behave in cells is functioning differently in diabetes.The changes lead to some of the beta cells no longer producing insulin which regulates blood sugar, and instead of producing somatostatin, which can block the secretion of other important hormones including insulin itself.The study may give new insights into how high blood sugar can alter the behaviour of important hormone-producing cells, and pave the way to new treatments.Professor Lorna Harries, the lead researcher of the study, said: "These insights are really exciting. Only recently, Exeter researchers discovered that people with type 1 diabetes still retain some insulin-producing cells, but the environment produced by diabetes can be toxic for these cells that remain. Our work could lead to new changes to protect these cells, which could help people maintain ...

New findings could be used as vaccination strategy for sexually transmitted infections

Researchers have shown how skin vaccination can produce protective CD8 T-cells that are recruited to the genital tissues and could be used as a vaccination strategy for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).According to the study published in the Journal of Nature Communications, one of the challenges in developing vaccines for STIs, such as HIV or herpes simplex virus, is understanding how to attract specialised immune cells, called CD8 T-cells, to take up residence in the part of the body where the virus first enters.These cells need to be in place, armed and ready to provide an immediate protective immune defense, rather than waiting for immune cells in the blood to enter the tissues which take time.Before this study, it was thought that vaccines ideally needed to be delivered directly to the body surface (e.g. female genital tissue) where the infection might start, so that the immune system can generate these CD8 T-cells, travel back to the vaccination site and eliminate any ...

Right diet, weight management key to deal with PCOS: Experts

With actors like Sara Ali Khan and Sonam Kapoor talking about their fight with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), experts have pitched for maintaining a healthy body weight through right diet to manage the hormonal disorder. Typically characterised by irregular menstruation cycles and infertility, an elevated level of male hormone (gonadotropin), obesity and often diabetes, PCOS is a hormonal disorder which continues to baffle researchers till date. However, experts believe that with one out of 10 women and young girls affected by the disorder, it is very important that people know that most of the clinical manifestations of PCOS can be managed simply by maintaining a healthy body weight. "Most of the girls keep struggling with the consequences of the PCOS without knowing that solutions to most of these problems lie in maintaining healthy body weight," Shikha Mahajan, a Delhi-based senior nutritionist and head of Diet Podium, said. According to a research published in the Lancet in ...

Being sick in morning can be different from being sick at night: Study

While sickness comes irrespective of the time, the severeness of afflictions ranging from allergies to heart attacks differs in the morning from that in the night, highlighted a new study.The study was published in the Journal Trends in Immunology which compiled studies, predominantly in mice, that looked at the connection between circadian rhythms and immune responses.The body reacts to cues such as light and hormones to anticipate recurring rhythms of sleep, metabolism, and other physiological processes. The numbers of white blood cells, in both humans and mice also oscillate in a circadian manner.Taking into account the above-mentioned facts, researchers in the study found that:Heart attacks in humans are known to strike most commonly in the morning, and research suggests that morning heart attacks tend to be more severe than at night.In mice, the numbers of monocytes--a type of white blood cell that fights off bacteria, viruses, and fungi--are elevated in the blood during the day.

China reports nearly 1 mn cases of occupational diseases

China reported over 970,000 cases of occupational diseases by the end of 2018 of which 90 per cent cases were pneumoconiosis.

Cartels and collusion - will the cycle ever stop? (Column: Active Voice)

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has become almost synonymous with the US regulatory authorities.

USFDA inspection at Indore facility ends with zero observations: Cipla

Drug firm Cipla Friday said the US health regulator conducted a post-approval inspection at its Indore facility, and it ended with zero observations. "We would like to inform you that the USFDA (US Food and Drug Administration) conducted a post-approval inspection at our Indore facility from 13th May to 17th May, 2019. The inspection ended with zero observations," the company said in a BSE filing. Shares of Cipla closed at Rs 543.95 apiece on the BSE, down 1.2 per cent from its previous close.

Patients with schizophrenia, epilepsy die before 50 years

More than one in four patients suffering from schizophrenia as well as epilepsy die even before celebrating their 50th birthday, a study claimed."There was an exceedingly high mortality rate among people with these disorders, particularly those who suffer from the combination of epilepsy and schizophrenia. More than 25 per cent of them die between the ages of 25-50," said Jakob Christensen, one of the researchers of the study.The study published in 'Epilepsia' hope to spread awareness about the difficulties of living with epilepsy and schizophrenia."The results are really intended to help healthcare professionals develop new working processes so that this group of patients can get the right treatment. We already know from previous studies, that this group of patients die from a wide range of lifestyle diseases, and that some of these are preventable," said Christensen."With the way things are now, this patient group can easily fall between two chairs and end up being sent back and ...

Azerbaijan's Ambassador to India calls on Sonowal

Azerbaijan's Ambassador to India Dr Ashraf Shikhaliyev called on Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal here on Friday and discussed issues of mutual interests between his country and Assam. Shikhaliyev expressed his country's interest in investing in Assam's tea and import of it to his country, officials said. Referring to Azerbaijan's tea drinking habits, he said that Assam tea will be in huge demand in his country. The Ambassador stated that Information Technology and tourism are other two sectors in which both Assam and Azerbaijan can work together, they said. Giving a presentation of the core sectors of business in Assam, Sonowal said that both Azerbaijan and Assam should work to send their respective delegations to both geographical entities. Expressing his keen interests in strengthening his country's bilateral relations with Assam, Shikhaliyev invited Sonowal to Azerbaijan.

Over 500 test positive for HIV in Pakistani village

A mass HIV detection programme in a village in Pakistan has resulted in more than 400 children and 100 adults diagnosed with the virus following widespread social alarm that broke out after a doctor was reported for negligence, authorities said on Friday.

Civil society groups seek revision of WHO guidelines on Similar Biotherapeutic Products evaluation

Over 60 civil society organisations from across the world have written to the Director General of WHO demanding revision of the global health body's 'Guidelines on Evaluation of Similar Biotherapeutic Products (SBPs)' which were adopted in 2009. The regulatory framework for approval of SPBs, put in place by many countries, including India, is in accordance with the WHO guidelines, which the groups claim are "unnecessarily cumbersome". They allege that the "failure" of the WHO secretariat to update the guidelines in line with current scientific evidence and technological advances, "compromises access to affordable biotherapeutic products" and has "grave consequences for the realization of the right to health and the right to enjoy scientific progress." Biotherapeutic medicines, also known as biologics, are produced through biological processes and differ from the older generation small-molecule medicines that are derived through chemical synthesis. They have advantages over small ...

Bullied at workplace? It can change behaviour for worse

If you are bullied at the workplace, it may lead to counterproductive behaviour besides harming your health, warn researchers.

Genes responsible for fainting identified

Fainting is not just caused by external factors, according to a recent study, which has identified the first gene that predisposes people to faint.Heat, dehydration and anxiety can cause people to faint which potentially can be fatal if it is happening while driving or cycling.However, according to the study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Research, researchers claim to have identified a gene associated with an increased risk of fainting, also called syncope.Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Statens Serum Institut and Rigshospitalet have based their findings on data from the UK Biobank containing information on approximately 400,000 Britons."We have learned that a part of chromosome 2 increases the risk of fainting. This means that there is a genetic risk variant that predisposes to fainting. In addition, we are the first to show that fainting is genetically determined by linking an increased risk of fainting with an exact position in the genome,' said ...