Page 554 - Health Medical Pharma

UP woman, daughter write to Prez for passive euthanasia

A woman and her 33-year-old daughter, suffering from muscular dystrophy, have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission for passive euthanasia. Shashi Mishra (59) and her daughter Anamika Mishra, hailing from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, have written letters to the President with their plea. City magistrate Raj Narayan Pandey said, "The letters have been sent directly to the office of the President of India. Anamika Mishra said that she had written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra requesting them to provide financial help for their treatment or allow them to end their lives. "My father Ganga Mishra was also suffering from muscular dystrophy, and died almost 15 years ago. After his demise, there is no one to look after the family. In 1985, my mother came to know that she is suffering from the disease," she said. Anamika Mishra contracted muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease which leads to increasing weakening and ...

Researchers identify over 500 genes related to intelligence

Some 538 genes that play a role in intellectual ability have been identified by a team of international researchers, according to a study released Monday.

Singaporeans cut sugar intake when asked to sweeten beverages themselves

In an astonishing move, most of the Singaporeans opted for no sugar drinks when they were asked to sweeten their beverages on their own.Sugar consumption fell by about a third at Singapore Polytechnic's (SP) Food Court 3 since this interesting initiative started last August, reported the Malay Mail online.Ma Hong Yen, who is employed by food court operator Food Paradise saw a major dip in sugar consumption, when she placed sugar on the side of freshly brewed coffee and tea, instead of adding in it."This has helped cut sugar consumption significantly... Now, even the students drink their beverages kosong (sugar free) more frequently," the the Malay Mail quoted Ma as saying.Food Court 3 is one of the leading food courts supporting the Health Promotion Board's (HPB) healthier drinks policy, which promotes serving freshly brewed drinks without sugar.To speed up the war against diabetes, all government offices, as well as some premises such as parks, sports facilities, and community ...

Barbershop pharmacists may trim down high blood pressure

Now paying a visit to barbershop can help men to lower high blood pressure.Yes, you heard it right, as per new findings from the Smidt Heart Institute published Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine, having pharmacists deliver blood pressure care in barbershops resulted in lower blood pressure readings for many black men.As per reports, Black men have high rates of high blood pressure - a top reading over 130 or a bottom one over 80.The study was carried out on 319 black men with high blood pressure who frequented 52 barbershops in the Los Angeles area.For the study, the men were randomly assigned to two groups. Men in the first group met with barbers who encouraged them to speak with specially trained pharmacists during their monthly barbershop appointments.In the second group, barbers encouraged the men to seek advice from their respective primary care providers on treatment and lifestyle changes.After a time phase of six months, almost 64 percent of the men who saw a ...

Using pedometers while walking may boost your health later

Researchers have found that people who use pedometers to count their steps as part of a 12-week walking programme, can have a healthier, more active lifestyle later.

Health bodies push for compulsory licence for two drugs on MDR-TB

Survivors of drug-resistant tuberculosis, health organisations and the TB community have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow issuance of compulsory licence for two of the essential drugs for drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) treatment so that Indian drug-makers can sell them at affordable prices. Bedaquiline and Delamanid are recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for DR-TB patients. While Bedaquiline was added to the WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) for TB in 2015, Delamanid was added to the WHO EML for children in 2017. The Patents Act provides for a special provision that empowers the central government to notify a compulsory licence for public non-commercial use. The license for Bedaquiline and Delamanid would encourage generic production and supply to India's TB Control Program and reserving them for public health use, health activist Ketholelie Angami said in a statement. Prices of these drugs could be reduced by up to 95 per cent through generic competition,

ICMR, health ministry to create own national lists of essential diagnostic tests, tools

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the research body of the health ministry, along with several partners, including the WHO India and the McGill University, today convened the first national consultation on an Essential Diagnostics List (EDL) to create their own national lists of essential diagnostic tests and tools. Four decades after publishing the first Essential Medicines List (EML), the WHO is developing an EDL to provide evidence-based guidance to countries to create their own national lists of essential diagnostic tests and tools to facilitate access to treatment, particularly in low-resource countries. "The National EML in India has been helpful in capping prices of a variety of products, and has increased access to important medicines. The same model could be used for diagnostics. Without diagnostics, good medicines can be wasted, misused or simply not used," an ICMR statement said. Speaking at the consultation, Dr Vinod Paul of NITI Aayog, encouraged the ...

NHRC notices to UP Govt, Centre over Jhansi medical negligence

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Centre over the Jhansi medical negligence episode, wherein severed leg of a youth was used as a pillow at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College.After taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, the NHRC issued a notice to the Government of Uttar Pradesh through its Chief Secretary and asked him to submit a detailed report within four weeks in the matter.Besides this, the secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Ministry has also been asked to submit a report whether any instructions/guidelines on the subject were issued to the doctors/hospitals along with the status of mechanism to monitor their implementation, across the country.While issuing the notices, the Commission has observed that the incident demands not only fair investigation and action against the guilty public servants but also issuance of necessary directions/guidelines to all the hospitals regarding strict ...

Ease red tape, de-empanel hospitals harassing cancer patients: Report

A parliamentary panel has recommended the simplification of procedures in a central health scheme so that cancer patients are not made to run from pillar to post to complete the paperwork required for their treatment. It also asked the Ministry of Health to initiate strict action against hospitals harassing senior citizens and pensioners suffering from cancer, and to de-empanel them from the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) if such instances recur. The panel, in its 106th report on Demands for Grants 2018-19 for the department of health, expressed concern over problems that elderly cancer patients face in getting proper treatment in CGHS-empanelled hospitals. It said apart from being given the correct treatment, such patients needed to be handled sensitively and with empathy. Instead of the harassment meted out to them by the hospitals for factors such as incomplete paperwork, they should be treated on a priority basis and the hospitals should take cognizance of the new rules

Heart attacks in elderly people

Heart attacks are certainly common amongst the elderly. A heart attack happens when there is a sudden complete blockage of an artery that supplies blood to a section of the heart.As a result, some of the heart muscle starts to die. Most of the time, older adults are dependent on family members or caregivers to understand the signs and to get medical aid.According to the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Report, heart disease is the leading cause of death in India (17.8 percent of all the deaths), with figures rising by 53 percent as compared to 2005.Over the last 60 years, Congenital Heart Disease prevalence has increased from 1 percent to 9-10 percent in urban areas and has gone from 1 percent to 4-6 percent in rural areas.Risk factors for heart attacks in elderly:- A family history of heart attacks or cardiac problems- Diabetes- High blood pressure- High cholesterol- Smoking (even second-hand smoke exposure)- Alcohol consumption- Being overweight or obese- Inactive or sedentary ...

Therapies for childhood abuse may treat schizophrenia patients

Physical, sexual and emotional abuse in childhood may lead to severe hallucinations in schizophrenia, say scientists who found that symptoms of childhood trauma and psychotic disorders can be managed with similar therapies. Researcher including those from University of Melbourne in Australia and University Hospital of Gran Canaria in Spain established a link between childhood trauma and some of schizophrenia's most common symptoms. People with schizophrenia may now benefit from more effective, tailored treatments and greater self-empowerment, researchers said. The study's strongest finding was that hallucinations in those with psychotic disorders were associated with all types of childhood trauma, said Sarah Bendall, head of trauma research at Orygen, a mental health service in Australia. "This means there's something about childhood trauma that leads some people to develop hallucinations," Bendall said. The meta-analysis, which analysed 29 studies on childhood trauma and psychotic ...

Treatment for childhood abuse may help schizophrenia patients too

People suffering from schizophrenia may now possibly benefit from the effective, sensitive and tailored treatments used to treat victims of childhood abuse, researchers have claimed.

Socio-economic status may affect patients with anal cancer

Researchers have found that patients with anal cancer, living in low median household income areas are at an increased risk of early death.

Empathy is partly driven by our genes: study

Human empathy is not only shaped by a person's upbringing and experience but also by their genes, scientists including one of Indian origin have found. Empathy has two parts: the ability to recognise another person's thoughts and feelings, and the ability to respond with an appropriate emotion to someone else's thoughts and feelings. The first part is called cognitive empathy' and the second part 'affective empathy'. Fifteen years ago, scientists at the University of Cambridge in the UK developed the Empathy Quotient (EQ), a brief self-report measure of empathy. The EQ measures both parts of empathy. Previous research showed that some of us are more empathetic than others, and that on average, women are slightly more empathetic than men. It also showed that, on average, autistic people score lower on the EQ, and that this was because they struggle with cognitive empathy, even though their affective empathy may be intact. Researchers from Cambridge and genetics company 23andMe ...

Chinese doctor removes 100 fish bones from man's rectum

In an unusual medical case, Chinese doctors have removed more than 100 fish bones from a man's rectum after he feasted on fish. The sexagenarian from Sichuan Province a week earlier had eaten two servings of boiled carp - bones and all, thinking he would pass them. However, he ended up seeking medical attention after complaining of acute pain while defecating, state-run Global Times reported. A CT scan showed tight clusters of fish bones stuck in his rectum. In the two-hour procedure, doctors worked to pull around 100 of the needle-like bones from the man's anus. "A patient with this many fish bones was a first for us," Huang Zhiyin, a doctor from West China Hospital of Sichuan University said. "The most we've had to remove was around 10 or so." Huang explained it was a tricky procedure with a high risk of blood loss. "Because there were so many bones and his rectum was severely swollen, we couldn't get them all at once," he said. "So we asked him to return home to rest for a few days

Survival of patients with anal cancer depends on socioeconomic status

Patients with anal cancer, living in low median household income areas, have an increased risk of early death as compared to those in high-income areas.Owing to Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA), there have been 8,200 new cancer cases and more than 1,000 cancer-related deaths in the United States annually. It has been significantly rising, possibly because of the changing trends in sexual behaviour combined with known risk factors, such as human papilloma virus and tobacco smoking.Advances in SCCA treatment have boosted survival and cure rates, but the benefits are shared unevenly among patients of disparate socioeconomic status.From the lowest to the higher income levels, the risk of dying was 32%, 31%, 19%, and 16% higher for patients when compared with patients in the very highest quintile of median household income. When considering only deaths due to cancer, increased risks ranged from 34% down to 22% for the lowest to higher incomes.Other factors such as old age, male ..

Novartis CEO Narasimhan remakes drugmaker's leadership as Wyss exits

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis's new Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan is remaking the Swiss drugmaker's leadership as operations president Andre Wyss exits and three others including a digital specialist and the company's top lawyer get executive committee seats.

Genes play a role in empathy

Turns out, our empathy is not just a result of our education and experiences but is also influenced by genetic variations to some degree.Empathy plays a key role in human relationships. It has two parts-the ability to recognize another person's thoughts and feelings, and the ability to respond with an appropriate emotion. The first part is called "cognitive empathy" and the second part is called "affective empathy".Empathy Quotient or EQ, a brief self-report measure of empathy developed by University of Cambridge scientists, demonstrated that some of us are more empathetic than others, and that women, on average, are slightly more empathetic than men.They also showed that, on average, autistic people have more difficulties with cognitive empathy, even though their affective empathy may be intact.A study led by scientists from the University of Cambridge, the Institut Pasteur, Paris Diderot University, the CNRS and the genetics company 23andMe, which used information from more than ...

Muscle wasting in old age may be reversed: study

Scientists have found why people experience muscle loss in old age, an advance that may pave the way for reversing the condition in the future. As people grow older, their leg muscles become progressively smaller and weaker, leading to frailty and disability. While this process inevitably affects everyone living long enough, until now the process has not been understood. The research, published in the Journal of Physiology, suggests that muscle wasting follows on from changes in the nervous system. Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester in the UK and University of Waterloo in Canada used MRI to gain a detailed look at the muscle tissue. By the age of 75, individuals typically have around 30 to 50 per cent fewer nerves controlling their legs. This leaves parts of their muscles disconnected from the nervous system, making them functionally useless and so they waste away. However, healthy muscles have a form of protection, in that surviving .

Here are some benefits of raising multilingual children

Since 225 million Indians speak more than one language, being bilingual comes naturally to us.It is also not surprising that 87 million Indians are trilingual. Having a diverse culture and upbringing has its advantages. Since English is a global language, we are gradually seeing the decline in the acceptance of our native language in the country.While you might be busy polishing your child's English, doctors reflect how being multilingual has various advantages for the healthy mental development of a child."Children who pick up a language apart from their mother tongue have greater flexibility in handling more than one task. They are naturally more communicative and have better cognitive flexibility. The different types of language help them in better comprehension of lessons during class. This is why it is natural for bilingual or multilingual children to be good at reading. Speaking more than one language has also been seen to lead to greater empathy," said Dr Rajendra P. Setty, ...