Page 571 - Health Medical Pharma
'Frequent tracking may improve blood sugar conditions in diabetics'
Diabetics who get their blood glucose levels checked regularly are more likely to see an improvement in their condition, experts claim. According to a research conducted by a team at Healthians, a Gurgaon-based health check up service, rate of incidence of diabetes in the National Capital Region is as high as 39 per cent for people above 25 years of age. Diabetes is a chronic illness in which the body is unable to control its blood glucose level. The condition may also lead to heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputations etc. However, the data shows that regular monitoring can improve diabetic conditions, such as fasting glucose levels. The team found that more frequent monitoring leads to a better improvement rate. "Regular monitoring has a huge psychological impact that motivates a person to take action," said Dr Walia Murshida Huda, Head of Wellness Team at Healthians. "Tracking acts like a reminder. It alerts and prompts a person to do more for their health. Lifestyle ..
Scorpion venom component may boost treatment for rheumatoid arthritis
Researchers have found that a component in the scorpion venom can reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis and lead to improved treatment for the autoimmune disorder.
Long lasting depression may alter your brain
The brain alters after years of persistent depression, suggesting the need to change how we think about depression as it progresses, a new study has revealed.
Google brings health 'Symptom Search' feature to India
As more and more people seek Google's advice first when it comes to health symptoms before visiting a doctor, Google India on Tuesday rolled out its feature called "Symptom Search" in India that lets users find quality health information on their smartphones.
Our brain may navigate using just smells: study
The mammalian brain can form a map of its surroundings based solely on smells, a study has found. Researchers at Northwestern University in the US have developed a new "smell virtual landscape" that enables the study of how smells engage the brain's navigation system. The olfactory-based virtual reality system could lead to a fuller understanding of odour-guided navigation and explain why mammals have an aversion to unpleasant odours, an attraction to pheromones and an innate preference to one odour over another, researchers said. The system could also help tech developers incorporate smell into current virtual reality systems to give users a more multi-sensory experience, they said. "We have invented what we jokingly call a 'smellovision,'" said Daniel A Dombeck from Northwestern University. "It is the world's first method to control odourant concentrations rapidly in space for mammals as they move around," said Dombeck, who led the study published in the journal Nature ...
Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd rose for a third straight session today
The stock is quoting at Rs 2231.9, up 1.74% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd is down 21.69% in last one year as compared to a 18.88% gain in NIFTY and a 14.5% gain in the Nifty Pharma index.
No link between hormonal birth control, depression: Study
Regular consumption of hormonal birth control pills does not increase a woman's risk of developing depression, say researchers, easing fear around use of contraceptives.
Modern cancer institute at SKIMS in Srinagar by year end: J-K Govt
A state of the art cancer institute is coming up in the summer capital Srinagar by the year end, an official spokesman said today. The modern cancer institute at the Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, is expected to be operationalised by the year end, he said. He said this was informed in the 44th meeting of the SKIMS Governing Body, chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti here yesterday. Addressing the meeting, Mehbooba, who is the chairperson of the Governing Body, underscored the need for taking SKIMS to higher levels of excellence and making it among the top healthcare institutes of the country. She impressed upon the management of the institute to earmark considerable amount of funds and manpower for research activities besides its role as a major tertiary care hospital in the state. The Chief Minister reviewed the functioning of SKIMS in general and performance of some recent technological interventions like PET scan and directed timely procurement ..
Persistent depression alters brain
Seems like, depression over the years changes the brain in humans.According to a research conducted by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, brain alters after years of persistent depression, suggesting the need to change how we think about depression as it progresses.The study, led by senior author Dr. Jeff Meyer, showed that people with longer periods of untreated depression, lasting more than a decade, had significantly more brain inflammation compared to those who had less than 10 years of untreated depression.In an earlier study, Dr. Meyer's team discovered the first definitive evidence of inflammation in the brain in clinical depression.This study provides the first biological evidence for large brain changes in long-lasting depression, suggesting that it is a different stage of illness that needs different therapeutics - the same perspective taken for early and later stages of Alzheimer's disease, he said."Greater inflammation in the brain is a common response with ...
Brain can navigate based solely on smells
A new research has suggested that a brain can navigate based solely on surrounding smells.The Northwestern University researchers have developed a new "smell virtual landscape" that enables the study of how smells engage the brain's navigation system.The work demonstrates, for the first time, that the mammalian brain can form a map of its surroundings based solely on smells.The olfactory-based virtual reality system could lead to a fuller understanding of odor-guided navigation and explain why mammals have an aversion to unpleasant odors, an attraction to pheromones and an innate preference to one odor over another.The system could also help tech developers incorporate smell into current virtual reality systems to give users a more multisensory experience."We have invented what we jokingly call a 'smellovision,'" said Daniel A. Dombeck, who led the study. "It is the world's first method to control odorant concentrations rapidly in space for mammals as they move around."Researchers ...
Protecting diabetics from vascular diseases
A new approach has been found for protecting people with diabetes from their higher risk of advanced blood vessel disease, which sets the stage for early heart attacks and strokes, a new research has suggested.According to a study conducted by University of Washington Health Sciences, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S, the novel approach will help prevent vascular disease in diabetes.Cardiovascular problems from atherosclerosis - plaque-like lesions forming in artery walls - are the major cause of death in people with type-2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.People with metabolic syndrome exceed the normal range for several clinical measurements - blood pressure, blood sugar levels, harmful lipids, body mass index, and belly fat.The researchers studied mice with metabolic syndrome. The mice were obese and had impaired glucose tolerance, a sign of pre-diabetes.In the study, an insulin-mimicking synthetic peptide called S597 was shown to both reduce blood sugar levels and slow the ...
Scorpion venom may reduce severity of arthritis
Turns out, a component found in scorpion venom can reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis.According to a study conducted by Baylor College of Medicine, a treatment that improves the lives of nearly 1.3 million people with rheumatoid arthritis might originate from scorpion venom, one day.A group of researchers led by Dr. Christine Beeton has found that one of the hundreds of components in scorpion venom can reduce the severity of the disease in animal models, without inducing side effects associated with similar treatments."Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease - one in which the immune system attacks its own body. In this case, it affects the joints," said Beeton."Cells called fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play a major role in the disease. As they grow and move from joint to joint, they secrete products that damage the joints and attract immune cells that cause inflammation and pain. As damage progresses, the joints become enlarged and are unable to move."Current ...
Demanding targets make employees sleep less than 4-6 hours: ASSOCHAM
Setting of unreasonable and unrealistic targets causes lack of sleep has wide ranging effects including daytime fatigue, physical discomfort, psychological stress, performance deterioration and low pain threshold and even increase absenteeism, adds findings of report.
This receptor protects against asthma, allergies
Researchers have discovered a receptor that protects humans against allergies and asthma.According to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a special receptor on cells that line the sinuses, throat and lungs has evolved to protect mammals from developing a range of allergies and asthma.The scientists found that the receptor, dectin-1, recognises a protein found in house dust mites, cockroaches, shellfish and other invertebrates, and responds by suppressing immune reactions to these common triggers of allergy and asthma.The scientists also found evidence that this protective mechanism is dramatically impaired in people who have asthma or chronic sinusitis due to dust-mite sensitivity."Everyone is exposed to these substances, yet most don't have allergic responses to them, and this mechanism we've discovered appears to explain why," said study senior author Marsha Wills-Karp.The finding also suggested new ways to treat or prevent allergies and asthma, ...
Nadda launches initiative for free viral load test for people living with HIV/AIDS
Union Health Minister J P Nadda today launched an initiative under which free viral load test would be provided at least once a year to the 12 lakh people undergoing treatment for HIV/AIDS in the country. Nadda said the viral load test is a big step forward in treating and monitoring people living with HIV. A viral load test measures the number of HIV viral particles in the blood to find out if the treatment is effective. A high viral load in a person on treatment indicates either that the medication is not being taken properly or that the virus is becoming resistant to the medication. Routine viral load testing will optimise the utilisation of first line regimens, thus preventing drug resistance and ensuring the longevity of people living with HIV. Viral Load testing will empower medical officers at ART to detect failure on first line treatment early and therefore save PLHIV from developing resistance to drugs. It will also help in strengthening Mission Sampark in tracking LFU (Loss
Docs from Odisha meet twins Jaga, Balia at AIIMS
A team of doctors from Odisha today visited the conjoined twins from the coastal state, who underwent surgeries here for separation of their heads, to assess if they can to be shifted to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar for follow up treatment. Jaga and Balia, from Milipada village in Kandhamal district in Odisha, were craniopagus conjoined twins joined at the head, a very rare occurrence. They were successfully separated after an 18-hour-long surgery at AIIMS in New Delhi in October last year. The team from departments of pediatrics, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, medicine and neurosurgery met the doctors here looking after the children and received an update on their health condition. Four doctors were from the Cuttack Medical College while one doctor was from AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. A senior doctor at AIIMS, New Delhi said, "We updated them about the condition of the children and suggested that they can be safely discharged and sent to Odisha for continued care." According to the doctors, Jaga .
Doctors' ceasework continues at SCB Medical College
Healthcare services in Odisha's premier SCB Medical College and Hospital continued to be affected, as more doctors joined the ongoing ceasework against a senior professor. Senior Residents and House Surgeons of the hospital joined the strike today, boycotting their duties. The 450-strong Junior Doctors Association has been agitating since February 19, demanding immediate transfer of the professor. The junior doctors have alleged that the professor was "forcing them to work in his private hospital and take care of his personal work". Hospital Superintendent Shyama Kanungo said the situation inside the hospital was "grim" but "under control".
Parrikar's health stable, likely to be discharged soon: BJP
Even as Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar continued to be hospitalised, BJP's South Goa MP Narendra Savoikar on Monday said his condition is stable and he will be discharged soon.
Parrikar likely to be discharged soon
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is likely to be discharged from the Goa Medical College and Hospital soon.Parrikar, who was re-admitted to the hospital for mild dehydration and blood pressure on Sunday, is now recuperating, the Chief Minister's office said.Earlier, Parrikar was hospitalised at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on February 14 for mild pancreatitis and was discharged from there on Thursday.