Page 59 - Health Medical Pharma
Close friend's death can affect wellbeing for 4 years
The death of a close friend will significantly affect a person's physical, psychological and social wellbeing up to at least four years, says a study.
New book aims to decode the 'magic weight-loss pill'
It's easy to wait for a magic weight-loss pill as many online advertisements tend to promise customers than to alter your lifestyle to incorporate effort, dedication and self-discipline for shedding those extra kilos. An upcoming book by two lifestyle coaches claims to decode the magic weight-loss pill.
With dementia cases set to triple, WHO issues guide to cut risk
With dementia cases set to soar, the World Health Organization presented Tuesday its first-ever guidelines for reducing the risk, including healthy eating, regular exercise and cutting out tobacco use. The number of people living with dementia is expected to explode from approximately 50 million today to 152 million by 2050, the WHO said in its report. "In the next 30 years, the number of people with dementia is expected to triple," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement, stressing that "we need to do everything we can to reduce our risk of dementia." The UN agency said that a healthy lifestyle appeared to help keep cognitive decline at bay. The scientific evidence gathered to draw up the guidelines, Tedros said, "confirm what we have suspected for some time, that what is good for our heart, is also good for our brain." Dementia is caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday ...
Will inspect religious places where faith healers are treating people: UP tells SC
The Uttar Pradesh government has told the Supreme Court that it has directed chief medical officers to inspect all such religious places where "faith healers" are engaged in treatment of people to ensure that they do not indulge in any kind of human rights violation. The state government said this in its affidavit filed in the apex court which is hearing a petition that has raised the issue of 17 mentally ill people being chained in a faith-based mental asylum in Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh. The state government told the court that these 17 persons were chained in the 'dargah' on the pretext of treatment but released after a committee, constituted by the state, visited the place and directed their immediate release. The affidavit also gave details of the steps taken by the state to ensure that such violation of human rights on the pretext of religion and exorcism may not be repeated in future. It said all chief medical officers have been instructed by the state mental health ...
To defend vigorously against price fixing conspiracy allegation in US: Dr Reddy's
Drug maker Dr Reddy's Tuesday said it will 'vigorously defend' against allegations that it engaged in conspiracy to fix prices in the US. In a regulatory filing, the company said it was among the 21 generic pharmaceutical companies and 15 other individual defendants against whom 49 US states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia had filed a complaint in the US District Court for the District of Connecticut with respect to 116 generic drugs. "The complaint alleges that Dr Reddy's US subsidiary and the other named defendants engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices and to allocate bids and customers in the United States in the sale of the drugs," the company said. Reacting to the lawsuit, Dr Reddy's said, "We intend to vigorously defend against these allegations and are in the process of filing our response with the District Court of Connecticut." It further said, "Currently, we do not foresee any material impact to our operations and consolidated results with ...
Brain scans may detect suicidal thoughts: Study
Brain scans may be able to identify people at risk of attempting suicide, say scientists who have discovered a chemical linked to suicidal thoughts in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The risk of suicide among individuals with PTSD is much higher than the general population, but identifying those individuals at greatest risk has been difficult. Researchers at Yale University in the US used PET imaging to measure levels of metabotropic glutamatergic receptor 5 (mGluR5) -- which has been implicated in anxiety and mood disorders -- in individuals with PTSD and major depressive disorder. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found high levels of mGluR5 in the PTSD group with current suicidal thoughts. The team found no such elevated levels in the PTSD group with no suicidal thoughts or in those with depression, with or without current suicidal thoughts. There are two approved treatments for PTSD, but it can take weeks or ...
New method may detect dementia before it's too late
By studying a rare form of dementia, scientists may have found a way to detect neurodegeneration before brain cells are lost, an advance that could give therapeutic drug treatments a chance to work. According to the study published in the journal Neuropsychologia, patients with a rare neurodegenerative brain disorder called Primary Progressive Aphasia, or PPA, show abnormalities in brain function in areas that look structurally normal on an MRI scan. "We wanted to study how degeneration affects function of the brain," said Aneta Kielar, the study's lead author and assistant professor at the University of Arizona in the US. The team discovered that the brain showed functional defects in regions that were not yet showing structural damage on MRI scans. Structural MRI provides 3D visualisation of brain structure, which is useful when studying patients with diseases that literally cause brain cells to wither away, like PPA. Magnetoencephalography, or MEG, on the other hand, "gives you ...
Novel stroke therapy reduces brain damage in mice: Study
An experimental treatment for stroke can help restore movement and reduce brain cell damage in mice, a study has found, paving the way for new therapies to help victims of debilitating brain injuries recover. Stroke -- a condition in which poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death -- requires time-sensitive treatment, researchers said. Clotting factors like thrombin are commonly administered to patients, but there are many other stroke-related signs that can be targeted, such as swelling and ion imbalances in the surrounding fluids. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that brain fluids can be normalised with adrenergic receptor antagonists -- a combination of drugs to block the activity of adrenaline in the brain. The experimental treatment for stroke aided motor recovery and reduced cell death in mice, scientists said. A major consequence of stroke is an immediate imbalance in the ion concentrations of fluids that bathe .
CGST employee jumps off 30th floor of WTC tower in Mumbai
A Central Goods and Services Tax superintendent allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the 30th floor office of the department in the World Trade Centre complex in Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai, police said Tuesday. The incident happened on Monday at around 6pm and police claimed deceased Harendra Mainlal Kapadia (51) was depressed after suffering a brain stroke a few months ago. "He was found in a pool of blood by security personnel who rushed him to Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival," an official said. "Kapadia, a resident of Oshiwara, had suffered a brain stroke and was off-duty for over seven months before rejoining three months ago. We have been told that he was suffering from depression," another official said. A case of accidental death has been registered at Cuffe Parade police station and further probe was on, he added.
Low humidity raises flue risks during winter months
Low humidity is a key reason behind people falling sick and even dying from flu during the winter months, says a study.
Docttocare raises Rs 4 cr in seed funding
Bengaluru-based online healthcare service provider Docttocare has raised around Rs 4 crore in seed funding from mPower Solutions Director Krishnakumar Devnally. The funds raised will be utilised to ramp up the product experience and increase the outreach to people seeking quality healthcare, the company said. "We are excited to support Docttocare through this fund raise, as they continue to add more expansions in the healthcare market," Devnally said. The company is in the process of launching new services by collaborating extensively with hospitals with which it has tie-ups to further improve healthcare experience of the users, Docttocare said.
Jiya Eco India recommends bonus issue of 1:1
To take over pellet manufacturing activity at Gandhidham facility
People fail to recognize male postnatal depression symptoms: Study
People are almost twice more likely to identify signs of postnatal depression in women than in men, recent findings suggest.The involved 406 British adults aged between 18 and 70. The participants were presented with case studies of a man and a woman both displaying symptoms of postnatal depression, a mental health issue which affects as many as 13% of new parents.This study, published in the Journal of Mental Health, found that participants of both sexes were less likely to say that there was something wrong with the male (76%) compared to the female (97%).Of the participants who did identify a problem, they were significantly more likely to diagnose postnatal depression in the female case study than the male case study. The study found that 90% of participants correctly described the female case study as suffering from postnatal depression but only 46% said the male had postnatal depression.The participants commonly believed that the man was suffering from stress or tiredness. In ...
Here's why people more likely to get sick during winter
Researchers have found that low humidity is a key reason why people are more likely to get sick and even die from flu during winter.While experts know that cold temperatures and low humidity promote transmission of the flu virus, less is understood about the effect of decreased humidity on the immune system's defences against flu infection.The Yale research team, led by Akiko Iwasaki, explored the question using mice genetically modified to resist viral infection as humans do. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).The study offered insight into why the flu is more prevalent when the air is dry. "It's well known that where humidity drops, a spike in flu incidence and mortality occurs. If our findings in mice hold up in humans, our study provides a possible mechanism underlying this seasonal nature of flu disease," said Iwasaki.The mice were all housed in chambers at the same temperature, but with either low or normal humidity. ...
Chewing gum additive linked to colorectal cancer
A food additive which is commonly used as a whitening agent in products such as chewing gum and mayonnaise could lead to inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer, warns a study.
Coffee addicts really do wake up and smell the brew: Study
Regular coffee drinkers can sniff out even tiny amounts of coffee and are faster at recognising its aroma, compared to non-drinkers, a study has found. Habitual coffee drinkers are not just more sensitive to the odour of coffee and faster to identify it, but the more they craved coffee, the better their ability to smell it became. It is the first time evidence has been found to prove coffee addicts are more sensitive to the smell of coffee, said researchers from the University of Portsmouth in the UK. The results, published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, could open the door to potential new ways of using aversion therapy to treat people addicted to substances with a distinct smell, such as tobacco and cannabis. "We found the higher the caffeine use, the quicker a person recognised the odour of coffee," said Lorenzo Stafford, from the University of Portsmouth. "We also found that those higher caffeine users were able to detect the odour of a heavily ...
Death of a friend hits harder than we think
Lack of recognition about the period of time it takes for people to mourn a close friend's death is leading to inadequate support being made available during the grieving process, recent findings suggest.Trauma caused by the death of a close friend endures four times longer than previously believed, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).The study, published in the Journal PLOS ONE, shows the death of a close friend will significantly affect a person's physical, psychological and social well-being up to at least four years.The study analysed longitudinal data and indicators of health from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey of 26,515 Australians, of whom 9,586 had experienced the death of at least one close friend.Lead author Wai-Man (Raymond) Liu said the study found that people grieving a close friend suffered a significant decline in physical and mental health, emotional stability, and social life.According to the ...
116 iron nails, wire removed from man's stomach in Bundi
Doctors at the Bundi government hospital removed 116 iron nails, a long wire and an iron pellet from the stomach of a 42-year-old man here. Dr Anil Saini, a surgeon at the hospital, said most nails measured 6.5 cm and it took an hour-and-a-half to remove the objects from the man's body. "I was stunned after noticing the objects in his X-ray report after which I recommended for a CT scan. That, too, confirmed the same after which the patient was operated upon on Monday, said Dr Saini. The patient, identified as Bhola Shankar, had come for a medical check-up on Sunday following pain in the stomach for the last few days. The condition of the patient is normal and he was speaking properly post operation, Dr Saini further said. "However, he is not being able to narrate as to how he happened to swallow such a huge quantity of objects. The iron nails could have proved fatal if any of these had entered his intestine, the doctor added. The patient worked as a gardener and his family members ...
Eating disorders linked to long-term depression risk for mothers: Study
Any kind of eating disorder and body image concerns before or during pregnancy can be associated with long-term depression risk for mothers, recent findings suggest."We found that women who have had an eating disorder at any point before childbirth, even if it was years earlier in adolescence, were more likely to experience depressive symptoms during pregnancy and up to 18 years after the birth of their child," said the study's lead author Francesca Solmi.According to the researchers, this finding suggests that many people with eating disorders might not fully recover since we know that eating disorders and depression often happen at the same time.Previous studies had suggested that depressive symptoms among mothers with eating disorders might improve after the perinatal period, but those studies didn't have such a long follow-up time to confirm that the increased risk of depressive symptoms does, in fact, persist for women who have had an eating disorder.The research team found that .
Common food additive may harm gut health: Study
A common additive used in many food items such as chewing gum and mayonnaise may have a substantial and harmful influence on human gut health, a study has found. Published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, the study investigated the health impacts of food additive E171 (titanium dioxide nanoparticles) which is used in high quantities in foods and some medicines as a whitening agent. Found in more than 900 food products such as chewing gum and mayonnaise, E171 is consumed in high proportion everyday by the general population, said researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia. The study in mice found that consumption of food containing E171 has an impact on the gut microbiota -- the trillions of bacteria that inhabit the gut -- which could trigger diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer. "The aim of this research is to stimulate discussions on new standards and regulations to ensure safe use of nanoparticles in Australia and globally," said ...