Page 596 - Health Medical Pharma

Lupin-Yoshindo JV completes global phase III trials of its RA biosimilar

The randomised trial of 52 weeks was conducted in 11 countries and included over 500 patients, Lupin said

Cabinet approves rationalisation of autonomous bodies under

The Union cabinet today approved rationalisation of autonomous bodies under Department of Health that will involve inter-ministerial consultations and review of existing bye laws of these bodies. The time frame for implementation is one year. The cabinet also approved the proposal for closure of two autonomous bodies --- Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK). RAN was set up as a registered society to provide financial medical assistance to poor patients receiving treatment in designated central government hospitals. An advance is placed with the medical superintendents of such hospitals who then provide assistance on a case-to-case basis. "Since the department of health provides funds to the hospitals, the grants can be given from the department to the hospital directly. RAN functions can, therefore, be vested in DoHFW," an official statement stated. "Managing Committee of RAN Society will meet to dissolve the Autonomous Body (AB) as per ...

NHRC notice to Centre, DCGI over study on antibiotics sale

The NHRC has issued notice to the Centre and the drug-control authority over a study, which claimed that millions of unapproved antibiotics were being sold in India each year, posing a threat to the global fight against the spread of drug-resistant microbes. According to the study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, multi-national pharmaceutical companies continue to manufacture drugs using dozens of unapproved formulations, despite the global health crisis of rising antimicrobial resistance. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today said it had taken suo motu cognisance of the findings of the study, published by the media. The NHRC has issued notices to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and sought detailed reports in this regard in six weeks. "The authorities are expected to submit their response within the stipulated time, along with all the documents, including ..

Unnao Quack accused of infecting people with HIV arrested

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested the quack doctor accused of infecting at least 40 people with HIV in state's Unnao district.Accused Rajendra Yadav, allegedly used a HIV infected syringe to treat all his patients in the vicinity."The accused, Yadav, was arrested from the house of a relative where he was hiding," said Bangarmau station house officer (SHO) Amit Kumar Singh.At least 40 people in Unnao were tested HIV positive.It is also being feared that numerous truck drivers, who dislodge themselves in Unnao, a transit point might be acting as the HIV carriers.Yesterday, area councillor Sunil Bangarmau said if proper tests are done, at least 500 cases of HIV would come up."40 positive cases have been found. If proper tests are done, at least 500 cases would come up. It is being told that the people here used to go to a quack for treatment of diseases. He used a single syringe on all of them," said Bangarmau.Health camps have been setup by the local health authorities to ..

Indian-made 'freeze-free' vaccine carrier to undergo field

An Indian-made "freeze-free" vaccine carrier, which passed the WHO's performance, quality, and safety tests for usage in global immunisation programmes, will begin introductory field trials in Nepal this week, the world health body said today. This is the first low-cost carrier innovation available to address the widespread and long-standing problem of vaccines freezing in the cold chain during the "last mile" of outreach to infants and children, the WHO said in a statement. In low and middle income countries, health workers carry millions of temperature-sensitive vaccines next to ice packs inside vaccine carriers to reduce heat exposure, but this risks freezing the vaccines if ice packs are not conditioned (carefully warmed to around 0C). Freezing can irreversibly compromise vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate protection from disease for people receiving vaccines. When health workers suspect temperature damage, the vaccine or medication is often discarded - at ...

New emergency block with 240 beds opens at Safdarjung Hospital

A new emergency block at the Safdarjung Hospital was today thrown open to the public on a trial basis, offering much-needed relief to the medical facility overburdened with huge patient inflow. As many as 260 beds, 37 ICUs and six operation theatres were added to the hospital with the opening of the new block. Another 240 beds would be added, taking the strength to 500, making the emergency block the largest one among public hospitals in the country, a senior doctor claimed, adding that the facility would include nearly 100 ICU beds and 17 operation theatres. The facility at the hospital, which was made operational this morning, is likely to be officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The date, however, had not been finalised yet, officials said. "The new emergency block is likely to offer major relief as the patient load is tremendous. We cannot refuse patients and at times, two patients have to be accommodated on one bed for emergency care. Patients ...

Quack accused of infecting scores with HIV in Unnao held: Cops

A quack, who allegedly infected 46 people in this district with the dreaded HIV over the last 10 months using the same syringe to administer injections, was nabbed today, police said. Several teams were deployed to catch Rajendra Kumar and he was arrested today, Kotwali Police Station incharge Arun Pratap Singh said. Meanwhile, teams of the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and the UP AIDS Control Society reached here to look into the shocking case and visited the district hospital and the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) office. CMO Dr S P Chaudhary told PTI that seven members from both the organisations took stock of the developments and saidthey will also visit the affected areas as well. Chaudhary said that so far 58 persons had been found infected with HIV in the Bangarmau area. It was during a routine screening held from April to July that as many as 12 HIV positive cases were reported from Bangarmau tehsil alone. Then during another screening held in November

WHO-approved vaccine carrier to prevent in-transit vaccine freezing commercially available

This week, the first commercially available freeze-free vaccine carrier will begin introductory field trials in Nepal. This follows the World Health Organisation (WHO) announcement that the Indian-made carrier using PATH's "Freeze-Safe" reference design passed WHO Performance, Quality, and Safety (PQS) laboratory tests for User Independent Freeze Prevention, which prequalifies it for use in global immunisation programs.This is the first low-cost carrier innovation available to address the widespread and long-standing problem of vaccines freezing in the cold chain during the "last mile" of outreach to infants and children.Currently in low - and middle - income countries, health workers carry millions of temperature-sensitive vaccines next to ice packs inside vaccine carriers to reduce heat exposure, but this risks freezing the vaccines if ice packs are not conditioned (carefully warmed to around 0°C).Freezing can irreversibly compromise vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate ...

Clinivantage Healthcare, SAH Global announce strategic partnership

Clinivantage Healthcare Technologies, a leading player providing connected healthcare ecosystem, which they facilitate through their flagship PaaS (Platform as a Service) across their IoA (Internet of Applications) products and DoT (Doctor of Things) connected medical devices, announced a global strategic partnership with SAH Global.SAH Global, Bahrain, has been proactively evolving Proton Therapy Cancer cure in the Middle East. Through this partnership Clinivantage will deliver joint solutions designed to leverage and deploy their connected healthcare ecosystem for the best cause of cancer patients across the globe. This will empower SAH Global, to seamlessly connect and enable an entirely new level of intelligent care, engagement across patients, smart chronic care management, remote and extended care, telemedicine, delivering high end healthcare connected systems across IoA and DoT."We believe that within a few years, major decisions will be made with the help of AI and cognitive ..

Merchant trust comes to aid of poor patients for MRI treatment

A body of textile merchants has come forward to help poor patients avail MRI facility at private clinics and medical centres after closure of such a unit at a civic-run hosptia following a mishap last month. The BMC administration stopped the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) facility at Nair Hospital after a person got stuck in the machine and died. Following this, the wait-listed number of MRI patients in the government hospitals has gone up. The Bharat Merchant Trust (BMT) has now come forward to bear the entire cost of MRI facility incurred by poor patients in private clinics and medical centres. "We have contacted senior doctors of the BMC and government-run hospitals and have also tied-up with seven biggest medical centres having MRI facility for this cause," Rajiv Singal, a trustee of the BMT, told PTI. The South Mumbai-based trust is a leading body of textile merchants and has been involved in financing affordable medical services to poor patients in the city. The .

Narayana Hospital launches trust fund for cancer patients

The Narayana Superspeciality Hospital in Howrah today launched a trust fund which is aimed at helping cancer patients hailing from poor families. The initiative under Narayana Hrudayalaya Charitable Trust offers tax exemption under section 80G of the Income Tax Act, Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah facility director Akshay Oleti said. Donations from various NGOs, corporates and philanthropic clubs for the Trust would be welcomed, he said. The donors would be able to decide on the utilisation of their funds specifying the age category, gender and type of cancer. Around 4,000 cancer patients were benefited from the hospital directly in the form of discounts and free treatments, Oleti said.

U.S. lawmakers ask FDA to reject Philip Morris' iQOS application

WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Ten U.S. senators called on the Food and Drug Administration to reject Philip Morris International Inc's application to market its iQOS smoking device as being less risky than cigarettes, according to a letter to the agency's commissioner.

Medical devices should be brought under price control: SJM

The RSS-affiliated SJM has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately bring 19 categories of medical devices such as hip implants which are currently outside price regulation under price control. In its letter to the prime minister, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch has also said that drug prices regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is reviewing its decision to cap the prices of stents. Foreign companies and their industry associations have ramped up their lobbying to undermine price control and demand high prices for their stents in the name of incremental innovation, SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said in the letter. "Therefore, we request you, to uphold the right to health of Indian people and instruct NPPA not to succumb to the pressure from the foreign stent manufacturers," Mahajan said. He also demanded that the prices of the remaining 19 categories of devices such as hip implants, heart valves and intraocular lenses should also be ...

'Switch' to turn off inflammation discovered

Scientists have discovered a process that could be the key to stopping damage caused by uncontrolled inflammation in a range of common diseases including liver disease, Alzheimer's and gout. The researchers at University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia have uncovered how an inflammation process automatically switches off in healthy cells, and are now investigating ways to stop it manually when it goes awry. "Now that we understand how this pathway naturally turns off in health, we can investigate why it does not turn off in disease - so it is very exciting," said UQ Associate Professor Kate Schroder. She focused on inflammasomes, which are machine-like protein complexes at the heart of inflammation and disease. "These complexes form when an infection, injury or other disturbance is detected by the immune system, and they send messages to immune cells to tell them to respond," Schroder said. "If the disturbance can not be cleared, such as in the case of amyloid plaques ..

Pay disparity of tea workers in 2 valleys, Assam minister says

The daily wages paid to the workers in Brahmaputra and Barak valley are Rs 137 and Rs 115, respectively, Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary today told the Assembly. While replying to Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha of the Congress in the Assembly roday, he said Assam has 767 tea estates and 78,268 small tea gardens. The wages are determined jointly by the tea estate owners and the workers' union either at bipartite level or through negotiations, Patowary said. To remove the disparity in wages of tea workers in the two valleys, the minister said it has to be decided between the garden workers' unions and the estate owners.

Modi asks opposition for suggestions on Ayushman Bharat scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked opposition leaders to come up with suggestions on the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Now, a process to thwart liver cancer cells

Scientists have found a new way to kill liver cancer cells and inhibit tumour growth. They have developed a two-way process to achieve the goal and starve the liver cancer.The researchers explained the process as first, they silenced a key cellular enzyme, and then they added a powerful drug.According to researchers at the University of Delaware, this research could accelerate the development of new treatments for liver cancer, which is currently difficult to cure. Often, surgery is not an option for liver cancer, and the available drugs are only modestly effective.More than 82 percent of liver cancer patients die within five years of diagnosis, according to the National Institutes of Health.This project originated in labs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where researchers grew liver cancer cells and manipulated their expression of an enzyme called hexokinase-2. Then, the cells were treated with metformin, a diabetes drug that decreases glucose production in the liver.The ...

Yoga may help manage BP, blood sugar levels: study

Practicing yoga may reduce chronic inflammation and help regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels, a study has found. Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, the study showed that one year of yoga training decreased pro-inflammatory adipokines and increased an anti-inflammatory adipokine in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure. "These findings help to reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underpins the importance of regular exercise to human health," said senior author Dr. Parco Siu, of The University of Hong Kong. Adipokines are signaling proteins released by fat tissue. The findings support the notion that yoga exercise might serve as an effective lifestyle intervention to reduce chronic inflammation and manage aspects of metabolic syndrome.

Researchers discover 'switch' which can turn off inflammation

Researchers have uncovered how an inflammation process automatically switches off in healthy cells, and are now investigating ways to stop it when it goes awry.

Back pain in active older adults linked to poorer endurance

Active older adults with back pain may experience less energy efficient walking and poorer endurance, a new study led by an Indian-orgin researcher suggests.