Page 597 - Health Medical Pharma

Yoga may benefit people suffering from BP, sugar

Suffering from increased blood pressure, high blood sugar? One year of yoga training may help, a new study led by an Indian-origin researcher suggests.

'Hydrolysed proteins can help overcome protein deficiency'

With over 95 per cent of adolescents and pregnant women in India unaware of their ideal protein requirement, a health expert has urged Indians for better intake of hydrolysed or pre-digested protein due to its easy absorption trait.

'Electric pulses to brain may boost memory by 15 per cent'

Precisely timed electrical stimulation to the left side of the brain can reliably and significantly enhance learning and memory performance by as much as 15 per cent, according to a study. "We developed a system to monitor brain activity and trigger stimulation responsively based on the subject's brain activity," said Youssef Ezzyat, a senior data scientist at University of Pennsylvania in the US. "We also identified a novel target for applying stimulation, the left lateral temporal cortex," said Ezzyat. In the study published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers monitored a patient's brain activity in real time during a task. The patient watched and attempted to absorb a list of words, and a computer tracking and recording brain signals made predictions based on those signals. The researchers then prompted an electrical pulse at safe levels and unfelt by the participants, when they were least likely to remember the new information. "During each new word .

Doyen of Ayurvedic eye care in Kerala passes away

Dr N P P Namboothiri, a doyen in Ayurvedic eye care in Kerala, passed away at a private hospital here today, family sources said. He was 68. Dr Namboothiri is survived by his wife and four children. He was undergoing treatment at the hospital for some illness, they said Dr Namboothiri, Managing Director of Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Hospital and Research Centre at nearby Koothattukulam, is known for his contribution in transforming the science of "Ayurveda Ophthalmology" to offer solutions where modern medicine has no effective answers in the field. He started Sreedhareeyam Ayurveda Eye Hospital and Research Centre in his ancestral house in 1999. He specialised in "ShalakyaTantra" of Ayurveda when "Ayurveda" as a branch of medicine itself had no national recognition, sources at the institution said. Dr Namboothiri developed and popularized classical ayurvedic formulations and treatment procedures of Ayurveda (NetraKriyaKalpas) - so far confined only to classical Ayurvedic ...

Asthma drug may help treat serious heart condition

A common asthma drug can prevent the swelling and weakening of the aorta - the body's largest artery - a serious condition that currently has no treatments, scientist have found. Aortic aneurysm occurs when the wall of the body's largest artery, the aorta, weakens and swells. The disease progresses slowly and affects some five per cent of men and one per cent of women over the age of 60. The condition is largely symptom-free and is normally not discovered until late in its development when it threatens to rupture and cause life-threatening haemorrhaging. There are currently no drugs for preventing and treating aortic aneurysm. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found that a common asthma drug can retard the development of aortic aneurysm in mice. "Our results are exciting and open the way for a medical treatment of this serious vascular disease," said Professor Jesper Z Haeggstrom from Karolinska Institutet. In earlier studies, the research group found high ...

Asthma drug promises treatment for heart patients

A common asthma drug has the potential to help delay development of a rare heart complication that lacks effective drug treatment, according to researchers.

CRISPR gene editing method could treat muscular weakness

Scientists have developed a CRISPR gene-editing technique that can potentially correct a majority of the 3,000 mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscular weakness.

Acne linked to increased depression risk: study

People diagnosed with acne may be at a significantly increased risk of developing major depression within five years, according to scientists who analysed one of the largest electronic medical record databases in the world. Researchers found that the risk for major depression was highest within one year of acne diagnosis - a 63 per cent higher risk compared with individuals without acne - and decreased thereafter. The results indicate that it is critical that physicians monitor mood symptoms in patients with acne and initiate prompt treatment for depression or seek consultation from a psychiatrist when needed. "This study highlights an important link between skin disease and mental illness," said Isabelle Vallerand, of the University of Calgary in Canada. "Given the risk of depression was highest in the period right after the first time a patient presented to a physician for acne concerns, it shows just how impactful our skin can be towards our overall mental health," ...

Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd gained for a fifth straight session today

The stock is quoting at Rs 2133.5, up 1.8% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd is down 29.25% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% spurt in NIFTY and a 15.32% spurt in the Nifty Pharma.

Acne may lead to increased risk of depression

Acne problem? You may be at higher risk of depression as researchers have found that patients with acne have significantly increased risk of developing major depression in the first five years after diagnosis.

Pharma industry links to rising antimicrobial resistance levels

Turns out, India's pharmaceutical industry is contributing to rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) levels due to their polluters - air, soil and water.It is found that exposure to these polluters are aiding the development of AMR in population at large.India's pharmaceutical industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the Indian economy. It has played a ground-breaking role in making accessible worldwide, a plethora of affordable medicines.Pharmaceutical manufacturing uses large quantities of highly toxic solvents and heavy metals, with severe long-term environmental and human implications.In fact, India's Environment Ministry classifies pharmaceutical manufacturing as a "red category" activity owing to its hazardous waste production and subsequent environmental damage. One of the dangers of pharmaceutical effluents is the rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance.Multiple studies have explored the impacts of pollution from pharmaceutical production sites and supply chains. ...

Lupin and Yoshindo JV YL Biologics announces success global phase III clinical trial

For Etanercept biosimilar in Rheumatoid Arthritis

CCRAS developed and commercialized Ayurvedic Drugs

CCRAS has developed and commercialized the following two drugs:

Old antibiotic compounds could become life-saving drugs

Turns out, discarded antibiotic compounds could be developed for new life-saving drugs.In the heyday of antibiotic development in the mid-20th century, many different chemical compounds with antibacterial properties were examined, but only a small proportion was selected for development into drugs.As the fight against drug-resistant infections continues, biological scientists and chemists at the University of Leeds re-examined these old compounds, applying advances in science and technology to test more precisely whether they could still hold the key to a future drug.Dr Alex O'Neill, from the Antimicrobial Research Centre at the University, said, "We're showing the value of reviewing compounds previously put on the back of the shelf. Amongst the 3,000 or so antibiotics discovered to date, only a handful has been brought into clinical use. There may be a wealth of compounds out there with untapped potential".Dr O'Neill's latest research found that a compound identified in the 1940s ...

Yellow fever outbreak kills 61 in Brazilian state

The regional government of Minas Gerais, the second most populated state in Brazil, raised the number of deaths caused by an outbreak of yellow fever to 61 on Tuesday, 25 more than on January 30.

46 infected with HIV in UP's Unnao as quack injects medicine

A quack allegedly infected 46 people with the dreaded HIV in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district over the last 10 months using the same syringe to administer injections, officials said today. In a shocking manifestation of abysmal lack of public health care facilities, Rajendra Kumar allegedly used a single syringe for injections while promising affordable treatment to his patients, causing at least 46 of them to contract the virus that can cause killer Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). A case has been registered against the fake medical practitioner, Chief Medical Officer of Unnao Dr S P Chaudhary said. The Centre has, meanwhile, despatched a team of experts to Unnao for an inquiry into the incident the medical fraternity termed a "criminal" act. "During a routine screening from April to July, 12 HIV positive cases were reported from Bangarmau tehsil alone. During another screening in November, another 13 cases were reported from the same place," the CMO ...

'100 African docs to be trained in medical care in India'

Hundred doctors from 10 African nations are to be trained at various facilities across the country, by experts of a private hospital, in advanced medical care, the hospital group today said. The International Clinical Observership Programme, a public-private-initiative (PPP) of the Fortis Healthcare and the Ministry of External Affairs is divided into four batches of 25 doctors each, it said. "The programme includes doctors from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya. The first batch has already begun and it will end sometime this month," a spokesperson of the Fortis group said. The specialities offered under this programme include bone marrow transplant, foetal medicine, cardiology, anaesthesia, nephrology and pulmonology, the Fortis Healthcare said in a statement. "By exposing them to the state-of-the-art, evidence-based prevention, diagnostic and management services, it is expected that these doctors will have ample experience to go back and

46 infected with HIV, says Unnao CMO; quack who used same

At least 46 people were found infected with HIV in a tehsil of this district in the last 10 months, after which a quack was booked over the allegation that his use of same syringe, in the name of cheaper treatment, to administer injections led to the spurt in such cases, an official said today. The Centre, meanwhile, has sent a team to Uttar Pradesh's Unnao to inquire into the incident, even as the medical fraternity termed using of same syringe a "criminal" act. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Unnao Dr S P Chaudhary said a case has been registered against the quack. "During a routine screening from April to July, 12 HIV positive cases were reported from Bangarmau tehsil alone. During another screening in November, another 13 cases were reported from the same place," the CMO said. "After noticing the high number of cases, the health department constituted a two-member committee which visited various hamlets of Bangarmau to investigate the reasons behind the spurt," he ...

Zika brain damage may go undetected in pregnancy: Study

The damage caused by the Zika virus could go undetected in pregnancy and may later lead to learning disorders, psychiatric illnesses and dementia in babies, researchers including one of Indian-origin has found.

Dye could offer treatment for malaria patients

Methylene blue -- used as medication and dye -- could act as a safe anti-malarial that kills malaria parasites at an unprecedented rate, results from a clinical trial have revealed.