Page 625 - Health Medical Pharma
Want to make India a 'coffee nation', Coffee Board
The Coffee Board wants to make India a coffee nation and position it as the drink for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of New India, a top official of the board said today. Speaking at the inaugural event of the Seventh India International Coffee Festival,Coffee Board secretary Srivatsa Krishna said, "We are positioning coffee as the drinkfor Prime Minister's vision of New India." "Chai (Tea) has been the drink for many many years and British gave tea for free at the street corners and made this country a tea drinking country. We want to make it a coffee nation," he said. "Today outside the southern world and the national capital and a few other state capital, nobody drinks coffee. Can we have pure Arabica and Robusta as the drink for the tea bugs from Tier I and II cities of New India? That is the dream we are pursuing." To achieve its goal,the board wants to make Indian coffee as famed as the Darjeeling or Shillong tea,said Krishna at the four-day event. He said .
Protest against deaths in three private city hospitals
There was trouble in three prominent private hospitals in the city today over the death of three patients, including a child, as their families demonstrated blaming them for medical negligence. Police said the family members of a two-year-old girl demonstrated at the Mukundapur unit of a private hospital following her death this morning alleging maltreatment and negligence and demanding action against those responsible. They also had a heated exchange with the hospital CEO and the paediatric unit head. The child had been admitted with acute respiratory distress with cough and hoarseness and high fever, Jadavpur police, to whom the family complained, said. "She was admitted to the paediatric ward of the hospital on Monday and her condition improved this morning. But she was injected some medicine following which her condition deteriorated. We were told that she needed oxygen but no oxygen cylinder was provided following which our baby died," a family member of the girl ...
Health ministry simplifies referral system under CGHS
The Union health ministry has simplified the referral system under CGHS, permitting all beneficiaries to seek OPD consultations from specialists at empanelled private hospitals after due referral. The referral will be mentioned on computer-generated prescription slips. As part of the new guidelines mentioned in the office memorandum dated January 15, after consultation at the empanelled hospital, a beneficiary shall report back to wellness centre concerned, where the medical officer or chief medical officer would endorse listed investigation and issue medicines. "For unlisted investigation/ treatment procedure, CMO in- charge shall submit the prescription to competent authority for consideration in case of pensioner beneficiaries. Serving employees shall seek permission for unlisted investigation/ treatment procedure from their department as per prevailing guidelines," it said. The medicines prescribed by specialists will be supplied by CGHS according to available ...
Jeevan Scientific Technology announces completion of USFDA audit
Its clinical pharmacology centre facility receives one Form 483 observation
NPPA fixes retail price of 30 drug formulations
Drug price regulator NPPA today said it has fixed the retail price for 30 drug formulations, including those used for treatment of diabetes, bacterial infections and high blood pressure. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has also revised the prices of three formulations, including that of anti cancer drug -- Gemcitabine. "NPPA has fixed/revised ceiling prices/retail prices of 33 formulations under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013," NPPA said in a notification. The NPPA is mandated to fix/revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country. It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels. The regulator implements and enforces the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order. It is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.
Health insurance should be made mandatory: NATHEALTH
The government should make health insurance mandatory for all citizens and give healthcare priority sector status, the Healthcare Federation of India 'NATHEALTH' said today. Also, there is a need to facilitate access to funding by creating a specific fund for healthcare infrastructure and innovation, it said. Currently, only around 4 per cent of the population in the country has health insurance coverage. Out of pocket healthcare spending constitutes 86 per cent of total healthcare spend in India, NATHEALTH said in a statement. The major reason for the low penetration of health insurance is that it is currently optional, NATHEALTH President Arvind Lal said. In its pre-budget recommendations, the sectoral body urged the government to explore making health insurance coverage mandatory for all citizens in a phased manner, initially covering the organised sector. "Apart from enabling universal access to healthcare, this move would also meet the urgent need for augmenting ...
Sanjay Dalmia Group enters into medical tourism
Dalmia Healthcare, the medical division of ace Industrialist Sanjay Dalmia has forayed into Medical Tourism. As a part of this venture, the group is looking forward to encouraging and promoting the use of Ayurveda across the world along with all other streams of medical treatment.Over the years, India has emerged as one of the most favorable destinations for medical tourism. Owing to the advancement in the country's medical technology, countless lives have been saved and patient care continues to improve with time. Dalmia Medicare will offer every possible medical treatment consultation to all international as well as domestic patients. It is already providing the best ayurvedic and allopathic medicines to consumers at subsidized prices through its company Dalmia Healthcare. Dalmia Medicare is currently managing a growing portfolio of 83 quality hospitals and nursing homes as well as 496 doctors and 23 diagnostic centers."We want India to become the number one country in healthcare ...
B D Athani given charge as Director General of Health Services
Dr. B D Athani has been given the charge as the Director General of Health Services "with full powers" after Dr. Jagdish Prasad who held the post proceeded on earned leave for 15 days, according to an official order. Dr. Athani joined the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) as a special director in 2015. Earlier, he served as the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital. "The competent authority has decided to assign the charge of the post of DGHS with full powers to Dr. B D Athani, presently posted as Spl. DGHS," the official order read.
Nepal government decides provincial capitals and chiefs
The Nepal government today finalised temporary capitals and chiefs of seven provinces across the Himalayan nation, officials said. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Biratnagar would be the capital of Province No 1, the eastern part of Nepal surrounded by Tibet from north, Sikkim and north part of Bengal from east, Bihar from south and Nepal's Province No 3 from west, Cabinet sources said. Janakpur would be the capital of Province No 2, the southeastern part of Nepal. Hetauda is the capital of Province No 3. Pokhara would be the capital of Province No 4. Rupandehi has been chosen to be the capital of Province No 5, Surkhet of province No 6 and Dhangadi of province No 7, they said. Similarly, the Cabinet has also picked names of governors or chiefs of all seven provinces.
Breastfeeding for over 6 months may cut diabetes risk by half
Breastfeeding for six months or longer cuts the risk of developing type 2 diabetes nearly in half for women throughout their childbearing years, a study has found. Women who breastfed for six months or more across all births had a 47 per cent reduction in their risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who did not breastfeed at all. Women who breastfed for six months or less had a 25 per cent reduction in diabetes risk, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. "We found a very strong association between breastfeeding duration and lower risk of developing diabetes, even after accounting for all possible confounding risk factors," said Erica P Gunderson, senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente, a health care company in the US. Researchers analysed data during the 30 years of follow up from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, an centre investigation of cardiovascular disease risk ...
Breastfeeding for 6 months or more may halve diabetes risk
Breastfeeding for six months or longer can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by nearly half for women throughout their childbearing years, according to a study.
Trump's health excellent, has no cognitive issues: WH doctor
Donald Trump has shown no abnormal signs following a cognitive test and is in "excellent" health, the White House physician said after the 71-year-old US president underwent his first medical check-up amidst speculation about his mental abilities. "I have no concerns about his cognitive ability or neurological functions," Navy Rear Adm Dr Ronny Jackson told reporters at an extraordinary press conference at the White House yesterday after Trump's first physical examination as US president. The medical examination took place amid questions about his mental fitness for office, spurred by the publication of a damaging book that suggested Trump's own aides worry about his stability. "All clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy, and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency... the president's overall health is excellent," said Jackson. Jackson said the three-hour examination of Trump conducted by military doctors at Walter Reed ...
Kejriwal wants hospital management system of global standard
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today directed officials to work on developing a hospital management system of global standard so that all government health facilities are integrated. "Directed Health dept today to develop most modern Hospital Management Information System of international standards to integrate all Del govt hospitals, Moh clinics n polyclinics," he tweeted. "This will remove crowds n dramatically improve public experience at Del govt hospis (sic)," he said. The government last year had extended the timing of the functioning of out-patient department (OPD) at city government-run hospitals to avoid crowding of the facilities. The OPD timing is from 8 am to 2 pm. The timing earlier was 9 am to 1 pm, thus an extension of two hours for consultation at hospitals.
Weight-loss surgery may halve risk of death in obese adults
People who undergo weightloss surgery have half the death rate compared to those who receive traditional medical treatment over a 10-year period, a study has found. The rate of death in individuals who did not have surgery was 2.3 per cent compared to 1.3 per cent in those who had surgery. The study compared 8,385 people who had the surgery (65 per cent women and 35 per cent men) to 25,155 who did not. In the US, the majority of people who have bariatric surgery are women. "We showed that a long-term effect of bariatric surgery is a longer life for obese patients," said Philip Greenland, professor at Northwestern University in the US. "They had half the death rate, which is significant," Greenland said. The average age of a person in the study was 46 years old with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40, the equivalent of being five feet seven inches tall and weighing 120 kilogrammes. The study looked at detailed data on 33,540 obese individuals in Israel for up to a ...
Sections of 2 pvt hospitals sealed for non-compliance
Authorities today sealed a few sections of two private hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district for allegedly failing to comply with the norms laid down by the Health department. "The Directorate of Health Sevices, Kashmir, today sealed a few sections of Quality Care hospital and Ess Bee hospital in Kupwara district," a spokesperson of the health department said. He said the X-ray, ultrasonography and endoscopy sections of the two hospitals were sealed under the Clinical Establishment Act. "The department's task force has been conducting routine inspections of private health institutes and wherever discrepancies are found, strict action is taken according to rules," Director Health Services Saleemur Rehman said.
Weight-loss surgery may halve risk of death in adults
Obese middle-aged men and women who undergo bariatric surgery for weight loss may have reduced their risk of death by 50 per cent than those tackling their weight through diet and behaviour alone, finds a study.
Absence of this gene can give men deadly cancer
A study has recently revealed that men who lack a certain gene subtype may be more susceptible to treatment-resistant prostate cancer.Researchers from Cleveland Clinic confirmed for the first time a mechanistic link between the gene HSD17B4 and deadly, aggressive prostate cancer.The team built upon their earlier seminal work in which they discovered that a gene called HSD3B1, when altered, enables prostate tumors to evade treatment and proliferate.They went on to show that the presence of this gene variant does in fact change treatment outcomes and overall survival in men.Lead researcher Nima Sharifi explained that they studied a related gene, called HSD17B4.Previous research showed that HSD17B4 encodes enzymes that inactivate androgens (male hormones).Since androgens are essential for prostate cancer growth, inactivating them should prevent cancer advancement. But these enzymes have also been observed to be more abundant in advanced prostate cancer.Therapy for advanced prostate ...
Amber Rose getting breast reduction surgery
Model Amber Rose is getting a breast reduction surgery and she is scared.
Bacteria linked to gum disease may cause cancer: study
The bacteria that causes periodontitis - a disease affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth - may increase the risk of oral or pancreatic cancers, a study has found. The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, has for the first time proven the existence of a mechanism on the molecular level through which the bacteria associated with periodontitis, Treponema denticola (Td), may also have an effect on the onset of cancer. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital in Finland, found that the primary virulence factor of the Td bacteria, the Td-CTLP proteinase (an enzyme), also occurs in malignant tumours of the gastrointestinal tract, for example, in pancreatic cancer. According to another study finding, the CTLP enzyme has the ability to activate the enzymes that cancer cells use to invade healthy tissue. At the same time, CTLP also diminished the effectiveness of the immune system by, for ...
Eating high-salt diet may lead to dementia: study
A high-salt diet reduces resting blood flow to the brain and may cause dementia, a study in mice suggests. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the study is the first to unveil a gut-brain connection linking high dietary salt intake to neurovascular and cognitive impairment. The findings illuminate a potential future target for countering harmful effects to the brain caused by excess salt consumption. "We discovered that mice fed a high-salt diet developed dementia even when blood pressure did not rise," said Costantino Iadecola, from Weill Cornell Medicine in the US. "This was surprising since, in humans, the deleterious effects of salt on cognition were attributed to hypertension," said Iadecola. A vast majority, about 90 per cent of American adults, consume more dietary sodium than the recommended 2,300 milligrammes per day. The mice were given food containing four per cent or eight per cent salt, representing an 8- to 16-fold increase in salt compared to a ..