Page 635 - Health Medical Pharma
IMA sends Rs 50-cr legal notice to 'motivational speaker'
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has sent a legal notice to a "motivational speaker" for allegedly referring to doctors as "murderers in white coats" and projecting them in bad light on an online public platform. Stating that the video posted on YouTube has caused a loss of reputation to medical professionals, the doctors' body has claimed Rs 50 crore in damages for defaming them. The association has also sought an apology from the speaker and the removal of the video from the Internet, IMA's K K Aggarwal said. Its national president Ravi Wankhedkar said the video will further worsen the doctor-patient relationship. The speaker in the video - 'Indian Medical System Ki Asliyat' - purportedly describes how doctors allegedly mislead patients to make money and meet test and surgery targets. He has allegedly referred to doctors as "'safed coat ke khooni lootere' (murderers in white coats)." Following the IMA action, the Delhi Medical Association (DMA), too, has sent a ...
Singing lullabies may help ease post-natal depression
Worried over insomnia, loss of appetite and severe mood disorders after childbirth? Singing lullabies and composing new songs for your new born may help you recover from post-natal depression, finds a study.
Govt healthcare professionals oppose NMC Bill in its present
Healthcare professionals in the government sector, including the faculty and resident doctors of AIIMS, have rejected the National Medical Commission Bill in its present form, that seeks to replace the Medical Council of India with a new body. The bill has been sent to a parliamentary standing committee following protests by doctors across the country claiming that the proposed legislation would "cripple" the functioning of medical professionals by making them completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. The committee has been asked to give its report before the Budget session of Parliament set to commence on January 29. According to AIIMS resident doctors, the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill requires a complete makeover rather than amendments. "It (the Bill) promotes bureaucratisation and politicisation of medical education and doesn't provide independence to the NMC. It will be more like a puppet in the hands of government and ...
This ingestible electronic capsule can detect different gases in gut
Scientists have developed an experimental ingestible electronic capsule that can detect gases such as oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide present in the human gut as well as shed light on the microbes that live within it.
Liberally interpreting MTP Act, Bombay HC allows abortion
The Bombay High Court today allowed a city woman to terminate her 28-week pregnancy, taking into consideration among other things the mental trauma she was likely to suffer as her foetus was found to have severe abnormalities. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act doesn't allow termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks if the foetus has abnormalities, but the court made an exception in view of possible risks to the health of the child, and the trauma the mother would suffer. A bench of justices R M Borde and Rajesh Ketkar ruled that though the MTP Act doesn't provide for consideration of the woman's mental health and foetal abnormalities after the 20-week period, courts must make an expansive reading of its provisions. The bench took note of the argument by petitioner's lawyer Meenaz Kakalia that if the abortion was not allowed, not only the child will be born with abnormalities, but forcing the woman to continue with the pregnancy will cause her much trauma and
2,6301 patients treated at regional cancer centres in J-K:
As many as 26,301 patients have been treated at regional cancer centres in Jammu and Kashmir in the last four years, state Minister for Health Bali Bhagat told the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly today. Replying to a question of National Conference MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar in the Assembly during zero hour, he said 6,776 cancer patients were treated in 2017 in regional cancer centres at Government Medical Colleges in Srinagar and Jammu, and SKIMS. In 2016, as many as 6,627 patients were treated there followed by 6,668 in 2015 and 6,130 in 2014, Bhagat said, adding registrations at regional cancer centres indicate that incidences of cancer is alarming and increasing day by day. The corpus fund scheme for cancer patients was launched by former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Rs one crore as corpus fund was released in favour of Principal Government Medical College Jammu, he said. To date, as many as 468 patients have been benefited under the scheme, the ...
'First functioning human muscle grown from skin cells'
Researchers have grown the first functioning human skeletal muscle from induced pluripotent stem cells. The ability to start from cellular scratch using non- muscle tissue will allow scientists to grow far more muscle cells, researchers said. It will provide an easier path to genome editing and cellular therapies, and develop individually tailored models of rare muscle diseases for drug discovery and basic biology studies, they said. "Starting with pluripotent stem cells that are not muscle cells, but can become all existing cells in our body, allows us to grow an unlimited number of myogenic progenitor cells," said Nenad Bursac, professor at Duke University in the US. "These progenitor cells resemble adult muscle stem cells called 'satellite cells' that can theoretically grow an entire muscle starting from a single cell," said Bursac. The researchers started with human induced pluripotent stem cells. These are cells taken from adult non-muscle tissues, such as skin or ..
State health ministers pledge to set up robust national food
Health ministers of all states today pledged to set up a robust national food testing system by ensuring adequate number of laboratories and focus on nutrition by promoting healthy dietary habits and addressing rising incidences of obesity and noncommunicable diseases. It was part of a draft joint declaration decided upon after a roundtable organised by the Union health ministry and Food regulator FSSAI with state health ministers to review the challenges and opportunities for ensuring availability of safe and wholesome food to the people. "The focus should shift from disease centric treatment to preventive and promotive healthcare," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said, and highlighted various initiatives taken by the Centre in this regard. Participants of the roundtable affirmed their commitment to creating a unified framework for an integrated food control system by putting in place effective systems and processes for ensuring safe and wholesome food for all citizens .
Indian-Aus startup plans global marketing for health solutions
An Indian-Australian start-up which specialises in AI-based remote patient monitoring solutions is working on plans to raise USD 3 million for its product development and global market expansion, including in India. "We need USD 3 million for the commercial expansion and put out more Artificial Intelligence (AI) features in our products," said Citta.ai's Australian origin co-founder chief executive officer Callum Bir. "We would like to empower millions of people with their own AI-based cardiologist on their hands available all the time," added Deep Singhania, the Singapore-based Adviser to Citta.ai. The start-up, which was rated amongst top three in the Healthcare segment during the 'InSpreneur 2018' held in Singapore on January 5-6 2018, has planned a three-year global expansion. It has initiated expansion in India, Australia, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. "Our next expansion will cover North Asian, Latin American and Canadian markets, followed by North American and .
Hilleman Labs to partner future vaccine manufacturing hub
Hilleman Laboratories, a joint- venture between pharma major MSD and Wellcome Trust, today said it has partnered a new future vaccine manufacturing hub led by Imperial College, London. UK Department for Health has granted GBP 10 million funding for the hub that will be managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), it said in a statement. The hub has been established to increase immunisation coverage across the globe and improve the response to disease outbreaks through the rapid and cost-effective deployment of vaccines, it added. "As a partner in manufacturing research projects, we are truly hoping that the new vaccine manufacturing hub will increase immunisation coverage around the globe and respond to disease outbreaks with safe and cost-effective vaccines," Hilleman Labs CEO Davinder Gill said. It will allow Hilleman Laboratories to invest in innovation more effectively to explore high-quality vaccines and technologies, he added. "The ...
Singing may help tackle post-natal depression: study
Mothers who sing in groups with their babies may overcome the symptoms of post-natal depression more quickly, a study suggests. Researchers worked with 134 mothers to see if singing could help them reduce the symptoms of post-natal depression for 40 weeks after they gave birth. Singing workshops saw the mothers learning lullabies and songs from around the world with their babies and creating new songs together about motherhood. Those with moderate to severe symptoms of post-natal depression reported a much faster improvement than mothers in the usual care and play groups. In the first six weeks, the singing group had already reported an average 35 per cent decrease in depressive symptoms, 'BBC News' reported. "These results are really exciting as they suggest that something as simple as referring mothers to community activities could support their recovery," said Daisy Fancourt, from University College London in the UK. "Post-natal depression is debilitating for mothers ..
Gene mutations behind obesity identified
Researchers have discovered mutations in a gene related to obesity, offering new treatment possibilities in the fight against the global epidemic. Research into the genetic causes of obesity, and related conditions, could be incredibly valuable in finding ways to treat them, researchers said. There are some drugs available or being tested, but knowing what specific mutations cause obesity allows scientists to create drugs that target them specifically. The study, led by researchers at Imperial College London in the UK, focused on children suffering from obesity in Pakistan, where genetic links to obesity had been previously identified by the team in about 30 per cent of cases. This link of genes to obesity is due to recessive mutations that are more likely to be inherited and passed on to children in a region like Pakistan because of the high level of consanguinity (inter-family relationships) in its population, researchers said. This is because parents who are closely ...
Frequent business trips may up anxiety, sleep problems: study
People who frequently travel for business are at an increased risk of anxiety and depression and are more likely to smoke, be sedentary and report trouble sleeping, according to a study. Among those who consume alcohol, extensive business travel is associated with symptoms of alcohol dependence, the researchers said. Poor behavioural and mental health outcomes significantly increased as the number of nights away from home for business travel rose, they said. The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, is one of the first to report the effects of business travel on non-infectious disease health risks. "Although business travel can be seen as a job benefit and can lead to occupational advancement, there is a growing literature showing that extensive business travel is associated with risk of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle factors," said Andrew Rundle, associate professor at Columbia University in the US. The study was based .
Epileptic seizures maybe predictable with the help of brain patterns
Seizures might not be random, but rather follow a cycle in the brain and a new research has found that cracking that pattern might help doctors to predict and treat epilepsy better.The findings suggest that researchers may soon be possible for clinicians to identify when patients are at highest risk for seizures, allowing patients to plan around these brief but potentially dangerous events.Study's senior author Vikram Rao, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology at UCSF, said, "One of the most disabling aspects of having epilepsy is the seeming randomness of seizures. If your neurologist can't tell you if your next seizure is a minute from now or a year from now, you live your life in a state of constant uncertainty, like walking on eggshells. The exciting thing here is that we may soon be able to empower patients by letting them know when they are at high risk and when they can worry less."During a seizure, abnormal electrical activity in the brain can cause numerous symptoms, ..
Morning stiffness could be a sign of arthritis, suggest study
In a recent research, a team of researchers have found that morning stiffness that last for an hour could be an early sign of rheumatoid arthritis.Morning stiffness is one of the more common complaints doctors hear about from patients with fibromyalgia, arthritis, rheumatism and those whose bodies no longer rebound after a day of activity.Similarly, morning stiffness that lasts less than 30 minutes could be a sign of osteoarthritis, reports Daily Express.The researchers said, "Stiffness is a classic arthritis symptom, especially when waking up in the morning or after sitting at a desk or riding in a car for a long time. Morning stiffness that lasts longer than an hour is good reason to suspect arthritis."Stiffness can vary from slight stiffening of the fingers, to near-complete immobility. Patients can be woken up early in the morning by the searing pain.The hands are mainly affected by morning stiffness, although the entire body could be at risk. Rheumatoid arthritis patients may ...
Touring for work too often can up anxiety, depression risk
Do you travel for business assignments for two weeks or more in a month? According to a study, such people are more likely to suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression and are also likely to smoke, be sedentary and have trouble sleeping.
How beta blockers can help melanoma patients live longer
According to a research, melanoma patients may live longer if they take beta blockers, a class of drugs used to manage abnormal heart rhythm and prevent heart attacks.Researchers at Penn State found that melanoma patients who received immunotherapy while taking a specific type of beta blocker lived longer than patients who received immunotherapy alone.In a follow-up experiment with mice, the researchers saw the same results.Dr. Todd Schell, professor of microbiology and immunology at Penn State College of Medicine, said that because beta blockers are already widely available, the findings could indicate a simple way for physicians to better treat their patients."The type of beta blocker we found to be effective against melanoma -- pan beta blockers -- was actually the least prescribed," Schell said. "Most patients are either prescribed beta 1 selective blockers or are not taking beta blockers at all. This means there's a large population of patients who may be eligible to take pan ...
Google honours Nobel laureate Har Gobind Khorana with a doodle
Google on Tuesday celebrated the 96th birth anniversary of Indian-American Nobel prize-winning biochemist Har Gobind Khorana with a doodle.The researcher shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed how the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell, control the cell's synthesis of proteins.Dr. Khorana was born in 1922 as the youngest of five children. His father instilled the importance of learning by helping his children to read and write, which wasn't common for villagers at the time.Scholarships helped propel the budding scientist through his scholastic journey, obtaining his doctorate in organic chemistry in 1948.He also conducted research at universities in England, Switzerland, and Canada, and it was at the University of Wisconsin that he and two fellow researchers received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968.Dr. Khorana is also renowned for ...
Birth control shot may increase risk of HIV infection
A research suggests replacing of the common birth control shot, known as DMPA, with alternative methods of contraception as it is linked to the risk of HIV infection."Human studies suggest DMPA use may raise the risk of HIV infection in exposed women by about 40 percent," said Zdenek Hel, co-author of the study."Importantly, we know that some other forms of contraceptive methods do not show the same deleterious effect on the immune function in cell culture, small animals or human studies."As of 2016, 36.7 million people worldwide were living with HIV, according to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. More than half of those people live in eastern or southern Africa. AIDS is the most advanced stage of the HIV viral infection.DMPA -- or depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate -- is the predominant contraceptive in sub-Saharan Africa, administered as a birth control shot every three months. It is estimated to be used by more than 50 million women worldwide.In the research ...
Trump medical exam won't include mental fitness test: WH
Donald Trump's scheduled medical exam this week won't include a psychiatric evaluation, the White House said today as questions mount over the US president's mental fitness. Responding to queries on the subject, spokesman Hogan Gidley said simply: "No." "He's sharp as a tack," Gidley told reporters on board Air Force One. Trump, 71, will be examined at the Walter Reed military hospital in a Washington suburb Friday and the results are set to be made public. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump published a letter by his long term doctor Harold Bornstein that stated he was in "excellent physical health." Bornstein had previously written about Trump's health in glowing terms, stating in 2015 he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Angered by the publication of a bombshell book that raised doubts over his mental faculties, Trump took to Twitter this weekend to describe himself as "a very stable genius" and "like, really smart.