Page 660 - Health Medical Pharma

Int Orthopaedic Association Conference from December 26

A six-day-long International Orthopaedic Association Conference (IOACON) 2017, which will focus on illness related to bones will be held here from December 26. Former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti will inaugurate this conference and address the doctors, said organising committee chairman, Dr. D K Taneja today. Around 7,000 orthopaedic doctors from the country will take part in the conference. Nearly 200 experts from different countries will also attend it, he said. The conference will discuss latest medical research and modern treatment methods among others.

New device to test effects of drugs, disease on brain

Scientists have developed a 'brain-on-a-chip' device that could help test and predict the effects of biological and chemical agents, disease, or drugs on the brain, without the need for human or animal subjects. The device simulates the central nervous system by recording neural activity from multiple brain cell types deposited and grown onto microelectrode arrays. The research, published in the journal PLOS One, could help scientists understand how brain cells connect and interact, combat brain disorders, determine how soldiers are affected by exposure to chemical and biological weapons and develop antidotes to counteract those effects. "While we are not close to the point where we can fully recapitulate a brain outside of the body, this is an important step in terms of increasing complexity of these devices and moving in the right direction," said Dave Soscia from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US. "The idea is that eventually the community gets to a ...

'Effective R&D and research for new drug molecules needed in India'

There is a need to step up effective research and development for formulating new drug molecules in the country, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Relationship between genetics, environment and physiology requires understanding

The current buzz word in healthcare is "personalised medicine". Personalised medicine essentially works on the assumption that a disease can be caused by multiple factors, wherein any one factor is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause the disease. It recognizes gene x environment, gene x gene and other more complex risk combinations and interactions, making genetics a vital component of personalised medicine.The application of personalised medicine is needed when multiple etiologies cause the same syndrome, when the same syndrome has multiple outcomes and when response to therapies is unpredictable based on the disease signs and symptoms alone.Interpretation of this data requires a good understanding of the intricate relationship between genetics, environment and physiology, says Aparna Dhar, a medical genticist and genetic counselor, Core Diagnostics.With the rapid accumulation of new information and its interpretation and application in clinical practice, the understanding of ..

Socialising may lower diabetes risk: study

Making new friends and participating in social activities may help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes, a study claims. "High risk groups for type 2 diabetes should broaden their network and should be encouraged to make new friends, as well as become members of a club, such as a volunteer organisation, sports club or discussion group," said Miranda Schram from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. "As men living alone seem to be at a higher risk for the development of type 2 diabetes, they should become recognised as a high risk group in health care," said Schram. "In addition, social network size and participation in social activities may eventually be used as indicators of diabetes risk," Schram said. "We are the first to determine the association of a broad range of social network characteristics - such as social support, network size or type of relationships - with different stages of type 2 diabetes," said Stephanie Brinkhues, lead author of the study ...

Odisha launches four healthcare services

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched four healthcare services for the benefit of the general public.

What is an e-cigarette, Naidu asks Health Minister

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday saw some lighter moments after Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu asked Health Minister J.P. Nadda as to what an e-cigarette was.

Free diagnostic services in public health facilities in Odisha

Odisha government today launched new schemes for providing better healthcare services, including free diagnostic services to patients in public health facilities from January 1, 2018. The schemes - 'Nidan' (free of cost diagnostic services), 'Sahaya' (free dialysis service), 'Ama Clinic' (urban health facility) and 'Anmol' (computer tablet for ANMs) - were formally unveiled by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. "The state government is committed to provide the best healthcare service to citizens, especially the poor and needy," Patnaik said. Under the Nidan scheme, the state government will provide free identified diagnostic services from January 1, 2018. In addition to that, it will also provide high-end pathology tests like digital X-Ray, CT-scan and MRI free of cost in government health facilities under the PPP mode by March, 2018. The 'Sahaya' programme will offer free dialysis treatment from January 1 next year. "127 dialysis machines will be installed in PPP mode in ..

Designer gold nanoparticles could combat deadly viruses

Scientists have created designer gold anti-viral nanoparticles that can bind to a range of viruses - such as dengue and herpes - and prevent them from infecting cells. A few broad-spectrum drugs that prevent viral entry into healthy cells exist, but they usually need to be taken continuously to prevent infection, and resistance through viral mutation is a serious risk. Researchers from University of Illinois at Chicago in the US designed new anti-viral nanoparticles that bind to a range of viruses, including herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus, respiratory syncytial virus and Dengue and Lentiviruses. Once injected in the body, these nanoparticles imitate human cells and "trick" the viruses. When the viruses bind to them - in order to infect them - the nanoparticles use pressure produced locally by this link- up to "break" the viruses, rendering them innocuous. Unlike other broad-spectrum antivirals, which simply prevent viruses from infecting cells, the new ...

Gold nanoparticles could help combat all deadly viruses

Researchers have developed gold nanoparticles that can potentially "trick" viruses into thinking they are invading a human cell and then destroy them -- a finding that would help develop a single drug to combat viruses that cause diseases such as HIV, dengue, papillomavirus, herpes and Ebola, all at the same time.

FICCI-KPMG Report suggests Health Savings Account scheme linked to a high deductible health insurance cover

The health insurance industry, as of today, caters largely to institutional treatment, leading to considerable opportunities in targeting outpatient treatment in areas such as consultation fees, diagnostics and medicine expenses. The outpatient treatment, with medical inflation at ~15 per cent has created a strong need of developing a health savings account product combined with a robust health insurance plan in order to bring in spend efficiencies and protection for the Indian population.

Can phone radiations really cause cancer?

Time and again, we've been told to avoid placing our cell phones too close to our body, particularly while sleeping. More often than not, the reason given to us is the harmful impact of technological radiation on our brain and other organs. But in real terms, is this harmful enough to cause cancer, as told to us?While mobile phones have existed for several years, stories of its increasingly detrimental impact have surfaced more in the past decade, and rightly so, as the usage, too, have significantly shot up. While, in theory, phones shouldn't give you cancer, research continues to be carried out in this regard.An article which appeared on The Verge takes up this matter with Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and an expert in phone radiation, who suggested that while the findings have not been concrete enough to conclude anything specific, statistics do indicate potential risk.It could be noted that while radiation from phones could cause harm, it does not ...

These four die changes may help in reducing weight overnight

In our seemingly always-on society, there's great temptation to shortchange sleep. But sleep is a vital driver of every physiological system in the human body, and when we're deprived of shuteye, health and wellbeing can suffer in many ways.But getting adequate sleep can be difficult to achieve in quality and quantity over the festival period.However, getting enough snooze time can help you combat the effect of all those mince pies. That's because a lack of sleep could be adding to your waistline, while enough time in bed could help you trim down.According to Express.co.uk, a recent study suggests that 74 percent of dieters who had a regular sleep routine were able to shift eight pounds.The study of 1,000 people by Forza Supplements found that getting between seven and eight hours of sleep was best for the waistline.Talking about the study, Pippa Campbell, nutritionist and weight loss coach, said, "When we sleep we burn most of our fat, so if we don't sleep this can significantly ...

Health insurance for the MSME workforce is key to the sector's growth story: FICCI-KPMG knowledge paper on the MSME sector

Key highlights from the survey:

Climbing Mount Everest may lead to psychosis: study

Climbing highest mountains in the world such as Mount Everest can actually cause psychosis, according to a study. A team from Eurac Research in Italy and the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria carried out an investigation into psychotic episodes at extreme altitudes and subjected these to systematic scientific analysis. They discovered a new medical entity which they named the isolated high-altitude psychosis. In the study published in the journal Psychological Medicine, researchers collected around 80 psychotic episodes taken from German mountain literature. Up to now, doctors had attributed such syndromes, along with other acoustic, optical and olfactory hallucinations, to organic causes. They frequently occur, along with symptoms such as severe headaches, dizziness and impaired balance, as side effects of a high-altitude cerebral oedema. "The highest mountains in the world are maddeningly beautiful. It is just that we had no idea that they could actually drive

PureCircle to help eliminate 250 bn calories from Indian diet by 2020

PureCircle, a leading producer of great-tasting stevia ingredients for the global beverage and food industry, on Tuesday announced that it is committing to help Indian companies reduce 250 billion calories in the Indian diet by 2020.Rising obesity and diabetes rates are increasing concerns of health practitioners, government agencies and responsible companies in India.Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one person in 11 (422 million worldwide) has diabetes and predict that by 2030, diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death.As a plant-based, zero-calorie, sustainable and great-tasting sweetener, stevia has achieved wide global acceptance. PureCircle has invested significant funds and resources into the research and development of stevia as the next global, natural sweetener."Ever increasing consumer desire for a natural ingredient and 'clean' labels have contributed to the world-wide growth of Stevia leaf extract. Stevia has no calories and has zero ...

Social isolation might raise diabetes risk

Men and women who are not active socially and remain isolated may be at an increased risk of developing diabetes than individuals with larger social networks, a study has found.

Roche touts Swiss-led R&D unit after years in Genentech's shadow

ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche is touting prospective new drugs from its long-underperforming Swiss-led research unit after years of leaning on its California-based Genentech arm to restock its medicine cabinet.

Genetics in personalised medicine is healthcare's current buzz word

The current buzz word in healthcare is "personalised medicine". Personalised medicine essentially works on the assumption that a disease can be caused by multiple factors, wherein any one factor is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause the disease. It recognizes gene x environment, gene x gene and other more complex risk combinations and interactions, making genetics a vital component of personalised medicine.The application of personalised medicine is needed when multiple etiologies cause the same syndrome, when the same syndrome has multiple outcomes and when response to therapies is unpredictable based on the disease signs and symptoms alone.Interpretation of this data requires a good understanding of the intricate relationship between genetics, environment and physiology. With the rapid accumulation of new information and its interpretation and application in clinical practice, the understanding of its psychological consequences is also vital in this shift.Genetic counselors .

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals secures patent for 'Arteether Injection for Treatment of Malaria'

For its innovative anti malaria painless Injection with compressed dosage