Page 661 - Health Medical Pharma
Over dependence on drug imports from China harmful for India: IPCA
An overwhelming dependence on drug imports and related raw materials from China could prove harmful for the health sector in India in the long run, the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA) has said.According to the IPCA, over 75 percent of India's bulk drug imports come from China. That, according to the IPCA, means that India sources around 80 per cent of pharma raw materials to meet growing requirements of drug formulations for Indian pharmaceutical industry. This has emerged as a cause of concern for the industry, policy makers and pharmaceutical professionals of India."India has proven capabilities in the generic drug formulations, but over dependence on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from our Asian neighbour does not augur well for the Indian pharmaceutical sector, as any interruption in supply can badly impact the sector and jeopardise the health of millions of people across the country" observed Dr. Shailendra Saraf, Chairman of the Organising ..
How to keep your digestion healthy during the wedding season
Who doesnt love the wedding season and all the beautiful ensembles, gala festivities and lively cheer that it comes with? But amidst all this, one must not forget that the indulgent food and drinks during this time can seriously affect digestion. However few easy ways can protect your body and its digestive functions.
Active social life lowers the risk of developing diabetes, says Study
The potentially harmful effects of loneliness and social isolation on health and longevity are well established.But according to a new research, loneliness could more than double risk of Type 2 diabetes, reports Express.co.uk.In a recent study, a group of researchers found that people who went out to clubs or mixed in groups significantly reduced their chances of suffering from the potentially deadly Type 2 diabetes.Those who were socially isolated were much more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than those with larger social networks.The team of researchers found that a lack of participation in clubs or other social groups was associated with massive 112 percent higher odds of type 2 diabetes in women.In men, lack of social participation was associated with 42 per cent higher odds of type 2 diabetes, the research found.Men living alone were even more prone to the condition, with some 94 percent higher odds of type 2 diabetes."High-risk groups for type 2 diabetes should ...
Cancer risk may be increased by sleeping with this next to your head
In a recent study, a group of researchers have found that sleeping with your phone in your bed, or near to your head, could increase the risk of brain cancer.Phones emit radio frequency energy, which some scientists believe could increase the risk of brain cancer, and tumours of the acoustic nerve and salivary glands, reports Express.co.uk.Radio frequency energy has also been linked to lower sperm counts, and less mobile sperm.Researchers haven't revealed any definitive health effects of using mobile phones, but people wanting to reduce their risk anyway should avoid keeping their mobile phone nearby when sleeping.The Department of Health said, "When a phone sends signals to a tower, the radio frequency energy goes from the phone's antenna out in all directions, including into the head and body of the person using the phone. Cell phones work by sending and receiving signals to and from cell phone towers. Don't sleep with your phone in your bed or near your head."People could also ...
Dr Reddy's Labs inches up after settlement with US Govt
Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 0.50% to Rs 2,406.55 at 10:57 IST on BSE after the company said it reached a settlement with the US Government regarding the firm's compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Dr Reddy's arm settles case with US govt for USD 5 mn
Dr Reddy's Laboratories' US subsidiary has reached a settlement with the US government for USD 5 million -- nearly Rs 32 crore -- in relation to a six- year old case involving prescription product packaging. "The US subsidiary of Dr Reddy's Laboratories... has reached settlement with the US government, in a case that is six years old, involving packaging for five blister-packed prescription products," Dr Reddy's Laboratories said in a BSE filing today. Dr Reddy's, however, said it firmly disagrees with the US government's allegations. "However, in order to avoid any unnecessary costs and the distractions of prolonged litigation, the company has chosen to settle the matter for USD 5 million," it added. The drugmaker and the US Department of Justice agreed to the settlement of the action without any adjudication of any issue of fact or law. Dr Reddy's said the safety of patients and consumers is of paramount importance to the company. "Dr Reddy's is not aware of any reports
No data on complaints of malpractice by docs maintained
No data on complaints of arbitrary attitude, mismanagement or malpractices by doctors is maintained centrally, the government said. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Lok Sabha said however, the professional conduct of doctors is regulated by guidelines and norms. "No data on complaints of arbitrary attitude, mismanagement or malpractices by doctors is maintained centrally. However, the Medical Council of India (MCI) with the prior approval of the central government has notified the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002," he said. The MCI or the appropriate state medical councils have been empowered to take disciplinary action against a doctor for violation of the provisions of these regulations, the minister said.
Rise in incidents of breast, lung cancers from 2014-16: Govt
There has been an increase in the estimated incidents of breast and cervical cancers in women and lung cancer in men, from 2014 to 2016, the government said. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), there were 1,42,283 incidents of breast cancer in 2016. According to a data shared by the minister in the reply, there was a "6 per cent" increase in successive years over the three-year period for breast cancer. The number of breast cancer cases in 2015 and 2014 were 1,34,214 and 1,26,612, as per the data. In 2016, the number of incidents of cervical cancer was 99,099. The number of its cases in 2015 and 2014 were 97,909 and 96,742 as per the data, she said in the reply. According to the data, among all states, Uttar Pradesh recorded the maximum incidents of breast cancers across three years -- 21,376 (2016); 20,095 (2015) and 18,889 (2014). Uttar
Doctors strike continues in Rajasthan for third day, 19 held
Patients and their family members continued to suffer as in-service doctors in Rajasthan remained on strike for the third day today while police arrested 19 of them. Health services crippled in government hospitals especially in primary and community health care centres where in-service doctors staff were mostly employed. As many as 19 doctors were arrested today from different districts under the Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA), taking the total to 84 so far, an official said. "We have arrested a total of 84 doctors under RESMA in the last three days. Nineteen were arrested on Monday, Additional Director General (Law and Order) NRK Reddy said. The doctors went on strike on December 16 when police started its crackdown and arrested a few of them under the Act, which was invoked on Thursday when doctors warned of a strike from December 18. Fearing their arrest, all office bearers of the all- Rajasthan in-service government doctors association remained
NPPA notifies prices of 65 essential formulations
National drug pricing regulator NPPA today said it has notified prices of 65 essential formulations, including those used for the treatment of diabetes, infections, pain and high blood pressure. "NPPA has fixed/revised ceiling prices/Retail Prices of 65 scheduled formulations under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013," it said in a statement. NPPA fixes ceiling price of essential medicines of Schedule I under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) 2013. In respect of medicines that are not under price control, manufacturers are allowed to increase the maximum retail price by 10 per cent annually. The calculation for essential drugs is based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than 1 per cent. Set up in 1997, NPPA has been entrusted with the task of fixation/revision of prices of pharma products, enforcement of provisions of DPCO and monitoring of prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs.
PAU cautions against late blight, rust attack
Plant pathology experts at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have cautioned farmers against an attack of late blight disease in potato and rust, a fungal disease, in pea. The prevailing weather conditions in Punjab are favourable for the development and initiation of late blight in potatoes and rust in pea in districts such as Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and SBS Nagar, Head of Plant Pathology at the PAU, P S Sekhon, said in a release. The weather conditions in the current week are conducive for the late blight disease, which if not checked, can spread quickly and affect the crop, he warned. "Temperatures between 11 and 18 degrees Celsius coupled with RH>90 per cent is highly favourable for the development and spread of the disease," Sekhon said. The disease can be recognised from the presence of water-soaked dark brown lesions on leaves, showing the cottony growth of the fungus under the surface of leaves, he said.
Amber-tinted glasses may help prevent insomnia: study
Using amber-tinted glasses to selectively block blue light from smartphones and other devices in the hours before bedtime could lead to improved sleep in individuals with insomnia, a study suggests. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in the US tested a method to reduce the adverse effects of evening ambient light exposure, while still allowing use of blue light-emitting devices. Smartphones, tablets and other light-emitting devices are lit by LEDs, which have a peak wavelength in the blue portion of the spectrum. Blue light at night suppresses melatonin and increases alertness; the use of amber-tinted lenses that block blue light mitigates these effects, researchers said. The team, led by assistant professor Ari Shechter, reasoned that selectively blocking blue light in the hours before bedtime would lead to improved sleep in individuals with insomnia. To test their theory, the researchers recruited 14 individuals with an insomnia diagnosis to take part .
Legislation in Lok Sabha to amend Dentist Act
The government has proposed to do away with the practice of nominating practising dentists who do not have required qualifications to the Dental Council of India through a legislation, tabled in the Lok Sabha today. To make changes to the Dentist Act, 1948, Health Minister J P Nadda introduced the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2017. Under the Act, the register of dentists is maintained in two parts -- A and B. Part A consists of all dentists possessing recognised dental qualifications. Part B comprises persons not holding such qualifications but are engaged in dentistry as principal means of livelihood for at least five years prior to commencement of the Act on March 29, 1948. Registration under Part B was permitted from a date prior to March 29, 1948. This category was meant for persons displaced during Partition, those displaced from Bangladesh (since its formation in 1971) or repatriated from Burma or Ceylon after April 14, 1957 and before March 25, 1971, the Statement of
Early hominins' walk was as energetic as modern humans: study
The walk of hominins in the Pleistocene era was no less efficient energetically than that of present-day humans, a study has found. Researchers analysed the influence of body proportions on the cost of locomotion by means of an experimental energetic study with 46 subjects of both sexes. The results, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, indicate that the walk of hominins in Pleistocene - which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago - was no less efficient energetically than that of present-day humans. Researchers at Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana (CENIEH) in Spain used the relationship between the width of the hip, the length of the femur and the body mass to model this cost in a large number of extinct hominins. Traditionally, it was thought that the leaner skeletons of modern humans reflected biomechanical advantages which made locomotion a more efficient activity. The slimmer pelvis of our species entails ...
Doctor jailed over death at Hong Kong beauty clinic
The doctor at the helm of a Hong Kong beauty clinic that administered a deadly experimental cancer therapy was jailed for 12 years today, reports said. Patient Chan Yuen-lam, 46, died a week after she received a blood infusion at the clinic in 2012, an unprecedented medical blunder that has shed light on the city's largely unregulated beauty industry. Chan had signed up for the unproven therapy using CIK cells, touted as an immunity boost by beauty chain DR Group and sold at 59,500 Hong Kong dollar (USD 7,615) per injection, local media reports said. Bacterial levels in Chan's blood before she died were comparable to those of terminally ill AIDS patients, according to a doctor who testified during the trial. Beauty clinics in Hong Kong offer a wide range of treatments, many with little or no scientific backing, and often operate under little oversight. Justice Judianna Barnes of the High Court called Stephen Chow, the founder of DR Group convicted of manslaughter, a ...
Mediterranean diet may help reduce fat deposits: study
Moderate exercise combined with a Mediterranean and low carbohydrate diet may help reduce the amount of some fat deposits, according to a long-term study. The study, published in the journal Circulation, used MRI imaging technology for the first time to plot the diverse changes in an array of body organ fat storage pools during 18 months of Mediterranean-low-carb (Med-LC) and low-fat diets with and without moderate physical exercise. The study, led by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel and Harvard University in the US, sought to assess how distinct lifestyle strategies would impact specific body (adipose) fat deposits. To map these deposits, they collected an unprecedented quantity of whole body MRI data in benchmark six-month and 18-month scans, each with 300 data points, from moderately overweight to obese men and women. "These findings suggest that moderate exercise combined with a Mediterranean/low carb diet may help reduce the amount
US Senator John McCain to miss key tax vote: reports
US Senator John McCain will miss a key vote on the Republican tax bill, further narrowing the already-thin margin of support for the controversial measure, US media reported today. The legislation, which will slash corporate taxes as well as cutting those for individuals, has been criticized as primarily benefiting the wealthy. The measure is President Donald Trump's last shot at a major legislative accomplishment in his first year in office. CBS News reported that McCain, who was hospitalized for side effects of chemotherapy treatment for brain cancer, returned to Arizona today and would miss the tax overhaul vote. CNN also reported that McCain would miss the vote, which is expected to be held in the next few days. His daughter Meghan said her father would be spending the holidays in Arizona. "My father is doing well and we are all looking forward to spending Christmas together in Arizona," she wrote on Twitter. If McCain is absent, Republicans -- who have a 52-48 ...
Doctors strike continues in Rajasthan, 65 held
As many as 65 doctors have been arrested in the state till this evening under the Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA) even as strike of in-service doctors continued for the second day. The doctors went on strike yesterday when police arrested few of them under the act which was invoked on Thursday on doctors' warning of a strike from December 18. "We have arrested more than 65 persons under RESMA in two days," Additional Director General (Law and order) NRK Reddy said. Many of the in-service doctors, who are on strike, have gone underground and health services have allegedly been hit. "We were forced to go on strike due to the adamant attitude of the government. We cannot work in this atmosphere. Police is looking for doctors.. we are doctors not terrorists, Dr Durgashankar Saini, general secretary of All Rajasthan in-service government doctors' association said. Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the doctors' strike was unfortunate and the ...
4,956 candidates selected as constables in J&K Police
About 5,000 candidates, hailing from several districts of Jammu and Kashmir, today got selected as constables in different wings of the state police, officials said. The selection list of the candidates selected for the post of constable in the J&K Police was released today. "As many as 4,956 candidates from the districts of the state have been selected through Transparent Recruitment Process (TRP)," a police spokesman said. He said the written test of 27,844 candidates for the post of constable was held on October 8 at 61 examination centres across the state. In the first phase of recruitment, out of 1,18,217 applicants, about 96,000 candidates appeared for the physical endurance and physical standard tests held at different venues. Of them, 27,844 including 1,814 female candidates qualified for the written test held at all district headquarters of the state, the spokesman said.
Journaling can make people more altruistic
Regularly noting feelings of gratitude in a journal can boost altruistic traits in people, making them donate more to charities, a study has found. Initially, participants were assessed through questionnaires and brain scanning by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). During their first run through the MRI, the participants viewed transactions in which a sum of money was donated to a local food bank or routed to themselves. "We found that across the whole group at the first session, people who reported more altruistic and grateful traits showed a reward-related brain response when the charity received money that was larger than when they received the money themselves," said Christina M Karns, from University of Oregon in the US. Results of functional MRI, which measures the metabolism of oxygen in active brain cells, showed that altruism-related activity increased in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area deep in the brain associated with altruism in previous ...