Page 662 - Health Medical Pharma

RML resident docs 'abused' after patient's surgery postponed

Resident doctors of the government-run Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi were allegedly abused by relatives of a patient after his scheduled surgery was postponed by the institution at the last minute. The hospital has filed a complaint with the North Avenue police station following the ruckus yesterday. "An FIR has been lodged and investigations are underway. Nobody has been arrested yet," a senior police official said. A senior resident doctor said the planned surgery of the patient was postponed as he was stable and another patient, who was in serious condition, had to be operated immediately. The doctor said "we counselled the patient". "(But) a mob of 20-30 people gathered in the ward and abused the resident doctors present there and they also threatened them. Had the guards and the bouncers not intervened, the doctors would have been badly beaten." By the time the police reached the hospital, the people gathered there had dispersed.

Jail term, fine for those distorting facts in passive

Hospitals have to set up approval committees for considering cases of passive euthanasia, and any distortion of facts before such panels may lead to a maximum of 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, a redrafted bill states. The panels will decide on applications of "Living will", a written document that allows patients to explicitly state their desire against life-prolonging measures when recovery is not possible from a terminal condition. The redrafted bill also provides for palliative care to patients even if they have opted for passive euthanasia, which is the withdrawal of medical treatment and life support system of a terminally-ill patient. The "Management of Patients with Terminal Illness- Withdrawal of Medical Life Support Bill" states that all super-speciality hospitals should have approval committees on passive euthanasia which will decide on the applications for the execution of a "living will". "It also calls for imprisonment of 5-10 years and a .

Space radiation can cause bone loss in astronauts: study

Space radiation may cause astronauts in outer space to lose additional bone, but not more muscle, a study has found. The findings raise intriguing questions about the relationship between bone and muscle, especially for humans on Earth dealing with age-related bone and muscle loss. As NASA prepares for deep space travel, astronauts will also face increased, prolonged exposure to space radiation. In the first study of its kind, researchers investigated the combined impact of space radiation and microgravity on bone and muscle, hypothesising that radiation would exacerbate bone and muscle loss caused by microgravity. Researchers examined mice whose movements were restricted - an experience similar to microgravity - and those exposed to simulated space radiation. What they found was that while microgravity alone led to both bone and muscle loss, radiation alone did not. "Radiation plus microgravity amplifies the negative effect of microgravity on bone, but does not affect ...

'Memory shifts into high gear when we think of raising kids'

Our memory shifts into high gear when we think about raising our children, according to a study which shows that people recall events encountered while they are thinking about raising their offspring. "Our ability to think and memorise information arises from our nervous systems," said Ralph Miller, from the Binghamton University in the US. "As our nervous systems are a product of evolution and past experiences, one can reasonably expect that how well we memorise information today is influenced by natural selection that occurred amongst our ancestors long ago," Miller said. Researchers replicated a previous experiment by having research subjects rate the relevance of words (eg rock, apple, ball, stick) in regards to a survival scenario on the ancient grasslands of Africa, and then tested them to see which words they could recall. The subjects were able to recall more words that were rated with respect to the survival scenario than alternative scenarios that involved ...

Nanoparticles may help detect cancer early: study

Using light-emitting nanoparticles, scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have developed a highly effective method to detect tiny tumours and track their spread, potentially leading to earlier cancer detection. The study, published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, showed that the new method is better than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other cancer surveillance technologies. The ability to spot early tumours that are starting to spread remains a major challenge in cancer diagnosis and treatment, as most imaging methods fail to detect small cancerous lesions. However, the study shows that tiny tumours in mice can be detected with the injection of nanoprobes, which are microscopic optical devices, that emit short-wave infrared light as they travel through the bloodstream even tracking tiny tumours in multiple organs. The nanoprobes were significantly faster than MRIs at detecting the minute spread of tiny lesions and tumours in the adrenal ...

Combination of garlic, fluorine may treat diseases: study

Natural garlic-derived compounds combined with flourine could be used as a potent drug therapy to block tumour growth and formation of blood clots, a study suggests. For centuries, garlic has been used as a natural medicine. Scientists have found that compounds in garlic serve as a natural antibiotic to prevent and fight various diseases and illnesses. In a study published in the journal Molecules, the researchers from the University at Albany in the US hypothesised that adding fluorine into natural garlic-derived compounds would enhance beneficial biological activity. Fluorine is one of the most reactive elements in the periodic table and widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. To test their hypothesis, the scientists modified several garlic compounds, replacing hydrogen atoms with fluorine atoms. Once completed, they used 10-day-old chick embryo eggs to compare the effectiveness of the fluorine-modified compounds and unmodified compounds as anti-angiogenesis and ..

Bipolar disorder has seven key factors: study

Scientists have identified seven key classes of characteristics of bipolar disorder, according to a finding that explains why every patient's experience of the condition is different. "There are many routes to this disease, and many routes through it," said Melvin McInnis, from the University of Michigan in the US. "We have found that there are many biological mechanisms which drive the disease, and many interactive external influences on it. All of these elements combine to affect the disease as patients experience it," McInnis said. The seven characteristics are changes in cognition, which includes thinking, reasoning and emotion processing; psychological dimensions such as personality and temperament. Measures of behaviours related to substance use or abuse - called motivated behaviours and aspects of the person's life story involving family and intimate relationships and traumas. Patterns of sleep and circadian rhythms and measures of how patients' symptoms change ...

Brain zapping may restore social behaviour in autistic kids

Scientists have identified a brain region that can be stimulated to correct social impairments in autistic children. The research from the University of Texas (UT) in the US provides the first evidence that a specific part of the cerebellum, a region near the brain stem that has long been thought to only have roles in coordinating movement, is critical for autistic behaviours. It also establishes a more accessible target for brain stimulation than many autism-related neural circuits that are buried deep within the brain's folds. "This is potentially quite a powerful finding. From a therapeutic standpoint, this part of the cerebellum is an enticing target," said Peter Tsai, from UT Southwestern Medical Centre. "And although neuromodulation would not cure the underlying genetic cause of a person's autism, improving social deficits in children with autism could make a huge impact on their quality of life," Tsai said. The research, published in the journal Nature ...

'Babies born near industrial sites may face health problems'

Infants born to mothers within three kilometres of a industrial site may be at an increased risk of asthma and early death, a US study warns. Researchers found that babies born within 0.8 kilometres from a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to be born at low birth weights. They are at greater risk of infant mortality, ADHD, asthma, lower test scores, lower schooling attainment and lower lifetime earnings. "Given the growing evidence that pollution affects babies in utero, it should not be surprising that fracking, which is a heavy industrial activity, has negative effects on infants," said Janet Currie, from Princeton University in the US. Using records from more than 1.1 million births across Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2013, the researchers compared infants born to mothers living near a drilling site to those living farther away from a site, before and after fracking began at that site. The most significant impacts were seen among babies born within 0.9 ...

IMA opposes draft National Medical Commission bill

The IMA has strongly opposed the draft Bill that seeks to replace the Medical Council of India with a new body, claiming it will cripple the medical profession. The draft National Medical Commission bill was yesterday approved by the Cabinet. It provides for the constitution of four autonomous boards entrusted with conducting undergraduate and postgraduate education, assessment and accreditation of medical institutions and registration of practitioners under the National Medical Commission. Indian Medical Association president Dr K K Agarwal appealed to the prime minister to revise the draft bill in the larger interest of the medical profession. According to the IMA, the NMC will "cripple" the functioning of the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. "Regulators need to have autonomy and be independent of the administrators. The National Medical Commission will be a regulator appointed by the ...

Trump calls wife of hospitalised Sen John McCain

President Donald Trump has called the wife of John McCain as the Arizona senator is hospitalised for cancer treatments. The White House said Trump called Cindy McCain yesterday to send his best wishes and check on her and her husband. John McCain was admitted this week to Walter Reed Medical Center due to side effects from his cancer treatment. The Republican was diagnosed earlier this year with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. McCain has frequently been a thorn in Trump's side and cast the deciding vote that scuttled Republican efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act earlier this year. McCain's office has said he should be able to return to the Senate soon to vote on the GOP tax cut package.

Zika babies show severe health issues

They are 2 years old, but developmentally they are 6 months old; some can't see, walk or talk

Colouring books may help reduce stress: Study

The participants were able to make any type of art they wished, whether it involved colouring, sketching, doodling, or working with modelling clay

Fit & Proper: Activities and diet for an improved quality of life

You may also take help from a dietician or nutritionist to help figure out the best diet plan for your body

No decision on surgery of conjoined twins: Doctors

After reviewing the health parameters of the three-week-old conjoined twins joined at the chest, a medical board of the Sishu Bhawan here has decided that the twins would not come under the scalpel now. The twins born earlier this month to a Nayagarh couple and currently undergoing treatment, are a rare case of abdomino-thoracopagus in which the twins share a single defective heart and a single liver. "Since there has been no improvement in the health status of the twins till date, the medical board has decided not to go for any surgery now," Saroj Satpathy, superintendent of the childrens hospital said here today. The medical board, however, has decided that the twins shall be under observation for some more days here and they would not be referred or shifted to any other facility now, informed Satpathy adding that the State government is bearing all expenditure of their treatment.

Bhopal hospital gets certificate from top accreditation body

City-based Narmada Trauma Centre (NTC) has claimed it has bagged the prestigious NABH certificate for providing quality health facility to patients. The health centre was given the certificate after an inspection by the National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Health Care Providers (NABH) on different parameters, its directors said. "The Quality Council of India-connected National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Healthcare Providers (NABH) examined the hospital," NTC directors Rajesh Sharma and Renu Sharma told reporters here. If the NABH finds a hospital adhering to its 650 international parameters in providing quality health service, it certifies them, they said. The NTC directors said their's was the fourth hospital in the city to bag the NABH certificate. NABH is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India, set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organisations. The board is structured to cater to much desired needs of .

Erectile dysfunction may up heart disease risk: study

Young men with erectile dysfunction may be at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease - a leading cause of death worldwide, a study warns. In addition to being an important health and quality of life issue for men, erectile dysfunction has long been associated with cardiovascular (CV) disease. According to the study published in the journal Vascular Medicine, risk factors for erectile dysfunction and CV disease are similar - including older age, smoking, obesity, and diabetes, among others. Multiple overlapping mechanisms lead to the development of both erectile dysfunction and CV disease. Researchers Chukwuemeka Osondu from the Baptist Health South Florida, Bryan Vo from the Florida International University and Ehimen Aneni from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in the US sought to establish erectile dysfunction as a simple and effective marker of underlying sub-clinical CV disease. They hypothesised that "measures of erectile dysfunction could be a simple .

No link found between joint pain, rainy weather: study

There's no correlation between achy joints and rainy weather, a study has found, debunking the belief endured over the centuries. Researchers from the Harvard Medical School in the US used a "big data" approach, linking insurance claims from millions of doctor's visits with daily rainfall totals from thousands of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather stations. The study, published in the journal BMJ, examined 11 million visits to doctors between 2008 and 2012. The research team asked a variety of questions: Did more patients seek care for back pain or joint pain when it rained or following periods of rainy weather? Were patients who went to the doctor for other reasons more likely to also report aching knees or backs around rainy days? What if there were several rainy days in a row? Even in the absence of a "rain effect" in the overall group, did patients with a prior diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis report more pain? The answers to all of these ...

AI may help identify bacteria quickly and accurately: study

Microscopes enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI) may help clinical microbiologists diagnose potentially deadly blood infections and improve patients' odds of survival, according to a study. Researchers from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in the US demonstrated that an automated AI-enhanced microscope system is "highly adept" at identifying images of bacteria quickly and accurately. The automated system could help alleviate the current lack of highly trained microbiologists, expected to worsen as 20 per cent of technologists reach retirement age in the next five years. "This marks the first demonstration of machine learning in the diagnostic area," said James Kirby from BIDMC. "With further development, we believe this technology could form the basis of a future diagnostic platform that augments the capabilities of clinical laboratories, ultimately speeding the delivery of patient care," Kirby said. According to the study published in the Journal of

Kids who eat healthier food have better self-esteem: study

Children who eat healthy food may have better self-esteem and fewer emotional problems, according to a European study. Researchers found that fish intake (2-3 times per week) was associated with better self-esteem and no emotional and peer problems. Intake of whole meal products were associated with no peer problems. For the findings published in the journal BMC Public Health, the authors examined 7,675 children aged two to nine. They found that a higher Healthy Dietary Adherence Score (HDAS) at the beginning of the study period was associated with better self-esteem and fewer emotional and peer problems two years later. "We found that in young children aged two to nine years there is an association between adherence to healthy dietary guidelines and better psychological well-being," said Louise Arvidsson, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. "It includes fewer emotional problems, better relationships with other children and higher self-esteem, two years later. ..