Page 98 - Health Medical Pharma
Poor diet causes hundreds of deaths in India
A poor diet, particularly the low intake of whole grains and fruits, accounts for hundreds of deaths in India annually, say researchers.
Digital media multitasking associated with obesity risk, says Study
A study has found that people who switch between digital services tend to gain weight.The study published in the journal 'Brain Imaging and Behavior' has revealed that media multitasking is associated with increased susceptibility to food temptations and lack of self-control, which may result in weight gain."Increased exposure to phones, tablets, and other portable devices has been one of the most significant changes to our environments in the past few decades, and this occurred during a period in which obesity rates also climbed in many places," said Richard Lopez, the study's lead author."So, we wanted to conduct this research to determine whether links exist between obesity and abuse of digital devices, as captured by people's tendency to engage in media multitasking," Lopez said.The research was conducted in two parts. In the first part, 132 participants between the ages of 18 and 23 completed a questionnaire assessing their levels of media multitasking and distractibility. This ..
HC seeks Centre, Delhi govt reply on plea against sale of drugs without prescription
The Delhi High Court has sought response from the Centre on a PIL seeking action against "uncontrolled, unwanted and unguided" use of drugs, not permitted to be purchased over-the-counter without a doctor's prescription. A bench comprising Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambhani issued notice to the Centre, the Delhi government and the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) over the uncontrolled use of drugs mentioned under the schedules of Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rule 65 of Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 list the manufacture and sale of all drugs which cannot be purchased over-the-counter without the prescription of a qualified doctor. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Anterrashtriya Upbhokta Kalyan Samiti, which sought direction to the authorities to check that the policy of state in the matter are strictly observed by all so that "uncontrolled" and "excess" use of antibiotics and other drugs is controlled and the health of ...
Medtech startup Caredose plans to expand footprint to 5 new cities
Medical technology startup Caredose Thursday said it is planning to expand its footprint to five new cities -- Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru. "We will also be looking at global expansion next year. Our target countries include Indonesia, Qatar, the UAE, the UK, Nigeria, and South Africa where we will be focusing on both private and public sectors," Caredose COO Kinshuk Kocher said in a statement. Currently, the company has presence in New Delhi and Haryana. Caredose CEO Gauri Angrish said the company is addressing the issues of medicine non-adherence which are critical to the health and well-being of chronic patients. "We decided to choose India for the launch as it has the largest chronic patient pool, given the sheer size of population and incidence of ailments," Angrish said. The company has registered healthy growth in January-March 2019 compared to the same period last year, she said. She further added that there are more than 1.2 billion non-adherent patients ...
Odisha govt accepts Dr Murmu's resignation, BJP fields him from Saraskana Assembly seat
Odisha government on Thursday accepted the resignation of a medical officer Dr Budhan Murmu, whom the BJP fielded as its candidate from Saraskana Assembly seat.Dr Murmu was a medical officer at Primary Health Centre (PHC), Bhaluki under Rangamatia Community Health Centre (CHC) in Mayurbhanj district.As per a notification issued by the Health Department, "The State government has accepted the resignation of Dr Budhan Murmu with effective from April 4, 2019."Earlier today, a BJP delegation met Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, asking him to accept Dr Murmu' resignation, who had applied for voluntary retirement from service on October 4, 2018.Dr Murmu will contest from Saraskana Assembly seat against Biju Janata Dal's Amar Singh Tudu.Odisha will vote in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. The state will be voting simultaneously for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Experimental vaccine eliminates HPV infection: Study
A new experimental immune-based vaccine has cleared human papillomavirus (HPV) in a third of women with cervical cancer precursors, according to clinical trial results.
Massive rise in mental health awareness in India
While mental health has often remained a widely ignored topic and a taboo in the Indian society, a new report shows over 80 per cent rise in the number of people seeking help for mental health issues, especially in tier-2 cities.
Novel cosmetic surgery uses electricity to reshape tissues
Scientists have developed a non-invasive cosmetic surgery technique that uses tiny needles and electric current to quickly reshape cartilage in the nose or ears, without the need for making incisions. Traditional surgery to reshape a nose or ear entails cutting and suturing, sometimes followed by long recovery times and scars. "We envision this new technique as a low-cost office procedure done under local anaesthesia," said Michael Hill, one of the project's principal investigators at Occidental College in the US. "The whole process would take about five minutes," Hill said. A non-invasive technique to reshape cartilage would be useful for cosmetic surgery procedures, such as making a nose more attractive. However, the method also could help fix problems, such as a deviated septum, or conditions for which no good treatments exist, such as joint contractures caused by stroke or cerebral palsy. The team began experimenting with passing current through cartilage to heat it up. The method
Microsoft to connect railway employees with quality health services
Microsoft said on Thursday it will deploy its Kaizala productivity app to connect three crore employees of Indian Railways across the country with quality healthcare facilities.The serving and retired employees will be able to avail healthcare services at 125 railway and 133 private recognised hospitals. The Kaizala group managed by doctors from South Central Railways will be complemented with focused groups of doctors, paramedical staff and nurses.Employees can book doctor appointments, share diagnostic lab reports directly with their doctors and save digital records in 'Me Chat.' They will also be able to access key announcements, share their feedback to improve the quality of medical service with built-in action cards.Kaizala already enables Indian Railways to enable direct communication with their employees including achievement bulletins, educative bulletins and informative bulletins to spread awareness around cardiopulmonary resuscitation, general first aid, immunisation, and ...
A 20-minute nature pill will lower stress hormone levels, says research
Looking for a way to release some stress? Stop popping pills and let nature work its magic. According to a recent research, taking at least twenty minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels."We know that spending time in nature reduces stress, but until now it was unclear how much is enough, how often to do it, or even what kind of nature experience will benefit us. Our study shows that for the greatest payoff, in terms of efficiently lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol, you should spend 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking in a place that provides you with a sense of nature," said MaryCarol Hunter, lead author of the research published in the Journal of Frontiers in Psychology.These regular pills of nature could be a low-cost solution to reduce the negative health impacts stemming from growing urbanization and indoor lifestyles dominated by screen viewing. To assist ...
Doctor can abort over 20-wk pregnancy to save woman's life: HC
A registered doctor can terminate a pregnancy that has crossed the 20-week period without permission from the court only if it poses risk to the woman's life, the Bombay High Court has ruled. A division bench of Justices A S Oka and M S Sonak in its judgement on Wednesday, however, said permission from either the HC or the Supreme Court will have to be sought when a pregnancy has exceeded 20 weeks and the woman feels its continuation would involve risk to her or the foetus' mental/ physical health. The bench also directed the Maharashtra government to constitute medical boards at district levels within three months to examine pregnant women, who wish to terminate their pregnancy after it has crossed the 20-week period. Under provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, a pregnancy that has crossed the 20-week period cannot be terminated. The bench in its order noted that there has been an increase in number of pleas in the high court by women seeking to terminate ...
Just 20-minute 'nature pill' can lower your stress
Taking just 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit near nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels, a new study suggests.
Twenty-minute 'nature pill' can lower stress: Study
Spending just twenty minutes in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature can significantly lower your stress levels, say scientists who recommend that 'nature-pills' can have a measurable effect on our well-being. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, has established for the first time the most effective dose of an urban nature experience. "We know that spending time in nature reduces stress, but until now it was unclear how much is enough, how often to do it, or even what kind of nature experience will benefit us," said MaryCarol Hunter, an associate professor at the University of Michigan in the US. "Our study shows that for the greatest payoff, in terms of efficiently lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol, you should spend 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking in a place that provides you with a sense of nature," Hunter said in a statement. Nature pills could be a low-cost solution to reduce the negative health impacts stemming from growing ..
New method better predicts tumour growth rate in 12 cancers
In new research, scientists have come up with a new formula that predicts tumour growth rate more accurately, a crucial statistic used to schedule screenings and set dosing regimens in cancer treatment.The research, published in the AAPS Journal, was led by Dhaval Shah, PhD, associate professor in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.The mathematical method successfully estimated the doubling time, the amount of time for a tumour to double in size, for 12 types of cancer, ranging from breast and prostate cancers to melanoma."This novel method allows clinicians and drug development scientists to use routinely-generated clinical data to infer doubling times of solid tumours. This parameter can be used to design individualised dosing regimens and develop reliable models for anticancer therapeutics," said Shah.Tumour doubling time can significantly affect the outcome of anticancer therapy, but the rate is challenging to determine. Current methods calculate doubling time ..
Harms of alcohol on brain persist even after quitting: Study
Alcohol-induced damage in the brain continues for few weeks after the consumption of alcohol has stopped, according to a study. Although the harmful effects of alcohol on the brain are widely known, the structural changes observed are very heterogeneous, said researchers from the Central Institute of Mental Health of Mannheim, in Germany. Diagnostic markers are lacking to characterise brain damage induced by alcohol, especially at the beginning of abstinence, a critical period due to the high rate of relapse that it presents. Now, researchers have detected, by means of magnetic resonance, how the damage in the brain continues during the first weeks of abstinence, although the consumption of alcohol ceases. The research, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, found that six weeks after stopping drinking there are still changes in the white matter of the brain. "Until now, nobody could believe that in the absence of alcohol the damage in the brain would progress," said Santiago ...
Protein key to charcot-marie-tooth, other nerve diseases: Study
Providing a critical insight into inherited neurological condition, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a new study has revealed that protein is key to this disease and other nerve diseases.The findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows a pathway to possibly treat this disease and a better understanding of other neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, that affects millions.The study focused on two related proteins, MFN2 and MFN1, found on the outer membranes of mitochondria, structures inside the body's cells that act as powerhouses by converting food into energy.Mitochondria play a critical role in nerve cells. Previous research has shown that mutated MFN2 causes mitochondria to malfunction in a common type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, CMT type 2A.The research showed that increasing levels of MFN1 to counterbalance mutated MFN2 reduced symptoms of CMT type 2A and neurodegeneration in laboratory mice.The multi-institutional study was co-led by ...
People with autism have altered sense of self: Study
People with autism have an altered sense of self, which may explain some of the differences shown in social functioning, a recent study suggests.The research found that, unlike neurotypical participants, people with autism do not experience the 'full body illusion'. This is a test that causes people to experience their self as being located outside of their body and to identify with their own virtual 'avatar' viewed through virtual reality goggles.The study involved a group of 51 adults, involved a group of 51 adults, half of them with and half of them without autism.The scientists also measured the size of the participants' peripersonal space. This is the area of space directly around our body which the brain treats in a special way as it enables us to interact with the external world. They found that this area of space, that defines the boundaries of self, is smaller in people with autism.A smaller peripersonal space may explain certain behaviours sometimes seen in individuals with .
Dr Batra's Homeopathy Clinics Across the World to Treat 10,000 Patients Free on 'World Homeopathy Day'
/ -- To commemorate the 264th birth anniversary of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, Dr Batra's Homeopathy Clinics aims to provide free medicines to 10,000 patients. The world's leading homeopathy company opens the doors of its 225 clinics in 125 cities in India and 10 international locations including London, Dubai, Manama, Dhaka and Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, 10th April, to any patient that walks into their clinic between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/846836/Dr_Batra_s_Homeopathy_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/846835/Benefits_of_Homeopathy_Infographic.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/846797/Dr_Mukesh_Batra_Dr_Batra_Healthcare.jpg ) Homeopathy, the 2nd largest system of medicine in the world, according to World Health Organization, is practiced in 86 countries and is consumed by over 200 million people the world over. In India, over 10 crore people depend on homeopathy. All AIIMS at district level are going .
Oral vaccines for street dogs may help fight rabies in India
Vaccines hidden in dog food could help curb the spread of rabies more effectively than injections, say UK scientists who conducted a study on street dogs in India. There are an estimated 100 million stray dogs in India. Experts say that the combination of an injectable and oral vaccination approach could help them reach the minimum 70 per cent vaccine threshold needed to minimise risk of rabies being passed to people. According to researchers from University of Edinburgh in the UK, three times as many dogs could be vaccinated each day when the new process is combined with existing injectable techniques. The team worked with experts from Mission Rabies, and the Worldwide Veterinary Service to assess the feasibility of the approach in Goa. The oral rabies vaccine is not yet licensed for use in India so the team embedded empty capsules in dog food to test the concept. Working with the Government of Goa Animal Husbandry Department, teams on mopeds searched for free-roaming dogs, ...
Suven Life Sciences gains after securing product patents
Suven Life Sciences rose 3.13% to Rs 263.40 at 09:25 IST on BSE after the company was granted product patents in Israel, Japan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.