Health

No clinical trials should be allowed for new drugs till a mechanism is put in place to monitor them and to protect the lives of people on which drugs are tested, the Supreme Court today said.

A bench headed by Justice RM Lodha said that a system must be put in place to protect the lives of people and asked the Centre not to allow clinical trials for untested medicines.

The Centre also assured the apex court that it will not allow clinical trials for 162 drugs permitted by it earlier.

Eighteen months of intensive diet and exercise together lead to less knee pain and better function among overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis, a new research has revealed.

Stephen P. Messier, Ph.D., of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether a 10 percent or greater reduction in body weight induced by diet, with or without exercise, would reduce joint loading and inflammation and improve clinical outcomes more than exercise alone.

Astronomers have uncovered the mystery behind a neutron star, which has the peculiar ability to transform from a radio pulsar into an X-ray pulsar and back again.

This star’s capricious behavior appears to be fueled by a nearby companion star and may give new insights into the birth of millisecond pulsars, the astronomers said.

Autumn is here and that means a new crop of seasonal nutrient-dense fruit and vegetable “superfoods”, that increase our overall wellness and nutrition and help support a healthy lifestyle, will be harvested soon.

Kari Kooi, registered dietician at Houston Methodist Hospital, said superfoods are brimming with nutrients and antioxidants. The benefits of adding them into your everyday meals are numerous, as a nutritious diet can really have a positive impact on both your physical and mental health.

Kooi suggested top four superfoods that you can incorporate into your daily meals.

A new study has warned that diabetes sufferers are more prone to developing breast and colon cancer and at an even higher risk of dying from them.

Dr Kirstin De Bruijn said that previous studies have examined the association between diabetes and dying from cancer but death from specific types of cancer has not been well-studied.

A new study has revealed that the risk of mental decline through age or illness, is less in people, who play one or more musical instruments.

Researchers at St Andrews University found that musicians have sharper minds and they are able to pick up and rectify mistakes quicker than their non-musician counterparts, News.com.au reported.

For the research, led by psychologist Ines Jentzsch, scientists compared the behavioural and brain responses of amateur musicians with non-musicians when performing simple mental tasks.

Nearly 70 percent of urban women succumb to cardio-vascular diseases, mainly due to late diagnosis and smoking, a top surgeon said here Saturday, on the eve of World Heart Day.

“The tobacco habit is best left alone,” Ramakanta Panda, eminent cardiac surgeon and vice chairman of Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai, told IANS.

The theme of the World Heart Day this year is prevention of cardio-vascular diseases (CVD) among women and children.

Scientists have identified a molecular pathway that contributes to the ability of malignant glioma cells in a brain tumour to spread and invade previously healthy brain tissue.

The findings, by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, provide new drug-discovery targets to rein in the ability of these cells to move.

Taking a 12-week yoga class and practicing at home has been linked to less insomnia – but not to fewer or less bothersome hot flashes or night sweats, according to scientists.

Lead author Katherine Newton, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute, said that many women suffer from insomnia during menopause, and it’s good to know that yoga may help them.

A new research has suggested that moderate coffee consumption is not associated with increased cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk

Recently, a new review paper1 had suggested that for most healthy people, moderate coffee consumption is unlikely to adversely affect cardiovascular health.

Furthermore a new paper2 concluded that higher green tea and coffee consumption is inversely associated with risk of CVD and stroke in the general population.

A 42-year-old Indian-origin scientist has been named this year’s recipient of a prestigious Canadian award that recognises excellence in complementary and alternative medicine.

Sunita Vohra, director of Canada’s first academic pediatric integrative at the University of Alberta medicine programme was named the winner of the $250,000 Dr. Rogers Prize at a gala dinner in Vancouver Thursday, the Vancouver Sun reported.

The Dr. Rogers Prize carries the largest cash prize of its kind in North America.

The number of dengue cases in the national capital has shot up from 1,355 Monday to 1,729 Thursday.

There have also been three confirmed deaths and seven suspected deaths, as per an official Friday.

“There has been a total of 1,729 cases and three have died from the vector-borne disease,” said municipal health officer N.K. Yadav.

Of the total cases, 1,698 patients are from Delhi and 31 belong to adjoining states.

The north, south and east corporations reported 837, 408 and 368 cases, respectively.

Researchers have said that becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body’s energy-producing “battery.”

Mitochondria are vital cellular organelles that generate and maintain proper energy levels in complex organisms. Using animal models, the Yale research team studied mitochondria in different populations of brain cells known to be involved in the regulation of appetite.

A new research has suggested that folic acid deficiency can cause severe health problems in offspring, including spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities.

The study reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on the next several generations.

Scientists have pinpointed the precise cellular connections that are responsible for triggering that behaviour.

The finding lends insight into a cause for obesity and could lead to treatments for anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.

Senior study author Garret Stuber, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and department of cell biology and physiology, said that the study underscores that obesity and other eating disorders have a neurological basis.

Researchers have claimed that a type of antibody found only in the blood of sharks could help tackle breast cancer.

It is thought that the unique IgNAR antibodies could be used to prevent the growth of cancer cells and research into them could lead to the development of new drugs to fight one of the most common form of the disease, News.com.au reported.

Biologists from the University of Aberdeen have been awarded 345,660 Australian dollars by Scottish cancer research charity the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) to carry out a three-year study.

It is a well documented fact that eating atleast five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is the key to stay healthy, however a new study has revealed that by increasing the servings to seven portions we could decrease our risk of dying early.

Researchers have found people, who eat 569g a day- the equivalent of 7.1 portions- slash their risk of premature death by 10 per cent and live on average one year and 44 days longer, the Daily Express reported.

Researchers have suggested that a dose of ‘sugar gel’- which means rubbing sugar into the inside of the baby’s cheek in the form of gel-is a cheap and effective way to protect premature babies against brain damage.

According to the scientists, who tested the gel therapy in 242 babies under their care, it should now be a first-line treatment, the BBC reported.

Current treatment typically involves extra feeding and repeated blood tests to measure blood sugar levels.

A new study has revealed that expecting a reward or punishment can affect brain activity in areas responsible for processing different senses, including sight or touch.

For example, research shows that these brain regions light up on brain scans when humans are expecting a treat. However, researchers know less about what happens when the reward is actually received-or an expected reward is denied.

Researchers at Rutgers’ New Jersey Medical School have used Ciclopirox, an anti-fungal medicine, to eradicate the AIDS-causing virus from cell cultures by shutting down the cell’s “powerhouse.”

The method still has to undergo clinical tests on humans, but experts say the fact that it’s already FDA-approved may speed up the process, the New York Daily News reported.

Researchers from Rutgers’ New Jersey Medical School said that the drug caused the HIV-infected cells to “commit suicide” by blocking the mitochondria, which is a cell’s “powerhouse.”

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish such as salmon and in nuts, may not help improve thinking skills, a new study has revealed.

“There has been a lot of interest in omega-3s as a way to prevent or delay cognitive decline, but unfortunately our study did not find a protective effect in older women. In addition, most randomized trials of omega-3 supplements have not found an effect,” study author Eric Ammann, MS, of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, said.

However, the researchers did not recommend that people change their diet based on these results.

(ANI) A new study has found that overweight adults can help protect themselves from diabetes and heart disease by adding walnuts to their diet.

Researchers from Yale University put a small group of adults on a walnut-enriched diet for two eight-week sessions.

For their research, scientists chose 46 adults between the ages of 30 and 75 who had a body mass index larger than 25 and a waist circumference exceeding 40 inches (102 cm) for men and 35 inches (89 cm) for women.

Researchers including an Indian researcher prenatal cocaine exposure can have negative affects on baby’s normal brain development and behaviour, from birth and into adulthood.

Researchers from the Yale University School of Medicine led by Dr. Rajita Sinha , conducted a study to evaluate the gray matter differences and likelihood of substance use in adolescents who were cocaine-exposed prenatally versus those who were not.

Simple modifications in food habits, including adopting a diet rich in cereals, fish and green leafy vegetables, can drastically reduce chances of prostate cancer, considered to be one of the most common cancers among men.

The sixth leading cause of cancer deaths among males, prostate cancer is linked to family history of the disease and age. Doctors said research also indicates that a diet rich in red meat and high-fat dairy products predisposes men to the risk of this cancer.

Doctors in the Indian capital are seeing a sudden spurt in the number of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) that afflicts mostly toddlers and children and spreads through saliva, mucus from the nose and even from faeces.

As the virus spreads very fast among children, one of the prestigious Delhi schools has closed down its nursery wing, while many schools are issuing circulars to parents to keep the child home if they find their child is suffering from cough, cold and fever.