Health

Sydney, April 02: New mums can beat the blues and increase their well-being with exercise, says a new study.

In a first study of its kind, 161 postnatal women with no previous depressive symptoms were divided in two groups to test the effect of a physiotherapist-led exercise and education programme on well-being.

The experimental group received an eight-week “Mother and Baby” programme, including specialised exercises provided by a women’s health physiotherapist combined with parenting education.

London, April 02: Men who drink a litre of cola every day could be harming their sperm count, according to a new Danish study.

On an average, these men’s sperm counts were almost 30 percent lower than those who didn’t drink cola, reports dailymail.co.uk.

While the sperm count would still be considered normal by the World Health Organisation, men with fewer sperm generally have a higher risk of being infertile.

London, April 01: Contrary to the popular opinion, drinking alcohol doesn’t offer any protection against cancer, say experts.

It is believed that certain types of alcohol, like red wine, can help to protect against cancer. However, researchers from Cancer Research UK insist that as little as three units a day – about a pint of premium lager or a large glass of wine – can increase the risk of breast, bowel, mouth and food pipe cancers.

Sydney, March 30: It’s official: letting a baby cry itself to sleep is neither cruel nor bad for the mental health of the child or its parents.

According to researchers at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, what they call the controlled crying technique helps resolve sleeping problems and wards off depression in mothers.

Rather than immediately tending to a crying child, parents steeled themselves and waited for it to settle back to sleep. Babies under 6 months were not left alone because they needed to be fed during the night.

London, MArch 28: Are you confused by the sheer number of smart toys, books and videos? Relax. All your baby needs to boost brainpower is you, say scientists.

A new study has revealed that mothers who use baby talk help their child’s brain develop better — as even before toddlers begin to speak, words play an important role in their mind development.

New Delhi, March 28: The National Consumer Commission has rapped an eye surgeon for negligence in conducting laser therapy on a person who lost his vision after the procedure and upheld an order by a state forum directing the medic to pay Rs two lakh in compensation to the patient’s family.

The Commission also imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the petitioner, Niraj Awasthi, for not exercising reasonable care during treatment.

Gorakhpur, March 28: After she tested positive for HIV three years ago, Bhanumati (name changed) was shattered. Living under the shadow of death, the 36-year-old feared she too would die of the infection like her husband. But today Bhanumati spearheads AIDS/HIV awareness programmes in villages of Uttar Pradesh.

Bhanumati, a resident of Tilauli village in Gorakhpur district, some 300 km from Lucknow, has constituted an all-women group that undertakes counselling of AIDS/HIV patients and also organises sensitisation programmes in India’s most populous state.

Patna, March 27: Subhash Mukhia and his wife Nirmala Devi cannot believe their luck. A well known doctor here has promised the labourers to separate their one-and-half-year-old conjoined twins.

The parents are now hopeful that their daughters Sita and Gita, whose urinary tract and faecal tract are joint, finally have got a chance to get separated and lead normal lives.

“It was a miracle that Ajay Kumar offered to help us,” Subhash, a resident of Bhawanipur village in West Champaran district, about 200 km from here, told media.

Orissa, March 27: The Orissa government on Friday said it would introduce health programme in 60,000 schools in the most backward KBK (Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput) region from July.

“About 58 lakh students will benefit from the programme.. We have also set up a target to set up at least 1,069 health sub-centres in KBK region by 2012,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneswar after a State Health Mission meeting chaired by him.

London, March 27: Women can cut their daily calorie intake by almost a fifth if they simply take a herbal diet pill, a research reveals.

The supplement has also been shown to help those with a sweet tooth, reducing the temptation to indulge in sugary snacks.

Zotrim, which is based on three South American plants, was tested by scientists at the University of Liverpool.

They found that women who took the pill with their breakfast had a much lower appetite at lunch time, cutting their calorie intake by 17.6 percent, reported.

London, March 26: Up to a third of breast cancer cases could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, researchers claim.

Experts believe more than 14,000 women a year would probably not develop the disease if they had adopted healthier behaviour from an early age.

Modern lifestyles which feature regular drinking, lack of exercise and increased obesity are fuelling the rise of the disease, reported dailymail.co.uk.

Research shows they are almost 50 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than women carrying fewer pounds.

London, March 26: Risk taking peaks in adolescence, according to scientists.

In research published in the journal Cognitive Development, children, adolescents and adults aged 9-35 years chose between risky and safe options in a computer gambling game.

Scientists at the University College London (UCL) found that the teenagers took the most risks compared with the other groups, with the most risky behaviour was seen in 14-year-olds.

Austria, March 26: Turmeric, hailed as a wonder spice by Ayurvedics has now gained recognition amongst researchers as well. As per a study by Medical University Graz, Austria, Turmeric has been associated with slowing of liver damage. Turmeric is generally added to dishes for imparting food a bright yellow color. The research has been published in the Gut magazine.

Barcelona, March 26: Women who survive breast cancer and have children afterwards don’t appear to be at any higher risk of dying from cancer, a new study says.

Doctors have long worried pregnancy might spark hormonal changes in breast cancer survivors that could spur the disease’s return, and many breast cancer patients are counselled against getting pregnant after they recover.

London, March 26: Stronger and more lasting memories are likely to be formed when a person is relaxed and the memory-related neurons in the brain fire in sync with certain brain waves, scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers from the United States said their findings could help develop new therapies for people with learning disabilities and some types of dementia.

Washington, March 26: Contact lenses laced with Vitamin E that can hold eye-drops for almost 100 times longer, have been developed by American scientists.

The medicated lenses, developed by a team of researchers led by India-born Anuj Chauhan from University of Florida in Gainesville, would help treat various eye-ailments more effectively, researchers claimed.

London, March 26: A study by a team of biologists found that popular sauces and marinades contain a range of spices, fruits and vegetables with natural antioxidants.

These are chemical compounds which fight diseases associated with old age such as cancer, heart problems, strokes, Alzheimer’s, arthritis and cataracts, reported.

Antioxidants are known to fight harmful molecules called free radicals which damage the body’s cells.

London, March 25: The H1N1 swine flu virus may have been new to humanity in many ways but in one key feature its closest relative was the 1918 pandemic virus, researchers reported on Wednesday.

Their findings could point to better ways to design vaccines and help explain why the swine flu pandemic largely spared the elderly.

“This study defines an unexpected similarity between two pandemic-causing strains of influenza,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement.

Srinagar, March 25: The Jammu and Kashmir has achieved the distinction of becoming the first state where professional audit in the health department has been introduced to bring work culture, transparency and accountability in healthcare delivery system.

Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma said today that this has helped in bringing improvements in the last one year in existing peripheral health institutions in terms of infrastructure, equipment and manpower and also in making progress in institutional deliveries and major surgeries.

Mumbai, March 25: The Panchshil Housing Society at Worli Naka lost its second resident to jaundice on Tuesday. Vrushali Jayant Pawar, 26, the deceased, was into her sixth month of pregnancy. On February 23, Kavita Aitla, 24, had died of the disease.

Washington, March 24: Do stomach irritations prevent you from enjoying your daily cup of coffee? Now, scientists have identified several substances that may be among the culprits responsible for brewing up heartburn and stomach pain in every cup.

Research has led to the counter-intuitive finding that espresso, French roast and other dark-roasted coffee may be easier on the tummy because these roasts contain a substance that tells the stomach to reduce production of acid.

New Delhi, March 24: The Lives of almost two lakh children registered under the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) programme for tuberculosis in the country might be in danger.

The Union health ministry has withdrawn the stock of the drug being used under the revised national tuberculosis control programme (RNTCP) since 2007 after an Indore-based laboratory found it was “not of standard quality”. But what is worrying is that 90 per cent of the stock in the Capital has already been distributed to children.

London, March 24: Nordic scientists said on Wednesday they had found no evidence that screening women for breast cancer has any effect on death rates, adding to an already fierce international debate about routine testing.

In a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers from Denmark and Norway said reductions in breast cancer death rates in regions with screening were the same or actually smaller than in areas where no women were screened.

United Nations March 24: Polluted drinking water claim more lives than all forms of violence, including war, a UN report has said, highlighting the need for clean water.

The report, released on the occasion of World Water Day by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Monday, said one child under the age of five dies every 20 seconds from water-related diseases.

According to the report titled ‘Sick Water’, the sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars.

Brisbane, March 24: India-born doctor Jayant Patel “failed to adequately investigate” cancer concerns in a patient before he removed his colon, an Australian court was told Wednesday.

A local doctor, Marthinus Nel, referred one of his patients, Mervyn John Morris, 75, to the Bundaberg Base Hospital, where 59-year-old Patel was director of surgery, for further tests after he became concerned that he might have cancer.