Health

Washington, March 12: Researchers said that women who consume the birth control pills can expect to live a long life.

According to a new research, published on bmj. com, females who make use of the contraceptive pill are less likely to pass away from any cause, comprising all types of cancers and heart trouble, as compared with never users.

The study outcomes of the UK research showed a slightly higher risk in females aged below 45 who are current or recent users of the oral contraceptive pill.

New Delhi, March 12: The government on Friday said treatment for heart, kidney and bone diseases is provided free of cost to all persons below poverty line (BPL) and at subsidised rates to others in government hospitals.

Replying to a supplementary in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government was making efforts to meet requirements as patients from all over the country come to Delhi for such treatments.

Washington, March 12: Gastric bypass surgery can raise the risk of developing kidney stones, says a new study.

Researchers at Texas University have found patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience changes in their urine composition that in turn increase their risk of developing kidney stones, ‘The Journal of Urology’ reported.

The study found that some of these urinary changes place weight-loss surgery patients at higher risk for developing kidney stones than obese patients who don’t undergo the procedure.

London, March 12: Many youngsters dream of a sculpted body, especially after watching Bollyoood’s romance icon Shah Rukh Khan flaunt six-pack-abs in “Om Shanti Om” and versatile actor Aamir Khan in “Ghajini”. But experts have a word of advice — exercise regularly and avoid steroids to maintain the look.

“To get six-pack abs is easy but to maintain a chiselled body is the most difficult task. As always, achieving anything is easy but maintaining that is difficult,” Bollywood actor-producer Suniel Shetty told.

New Delhi, March 12: There was a time when middle-aged women would resort to facials and thermo packs to rejuvenate their looks. But now wrinkles or patchy skin are being tackled with a wide range of anti-ageing treatments, sometimes by women who are just in their late 20s.

The most common procedures include juvederm and other dermal fillers, diamond polish, laser treatments and botox.

Hamburg, March 12: A study on rhesus monkeys says that Influenza A infection during pregnancy can affect brains of babies.

The study found that rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia.

It is the first study done with monkeys that examines the effects of flu during pregnancy and was done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

New Delhi, March 12: There was a time when middle-aged women would resort to facials and thermo packs to rejuvenate their looks. But now wrinkles or patchy skin are being tackled with a wide range of anti-ageing treatments, sometimes by women who are just in their late 20s.

The most common procedures include juvederm and other dermal fillers, diamond polish, laser treatments and botox.

Geneva, March 11: The World Health Organisation unveiled Tuesday landmark new measures to counter the misuse of anti-malaria drugs, which is threatening attempts to stifle some 250 million cases a year of the disease.

The UN health agency recommended that all suspected cases of the mosquito-borne disease should be tested and diagnosed before treatment is given, instead of relying simply on identifying symptoms such as fever.

Washington, March 11: Despite the general belief, a new study finds that donating a kidney is not associated with an increased long-term risk of death.

Despite a slightly higher risk of death among kidney donors in the first 90 days after surgery due to its inherent risks, there is no difference in the mortality rate of donors and non-donors in the long run.

According to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, certain physiologic changes, which commonly occur after kidney donation, do not affect the survival rate of the individual.

London, March 11: Following a diet rich in fiber particularly from whole grains lowers the risk of developing chronic lung diseases, a new study finds.

“For COPD prevention, the most important public health message remains smoking cessation,” said lead researcher Raphaelle Varraso, adding that the diet is another modifiable factor which might influence one’s risk of developing COPD.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, individuals with the highest fiber intake are at the lowest risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

New Delhi, March 11: India is “most likely” to administer imported swine flu vaccine to the high risk groups from next week, a senior health ministry official said Wednesday.

“Most likely, we will start the vaccination next week,” V.M. Katoch, secretary (Health Research) in ministry of health and family welfare, said.

Katoch said multinational pharma company Sanofi Pasteur has already completed its bridge study and the data has been given to a health ministry committee for analysis.

London, March 11: Only half of patients at high risk of heart disease are given the right targets for cutting their cholesterol and millions may suffer heart attack or stroke due to doctors’ poor advice, scientists said on Thursday.

German researchers said that over 10 years, around 50 to 80 heart attacks, strokes and heart disease-related deaths per 1,000 patients could be averted if all doctors correctly followed guidelines on cholesterol-lowering targets.

Washington, March 11: In a major breakthrough which could help treat life-threatening blood infections, scientists have discovered a new way to control blood pressure.

The control of blood pressure is central to people’s wellbeing. While hypertension leads to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke and kidney failure in many cases, low blood pressure can be life threatening at times.

New Delhi, March 11: After almost a year of mild warnings, the government has decided to shift to more powerful messages. Tobacco products will now carry pictures of mouth cancer, showing rotting teeth and lips.

A notification was issued by the health ministry on March 5 and the new warnings will come into force from June 1. These would be implemented under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products ( Packaging and Labelling Amendment) Rules, 2010.

New Delhi, March 11: As many as 70 percent of sick newborn babies suffer from kidney dysfunction but less than five percent of them get treated, a new study says.

The study, conducted by Batra Hospital over a period of 15 years on 300 sick newborn babies, found that five percent of them have acute kidney function derangement.

New Delhi, March 11: In a bid to spread awareness about glaucoma, an eye disease that is the second leading cause of blindness across the world and is expected to rise as the population ages, eyecare professionals here as elsewhere are observing World Glaucoma Week until March 13.

According to B.Sridhar Rao, president of the Glaucoma Society of India, an NGO that aims to sensitise people about the disease, 12 million Indians suffer from the disease.

New Delhi, March 11: Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has issued new pictorial warning for cigarette and tobacco packs which will be effective from June 1, 2010.

The new picture, notified on March 5, shows a cancerous mouth and the warning reads “Tobacco causes mouth cancer’’ replacing the earlier pictures of a scorpion and lungs. The scorpion was meant for gutka or chewing tobacco packs while cigarette packs were to carry the picture of diseased lungs.

London, March 11: While acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine had long been thought to be effective in increasing the chances of conception through IVF, a new study voices doubt about the belief.

Previous studies had reported that acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine improve blood flow and subsequently increase the chance of an embryo implanting. Many infertile couples were therefore advised to use the therapy in different stages of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

Hamburg, March 10: Sleeping too little or too much can place young adults at an increased risk of putting on weight along their waistlines, a new study finds.

Previous studies had linked insomnia and lack of sleep to weight gain and higher risks of developing diabetes and heart disease in the long run.

According to the study published in Sleep, black and Hispanic adults younger than 40 who slept for five hours or less each night are more likely to gain abdominal fat particularly the visceral fat that accumulates around the organs.

Mumbai, March 09: A new technique of growing arterial blood vessels could result in a “biological bypass” or a non-invasive method to treat coronary-artery disease, a news research said

Coronary arteries get blocked with plaque, resulting in a decrease in the supply of blood as well as oxygen to the heart.

Over time this blockage can cause unbearable chest pain or coronary failure.

Serious blockages in various major vessels may have need of coronary artery bypass graft surgical operation.

New York, March 09: Malaria could be eliminated as a public health problem within a decade in most countries where it is now endemic, an international organization that funds the treatment and prevention of killer diseases said on Monday.

The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — is within reach by 2015, the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said.

And the prevalence of tuberculosis is also declining in many countries, the fund said in its 2010 report.

Washington, March 09: U.S. researchers estimate that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda can push down U.S. adults’ calorie intake enough to lower their average weight by 5 pounds (2 kg) per year.

The researchers, writing in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday, suggested taxing could be used as a weapon in the fight against obesity, which costs the United States an estimated $147 billion a year in health costs.

Washington, March 09: A daily dose of vitamin D may just be what helps you tide over a long, bleak winter when you are mostly indoors, says new research.

“Vitamin D deficiency continues to be a problem despite the nutrient’s widely reported health benefits,” said Sue Penckofer, professor, Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON), who led the study.

Washington, March 09: A gene that could be responsible for a severe and often painful type of food allergy called eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has been discovered by American scientists.

After doing a genome-wide study, researchers led by Hakon Hakonarson from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, found EoE was linked to a region of chromosome 5 that includes two genes, Nature Genetics journal reported.

“The likely culprit is the gene TSLP, which has higher activity levels in children with EoE compared to healthy subjects,” Hakonarson said.

Sydney, March 09: Native lemon grass has the potential to relieve headaches and migranes, researchers say.

Griffith University (GU) researchers Lyn Griffiths, Darren Grice and Kelly Rogers have proven that lemon grass plant Cymbopogon Ambiguus may be as good as aspirin.

“Headaches and migraines cause abnormal activities in our bodies such as altering our serotonin levels and interfering with the normal function of our blood platelets,” said Grice of the Institute for Glycomics.