Health

New York, March 03: Despite the general belief, a new study finds that taking calcium supplements cannot protect individuals against cardiovascular events.

Previous studies had reported that calcium and vitamin D supplements are not only important for bone health and lowering the risk of fracture but also heart tonic.

According to the review article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, moderate to high doses of vitamin D supplements can lower the risk of heart-related deaths among users.

New Delhi, March 03: Nearly 50 per cent of asthmatics are children and many of the cases often remain undiagnosed.

On Wednesday, KEM Hospital will conduct an asthma awareness drive, in which chest physicians Dr Parag Khatavkar and Dr Madhav Kale will discuss several issues concerning the disease.

“What is the best therapy, will exercise help prevent asthma, has a change in lifestyle proved to be responsible for the increasing prevalence of asthma and other such queries will be answered at the seminar,” said a press release from the hospital.

Washington, March 02: Garlic may help fight cancer, new research suggests.

In a small pilot study, a new urine test developed by researchers suggests that the more garlic people consumed, the lower the levels of the potential carcinogenic process were.

The research is all about body processes associated with nitrogen-containing compounds, scientists say. These processes include nitrosation, or the conversion of some substances found in foods or contaminated water into carcinogens.

Washington, March 02: Regular use of pain killers like aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ups risk of hearing loss in men below 60.

Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the US, afflicting over 36 million people. Not only is hearing loss highly prevalent among the elderly, but approximately a third of those aged 40-49 years already suffer hearing loss.

Washington, March 02: Like silkworm moths, butterflies and spiders, caddisfly larvae spin silk, but they do so underwater. Now scientists are trying to make a wet adhesive out of it to close wounds.

University of Utah (U-U) researchers have discovered why the fly’s silk is sticky when wet and how that may make it valuable as an adhesive tape during surgery.

Berlin, March 02: Overindulging in “energy shot” drinks can have consequences, warn consumer safety organisations. The shots are more concentrated per litre than standard energy drinks, warns the consumer centre of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany.

That increases the risks of consuming large portions of caffeine in a short time, which can damage the heart and circulatory system.

Combining large quantities of those drinks with alcohol and physical exertion, like sport or long stretches of dancing, could be even more dangerous.

New York, March 02: Don’t expect your calcium and vitamin D supplements to improve your heart health or prevent a stroke, according to a systematic review of published studies.

While vitamin D and calcium are clearly important for bone health, write the authors of the review, evidence on whether they help heart health is conflicting.

In the US, the recommended daily intake of calcium is 1000 milligrams, and 400 international units for vitamin D. Skin produces vitamin D when directly exposed to the sun, but this is usually not enough.

London, March 02: Even premature babies are capable of recognising and distinguishing two objects of different shapes (a prism and a cylinder) with their right or left hands, a new study has found.

The sense organs and sensory systems of premature babies are less efficient than those of full-term babies, though the latter are also not yet fully developed.

Now researchers have found preterm human infants have fully efficient manual perception that are just as good as other babies.

Washington, March, 02: Here’s a simple but effective way to cure it. Just put a few drops of milk protein under the tongue and it will help the child overcome the problem.

The approach, known as SLIT (sublingual immune therapy), involves giving children small but increasingly higher doses of the food they are allergic to until their immune systems learn to tolerate the food without triggering allergic reactions or symptoms.

Washington, March 01: A leading Indian-American cardiac surgeon suggests a “lean healthcare” system model for India to attract larger private investments and widen its reach and says the country needs more trained healthcare executives to manage the growing industry.

“The best implementation of lean principles is optimising of available resources directly reflected by visible increased productivity,” says Dr. Mukesh Hariawala, 50, who has just completed a “Physician Executive Healthcare MBA” programme at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Berlin, March 01: Overindulging in “energy shot” drinks can have consequences, warn consumer safety organisations. The shots are more concentrated per litre than standard energy drinks, warns the consumer centre of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany.

That increases the risks of consuming large portions of caffeine in a short time, which can damage the heart and circulatory system.

Combining large quantities of those drinks with alcohol and physical exertion, like sport or long stretches of dancing, could be even more dangerous.

Washington, March 01: Two to three times more pregnant women may soon be diagnosed and treated for gestational diabetes.

These findings are based on new norms for determining risky blood sugar levels for the mother and her unborn baby.

“As result of this study, more than 16 percent of the entire population of pregnant women qualified as having gestational diabetes,” said Boyd Metzger, professor of metabolism and nutrition at Feinberg School of Medicine who led the study.

“Before, between five to eight percent of pregnant women were diagnosed with this,” added Metzger.

Washington, March 01:Is your child allergic to milk? Here’s a simple but effective way to cure it. Just put a few drops of milk protein under the tongue and it will help the child overcome the problem.

The approach, known as SLIT (sublingual immune therapy), involves giving children small but increasingly higher doses of the food they are allergic to until their immune systems learn to tolerate the food without triggering allergic reactions or symptoms.

Hamburg, March 01: Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois have said that blood-sugar levels once considered normal for pregnant women are not safe for baby or mother.

A fasting blood-sugar level of 92 or higher, a one-hour level of 180 or higher on a glucose tolerance test or a two-hour level of 153 or higher on a glucose tolerance test constitute serious risks to the mother and baby, concluded Lead author Boyd Metzger and an international group of 50 experts.

Hamburg, March 01: Expectant mothers who rapidly gain weight during the first trimester of pregnancy are more vulnerable to developing gestational diabetes, a new study found.

Gestational diabetes (GDM), a condition characterized by glucose intolerance, is first recognized during pregnancy.

It occurs in approximately 4% of all pregnancies but places the majority of affected mothers and their offspring at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in later life.

Kolkata, February 28: Doctors at a Kolkata hospital successfully removed a needle a six-year-old girl accidentally swallowed which left her unable to eat and caused her extreme pain.

“The little girl (Sohini) swallowed the needle Feb 24 while she was trying to stitch a new dress for her doll. Her parents brought her to SSKM Hospital after they came to know about the incident.

New Delhi, February 26: The live telecast of heart surgeries for publicity is likely to end as the Asian Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons came up Friday with guidelines recommending end to such practice.

Washington, February 26: Scientists trying to find a way to better help patients protect themselves from a heart attack are taking their cues from cardiac patients.

The work has its roots in a perplexing curiosity that physicians have long observed in their patients: When faced with a heart attack, people who have had a previous one oftentimes fare better than patients who have never had one.

San Antonio, February 26: Eating a lot of fat, especially the kind that’s in cookies and pastries, can significantly raise the risk of stroke for women over 50, a large new study finds. The new study is the largest to look at stroke risk in women and across all types of fat. It showed a clear trend: Those who ate the most fat had a 44 per cent higher risk of the most common type of stroke compared to those who ate the least.

New Delhi, February 26: Busy collecting balloons, coloured powders and pichkaris for Holi? How about investing in some mild cleansers, oils and caps to protect your skin and hair from harsh chemicals and the sun?

Most of the powders used in Holi are not derived naturally and contain chemicals like mica and even lead that not only irritate the skin but also collect on the scalp.

Ajay Rana, dermatologist and director of Berkowits Hair and Skin Clinic, said the first thing everyone should do is to wear a cap for scalp protection and wear full-sleeve shirts for skin protection.

Thiruvananthapuram, February 25: Over 500 industry leaders and eminent experts from India and abroad are expected to participate in the first major international leadership forum on ayurveda. The global summit will begin in Kochi March 24.

The theme of the three-day summit conference will be Global Health Challenges: Ayurveda Solutions.

The event has been organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) departments of the union and Kerala governments.

New Delhi, February 25: With the gradual fall of crude birth and death rates, the country expects to lower its infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1,000 live births by 2012, although block and village level annual plans have not been prepared for 24 States and UT, the Economic Survey said.

India has successfully brought down its crude birth rate (CBR) to 22.8 in every 1,000 people from 29.5 in 1991, this led to decrease in crude death rate (CDR) to 7.4 from 9.8 in 1,000 people in the same period, the pre-budget Survey tabled in Parliament on Thursday said.

Washington, February 25: Single men or those leading an unhappy married life run a higher risk of fatal stroke in their later decades, says a new study.

The findings are based on a survey of 10,059 civil servants and municipal workers (average age 49) who participated in the Israeli Ischemic Heart Disease Study that started in 1963.

Using the national death registry and other records, researchers tracked the fate of the men through 1997, the last year for which underlying causes of death had been coded.

New Delhi, February 25: As exam time approaches so does stress. Be it smoking, taking pills or skipping meals, students do everything possible to soothe their frayed nerves but all they need is a good diet that will help them tide over this period.

With diets having a bearing on moods, nutritionists say children should have light and frequent meals to help maintain blood and sugar levels.

Washington, February 25: Seniors with poor vision, particularly untreated eye problems, are at an increased risk of developing dementia in the long run, a new study finds.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, vision problems may precede the diagnosis of dementia by years.

Seniors with poor vision even with corrective lenses are five- to 10- times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia over the next 8.5 years.