Chennai, Dec 25: In a rare hybrid surgical procedure, a team of doctors at a private hospital here corrected simultaneously seven abnormalities in the heart of a 54-year-old man.
Dr VV Bashi of MIOT Hospitals, who led the team, said the patient, Narayanasamy of Chennai, came to the hospital with chest pain, breathlessness and palpitation and was in a “very serious condition”.
Panaji, Dec 24: A Goa-based doctor has invented a technology that can save women from amputating their cancer-infested breasts.
“The treatment, known as the Targeted Intra-operative Radiotherapy (TARGIT), can cure the fatal disease in just 25 minutes,” Jayant Vaidya, who is currently placed in UK, said.
TARGIT treats the tumour by delivering radiotherapy within the breast. The patient can go home the same day the surgery is conducted, he said.
Paris, Dec 24: Diabetes lowers the vessel- and heart-protective benefits of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as good cholesterol, a new study finds.
Previous studies had reported that HDL lowers the blood levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), reducing the risk of the hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and subsequently heart diseases.
Good cholesterol also promotes the healing and repairing process in the cells lining the vessels.
According to a study published in Circulation, HDL cholesterol in diabetics has impaired protective functions on blood vessels and heart.
Washington, Dec 24: While previous studies had voiced doubt over the role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the development of heart disease, a new study finds the protein not to be the cause.
Previous studies had reported controversial findings regarding the role of CRP, an important marker of inflammation, as a warning sign or a direct cause leading to cardiovascular events.
Some had suggested that this protein is as important as blood cholesterol levels in causing heart attack.
London, Dec 24: Despite the general belief recommending exercise for those suffering from bad menstrual pain, a new study finds it to be ineffective.
“Anecdotal beliefs that exercise is an effective treatment have prevailed for many years and while it might seem intuitively appealing to promote exercise as a treatment for menstrual disorders, the findings from this study, along with many others, would not support such a view,” said lead researcher Amanda Daley.
Washington, Dec 24: In a discovery that may open doors to the development of a new class of contraceptive, American scientists have found a hormone which controls mechanism of human reproduction.
Nearly 10 years after its discovery in birds, neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have established that humans also make the hormone, GnIH, that puts brake on reproduction, journal Plos One reported.
London, December 23: An international team of scientists have made a novel discovery that might help explain how flu virus, including the currently circulating swine-origin H1N1 infects the body.
They have also identified small molecule compounds that act on several of these factors and inhibit viral replication, pointing to new ways to treat flu.
During the study, researchers have identified 295 human cell factors that influenza A strains must harness to infect a cell.
Chandigarh, Dec 23: Six more persons, including four from Chandigarh, tested positive for swine flu in the city on Tuesday.
Four cases from Chandigarh included a PGI doctor. Two persons from Punjab—one from Nabha and another from Bathinda, also tested positive for H1N1. The positive cases count has crossed 290 now.
Meanwhile, the UT Health department received a fresh consignment of 12,000 tablets of Tamiflu and 500 bottles of syrup from the Union Health Ministry.
Rio De Janeiro, Dec 23: A two-year-old Brazilian boy pierced with dozens of sewing needles by his black-magic believing stepfather is to be operated again today to remove some of the slivers, doctors said.
“The operation is confirmed for Wednesday morning at 8:00 am (1000 GMT),” said a statement yesterday from the hospital in Salvador de Bahia, where the boy is being treated.
The needles are to be extracted from the bladder and intestines of the boy, who could not be named because of his young age.
Paris, Dec 23: Cardiovascular disease linked to obesity may be worse than thought while health problems associated with being underweight may have been overstated, according to a study published by the British Medical Journal today.
The paper, written by doctors in Britain and Sweden, seeks to finetune a well-known tool — the body mass index (BMI) — which is used to measure obesity and ill-health.
Chandigarh, Dec 22: Three people died of influenza A (H1N1) at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGMIER) here, taking the toll to 37 in this union territory, an official said on Tuesday.
The three people, including a woman working in a nationalised bank inside the Panjab University (PU) campus here, died Monday.
This is the second patient from Panjab University who died of swine flu. Earlier, a servant of a faculty member who resides inside the university campus died due to the H1N1 virus.
–Agencies
Washington, Dec 22: President Obama’s vision of near universal healthcare took a big step closer to reality yesterday when his plans secured a watertight majority in the Senate.
With Washington covered in 2ft of snow and some senators flown in on government jets to make sure they were there for the 1am roll call, all 58 Democrats and the chamber’s two independents held together to deliver the 60 votes needed to cut off Republican efforts to block the Bill.
New Delhi, December 21: Japan today announced a grant of Rs 31 lakhs to Umeed, an NGO to support a rural medical service project.
The signing ceremony to formalise the arrangements was conducted today at the Embassy of Japan between Ambassador Hideki Domichi and the representatives of the NGO, a release said.
The scheme of ‘Grant assistance for grassroots projects’ was introduced by the Government of Japan in 1989 to provide timely assistance directly to the activities of NGO’s promoting welfare of the people in developing countries.
–Agencies
Melbourne, Dec 21: Five weeks after being separated in a miracle surgery, conjoined Bangladeshi twins Trishna and Krishna were released from the hospital today and will for the first time celebrate their birthday as two different identifies.
The twins moved to their guardian Moira Kelly’s house here after being discharged from hospital apparently looking forward to their joint third birthday feast tomorrow.
London, December 21: A low-calorie, low-fat diet does more good to a dieters` mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories, says a new study.
Obese individuals who lose weight tend to have an improved psychological state, including a better mood, according to the study report.
Grant D Brinkworth of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and colleagues conducted a randomised clinical trial involving 106 overweight and obese participants who aged 50.
London, December 21: Abdominal binders, elasticized wraps that are applied around the lower part of the torso to support the abdomen, may endanger women’s lives, say experts.
Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has warned that abdominal binders such as the Cinch can do more harm than good, reports The Independent.
Tagged as a ‘miracle’, the Cinch is claimed by its makers to help women lose weight and shave inches off their waistlines if worn 24 hours a day for six weeks.
It is designed to be worn just one day after giving birth.
New Delhi, Dec 21:Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers in India, accounting for 80,000 of the 5.5 lakh (550,000) cancer deaths in the country.
It is the number one cancer among Indian men and number six among women. The reason why it is so fatal, say experts, is that 85 per cent cases are diagnosed in stages 3 and 4, when a surgical cure is no longer an option. “Since there are no symptoms in the early stages, people get diagnosed late, if at all,” said Dr Jaydip Biswas, director, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata.
Chandigarh, Dec 21: Nine people tested positive for swine flu in the city on Sunday. Among the victims, four are from Chandigarh, one from Punjab, and two each from Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Also, samples of eight suspected cases were collected.
So far, 32 people have died of swine flu in city hospitals and 280 people have tested positive. On Saturday, the Administration declared the virus was under ‘community spread’ category.
–Agencies
Hamburg, Dec 21: German doctors have implanted a special microchip in the retina of a blind Finnish man, enabling him to see.
The 1,500-pixel sensor chip can mimic the electrical signals sent by a healthy eye through the nervous system to the brain.
The patient, 45, who was identified only by his first name, Miika, was able to orient himself by sight and read letters of the alphabet, according to the magazine.
New York, December 20: Drinking four or more cups of green tea on a regular basis lowers the risk of developing depression among elderly men and women, a new study finds.
Previous studies had linked the consumption of green tea to various health benefits including reduced psychological distress.
According to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, drinking green tea lowers the risk of depression in men and women aged over 70 by 44 percent.
Black and oolong tea or coffee, however, was not effective in reducing depressive symptoms in these individuals.
Toronto, December 19: Some 10 to 15 percent of women have disordered eating behaviour and conditions beyond anorexia, according to a study.
“Our results are disquieting. Women are exposed to many contradictory messages. They are encouraged to lose weight yet also encouraged to eat for the simple pleasure of it,” says Lise Gauvin, professor of social and preventive medicine at theUniversity of Montreal (UM).
Chandigarh, Dec 19: Three more swine flu deaths were reported from the region on Friday. The deceased are residents of Ludhiana, Bathinda and Kaithal.
Also, three samples from the tricity tested positive at PGIMER today. Harpal Singh, a 25-year-old resident of Ludhiana, Gurmail Singh, a 45-year-old resident of Bathinda, and Vicky, a 20-year-old resident of Kaithal succumbed to the virus. This brings the total number of deaths at city hospitals to 32.
London, Dec 19: Scientists have indentified all the changes in cells of two deadly cancers to produce the first entire cancer gene maps. The findings mark a “transforming moment” in their understanding of the disease, they said.
The studies by international scientists and Britain’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute are the first comprehensive descriptions of tumour cell mutations and lay bare all genetic changes behind melanoma skin cancer and lung cancer.
London, Dec 19: It has been often hailed as one of the best starters for the day. But porridge may have been a breakfast favourite for far longer than previously thought, say scientists.
An international team, led by University of Calgary, claims to have found evidence that cavemen and women may have been eating porridge 100,000 years ago — in fact, evidence of breadmaking means they may even have followed it with toast.
Washington, Dec 19:Cardiovascular disease and stroke will cost the United States an estimated $503.2 billion in 2010, an increase of nearly 6 percent, and many cases could have been prevented, the American Heart Association said on Thursday.
The figure includes both health care costs and lost productivity due to death and disease, according to an update published online in the journal Circulation.