Health

New Delhi, Nov 11: Want to have a healthy heart? Practice yoga daily as Indian researchers have claimed that breathing exercises, stretching, relaxation and meditation improve heart health.

According to the researchers at IIT-Roorkee in Uttarakhand, heart rate variability, a sign of a healthy heart, has been shown to be higher in yoga practitioners than in non-practitioners.

Ramesh Kumar Sunkaria, Vinod Kumar and Suresh Chandra Saxena of the Electrical Engineering Department evaluated two small groups of men in order to see whether yoga can improve heart health.

Sydney, Nov 11: People with anxious personalities are more likely to have poor oral health, including decayed or missing teeth, says a new study.

The recent study examined anxiety levels of 1,037 participants aged 15 to 32 in the long-running Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. About a quarter of the group were identified as dentally anxious.

Split into three groups, they had always been dentally anxious (stable anxious); or had developed dental anxiety later as adolescents (adolescent-onset anxious), or as adults (adult-onset anxious).

Chandigarh, Nov 11: Four more persons, including two students of DAV Public School, Sector 8, have tested positive for swine flu taking the total number of cases in the city to 73.

The patients include two 12 years old Class VII students of DAV School, who are residents of Sector 7 and Sector 15, respectively. Both the positive students have been quarantined at their home and put on Tamiflu.

The school has already been closed for seven days, as four positive cases have surfaced in the school so far.

Pune, Nov 11: This sterilisation machine with plasma technology and two heart lung machines that has been acquired by the Cardio Vascular Thoracic Surgery (CVTS) department at Sassoon General Hospital can convert irregular heart beats into regular ones during surgery and is the only one in Asia.

Jaipur, Nov 11: swine flu spreading fast in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Government on Monday stepped up efforts to control the virus and authorised 30 private hospitals here to treat patients showing symptoms of infection and established 17 new centres here to collect samples.

The death toll in the State due to swine flu has gone up to 17 with the lethal virus claiming the life of a 40-year-old man at Sawai Man Singh Hospital here on Sunday. The deceased, Dhani Ram, was admitted to the hospital on October 20 and was shifted to the intensive care unit on October 29 when his condition worsened.

Bhubaneswar, November 10: Orissa government today launched strict measures to implement the law prohibiting smoking at public places.

Anybody found to be smoking in public places would be penalised and a fine of Rs 200 would be imposed on the offender by the enforcement squad, Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya said.

Apart from taking punitive actions to enforce the ban, the government would also intensify campaign to create awareness among the people about the ill effects of smoking and use of tobacco in any form, he said.

Buenos Aires, November 10: Some 400 clowns and doctors skilled at clowning took part in an international conference in Buenos Aires to present scientific evidence, backed by their own experience, to show why laughter was healthy.

The third International Congress of Hospital Clowns, which was held Nov 7-8 in the Argentine capital, brought together artists and health professionals from around the world who combine humour with health care, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.

New Delhi, November 09: Seventeen swine flu deaths, 15 of them from Rajasthan, were reported on Monday, taking the country’s toll to 502, health department officials said here.

While one death was reported Monday in Rajasthan, the rest 14 had occurred in the state earlier.

With these 15 deaths, the toll has jumped to 17 in Rajasthan where 101 people have been tested positive for the contagious flu so far.

“State health authorities of Rajasthan have communicated 14 deaths of laboratory confirmed cases from the various districts of Rajasthan,” said an official here.

Kathmandu, Nov 09 : Hundreds of people flocked to hospitals for tests with swine flu like symptoms while public schools were shut down for three days in a third district in western Nepal after fears of an epidemic loomed large in the region following detection of the virus in school students and security forces.

Washington, Nov 9 : Calcium and vitamin D supplements can improve bone density during a crucial growth period for young girls.

A six-month study looked at identical twin girls aged between nine and 12, who were randomly assigned to receive either the calcium and vitamin D tablets, or a matched placebo.

David Greene, lecturer in exercise science at Australian Catholic University (ACU), said results showed that the supplements improved measures of bone mineral density, bone mineral content and bone strength in these girls.

Washington, Nov 09 : A new breakthrough will help scientists eavesdrop on bacteria and learn how they chat with one another. This finding is likely to lead to new therapeutic discoveries for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes and allergies.

Pieter C. Dorrestein, pharmacy professor at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) and Paul Straight of Texas A&M University, utilised a technology called natural product MALDI-TOF imaging mass spectrometry to translate bacterial language.

Washington, Nov 09 : Scientists have developed synthetic molecules that could boost our immunity against HIV and HIV-infected cells as well as prostate cancer cells.

Their findings potentially open the way to novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of these diseases.

HIV is a global pandemic that affects 33 million people worldwide, while prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American males.

Washington, November 09: Using a lubricant during sexual activity alone or with a partner contributes to more pleasurable and satisfying sex, a new study has found.

The Centre for Sexual Health Promotion (CSHP), Indiana University (I-U), studied 2,453 women aged between 18 and 68.

Participants strongly endorsed that lubricant use improved their sexual experiences in more than 70 percent of the events. Women indicated that using lubricants made sex feel very pleasurable and more comfortable.

Washington, Nov 09: Gifted young athletes are increasingly under pressure to play only one sport round the year. But a new study has found that such specialization increases the risk of injury.

Researchers from the Loyola University Health System (LUHS) examined 519 junior tennis players and analysed 3,366 matches in junior competitions in the US and found that players who specialized in only tennis were more likely to withdraw from tournaments for medical reasons, typically injuries.

Toronto, November 09: Women with heavier busts who have been treated for breast cancer are at higher risk of its recurrence, says a new study.

These findings indicate that such patients may benefit from additional therapies, such as radiation, following surgery.

Researchers suspected that high breast density (heavier breasts) may also increase the risk of cancer recurrence after lumpectomy, but this theory has not been thoroughly studied.

Hamburg, November 09: Depressed individuals tend to over report their physical symptoms particularly the pain that they actually experience, a new study finds.

Previous studies had reported that neuroticism — a condition characterized by irritability, sadness, anxiety and fear — accounts for the exaggerated reporting of physical symptoms in affected individuals.

A new study, however, pronounces the influence of depression in causing over reporting.

New Delhi, Nov 09: Students forming a human chain organised by the Coimbatore Cancer Foundation of GKNM Hospital to create awareness on breast cancer in Coimbatore on October 31, 2009.

With changing times and a faster lifestyle, younger women are becoming more susceptible to the disease, say doctors.

About a decade back, the age group of women most vulnerable to breast cancer was 50 and above. But with changing times and a faster lifestyle, younger women are becoming more susceptible to the disease, say doctors.

Lucknow, Nov 09: Broken ribs are the major cause of death in road accidents. If the doctors follow the right steps, 85 per cent of the victims can be saved, said experts.

While training around 50 surgeons from across the state on Advance Trauma and Life Support, Dr M Z Ansari, Trauma expert from Sandville Hospital, Birmingham, UK, trained them about the basics of trauma care.

“One fourth of the trauma cases succumb to road accidents due to multiple chest injury and most of these can easily be saved if they are properly treated,” said Dr Ansari.

London, November 08: A new study suggests that chemicals in dark chocolate could help prevent wrinkles and skin cancer caused by sunlight exposure.

Researchers at the European Dermatology London, a privately held Harley Street skin clinic, say that dark chocolate could protect the skin from ageing effects of UV light in sunlight.

The study, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, says the most likely mechanisms which protect the skin are the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the flavanols.

New Delhi, November 08: Two-month-old Neel is one among the rarest of rare children born with ‘Ectopia Cordis’ — malformation of heart outside the body — and surviving after undergoing a surgery by doctors here.

One-and-a-half-month after the surgery by a team of surgeons at Apollo Hospital, Neel (name changed) is living beyond the expected short life span of such children, doctors said.

Neel is around four kilograms now. Once he attains more weight, at least six kgs, doctors said they will perform another surgery on him.

London, November 08: Consuming fiber-rich foods as well as probiotic and prebiotics supplements can boost intestinal bacteria and immunity, keeping asthma and diabetes at bay.

Previous studies had reported that intestinal bacteria play a critical role in boosting immunity, since the very first days of life.

According to a study published in Nature, diets can have profound effects on immune responses or inflammatory diseases.

London, November 08: While eating a diet high in processed foods increases the risk of depression, following a diet rich in fruit and fish can keep the condition at bay.

Previous studies had found that adopting a Mediterranean diet helps lower the risk of developing depression. In today’s world, however, individuals consume less nutritious and fresh products than saturated fats and sugars.

Hamburg, November 08: The differences in infantile crying melodies correspond with their mother tongue, indicating that babies are influenced by the sound of the first language to penetrate the womb.

It had long been believed that the fetus can memorize sounds from the outside world, both music and human voices, in the last three months of pregnancy.

According to a study published in Current Biology, human neonates are capable of producing different crying melodies, all of which correspond with the language they have heard during their fetal life.

Riyadh, November 07: Swine flu vaccinations will be administered from today (Saturday) across the Kingdom after an official 10 A.M. launching by the Minister of Health in Riyadh.

The first to receive the vaccine, which has been declared safe by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, the European Medicine Agency and 17 European countries, are persons in Haj-related employment and pilgrims from within the Kingdom.

Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah conducted a Makkah tour on Thursday of the ministry’s health facilities at Arafat, Mount Al-Rahma, and Mina.

–Agencies

New Delhi, November 07: Three swine flu deaths, including two in Kerala, were reported Saturday, taking the toll due to Influenza A (H1N1) virus in India to 484, health authorities said here.

At least 66 new cases were reported in the country, taking the total number of people affected with the flu to 14,406.

Of the fresh cases reported, 18 were from the national capital. With these, the total number of people affected with the flu have gone up to 3,592 – the second highest in the country.