Health

Chandigarh, September 28: A 12-year-old girl died from influenza A (H1N1) virus Monday, becoming the first swine flu casualty here, a health official said.

The victim, a native of Meerut in Uttar pradesh, was staying in the hostel of Chaman Vatika school on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway, 35 km from here.

“Harshita was brought to Chandigarh on Friday in a very serious condition and she was admitted at Chaitanya Hospital. When the hospital authorities informed us, she was already on ventilator support,” H.C. Gera, nodal officer for swine flu, Chandigarh, told IANS.

Berlin, September 28: Heart attack symptoms are not nearly as obvious in women as in men, reports a German medical association.

Men will tend to report sudden, prolonged periods of pain in the chest, reported the German Federal Group of Apothecary Associations (ABDA). The pain often radiates through the arms, back, stomach, throat and jaw while a man’s face will go pale and grow sweaty.

Difficulty breathing, dizziness, unconsciousness and fear are symptoms as well.

Washington, September 28: People who suffer frequent minor irritations on their face should pay attention to how often they touch their face with their hands, experts say. The hands often carry a lot of bacteria, which can cause irritations.

“Irritations often occur on the face in areas we touch with our hands,” said German makeup artist Boris Entrup. This includes the forehead, which many women touch when they adjust their bangs or when they push aside longer strands of hair.

Hamburg, September 28: A combination of LED light therapy and a lotion made from green tea extract is far more effective at removing facial wrinkles than conventional therapies, according to a team of German researchers.

The combination of high-intensity light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a lotion made of green tea extract works ten times faster than a similar anti-wrinkle treatment that uses LEDs alone, according to the findings published in the journal Crystal Growth and Design.

New Delhi, September 27: The All India Heart Foundation (AIHF) will launch an awareness drive for heart diseases among women, which they consider the most neglected and least prioritised group in the society.

A brainchild of AIHF president S. Padmavati, the campaign, which would be implemented by “The Red Brigade of Women”, aims at addressing the susceptibility of women to heart diseases.

The 10 member “brigade” would not only comprise women doctors and a nursing superintendent but would also include housewives and young women professionals.

New Delhi, September 27: Four swine flu-related deaths were reported across the country today while another four suspected deaths were confirmed as having caused by the pandemic, taking the countrywide toll to 298.

Also, 189 fresh swine flu cases were confirmed today during lab tests. Of these, four cases are imported while the others are indigenous.

Of the four deaths, Karnataka reported two while one person each died in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh due to the viral infection.

New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) The All India Heart Foundation (AIHF) will launch an awareness drive for heart diseases among women, which they consider the most neglected and least prioritised group in the society.

A brainchild of AIHF president S. Padmavati, the campaign, which would be implemented by “The Red Brigade of Women”, aims at addressing the susceptibility of women to heart diseases.

The 10 member “brigade” would not only comprise women doctors and a nursing superintendent but would also include housewives and young women professionals.

Washington, September 27: People tend to link insulin with diabetes, but it has other lesser known uses too. A study has shown that loss of response to insulin plays a major role in decrease of physical strength that occurs as people grow older.

Insulin is necessary for muscle growth, increasing blood flow through muscle tissue, encouraging nutrients to disperse from blood vessels and itself serving as a biochemical signal to boost muscle protein synthesis.

California, September 27: 181 female skydivers from 31 countries joined together on Sept 26 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time to set a new women’s formation skydiving world record and raise over $900,000 for the fight against breast cancer, the most in the event’s history.

London, September 27: Losing excess weight through dieting, exercise and surgery can improve kidney function in obese adults already suffering from kidney disease.

Being overweight or obese had long been linked with various health conditions such as diabetes and heart problems.

Weight loss was therefore shown to improve control over diabetes, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and reduce heart-related complications.

A new study, however, found that losing weight can also help protect the kidneys.

Washington, September 27: Don’t spank your kids if you want them to be very intelligent. A ground-breaking research has found that children who are spanked have lower IQs.

Corporal punishment is extremely stressful and can become a chronic stressor for young children, says Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire.

“All parents want smart children. This research shows that avoiding spanking and correcting misbehaviour in other ways can help that happen,” says Straus.

London, September 27: In a surgical feat, doctors have rebuilt the face of a person, suffering from mouth cancer, using different parts of his body including his ribs, hips and even wrists.

46-year-old Tim Gallego, who was unable to talk for a whole year and couldn’t eat or drink, underwent 16 operations to have bones, skin and arteries from all over his body implanted into his face, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.

Washington, September 27: People tend to link insulin with diabetes, but it has other lesser known uses too. A study has shown that loss of response to insulin plays a major role in decrease of physical strength that occurs as people grow older.

Insulin is necessary for muscle growth, increasing blood flow through muscle tissue, encouraging nutrients to disperse from blood vessels and itself serving as a biochemical signal to boost muscle protein synthesis.

Mumbai, September 27: While the two new effective drugs to counter H1N1 virus — Fluvir and Natflu — or Oseltamivir (generic name for tamiflu) have been made available at chemist shops in Mumbai in the past four days, there are hardly any sales or even enquiries for the drug coming in, said chemists.

Only chemists with a ‘Schedule X’ licence can sell the drug. To ensure that the drug is readily available to the public, the state government has also issued as many as 91 fresh licenses last week, bringing to 143 the number of designated medical shops with the license to sell the drug.

Sydney, September 26: Researchers believe that alcohol is still a potentially dangerous drug and should not be promoted as a health tonic.

They say that cardiac protection from alcohol is by no means certain and probably has been over-emphasised in recent years.

Authors of a new study also point out that there are many other health downsides from heavy drinking, and that alcohol is now widely recognised as a dangerous recreational drug.

London, September 26: Don’t spank your kids if you want them to be very intelligent. A ground-breaking research has found that children who are spanked have lower IQs.

Corporal punishment is extremely stressful and can become a chronic stressor for young children, says Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire.

”All parents want smart children. This research shows that avoiding spanking and correcting misbehaviour in other ways can help that happen,” says Straus.

Geneva, September 26: Early use of anti-virals is effective in treating H1N1 flu and health authorities must be vigilant for signs of drug resistance, the World Health Organisation said on Friday.

Drug-resistant pandemic flu viruses have appeared infrequently so far and there is no evidence they are spreading, but further cases are likely, the WHO said on its website.

London, September 26: Certain flickering colours, especially red and blue in tandem, seem more likely to cause fits among epileptics, says a new study headed by a researcher of Indian origin.

Joydeep Bhattacharya at the Goldsmiths-University of London (GU-L) headed a team of researchers to probe the brain rhythms of photo-sensitivity.

In 1997, more than 700 children in Japan reportedly suffered an epileptic attack while watching an episode of a popular cartoon.

Washington, September 26: Don’t spank your kids if you want them to be very intelligent. A ground-breaking research has found that children who are spanked have lower IQs.

Corporal punishment is extremely stressful and can become a chronic stressor for young children, says Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire.

“All parents want smart children. This research shows that avoiding spanking and correcting misbehaviour in other ways can help that happen,” says Straus.

New Delhi, September 26: Global pharma major Novartis Friday announced it is ready with a swine flu vaccine and has started first deliveries to governments in Europe, giving hopes to people in many parts of the world.

“Novartis has already started first deliveries of pandemic vaccines under quarantine to governments in Europe, despite the initially low yields with the current production seed strain provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO). A new seed strain could provide higher volumes,” the company said in a statement issued in Switzerland.

London, September 26: In a surgical feat, doctors have rebuilt the face of a person, suffering from mouth cancer, using different parts of his body including his ribs, hips and even wrists.

46-year-old Tim Gallego, who was unable to talk for a whole year and couldn’t eat or drink, underwent 16 operations to have bones, skin and arteries from all over his body implanted into his face, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.

Washington, September 26: People tend to link insulin with diabetes, but it has other lesser known uses too. A study has shown that loss of response to insulin plays a major role in decrease of physical strength that occurs as people grow older.

Insulin is necessary for muscle growth, increasing blood flow through muscle tissue, encouraging nutrients to disperse from blood vessels and itself serving as a biochemical signal to boost muscle protein synthesis.

New Delhi, September 26:With five percent of India’s population obese, there is a strong need to control intake of sweets and maintain an active lifestyle so as to stay fit.

“Indians by nature have a sweet tooth and sugar is a prime requirement in every household. The consumption of sugar is increasing by four percent annually in the country and so is obesity,” said Rekha Sharma, former chief dietician with the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences here.

London, September 26:Obesity caused at least 124,000 new cancers last year in Europe, according to a new study.

The proportion of cases of new cancers were highest among women and in central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

“As more people stop smoking and fewer women take hormone replacement therapy, it is possible that obesity may become the biggest attributable cause of cancer in women within the next decade,” said Andrew Renehan, who led the study.

New Delhi, September 26:If you binge on junk food, smoke and don’t exercise, you are at risk of developing heart diseases in your thirties. According to doctors, about 46.9 million Indians between 20 and 69 will suffer from heart diseases by 2010 and half of them will be youngsters.