New Delhi, August 01: Commemorating 30 years of freedom from smallpox, the World Health Organization (WHO) Friday said it was the greatest achievement in public health in the 20th century and hailed India’s eradication efforts as a “remarkable feat”.
Kathmandu, August 01: At least eight people died on Saturday after the outbreak of diarrhoea in several districts of western Nepal raising the death toll to 16 over the weekend due to the outbreak of disease and natural calamities in the area.
Eight people have on Saturday died after the outbreak of diarrhoea in Jajarkot, Rukum, Kalikot and Dailekh districts in western Nepal, the officials said. In Jajorkot and Ruku were the worst hit districts by the disease.
Washington, August 01: Diets high in fructose, a type of sugar found in most processed foods and beverages, impairs memory, according to a new study.
Amy Ross, graduate student in the lab of Marise Parent, associate professor at Georgia State University (GSU) Neuroscience Institute, fed a group of rats a diet where fructose represented 60 percent of calories ingested during the day.
She placed the rats in a pool of water to test their ability to learn to find a submerged platform, which allowed them to get out of the water.
London, August 01: Malaria parasites in western Cambodia have become resistant to artemisinin-based therapies, the first-line treatment for malaria, according to a study by Oxford University researchers.
The study, conducted by the university’s experts based in Thailand, has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Signs of artemisinin resistance have been reported in the region, but this new research is the first detailed study of the problem, a university release said.
Chennai, August 01: The Madras High Court has held that the city police had no legal right to prevent a health Spa from being run by any citizen of the country even if the services were offered by members of opposite sex.
Granting an interim injunction on a application by M/s Influence Lifestyle Stores Private Ltd seeking to restraining police from interfering with the ‘peaceful conduct’ of the business offering various Spa therapies for both sexes by members belonging to both sexes, Justice K Chandru said ‘there is no law regulating the field’.
Toronto, August 01: Fungal infections can be deadly as fungus germs have developed resistance to drug treatment. But now researchers have found a way to make drugs more effective in clearing all fungal infections.
Led by Toronto University professor Leah Cowen, an international team has discovered that the fungal pathogen or germ called Candida albicans, resists drug treatment because of an associated protein called heat shock protein 90 or Hsp90.
Candida albicans can cause from superficial infections such as yeast infections to life-threatening infections in the bloodstream.
Beijing, August 01: China performs more abortions than any other country in the world, about 13 million a year, mostly for young single women who aren’t using contraception. One expert says the figures show many Chinese now consider the cheap, widely available procedure an acceptable form of birth control.
Atlanta, August 01: Americans spend more than a 10th of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such spending in more than a decade.
Chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists and herbal remedies are commanding significant consumer dollars as people seek high-touch care in a high-tech society, the report released Thursday by the government shows.
Altogether, consumers spent an estimated $34 billion on those and other alternative remedies in 2007, the report found.
New York, August 01: Eating omega-3-rich seafood may be a mood-lifter for women who are feeling depressed during pregnancy, suggests a study of British women.
In the study, Dr. Jean Golding, at the University of Bristol, and colleagues found an association between a low omega-3 fatty acid intake from seafood and an increased risk of high levels of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.
Washington, August 01: US President Barack Obama directed federal agencies on Thursday to enact new rules governing federally funded research on human embryonic stem cells.
The rules, issued earlier this year by the National Institutes of Health, loosened some ethical requirements that scientists said could have cost them a decade of work.
“I hereby direct the heads of executive departments and agencies that support and conduct stem cell research to adopt these guidelines, to the fullest extent practicable in light of legal authorities and obligations,” Obama said in a statement.
Rome, August 01: Italy’s health and drugs authorities have approved the use of the abortion drug RU486, drawing immediate protests by the Vatican.
The Italian Drug Agency ruled after a meeting that ended late Thursday that the drug cannot be sold in drug stores but can only be administered by doctors in a hospital. The agency said the pill can only be taken up to the seventh week of pregnancy.
Pune, August 01: Can Homeopathy offer a preventive medicine for currently rampant H1N1 viral infection?
A senior Homeopath here say it can. The remedy which he has recommended is a bio-chemic preparation of Homeopathic drugs which is easily available in tablet forms at chemist shops.
Dr Srirang Oak, the homeopath, said if 3/4 tablets of ‘Ferrum Phosphoricum’ and ‘Kali Muriaticum” each are taken 3/4 times a day, it could bestow an immunity to the person, effectively enhancing his resistance against viral infection.
New Delhi, July 31: Sixteen new cases of swine flu, including 11 children, were reported Friday, taking the total number of people infected with the virus to 525 in India, health officials said.
Acording to a health ministry statement, the new cases were reported from Pune (10), Hyderabad (2), Delhi (1), Gurgaon (1), Chandigarh (1), and Imphal (1).
Washington, July 31: A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found among those affected with the second most common form of skin cancer, indicating that it might be more prevalent than earlier thought.
“Originally it was thought that this virus caused only this rare skin cancer, but our findings indicate that it is a lot more prevalent than we initially thought,” said principal investigator Amanda E. Toland, assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre (OSU-3C).
Kolkata, July 30: In what can be stated to be a huge feat for India, stem cell treatment in a Kolkata hospital threw it further into limelight.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute carried out a remarkable transplant from an unrelated donor on Sunday. Cord blood from an infant was transferred to a patient Amal Majumdar who was suffering from aplastic anaemia.
Aplastic anaemia is a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells.
Japan was the first to break this barrier whose success rate so far has been 80%.
London, July 30: Organic food has no nutritional or health benefits over ordinary food, according to a major study published Wednesday.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007.
A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.
Washington, July 30: Kids who are active at age 5 are likely to remain lean as they age even if they don’t remain as active later in childhood, say researchers.
The researchers call it a ‘banking’ effect as kids benefit from it later in life.
“We call this effect ‘banking’ because the kids benefit later on, similar to having a savings account at a bank. The protective effect is independent of what happens in between,” said lead author Kathleen Janz, professor of health and sport studies in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
New Delhi, July 30: Nearly 53,000 children in the country are HIV positive, with Tamil Nadu topping the list with new 2,650 cases, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has informed the Lok Sabha.
The minister said in 2006, about 2,253 cases were reported, while the following year 24,977 were registered. In November 2008, the figure touched 19,116.
“The cumulative total among children now stands at 52,973 in May 2009,” Azad said.
India has 2.5 million HIV/AIDS cases.
Melbourne, July 30: Eggs are not bad for heart health, say experts. US egg expert Dr Don McNamara insists that their bad reputation is no longer warranted and even Heart Foundation has lifted its recommended intake to six eggs a week.
“Seniors have been afraid to eat eggs because for 40 years they have been worried about the dietary cholesterol,” the Herald Sun quoted nutritional biochemist McNamara as saying.
New York, July 30: Obese, but worried that surgery for it might kill you? The risk of that has dropped dramatically, and now is no greater than for having a gall bladder out, a hip replaced or most other major operations, new research shows.
The study looked at safety results for gastric bands and stomach stapling at 10 U.S. hospitals specializing in these procedures from 2005 through 2007. For every 1,000 patients, three died during or within a month of their surgery, and 43 had a major complication.
Bangalore, July 29: How about some rib-tickling theatre and delectable dishes thereafter? Come August and that’s what many Bangaloreans will do every weekend for six months.
The brainchild of Hubli-based theatre troupe Guru Samste, Bangaloreans will be entertained with some of the most hilarious Kannada plays along with the best of south Indian cuisines under one roof.
Guru Samste has joined hands with popular city-based south Indian restaurant Maiya’s to come up with Bangalore’s very own supper theatre christened “Maiya’s Rangavali”.
New Delhi, July 29: The Indian health ministry Wednesday asked educational institutes not to shut but take preventive measures to control the swine flu spread as 23 new cases of the influenza A(H1N1) were reported, taking the tally of the infected people in the country to nearly 500.
The government reiterated its advisory against visiting the flu-affected countries.
The total influenza A(H1N1) virus cases have reached 498 in India, a statement said.
New Delhi, July 29: The Indian health ministry Wednesday asked educational institutes not to shut but take preventive measures to control the swine flu spread and advised students to avoid study tours to the infected countries.
An official circular said: “Given the current magnitude of the spread of A(H1N1) infection and the fact that the virus is fairly mild, closure of educational institutions on account of any student/staff member falling ill with flu like symptoms is not recommended.”
Lucknow, July 29: Out of the 136 fresh polio cases detected in the country, as many as 97 were in Uttar Pradesh this year, according to a new report.
Alarmed by the report, the state government hurriedly convened a high level meeting here last Sunday to chalk out a new polio immunization programme.
Under the plan, a fresh round of polio drops will be given to infants across the state on August 9.
New York, July 29: A common food dye used in popular candies can help repair spinal injuries and prevent permanent paralysis, US researchers claim.
Researchers report that the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) found in blue colour dye used in candies blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area after an injury.
The new findings by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Centre here are based on earlier research by the team.