New Delhi, July 02: There has been an improvement in the health sector but India faces a shortage of over 28,000 health centres, the Economic Survey 2008-09 said Thursday.
“There is a shortage of 20,855 sub centres, 4,833 primary health centres (PHCs) and 2,525 community health centres (CHCs) as per the 2001 population norm,” the survey said.
New Delhi: Even though India is the largest supplier of vaccines to the world, its domestic market is completely paralyzed, risking the health of millions of children, especially newborns, says a report.
“India is the largest supplier of vaccines to the world yet its domestic market of vaccines stands completely crippled, endangering the health and future of millions of its children, especially newborns,” according to a report in Down To Earth (DTE), a fortnightly magazine of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
Washington, July 02: Diets high in protein and cholesterol are linked with a higher risk of hospitalization or death due to cirrhosis or liver cancer, while diets high in carbohydrates are associated with a lower risk, according to the latest research.
Researchers, led by George Ioannou of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, investigated whether dietary nutrient composition was associated with the subsequent development of cirrhosis or liver cancer in a representative sample of the US population.
Washington, July 02: Twenty-six states in the United States saw a rise in adult obesity rates during the past year while there was no decrease in any other state, newly-released figures showed.
Meanwhile, the number of obese and overweight children has now climbed to 30 percent in 30 states, according to findings in an annual report on obesity in America, released on Wednesday by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Toronto, July 02: The Canadian University of Western Ontario has developed a new HIV/Aids vaccine that is ready for human trials.
The vaccine called SAV001H has been developed by the university at London, about 160 km from Toronto, in collaboration with Sumagen Canada, a subsidiary of the Korean pharmaceutical company.
In a statement Tuesday, Sumagen Canada said it has submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin the first phase of trials of the vaccine on human beings.
Faizabad, July 01: An HIV affected woman was forced to deliver her baby outside a government hospital after she was allegedly denied treatment by the doctors in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district.
The 28-year-old pregnant woman, a resident of Jahageeraganj locality in Amdedkar Nagar, went to Mahatma Jyotiba Phule district hospital last evening in the district, 60 km from here.
New Delhi, July 01: Three new cases of swine flu were reported in India Wednesday taking the total number of cases reported to 112, a statement said.
One person each in Delhi, Bangalore and Gurgaon were found positive for H1N1 infection.
“The case in Delhi is of an 11-year-old male child who travelled from Munich via Dubai and reached Delhi June 26. On June 30, since he was having fever and cough, he reported at the identified health facility where he is admitted,” a statement issued by the health ministry said Wednesday.
London, July 01: Scientists have discovered a wonder molecule in mother’s milk that protects and repairs the delicate intestines of newborn babies.
Called pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI), the ingredient is found at its highest levels in colostrum – the milk produced in the first few days after birth.
PSTI is a molecule normally found in the pancreas, and protects it from being damaged by the digestive enzymes it produces. It seems to play a similar protective role in the gut.
Washington, July 01: Stressed men are more likely to gamble, smoke, have unsafe sex or consume illegal drugs. Conversely, stressed women moderate their behaviour and are less likely to indulge in risky choices, says a new study.
“Evolutionarily speaking, it’s perhaps more beneficial for men to be aggressive in stressful, high-arousal situations when risk and reward are involved,” said gerontologist Nichole Lighthall.
Washington, July 01: When it comes to dental health, an acidic fruit juice like orange is even worse than teeth whitening agents, warns a recent study.
University of Rochester Medical Centre’s YanFang Ren and his team determined that the effects of six percent hydrogen peroxide, the common ingredient in over-the-counter whitening products, are insignificant compared to acidic fruit juices.
For the first time, researchers were able to see extensive surface detail thanks to a new focus-variation vertical scanning microscope.
Toronto, July 01: The Canadian University of Western Ontario has developed a new HIV/AIDS vaccine that is ready for human trials.
The vaccine called SAV001H has been developed by the university at London, about 160 km from here, in collaboration with Sumagen Canada, a subsidiary of the Korean pharmaceutical company.
In a statement Tuesday, Sumagen Canada said it has submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin the first phase of trials of the vaccine on human beings.
Washington, July 01: Nearly three months after the US immigration agency started accepting petitions for the H-1B visas for highly-skilled foreign professionals, it is still looking for more than 20,000 applications to fill the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000.
Amid the economic downturn and protectionist provisions in the US stimulus package, the demand for the visas, which is mostly availed by Indian professionals, has slowed down.
New Delhi, July 01: The Delhi government has decided against sending samples of H1N1 influenza cases to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, as the institute takes up to 48 hours to report back.
Experts say test results should not take more than six hours. Officials say since suspected patients are kept in the same wards as patients confirmed with H1N1 flu, it increases chances of getting infected. Now, the government will send samples only to the Delhi-based National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
Bangalore, June 30: As more and more teenagers of India’s IT hub Bangalore are falling prey to smoking, the Karnataka High Court order barring tobacco products’ sale near schools and colleges has been welcomed by the youngsters themselves. This should help them stay away from the harmful addiction, they say.
Sydney, June 30: Skim milk helps people feel full, thanks to its high protein content, lactose sugar and its thickness.
Researchers found that drinking fat free milk in the morning helped increase satiety and led to decreased calorie intake at the next meal, compared to a fruit drink. Those who drank milk ate about 50 fewer calories (or nearly nine percent less food) at lunch.
Washington, June 30: Elderly people who are active show better cerebral health than those who are inactive, says the latest study.
Researchers led by Elizabeth Bullitt, neurosurgeon at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, used non-invasive magnetic resonance (MR) angiography to examine brain blood vessels in the elderly, aged 60 to 80 years.
The subjects were equally divided into two groups. The high activity group reported participating in an aerobic activity for a minimum of 180 minutes per week for the past 10 consecutive years.
London, June 30: A nine-year-old girl, infected with swine flu, has died, taking the death toll due to the H1N1 virus influenza in the UK to three.
The girl, who was undergoing treatment at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, died Friday, the hospital authorities said, adding she had already suffered from what was described as an “underlying health problem”.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health announced a big jump in the number of patients in England confirmed with swine flu – up 1,604 since Friday, taking the UK total so far to 5,937, the ‘Telegraph’ reported.
Washinton, June 29: Yep, you heard it right. Today’s senior citizens are proving that you can enjoy sex well into your 80s. During a survey, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, conducted by the University of Chicago, men and women ranging in the ages of 57 to 85 were asked questions regarding their sexual activity over the past year. Based on the information gathered, it seems some men and women are enjoying their sex lives well into their later years.
Washington, June 29: Sleep is one of the most important necessities of life, as is evidenced by the plethora of studies and articles recently published about this daily occurrence. Whether it is the comforts necessary for a good night’s sleep or the fact that many people find that good sleep helps them keep their personal and professional dreams, what I have found is that sleep acts much like a nutrient, vital for keeping you healthy, just like the foods, beverages, and supplements people consume everyday.
New York, June 29: Parents, please note — want to know where your child is suffering from bipolar disorder? It’s simple for a study says that irritability
should be considered when diagnosing for the condition.
Researchers at Bradley Hospital in Providence have found that some kids with bipolar disorder experience manic episodes without extreme elation — one of the hallmarks of the disorder — and are diagnosed based on irritable mood.
London, June 26: A new study by Havard Medical School has revealed that eating nuts could cut women’s risk of developing heart disease particularly those suffering from diabetes — in fact, it can slash the risk by almost half.
“These data suggest frequent nut and peanut butter consumption is associated with a significantly lower CVD risk in women with Type 2 diabetes,” the authors of the study were quoted by ‘The Daily Telegraph’ as saying.
Dubai, June 26: The economic crisis is to blame for the increase in the number of people suffering from depression and anxiety all over the world, according to psychiatrists.
“There is an increase of (people suffering from) depression all around the world due to economic crisis, although other societies are more affected than others,” Dr Adel Zaraa, consultant psychiatrist at Gulf Diagnostics Centre in Abu Dhabi told Khaleej Times.
Mumbai, June 25: When 70-year-old Mumbai resident Satya Devi Gandhi suffered two successive heart attacks in Ludhiana within 24 hours this month, top doctors there and in other cities of north India washed their hands off.
Not only is she aged, has diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma but she had also suffered a rupture in the ventricular septum due to the cardiac arrest.
London, June 24: Come monsoons and you are sure to experience mixed feelings! On one hand there is mischief, playfulness, fun, romance, while on the other, there is misery, gloominess, filthiness and irritation.
In fact, getting caught in rain showers unprotected can convert even the most perfect makeover into a complete disaster. Constant care is therefore required to keep your hair lustrous and your skin glowing.
London, June 24: Women who have their stomachs stapled not only lose weight, they also may reduce their cancer risk by up to 40%, new research says.
In a study of more than 2 000 obese people who had surgery to reduce the size of their stomachs, Swedish researchers found women who had the procedure were less likely to get cancer than those who did not.
But for some reason, the surgery didn’t have the same effect in men; there was virtually no difference in the cancer rates in men who had the surgery and those who did not.