Lifestyle

Cape Town, July 20: South Africa is launching clinical trials of two AIDS vaccines its researchers developed in collaboration with US experts, a major step for a developing country where political leaders once shocked the world with their unscientific pronouncements about the disease.

Trials to test the safety in humans of the vaccines begin this month on 36 healthy volunteers, Anthony Mbewu, president of South Africa’s government-supported Medical Research Council, said in an interview yesterday. Mbewu’s respected organisation shepherded the project.

New Delhi, July 20: Bariatric surgery may be the most popular way to shed that extra pound but one may consequently end up thinning the bones as well.

“Bariatric surgery is the most convenient way to lose weight for individuals who have been unable to achieve significant weight loss through diet modifications and exercise programmes alone, and helps attain a more healthy body weight,” says Dr Pradip Chowbey, secretary general Asia Pacific Bariatric Surgery Society and president Obesity Surgery Society of India.

New Delhi, July 20: Thirteen new confirmed A/H1N1 influenza cases were reported from different parts of the country on Sunday, with three cases each from Delhi and adjoining Gurgaon, taking the total to cases to 297, an official release said here.

It said two cases each were reported from Hyderabad and Chandigarh and one each from Roopnagar in Punjab, Kasargod in Kerala and Pune.

Of the three cases in Delhi, two one 12 year old girl and another 15 year old boy — were found to be school contacts of previous positive cases in Delhi, the release said.

Mumbai, July 19: Cardiologists are witnessing a disturbing trend wherein young smokers are being diagnosed with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) that can lead to serious consequences like gangrene, or even death. PVD includes blockage of arteries in parts of the body other than the heart.

Banglore, July 19: A 1,400-bed cancer care centre has become operational at the Narayana Health City campus at Bommasandra in a joint venture between Narayana Hrudayalaya’s renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Prasad Shetty and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Managaing Director of Biocon Limited.

Billed as one of the largest cancer hospitals of its kind, the Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC) is spread over an area of five lakh square feet and specialises in head and neck cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer.

Georgia, July 19: Adopting a diet rich in fructose, a form of sugar commonly found in processed foods and beverages, may result in impaired spatial memory.

Previous studies had reported various health problems such as insulin insensitivity, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease following the use fructose, the sweetener commonly found in table sugar, fruit juice concentrates and high fructose corn syrup.

New Delhi, July 19: For millions of people suffering from kidney failure there seems to be a hope in sight with peritoneal dialysis, which can be done at home, fast catching up in India.

Medical experts say though the system has been around for 14 years now, it was not being used much because of the high cost involved.

Now that the costs have come down drastically, it is an ideal choice for people with kidney failure, specially those who live in far-flung and rural areas, says Dr Dinesh Khullar, consultant nephrologist at Ganga Ram Hospital.

Washington, July 18: It is known that acidic beverages like sodas and citric juices like grapefruit and orange juice can damage teeth. An expert says the only solution is to stop or at least reduce consumption of these beverages.

Mohamed A. Bassiouny, professor of restorative dentistry at Temple University and co-author of a new study on the subject, outlined three steps to rehabilitate teeth that suffer from dental erosion as a result of the excessive consumption of these products.

Augsta, July 18: Estrogen can halt stroke damage by inactivating a tumor-suppressing protein known to prevent many cancers, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

“Our research suggests that estrogen suppresses p53 after stroke, which stops the damage,” says Limor Raz, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the MCG School of Graduate Studies.

Beijing, July 18: China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has announced a two-year campaign to improve the quality standards of pharmaceuticals from manufacture to sale.

The program is aimed at better regulating the production, distribution, pricing, advertising and application of basic pharmaceuticals across the country, according to a statement posted on the website of the administration Friday.

Pharmaceutical companies and hospitals that violate the regulations would face prosecution and the revocation of their operation licenses, according to the statement.

Geneva, July 18: The World Health Organisation (WHO) will stop issuing regular data on the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, since the counting of individual cases is no longer vital to tracking the progression of the disease, the group reported on its website Friday.

“Further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries is considered inevitable,” read a statement. “The counting of individual cases is now no longer essential in such countries for monitoring either the level or nature of the risk.”

Washington, July 18: President Barack Obama, worried about growing resistance to his health care plan, exhorted Congress not to “lose heart” Friday and urged deeper cost cuts to calm concern over the huge expense of covering millions of uninsured Americans.

“What we want to do is force the Congress to make sure that they are acting” on recommendations to hold down Medicare and Medicaid spending, the president said, rather than allowing reports to sit unused on a shelf.

Pittsburgh, July 18: The nation’s first double hand transplant patient can wriggle his new fingers a little bit now and grab a tennis ball, but what he really wants to do is be able to feel his wife’s hands when he holds them.

Jeff Kepner held hands with his wife Thursday as he talked to news reporters about his recovery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he underwent the nine-hour surgery in early May.

So far, he has no feelings in his new hands because the nerves have not grown into them. Nerves grow about an inch a month, according to his doctors.

Longon, July 18: Under-fives and pregnant women are emerging as key swine flu risk groups, according to hospital figures and the age profiles of those who have already died.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) altered its advice this week to include the youngest age range – the under-fives – in the category of those “predominantly affected” while the Royal College of Midwives gave fresh advice todayon giving expectant women anti-viral drugs.

London, July 18: A daily dose baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, used in baking, cleaning, acid indigestion, sunburn and more slows the decline of kidney function in some patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), a new study has found.

“This cheap and simple strategy also improves patients’ nutritional status, and has the potential of translating into significant economic, quality of life, and clinical outcome benefits,” comments Magdi Yaqoob, of the Royal London Hospital (RLH), who led the study.

London, July 18: A daily dose baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, used in baking, cleaning, acid indigestion, sunburn and more slows the decline of kidney function in some patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), a new study has found.

“This cheap and simple strategy also improves patients’ nutritional status, and has the potential of translating into significant economic, quality of life, and clinical outcome benefits,” comments Magdi Yaqoob, of the Royal London Hospital (RLH), who led the study.

Washington, July 18: It is known that acidic beverages like sodas and citric juices like grapefruit and orange juice can damage teeth. An expert says the only solution is to stop or at least reduce consumption of these beverages.

Mohamed A. Bassiouny, professor of restorative dentistry at Temple University and co-author of a new study on the subject, outlined three steps to rehabilitate teeth that suffer from dental erosion as a result of the excessive consumption of these products.

Washington, July 18: The aloe vera plant’s ability to heal burns and cuts and soothe pain has been documented as far back as the 10th century. Now, it has also gained popularity as an active ingredient in tooth gel.

Similar to its use on skin, the aloe vera in tooth gels is used to cleanse and soothe teeth and gums, and is as effective as toothpaste to fight cavities, according to a study.

Aloe vera tooth gel is intended to perform the same function as toothpaste, which is to eliminate disease-causing bacteria in the mouth.

New Delhi, July 18: Discussing sex and sexuality, HIV/AIDS and responsible sexual behaviour with adolescents is a topic that makes most teachers and parents squeamish and also has community elders fuming. How should one get over the prudishness and disapproval and also make the topic interesting and interactive for the students?

Though adolescence education is a part of the school curriculum, it faces a major hindrance in the form of objections from some community elders and parents who feel it will promote licentiousness among the children, said experts.

Washington, July 18: ObesityAccording to a U. S. government study 35% of black Americans were obese, leading ahead of other major racial or ethnic groups.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that 29% of Hispanics and 24% of whites are obese and overall 26% of U. S. adults are obese.

Washington, July 18: AIDS According to a study published on Friday by The Lancet circumcision lowers the risk of HIV for men but doesn’t prevent them from passing it on to women once they are infected.

Three years ago trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa found foreskin removal more than halved men’s risk of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while last year a longer-term analysis of one of the trials found at 65% risk reduction, the benefit to be even greater than thought.

Geneva, July 18: The World Health Organisation (WHO) will stop issuing regular data on the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, since the counting of individual cases is no longer vital to tracking the progression of the disease, the group reported on its website Friday.

“Further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries is considered inevitable,” read a statement. “The counting of individual cases is now no longer essential in such countries for monitoring either the level or nature of the risk.”

Geneva, July 18: The World Health Organisation (WHO) will stop issuing regular data on the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, since the counting of individual cases is no longer vital to tracking the progression of the disease, the group reported on its website Friday.

“Further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries is considered inevitable,” read a statement. “The counting of individual cases is now no longer essential in such countries for monitoring either the level or nature of the risk.”

Washington, July 17: Playing active video games can be as beneficial for kids as moderate exercise, says a new study.

Research by Oklahoma University (OU) paediatricians shows that active video games offer a great alternative to moderate exercise for sedentary kids who may be at high risk of obesity and diabetes.

“These exer-games are no substitute for ?real’ sports activities, but if kids play them as designed and stay engaged, they can burn several calories per hour above their sedentary level,” said Kevin Short, principal project investigator.

Washington, July 17: Scientists have claimed that oxygen treatment can help diabetics heal foot wounds and avoid lower limb amputation.

Every 30 seconds a person somewhere in the world loses a lower limb to amputation due to diabetic foot disease. Now, an international team has found in their study that oxygen can heal the debilitating wounds that plague people with diabetes.