Britain, July 14: For 10 years, Hannah Clark was known as the girl with two hearts. She was barely a year old when her parents rushed her to hospital because the tiny heart she had been born with simply wasn’t strong enough to pump blood around her body.
New Delhi, july 14: Nineteen new swine flu cases, including a two-year-old boy, were reported Monday, taking India’s tally of influenza A (H1N1) infected people to 212 so far, the health ministry said. Seven of the fresh cases are “secondary infections” – due to contact with infected people who arrived from abroad.
“Nineteen new laboratory confirmed cases have been reported today – Delhi (6), Hyderabad (8), Ahmedabad (2), Thiruvananthapuram (1), Mumbai (1) and Pune (1),” a ministry statement said. In Hyderabad, six of the eight cases are secondary infections.
New Delhi, July 13: Stitches on his left cheek, fractures in one leg and one hand, Om Prakash Yadav seems unusually calm for a man who almost died. When a section of the Delhi Metro track collapsed, he too went down with it. ‘Three of my family members are no more. I am alive because of god,’ he says.
‘I thought I was dead. But god came to my rescue,’ Yadav, who is the sole bread earner for his wife and five children, says sitting in a wheelchair at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Ahmedabad, July 13: A total of 32 victims of the Ahmedabad illicit liquor tragedy have been discharged from four hospitals of the city since Sunday morning after they were declared out of danger and able to be taken home, a health official said Monday.
New Delhi, July 13: Forty-nine cases of suicide and fratricide have been reported in the armed forces this year, parliament was informed Monday.
Of these, there were 48 cases of suicide and one of fratricide in the three services, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Of the cases this year, 41 suicides were reported from the Indian Army, six from the Indian Air Force, and one from the Indian Navy.
The lone fratricide occurred in the army, Antony said.
Washington, July 13: People with pain in the elbow or forearm might be able to use a simple bar and strengthening exercise to ease it, say researchers.
Tennis elbow is a common condition effecting nearly three percent of the population, not just those who play tennis.
“Our study illustrated that a novel exercise, using an inexpensive rubber bar, may provide a practical and effective means of adding isolated wrist strengthening exercises to a treatment plan,” said study co-author Timothy F. Tyler of the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma, New York.
Washington, July 13: Low levels of Vitamin D and other nutrients may not be good for the health of your heart, according to latest research.
Recent studies have identified low vitamin D levels as a common problem with many adverse health effects, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
People with vitamin D deficiency are at increased risk of high blood pressure (BP), heart failure and heart disease, according to Suzanne Judd, University of Alabama, Birmingham (UA-B) and Vin Tangpricha of Emory University.
Washington, July 13: Scientists claim to have discovered two new genes that together double a person’s risk of developing melanoma — the most deadly form of skin cancer.
An international team, led by Nick Hayward of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, has identified the two genes after a detailed study of the genes of some 6,000 people together with their mole count.
Washington, July 13: Researchers have stumbled on how two brain disorders are linked — both Alzhemier’s and traumatic brain injury trigger destruction of cellular pathways. This finding could pave the way for successful treatment of both conditions.
Both Alzheimer’s and traumatic brain injury are associated with the build-up of beta amyloid, a toxic brain peptide.
Washington, July 13: Low levels of Vitamin D and other nutrients may not be good for the health of your heart, according to latest research.
Recent studies have identified low vitamin D levels as a common problem with many adverse health effects, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
People with vitamin D deficiency are at increased risk of high blood pressure (BP), heart failure and heart disease, according to Suzanne Judd, University of Alabama, Birmingham (UA-B) and Vin Tangpricha of Emory University.
Washington, July 13:Researchers have discovered and analysed a class of new compounds, which could potentially prevent radiation-related injuries to the kidneys, lungs, skin and intestinal tract.
These agents are novel synthetic “antioxidants” that protect tissues against the kind of damage caused by agents such as “free radicals”.
Free radicals, and similar toxic by-products formed in the body, are implicated in many different types of tissue injury, including those caused by radiation exposure.
London, July 13: Like father, like son. And, like mother, like daughter. Yes, obesity is linked to same-sex parent, say researchers.
A new study by the Plymouth’s Peninsula Medical School has revealed a strong link in obesity between fathers and sons as well as mothers and daughters — but not across the gender divide, the ‘International Journal of Obesity’ reported.
According to the researchers, it’s “highly unlikely” that genetics is playing a role in the findings as it would be unusual for them to influence children along gender lines.
London, July 13: Imperial College London scientists say that slow blood flow in arteries may hinder the protective effect of statins.
The researchers say that slow blood flow tends to reduce statins’ ability to trigger production of beneficial antioxidant molecules.
Moreover, the body’s own protective mechanisms also tend to fail in the same areas – leaving them vulnerable to damage.
These cholesterol-lowering drugs work by stimulating the production of beneficial antioxidants in the cells of the arteries, by boosting levels of a key enzyme, called heme oxygenase (HO-1).
Washington, July 13: People with pain in the elbow or forearm might be able to use a simple bar and strengthening exercise to ease it, say researchers.
Tennis elbow is a common condition effecting nearly three percent of the population, not just those who play tennis.
“Our study illustrated that a novel exercise, using an inexpensive rubber bar, may provide a practical and effective means of adding isolated wrist strengthening exercises to a treatment plan,” said study co-author Timothy F. Tyler of the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma, New York.
Sydney, July 13: Scientists have discovered two new genes that double a person’s chances of developing melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer.
As part of an international study, a team at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), led by Nick Hayward and Grant Montgomery, studied the genes of almost 6,000 people together with their mole count.
Specific changes in two genes were found to make people more susceptible to developing moles. The researchers went on to show, in another 4,000 people, the same two genes increased the risk of developing melanoma.
Washington, July 13: Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a novel test that can help predict whether any microbicide against HIV is safe for human use.
For years, scientists have been trying to develop a topical vaginal microbicide for preventing transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Several microbicide gels have been assessed in clinical trials after passing laboratory and animal safety tests.
Chicago, July 13: Omega-3 fatty acid supplements did nothing to slow memory declines in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, but a study in healthy people with slight memory complaints did show promise, US researchers said on Sunday.
The findings from an 18-month, government-backed study suggest taking supplements of docosahexenoic acid, or DHA an omega-3 fatty acid does not arrest Alzheimer’s in people who have already developed the mind-robbing disease.
Pune, July 13: Dengue and malaria have again reared their head in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Unlike in the past when dengue and malaria cases surged post-monsoon, this time the menace has cropped up right during the monsoon.
The affected areas include Pimple Saudagar, Wakad, Rahatni and areas around Jagtap Diary. At these places construction activity has been going on for years. Pimple Saudagar, where property prices have hit the roof and where many IT professionals working in Hinjewadi software park stay, has been the worst hit.
Geneva, July 12: A Swiss expert has estimated that the first swine flu vaccine will likely be ready for use in October – but only after a first large-scale wave of infection hit various regions, a newspaper reported Saturday.
In an interview with Le Temps, Claire-Anne Siegrist, the head of the Swiss federal government’s commission for vaccinations, also said that while the overwhelming majority of cases were mild and did not require hospitalization, the infection rate was faster than had previously been thought.
New Delhi, July 12: India on Saturday reported 14 new swine flu cases, taking the total number of people infected with the influenza A(H1N1) virus to 183, according to the Health Ministry.
“About 1,117 people have been tested so far of which 183 are positive for Influenza A(H1N1),” a statement issued here said.
“Of the 183 positive cases, 131 have been discharged. Rest of them remain admitted to the identified health facility,” it said.
Out of the 1,117 people, 340 were identified through the airport entry screening.
Washington, July 11: Elevated insulin levels in the blood seem to raise the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to a new study.
Increased breast cancer risk for post-menopausal women has previously been linked to obesity and diabetes. Both conditions involve insulin resistance, which causes increases in circulating levels of insulin.
Since insulin is known to promote cell division and enhance breast tumour growth in animal models, Einstein College of Medicine scientists reasoned that relatively high insulin levels may contribute to breast cancer risk in women.
Washington, July 11: Want to stave off lung disease? Eat tofu, natto, bean sprouts and soy milk daily.
Soy products have long been lauded for their perceived health benefits. Now, a new study has found that eating soy products reduces the risk of getting a dangerous lung disease, and even relieves the symptoms.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, most commonly affects smokers and is a major cause of lung-related deaths in may parts of the world.
Atlanta, July 11: Some swine flu cases in Michigan are raising questions about obesity’s role in why some people with infections become seriously ill.
A high proportion of those who have gotten severely ill from swine flu have been obese or extremely obese, but health officials have said that might be due to the fact that heavy people tend to have asthma and other conditions that make them more susceptible. Obesity alone has never been seen as a risk factor for seasonal flu.
London, July 11: Scientists have identified an “allergy gene” which more than doubles the risk of asthma, hay fever and eczema, a finding that could lead to new therapies to prevent allergies.
A team, led by the University of Edinburgh, has found that the filaggrin gene helps skin produce a protective barrier against the foreign bodies that trigger allergies, the ‘British Medical Journal’ journal reported.
Washington, July 11: Substantially cutting calories from the diet could slow the ageing process and increase life expectancy, according to a decades-long study of monkeys.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital have found that a nutritious but reduced-calorie diet blunts aging and significantly delays the onset of such age-related disorders as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy.