June 1, 2012 Clippings

One in four adults in India has high BP, one in 10 is diabetic

Get that blood pressure down as there is some worrisome news for all: Nearly one-fourth of the Indian adult population has been found to be suffering from high BP. Known as silent killer, high BP raises the chances of stroke and heart diseases.

A large number of Indian male population (26%) consumes tobacco which is again a trigger for non-communicable diseases.

According to the latest World Health Statistics 2012 report released on Wednesday, high BP is now becoming the biggest reason for adult deaths across the world. One in three adults worldwide has high BP - a condition that causes around 51% of all deaths from stroke and heart diseases. The report also said that one in 10 adults has diabetes while obesity, too, remains a major issue.

The report said non-communicable diseases will be the biggest challenge in health in the 21st century.

Fast developing nations such as India too are getting higher cases of raised BP due to modernisation and stress levels. In India, the prevalence rate of high BP among men is 23.1% while for women it is 22.6%. Besides, 11.1% men and 10.8% women have diabetic conditions.

For the first time giving the data on people with raised blood glucose levels, the report said the global average prevalence is around 10%, but up to one third of populations in some Pacific Island countries have this condition.

The report said that though in 20 years, the number of maternal deaths has decreased to less than 2.9 lakh in 2010 from over 5.4 lakh deaths in 1990, still one third of these maternal deaths occur in just two countries - India with 20% of the global total and Nigeria with 14%.

Public health advancements globally have helped save children’s lives in the past decade and significant progress has been made as the number of child deaths reduced from almost 10 million children (aged less than 5 years) in 2000 to 7.6 million annual deaths in 2010. The decline in the number of deaths from diarrheal disease and measles has been particularly striking.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

01.06.2012

Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something

Plato

May 31, 2012 Clippings

Bald men at higher prostrate cancer risk

Researchers found that men who underwent prostate biopsies were more likely to be diagnosed with cancer if they had lost significant amounts of hair.

The reasons why are not clear, but researchers think it may be connected to higher levels of testosterone, the hormone which can trigger the development of cancerous cells but also inhibit hair growth.

Dr Neil Fleshner, who led the study at the University of Toronto, said that although the findings need to be replicated in further research, they could sound an alarm bell for men with receding hair lines.  "The more bald men were, the more likely they were to have prostate cancer," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

"Bald men should be aware that they may benefit from being screened earlier and perhaps, if necessary, from being biopsied sooner," he said.

However, since the results come from a relatively small study, involving just 214 men, it does not prove that baldness actually triggers cancer.  Nearly 32,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK and 10,000 men die from it - the equivalent of more than one an hour.

The researchers recruited 214 men aged between 59 and 70 who had been referred for a biopsy as they had raised levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), a marker in the blood that hints at an increased risk of cancer.  They judged baldness on a four-point scale, beginning with slight hair loss at the front of the scalp, up to severe loss on the top and sides.

The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in Atlanta, Georgia, exemplified that the more severe a man's balding pattern, the more likely he was to have a tumour.  The results corroborates a 2010 study which showed that bald men are also more at risk of another prostate condition, called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH.

This is where the prostate becomes enlarged, usually as a result of the ageing process, until it presses on the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body.

The initial sign of the condition, which affects around 2.5million men in the UK, is usually trouble in passing urine, or difficulty starting even when the bladder is full.  Untreated BPH can cause kidney damage if it becomes impossible to urinate. It can also lead to bladder stones, depression and daytime tiredness due to constant broken sleep.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

31.05.2012

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others

Mahatma Gandhi

May 30, 2012 Clippings

Advanced Robotic Surgery Via Satellite

A robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy has been preformed by a team of urological surgeons. The surgery showcased the advanced robotic technology available to patients at the Robotic Surgery Center at NYU Langone.

“We have one of the most advanced robotic surgery programs in the New York metropolitan area and our goal is to leverage this technology to help simplify complex procedures, and develop innovative new techniques that result in better outcomes for our patients,” said Michael Stifelman, MD, associate professor, Department of Urology and director of robotic surgery at NYU Langone Medical. “NYU Langone surgeons pioneered the use of robotics in partial nephrectomies and hold courses each month for surgeons to learn best practices.”

During a partial nephrectomy, the tumor is removed while the rest of the kidney is left intact and functioning. The superior maneuverability of a robotic tool is ideally suited for delicate cutting and stitching required in this surgery, while the minimally-invasive nature of the procedure is less traumatic, and helps preserve kidney function and results in faster recovery time.

The Robotic Surgery Center at NYU Langone is the largest multispecialty robotic surgery center in the New York metro area.

Source: www.medindia.net

30.05.2012

Painkillers may Protect Against Skin Cancer

Aspirin and other common painkillers help protect against skin cancer, reveals study. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings indicate that skin cancer prevention may be added to the benefits of these commonly used medications.

Previous studies suggest that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, as well as a variety of other nonprescription and prescription drugs, can decrease an individual's risk of developing some types of cancer. Sigrún Alba Jóhannesdóttir, BSc, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and her colleagues looked to see if the medications might decrease the risk of the three major types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma.

The researchers analyzed medical records from northern Denmark from 1991 through 2009 and identified 1,974 diagnoses of squamous cell carcinoma, 13,316 diagnoses of basal cell carcinoma, and 3,242 diagnoses of malignant melanoma. They compared information, including prescription data, from these patients with information from 178,655 individuals without skin cancer.

Individuals who filled more than two prescriptions for NSAIDs had a 15 percent decreased risk for developing squamous cell carcinoma and a 13 percent decreased risk for developing malignant melanoma than those who filled two or fewer prescriptions for the medications, especially when the drugs were taken for seven or more years or taken at high intensity. Individuals who took NSAIDs did not seem to benefit from a reduced risk of developing basal cell carcinoma in general, although they did have a 15 percent and 21 percent reduced risk of developing this type of cancer on less-exposed sites (body areas other than the head and neck) when they took them long term or at high intensity, respectively.

"We hope that the potential cancer-protective effect of NSAIDs will inspire more research on skin cancer prevention," said Ms. Jóhannesdóttir. "Also, this potential cancer-protective effect should be taken into account when discussing benefits and harms of NSAID use."

Source: www.medindia.net

30.05.2012

Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get

W.P. Kinsella

May 29, 2012 Clippings

Office desk can jeopardise your health

Office desks put workers at risk of serious illness because they are crawling with germs, experts have warned in a new study.

Workplace kitchens and break rooms are also at risk, particularly sinks where staff clean their cups and plates and also microwave door handles.

In a US study, hygienists collected nearly 5,000 swabs from buildings including law firms, insurance offices, call centres and healthcare companies. It found office workers unwittingly spread bugs around on a daily basis.

"No one can avoid it entirely," the Daily Express quoted Richard Millard, of Kimberley-Clark Professional which carried out the research, as saying.

But he added that rigorous hygiene habits and cleaning could reduce office rates of colds, flu and stomach illness by up to 80 per cent.

"This demonstrates that contamination can be spread throughout the workplace when office workers heat up lunch, make coffee or simply type on their keyboards," Study consultant Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, said.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

29.05.2012

Sleep disruptions behind fertility problems

Researchers at Northwestern University disrupted the circadian rhythms of female mice for five to six days after they mated with male mice. One group of 18 mice got an extra six hours of light; another 18 mice lost daylight.

By the end of the experiment, only half of the mice with extra daylight had litters. Mice that lost daylight fared worse - only 20 per cent gave birth. Yet 90 per cent of a control group of mice gave birth.

According to the study, these control mice had been exposed to a steady 12 hours of daylight.

Mammals, and even trees, are known to synchronize their internal clocks, which control metabolism and other functions, to cues of night and day.  Experts in fertility and circadian rhythms agreed the mouse experiments showed a strong connection between the mouse's internal clock and pregnancy. But what the findings could mean for humans sparked debate.

While the new findings are very solid, the researchers "know very little about the mechanism" that might be at work, said Fred Davis, who studies circadian rhythms and developmental biology as a professor at Northeastern University in Boston.

Keith Summa, lead author of the study, said the details may be different across species, but he suspects that what he found in mice will be relevant to humans. Summa and his colleges pointed to surveys showing that nurses who work night shifts experience a high rate of irregular menstrual periods and other "adverse pregnancy outcomes."

"I think the idea that's really interesting is that (the circadian) timing of the uterus is an important component to either establishing or sustaining early pregnancy," said Summa, a medical student at Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill, said.

However, endocrinologist Dr. Neil Goodman said he doubts there's such a link.

"I wouldn't call the fertility issues in women circadian," Goodman said.

When he worked as a doctor in Boston, Goodman said, he came to expect a surge of female college students who missed periods during final exams.  Women came into his office with similar temporary blips after illness, a death in the family or other personal crises.

"Every woman knows that any kind of stress can interrupt her periods," Goodman said.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

29.05.2012

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so

 William Shakespeare