1 April, 2013

Hypertension second largest killer of pregnant women

A study conducted by the BMC has revealed that hypertension is the second-largest killer of pregnant women, claiming more victims than even tuberculosis and sepsis (a life threatening ailment that can occur when the body reacts to an infection). Excessive bleeding was found to have caused the deaths of maximum pregnant women.

According to data collected by the civic body, out of the 248 pregnant women who died in the city's hospitals from April 2012 to January 2013, most (11 per cent) died due to excessive bleeding during and after childbirth and hepatitis, followed by 10 per cent due to hypertension, tuberculosis (8 per cent)and sepsis (5 per cent).The remaining were attributed to other medical conditions.

Hypertension affects a woman's organs during pregnancy. However, what medical experts dread is the onset of a serious condition called 'Preeclampsia', where the woman starts passing protein in her urine. The condition can affect the placenta as well as other vital organs like the kidneys, liver, and brain. It can also lead to convulsions or seizures. Medical experts pointed out that while there were cases of women have pre-existing hypertension (or high blood pressure), in a majority of the cases, they developed it during their pregnancy. "Pregnancy in many ways alters the mechanism of controlling blood pressure. Soone has to keep a constant watch on the patient's blood pressure," said Dr Y M Nandanwar, head of the gynaecology department of Sion Hospital, which performs 12,000 deliveries a year, the highest in the city.

According to Dr Nandanwar, while BMC's data gave an overall picture, 50 per cent of the pregnant women coming to Sion hospital had hypertension.

According to gynaecologist Dr Suchitra Pandit, attached to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, early detection is the best way to prevent maternal deaths resulting from hypertension. "Constantly monitoring blood pressure and maintaining a chart would beideal.If the mother has a history on hypertension during the first birth, doctors can administer a low dose aspirin, which is an anti-platelet drug during her second pregnancy to delay the onset of severe hypertension," said Pandit. Blood pressure can also be controlled through lifestyle changes like reducing salt intake and exercise, advised Dr Nandanwar.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

01.04.2013

Chewing gum could make you fat

A new study has found chewing gum could make people fat since its minty taste makes sugary food more tempting. Scientists found people given to chew gum eat higher calorie sweet foods. This is because the chemical responsible for the minty flavour of gum makes savoury foods, especially fruit and vegetables, taste unpleasant, Daily Mail reported.

The study’s co-author Christine Swoboda, a doctoral candidate in nutrition at Ohio State University, told LiveScience website: ‘The chemical change is the same reason why when you brush your teeth and then drink orange juice, it tastes bad. ‘We were also interested in seeing whether this helps with weight loss.’ Swoboda and her colleague Jennifer Temple of the University of Buffalo, enrolled 44 volunteers for their study and asked each candidate to play a game in exchange for food.

Some played for pieces of fruit, while others played for crisps and sweets.
Before participating in the experiment, half of the volunteers had chewed either fruit gum or mint gum. During an experiment, the volunteers were asked to keep a food diary. For a part of the time, the volunteers were asked to chew mint gum before meals, while for the rest of the time they were simply asked to note down their food intake.

The food diaries showed while chewing gum, people ate fewer meals but that they did not consume fewer calories as a result. Swoboda said the explanation could be that the menthol in mint interacts with nutrients in fruits and vegetables to create a bitter flavour and that this was making healthy food seem unappealing.

Source: http://health.india.com

01.04.2013

Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything

George Bernard Shaw

26 March, 2013

Short course: Energy drinks up blood pressure

Energy drinks up blood pressure

Consuming energy drinks may increase blood pressure and disturb your heart's natural rhythm, new research led by an Indian-origin scientist has warned. US researchers analysed data from seven previously published observational and interventional studies to determine how consuming energy drinks might impact heart health.

Researchers examined the QT interval of 93 people who had just consumed one to three cans of energy drinks. The QT interval describes a segment of the heart's rhythm on an electrocardiogram; when prolonged, it can cause serious irregular heartbeats or sudden cardiac death. They found that the QT interval was 10 milliseconds longer for those who had consumed the energy drinks. "Doctors are concerned if patients experience an additional 30 milliseconds in their QT interval from baseline," said Sachin A Shah, lead author from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

The researchers also found that the  systolic blood pressure, the top number  in a blood pressure reading, increased an average of 3.5 points in a pool of 132 participants. "The correlation between  energy drinks and increased systolic  blood pressure is convincing and concerning," Shah said.

Source: http://health.india.com

26.03.2013

Better keep yourself clean and bright. You are the window through which you must see the world

George Bernard Shaw

25 March, 2013

Coffee can protect your liver from alcohol damage!

A new research suggests that heavy alcohol users who drink a lot of coffee could actually be protecting their livers! Heavy coffee consumption may protect against liver damage in men who drink alcohol, a new study has claimed. Researchers asked nearly 19,000 Finnish men and women between ages 25 and 74 about their coffee and alcohol consumption.

‘Our findings suggest a possible protective effect for coffee intake in alcohol consumers,’ said study researcher Dr Onni Niemela, of Seinajoki Central Hospital and the University of Tampere in Finland. Researchers measured participants’ blood levels of the liver enzyme gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), MyHealthNewsDaily reported. Drinking alcohol raises levels of GGT in the blood. Over time, drinking can also lead to alcoholic liver disease. People with liver disease show higher levels of GGT in their blood.

Men in the study who consumed more than 24 alcoholic drinks per week, or about 3.5 drinks daily, had the highest levels of the liver enzyme – about three times higher than men who did not drink alcohol. But among the men who were heavy drinkers, those who also consumed five or more cups of coffee daily showed a 50 per cent reduction in GGT compared with men who drank no coffee.

The researchers found no significant association between coffee consumption and GGT levels in female drinkers. In addition to drinking alcohol, smoking, older age and being overweight can also raise GGT levels. While there were no differences in these variables among heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers, former drinkers and non-drinkers in the study, the researchers cannot determine for sure whether some interaction between alcohol and one of these factors affected the results.

The researchers found that the way that coffee was prepared whether it was filtered, boiled or served as espresso, for example – did not seem to make a difference in the findings. Previous studies have suggested that drinking coffee may decrease GGT levels, and that caffeine may play a role in this. It remains unclear whether elevated levels of the liver enzyme correlate with symptoms of liver disease.

Source: http://health.india.com

25.03.2013

Family dinners keep adolescents healthy

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Regular family dinners contribute to good mental health in adolescents, a new study has revealed.

Family meal times are a measurable signature of social exchanges in the home that benefit adolescents' well-being - regardless of whether or not they feel they can easily talk to their parents.

"More frequent family dinners related to fewer emotional and behavioural problems, greater emotional well-being, more trusting and helpful behaviours towards others and higher life satisfaction," co-author Frank Elgar, an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry, whose research centers on social inequalities in health and family influences on child mental health said.

The study, conducted by Elgar, Wendy Craig and Stephen Trites of Queen's University, examined the relation between frequency of family dinners and positive and negative aspects of mental health.

The researchers used a national sample of 26,069 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years who participated in the 2010 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study.

The researchers found the same positive effects of family meal time on the mental health of the young subjects, regardless of gender, age or family affluence.

"We were surprised to find such consistent effects on every outcome we studied," Elgar said.

"From having no dinners together to eating together 7 nights a week, each additional dinner related to significantly better mental health," he said.

The authors suggest that family mealtimes are opportunities for open family interactions which present teaching opportunities for parents to shape coping and positive health behaviors such as good nutritional choices, as well as enable adolescents to express concerns and feel valued, all elements that are conducive to good mental health in adolescents.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

25.03.2013

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself

George Bernard Shaw

23 March, 2013

10,000 eye cancer cases diagnosed each year in India

Eye care experts and doctors said in New Delhi on Friday that an estimated 10,000 new cases of eye cancer are diagnosed every year in the country. They were speaking at a two-day international conference on ‘Oculoplasty, Aesthetics, Ocular Oncology and Squint’ organised by Delhi-based eye care chain Centre for Sight (CFS). It is being attended by 50 experts and 150 doctors from all over the country.

Dr. Santosh G. Honavar, director medical services at CFS, said that about 10,000 people are diagnosed every year for eye-cancer. ‘India has a dubious distinction of being host to about 30 percent of total eye cancer patients in the world,’ he said.

He said the eye tumour is a life-altering disease, which can potentially wipe out vision and also endanger the life of patient. ‘Every year thousands are diagnosed with some form of eye cancer. However, the country does not have enough trained ophthalmologists and ophthalometrics and also lacks an organised approach to cost-effective and protocol-based management.’

‘People are more aware about lung or skin or any other cancer but eye cancer usually gets neglected. There are a significant number of people that are diagnosed with this cancer. Our aim is to educate and update the practicing ophthalmologist about new advancements in the field’ said Mahipal Sachdev, chairman and medical director, Centre for Sight.

The problems relating to vital structures around the eyes like eyelids or orbits, are often neglected or misdiagnosed, as treating the disease or deformities require doctors with super specialized training, he said.

Source: http://health.india.com

23.03.2013

Salt content too high in packaged foods

Researchers have revealed that around 75 percent of snacks targeted at children have a high sodium content that could increase the possibility of long-term health risks, says a study. Nearly 75 percent of commercial pre-packaged meals and savoury snacks for toddlers are high in sodium, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions.

In the first study to look at the sodium content in baby and toddler foods in the US, researchers compared the sodium content per serving of 1,115 products for babies and toddlers using data on major and private label brands compiled by the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC). Baby food was categorised as intended for children less than one year old, and toddler food was categorised as intended for children between the ages of one and three, reports Science Daily.

‘Our concern is the possible long-term health risks of introducing high levels of sodium in a child’s diet because high blood pressure, as well as a preference for salty foods, may develop early in life. The less sodium in an infant’s or toddler’s diet, the less he or she may want it when older,’ said Joyce Maalouf, lead author and Fellow at the National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Consuming excessive amounts of sodium has been linked to the development of high blood pressure in scientific studies. ‘Parents and other caregivers can read the nutrition facts labels on baby and toddler foods to choose the healthiest options for their child,’ Maalouf said.

Source: http://health.india.com

23.03.2013

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years

Abraham Lincoln

22 March, 2013

India needs more neuro-rehab centres

India needs more dedicated neuro-rehabilitation centres as the country has the world's highest incidence of head injuries in road accidents, a doctor said Wednesday.

In India about one lakh lives are lost every year in road accidents and over one million suffer from serious head injuries, Rajendra Prasad, senior neurosurgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital here, said on the occasion the World Head Injury Awareness Day.

"India has the rather unenviable distinction of having the highest rate of head injury in the world. More than one lakh lives are lost every year and over one million suffer from serious head injuries," Prasad said.

"Only a few neuro rehabilitation centres are there in the country. There is a urgent need for more dedicated centres for quality care," he said.

According to Prasad, dedicated neuro rehabilitation centres will help millions of people who have traumatic brain injuries in accidents.

"The patients can undergo a neuro rehabilitation therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy that helps them in coming out of the trauma," said Prasad.

He also said the police personnel can play a major role as they are the first to reach the scene of a road accident.

"Police personnel are the first to reach an accident site, and can save the patient from a severe traumatic brain injury and even death," said Prasad, who is also the executive director of the Indian Head Injury Foundation (IHRF).

"They need to be trained to give the most basic care to a road accident victim. Nearly 50 percent of brain-injury deaths caused by road accidents can be reduced," he said.

Prasad said the first hour of a brain injury is considered the 'golden hour' as the first responder can save the life of the victim and also prevent the person from a severe traumatic injury.

"Traumatic brain injuries range from minor to severe, sometimes leaving a patient crippled for his entire life. Apart from police personnel, we need trained paramedical staff, ambulances which would reach on time," Prasad added.

Nearly 65 percent of road accident victims are in the age group of 15-45 years. Pedestrians and motorcyclists are the most common victims of such accidents in India.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.03.2013

Abused women may give birth to autists

Women who underwent physical, emotional, or sexual abuse when they were children are more likely to have a kid, who is suffering with autism compare to others who faced no abuse.

According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), woman who experienced the most serious abuse were three-and-a-half times more likely to have a child with autism.

The researchers examined data from more than 50,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II and found that it was not just women exposed to the most serious levels of abuse who had higher risk of having a child with autism, but also a large number of women who experienced moderate abuse.

While about 2 percent of women reported the most serious abuse, even women in the top 25 percent of abuse severity— that includes women who experienced moderate levels of abuse —were 60 percent more likely to have a child with autism compared with women who did not experience abuse.

The authors said that these observations suggest that abuse in childhood is not only harmful to person who directly experiences it, but could also increase risk for serious disabilities in the next generation.

The researchers also looked at nine pregnancy-related risk factors to see if they were linked to higher risk of having a child with autism in women, who were abused as children.

These nine risk factors—including gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and smoking—have been earlier associated with an increased likelihood of having a child with autism.

The study has been published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.03.2013

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working

Pablo Picasso

21 March, 2013

Anxiety may give you a heart attack

Patients with heart disease who have anxiety have twice the risk of dying from any cause compared to those without anxiety, a new study has revealed.

Researchers said that patients with both anxiety and depression have tripled the risk of dying.

"Many studies have linked depression to an increased risk of death in heart disease patients. However, anxiety hasn't received as much attention," Lana Watkins, Ph.D., lead author of the study and an associate professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C said.

Studies show that depression is about three times more common in heart attack patients.

The American Heart Association recommends that heart patients be screened for depression and treated if necessary.

Depressed heart disease patients often also have anxiety, suggesting it may underlie the risk previously attributed solely to depression, Watkins said.

"It's now time for anxiety to be considered as important as depression, and for it to be examined carefully," she said.

Anxiety and depression each influence risk of death in unique ways.

Anxiety, for example, increases activity of the sympathetic (adrenaline-producing) nervous system that controls blood pressure.

"People who worry a lot are more likely to have difficulty sleeping and to develop high blood pressure," Watkins said.

The link between depression and mortality is more related to behavioral risk factors, she said.

Future studies should test strategies to manage anxiety alone and with depression in heart disease patients, Watkins said.

The research is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

21.03.2013

Only 21 percent foreign-educated doctors can practice in India: Azad

Only 21.76 percent of Indian doctors trained abroad have qualified to practice in the country, parliament was informed on Tuesday. A total of 14,476 doctors who completed their medical degrees abroad appeared for the screening test during the year 2012 out of which 3,150 candidates or 21.76 percent qualified the test, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. As per information provided by the National Board of Examinations (NBE), which conducts the screening test, the government has received few representations regarding review of the existing system. The screening test has been introduced in accordance with the Screening Test Regulations, 2002, notified by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in order to ascertain that citizens of India obtaining medical qualification from universities or medical institutions abroad have acquired adequate knowledge and skill as per norms of the MCI.

The Supreme Court in its judgment of Nov 16, 2004, has upheld screening test regulations as well as the scheme of examination. As such, the government is not considering review of screening test at present, Azad said.

Source: http://health.india.com

21.03.2013

If your mind conceive it, your heart can believe it and you can achieve it

Jesse Jackson

20 March,2013

Impotence, a major cause of divorce in India

Impotence is emerging as a major cause of divorce in India, says a recent study, adding that around 20-30 per cent marriages in India are breaking up for want of satisfaction in sexual life.

The study, conducted by Alpha One Andrology Group, an association of doctors dealing in sex-related problems in men, took into account nearly 2,500 Indian men suffering from erectile dysfunction or impotence. The study found that erectile dysfunction affects 50 percent of men over the age of 40 and 10 percent of men below 40.

"The analysis revealed that of the 2,500 men suffering from erectile dysfunction, one in five were divorced while the marriages of one in 10 were on the verge of breaking over their physical health," Anup Dhir, a reconstruction surgeon and andrologist, said. Impotence is the most poorly understood and mismanaged of all medical disorders and results in marriages breaking up, the study found.

"Maintaining a healthy marriage requires time, effort and compromise from both spouses. When one or both spouses find a marriage to be unsatisfactory, it is likely because of problems that arise due to issues with communication, expectations or sexual dissatisfaction," said Dhir.

The study found that a married couple on an average has sex 58 times per year, or slightly more than once a week. "If the number lacks, it means there is a problem with partner. Sexual impotence is becoming a common problem among couples in major cities due to sedentary lifestyle, hypertension and busy schedule," he said.

Diabetes emerged as the leading cause of erectile dysfunction followed by hypertension.

"As many as 48 percent of patients above the age of 40 were diabetic while 45 percent with hypertension have severe erectile dysfunction. Men who have diabetes are found to develop erectile dysfunction nearly 10 to 15 years earlier than men who do not suffer from the disease," the study highlighted. Furthermore, people with diabetes frequently take medication to lower blood pressure.

Common prescriptions for blood pressure like some diuretics and beta blockers are known to cause erectile dysfunction. "These drugs not only affect and at times suppress the central nervous system but can also cause serious damage to the blood vessels, resulting in permanent erectile dysfunction," C.M. Batra, an endocrinologist with Apollo Hospital, said.

According to Batra, other primary causes of erectile dysfunction include lifestyle issues like smoking, drinking alcohol, being overweight and exercising too little, among others.

Dhir said that taking medical help for erectile dysfunction continues to remain a stigma among Indian men as they are not ready to accept the fact until it comes to the breaking up of their marriages. "Men have an ego problem in accepting the fact and most of them remain secretive about their sexual health, which leads to delayed treatment," he said.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

20.03.2013

Rapid HIV treatment points to 'functional cure' for AIDS

Treating people with HIV rapidly after they have become infected with the virus that causes AIDS may be enough to achieve a "functional cure" in a small proportion of patients diagnosed early, according to new research.

Scientists in France who followed 14 patients who were treated very swiftly with HIV drugs but then stopped treatment found that even when they had been off therapy for more than seven years, they still showed no signs of the virus rebounding. The research, published in the journal PLoS Pathogens, follows news earlier this month about a baby girl in Mississippi in the United States being effectively cured of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after receiving very early treatment.

Christine Rouzioux, a professor at Necker Hospital and University Paris Descartes and a member of the initial team who identified HIV 30 years ago, said the new results showed the number of infected cells circulating in the blood of these patients, known as "post-treatment controllers", kept falling even without treatment for many years.

"Early treatment in these patients may have limited the establishment of viral reservoirs, the extent of viral mutations, and preserved immune responses. A combination of those may contribute to control infection in post-treatment controllers," she said. "The shrinking of viral reservoirs ... closely matches the definition of 'functional' cure," she said. A functional cure describes when the virus is reduced to such low levels that it is kept at bay even without continuing treatment. The virus, however, is still detectable in the body.

Most of the some 34 million people with HIV across the world will have to take anti-AIDS drugs known as antiretroviral therapy for the whole of their lives. These drugs generally keep the disease in check but also have side effects and a high cost impact on health systems.

Worldwide, the number of people newly infected with HIV, which can be transmitted via blood and by semen during sex, is falling. At 2.5 million, the number of new infections in 2011 was 20 percent lower than in 2001, according to the United National AIDS programme (UNAIDS). And deaths from AIDS fell to 1.7 million in 2011, down from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005.

Source: www.indianexpress.com

20.03.2013

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear

Mark Twain

19 March, 2013

New gel-based drug delivery system developed

A new drug-delivery gel that releases the drug in response to pressure applied by the patient has been developed by Japanese scientists.

Drugs are generally taken by oral administration, injection, etc. However, the conventional methods may cause side effects and inconvenience. Although stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems are an effective technique that takes care of such problems, a special device is necessary in order to apply the stimulus.

A research group headed by Katsuhiko Ariga, principal investigator, Kohsaku Kawakami, scientist, and Hironori Izawa, a post-doctoral researcher (currently assistant professor, Tottori University) of the NIMS International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) succeeded in developing a gel material which is capable of releasing drugs in response to pressure applied, Science Daily reports.

The MANA research group developed a gel material envisioning a new drug administration method in which the drug is released when the patient applies manual pressure to the gel, reports Science Daily. Using samples of the gel containing the anti-emetic drug ondansteron, the researchers confirmed that the drug was released when stimulus mimicking finger-pressure by the patient was applied, and found that this effect was maintained for at least three days.

Oral administration of drugs is difficult for patients experiencing nausea during cancer chemotherapy. If the material is introduced under the skin, it is expected to release the drug simply by pressing or rubbing it. It will also be possible for patients to administer drugs under any environment at their own intention.

For relief from cancer pain, hay fever, or asthma, patients may need to administer drugs quickly. Those are among the situations when this material offers an extremely convenient new dosing strategy.

Source: http://health.india.com

19.03.2013

Universal vaccine against influenza possible?

A combination of immune cells and antibodies could pave the way for a universal vaccine against influenza, says a study.

Seasonal epidemics of influenza result in nearly 36,000 deaths annually in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Current vaccines against the influenza virus elicit an antibody response specific for proteins on the outside of the virus, specifically the hemagglutinin (HA) protein.

Yearly vaccines are made by growing the flu virus in eggs. The viral envelope proteins, including HA are cleaved off and used as the vaccine, but vary from year to year, depending on what flu strains are prevalent. However, high mutation rates in envelope HA proteins result in the emergence of new viral types each year, which elude neutralization by pre-existing antibodies in the body.

On the other hand, other immune cell types are capable of mediating protection through recognition of other, more conserved parts of HAs or highly conserved internal proteins in the influenza virus, reports Science Daily.

E. John Wherry, PhD, associate professor of Microbiology and director of the Institute for Immunology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues, report in PLOS Pathogens that influenza virus-specific CD8+ T cells or virus-specific non-neutralizing antibodies are each relatively ineffective at conferring protective immunity alone. But, when combined, the virus-specific CD8 T cells and non-neutralising antibodies cooperatively elicit robust protective immunity. This synergistic improvement in protective immunity is dependent, at least in part, on other immune cells — lung macrophages and phagocytes.

An implication of this work is that immune responses targeting parts of the virus that are not highly variable can be combined for effective protection. ‘The two-pronged approach is synergistic, so by enlisting two suboptimal vaccine approaches, we achieved a better effect than each alone in an experimental model,’ says Wherry. ‘Now, we are rethinking past approaches and looking for ways to combine T-cell vaccines and antibody vaccines to make a more effective combined vaccine.’

Source: http://health.india.com                19.03.2013

Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals

James Naismith

18 March, 2013

Low protein diet may delay Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is a common form of dementia and usually worsens as it progresses. There is no proper cure for this disease, but a recent American study says that - restricted protein diet may delay the process of Alzheimer's disease.

The above statement comes to the lime light after a test done on mice. It was noted that mice with many of the pathologies of Alzheimer's disease showed fewer signs of the disease when given a protein-restricted diet supplemented with specific amino acids every other week for four months. The mice were put on the new diet when they were at the advanced stages of the disease. With the new diet they showed improved cognitive abilities over their non-dieting mice. This was tested using mazes.

According to a recent study conducted by Aging Cellast, with this diet fewer of their neurons contained abnormal levels of a damaged protein called "tau" which accumulates in the brain of Alzheimer's patients.

An upcoming study will be conducted by USCDavis School of Gerontology Professor Valter Longo wherein attempts will be done to determine whether humans respond similarly while simultaneously examining the effects of dietary restrictions on cancer, diabetes and cardiac disease.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.03.2013

Symptoms of diabetes in women

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You may be wondering if it is possible for men and women to have different symptoms of diabetes. Apart from the known diabetes signs there are a few additional diabetes signs in women.

These diabetes signs are not commonly known and may be considered harmless, but don't be fooled; we draw the line between diabetes signs in women and men.

Symptoms of diabetes: Diabetes signs that are common to men and women:

- Increase in thirst
- Increase in appetite
- Frequent urination
- Tiredness
- Weight loss and weight gain
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dry mouth
- Vision loss
- Itchy skin
- Slow healing

Diabetes signs in women:

- Vaginal infection
- Yeast infection
- Affects hormonal functioning
- May develop polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Depression
- Higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than men

Diabetes signs in women often go unnoticed and must not be misunderstood. A medical professional can pinpoint if these diabetes signs are curable conditions or the diabetes signs can actually lead to diabetes.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.03.2013

Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great

Mark Twain

15 March, 2013

India to monitor hypertension more closely

India is exploring the possibility of having a national monitoring framework to help check hypertension cases, a WHO official said on Thursday. The national monitoring framework will try and amalgamate suggestions of the global monitoring framework for hypertension which will be adopted next month, the WHO official, who did not wish to be named, told reporters on the sidelines of anworkshop in New Delhi.

Officials of the health ministry met WHO officials and decided to explore the possibility of such a mechanism, she said. According to data available with the WHO, 36 percent of Indians would be suffering from cardiac problems out of which 10 percent would be due to hypertension by 2030. There were nine global targets which may be adopted. These included reducing deaths due to hypertension by 25 percent by 2025, reducing salt intake by 30 percent by 2025, encouraging physical activity and avoiding tobacco, the WHO official said.
According to D. Prabhakaran, executive director, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, a group of health professionals, the health ministry was also looking at utilising services of grassroot community health workers called ASHA (accredited social health activist) to prevent hypertension in rural areas. As part of a two-year study carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 60 panchayats were selected from six states to see the viability of the project, he said. The states are Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Karnataka. ‘The community health workers will try and reduce salt intake and other lifestyle changes,’ he said.

Sailesh Mohan, senior research scientist and associate professor at the Public Health Foundation of India, said: ‘Increased migration to urban areas has increased the risk of hypertension for the migrant population.’ ‘When people migrate, it takes them around 10 years to completely urbanise themselves and that is the time when the disease burden asserts itself,’ Prabhakaran said. Problems like malnutrition in early childhood can increase the risk of hypertension later in life, he said. ‘Lower the level of education, higher the incidence of hypertension.’ Around 20-40 percent of urban Indians and 12-17 percent of rural Indians are suffering from hypertension. Renu Garg, regional advisor, non-communicable disease, WHO regional office for South-East Asia, said: ‘Unhealthy lifestyles are killing people’.

Source: http://health.india.com

15.03.2013

Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach

Aristotle