New TB drugs being tested in India: Ghulam Nabi Azad
Research institutes in the country are undertaking trials to
test new drugs to treat tuberculosis including the drug-resistant variety,
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Friday. Indian research institutions
are undertaking trials to test drugs, including Bedaquiline, Delaminid and
PA-824, to treat both drug sensitive and resistant TB, Azad said replying to a
question by MP H.K. Dua during a Rajya Sabha session. He said the National
Institute of Research in TB, Chennai, and All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi, were part of global trials for new TB drug Bedaquiline
(TMC207).
Azad said no application under the drugs and cosmetic rules
had been received by the the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for the
grant of permission for any drug from the United States. A new drug can only be
introduced in the Indian market after due approval from DCGI. The minister said
at present, the replacement of drugs used under the Revised National
Tuberculosis Control Programme was not required. Those patients who suffer from
drug-resistant TB are treated with a regime containing drugs to which the TB
bacillus was not resistant, he said.
02.03.2013
Breath test
can tell if you are stressed
Deep breathing, recommended
for stress busting, could also be used to understand whether or not you are
under stress, scientists say.
There are six markers in the
breath that could be candidates for use as indicators of stress, according to a
new study published in Journal of Breath Research.
The researchers hope that
findings such as these could lead to a quick, simple and non-invasive test for
measuring stress; however, the study, which involved just 22 subjects, would
need to be scaled-up to include more people, over a wider range of ages and in
more "normal" settings, before any concrete conclusions can be made,
they state.
"If we can measure
stress objectively in a non-invasive way, then it may benefit patients and
vulnerable people in long-term care who find it difficult to disclose stress
responses to their carers, such as those suffering from Alzheimer's,"
lead-author of the study, Professor Paul Thomas, said.
The study, undertaken by
researchers at Loughborough University and Imperial College London, involved 22
young adults who each took part in two sessions: in the first, they were asked
to sit comfortably and listen to non-stressful music; in the second, they were
asked to perform a common mental arithmetic test that has been designed to
induce stress.
A breath test was taken
before and after each session, whilst heart-rates and blood pressures were
recorded throughout. The breath samples were examined using a technique known
as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and then statistically analysed and
compared to a library of compounds.
Two compounds in the breath - 2-methyl, pentadecane and indole -
increased following the stress exercise which, if confirmed, the researchers
believe could form the basis of a rapid test. A further four compounds were
shown to decrease with stress, which could be due to changes in breathing
patterns.
"What is clear from this study is that we were not able to
discount stress. It seems sensible and prudent to test this work with more
people over a range of ages in more normal settings," he said.
02.03.2013
There is nothing impossible to him who will try
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