‘Need for
cost-effective dialysis’
With kidney failure becoming common
in Indian families, there is need for a cost-effective course of dialysis,
health experts said on Thursday. Kidney failure, a chronic condition, is
becoming more and more common in India. Dialysis in hospitals also entails high
risk of Hepatitis C and other infections in patients, health experts gathered
for a round table discussion on ‘Rational and cost-effective management of
chronic renal failure: Payer and payee perspective’ said. (Read: 12 symptoms of kidney disease you shouldn’t ignore)
The condition becomes a source of
great distress to patients and their families as treatment through dialysis is
expensive. There is thus urgent need for a cost-effective, rational financial
means of performing dialysis, the experts said. The forum offered an
opportunity to recognise the need for inclusion of peritoneal dialysis (which
uses the peritoneum in the abdomen as the membrane across which fluids and
dissolved substances are exchanged from the blood) in health insurance cover.
Peritoneal dialysis offers better quality of life to renal patients, as
the treatment can be conducted at home. It also lowers risk of infection, a
release said. (Read: Organ transplant facts you must know)
Dialysis is a life-saving treatment
for patients with kidney failure waiting for an organ transplant. On the
panel of doctors who participated in Thursday’s discussions were Dinesh Khullar
of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Gokulnath of St. John’s Hospital, Bangalore.
Source: http://health.india.com
20.07.2013
Obesity linked to
asthma
Researchers including an Indian have found that genes
linked to chronic inflammation inasthma could be more active
in obese people.
First author Paresh Dandona,
MD, PhD, SUNYDistinguished Professor and Chief of
Endocrinology, Diabetes and
Metabolism at the University at Buffalo, said that his team findings point the
way to the management of asthma in the obese through simple weight reduction.
The research involved two related studies: A comparative study between obese people and people of normal weights; and an experiment that looked at how various biological indicators - including the behavior of asthma-linked genes - changed when morbidly obese patients received gastric bypass surgery.
The research involved two related studies: A comparative study between obese people and people of normal weights; and an experiment that looked at how various biological indicators - including the behavior of asthma-linked genes - changed when morbidly obese patients received gastric bypass surgery.
In the comparative study, the
scientists found that four genes associated with chronic inflammation in asthma
were more active in obese and morbidly obese people, by more than 100 percent
in some cases. The highest activity was found in the morbidly obese.
This increased gene
expression matters because it can cause white blood cells called mononuclear
cells to produce far greater amounts of inflammatory factors like interleukin
4, LIGHT and lymphotoxin beta receptor which contribute to allergic
inflammation and other abnormalities in the bronchial passages in asthma.
The scientists also found
higher concentrations of two asthma-related compounds in the plasma of obese
and morbidly obese patients: MMP-9, which is associated with inflammation, and
nitric oxide metabolites (NOM), which are an indicator of oxidative stress.
Following gastric bypass
surgery in morbidly obese diabetic patients, MMP-9 and NOM levels dropped,
along with the expression of six asthma-related genes including the key
factors, interleukin 4, LIGHT, lymphotoxin beta and interleukin 33 in parallel
with weight loss and improvements in the status of
their diabetes.
"Ours is the first study
to provide a mechanistic link between obesity and
asthma through biological/immunological mechanisms," Dandona said.
"There has been, until now, no biological, mechanistic explanation other
than the fact that obesity may raise the diaphragm and thus reduce lung volumes."
Importantly, the research
established a connection between Type 2 diabetes, obesity and asthma based on
biological mechanisms. This is important because obesity and Type 2 diabetes
are associated with a more than 100 percent increase in the prevalence of
asthma, Dandona said.
The research has been published online in the journal Obesity.
The research has been published online in the journal Obesity.
Source: www.timesofindia.com 20.07.2013
Not being able
to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can
Ashleigh Brilliant
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