30 September, 2015

Eiffel Tower turns pink for breast cancer

Paris: France's most iconic attraction, the Eiffel Tower turned pink as part of a push for breast cancer awareness, the media reported on Tuesday.

October is breast cancer awareness month and Paris officials did their part to raise awareness by lighting the Eiffel Tower in pink, The Local news reported.

The illumination is part of the Ruban Rose (pink ribbon which is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness) event launched by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who witnessed the spectacle on Monday night.

Organisers said lighting up the tower in pink was "more than a symbol - it's a sign of victory over this illness"

The light show in Paris marks France's 22nd "Pink October" campaign, which will also see information stalls set up at Trocadero, not far from the tower, until Thursday.

A series of events including beauty therapy and solidarity marches have also been scheduled.

According to official data, breast cancer is quite prevalent in France. The most recent figures showed that over 50,000 women in France are diagnosed with the cancer each year and that 11,900 women died from it in 2012.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

30.09.2015

Bill Gates and UN say malaria could be eradicated by 2040

London: Malaria could be wiped out by 2040, despite the lack of an effective vaccine, previous failed attempts to eradicate the disease and drug resistance problems, theUnited Nations and Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in a report released today.

Gates and Ray Chambers, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for malaria, said getting rid of the parasitic disease could ultimately save 11 million lives and provide USD 2 trillion in economic benefits. In a statement, Gates described eradication as "the only sustainable solution."

His foundation has been one of the major donors to malaria eradication programs.

The report calls for a doubling of the money spent on malaria by 2025 and new ways to control the mosquitoes that spread the disease. Past attempts to get rid of malaria have failed; the World Health Organization and partners had targeted the end of 2015 for cutting cases to "near zero."

About 500,000 children are killed by malaria every year and it's unknown whether cases are going up or down in the worst-hit countries.

Despite a regulatory approval recommendation for the world's first malaria vaccine, the shot only protects about one third of children. Resistance to many malaria drugs has been detected and more than a third of people at risk have no protective bed nets. Officials are also still struggling to wipe out guinea worm and polio. Smallpox is the only disease to have been eradicated.

"It's good to be ambitious in global health but this is another ambition that misses a crucial element of delivering on such goals: health systems," said Sophie Harman, a public health expert at Queen Mary University in London.

"Grand and glitzy eradication campaigns overlook the real necessity of financing everyday health systems," she said. Harman also doubted whether the 2040 goal was realistic, citing the previously missed polio targets. WHO had originally hoped to get rid of polio by 2000.

"These dates seem increasingly arbitrary and gloss over all the previous dates we've heard before," she added.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

30.09.2015

To lose patience is to lose the battle

Mahatma Gandhi

29 September, 2015

Survival chances of preemies can be increased by preventing light from reaching their food

The survival rate of preemies — premature babies — born between 26 to 31 weeks of gestation can be improved by blocking light from reaching the intravenously-fed infused nutritious mixture they depend on for survival, says a new study. Premature babies need to be fed intravenously due to the immaturity of their digestive system and their high nutritional requirements during their first days of life. Exposing this type of food preparation to light generates oxidants which the premature infant’s immature defences can not fight. ‘An easy to implement, fully light-shielded delivery system for parenteral nutrition needs to be developed to reduce mortality rates in premature infants,’ said study’s lead author Jean-Claude Lavoie from CHU Sainte-Justine, Canada. 

Parenteral nutrition is essential to the survival of babies born preterm because it provides them with vital nutrients like proteins, fat and glucose, and enables them to develop just as foetuses of their age would do in their mother’s womb. ‘The photo-excited vitamins B2 and ‘electron donors’ such as vitamin C, amino acids and lipids all interact in the multivitamin solution and generate oxidants,’ the researcher said. ‘This creates an oxidative stress which kills newborn cells. Studies show that shielding parenteral nutrition from light significantly decreases such an interaction,’ he added. 

‘However, the solution has to be shielded from the moment it is prepared in the pharmacy all the way through to infusion on the ward, including all bags, tubing and syringes through which it passes,’ said co-researcher Maxime Thibault, a pharmacist at CHU Sainte-Justine. ‘Partial photo-protection is ineffective in preventing oxidant generation,’ Thibault said. Jean-Claude Lavoie’s team is about to launch a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of an end-to-end photo-protected delivery system that would be easy to implement in clinical settings. The study was published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

29.09.2015

Patients with pancreatitis have poor chances of improving their condition

Sufferers of pancreatitis have a high likelihood of their condition worsening if they fail to stop smoking and to cut alcohol consumption, said a study released on Monday. University of Auckland researchers said their analysis of 14 clinical studies from around the world, involving almost 8,500 patients, was the first comprehensive research to quantify how often patients with acute pancreatitis suffered recurrent bouts, Xinhua news agency reported citing the study. 

It also showed a high chance they would eventually go on to develop chronic pancreatitis, study leader Dr Max Petrov said in a statement. After just one episode of acute pancreatitis, a patient had a one in five chance of getting repeated episodes of pancreatitis and a one in 10 chance of developing chronic pancreatitis. ‘This research shows that a significant proportion of people who suffer from acute inflammation of the pancreas can go on to have permanent scarring of the organ, long after initial hospitalisation,’ said Petrov. 

‘Smoking cessation and reducing alcohol consumption can help prevent this progression,’ he said. Men were at significantly higher risk of chronic pancreatitis than women. Acute and chronic pancreatitis were pancreatic diseases that were on the rise, with more than 2,500 New Zealanders hospitalised last year. Chronic pancreatitis could affect the ability of patients to perform normal daily activities, as well as reducing their employment rates and work productivity, and patients had a death rate of up to 50 percent two to three decades after diagnosis. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

29.09.2015

Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better

Richard Hooker

28 September, 2015

Mother's malaria can affect memory in offspring

Malaria infection during pregnancy may result in learning and memory related problems in offspring, suggests new research.

This is because maternal malaria infection alters the formation of blood vessels in the brains of exposed offspring.

The exposed fetus has smaller blood vessels in its brain than the control fetus, the findings showed.

These results "highlight a novel mechanism by which malaria in pregnancy may alter the neurocognitive development of millions of children prior to birth", the researchers said.

In this study, Kevin Kain, from the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues specifically examined neurocognitive function in mice of normal birth weight that had been exposed to -- but not themselves infected with -- malaria in the uterus.

The researchers found that young mice that had been exposed to malaria in pregnancy have impaired learning and memory and show depressive-like behaviour that persists to adulthood.

These neurocognitive impairments are associated with decreased tissue levels of major neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) in specific regions of the brain.

By imaging blood vessels in the uterus, the researchers also saw changes in neurovascular development in the brain of malaria-exposed mouse fetuses.

The findings appeared in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

28.09.2015

Don't blame karma for poor health!

If you tend to blame karma for illness, chances of you having poor physical and mental health are higher, suggests a new study.

"In general, the more religious or spiritual you are, the healthier you are, which makes sense," said Brick Johnstone, neuropsychologist and professor of health psychology at University of Missouri in the US.

"But for some individuals, even if they have even the smallest degree of negative spirituality -- basically, when individuals believe they are ill because they have done something wrong and God is punishing them -- their health is worse," Johnstone noted.

Johnstone and his colleagues studied nearly 200 individuals to find out how their spiritual beliefs affected their health outcomes.

Individuals in the study had a range of health conditions, such as cancer, traumatic brain injury or chronic pain, and others were healthy.

The researchers divided the individuals into two groups: a negative spirituality group that consisted of those who reported feeling abandoned or punished by a higher power, and a no negative spirituality group that consisted of people who did not feel abandoned or punished by a higher power.

Those in the negative spirituality group reported significantly worse pain as well as worse physical and mental health while those with positive spirituality reported better mental health.

Targeted interventions to counteract negative spiritual beliefs could help some individuals decrease pain and improve their overall health, the researchers said.

The study was published in the Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

28.09.2015

When people see a change in you, it promotes change in them.....

An M.G. Quote

24 September, 2015

High haemoglobin levels in dengue patients indicate medical emergency

The deadly dengue scare is getting worst day-by-day. More than 3,791 people tested positive for dengue and 17 people reported dead in the capital city due to this viral disease. Although high fever for 3 – 4 days and low platelet count are the key signs of dengue, doctors say that high haemoglobin levels in the body could be a key symptom of severe dengue infection and if neglected might lead to medical emergency. It was believed that a dropping platelet count might increase the risk of mortality in dengue patients. However, in 20% of cases, the patient shows a stable platelet count even if haemoglobin level increase, signifying that the person is suffering from severe dehydration and thus need urgent medical attention.

Haemoglobin count – when to worry?

Haemoglobin is a blood protein that helps in the transportation of oxygen in the body. The normal level of haemoglobin per 100 ml of blood is 13 – 16 g in men and 11-13 g in women. Brig (Dr) Ajay Sharma, professor and head, department of medicine and clinical hematology at the Army (Research and Referral) Hospital in an Interview to TOI said that a patient with 10% increase in average haemoglobin level, even if the platelet count is within normal range should be rushed to hospital. He further exclaimed that most doctors wait for the platelet count to fall telling the patients not to worry, which is not right.

Dr Anoop Misra, chairman, Fortis C-doc Center Of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and Endocrinology quoted that people suffering from dengue tend to show low fluid intake that in turn lead to dehydration. And when it becomes severe, the blood tissues dry up and show a high hematocrit (packed cell volume – pcv) level with increase haemoglobin levels. In some cases, this cal also lead to ascites – a condition in which fluid build-up occurs in the abdomen

How can this be treated?

If the blood levels of haemoglobin are high, the first line of treatment should be intravenous or oral administration of fluids to prevent further dehydration. In some cases, the patient might feel better although the temperature is within control and the platelet count might be low. But this is not a critical sign unless there is no active bleeding, says Brig (Dr) Sharma.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

24.09.2015

Kids that read mind also choose their teachers carefully!

Even young children can be selective in choosing from whom to learn and those with a good understanding of others’ thoughts are more selective, suggests new research. These children who can gauge what is going on in other people’s head are also likely to select the ‘accurate’ person to learn from, the findings showed. ‘We already know that some preschoolers are more likely to learn from individuals with a history of making accurate claims over individuals who have been inaccurate or ignorant,’ said the study’s senior author Diane Poulin-Dubois, professor at Concordia University in Canada.

‘Kids have also been shown to prefer learning from nicer, more confident or more attractive individuals — attributes that do not have anything to do with intelligence. We speculated that certain social-cognitive abilities might explain some of these learning differences,’ she said. To test the hypothesis, the researchers took 65 children through a series of tasks that tested their ability to learn new words, as well as their ‘theory of mind’ (ToM) — that is, the intuitive understanding of one’s own and other people’s minds or mental states.

The researchers tested whether the preschool-aged participants were more likely to learn new words from an accurate (with more verbal accuracy) or inaccurate individual. They also examined whether the children were more likely to learn from a physically strong individual over a weak one. The researcher found that children who could better understand other people’s mental states were more likely to believe the individuals with the greatest verbal accuracy, rather than those who had demonstrated the greatest strength. The study was published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

24.09.2015

Change is innovative and perhaps inevitable, but too much change is not good

Walterrean Salley

22 September, 2015

Dental diseases cost the world $442 bn annually

Improvement in oral health alone can offer the world substantial economic benefit as researchers have estimated that the yearly global economic impact of dental diseases amount to $442 billion.

Reporting the economic burden of oral diseases is important to evaluate the societal relevance of preventing and addressing oral diseases.

The research by Stefan Listl from Heidelberg University in Germany, and colleagues estimated that the direct treatment costs due to dental diseases worldwide were at $298 billion yearly, corresponding to an average of 4.6 percent of global health expenditure.

In addition to treatment costs, there are indirect costs to consider, mainly in terms of productivity losses due to absenteeism from work.

Indirect costs due to dental diseases worldwide amounted to $144 billion yearly, corresponding to economic losses within the range of the 10 most frequent global causes of death.

While estimation of direct treatment costs was based on a systematic approach, for estimation of indirect costs, an approach suggested by the World Health Organisation's Commission on Macroeconomics and Health was employed.

This approach factored in 2010 values of gross domestic product per capita as provided by the International Monetary Fund and oral burden of disease estimates from the US Global Burden of Disease Study.

"Through this study, the authors have amplified the message that we need to increase the availability of internationally comparable data on dental treatment costs, disease-specific absenteeism from work and school, as well as intangible costs of oral diseases in terms of quality of life," said Timothy DeRouen, former president of American Associations for Dental Research (AADR).

The research, published by AADR and International Associations for Dental Research (IADR), appeared online in the Journal of Dental Research.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.09.2015

Physical strength is measured by what we carry. Inner strength is measured by what we can bear

21 September, 2015

Popular antidepressant neither safe nor effective for teens

Depressed teens shouldn't take the widely used antidepressant paroxetine as it is neither safe nor effective, as per a reanalysis of an influential study originally published in 2001. The new results contradict the original research findings that portrayed paroxetine as an effective and safe treatment for children and adolescents with major depression.

It is the first trial to be reanalyzed and published by The BMJ under an initiative called RIAT (Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials), which encourages abandoned or misreported studies to be published or formally corrected to ensure doctors and patients have complete and accurate information to make treatment decisions.

The 2001 study funded by SmithKline Beecham, now GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), was criticized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002. Yet, that year, over two million prescriptions were written for children and adolescents in the United States. In 2012, GSK was fined a record three billion dollars in part for fraudulently promoting paroxetine.

Using previously confidential trial documents, they reanalyzed the original data and found that neither paroxetine nor high dose imipramine was more effective than placebo in the treatment of major depression in adolescents. The authors considered the increase in harms with both drugs to be clinically significant.

They conclude that paroxetine was ineffective and unsafe in this study.

The reanalysis illustrates the necessity of making primary trial data and protocols available to increase the rigour of the evidence base, say the authors.

Fiona Godlee, The BMJ Editor-in-Chief, says publication of the reanalyzed data sets the record straight and shows the extent to which drug regulation is failing people. It also shows that the public and clinicians do not have the unbiased information they need to make informed decisions.

The study appears in The BMJ.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

21.09.2015

Large tableware may make you obese

Large-sized tableware, portions,and packages lead to people consuming more than they actually wish to, a new study suggests.

Eliminating large-sized portions from the diet could reduce energy intake in adults by up to 16 percent (around 279 kilocalories per day) to 29 percent (around 527 kcal per day), the Cambridge University research said.

Overeating increases the risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer which are among the leading causes of ill health and premature death.

"It may seem obvious that the larger the portion size, the more people eat, but until this systematic review the evidence for this effect has been fragmented, so the overall picture has been unclear," said co-lead researcher Gareth Hollands.

"Helping people to avoid 'overserving' themselves or others with larger portions of food or drink by reducing their size, availability and appeal in shops, restaurants and in the home, is likely to be a good way of helping lots of people to reduce their risk of overeating," Hollands added.

"The evidence is compelling now that actions that reduce the size, availability and appeal of large servings can make a difference to the amount people eat and drink," said co-lead researcher Ian Shemilt.

The findings were published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a leading resource for systematic reviews in health care.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

21.09.2015

To succeed you must first improve, to improve you must first practice, to practice you must first learn, and to learn you must first fail

Wesley Woo