Health

In a significant achievement for Tripura’s healthcare sector, government-run Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital in Agartala has successfully conducted two consecutive kidney transplants for the first time in the state’s history, officials said on Tuesday. Hospital Superintendent Dr Bidhan Goswami said this milestone was made possible through the dedicated efforts of Chief Minister Manik Saha, a dental surgeon who holds the health portfolio. With the completion of the sixth and seventh kidney transplants on Monday and Tuesday (March 30 and 31), the medical college and hospital have now performed a total of 7 successful kidney transplants. In all cases, both donors and recipients are reported to be stable and healthy. The two latest transplants were conducted under the supe...

In another medical miracle this March, a private hospital in Faridabad has successfully performed a complex bilateral robotic knee replacement on a six-foot-six-inch tall Kenyan man, the hospital said on Monday. It claims to have set a world record for the procedure on the tallest patient using the largest implant size. According to an official statement, the surgery was led by Dr Anurag Aggarwal, clinical director - Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement, Marengo Asia Hospitals. The patient, Victor (54) had been suffering from severe pain in both knees for the past three to four months and was finding it increasingly difficult to walk, it said. Despite undergoing conservative treatment in Kenya, his condition did not improve, prompting him to seek advanced care at Marengo Asia Hospitals,...

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and MLA Vipin Singh Parmar on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Himachal Pradesh government over the introduction of robotic surgery facilities. The BJP MLA alleged that the move prioritises high-end technology over strengthening basic healthcare infrastructure. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Parmar said that the state`s health system is already under severe strain, with a shortage of essential staff and facilities across medical institutions. MLA Parmar said, "I have been consistently raising the issue of robotic surgery, but the reality is that health institutions in Himachal Pradesh lack basic infrastructure. In many hospitals, there are operating theatres and surgeons, but no anaesthesiologists, no radiologists, and no trained assistants...

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday shed light on abdominal or central obesity as a greater risk factor compared to overall obesity, particularly in the Indian context, where even lean and thin-looking individuals often carry significant visceral fat. The minister stated that while overall obesity is rising among both men and women, the prevalence of abdominal obesity remains disproportionately high and acts as an independent determinant of cardiometabolic risk. "The presence of visceral fat around the abdomen, even without generalised obesity, has significant clinical implications and requires early detection and targeted intervention," Singh said during the launch of a book titled `Advances in Obesity and Lipid Management in CVD`. The minister also highlighted the increasing incid...

An analysis of previously published studies has found that de-prescribing preventive medications among old, frail adults did not increase the risk of death, hospitalisation, or major heart-related events. Findings published in the journal BioMed Central (BMC) Geriatrics also suggest that de-prescribing was not related with an increased risk of falls -- a leading cause of disability among older adults -- fractures or a reduced quality of life. Researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections, Kolkata, and Sweden`s Karolinska Institutet, added however that evidence certainty -- a measure of confidence that the true effect of de-prescribing is close to one estimated from research -- was low and more studies are ...

Tuberculosis, or TB as it is popularly known, is an infectious disease commonly affecting the lungs, but it also affects other parts of the body, including the brain, intestines, bones, and even the reproductive organs. Experts warn that genital tuberculosis is a common cause of infertility, more commonly in women. With India carrying one of the highest TB burdens in the world, doctors are increasingly highlighting the need for early detection and timely treatment to prevent long-term complications such as infertility. Many people are unaware that TB bacteria can spread from the lungs to other organs through the bloodstream. When it affects the reproductive system, it is known as genital TB. Because the symptoms may be mild or unclear, the condition often remains undiagnosed until couples...

People with type 1 diabetes have a higher risk of developing dementia, according to a study. Type 2 diabetes is also linked to an increased risk of dementia compared to those without diabetes. However, the findings show only an association and do not prove that diabetes causes dementia. Type 1 diabetes is relatively rare, accounting for about 5 per cent of all diabetes cases. "As advances in medical care have extended the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, it`s becoming increasingly important to understand the relation of type 1 diabetes to the risk of dementia," said study author Jennifer Weuve, MPH, ScD, of Boston University. "We have known that type 2 diabetes is linked to an increased risk of dementia, but this new research suggests that, unfortunately, the association may be even ...

Amid serious concerns over recent introduction of multiple generic variants of GLP-1 based weight loss drugs in the Indian market, the government on Tuesday, March 24, said it has intensified regulatory surveillance against the drug’s unauthorised sale and promotion.  In order to ensure ethical pharmaceutical practices in the supply chain of Weight Loss Drug (GLP-1), the Drugs Controller of India has intensified its regulatory surveillance, according to Health Ministry. Concerns have emerged regarding their on-demand availability through retail pharmacies, online platforms, wholesalers, and wellness clinics.  These drugs, when used without proper medical supervision, may lead to serious adverse effects and related health risks. “Regulatory surveillance will continue to be intensified i...

A new type of blood test that analyses the folding of amino acids rather than their amounts may detect earliest biological signs of Alzheimer`s disease, according to a study. Analysis of blood plasma samples from over 500 individuals show that structural differences in three proteins, one involved in immune signalling, another in protein folding, and a third that transports fats in bloodstream -- are strongly linked to Alzheimer`s status, according to the findings published in the Nature Aging journal. Researchers, including those at The Scripps Research Institute, US, said structural differences of plasma proteins helped accurately distinguish cognitively normal individuals, from those with Alzheimer`s and mild cognitive impairment -- the preceding stage. The method could eventually al...

Changes to one`s hippocampus, the brain`s memory centre, in response to prolonged pain could be an important factor for why some people develop depression in chronic pain, while others do not, according to a study. "Our findings suggest that the hippocampus acts as a control centre that helps the brain regulate emotional responses to long-term pain. Depression is not inevitable -- it depends on how this system responds over time," co-lead author Jianfeng Feng, professor of computer science at the UK`s University of Warwick, said. The study, published in the journal Science, analysed brain scans from population cohorts, including data from the UK Biobank, and a rodent model. People living with chronic pain but without depression tended to show a slightly larger volume of and an increased ...