Health

Daylight can help improve metabolic health, enabling people with type 2 diabetes to achieve better glycaemic control, according to a study.  Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland and Maastricht University in the Netherlands found that people exposed to natural light had blood glucose levels in the normal range for more hours per day, with less variability. In addition, their melatonin level -- the sleep hormone -- was a little higher in the evening, and fat oxidative metabolism was also improved. The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, provided the first evidence of the beneficial impact of natural light on people with this condition. "It has been known for several years that the disruption of circadian rhythms plays a major role in the developme...

Maternal use of antibiotics during pregnancy may raise the risk of babies developing Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease -- a common bacterial disease, according to a study.  While the bacteria usually live harmlessly in the gut or genital tract, they can cause serious infections, especially in newborns, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia. The study led by an international team from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, University of Antwerp in Belgium, showed that prenatal antibiotic exposure was associated with an increased risk of neonatal GBS disease, within four weeks of delivery. Early third-trimester exposure showed the strongest association. “Prenatal antibiotic exposure can raise GBS risk within four weeks postpartum, especi...

A 41-year-old man from Mauritius, who had been living with crippling hip pain for over 11 years due to Avascular Necrosis (AVN), has found significant relief and renewed hope after undergoing advanced therapy.  The man went through cell-based regenerative therapy at StemRx Hospital & Research Centre in Navi Mumbai with the expertise of Dr Pradeep Mahajan, who is a regenerative medicine researcher and founder of StemRx. The patient was able to avoid hip replacement surgery and regain a better quality of life. Kavraj Singh Bohani had been battling constant pain, stiffness, and restricted movement for more than a decade. Over the last three to four years, his condition worsened drastically, affecting his ability to walk, sleep, work, and carry out daily activities. Multiple doctors in M...

Heart surgery that begins late in the morning may raise the risk of cardiovascular deaths when compared to other times of the day, according to a study.  Researchers at The University of Manchester, UK, suggested that integrating body clock biology into the planning of heart surgery could support a more personalised, precision medicine approach, as some people’s body clock makes them early birds and others make them night owls. The data, based on the analysis of national datasets comprising over 24,000 patients in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, showed late-morning surgery was linked to an 18 per cent higher risk of death -- almost one fifth -- from heart-related causes compared with early-morning surgery. And the most common surgical start time was 07:00 am to 09:59 am -- account...

In another significant achievement, doctors in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhopal has successfully performed a complex cardiac surgery, giving a new lease of life to a man suffering from a serious medical condition.  The 30-year-old patient from Hoshangabad (now Narmadapuram district) had been suffering from severe health complications for the past six months, Dr Yogesh Niwariya, Head of the CTVS Department at AIIMS Bhopal, said on Monday. Dr Niwariya said the patient had a history of heart attack, paralysis and kidney dysfunction. In addition, several large clots were found in the left side of the heart (left ventricle), and the heart muscle was also weak. He said that because of the clots, the pati...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) may not replace professional care, chatbots like ChatGPT may help reduce mental health stigma, particularly for people hesitant to seek traditional face-to-face support, according to a study.  The team from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia surveyed 73 people who had used ChatGPT for personal mental health support, investigating ChatGPT use and its perceived effectiveness related to stigma. “The findings suggest that believing the tool is effective and plays an important role in reducing concerns about external judgment,” said Scott Hannah, a student of the Master of Clinical Psychology at ECU. Stigma is a major barrier to seeking mental health help. It can worsen symptoms and discourage people from accessing support. The study focused on anticipate...

Stress during pregnancy such as gut changes or a trigger of the immune system can impact the brain health of the foetus, potentially paving way for neurodevelopmental abnormalities to develop, according to a new genetic study in mice. In a paper published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers have mapped how stress events during pregnancy can affect the neuroimmune landscape of the developing foetal brain using spatial transcriptomics -- they help reveal which genes of a tissue were active and where. "Our study establishes a detailed spatial transcriptomic resource of immune gene networks during a critical window of embryonic brain development," lead researcher Brian Kalish, a physician in the division of newborn medicine at US` Boston Children`s Hospital, said. The study mapp...

Karen, an aspiring Paralympic archer living with multiple sclerosis (MS) for nearly three decades has got a new lease of life with the help of precision Ayurveda.  She arrived at the Apollo AyurVAID Hospital earlier this year with over twenty years of near-complete dependence on a wheelchair.  She had persistent chronic pain, weakness, and gait imbalance, and had been advised that no additional clinical interventions were likely to improve her mobility. While training in Chennai, Karen sought to explore whether a structured Ayurveda approach could help restore her mobility, improve muscle strength and overall function. She consulted Dr Susmitha C, a specialist in neurological and autoimmune conditions at the hospital and enrolled in a rigorous Precision Ayurveda programme. Following a ...

An international team of researchers has discovered a new method to fight cancers that no longer respond to treatment.  The team led by Israel`s Weizmann Institute of Science used mutations that make tumours drug-resistant, Xinhua news agency reported. One of the biggest challenges in cancer care is when a therapy stops working. In many metastatic cancers, drugs that initially work lose their effect over time as cancer cells mutate and continue to grow. The new study, published in the journal Cancer Discovery, proposed a new way to confront cancer resistance: harnessing the very mutations that make tumours resistant in order to fight the cancer. The team introduced a computational tool called SpotNeoMet. It identifies therapy-resistant mutations common to many patients. These mutati...

Abundance of severe gum disease -- periodontitis -- may worsen disability for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.  Previous studies have shown that periodontitis may contribute to central nervous system disorders through chronic inflammation. However, its role in multiple sclerosis has been unclear. The new research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that high levels of Fusobacterium nucleatum -- a bacterium found in the mouth -- were associated with about ten-fold higher odds of severe disability in multiple sclerosis patients. "While the gut microbiome has been extensively investigated in multiple sclerosis, the potential involvement of the oral microbiome has remained largely unexplored. Because the oral ca...