Health

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a groundbreaking new drug for the most common form of pancreatic cancer, offering US patients a more effective treatment against one of the deadliest types of cancer. FDA officials gave expedited approval to the first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib, that blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumour growth in more than 90 per cent of pancreatic cancer cases. It's an approach that previously eluded drugmakers for decades. The daily pills will be sold by Revolution Medicines under the brand name Rasonque. Patients taking the drug nearly doubled their survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned them to receive the experimental treatment or more chemotherapy. The company-funded study enrolled 500 p...

A 38-year-old man from Navi Mumbai, who had been suffering from persistent breathlessness and wheezing for nearly three months, was found to have a chikoo (sapodilla) seed lodged deep inside his left main bronchus. A team of specialists at Medicover Hospitals, Kharghar, successfully removed the foreign body through flexible bronchoscopy, providing immediate relief to the patient. The procedure was performed by Dr Shahid Patel, Consultant Pulmonologist; Dr Tanay Sinha, Associate Consultant Pulmonologist; and Dr Shahabuddin, Anaesthetist. How the persistent breathing problem led to further investigation Prasad Nakhawa, a resident of Ulwe, had been experiencing breathlessness and audible wheezing for around two to three months. His symptoms appeared intermittently, prompting him to consu...

For Sandeep Sonawane, an electrical engineer, his hands are more than just a part of his body; they are his tools, his livelihood and his independence. When a severe finger injury left him struggling with pain, stiffness and restricted movement, it threatened much more than his ability to use his hand. It put his professional life and independence at risk. Three months after undergoing a complex PIP joint replacement at Gleneagles Hospital in Parel, the 40-year-old engineer has regained useful movement in his finger and is gradually returning to his professional activities.  The doctors performed a PIP joint replacement using the KLS Martin CAP-FLEX joint replacement system, giving a severely injured 40-year-old electrical engineer a chance to regain the hand function he needed for his l...

Indian scientists have developed a new smart cancer drug candidate designed to become active primarily inside cancer cells, offering a potentially more targeted approach to cancer treatment and reducing the risk of damage to healthy cells.  The research has been led by Dr Asis Bala of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in collaboration with Dr K.P. Bhabak of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.  The drug candidate, named RK-251, is designed to remain relatively inactive in normal tissues and become activated inside cancer cells, according to reports.  Conventional cancer treatments can affect healthy cells along with tumour cells, often resulting in signif...

Monsoon fever risk has moved into the period when it has historically run highest, according to a new study.  After a relatively dry start to the season, the national risk score for the study conducted by PharmEasy's Fever Watch indicator, has risen from 47 in week one to 61 as of August 12, while the number of cities reading 'high' has increased from one in mid-July to 10. Overall risk is now higher than at the start of the season in 186 of the 209 cities tracked by Fever Watch. The shift has been accompanied by stronger rainfall and mosquito breeding conditions across the country. The national weather and breeding signal has risen from 48 to 87, while 14-day national rainfall has increased from approximately 35 mm at the start of the season to around 133 mm. Some cities have seen parti...

In a noble gesture, the parents of a 17-year-old boy who died in a motorcycle accident decided to donate his organs at a hospital here on Monday, officials said. Adhil, a native of Perinthalmanna, suffered serious injuries in a bike accident while returning from catering work at Mannarmala in Malappuram and was admitted to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Following his death, his parents decided to donate his organs. Speaking to reporters, the parents said they were unable to come to terms with losing their son but wanted his death to give others a chance at life. "We could not bear his leaving this world. Despite that, we wish that at least a few patients may live through him. We also did this so that we would feel he is still alive somewhere," they said. The par...

A joyful and effortless bonding experience between a mother and her newborn recently became a challenging journey marked by feeding difficulties, discomfort, and concerns about the baby's growth due to a unique condition. Diagnosed with tongue-tie at birth, the infant struggled to latch properly during breastfeeding, making feeding painful for the mother and affecting the baby's ability to gain weight.  However, doctors in Pune came to the rescue to help the child and mother. THe multidisciplinary team comprising Dr. Abhinav Talekar, paediatric dentist, Dr. Abhimanyu Sengupta, senior consultant paediatrician, and Amrita Desai, lactation consultant at Ankura Hospital, conducted a carefully planned laser-assisted tongue-tie release. The procedure led to an immediate improvement in breastfe...

The Central Institute of Orthopaedics (CIO) at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital achieved a major milestone in advanced orthopaedic care, with the successful completion of its first robot-assisted Total Knee Replacement (TKR), thereby expanding the availability of technology-enabled surgical treatment within the public healthcare system. The procedure was successfully performed on August 22 on a 75-year-old economically disadvantaged male patient and was carried out completely free of cost under the Ayushman Bharat scheme at the Central Government hospital. The introduction of robot-assisted orthopaedic surgery at the Central Institute of Orthopaedics has been undertaken with the leadership, support and encouragement of Dr Kavita Sharma, Director, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital. The initi...

Greater awareness of depression and mental stress is needed alongside efforts to protect people from infectious diseases, Gujarat Health Minister Praful Pansheriya said on Saturday as he inaugurated the 16th annual conference of the Clinical Infectious Diseases Society (CIDS) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. Speaking at CIDSCON 2026, being held on the theme “Addressing AMR: From Awareness to Action”, Pansheriya said mental well-being and physical health must receive equal attention, particularly amid the pressures of modern lifestyles and the impact of global infectious diseases such as COVID-19. He stressed the need to create greater awareness about serious issues such as depression and mental stress and to address them appropriately. Maintaining mental resilience, he said, had become...

Goa has declared cancer a notifiable disease across the state, making it mandatory for healthcare providers or laboratories to report it to government authorities when they diagnose it, officials said on Saturday. The notification, issued by the state Public Health Department on August 20, will pave the way for systematic surveillance of cancer cases and data-driven planning of prevention, screening and treatment programmes, they said. Welcoming the decision, National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (India) president Dr Shekhar Salkar called the move a "landmark and much-needed public health decision" that could strengthen cancer control in the state. Under the notification, cancer cases are required to be reported preferably within seven days and, in any event, not later than one ...