Health

Managing abortion at home using pills is safe and may ease hospital burden, claimed a study published in The Lancet journal on Friday.  The randomised controlled trial of 435 women by Swedish researchers analysed women who took the first dose of misoprostol (a pill given as part of the procedure for medical abortions) at home or in the hospital. Those who took the pill at home had a 71 per cent chance of completing their care in hospital within 9 hours with no overnight stay, compared to 46 per cent of women who took the first dose of misoprostol at the hospital. Women in hospital settings are more likely to find abortion "stressful and isolating", compared to those at home. In a medical abortion (also known as abortion with pills) women are typically prescribed two types of pills. Mi...

A whopping 75 per cent of corneal blindness cases in India are untreated due to lack of eye donors, said an expert on Thursday.  Corneal blindness is the second leading cause of visual impairment in India with a current burden of 1.1 million people. However, only 25,000 out of these requirements are met each year. “This makes it feasible for only one out of every four individuals with corneal blindness to avail of the required surgery, while 75 per cent of the cases are left untreated,” said the ophthalmologist at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad. A growing ageing population, higher incidence of corneal infections and injuries are some of the reasons why corneal blindness is rising in India. “Vitamin-A deficiency in children, degenerative conditions like keratoconus and corneal dystrophies,...

It is worth noting that men are twice as likely as women to develop psoriasis, experts said on Wednesday. Each year, August is celebrated as Psoriasis Awareness Month. Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disorder causing thick, red, scaly patches on the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp.  It is influenced by environmental and genetic factors, with men more affected due to hormonal variations, genetic predispositions, and lifestyle choices. Symptoms include itchy or burning feelings, swollen nails, dry, cracked skin, and red areas covered in silvery scales. While there is no cure, medications and lifestyle changes can help manage the condition and prevent problems. "Psoriasis is a long-term skin disorder marked by thick, red, scaly skin patches caused by a fast buildup of skin cells. The ...

The new and deadlier Mpox strain -- Clade 1b -- poses a notable risk to children, said experts on Thursday, amid an outbreak of the infectious disease in Africa. The ongoing outbreak of Mpox which has been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) on August 15, is different from what the world experienced earlier in the 2022 outbreak. The 2022 outbreak was driven by Clade II, which is less virulent, and the infections were primarily seen in men who had sex with other men. Since then, the WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to Mpox from 116 countries. India detected a total of 30 cases, with the last case in March 2024. The number of cases and deaths has increased significantly this year, with over 15,600 cases and 537 deaths reported so f...

Women going through the menopause transition period are likely to experience changes that can be detrimental to their cardiovascular health, according to research on Tuesday.   Despite the myth that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a "man`s disease," it accounts for 40 per cent of all deaths in women, making it the leading cause of mortality for women. Although women typically get CVD 10 years later than males, they are more at risk for developing heart disease following menopause. “There is an increase in ‘bad’ low-density type lipoprotein (LDL) particles and a decrease in ‘good’ high-density lipoprotein particles (HDL) that takes place during and after the menopause transition,” said study author Dr Stephanie Moreno, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, US. “Taken together...

After losing her eyesight due to the unfortunate incident in March, Rameshwaram Café blast survivor has regained her eyesight after complex surgeries by doctors at Bengaluru’s Nethradhama Hospital. The 26-year-old woman from Bengaluru suffered a complete loss of vision in her right eye due to severe injuries sustained in the blast. Over the past four months, Nethradhama’s medical team performed a series of complex and advanced surgeries, ultimately restoring 80 per cent of her vision. Dr Supriya Sriganesh, executive director at Nethradhama, elaborating on Nagashree PR’s challenging journey explains, “When Nagashree presented at Nethradhama four days after the blast, her right eye was severely damaged. The eyeball was ruptured, the cornea torn, the lens damaged, and the retina affected by...

Taking research on love to a whole new level, a team of scientists on Monday revealed that different types of love light up different parts of the brain. Humans use the word ‘love’ in several range of contexts -- from sexual adoration to parental love or the love of nature. Now, more comprehensive imaging of the brain may shed light on why we use the same word for such a diverse collection of human experiences. Researchers from Aalto University in Finland utilised functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while subjects mulled brief stories related to six different types of love. Parttyli Rinne, the philosopher and researcher who coordinated the study, said that the activation pattern of love is generated in social situations in the basal ganglia, the midlin...

Playing online games can help boost the social skills of people with autism -- a neurodevelopmental disorder, according to a study on Tuesday.  Researchers from the University of Plymouth in the UK in a small study engaged eight people with autism in a popular role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons played both in person and online. The study, published in the journal Autism, sought to investigate whether placing people in a social setting where they felt at ease could improve their performance. “There are many myths and misconceptions about autism, with some of the biggest suggesting that those with it aren’t socially motivated, or don’t have any imagination. Dungeons and Dragons goes against all that, centering around working together in a team, all of which takes place in a completely...

Time of day when medications are administered can have a significant impact on cancer treatment outcomes, claimed a study.  Researchers at Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Germany explained that it is because human bodies follow the cycle set by their internal clock, also known as circadian rhythm. To tailor medication schedules to an individual patient’s body clock, the team developed a method for determining the optimum time of cancer treatment. The method, based on certain breast cancer cell lines, is described in the journal Nature Communications. The internal clock in the human body sets the rhythm for different bodily functions and metabolic processes, such as sleep and digestion. In addition to organs that depend on the body’s clock, individual cells also follow the cycle and...

While consuming sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, fruit punch, and lemonade, at home or outside is quite a norm, these may lead to significant harm to health -- from infections in teeth, and kidneys to heart disease, said experts on Monday. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are drinks that contain added sugar or other sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), sucrose, or fruit juice concentrates. These include: non-diet sodas, flavoured juice, sports or energy drinks, sweetened tea, and coffee, among others. “These sweeteners are a major concern that can cause multiple health complications like weight gain, obesity, and diabetes. Along with this, it also leads to a long-lasting impact on the heart, and kidney and also results in dental complications,” Dr. Manish Mittal, Con...