Health

Free-living amoebae in Vashi Creek, a tidal estuary in Mumbai, were found to harbour bacteria which had far higher levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a global study, including researchers from the Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.  The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, noted that the amoebae are acting as a ‘Trojan horse’ harbouring and protecting multidrug-resistant bacteria. Nearly half of the bacteria in the amoeba were resistant to four or more antibiotics, rising to six or more in 22 per cent of the samples. In marked contrast, the same level of resistance was found in only 0.6 per cent of samples derived from the sediment. While they are normally predators of bacteria, amoebae could serve as “sentinel indicators” ...

Doctors at a hospital in Mumbai have successfully treated a talented young GI surgeon from Delhi following a ground-breaking sacral bone cancer chordoma surgery. The intricate procedure, which utilised advanced navigation techniques and nerve-sparing technique with intra-operative neuromonitoring (IONM), was led by Dr Manit Gundavda, orthopaedic oncologist and lead surgeon at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai. Dr. Gundavda, along with a multidisciplinary team of experts including neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, radiology, anaesthesiology, and nursing, performed the 15-hour long surgery to remove a bone cancer - sacral chordoma, a rare type of cancer (there are fewer than 1 case per million in the world) that occurs in the bones of the spine. 3D printing technology was used to create a mode...

An exposure to high temperatures during pregnancy could be disrupting amino acids and vitamins key to managing stress and energy, thereby increasing the risk of a premature delivery, suggests an analysis of blood samples. Studies have observed a link between warmer ambient temperatures and preterm births, where a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. The analysis, published in the journal Science Advances, looked at small molecules or "molecular fingerprints" in blood samples of 215 pregnant women who were residents of the US metropolitan city of Atlanta, and matched residential addresses with the maximum ambient temperatures experienced throughout their pregnancies. The first-of-its-kind study by researchers at Emory University found a disruption in levels of naturally occurring s...

Regular physical activity during mid-life years and later could lower one`s risk of developing dementia by up to 45 per cent, compared to those who are less active during the period, found an analysis of over 4,300 adults in a US town. The findings, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), could help develop strategies that are timed to the most relevant stages of adult life, researchers said. Dementia is an ageing-related condition in which one`s memory, thought processes and speech are steadily impacted over time, and can eventually interfere with daily activities. Alzheimer`s disease is the most common form of dementia. Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine looked at data from the `Framingham Heart Study`, which began in 1948 and recruited ...

Dr (Col) Joy Dev Mukherji, one of India`s leading neurologists, has issued a stark warning against the growing social acceptance of recreational and "party" drugs, stressing that even cannabis can trigger strokes, seizures and cardiac complications and that the practise is driving a worrying rise in young patients arriving with severe neurological emergencies. Speaking in an ANI podcast, Dr Mukherji, who has over 28 years of clinical experience and served in the Armed Forces Medical Services before joining Max Healthcare in 2006, said there is "absolutely no justification" for drug use. He described its growing social acceptance as "deeply alarming." "No way can we justify using drugs. Unfortunately, it has become so rampant that it is getting social acceptance, which is incorrect and ab...

Early action against the rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is needed to ensure infections remain treatable, and surgeries stay safe, said the World Health Organization (WHO), during the World AMR Awareness Week, on Friday.  The WHO urged countries, specifically in the South-East Asia, to “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future.” “AMR threatens the very foundations of modern medicine, jeopardising decades of medical progress, as around the world -- and particularly in South-East Asia -- common infections are becoming harder to treat,” said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia. “It is already claiming lives, undermining essential treatments, and placing enormous strain on health systems. Antimicrobial resistance is already resulting in over a million de...

A group of adolescent girls from underserved communities in Mumbai has drafted what is being called the city’s first Charter of Menstrual Rights. The document was drawn up during a youth roundtable held to mark Child Rights Week and centred the lived experiences of girls who face stigma, discomfort, and lack of access during menstruation. Hosted by menstrual health initiative Ujaas, the event took place at the Aditya Birla World Academy, on November 19 and brought together girls aged 14 to 19 from five grassroots organisations — Vacha, CHIP, PUKAR, OSCAR Foundation and CORO — who shared personal accounts of their first periods. Fear, shame, misinformation and social restrictions were recurring themes. Despite progress in policy and awareness in recent years, participants said their realit...

Conceiving a baby is beautiful process but often there are challenges that can be experienced by the couple. Infertility affects a significant number of couples in India, yet awareness remains limited, particularly around male reproductive health. Investigations often focus on women, even though male factors contribute to 50 per cent of infertility cases, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. Social hesitation, stigma, and delayed evaluation frequently prevent timely diagnosis, leaving a critical gap in understanding a couple’s full fertility profile. A recent case highlights why early male evaluation is crucial. A couple from Pune, a 36-year-old husband and a 34-year-old wife, married for five years and trying to conceive for four, had undergone routine fertility assessmen...

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), the national public health agency of America, has quietly taken up an anti-vaccine stand, hinting at the association between vaccines and autism. However, experts in India on Friday, November 21, have thwarted the claims.  Once a key opponent of growing global anti-vaccine sentiment, the change in CDC reflects an anti-vaccine stance by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which is also endorsed by President Donald Trump. “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism,” read the US CDC website. The updated page also says studies supporting a link “have been ignored by health authorities” and mentio...

Setting a new milestone, the Indian government on November 20 launched an indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy for Sickle Cell Disease, which particularly affects India`s tribal population.  The low-cost gene editing solution named "BIRSA 101", in honour of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, remembered as a great tribal freedom fighter, was launched by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh. The technology works like a “precise genetic surgery”, capable not only of curing Sickle Cell Disease but also transforming treatment pathways for several hereditary disorders, the minister explained. Sickle Cell Disease is a chronic, single-gene disorder that causes a debilitating systemic syndrome characterised by chronic anaemia, acute painful episodes, organ ...