Health

Doctors in Thane have successfully treated an elderly woman with a complex case of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) using advanced excimer laser atherectomy technology, marking a significant step in minimally invasive vascular care. The 88-year-old female patient, a known case of diabetes, hypertension, and prior stroke, presented with severe pain and gangrene in her toe at KIMS Hospitals Thane. Imaging revealed a blockage in a major artery of the leg. She underwent a minimally invasive endovascular procedure using the Philips Excimer 300 laser system along with a specialised laser atherectomy catheter, which helped clear the arterial blockage and restore blood flow. The patient experienced significant relief and was discharged the next day, walking comfortably. This advanced system uses ...

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that temperatures are likely to rise further across several districts in the coming days, even as the state witnesses a relative cooling of its political climate after weeks of intense activity.  With the mercury climbing steadily, health experts have cautioned that the risk of heat-related illnesses is increasing and stressed the need for preventive measures. Doctors say that staying safe during peak summer requires two essential steps -- constant vigilance and regular intake of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). The average human body temperature is around 36.9 degrees Celsius. When the external temperature rises significantly above this level, the body begins absorbing heat from the surroundings. To counter this, it activates cooling ...

Mumbai doctors have successfully performed a complex, high-risk, four-hour brain tumour surgery on a three-month-old infant weighing just 5.6 kg, giving the child a second chance at life. The infant had been diagnosed with a giant posterior fossa brain tumour, a rare and life-threatening condition at such a young age. With timely intervention, the baby has recovered well and was discharged in stable condition, bringing immense relief and joy to the family. The surgery was led by Dr Abhishek Nadkarni, consultant neurosurgeon, along with DrSheena Ali, consultant neurosurgeon, and the paediatric neurosurgery team at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children. The parents, residents of Mumbai, became concerned when their previously active baby, suddenly became unusually quiet and lethargic on Ma...

In a remarkable case highlighting the power of advanced surgical care, Mumbai doctors have successfully treated a 30-year-old woman from Kenya suffering from a rare condition known as paraganglioma. This was an even rarer secreting tumour which was secreting hormones leading to wide and dangerous fluctuations of blood pressure. The young lady’s blood pressure remained critically high, unmanageable despite multiple medications, significantly affecting her health and quality of life. Further, the tumour was located deep in the abdomen in proximity to the kidney and major blood vessels - a complex and delicate situation. With the help of precise robotic-assisted surgery, it was successfully removed, leading to excellent blood pressure control without any medications. Karkeh Rophina, a 30-y...

Vice-President, C.P. Radhakrishnan, on Saturday emphasised that mental resilience is key in the fight against cancer and urged citizens, especially the youth, to stay away from intoxicants, tobacco, and similar substances to reduce cancer risk. He called for large-scale, sustained public awareness campaigns focussed on cancer prevention and also sated that tablet-based cancer treatments are emerging as a promising alternative to chemotherapy.  Addressing a programme organised by the Cancer Society of India on Saturday, the Vice President noted that recent advances in medical research are encouraging, particularly initiatives exploring tablet-based therapies as alternatives to intensive treatments such as chemotherapy. He underlined the importance of access to clean drinking water and exp...

Bangladesh`s health sector, shaped over decades, risks being undone within years unless corrective steps are taken, a report has highlighted. According to Bangladesh`s leading newspaper `The Daily Star`, the current measles vaccine crisis in the South Asian nation is not merely an isolated disruption but reflects institutional weakening, with national vaccination coverage dropping to around 60 per cent in 2025 – the lowest in nearly a decade – from 85-92 per cent between 2010 and 2022. "Bangladesh`s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) has long been one of the country`s most celebrated public health successes. Built on sustained government commitment, strong development partnerships, and a vast network of frontline health workers, it delivered consistently high coverage and sharply r...

There is clear evidence that exposure to micro and nanoplastics can trigger oxidative stress, fibrogenesis and inflammation in animals, features that resemble those of advanced liver disease in humans, researchers said on Thursday.  With the liver acting as the body’s first major firewall, processing and detoxifying everything humans consume, there is a clear potential for these particles to enable the transporting of microbial pathogens, antimicrobial resistance determinants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and carcinogenic additives into the human system, they emphasised in the Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology journal. The article’s lead author, Shilpa Chokshi, Professor of Experimental Hepatology and Director of Centre of Environmental Hepatology, said that liver disea...

For the modern professional, a sudden fever is usually dismissed as a seasonal nuisance—a viral that a couple of paracetamols and a day in bed will fix. We operate on a logic of convenience, assuming that if we aren`t sick enough to be bedridden, we aren`t in danger.  However, as people around the globe observe World Malaria Day on April 25, medical experts remind us that when it comes to health, convenience is a gamble. The scale of the threat remains significant.  According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2025, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths globally in 2024. While India has made incredible strides, the disease remains a persistent predator. As Dr Aravinda G M, consultant of internal medicine at Manipal Hospital, Kanakapura ...

Chronic stress can disrupt bowel functions and now, a new report on Thursday suggested that eating late at night amplifies these effects, with implications for both digestive health and the gut microbiome.  Researchers analysed data from more than 11,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the US to examine links between chronic stress, late-night eating, and bowel dysfunction. Individuals with a high allostatic load score — the cumulative physiological stress as reflected in body mass index (BMI), cholesterol level, and blood pressure — who also reported eating more than 25 per cent of daily calories after 9 pm were 1.7 times more likely to experience constipation and diarrhoea than those with lower scores who did not eat late at night. "It’s not jus...

US health officials on Thursday greenlit a first-of-its-kind gene therapy to treat a rare form of hereditary hearing loss, a breakthrough which could pave the way for other such hearing impairment treatments. Two to three of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a hearing impairment, and it is estimated that more than half of these cases of early-onset hearing loss are caused by genetic mutations. Developed by the American biotechnology company Regeneron, the treatment known as Otarmeni targets a rare form of hearing loss which affects around 50 newborns a year in the US. It will be available for children and adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss caused by certain mutations in the OTOF gene, which encodes a protein critical for transmitting auditory signals from ...