Health

Doctors at a hospital in Kolkata have successfully performed their first-ever stem cell therapy for an advanced case of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) on a 62-year-old retired government employee from the `City of Joy`. The therapy was done under the expertise of Dr Jayanta Das, consultant - Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, and Dr Krishnendu Mukherjee, consultant – Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Manipal Hospital, Broadway. The patient was a chronic smoker, had been diagnosed with PAD nearly a year ago and was initially advised angioplasty with possible stenting. Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is a condition in which the blood vessels in the legs become narrowed or blocked, reducing blood flow. This can cause leg pain, non-healing wounds, and in severe cases, infection or ampu...

Adolescent girls who actively partake in recreational physical activity can have significant protection against risks of breast cancer, according to a study.  Researchers from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in the US showed that recreational physical activity may be associated with breast tissue composition and biomarkers of stress in adolescent girls. In the study, girls who reported engaging in at least two hours of recreational physical activity in the prior week, compared with none, had lower percent water content in breast tissue -- an indicator of lower breast density and lower concentrations of urinary biomarkers linked to stress. The findings, published in the journal Breast Cancer Research, shed new light on how physical activity during adolescence -- a...

At 90 million, India ranked second in the number of adults living with diabetes in 2024. China was first at 148 million and the US ranked third at 39 million, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal. Researchers, including those from the International Diabetes Federation in Belgium and the India Diabetes Research Foundation and Dr A Ramachandran`s Diabetes Hospital in Chennai, said countries with large populations, such as China, India, the US, and Pakistan, contribute a very large share of the number of people with diabetes worldwide. They projected that Pakistan could surpass the US by 2050. The eleventh edition of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes Atlas provides national, regional and global diabetes prevalence estimates for ...

The modern social calendar is often at odds with our biological requirements. Whether it is a holiday season, a string of late-night weddings, or the occasional weekend party, our internal systems pay a heavy price for social jetlag. We often view the resulting exhaustion as a simple debt of hours, but as Dr Sneha S consultant internal medicine at Manipal Hospital, Kanakpura Road, Bengaluru, explains, the reality is far more disruptive. “When our schedules shift abruptly, our internal clocks become desynchronised, leading to sleep that is light, fragmented, and fundamentally unable to perform its restorative functions,” she shares. Repairing a shattered sleep schedule is not a matter of sheer willpower or ‘catching up’ on a Sunday morning. Instead, it requires a strategic realignment of th...

Mumbai doctors have performed a rare and clinically significant bilateral hand transplant. It was done using hands received through cadaveric donation, after the family of a 50-year-old woman consented to donate her organs following her death.  The transplant restored functional hand use to an 18-year-old male recipient. Along with her hands, the donor’s lungs, liver, and corneas were also donated, enabling multiple transplants across hospitals in Mumbai and Surat.  The recipient, 18-year-old Priyank Aghera, the son of a farmer from Rajkot in Gujarat, had lost both hands in a tragic farm accident in January 2024 while assisting his father during cotton harvesting. A branch became lodged in a tractor blade and, when the blades restarted, he sustained severe crush injuries that were beyond...

In a world-first discovery, scientists in Australia have found that the human heart can regrow muscle cells after a heart attack, raising hopes for future regenerative treatments for heart failure, and subsequently overall health. The study, published in Circulation Research, revealed that while parts of the heart remain scarred after a heart attack, new muscle cells are also produced, a phenomenon previously seen only in mice and now demonstrated in humans for the first time, Xinhua news agency reported. "Until now we`ve thought that, because heart cells die after a heart attack, those areas of the heart were irreparably damaged, leaving the heart less able to pump blood to the body`s organs," said Robert Hume, research fellow at the University of Sydney and first author of the study. "...

Mumbai doctors at a city hospital have successfully performed a complex and extraordinary liver surgery on a two-year-old giving the child a new lease of life.  Aphsa, was diagnosed with an advanced liver cancer involving major blood vessels in and around the liver. The cancer was inoperable by conventional surgery, leading to the innovative operation led by Dr Abhishek Mathur, with the collaborative expertise of Prof Darius Mirza, Dr Pradnya Bendre, Dr Shailesh Sable, Dr Gayatri Munghate, and Dr Saurin Dani, turning what seemed like an impossible situation into a story of hope. Aphsa, who is a cheerful and lively child, was diagnosed with a locally advanced hepatoblastoma by oncologist Dr Mudaliar after her mother noticed a swelling in her abdomen. Hepatoblastomas represent one of the c...

Widespread smartphone and social media use among children is driving a sharp rise in depression, anxiety and suicide, top American lawmakers and experts have said calling it a public health crisis that demands urgent government action. Parents are increasingly alarmed by the amount of time children spend on screens and the nature of the content they consume, said Senator Ted Cruz, during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing titled “Plugged Out: Examining the Impact of Technology on America’s Youth.” Cruz said children aged 8 to 12 now spend an average of 5.5 hours a day on screens, while teenagers spend more than 8.5 hours a day. “More than half of a teenager’s waking hours are spent staring at a screen,” he said, calling the trend deeply troubling for parents and educators. Psychologist...

Scientists are In the constant research for treatment of different types of cancers, and in the most recent development, there may be hope. In a first-ever study by Australian researchers has demonstrated that the feasibility and safety of using stabilised hyaluronic acid (sHA) gel during radiation treatment can be helpful for gynaecological cancers.  The gel, which is already approved by Australia`s Therapeutic Goods Administration for use in prostate cancer radiation treatment, may prove to a path-breaking in the treatment. The team, who made the discovery, was led by experts from Monash University who investigated hyaluronic acid gel for the first time in women, as a means to gently create more space between the tumour and the rectum during MRI-guided brachytherapy -- a type of intern...

Skin problems such as acne, pigmentation, premature ageing, and hair fall are increasingly being reported across the 25-65 age group. While many patients invest heavily in skincare products, they often ignore the deeper lifestyle factors that directly influence skin health. Irregular sleep patterns, high stress levels, unhealthy eating habits, prolonged screen exposure, and rising pollution are silently damaging the skin from within. Hence, it is the need of the hour to pay attention to the skin and keep it glowing, healthy, and happy. Skin problems are rapidly rising due to unhealthy lifestyle habits such as poor sleep, high stress, unhealthy diets, and excessive screen time. “These factors disrupt the skin’s natural repair process and weaken its protective barrier. As a result, issues l...