Health

Amid a rapidly ageing population in India, experts on Tuesday, February 3, stressed the need for a home-based, community-led and integrated elder care model to boost geriatric care in the country.  Speaking at an event held in the national capital, the health experts also discussed the growing challenges confronting the country’s elderly population and the urgent need for more responsive and inclusive approaches to geriatric care.  The experts highlighted that the challenges for geriatric care are multi-dimensional in nature. These include rising disabilities and age-related health conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, significant gaps in geriatric healthcare infrastructure coupled with a sharp urban–rural divide in access to medical services, and mounting economic pressures drive...

Routine childhood vaccinations are not associated with an increased risk of epilepsy in young children, according to a new study led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, showed that the aluminum used as vaccine adjuvants also does not increase the risk of the neurological condition. “Incident epilepsy was not associated with up-to-date vaccination status or cumulative vaccine aluminum exposure among children less than 4 years of age,” said the team, including those from the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Marshfield, US. The study included 2,089 children diagnosed as having epilepsy from age 1 year to less than 4 years. These were compared with 20,139 children without epilepsy based on age, sex, and health care...

Commonly found viruses such as the parvovirus B19 (PVB19) can cause serious brain infections like encephalitis, said researchers from the AIIMS Bhopal on Saturday. Parvovirus B19 is a common virus with which most people come into contact at some point in their lives. In some rare cases, especially in children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, this virus can affect the brain. The researchers analysed 14 international studies conducted over the past 30 years, involving more than 3,000 patients. The virus was found in approximately three out of every 100 patients. “The common virus called parvovirus B19 can cause serious brain disease encephalitis in some rare cases,” AIIMS Bhopal shared in a post on the social media platform X. “Encephalitis can involve high fever, ...

Adverse effects on health due to emissions from the world`s plastics system, including greenhouse gases, air-polluting particles and toxic chemicals released from production, could more than double by 2040, compared to levels in 2016, if current trends continue, according to a study. The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, also highlighted that the global production of plastics may not peak until beyond 2100, worsening environmental and health burdens in an already overwhelmed system. Plastic pollution and emissions released across its lifecycle are increasingly recognised for their potential impacts on human health, yet the overall scale of the impact is only beginning to be fully quantified, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and in...

Chinese researchers have unveiled a crucial mutation in the Ebola virus that significantly enhanced its infectivity during a major outbreak, providing new insights for epidemic surveillance and drug development.  The study, published in the journal Cell, focused on the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 2018 to 2020, the second-largest in history, which caused over 3,000 infections and more than 2,000 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported. "The research tells us that during major emerging infectious disease outbreaks, real-time genomic surveillance and evolutionary analysis of the pathogen are crucial," said Professor Qian Jun from Sun Yat-sen University. "This is not only able to warn of changes in transmission risk but also to prospecti...

As the Union Budget 2026-27 approaches, the healthcare industry is looking towards the central government to bridge the gap between ambitious national goals and the ground realities of medical affordability. Dr P Senthilnathan, Director of GEM Hospital, emphasised that the roadmap for the upcoming year must be anchored in a long-term strategy. He noted that the previous budget made strides in making essential medicines more affordable and in advancing digital health initiatives, particularly by enhancing cancer care capacity nationwide. However, he believes the next step is critical for the nation`s broader developmental goals. Dr. Senthilnathan stated, "Union Budget 2026-27 should be drafted keeping in mind the long-term vision for building "Healthy India" to achieve `Viksit Bharat` by ...

Amid growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, a new large-scale clinical trial published in The Lancet on Thursday showed that an AI-enabled stethoscope can boost early detection of various heart diseases.  A team of Spanish researchers found that an AI-enabled stethoscope helped doctors in identifying early signs of serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and valve disease, in primary care clinics. The study found that introducing the technology to doctors led to a substantially faster and more frequent detection -- nearly twice as many new heart failure cases and three times as many detections of irregular heart rhythms -- of these cardiovascular conditions, indicating that the device performed well. “Primary care faces a growing workload ...

Use of artificial intelligence in Sweden`s national breast cancer screening programme has revealed that AI-supported mammography screening is more effective than standard mammography, according to full results from a 2023 trial published in The Lancet journal. AI-supported breast cancer screening identified more women with clinically relevant cancers without a higher rate of false positives, the results show. Researchers from Lund University and other institutes in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, also found that women who underwent AI-supported screening were less likely to be diagnosed with more aggressive and advanced breast cancer in the following two years. In August 2023, interim results from the Mammography Screening with Artificial Intelligence (MASAI) showed that us...

For decades, the conversation around brain health has been dominated by a single image: a piece of salmon or a bottle of fish oil. For vegetarians, vegans, or those participating in Veganuary, this has often felt like an exclusion from essential cognitive nutrition.However, as we enter a new era of nutritional science, the focus is shifting. Experts argue that the brain can thrive on plant-based sources—if you know the kitchen chemistry required to unlock them.  This Veganuary, we look at strategically using walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds to help you feed your brain effectively while adhering to a plant-based lifestyle. The cognitive engine: Why your brain craves omega-3s The human brain is nearly 60 per cent fat, making the quality of your dietary fat intake a direct reflection of ...

With stroke cases rising rapidly across India and delays in diagnosis often costing patients their lives or mobility, a Mumbai hospital has taken a unique step to bridge this critical gap. Keeping the importance of the “golden window” of 4.5 hours in mind, the hospital has launched an AI-based Hub-and-Spoke stroke care model, with diagnostic centres acting as spokes and Gleneagles Hospital in Parel functioning as the central hub. This initiative ensures that the moment a suspected stroke is detected on CT or MRI, the hospital’s stroke team is alerted instantly, allowing faster decisions, quicker transport, and timely treatment. AI-enabled stroke response network Under this model, Dr Nitin Dange heads the stroke response team, supported by Dr Shirish Hastak and Dr Pankaj Agarwal, Dr Kush...