Health

Over nine per cent of the world`s land area is at "high" or "very high" risk of a zoonotic outbreak -- triggered when an infection spreads from an animal to a human or vice versa, such as the Covid pandemic, according to a study. Findings published in the journal Science Advances also estimate 3 per cent of the global population to be living in extremely risky areas, and about a fifth in medium-risk areas. Researchers, including those from the European Commission`s Joint Research Centre (JRC) Scientific Development Programmes Unit in Italy, analysed location-specific information from the `Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network` dataset and the World Health Organization`s (WHO) list of diseases prioritised according to their potential for causing an epidemic or a pandemic. C...

Hepatitis B drugs are being vastly underused, and boosting early treatment against the deadly hepatitis B virus (HBV) could save many lives over time, argued scientists in a new paper published in Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology.  HBV kills over 3,000 people every day, or over 2 people every minute. Of the people who do not clear the infection and go on to develop a chronic HBV infection, between 20 and 40 per cent will die if they do not receive treatment. The experts noted that even though the currently available drugs do not cure people, they are safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive. "These medications are good drugs that are being badly underused," said John Tavis, Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "Less t...

A commonly used type 2 diabetes medication in the US -- Glipizide -- may be linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions, claimed a study.  Researchers from Mass General Brigham examined nationwide data from nearly 50,000 patients treated with different sulfonylureas. They found that glipizide was linked to a higher incidence of heart failure, related hospitalisation, and death compared to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. The findings are published in JAMA Network Open. “Patients with type 2 diabetes are at heightened risk of adverse cardiovascular incidents such as stroke and cardiac arrest,” said corresponding author Alexander Turchin, Division of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). “While sulfonylureas are popular and affordable diabetes medications,...

With an aim to offer a non-invasive, painless, low-cost alternative to conventional testing methods of glucose levels in the body, a BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus student and his mentor developed a smartwatch-based wearable diagnostic platform that would use sweat to measure the sugar readings. The research for platform which was developed by the co-founders Abhishek Kumar, a PhD scholar and Prof. Sanket Goel-Principal Investigator, is being translated toward commercialisation through Cleome Innovation, a spin-off from the MEMS ( Microfluidics and Nanoelectronics Lab) of the BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus. The startup is working to bring the wearable device to the healthcare market for proactive diabetes management, Abhishek Kumar said. "In my family, even around, I have seen diabetes pat...

Doctors in Mumbai have successfully performed an elective caesarean section (LSCS) of a 37-year-old woman with a 13-cm uterine fibroid, give birth to her child.  The patient, who had conceived naturally for the first time after eight years of marriage, was ecstatic to start her journey towards motherhood. However, during her initial scan, a huge intramural fibroid on the uterus was identified, with apprehension regarding the progress of the pregnancy and eventual delivery method. In spite of the diagnosis, all scans including nuchal translucency (NT) scan, double marker, and anomaly scan were normal. At 12 weeks, she had a low pulsatility index (PI) of bilateral uterine arteries, for which low-dose aspirin (75 mg) was started to improve placental blood supply and foetal growth. During t...

Regular exposure to air pollution, including that coming from car exhaust emissions, can increased your risk of dementia, according to an analysis of studies published on Friday. Dementias such as Alzheimer`s disease are estimated to affect more than 57.4 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to almost triple to 152.8 million cases by 2050. The study, published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health, showed that for every 10 micrograms per cubic metre of PM2.5, an individual`s relative risk of dementia would increase by 17 per cent. For each 1 micrograms per cubic metre of soot as found in PM2.5, the relative risk for the cognitive condition increased by 13 per cent. Soot comes from sources such as vehicle exhaust emissions and burning wood. "These findings underscore...

Doctors at a hospital in Kolkata have successfully treated a 66-year-old female patient from Bangladesh to give her a new lease of life in a complex case. The doctors at Manipal Hospital in Mukundapur performed a bilateral total knee replacement surgery under the supervision of Dr Sutanu Hazra, senior consultant & HOD – Orthopaedics, at the hospital.  The patient had been wheelchair-bound for years due to crippling knee pain, and she has developed chronic kidney failure caused by prolonged and unsupervised use of over-the-counter painkillers to manage her knee discomfort. The knee replacement surgeries were conducted by Dr Hazra on July 1 and 3, and necessitated careful cross-specialty planning because the patient had compromised kidney function. She was monitored closely by Dr Rite...

Just 7,000 daily steps can be key to reducing your risk of developing a range of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cognitive issues like depression, dementia, as well as death, according to a new study published in the journal The Lancet Public Health on Thursday. The comprehensive review, including 57 studies, analysed data from over 160,000 adults, and found that walking approximately 7,000 steps per day is associated with reductions in the risk of several serious health outcomes. The 7,000 steps aided in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (by 25 per cent), cancer (by 6 per cent), type 2 diabetes (by 14 per cent), dementia (by 38 per cent), depression (by 22 per cent), and falls (by 28 per cent). The all-cause mortality was cut down by nearly 50 per cent. Notably, w...

English singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne, widely regarded as the godfather of heavy metal, passed away on Tuesday, July 22, at the age of 76. In a statement, his family said, “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.” While the cause of death has not been disclosed, the frontman of the pioneering heavy metal band ‘Black Sabbath’ had been battling health issues in recent years. In 2020, the musician had revealed that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects movement and balance, but can also lead to pain, disturbed sleep, mental health challenges, and ot...

A person`s compulsive nature could be the reason why such individuals indulge in self-destructive behaviour, making harmful choices despite knowing the obvious negative outcomes, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications Psychology, also found that making compulsive decisions did not appear to be random mistakes or people having "bad days". "They`re stable traits — almost like personality types. This is not to say they`re fixed, just that they may require (an) intervention to break," said lead researcher Philip Jean-Richard Dit Bressel, a behavioural neuroscientist and experimental psychologist at The University of New South Wales. Researchers said self-sabotaging choices do not arise out of a lack of motivation or capacity — rather from a subtl...