Health

Pune doctors are observing a spike in pre-eclampsia cases among pregnant women. It is a condition that, if not addressed early, can put the mother`s and the baby’s lives in danger. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related disorder by high blood pressure and signs of organ damage, most often to the kidneys, during pregnancy that typically develops after the 20th week of gestation. The doctors highlight that early detection, close monitoring, and intervention are crucial in managing the condition and preventing progression to eclampsia, a more severe and life-threatening complication, where seizures occur, posing a grave threat to both mother and baby. It is because preeclampsia isn’t just a pregnancy complication. They say studies show that women who’ve had preeclampsia have a higher risk of car...

As per the World Health Organization data (2022), approximately 1.3 million people die each year from chronic viral hepatitis (B and C). The low diagnosis rate combined with limited treatment coverage poses a significant challenge.  Every year, World Hepatitis Day is observed on July 28, and is a crucial reminder to take proactive steps against hepatitis, a silent threat that can lead to severe health complications.  Dr Harish K C, consultant medical gastroenterology, Manipal Hospital Millers Road, Bengaluru, and Dr Alisha Chaubal, principal consultant, hepatology, Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai, delve into expert-backed strategies to prevent hepatitis.  From ensuring safe drinking water and practicing everyday hygiene to understanding crucial vaccines and the importance...

Hepatitis is a condition where the liver becomes inflamed due to infection, toxins, or autoimmune disorders. The most common cause is a viral infection, especially Hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E. The liver plays a pivotal role in digestion, detoxification, and energy storage, so any damage to it can take a toll on the entire body. Dr Tanish Mandal, consultant pathologist and zonal technical chief, Apollo Diagnostics in Delhi, explains, “Hepatitis tends to spread via contaminated food or water (Hepatitis A and E), contact with infected blood, unprotected sex, or from an infected mother to child (Hepatitis B and C). It may also be seen because of higher alcohol intake, certain medications, or underlying autoimmune diseases."Every year, World Hepatitis Day is observed on July 28 to raise awarenes...

Vaccines prevented more than 2.5 million deaths from SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind Covid-19 infections, worldwide, according to a study. The study, led by researchers from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Italy, showed that one Covid death was avoided for every 5,400 doses of vaccine administered. Some 82 per cent of the lives saved by vaccines involved people vaccinated before encountering the virus, 57 per cent during the Omicron period, and 90 per cent involved people aged 60 years and older. In all, vaccines have saved 14.8 million years of life (one year of life saved for 900 doses of vaccine administered), revealed the findings, published in the journal Jama Health Forum. "Before ours, several studies tried to estimate lives saved by vaccines with different models an...

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...