Health

Authorities in several countries of Central Europe are working to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle populations that has caused widespread border closures and required the killing of thousands of animals. The outbreak was first detected on a cattle farm in northwestern Hungary in early March, and animals on three farms in neighbouring Slovakia tested positive for the highly transmissible virus two weeks later. Since then, animals from an additional three farms in Hungary and another three in Slovakia have tested positive for the virus, the first outbreak of the disease in either country in more than half a century. "Everything is completely upside down in the area as farmers fear for their own herds and transportation is disrupted by border closures, said Sándor...

Adults with respiratory syncytial virus-associated acute respiratory infection (RSV-ARI) are likely to be at a 2.7-fold higher risk of death within one year, warned a study.  RSV-ARI refers to a group of illnesses caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -- a common and highly contagious virus that primarily affects the respiratory tract.      The study presented at the Congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID Global 2025) in Austria, is based on an analysis of data from 5,289 adults (over 18 years) diagnosed with RSV-ARI between 2011 and 2022 in Denmark. They were compared to 15,867 matched controls from the general population and followed up to a year after RSV-ARI onset.    “One of the most striking findings from this study was the ...

Every year, World Parkinson’s Disease Day is observed on April 11 around the world to raise awareness about the progressive neurological disorder, that currently has no cure. While a lot more people know about the disease now than before, there is still a lot more research needed to be done to find a cure, apart from medical assistance.  Over the years, there are many people who have been diagnosed with the condition, and among them have been several celebrities including actors, musicians, sportspersons and even a religious head. While there may be many more, they have chosen to keep it private, however, some of these celebrities have chosen to raise awareness, and even advocate for it through their initiatives. Here are five notable figures who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease: Michael...

A team of US researchers has found a new drug delivery system that showed more efficacy and improved the treatment of a rare eye cancer that spreads to liver.  The multi-institutional study led by Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, US, found that percutaneous hepatic perfusion using a melphalan hepatic delivery system may help patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) -- a traditionally hard-to-treat cancer and with usually poor outcomes. Melphalan/Hepatic Delivery System is a drug or medical device combination used for liver-directed treatment of unresectable mUM patients. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of the melphalan hepatic delivery system versus the best alternative care. The results, published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, showed that the treatment with the...

A team of UK researchers has found evidence on how "immunity debt," caused by extended periods of restrictions during Covid-19 pandemic, is causing changes in global transmission patterns of flu. "Immunity debt" is a phenomenon where populations become more susceptible to infections after extended periods of reduced exposure. While the hypothesis was widely accepted, until now there has been little evidence to back up the theory. The Covid pandemic led many countries around the world to implement strict public health measures like lockdowns, social distancing, mask-wearing, and travel restrictions. While these steps were crucial and effective in controlling the spread of Covid, they led to a dramatic drop in cases of other illnesses like influenza (flu) and respiratory viruses. However...

Suffering from migraine headaches and body pain? Blame your poor oral health, according to a study on Wednesday. The study, which focussed on women, identified specific oral microbes correlated with certain pain conditions. It also suggested a potential relationship between the oral microbiome and the nervous system. The research examined associations between self-reported oral health, the oral microbiome, and various pain presentations in a group of 67 women from New Zealand with and without fibromyalgia -- a chronic condition characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. The results, published in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research, showed that lower oral health was a statistically significant predictor of frequent and chronic migraine. “This i...

Every year, World Parkinson’s Disease Day is observed on April 11 around the globe to raise awareness about the progressive neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide.  Parkinson’s Disease (PD) impacts movement, and while it mostly affects individuals over 60, early-onset cases can occur too but what are the causes, symptoms and the importance of timely detection? CausesParkinson’s Disease is caused by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain called the Substantia Nigra. So, dopamine is a chemical messenger that helps control movement and coordination. When dopamine levels drop, it leads to symptoms that affect the body’s ability to move smoothly and efficiently. Symptoms Dr Upasana Garg, regional technical chief, Apollo Diagnostics Mum...

A baby girl has become the first in the UK to be born from a womb transplant, after her aunt donated her uterus to her mother, a London hospital said Tuesday. Amy was born on February 27 at the Queen Charlotte`s and Chelsea Hospital in London, two years after her mum, Grace Davidson, received a womb transplant from her older sister. "We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for," the new mum said. She added that she hoped "going forward this could become a wonderful reality, and provide an additional option, for women who would otherwise be unable to carry their own child". "The room was full of people who have helped us on the journey to actually having Amy," her father Angus Davidson told the Press Association news agency. "We had been kind of suppressing emotio...

While shift work is a known risk factor for cardiovascular events, a new study on Tuesday showed that eating only during the daytime may prevent the risks. Sleep timing has been a major area of focus, but researchers from Mass General Brigham, US, and the University of Southampton, UK, stated that food timing could be a bigger risk factor when it comes to cardiovascular health. Previous studies have shown that working the night shift is associated with serious health risks, including to the heart, due to circadian misalignment -- the mistiming of our behavioural cycle relative to our internal body clock. The researchers found that cardiovascular risk factors including autonomic nervous system markers, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (which increases the risk of blood clots), and blood...

A large study of 56·1 million pregnancies, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology on Tuesday, has reinforced the link between maternal diabetes and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Researchers from the Central South University in China conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 202 studies, involving 56,082,462 mother-child pairs. The results showed that maternal diabetes was associated with increased risks of all types of neurodevelopmental disorders as well as lower intelligence and psychomotor scores. Children exposed to maternal diabetes had an increased risk of any neurodevelopmental disorder including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, intellectual disability, specific developmental disorders...