Health

The neurosurgery team at Dhakuria recently successfully performed an exceptionally rare and life-saving operation on 56-year-old woman, who arrived at the hospital after a severe strangulation injury. It had caused multiple rib fractures and facial fractures along with a dangerous cervical spine injury known as a Type 2 odontoid fracture (a break in the upper part of the neck) that can instantly damage the spinal cord and is commonly referred to as a Hangman’s fracture. This type of injury has an extremely high death rate, with more than 6 per cent of patients not surviving, and many others suffering sudden paralysis or instant cardiac arrest due to spinal cord compression.  Despite the seriousness of the situation, realizing the urgency, the team led by Dr Nirup Datta, consultant – Neuro...

Doctors in Kolkata have successfully treated a large and complex incisional hernia in a 45-year-old woman from Agartala in Tripura, using advanced minimally invasive, keyhole surgery. The patient, Nupur Sarkar, a school teacher, underwent Laparoscopic Abdominal Wall Reconstruction under the care of Dr Sumanta Dey, senior consultant and HOD - Robotic, Advanced Laparoscopic, Bariatric and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Manipal Hospital EM Bypass. Sarkar’s journey of courage began three years ago when her husband was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and required a liver transplant. As the only suitable donor available at the time, she donated a part of her liver to save his life. While her husband recovered well and now leads a stable life, Nupur continued to manage her professional and household ...

Regular eating of fast foods, ranging from deep-fried snacks served as street food to quick-service restaurant chains, can cause serious damage to health, which can, in the long run, lead to several diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular conditions, contributing to death, said experts on January 3.  The doctors said this as social media was recently flooded with viral posts claiming that an 11th-grade student from Amroha district in Uttar Pradesh, admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi in December, died due to excessive consumption of junk food. While the girl`s family asserted that she was suffering from an intestinal infection that ultimately led to her death, media reports revealed that the girl was facing multiple health issues, including ...

Short bursts of energetic activity for 10 minutes daily could not only increase your fitness levels, but also help fight bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, according to a study.  The study by researchers at Newcastle University showed that short and intense exercise activity can trigger rapid molecular changes in the bloodstream, shutting down bowel cancer growth and speeding up DNA damage repair. They found that exercise increases the concentration of several small molecules in the blood -- many linked to reducing inflammation, improving blood vessel function, and metabolism. When these exercise-induced molecules were applied to bowel cancer cells in the lab, the activity of more than 1,300 genes was altered, including those involved in DNA repair, energy production, and ca...

Nearly 80-85 per cent of individuals suffering from psychiatric disorders do not receive timely or appropriate care due to stigma and lack of awareness, said mental experts here on January 3. Speaking at the curtain raiser Event of the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society, ANCIPS 2026 Delhi, the experts warned that despite advances in treatment and increasing awareness, the majority of people with mental illness continue to remain outside the formal healthcare system. Addressing the gathering, they emphasised that mental illnesses are among the most treatable health conditions if identified early and managed appropriately. “Mental health disorders are highly treatable, yet the majority of patients in India continue to suffer in silence. The fact that over 80...

Chennai is set to get a dedicated public women`s cancer screening centre at Thousand Lights by February.  The facility, being established at a cost of Rs 1.23 crore, will offer free screening services for breast, cervical and ovarian cancers - affecting women in Tamil Nadu the most. The three-storeyed centre will be operated by the Greater Chennai Corporation`s Health Department and will function from 8 am to 5 pm on all days except Sundays. It will be equipped with a mammogram unit for breast cancer screening, a laboratory for Pap smear tests to detect cervical cancer, and an ultrasound facility for screening abdominal and ovarian cancers. A dedicated consultation room will also be part of the facility. While government hospitals already provide several diagnostic services free of cos...

A joint research team of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and domestic biotechnology firm Neogenlogic has developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that can help produce a whole new type of "personalised" cancer vaccine, the joint team said on Friday.  The new AI platform helps identify neoantigens unique to each cancer patient that can train the patient`s immune system, and thus prevent recurrence of the illness, reports Yonhap news agency. "Neoantigens -- mutation-derived protein fragments unique to a patient`s tumor -- are the `fingerprints` used by vaccines to train the immune system," the team, led by professor Choi Jung-kyoon of KAIST, said in a press release. "While current vaccines focus almost exclusively on activating cytotoxic T cells fo...

Amid the happiness of entering the new year, many people are pondering their life choices, and like always, health remains a top priority — especially in a post-Covid world. People, except those who were immunocompromised, were mostly carefree earlier, but doctors say the need to prioritise health is now greater than ever.More importantly, making healthy choices is not only for the old but also for younger adults, who are increasingly being affected by lifestyle-related health issues.  The fact that air pollution is no longer an environmental issue but a growing health concern, say doctors, makes it even more necessary for us to focus on our health in 2026.  As you take on the new year, Mumbai doctors highlight key health trends spanning both physical and mental wellbeing — not to alarm,...

The consumption of wearable healthcare technology, including blood pressure monitors and ultrasound patches, can increase 42-fold worldwide by 2050, approaching two billion units yearly and emitting 3.4 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to an analysis. China is projected to generate the most yearly greenhouse gas emissions from wearable healthcare electronics in 2050, followed by India. The analysis is published in the journal Nature. The environmental footprint is estimated alongside ecotoxicity and e-waste issues posed by the devices. A kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent is a unit measuring the climate impact of greenhouse gases emitted by comparing their potential for warming to that of carbon dioxide. Researchers from the US` Cornell and Chicago universities e...

Former Australia batsman Damien Martyn is currently hospitalised in Queensland in an induced coma after suffering from meningitis. As the outpour of comforting messages and a speedy recovery by cricketers and fans not only all over the world but also in India continues, it also brings to light meningitis, a devastating disease that can severely affect one`s health.  While it has not been revealed whether the meningitis suffered by Martyn is bacterial or viral, here`s all you need to know about the disease:  What is meningitis? As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), meningitis is a devastating disease that is deadly and often results in serious long-term health issues and it continues to remain a global health challenge. Meningitis is the inflammation of the tissues surrounding th...