Health

A team of doctors in Mumbai treated a 24-year-old engineering student who was suffering from multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that affects the nervous system. For the patient, Sushant Chavan, every day felt like an uphill battle against an illness that left him bedridden, unable to walk, speak or even move. Modern medicine offered no solutions for the family. However, with help from Dr Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative Medicine Researcher and Founder of StemRx Hospital, and his team, Chavan was able to find relief from his condition. Carried into the hospital on his father’s back, he walked out on his feet after undergoing stem cell therapy. Previously, another patient saw improvement in health through cell-based treatment at the hospital. Eyam, a man from Nairobi who had been in a coma...

The arrival of a new year is often accompanied by a sense of optimism and renewed enthusiasm to make big changes to our lives. While many resolve to quit bad habits, get healthier, or learn new skills, these aspirational resolutions may overwhelm you. The temptation to undergo significant changes can backfire rapidly, resulting in inflated expectations, psychological distress, and even physical injury. The key to sustainable progress, however, remains adopting a more realistic approach. When it comes to tempting lofty goals, it becomes critical to remember that the most effective way to create meaningful change is through small, consistent steps. To help you switch to a sustainable path of progress this year, we’ve got two mental health experts to delve into why people fall into this extr...

While coffee offers several health benefits, the best time to drink the hot beverage is morning hours, claims a study on Wednesday.  The research, published in the European Heart Journal, showed that people who drink coffee in the morning have a lower risk of dying from heart disease. They also have a lower overall mortality risk compared to people who drink coffee all day long. Researchers from Tulane University in the US showed morning coffee drinkers were 16 per cent less likely to die of any cause and 31 per cent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease. However, no reduction in risk was found for people who drink coffee all day, compared to non-coffee drinkers. “This is the first study testing coffee drinking timing patterns and health outcomes. Our findings indicate that it’s...

The start of a new year often comes with renewed promises of better health and fitness. But instead of falling prey to fleeting fads and extreme measures, why not turn to a sustainable and balanced approach? Say goodbye to trending, new diets on the internet. Guru to stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan, celebrity nutritionist, Rujuta Diwekar, in her audiobook, ‘Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight’ on Audible, offers practical tips rooted in common sense, tradition, and science. Here are some takeaways from the audiobook to help you stay on track for the year ahead.  1. Ditch tea or coffee first thing in the morningStarting your day with tea or coffee on an empty stomach is a no-no. She shares, “Any stimulant like tea or coffee, which has caffeine and cigarettes jolt the system out of slumb...

A team of doctors in Kolkata have successfully treated a rare instance of bilateral Herpes Zoster in a 74-year-old woman, Nanda Ghosh. This is only the fourth documented case of bilateral Herpes Zoster in the country involving a patient who is not immunocompromised. She was brought to Manipal Hospitals, Broadway with complaints like fever, high-grade headache, nasal discharge, congestion, and coughing, Upon examination, vesiculopapular rashes (small bumps or fluid-filled blisters) among other symptoms suggested a severe and rare presentation of the Herpes virus. The woman was suffering from days of fever, unceasing headache, and pain so inexplicable it just won`t subside. Despite a growing sense that something is seriously wrong, the underlying cause remained unknown. Such was the conditi...

Be it office leasing or residential demand, Mumbai witnessed historic high among all metros last year, driven by sustained demand for premium housing and transformative infrastructure developments, a report showed on Tuesday.  The financial capital recorded a historic high in office transaction volumes in 2024, reaching 10.4 million square feet, marking a 40 per cent annual increase from 7.4 million square feet in 2023, according to the report by Knight Frank India. In the second half of 2024, Mumbai saw office space transactions totalling around 4.6 million square feet, reflecting a 9 per cent growth. India-facing business accounted for most transactions in Mumbai, contributing around 77 per cent to the overall share in 2024.In 2024, Mumbai saw the addition of 5.8 million square feet o...

There is nothing to worry about the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), said the World Health Organisation`s former chief scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan on Monday, even as two more cases have been detected in the country, taking the tally to 5.  She noted that the virus is not new and causes only mild infections. "#HMPvirus is nothing to panic about. It’s a known virus that causes respiratory infections, mostly mild," Swaminathan said in a post on social media platform X. Warning people to not jump at the detection of every pathogen, she listed out precautionary measures like washing hands. "Rather than jump at detection of every pathogen, we should all take normal precautions when we have a cold: wear a mask, wash hands, avoid crowds, consult a doctor in case of severe symptoms," the note...

The Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is not a new virus and most of the Indian population are immune to it, said health experts on Monday, even as the number of reported cases climbed to three in the country. On Monday, health officials in the country reported three cases of HMPV -- babies aged three- and eight-month-old from Bengaluru (Karnataka) and a two-year-old child in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. “Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is not a new virus. It has been part of the circulating flu virus in India for long. Hence, the majority of the Indian population has developed immunity against it,” Dr. Harshal R Salve, Additional Professor, Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi, told IANS. He added that the “chances of a severe disease are very rare”. HMPV was first discovered in 2001 and...

Mumbai doctors have successfully treated a rare and life-threatening pancreatic condition in a 13-year-old girl from Sangli in Maharashtra. The patient was detected with pseudoaneurysm in the gastroduodenal artery in the pseudocyst of the pancreas along with pancreatitis which was successfully managed by a minimally invasive procedure guided by angiography, performed by Dr Rahul Sheth, an interventional radiologist. This procedure not only alleviated her pain but also offered a lasting solution to her complex condition. The team of experts at Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre was led by Dr Rajeev Redkar, paediatric surgeon along with Dr Aniruddha Phadke, gastroenterologist with paediatricians Dr Deepak Ugra and Dr Minhaj Sheikh, and Dr Sheth. The patient, Aditi Kamble, experienced sym...

India is well-prepared to handle respiratory illnesses and surveillance shows no unusual surge in the country, according to the government, as reports surface about rising cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China in the past few weeks. In a joint monitoring group (JMG) meeting under the chairmanship of DGHS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, experts had detailed discussions around the spread of respiratory illnesses in China. According to them, the situation in China is not unusual in view of the ongoing flu season. The reports also suggest that the cause of the present surge is influenza virus, RSV and HMPV – the usual pathogens that are expected during the season. The government said it is keeping a close watch over the situation through all available channels and the Worl...