Health drink introduced for Aids patients
A new health drink for HIV-infected patients has beenintroduced as part of ongoing resarch to improve the health of HIV-infected patients at all stages. The so-called Dhammarak health drink was initiated at the Dhamaraksa Foundation, one of the largest hospice for HIV patients. This was the first time research was …
Why Italians don't make babies
Italy is ageing fast; and according to the country's chief statistical body, Italy has the lowest fertility rate in the world. At last count, in 1996, deaths had outpaced births for four years in a row.
New method to treat cancer
Indian scientists have developed a new bio-active glass ceramic which can enhance the efficiency of a special type of cancer treatment, according to a report published in the latest issue of the journal Bulletin of Material Science. The treatment, called Hyper-thermia, involves deliberate raising of body temperature to boost the …
Big shots
Once, vaccines were the poor relations of therapeutic drugs. Traditional vaccines, the sort used to combat childhood diseases such as measles, polio are a low-tech, low-cost boon to public health programmes around the world, but drug companies regard them as dull and unprofitable. Between 1980 and 1990, the number of …
Tobacco companies to pay $6bn to settle lawsuit
The US tobacco industry agreed to pay $6bn over 25 years to settle a lawsuit brought by the state of Minnesota, just hours before closing arguments in the 14 week trial had been about to begin.
A faustian bargain
Gerald Pier, of Harvard Medical School in Boston and his colleagues studied the relationship between salmonella typhi, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever, and the protein which, when faulty, causes cystic fibrosis. They showed that S.typhi uses the healthy version of this protein as an entry point into the gut …
Repositioning the WHO
The World Health Organisation is about to be given a much-needed kick in the backside : a report.
Health Ministry isolated on gutka ban
The Health Ministry seems to have bitten off more than it can chew on the issue of banning gutka with a host of ministries opposing the move. An inter-ministerial meeting held last week revealed the kind of pressures that have come to bear on the Ministry ever since an expert …
Thirteen children die of unidentified illness
The death of at least 13 children due to an as-yet unidentified illness over the last fortnight has flummoxed the medical community in Gurgaon. The children, all between two months and four years, were brought to Kalawati Saran hospital in New Delhi from Gurgaon and its adjoining areas after being …
Australians detect 7 hidden Galaxies
Australian scientists said on Thursday they had detected seven hidden galaxies masquerading as stars which could shed fresh light on how the universe was formed."We think there's over 150,000 more waiting to be discovered," said Sydney astronomer Michael Drinkwater.
- Maharashtra clears setting up of new irrigation corp
The Maharashtra cabinet has cleared the irrigation department's proposal to set up the Godavari Irrigation Development Corporation (GIDC). It will cater to completion of 250 irrigation projects with an investment of Rs 3,900 crore in the next seven years. GIDC will carry out irrigation development in the drought-hit Marathwada region, …
'56% children in state underweight'
Nearly 56.8 per cent children - below the age of four - are underweight and 70 per cent pregnant women anaemic in West Bengal, according to the Unicef' State of the World's Children's Report for 1998.
A killer fever is back
Southeast Asia is witnessing a startling upsurge in dengue cases this year. More than 21,000 people in Indonesia are reported to be infected, and 490 have died so far. And there is no treatment for the virus, which is carried by the Aedes mosquito.
- Punjab to spend 126 cr on health
The Punjab Government will spend Rs 126 crore in the current financial year on the modernisation of the health sector in the state. The Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr Inderjeet Singh Zira, said that the state government had got a World Bank loan for Rs 422 crore for …
Child flu nasal vaccine promise
A nasal spray vaccine is showing promise as an effective way of immunising children against flu, according to US researchers. Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the US found the vaccine stimulated production of local antibodies in the nose, when the virus often enters the body.
- New impotency drug can cause vision problems, say doctors
The World's largest organisaion of eye doctors called for more studies into the newly approved impotence drug, Viagra, and said users with some types of eye problems should stay away from higher doses. A moderate percentage of people taking Viagra have experienced temporary vision problems, and the American Academy of …
Ban on British beef stays
A British Government attempt to have the worldwide ban on British beef exports declared illegal under the European Union law failed in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Tuesday. In the case brought by the Government against the European Commission in Brussels, the judges ruled that the Commission …
Survey begins on jaundice reports
Following reports of jaundice deaths in city colonies, the Kalyan-Dombivili Municipal Council yesterday began a survey in its 96 wards. According to reports, 118 cases of Hepatitis B virus infection were discovered in just one ward.
- Govt fears health aid cut
The government is worried that foreign aid in the health sector may be slashed drastically in the coming years and is taking urgent measures to prevent it. The government fears that in the World Health Assembly at Geneva next week, representatives of the developed nations will initiate a move to …
Genetics sparks new hope in fight against cancer
The battle to cure cancer, fought for three decades marked by failure and frustration, suddenly is in overdrive. Just a few weeks ago, reports rocked the medical world about two drugs that show promise in preventing breast cancer. This week, Wall Street and Main Street alike went wild over word …
