Source: DNA | 13th Oct. 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
New app to help you tackle depression
Source: DNA| 11 Oct. 2016.
http://epaper2.dnaindia.com/index.php?pagedate=2016-10-11&edcode=820009&subcode=820009&mod=1&pgnum=2
TB drug affects vision in some patients: Study
A study, jointly conducted by Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) and Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, has shown that some anti-tuberculosis drugs can have adverse effects on the eye, and can even lead to compromised vision in patients.
Over the last three years, from January 2013 to April 2016, 86 drug-resistant TB patients were observed for eye complaints, as a result of consuming a potent anti-TB drug—Linezolid in the study. All the patients were between 20–35 years. Of the 86, 24 of them had at least one episode of eye-complaint while five of the patients studied, developed complications of 'Optic Neuropathy.'
Doctors say that the reason Linezolid can be dangerous is because it has a direct toxic effect on the neurons. Explaining how this affects vision, Dr Salil Mehta, ophthalmologist, Lilavati Hospital and co-author of the study says, "There are a million of them (neurons) in the retina of the eye. They join together to build a tube called 'Optic Nerve,' that connects to the brain and send electrical transmissions which forms vision."
The study speaks of the case of a 23-year-old woman on Linezolid, who complained of blurred vision in both eyes. A few days prior to eye-related complaints, she had pain and difficulty in walking. After tests were conducted, it was revealed that her optic nerve had become swollen.
"Linezolid was discontinued presumptively for the patient for up to ten weeks and she was put on medication to cure the eye. Eventually, she recovered, and was started on Linezolid treatment again," said Dr Mehta.
He added, "Other patients were examined by doctors after 10 to 15 days of them complaining about vision problems, after taking the drug. "We immediately stopped using Linezolid in such cases and started them on steroids to reduce inflammation inside the eye. All patients recovered within one and a half to three months."
The reason doctors have been using Linezolid is because it is considered to be useful in treating drug-resistant (DR) TB. DR-TB is a condition in which patients who were put on first-line treatment for TB have failed it and developed resistance to basic drugs like Rifampacin, Isoniazid and Ethambutol, which are the first drugs used to treat TB.
The patients also then developed resistance to fluoroquinolones, which are key components of current multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment regimens, as well as injectable anti-TB drugs. Such patients become multi-drug resistant (MDR) as well as extensively drug resistant (XDR). With each progression, it becomes more difficult to find drugs that will work on patients.
India has to be especially conscious of this problem. Of the 96 lakh TB patients in the world, the country houses 22 lakh patients. Doctors say, as Linezolid will be increasingly added to treatment regimens of DR-TB patients around the world, regular eye screening may help in early identification and treatment of patients with Linezolid-associated neuropathy.
The World Health Organization estimates that India has 75,000 multi-drug resistant TB cases, of which up to 2%, at least 1,500 patients, will go on to become pre-XDR and XDR TB cases, who require newer drug-regimens for potential cure.
"It is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you want to save the patient from life-threatening TB, on the other, the patient runs the risk of losing his vision. We are fortunately able to detect the adverse effects of the drugs early. But if not tracked early, toxicity can adversely affect the body, possibly leading to a permanent loss of vision," said Dr Mehta.
He adds "However, if used under proper monitoring and supervision, Linezolid is an excellent anti-TB drug."
Attacking the Eyes
- Anti-TB drug—Linezolid has affected the vision of patients
- Study on 86 patients showed 24 of them developed eye problems
- Once vision gets affected, patients have to be weaned off 'Linezolid'
- Condition of blurring vision is reversible, if detected, and treated early
Source: DNA | 10th Oct. 2016
Google Chrome to Chew through less RAM
Source: http://epaper2.dnaindia.com/index.php?pagedate=2016-10-12&edcode=820009&subcode=820009&mod=1&pgnum=2
This redesigned app for Window 10 will offer 3D support
Source: DNA| 12th Oct. 2016 -
http://epaper2.dnaindia.com/index.php?pagedate=2016-10-12&edcode=820009&subcode=820009&mod=1&pgnum=2
Thursday, October 13, 2016
India shows second highest growth in science research: Report
By: PTI | New Delhi | Published:October 11, 2016 5:56 pm
India is at the second position among countries with the highest increase in their contribution to high-quality scientific research, according to a new report which shows that the growth of research in the country is only behind China’s.
The institutions from India among the top 100 highest performers across the globe include Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
While India made its mark, Chinese institutions are leading the world in rapidly increasing high-quality research outputs, according to the Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars report.
As many as 40 of the top 100 performers are from China with 24 of those showing growth above 50 per cent since 2012.
The US — which remains the largest contributor to high-quality scientific papers overall — has 11 entrants into the top 100, despite many starting from a high base.
Nine institutions feature from the UK, eight from Germany and five from India. The Rising Stars report used the Nature Index which tracks the author affiliations of published research articles by more than 8,000 global institutions in a group of 68 journals.
Chemistry made up for more than half (51 per cent) of India’s scientific contributions to the index in 2015. About 36 per cent was from physical sciences, nine per cent from life sciences and four per cent from earth and environmental sciences.
“India’s emergence as one of the world’s largest economies is being reflected by its increasing contribution to the world’s high-quality research publications as the Nature Index Rising Stars has shown,” Derk Haank, Chief Executive Officer of Springer Nature, said releasing the report yesterday.
“It is not that scientists educated in India don’t want to come back, they are desperate to come back. Many of them will come back if there is basic infrastructure for them to be able to work,” Haank said.
“Reports like this — proving that India is in fact progressing — will make them think and make it easy for them to come back and take office,” he said.
“The Rising Stars report shows that India is moving in the right direction and hopefully, it will stimulate not only the government and individual scientists, but also young people in schools to take science more seriously,” he said.
An earlier report, published by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), shows that less than three per cent of school-going children want to pursue a career in science in India.
Students drifting to other job-oriented courses after graduation in science is prevalent in India owing to the widespread impression among them that unlike professional courses, a career in basic science is not lucrative.
The academic ambience in many universities does not encourage the research pursuits of faculties. Research management is another very serious problem faced by many Indian universities.
According to Haank, India needs to grow an attractive environment for research, so that students and academics who leave the country for higher studies and research opportunities have an incentive to return.
China spends enormous amounts on basic research, Haank said. India currently spends around one per cent of its GDP on research and development. In contrast, China spent about $209 billion on research and development in 2015, or 2.1 per cent of its GDP, according to the report.
However, rather than comparing progress with other countries, it is important to be moving in the right direction, Haank said.
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/education/india-shows-second-highest-growth-in-science-research-report/
Report Access: https://www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2016-rising-stars/index
Report Access: https://www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2016-rising-stars/index
Coming soon, a digital assessment model of institutions
A plan submitted under the Atal Incubation Centre to Niti Ayog will move manual assessment of institutes and universities on education quality to a digital e-assessment platform. (Shutterstock)
Colleges and universities are likely to be digitally assessed for excellence in the near future. A team of experts has submitted a proposal on this to NITI Aayog recently.
The assessment plan has been submitted under the Atal Incubation Centre. It aims to move the current manual assessment of institutions and universities on education quality to a proposed digital e-assessment platform.
According to Prof A Rajagopal, an expert in digital assessment who has submitted the proposal, “The current system of Indian HEIs has many issues leading to a poor quality of the stakeholders’ experiences. Credibility of institutions and the education system is always debated.”
National-level assessment agencies like National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) lack the use of technology support for better quality assessments and deliverables to meet the large scale and tremendous volumes of data and information. “The drawback is that so many assessment bodies and agencies globally are available with their own standards and frameworks, methodologies and ways of assessing tailored to some specific needs. Setting up of a technology platform for conducting digital e-assessment of institutions to help assessment and certifying bodies such as NAAC, National Board of Accreditation to make assessments human- independent is must.”
The proposal aims to do away with any instances of corruption in the assessment process and ensure its scalability. “Once the proposal is approved, we will help come up with automated processes and online systems for education quality assessment to NAAC, NBA etc., to measure the quality and ranking of the universities and institutions,” he says.
The online system will capture the learnings index, knowledge index, assessment and quality index at every institution based on the framework defined.
“The proposed framework will also give an indication on where an institution stands, with respect to other education quality frameworks such as Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, International Organisation for Standardisation, ABET model, (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), NBA model of AICTE (National Board of Accreditation from the All India Council for Technical Education), and NAAC,” says Rajagopal.
Experts say that digital assessment can help institutions tremendously. According to Prof Mariam Varghese, former vice chancellor, SNDT Women’s University, and an expert in digital assessment who had developed a model on this a decade ago, “Such as system will cover the entire nation which has a high number of HEIs. Since everything is quantified, it will also help curb corruption. Assessment can be done faster and at regular intervals and it will be more transparent.”
Regular assessment and accreditation is mandatory for colleges and universities in the country after notifications from the University Grants Commission. Institutions must have grading from NAAC to be eligible for UGC funding and for autonomy.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times | 12 Oct. 16
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Now, a pill that promises to melt away leukaemia
Jacob Furedi
|
THE INDEPENDENT
|
A new drug that `melts' away cancer has been given fast-track approval in the US. Developed in Melbourne, Australia, Venetoclax was developed to specifically target chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.The drug showed a positive result in 80% of clinical trials, with one in five patients fi nishing the programme completely cancer-free. Venetoclax is administered orally every day via a pill.
In the original trial, 116 participants increased their dosage from 20mg to 400mg over a five-week period.
“It truly does lead to the disease melting away in 20% of people,“ said professor Andrew Roberts, a clinical haematologist and head of clinical translation at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Professor John Seymour, who helped coordinate the trial, explained: “Cells, when they are born, are destined to die, and cancer cells -particularly leukemia cells -delay that death by using a protein called BCL2 that stops the normal time of death. Venetoclax works by specifically blocking the action of that BCL2 and allows the cells to die in the way that they were destined to.“
Robert Oblak took part in the 2013 trial and described his course of Venetoclax “as like taking Panadol“. “It causes no side-effects. Nothing, absolutely nothing,“ he maintained.
Despite the majority of trial patients experiencing some benefit from Venetoclax, others did have a negative result. The drug marks an ad vance in immunotherapy , a new area of research that assesses how the body's own immune system can defeat cancer.
As yet, it has been used most effectively in the treatment of melanoma. While Venetoclax has received approval from the European Union and the United States, the drug has not yet been made available in Australia.
source: Sep 08 2016 : The Times of India (NaviMumbai) - http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//index.aspx?eid=31840&dt=20160908&Ar=1#
In the original trial, 116 participants increased their dosage from 20mg to 400mg over a five-week period.
“It truly does lead to the disease melting away in 20% of people,“ said professor Andrew Roberts, a clinical haematologist and head of clinical translation at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Professor John Seymour, who helped coordinate the trial, explained: “Cells, when they are born, are destined to die, and cancer cells -particularly leukemia cells -delay that death by using a protein called BCL2 that stops the normal time of death. Venetoclax works by specifically blocking the action of that BCL2 and allows the cells to die in the way that they were destined to.“
Robert Oblak took part in the 2013 trial and described his course of Venetoclax “as like taking Panadol“. “It causes no side-effects. Nothing, absolutely nothing,“ he maintained.
Despite the majority of trial patients experiencing some benefit from Venetoclax, others did have a negative result. The drug marks an ad vance in immunotherapy , a new area of research that assesses how the body's own immune system can defeat cancer.
As yet, it has been used most effectively in the treatment of melanoma. While Venetoclax has received approval from the European Union and the United States, the drug has not yet been made available in Australia.
source: Sep 08 2016 : The Times of India (NaviMumbai) - http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//index.aspx?eid=31840&dt=20160908&Ar=1#
Careers in pharmacy procurement: medicines, management and money
“The decisions and the actions that I take are not just impacting 10, 20, 30 or 40 patients,” says Joe Bassett, a pharmacy procurement project manager who works with the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub (EOECPH). “Our actions affect up to 200,000 patients.”
Bassett, a pharmacy technician, adds: “Even though I’m not patient-facing, [I know my work] still has an impact on people’s lives and makes a difference.”
Simply, pharmacy procurement is about getting the right amount of the right medicine, of the right quality, at the right time, to the right patient — and all at the best possible price for the cash-strapped NHS.
With more than £5bn a year spent on medicines in secondary care in England, this is no insignificant task. NHS England’s 2014 review of specialist pharmacy services in England, led by chief pharmaceutical officer Keith Ridge, found that NHS procurement contracts are “vital in the delivery of up to £150m of medicines procurement savings nationally”.
Although the medicines procurement service appears complicated, it can be simplified to three broad areas: the Department of Health’s Commercial Medicines Unit, which establishes national purchasing contracts for medicines; regional hubs, such as the EOECPH, which tender local contracts for non-medicine pharmacy products including homecare, wound care, gases, blood products and parenteral nutrition; and in-trust procurement departments, which buy against these contracts.
Dominic Elkins, a pharmacy technician, works in the latter area, with responsibility for a £34m medicines and homecare budget at Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust. “The bulk of my role is ensuring that our pharmacy system is linked into all the national contracts, so making sure we’re buying from the right suppliers,” explains the procurement and homecare area manager.
“My main job is to make sure that we order the right amount of drugs at the right time, so the day-to-day job consists of managing medicines orders.” This includes passing invoices, stock-checking, seeing in goods and overseeing their distribution — not as dry as it might sound to the uninitiated, he insists.
“I like to follow things right the way through… to make sure that the patients can get what they need… and that they’re not missing any doses,” he explains.
Kevan Wind, medicines procurement pharmacist for London and East of England, is also keen to emphasise that procurement is much more clinical than people may expect. “[People] might think that procurement is just about paying invoices, et cetera, and it’s not… there’s a lot of clinical input,” he says. “It’s not just raising orders… it’s applying the whole of your pharmacy knowledge to the procurement and distribution of medicines.”
In fact, Wind adds, procurement is the foundation of a concept central to delivery of a modern pharmacy service: “Procurement is the first part of medicines optimisation,” he says.
Value of procurement
There is a sense that pharmacy procurement professionals believe their discipline is misunderstood: “underrated” and “undervalued” are among the words they and their employers use. “Many junior hospital pharmacists themselves, partly due to the surge in interest in clinical pharmacy, may have failed to understand how important this role is in providing safe patient care and ensuring value for money,” reported the chief pharmacist of one NHS trust, in response to a survey commissioned by the Procurement and Distribution Interest Group (PDIG) of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP).
“I don’t think this area is appealing to many and may not be sufficiently well valued by pharmacy staff,” said another.
However, those in the field report strong job satisfaction, often related to feedback given, for example, via patient surveys about how access to medicines has improved their experience. For Stephanie Rose, head of pharmacy procurement at EOECPH, the variety of the role gives her satisfaction.
“One day I might be in a hospital looking at how a particular product is used; another day I’ll be visiting a clinical commissioning group to find out what their priorities are. I could be meeting with suppliers new to market or I could be on a training course to understand the regulations that we work under. It’s a really interesting role.”
Procurement problems
As in so many areas of the NHS, the main complaint from pharmacy procurement professionals is the lack of resources. “It’s frustrating when you know that something could save money but you can’t do it because you don’t have the money,” says Wind.
Elkins believes that seeing medicines go to waste is the most frustrating thing. “Recently we lost a significant amount of stock in refrigeration due to faulty equipment that should have been replaced a long time ago,” he says.
For pharmacy professionals, the lack of patient contact should also be considered. As Bassett says: “When you are able to resolve an issue with a patient in front of you, you get instant gratification. [In procurement] you do have an impact on large numbers of patients, but you never have that patient sat in front of you to be able to say that.”
Partly because of this, pharmacy procurement professionals describe it as a polarising specialisation. “It’s clear that procurement requires a different set of skills than, say… community pharmacy and you can’t get away from that, so some people will love it and some won’t. It will attract certain individuals,” says Bassett.
Important attributes
If you think you might be one such individual, what attributes do you need to move into pharmacy procurement?
“Most of it is straightforward [but] there’s a lot of detail,” says Wind.
Elkins adds: “You need a methodical approach, you need to be organised and have good attention to detail to make sure you’re ordering the correct form, pack size, et cetera.”
“Attention to detail very much helps,” Bassett echoes, “and being able to visualise things going forward on a grand scale because everything you do tends to take weeks, if not months, to come to fruition, rather than on a ward with instant decisions and instant impact.”
Wind adds: “You have to be able to cut through the detail and waffle involved. You have to be able to identify what the priorities are. You have to be prepared to be challenged sometimes and hold people to account, so you have to have some negotiation skills.”
Rose reiterates the importance of organisation and adds: “Good people skills, being able to interact with people of all disciplines, from pharmacy advisers to specialist nurses. Project management skills because… procurement is a process.”
Persuading more people with these attributes to take on pharmacy procurement roles is a matter of urgency, according to a 2014 report into the staffing and management of the medicines procurement service in NHS hospitals, which found cause for “immediate concern”, in part owing to a large proportion of experienced pharmacists in the field nearing retirement. The paper, commissioned by the PDIG, suggested that the service would “fail in the near future” if succession planning was not considered urgently.
In the PDIG-commissioned survey of 116 chief pharmacists, 90% considered all medicines procurement roles to be “crucial” or “highly important”. “This degree of criticality indicates that the profession must ensure that suitably trained and experienced personnel are available to provide this service into the future,” the authors concluded.
It remains to be seen how these needs will be reconciled with the recommendation in the Carter report that non-patient-facing roles should be outsourced — but procurement specialists will surely feel it is a critical question to answer. As Rose sums up: “It’s about the patient at the end of the day — it’s about making sure they get what they need and have access to the right pharmacy products at the right price.”
Careers in pharmacy procurement: medicines, management and money
“The decisions and the actions that I take are not just impacting 10, 20, 30 or 40 patients,” says Joe Bassett, a pharmacy procurement project manager who works with the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub (EOECPH). “Our actions affect up to 200,000 patients.”
Bassett, a pharmacy technician, adds: “Even though I’m not patient-facing, [I know my work] still has an impact on people’s lives and makes a difference.”
Simply, pharmacy procurement is about getting the right amount of the right medicine, of the right quality, at the right time, to the right patient — and all at the best possible price for the cash-strapped NHS.
With more than £5bn a year spent on medicines in secondary care in England, this is no insignificant task. NHS England’s 2014 review of specialist pharmacy services in England, led by chief pharmaceutical officer Keith Ridge, found that NHS procurement contracts are “vital in the delivery of up to £150m of medicines procurement savings nationally”.
Although the medicines procurement service appears complicated, it can be simplified to three broad areas: the Department of Health’s Commercial Medicines Unit, which establishes national purchasing contracts for medicines; regional hubs, such as the EOECPH, which tender local contracts for non-medicine pharmacy products including homecare, wound care, gases, blood products and parenteral nutrition; and in-trust procurement departments, which buy against these contracts.
Dominic Elkins, a pharmacy technician, works in the latter area, with responsibility for a £34m medicines and homecare budget at Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust. “The bulk of my role is ensuring that our pharmacy system is linked into all the national contracts, so making sure we’re buying from the right suppliers,” explains the procurement and homecare area manager.
“My main job is to make sure that we order the right amount of drugs at the right time, so the day-to-day job consists of managing medicines orders.” This includes passing invoices, stock-checking, seeing in goods and overseeing their distribution — not as dry as it might sound to the uninitiated, he insists.
“I like to follow things right the way through… to make sure that the patients can get what they need… and that they’re not missing any doses,” he explains.
Kevan Wind, medicines procurement pharmacist for London and East of England, is also keen to emphasise that procurement is much more clinical than people may expect. “[People] might think that procurement is just about paying invoices, et cetera, and it’s not… there’s a lot of clinical input,” he says. “It’s not just raising orders… it’s applying the whole of your pharmacy knowledge to the procurement and distribution of medicines.”
In fact, Wind adds, procurement is the foundation of a concept central to delivery of a modern pharmacy service: “Procurement is the first part of medicines optimisation,” he says.
Value of procurement
There is a sense that pharmacy procurement professionals believe their discipline is misunderstood: “underrated” and “undervalued” are among the words they and their employers use. “Many junior hospital pharmacists themselves, partly due to the surge in interest in clinical pharmacy, may have failed to understand how important this role is in providing safe patient care and ensuring value for money,” reported the chief pharmacist of one NHS trust, in response to a survey commissioned by the Procurement and Distribution Interest Group (PDIG) of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP).
“I don’t think this area is appealing to many and may not be sufficiently well valued by pharmacy staff,” said another.
However, those in the field report strong job satisfaction, often related to feedback given, for example, via patient surveys about how access to medicines has improved their experience. For Stephanie Rose, head of pharmacy procurement at EOECPH, the variety of the role gives her satisfaction.
“One day I might be in a hospital looking at how a particular product is used; another day I’ll be visiting a clinical commissioning group to find out what their priorities are. I could be meeting with suppliers new to market or I could be on a training course to understand the regulations that we work under. It’s a really interesting role.”
Procurement problems
As in so many areas of the NHS, the main complaint from pharmacy procurement professionals is the lack of resources. “It’s frustrating when you know that something could save money but you can’t do it because you don’t have the money,” says Wind.
Elkins believes that seeing medicines go to waste is the most frustrating thing. “Recently we lost a significant amount of stock in refrigeration due to faulty equipment that should have been replaced a long time ago,” he says.
For pharmacy professionals, the lack of patient contact should also be considered. As Bassett says: “When you are able to resolve an issue with a patient in front of you, you get instant gratification. [In procurement] you do have an impact on large numbers of patients, but you never have that patient sat in front of you to be able to say that.”
Partly because of this, pharmacy procurement professionals describe it as a polarising specialisation. “It’s clear that procurement requires a different set of skills than, say… community pharmacy and you can’t get away from that, so some people will love it and some won’t. It will attract certain individuals,” says Bassett.
Important attributes
If you think you might be one such individual, what attributes do you need to move into pharmacy procurement?
“Most of it is straightforward [but] there’s a lot of detail,” says Wind.
Elkins adds: “You need a methodical approach, you need to be organised and have good attention to detail to make sure you’re ordering the correct form, pack size, et cetera.”
“Attention to detail very much helps,” Bassett echoes, “and being able to visualise things going forward on a grand scale because everything you do tends to take weeks, if not months, to come to fruition, rather than on a ward with instant decisions and instant impact.”
Wind adds: “You have to be able to cut through the detail and waffle involved. You have to be able to identify what the priorities are. You have to be prepared to be challenged sometimes and hold people to account, so you have to have some negotiation skills.”
Rose reiterates the importance of organisation and adds: “Good people skills, being able to interact with people of all disciplines, from pharmacy advisers to specialist nurses. Project management skills because… procurement is a process.”
Persuading more people with these attributes to take on pharmacy procurement roles is a matter of urgency, according to a 2014 report into the staffing and management of the medicines procurement service in NHS hospitals, which found cause for “immediate concern”, in part owing to a large proportion of experienced pharmacists in the field nearing retirement. The paper, commissioned by the PDIG, suggested that the service would “fail in the near future” if succession planning was not considered urgently.
In the PDIG-commissioned survey of 116 chief pharmacists, 90% considered all medicines procurement roles to be “crucial” or “highly important”. “This degree of criticality indicates that the profession must ensure that suitably trained and experienced personnel are available to provide this service into the future,” the authors concluded.
It remains to be seen how these needs will be reconciled with the recommendation in the Carter report that non-patient-facing roles should be outsourced — but procurement specialists will surely feel it is a critical question to answer. As Rose sums up: “It’s about the patient at the end of the day — it’s about making sure they get what they need and have access to the right pharmacy products at the right price.”
Wednesday, October 05, 2016
Get your vaccine shot, stay healthy
It is not only for children, adults need it too
Disha Shetty disha.shetty@dnaindia.net
Tiny tots get everything from polio drops to BCG vaccinations but adults are often ignored. With focus on child vaccinations, adult vaccinations does not get the attention it deserves unless it is time to travel to another country for study or work. So here’s a low down on vaccinations that some adults might need.
Cervical cancer vaccination: It is triggered by the HPV virus and is a result of bad male hygiene. Transmitted sexually, cervical cancer is taking over breast cancer as the leading cancer causing death among women in India. “The vaccine is recommended for the 945 age group and can be given with other vaccinations as well,” said Dr Nilesha Chitre, gynaecologist, SRV Hospital. While awareness about the vaccine continues to remain low, the high cost is also prohibitive.” she added.
Pneumococcal vaccination: Pneumococcal infections are caused by bacteria which seriously infect the lungs, and the most vulnerable are those above the age of 60, especially those with diabetes. “Those whose immune system is compromised elderly, diabetics, TB patients and those with HIV are at a much higher risk of such infections,” said Dr Hemant Thacker, consulting physician at Breach Candy and Bhatia hospitals among others. Since around 25% of the infections can also be fatal, doctors advise the risk groups to opt for preventable vaccination that has recently entered the market.
Influenza & Hepatitis B: While the effectiveness of the vaccine can differ, those with asthma or any restrictive lung disease can opt for influenza vaccination. “While there are patients who have allergies, the vaccinations are recommended only after examining a patient,” said Dr Purvi Chhablani, general physician, Bhatia Hospital. “Medical or paramedical staff who are frequently in contact with blood and blood products are recommended for Hepatitis B vaccinations as well,” she added.
The most awaited one: With hundreds of dengue cases being detected in Mumbai this monsoon season, dengue vaccine is something Mumbai residents could have done with but unfortunately the WHO approved vaccine is not yet available in the Indian market.
source: DNA| 2nd Oct. 2016
Disha Shetty disha.shetty@dnaindia.net
Tiny tots get everything from polio drops to BCG vaccinations but adults are often ignored. With focus on child vaccinations, adult vaccinations does not get the attention it deserves unless it is time to travel to another country for study or work. So here’s a low down on vaccinations that some adults might need.
Cervical cancer vaccination: It is triggered by the HPV virus and is a result of bad male hygiene. Transmitted sexually, cervical cancer is taking over breast cancer as the leading cancer causing death among women in India. “The vaccine is recommended for the 945 age group and can be given with other vaccinations as well,” said Dr Nilesha Chitre, gynaecologist, SRV Hospital. While awareness about the vaccine continues to remain low, the high cost is also prohibitive.” she added.
Pneumococcal vaccination: Pneumococcal infections are caused by bacteria which seriously infect the lungs, and the most vulnerable are those above the age of 60, especially those with diabetes. “Those whose immune system is compromised elderly, diabetics, TB patients and those with HIV are at a much higher risk of such infections,” said Dr Hemant Thacker, consulting physician at Breach Candy and Bhatia hospitals among others. Since around 25% of the infections can also be fatal, doctors advise the risk groups to opt for preventable vaccination that has recently entered the market.
Influenza & Hepatitis B: While the effectiveness of the vaccine can differ, those with asthma or any restrictive lung disease can opt for influenza vaccination. “While there are patients who have allergies, the vaccinations are recommended only after examining a patient,” said Dr Purvi Chhablani, general physician, Bhatia Hospital. “Medical or paramedical staff who are frequently in contact with blood and blood products are recommended for Hepatitis B vaccinations as well,” she added.
The most awaited one: With hundreds of dengue cases being detected in Mumbai this monsoon season, dengue vaccine is something Mumbai residents could have done with but unfortunately the WHO approved vaccine is not yet available in the Indian market.
source: DNA| 2nd Oct. 2016
Get your vaccine shot, stay healthy
It is not only for children, adults need it too
Disha Shetty disha.shetty@dnaindia.net
Tiny tots get everything from polio drops to BCG vaccinations but adults are often ignored. With focus on child vaccinations, adult vaccinations does not get the attention it deserves unless it is time to travel to another country for study or work. So here’s a low down on vaccinations that some adults might need.
Cervical cancer vaccination: It is triggered by the HPV virus and is a result of bad male hygiene. Transmitted sexually, cervical cancer is taking over breast cancer as the leading cancer causing death among women in India. “The vaccine is recommended for the 945 age group and can be given with other vaccinations as well,” said Dr Nilesha Chitre, gynaecologist, SRV Hospital. While awareness about the vaccine continues to remain low, the high cost is also prohibitive.” she added.
Pneumococcal vaccination: Pneumococcal infections are caused by bacteria which seriously infect the lungs, and the most vulnerable are those above the age of 60, especially those with diabetes. “Those whose immune system is compromised elderly, diabetics, TB patients and those with HIV are at a much higher risk of such infections,” said Dr Hemant Thacker, consulting physician at Breach Candy and Bhatia hospitals among others. Since around 25% of the infections can also be fatal, doctors advise the risk groups to opt for preventable vaccination that has recently entered the market.
Influenza & Hepatitis B: While the effectiveness of the vaccine can differ, those with asthma or any restrictive lung disease can opt for influenza vaccination. “While there are patients who have allergies, the vaccinations are recommended only after examining a patient,” said Dr Purvi Chhablani, general physician, Bhatia Hospital. “Medical or paramedical staff who are frequently in contact with blood and blood products are recommended for Hepatitis B vaccinations as well,” she added.
The most awaited one: With hundreds of dengue cases being detected in Mumbai this monsoon season, dengue vaccine is something Mumbai residents could have done with but unfortunately the WHO approved vaccine is not yet available in the Indian market.
source: DNA| 2nd Oct. 2016
Disha Shetty disha.shetty@dnaindia.net
Tiny tots get everything from polio drops to BCG vaccinations but adults are often ignored. With focus on child vaccinations, adult vaccinations does not get the attention it deserves unless it is time to travel to another country for study or work. So here’s a low down on vaccinations that some adults might need.
Cervical cancer vaccination: It is triggered by the HPV virus and is a result of bad male hygiene. Transmitted sexually, cervical cancer is taking over breast cancer as the leading cancer causing death among women in India. “The vaccine is recommended for the 945 age group and can be given with other vaccinations as well,” said Dr Nilesha Chitre, gynaecologist, SRV Hospital. While awareness about the vaccine continues to remain low, the high cost is also prohibitive.” she added.
Pneumococcal vaccination: Pneumococcal infections are caused by bacteria which seriously infect the lungs, and the most vulnerable are those above the age of 60, especially those with diabetes. “Those whose immune system is compromised elderly, diabetics, TB patients and those with HIV are at a much higher risk of such infections,” said Dr Hemant Thacker, consulting physician at Breach Candy and Bhatia hospitals among others. Since around 25% of the infections can also be fatal, doctors advise the risk groups to opt for preventable vaccination that has recently entered the market.
Influenza & Hepatitis B: While the effectiveness of the vaccine can differ, those with asthma or any restrictive lung disease can opt for influenza vaccination. “While there are patients who have allergies, the vaccinations are recommended only after examining a patient,” said Dr Purvi Chhablani, general physician, Bhatia Hospital. “Medical or paramedical staff who are frequently in contact with blood and blood products are recommended for Hepatitis B vaccinations as well,” she added.
The most awaited one: With hundreds of dengue cases being detected in Mumbai this monsoon season, dengue vaccine is something Mumbai residents could have done with but unfortunately the WHO approved vaccine is not yet available in the Indian market.
source: DNA| 2nd Oct. 2016
K'ghar girl wins award or inventing weed-based, cheap nutrition formula
Indrani Basu
|
Kharghar girl, Isha Dave, has found a cost-effective food product to combat dietary deficiencies and malnutrition. She has developed a vegetarian formula, Nutrameal Nutrition from Weed. The formula has been developed from weeds which are easily available.
Dave also received Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) award, 2016 for developing the formula. She was awarded a trophy , certificate and Rs10,000 cash.
Dave came up with the idea of developing the formula after reading about weeds in her biology book. “When I read that almost all weeds suck up the nutrition, I got the idea that weeds must be very nutritious,“ she shared.
Dave researched to find out which weeds are edible and finally selected four which are edible, commonly available and fulfill all parameters required for providing proper nutrition to both young and old. “My basic finding is that the se weeds can address the qualitative and quantitative nutritional needs of an individual,“ she added.
Dave did not divulge details about her formula as she is going to patent her formula. But she did say that the formula is in powder form and can be given to anybody . The formula, at a cost of Rs 10 per pack, will provide proteins, carbohydrates and minerals and can taken directly or as a supplement.
Dave applied for the competition after she came across an advertisement in January . She had submitted the formula online and was among the 35 shortlisted students.
A high-level awards selection committee chose 14 students, including Dave, who had submitted ideas which can be developed into feasible projects.CSIR Innovation Award for School Children is an annual competition which invites school children to send their original technological and design ideas.
Source: Edition:TimesofIndia(NaviMumbai) [Date:02-10-2016 ] http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31840&articlexml=Kghar-girl-wins-award-or-inventing-weed-based-02102016016043
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