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Oct 24
3 teams of Indian scientists win US$ 100,000 grant
Three teams of scientists from India are among those who will receive grants worth 100,000 dollars each from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue bold ideas for transforming health in developing countries.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced 76 grants of US$ 100,000 each to pursue bold ideas for transforming health in developing countries. The grants support researchers in 16 countries, including three from India, with ideas as diverse as a developing an electronic nose to diagnose tuberculosis and using chocolate to help prevent malaria.

Ranjan Nanda, K V S Rao and Virander Chauhan of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in Delhi will attempt to create a handheld 'electronic nose' that gathers and analyzes breath samples to diagnose tuberculosis in resource-poor settings while Abani Nag and Amiya Hati of Vivekananda International Health Centre in Kolkata will test whether liver ultrasounds and functional liver enzyme tests can help care providers differentiate between relapse and re-infection of malaria, leading to better treatment in endemic areas.

Deepak Gaur, Chetan Chitnis and Virander Chauhan of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology in Delhi will work to develop a malaria vaccine that blocks invasion pathways used by a wide diversity of malaria parasites.

"Some of the biggest stumbling blocks in global health are now being overcome with promising new vaccines and treatments," said Dr Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation's Global Health Program. "Grand Challenges Explorations will continue to fill the pipeline with possibilities and hopefully produce a breakthrough idea that could save untold numbers of lives."

In three rounds of the foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, 262 researchers representing 30 countries have been awarded grants. Newly-funded projects include efforts to develop a paper cup that turns TB-positive sputum samples a bright orange, use a peptide found in scorpions to block development of the malaria parasite, and adapt a protein that parasites use to seal their egg cases as a "sticky coating" for intranasal vaccines.

Grantees from round three were selected from almost 3,000 proposals. All levels of scientists are represented - from young post-graduate investigators to veteran researchers - as are a wide range of disciplines, such as chemistry, bioengineering, electronics, mechanical engineering, infectious disease, and epidemiology.

Oct 23
Knee Pain Can Be Reduced By Exercise
Knee pain is a common reason to visit the doctor. Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a condition in which pain occurs at the front of the knee during or after exercise. Symptoms usually start during adolescence when participation in sporting activities is high. Also, women are more likely to be affected than men.

General medical advice is to rest during periods of pain and to avoid pain provoking activities. This "wait and see" approach is considered as standard care.

The findings of a recent study suggest there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of exercise therapy with respect to pain reduction. There are inconsistent facts with respect to functional improvement.

In order to find out more, researchers based in the Netherlands investigated the effectiveness of supervised exercise therapy. They compared it with usual care in 131 patients aged between 14 and 40 years with patellofemoral pain syndrome.

From the total of 131 participants included in the study, 65 were assigned to a supervised exercise program (intervention group) and 66 to usual care (control group). Both groups received similar written information about the syndrome and similar instructions for home exercises. All participants were instructed to refrain from painful activities.

At the start of the study, patients rated their recovery, pain at rest, pain on activity, and function scores. They did so again after three and twelve months.

After three months, the intervention group reported considerably less pain and better function than the control group. At twelve months, the intervention group continued to show superior outcomes than the control group with regard to pain at rest and pain on activity, but not function.

A higher proportion of patients in the exercise group than in the control group reported recovery (42 percent compared to 35 percent at three months and 62 percent compared to 51 percent at twelve months). However, these results were not considerably different between the two groups.

The authors say that the findings of this study give indication that supervised exercise therapy for patellofemoral pain syndrome in general practice is more effective than usual care for pain at rest, pain on activity, and function at three and twelve months. On the other hand, supervised exercise therapy had no effect on perceived recovery.

They say in closing that further research is necessary in order to understand how exercise therapy results in better outcome.

Oct 22
Chewing Gum To Detect Malaria?
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, believes chewing gum and chocolate could become the next tool to combat malaria, as he uses
his wealth to seek unconventional approaches to world health problems.

As part of its Grand Challenges Exploration programme, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has granted $100,000 to researchers hoping to use chewing gum to detect malaria indicators in saliva so that blood does not have to be drawn.

The five-year health research grants aims to encourage researchers to pursue bold ideas that could lead to breakthroughs, focusing on ways to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and pneumonia.

Andrew Fung, a UCLA doctoral candidate, will use the grant to develop his idea on the revolutionary malaria test.

Fung admits his idea for an inexpensive and noninvasive new way to detect malaria started out as an intellectual exercise designed to showcase his creativity for a potential postdoctorate employer. He was hoping for a job, not a research grant. He may get both.

Gates also agreed to fund a research by Steven Maranz, from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, who seeks to look at the effect of chocolate on the malaria parasite.

Oct 22
Drug imported from India good: Sri Lanka
Colombo: Facing criticism over the death of a school girl allegedly after being administered with Rubella vaccine, Sri Lanka has said the drug imported from India was of international standard and its quality is good.

Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said the rubella vaccine, an anti-measles drug, being administered in Sri Lanka is purchased from Pune-based Serum Institute of India.

"There is no problem about the quality. The dates for the use of the vaccine had not expired when it was administered," he told Parliament yesterday reacting to reports that a school girl in Wariyapola in northern Sri Lanka died after being administered the vaccine.

In March, a school girl had died under similar circumstances in Matara in southern coast of Sri Lanka forcing the Serum Institute to get the product tested from the Maharashta Government.

"The test proved that there was nothing wrong in the rubella vaccine and it was not sub-standard," the state run Daily News quoted Dr Firdos Rustom Mehta, World Health Organisation Representative to Sri Lanka, as saying.

Oct 22
Coffee may be good for chronic hepatitis C patients
Patients of chronic hepatitis C, who drink three or more cups of coffee daily, have a 53 percent lower risk of liver disease progression than non-coffee drinkers, says a new study.

The study, led by Neal Freedman of National Cancer Institute (NCI), found that patients with hepatitis C related cirrhosis who did not respond to treatment benefited from increased coffee intake. No effect on liver was observed in patients who drank black or green tea.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects approximately 2.2 percent of the world's population, including three million Americans. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites HCV as the leading cause of liver transplantation in US, accounting for 8,000 to 10,000 deaths, annually.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that three to four million people contract HCV each year with 70 percent becoming chronic cases that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.

This study included 766 participants enrolled in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial who had hepatitis C-related cirrhosis and failed to respond to standard treatment of the anti-viral drugs peginterferon and ribavirin, according to an NCI release.

Participants were seen every three months during the 3.8-year study period to assess clinical outcomes. Liver biopsies were also taken at 1.5 and 3.5 five years to determine the progression of liver disease.

"Results from our study suggest that patients with high coffee intake had a lower risk of disease progression," said Freedman.

Oct 21
Prevention best away to defuse ticking diabetes bomb
The diabetes bomb is ticking in India and experts say massive awareness campaigns should be launched by both government and educational institutions. Healthy eating habits should be taught from childhood to curb the growing threat of the lifestyle disease that has already impacted 50 million people in the country.
India, which has been dubbed the diabetes capital of the world, is also seeing a number of children and those living in rural areas suffering from the disease.


Diabetes no longer remains an urban phenomenon or restricted to adults, Nikhil Tandon, professor of endocrinology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told IANS.


He said due to urbanisation and industrialisation, villages were now becoming towns. "Small towns have been industrialised. So the urban and rural divide has been blurred. And this means lifestyle changes," said the endocrinologist.


He said he agrees with the findings of the latest report by the International Diabetic Federation (IDF) that said India leads the world in the looming epidemic of diabetes.


The report, which was presented at the 20th annual World Diabetes Conference in Montreal Monday, said India currently has the highest number of people (50.8 million) suffering from diabetes, followed by China (43.2 million) and the US (26.8 million). The report projected 58.7 million diabetes cases in India by 2010 - almost seven percent of its adult population.


By 2030, over 8.4 percent of the Indian adult population will suffer from diabetes, thanks to the increasing life expectancy and urbanisation, the report predicted.


Tandon said: "Massive awareness campaigns should be started both in rural and urban areas. It should not be limited to metros alone. The message should reach the remotest parts of India."


"The best way is to take initiatives now. This can only happen when we target people right from school to college, workplace and at the community level," he added.


"We are seeing young children suffer from diabetes. It is only through education that we will be able to communicate the dangers of the chronic disease. Good habits start from childhood. Teachers and parents have to understand that physical exercise is important," Tandon said.


He said small steps such as not serving junk food in school cafeterias, parents sending wholesome food for lunch and teachers and parents ensuring time for children to play would make a difference.


Rekha Sharma, a director and a dietician at the Diabetes Foundation of India (DFI), said: "India has become the diabetic capital of the world. The sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are the most important factors leading to an increase in diabetes in the country."


"There is a need to bring changes in our lifestyle and eating habits. We have to shift to a more wholesome diet rather than refined and junk food and follow an active lifestyle," she said.


The IDF report warns that diabetes will impose a huge economic burden on India and other countries. Apart from losing billions in productivity, the report said, India will also be spending $2.8 billion annually on diabetes control measures by 2010.


There are estimated to be 285 million diabetic cases worldwide, accounting for seven percent of the world's population.


Diabetes, along with cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, accounts for 60 percent of all deaths worldwide.


N.K. Pandey, general surgeon and chairman Asian Institute of Medical Science, said: "Diabetes will become the largest workload on the health care sector in the coming years due to our sedentary nature of work, growth in average incomes, and the spread of westernisation."


"There is a global shift in diet towards increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other micro nutrients," he said.


"It is high time we change our lifestyle, before it is too late," Pandey said.

Oct 21
Indian doctor in UK under the scanner
A doctor of Indian-origin is likely to be banned from practising in the UK following a series of diagnostic errors that resulted in the
death of a 26-year-old Briton.

The General Medical Council, the apex organisation that monitors and licences doctors to practice in the UK, has launched a 'fitness to practice' hearing against the doctor, Navin Shankar, who qualified from the Patna Medical College in 1971.

The most recent charge against Shankar, 59, is that he failed to spot symptoms of cervical cancer in Nikki Sams even after she visited him on eight occasions over four years. She repeatedly complained of stomach pains and bleeding but Shankar did not carry out an internal examination, and instead told her that it was 'nothing serious'.

It was only when she was referred to another doctor that she was immediately given a smear test. Shankar was earlier reportedly suspended for serious misconduct in a case involving a baby.

Sams had a hysterectomy after she was referred to another doctor and began radiotherapy and chemotherapy but died around a year later aged 26.

The General Medical Council last week upheld a number of complaints against Shankar following the start of a fitness to practise hearing. It has been adjourned while his performance is assessed.

Oct 20
India heading for diabetes explosion
India leads the world in the looming epidemic of diabetes, the 20th annual World Diabetes Congress of the International Diabetic
Federation (IDF) was told here on Monday.

In its annual report, the IDF said India currently has the highest number of 50.8 million people suffering from diabetes, followed by China with 43.2 million and the US with 26.8 million. The report projected 58.7 million diabetes cases in India by 2010 - almost 7 per cent of its adult population.

By 2030, over 8.4 per cent of the Indian adult population will suffer from diabetes, thanks to the increasing life expectancy and urbanisation, the report said.

Warning Indian policy makers, the report said, "Evidence suggests that in more affluent parts of the country, the rural prevalence is higher than in less affluent rural areas, indicating that increasing economic growth will raise diabetes prevalence in India even more than these possibly conservative estimates have indicated."

The rampaging diabetes will impose a huge economic burden on India and other countries, it added. Apart from losing billions in lost productivity, the report said, India will also be spending $2.8 billion annually on diabetes control
measures by 2010.

There are estimated to be 285 million diabetes cases worldwide, accounting for seven per cent of the world's population.

Diabetes, along with cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, accounts for 60 per cent ff all deaths worldwide.

"Diabetes imposes a large economic burden on the individual, national healthcare system and economy. Healthcare expenditures on diabetes are expected to account for 11.6 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in the world in 2010," the report said.

"Estimated global healthcare expenditures to treat and prevent diabetes and its complications are expected to total at least $376 billion in 2010."

Addressing the congress, Martin Silink, outgoing president of the International Diabetic Federation, said the epidemic of diabetes will increase from 7 million new cases a year in 2007 to 10 million new cases this year.

The epidemic is getting out of control, said incoming IDF president Jean-Claude Mbanya. He said if the trend continues unchecked, there will be 435 million people with diabetes worldwide by 2030.

More than 12,000 delegates and 400 speakers from around the world are attending the congress.

Oct 20
Multi-vitamins could trigger health risks
Vitamin supplements do nothing to stave off illness and could even lead to cancer, a leading expert
has warned.

Professor Martin Wiseman, medical and scientific adviser for the World Cancer Research Fund, has pointed out that people who regularly take vitamin and mineral supplements instead of eating a balanced diet are at greater risk.

"Many people think they can reduce their cancer risk by taking supplements, but the evidence does not support this," the Daily Express quoted Wiseman as saying. "Just because a dietary pattern that provides a relatively high level of a particular nutrient might protect against cancer, it does not mean taking it in tablet form will have the same effect.

"In fact, at high doses the effect of these micronutrients is unpredictable and can be harmful to health,"Wiseman added. Research suggests that vitamins A and E can actually cause illness. Wiseman said: "There are studies that show high doses of some supplements can increase risk of some cancers."

Oct 20
Rich nations should lead in combating climate change
Beijing: India has asked developing countries to maintain steadfast unity on the issue of climate change to ensure that developed nations take due responsibility for scaling down greenhouse gas emissions.

With the world gearing up to meet for a major climate summit in Copenhagen this December, union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that developing countries were not responsible for concentration of green house gases in the atmosphere and hence Western nations should take lead in combating climate change.

Azad said that the countries of the 'south', whose per capita emissions are still very low, should unite to ensure that these obligations are met by the developed countries.

"We, the countries of the south should maintain steadfast unity to ensure that these obligations are met by the developed countries," he said while addressing the 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSHR).

"The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has specifically recognised that parties should take action to protect the climate system on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities," he said.

He said that accordingly the developed country parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof.

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