Tamil Nadu might be at the top of healthcare provider's list, but it also happens to have the high number of diabetics, shows a study conducted by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, here, supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research, released on Monday.

The study on prevalence of diabetes in Tamil Nadu shows that 9.8 per cent of the population in the State are diabetic, which amounts to 42 lakh. The urban Tamil Nadu has 13.5 per cent and rural parts 6.9 per cent.

Thirty lakh people in the State are in the high-risk pre-diabetes stage, with a break-up of 8 per cent in urban areas and 6.4 per cent in rural belt.

R M Anjana, diabetologist and ICMR-INDIAB, who headed the research team at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, said that the study was the first representative on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and pre-diabetes from Tamil Nadu. About 1,200 from urban areas and 2,800 from rural areas were studied in a door-to-door survey.

The study also found that abdominal obesity in the State was as much as 22.4 per cent in males and 35.3 per cent in females. In addition, the report revealed that 27.8 per cent of Tamil Nadu population have hypertension and 20.1 per cent have hyper cholesterolemia, which were pre-disposing factors to diabetes.

The study, which also assessed the level of diabetes control, showed that nearly one-third have good control of diabetes, one-third have an average control and one-third have poor control.

Early detection & prevention: Molecular Medicine. www.siemens.com/answers

Dr. David Alland, chief of the Division of Infectious Disease at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, is the driving force behind the rapid tuberculosis test that received World Health Organization endorsement this week.

The test, which uses DNA technology to diagnose tuberculosis in less than two hours, will be widely distributed to countries around the world.

WHO says the new test "represents new hope for the millions of people who are at the highest risk of TB and drug-resistant disease."

The testing technology that it replaces, which is 125 years old, is far less reliable and requires three months to produce a diagnosis.

The quicker and more accurate diagnoses produced by Dr. Alland's test will allow healthcare providers to begin tuberculosis treatment far sooner, sharply reducing the risk that infected individuals will spread the disease to others.

It also will lead to more effective treatment of individual patients by telling clinicians whether disease-causing bacteria are drug-resistant.

Dr. Alland began work on the screening test, which is called Xpert MTB/RIF (Mycobacterium tuberculosis/resistance to rifampin), more than a decade ago.

The test took four years to develop, followed by the process of attracting funding to refine and manufacture it and then conducting the clinical trials that established its effectiveness. (ANI)

Children and teenagers who are overexposed to antibacterial soaps that contain the chemical triclosan may be at risk for hay fever and other allergies, a finding that suggests that being too clean can actually make people sick. The study also found that exposure to higher levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) may weaken an adult's immune system.

Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent widely used in products such as antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, medical devices and diaper bags. BPA, which is used to make many types of plastics and other consumer products, is believed to affect human hormones.

Researchers analysed data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in America. They compared levels of triclosan and BPA in the urine with cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody levels and diagnosis of allergies or hay fever in adults and children over age 6 years.

It was found that people over 18 years with higher levels of BPA exposure had higher CMV antibody levels, which suggests their cell-mediated immune system may not be functioning properly. The researchers also found that children and teenagers with higher levels of triclosan were more likely to have been diagnosed with hay fever and other allergies.

The triclosan findings in the younger age groups may support the hygiene hypothesis, which maintains living in very clean and hygienic environments may impact our exposure to microorganisms that are beneficial for proper development of the immune system.

Scientists have discovered a way to stop post-traumatic stress syndrome in its tracks - by injecting a calming drug into the brain.

Around 30 per cent of people who experience a traumatic event will develop the severe anxiety disorder, which overwhelms a person's ability to cope.

Symptoms can include vivid flashbacks, emotional numbness and nightmares.

While two-thirds recover within a few months some are dogged by the condition for years.

Now researchers from Northwestern University have found the molecular cause of the debilitating syndrome and a way to treat it.

They found that after a traumatic event the brain can become over-stimulated causing an ongoing, frenzied interaction between two brain proteins long after they should have disengaged.

'It's like they keep dancing even after the music stops,' said lead investigator Jelena Radulovic.

However, they found injecting two newly developed research drugs MPEP and MTEP, into the brain's hippocampus ended 'the dance.'

'We were able to stop the development of exaggerated fear with a simple, single drug treatment and found the window of time we have to intervene,' Assistant Professor Radulovic said.

However, the effect only worked if the drug was administered within five hours of the event.

Past studies have tried to treat the extreme fear responses, after they have already developed, she noted.

The study, conducted with mice, was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

An exaggerated fear disorder can be triggered by combat, an earthquake, a tsunami, rape or any traumatic psychological or physical event.

'People with this syndrome feel danger in everything that surrounds them,' Ms Radulovic said.

'They are permanently alert and aroused because they expect something bad to happen. They have insomnia; their social and family bonds are severed or strained. They avoid many situations because they are afraid something bad will happen.

'Even the smallest cues that resemble the traumatic event will trigger a full-blown panic attack.'

In a panic attack, a person's heart rate shoots up, they may gasp for breath, sweat profusely and have a feeling of impending death.

Many people bounce back to normal functioning after stressful or dangerous situations have passed. Others may develop an acute stress disorder that goes away after a short period of time. But some go on to develop post-traumatic stress syndrome, which can appear after a time lag.

If someone near you yawns, chances are that in a few seconds you will follow suit.

Babies, show no signs of succumbing to this well-known phenomenon called contagious yawning which is catching among people, dogs, and also chimpanzees, claims a new study.

According to researchers, yawning in toddlers and babies is spontaneous, and they almost never yawn back until the age of five when contagious yawning starts triggering a chain reaction.

Given that contagious yawning may be a sign of empathy, researchers theorize that empathy and the mimicry that may underlie it develops slowly over the first few years of life.

Lead researchers, Dr Jim Anderson, a reader in psychology
at the University of Stirling stated, "The exact reason why we yawn isn't really understood very well at all, but there is no doubt that as adults it is highly contagious.

"People who score highly for empathy are significantly more likely to show contagious yawning. What we know from other research is that one part of the brain that continues to develop through out childhood is the frontal cortex and that the frontal lobes play a role in social decision making and the ability to empathise.

"That would tie in with the gradual development of contagious yawning during childhood."

A two-part study conducted
Researchers conducted a study to trace the development of contagious yawning among kids at various stages of social development.

Mothers were asked to record when and how often their kids yawned in the first part of the study.

It was noted that babies between the age group of six and 34 months were inclined to yawn the most on waking in the morning or after naps.

However, they yawned on average about two times daily which is no where near the seven to nine times per day that an adult yawns.

Also, none exhibited signs of contagious yawning.

Findings of the second study
In the second part of the study, the investigators examined the yawning behavior of 22 babies whose average age was two years.

The kids were shown video clippings of babies, animals, adults and even their mother's yawning.

It was observed that videotaped footage induced yawning in only three of the 22 infants.

The authors stated, "The largely negative video results confirm that infants and preschoolers are much less susceptible to psychological influences on yawning when compared with older children and adults."

Contagious yawning develops after five years
Previous study has established that contagious yawning is a behavior that starts developing after the age of five.

By the time kids reach the age of 12, this deeply rooted behavior acquires the same levels as those found in adults.

Anderson stated, "Young children may also do less contagious yawning simply because they don't have the same pressures or social inhibitions as adults: They yawn where they like and when they like."

The study appears in the journal 'Biology Letters.'