Health

Urban air pollution, mostly from vehicles, is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to research published Wednesday.   The link remained even after heavy drinking, smoking and other well established risk factors for dementia were ruled out, the researchers reported in medical journal BMJ Open.  Worldwide, about seven percent of people over 65 suffer from Alzheimer’s or some ...

Did you know? Commonly used household cleaners could be making children overweight by altering their gut microbiota.   Researchers from across Canada looked at data from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort on microbes in infant fecal matter. They used World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts for body mass index (BMI) scores.  Associations with altered gut flora ...

Top honours for inspirational Asian role models were presented in London on Friday, 14 September British Bengali mental health campaigner Poppy Jaman has received the 2018 Asian Achievers Award for her services to the community during a glittering ceremony held in London. The awards celebrate outstanding British Asian talent across the arts and media, sports, community service, the professions, uniformed ...

An outbreak of the Klebsiella pneumonia superbug that killed six newborns at a government hospital in Johannesburg has forced medics to close the facility’s neo-natal and maternity wards.   The Thelle Mogoerane hospital in the eastern Johannesburg township of Vosloorus has been in the grip of the antibiotic resistant bacteria since July 11.  “We can no longer admit babies here,” ...

UN member-states on Friday agreed on a global plan to step up the fight against tuberculosis, the world’s number one killer among infectious diseases, settling a row with the United States over access to cheap drugs.   Following weeks of tough negotiations, the text of a final declaration won approval and will be formally adopted at the first-ever TB summit ...

Pledge to boost services undermined by failure to retain thousands of key workers, minister admits Thousands of nurses, therapists and psychiatrists are quitting NHS mental health services, raising serious doubts about ministerial pledges to dramatically expand the workforce. Two thousand mental health staff a month are leaving their posts in the NHS in England, according to figures from the Department ...

Turns out, people with a long-term problem of blood pressure has an increased risk of aortic valve disease (AVD) – problems with the valve that controls how blood is pumped from the left ventricle of the heart out into the main artery, the aorta.   In a recent study conducted by European Society of Cardiology, researchers found that above a ...

Riding on some types of roller-coaster is an effective way of removing kidney stones. This is the conclusion of research that has won this year’s Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine.   The US researchers who carried out the work recommend that those afflicted with the condition should regularly use the theme park attractions.   The Ig Nobels are spoof prizes ...

Cancer will kill nearly 10 million people this year, experts said Wednesday, warning the disease’s global burden continues to rise in spite of better prevention and earlier diagnosis.   An estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases were predicted worldwide for 2018 — with 9.6 million deaths, said a report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).  This is ...

Ever feel like it’s 7 am, even though the clock says 9 am?   A team of researchers at Northwestern University said Monday they have designed a blood test that can measure a person’s inner body clock within 1.5 hours, an advance that may help personalize medical treatments in the future.  The study was published in the Proceedings of the ...