For people with diabetes, staying healthy requires more than just blood sugar control. Careful diet choices, especially reducing salt intake, are crucial because excess salt can worsen complications and increase health risks, say healthcare experts.

Ahead of World Diabetes Day on November 14, top healthcare experts here highlighted the dangers of excessive salt consumption for individuals with diabetes.

According to Dr. Praveen Kumar Kulkarni, Senior Consultant Internal Medicine Specialist, KIMS Hospitals, one of the primary concerns with excessive salt consumption for people with diabetes is its impact on blood pressure.

More than 4 in 5 Indians, or 86 per cent of Indians living with diabetes have experienced anxiety, depression, or another mental health condition as a result of their diabetes, according to a report, ahead of World Diabetes Day, on Wednesday.

The report based on a global survey of seven countries including India, by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), reveals that diabetes impacts mental well-being more than previously thought.

The mental health conditions among diabetics were driven commonly due to the fear of developing complications (76 per cent). Other factors included daily diabetes management (72 per cent), accessing support from a healthcare professional (65 per cent), and accessing medicines and supplies (61 per cent).

A team of Chinese researchers found that healthy and successful ageing is determined by sleep patterns.

The team from Wenzhou Medical University in China defined successful ageing, as the absence of major chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, chronic lung diseases, heart disease, and stroke; having good cognitive and mental health; and with no physical impairments.

The study called for maintaining stable and adequate sleep durations to promote healthy ageing.

“The findings underscore the critical importance of monitoring dynamic changes in sleep duration in middle-aged and older adults,” said the team in the paper, published in the journal BMC Public Health.

Eating high-fat dairy products which include whole milk, cream, frozen yoghurt, butter, and ghee, may increase the risk of fatty liver disease, according to a study.

The study, published in the Journal of Hepatology Reports, showed that low-medium fat dairy products such as skimmed milk, cottage cheese, and low-fat cheese may be protective, and should be preferred over high-fat dairy to prevent Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

MASLD is related to nutrition, but evidence of an association between high-fat and low-fat dairy products is lacking.

To fill the gap, a team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in Israel, evaluated this association by performing experimental studies in mice and an observational human study.

Approximately 25 per cent of India's population suffers from varicose veins -- a condition often underdiagnosed in India -- and can be treated without surgery, say leading national and international medical experts.

They believe recent advancements in non-surgical treatment methods are transforming the approach to vascular care, enabling even remote areas to access high-quality treatments.

Over 100 medical professionals from across India participated in the Indian Vein Congress (IVC) 2024, hosted by Avis Hospitals. Experts from Brazil virtually participated.

It was spearheaded by Dr. Rajah V. Koppala, founder of Avis Hospitals and a renowned vascular interventional specialist.

The IVC focused on sharing best practices in non-surgical solutions such as laser treatments and other innovative approaches.

Extra Vitamin D intake during pregnancy can make your kid's bone stronger even at age 7, according to a study on Wednesday.

Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body -- minerals that are essential for bones, teeth, and muscle health.

Researchers from the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton (UHS) in the UK showed that an increase in women’s intake of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy can boost bone mineral density in the children’s mid-childhood.

A team of scientists has found that the presence of the APOE4 protein -- the most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease -- can cause healthy immune cells in the brain -- microglia -- to cause harmful inflammation and clumps of misfolded proteins.

The same microglia, in a brain without APOE4 protein, patrol for damage and clear away debris and harmful proteins.

For the study, scientists at Gladstone Institutes in the US created a "chimeric" mice model for studying Alzheimer's. The mouse model not only carries human APOE genes, but the team also transplanted human neurons producing the APOE4 protein into the brains of mice.

On removing microglia, they discovered that the APOE4 protein no longer triggered as many deposits of amyloid or tau -- two types of misfolded proteins that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

A higher consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may help ward off a variety of cancers, finds a large study of more than 250,000 people on Tuesday.

Cancer has become a global health concern, especially with increasing early onset.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are "healthy fats" and essential for human health. These are important to the cells and are known to reduce bad cholesterol levels, keep the brain healthy, and boost mental health.

Higher levels of omega-3s showed protection against colon, stomach, and lung cancer, according to study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, showed the benefits of higher omega-3 levels against colon, stomach, and lung cancer.

विश्व में पहली बार, स्विस वैज्ञानिकों ने होंठ कोशिकाओं का उपयोग करके 3डी सेल मॉडल विकसित किया है, यह एक ऐसी प्रगति है जो चोटों और संक्रमणों के लिए नए उपचार विकसित करने में मदद कर सकती है।

आज तक, होंठ कोशिकाओं का उपयोग करने वाले मॉडल - जो अन्य त्वचा कोशिकाओं से अलग प्रदर्शन करते हैं - उपलब्ध नहीं हैं।

स्विट्जरलैंड में बर्न विश्वविद्यालय के डॉ. मार्टिन डेगेन ने कहा, "होंठ हमारे चेहरे की एक बहुत प्रमुख विशेषता है।"

“इस ऊतक में कोई भी दोष अत्यधिक विकृत करने वाला हो सकता है। लेकिन अब तक, उपचार विकसित करने के लिए मानव होंठ कोशिका मॉडल की कमी थी," डेगेन ने कहा।

In a world-first, Swiss scientists have developed 3D cell models using lip cells, an advance that can help develop new treatments for injuries and infections.

To date, models using lip cells -- which perform differently from other skin cells -- have not been available.

“The lip is a very prominent feature of our face,” said Dr Martin Degen of the University of Bern in Switzerland.

“Any defects in this tissue can be highly disfiguring. But until now, human lip cell models for developing treatments were lacking,” Degen added.

To fill the gap, the scientists successfully immortalised donated lip cells. This enabled them to develop clinically relevant lip models in the lab,

The team selected skin cells from tissue donated by two patients: one undergoing treatment for a lip laceration, and one undergoing treatment for a cleft lip.

 A recently emerged strain of bacteria called Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis (SDSE) is leading to a concerning rise in global rates of severe invasive infections becoming resistant to key antibiotics, according to a study.

A person infected with SDSE is likely to have an infection in the skin, throat, gastrointestinal tract, and female genital tract that can range in severity from strep throat (pharyngitis) to necrotising fasciitis (flesh-eating disease).

Although SDSE is closely related to group A streptococcus (also commonly known as Streptococcus pyogenes), which has been very well studied, little is known about SDSE, said the team at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in the US.

A study of 34,000 Americans, published on Thursday, showed that Covid-19 has led to a decline in outdoor activities.

The study noted that people are spending nearly an hour less a day doing activities outside the home -- a behaviour that researchers say is a lasting consequence of the pandemic.

The team from Clemson University and University of California Los Angeles in the US reveals an overall drop since 2019 of about 51 minutes in the daily time spent on out-of-home activities. They even found an almost 12-minute reduction in time spent on daily travel, such as driving or taking public transportation.

In a paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Planning Association, the team documented a trend toward less and less out-of-home time stretching back to at least 2003.

Australian researchers have identified a previously unknown gene that influences the immune defence among indigenous people across Oceania, according to research published on Wednesday.

The research, which was published by The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, was the first of its kind to comprehensively map natural killer cells in Oceania's indigenous populations, news agency reported.

Natural killer cells are a type of white blood cell that play a crucial role in the body's first line of immune defence by destroying infected and diseased cells, restricting viruses from replicating in the earliest stages of infection.

Researchers from Bose Institute, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in Kolkata, have developed a new way to create hydrogels using tiny protein fragments of just five amino acids from the SARS-CoV-1 virus.

The novel method may help improve targeted drug delivery and reduce side effects.

Hydrogels are known to be suitable for drug delivery because of their swelling behaviour, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility.

While short peptide-based hydrogels have great potential for a wide range of applications, it is very challenging to control the gelation of these systems.

Long-Covid -- continued illness post Covid-19 -- is common after other respiratory infections, according to a study.

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK analysed data from 190,000 participants. They classified them into: people hospitalised with Covid and those hospitalised with other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). These were then compared with a reference group with no LRTI hospitalisations.

Participants completed surveys reporting on 45 different physical and psychological symptoms observed across the ear, nose, and throat; respiratory; neurological; gastrointestinal; and musculoskeletal systems.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, showed that people hospitalised with Covid had higher risks of 23 out of 45 symptoms. Similarly, those hospitalised for non-Covid LRTIs had 18 out of 45.

South Korea has reported an additional case of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle, raising the total number of confirmed cases this year to 14, the agriculture ministry here said on Saturday.

The latest case was detected at a cattle farm in Munkyong, some 140 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The ministry has issued a 24-hour standstill order for personnel and vehicles associated with the farm and related facilities in six neighbouring regions. On Friday, South Korea also confirmed three more separate cases, reports news agency.

The government will deploy all available disinfection vehicles to prevent the spread of the disease, it added.

Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have developed new molecules that can treat Alzheimer's Disease.

The team designed and synthesised novel non-toxic molecules through a blend of synthetic, computational, and in-vitro studies that could be effective in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Alzheimer's, which occurs due to an imbalance in certain hormones, is the most common form of dementia and constitutes around 75 per cent of all dementia cases.

Of the about 55 million people worldwide with dementia, 60 to 70 per cent are estimated to have Alzheimer's.

An immediate ceasefire is needed in the Gaza Strip as the enclave faces the additional threat of polio spreading, if the final phase of a vaccination campaign there continues to be delayed, an UN agency warned on Thursday.

The third and final phase of the polio vaccination campaign, which was set to start on Wednesday in Gaza, had to be postponed due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses.

"It is imperative to stop the polio outbreak in Gaza before more children are paralysed and the virus spreads," said Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). "The vaccination campaign must be facilitated in the north through the implementation of humanitarian pauses."

Germany has detected its first case of the new Clade Ib variant of the mpox virus, with no related deaths reported, the country's leading public health authority, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced.

"The RKI currently assesses the risk to the general population in Germany as low. However, the institute continues to monitor the situation closely and will adjust its assessment based on the latest available information, if necessary," the institute said on its website on Tuesday.

The institute explained that the current risk assessment is due to the fact that "close physical contact is required" for mpox transmission. It did not provide details on when the infection was identified nor the identity of patient zero, news agency reported.

The RKI said it assumes that the available vaccines are effective against Clade I.

The number of babies born in South Korea increased on-year for the second consecutive month in August, data showed on Wednesday, amid lingering demographic challenges caused by the ultra-low birth rate and rapid ageing.

According to data compiled by Statistics Korea, a total of 20,098 babies were born in August, up 5.9 per cent from a year earlier, news agency reported.

The growth followed 20,601 births recorded in July, marking a 7.9 per cent on-year rise.

The increase apparently occurred after more couples held weddings from the second half of 2022 through the first half of 2023, having delayed their marriages during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rwandan Minister of Health Sabin Nsanzimana said that there have been no new infections of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in the country for the past five days, indicating significant progress in the fight against the deadly virus.

Nsanzimana provided this update during a press conference in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, as the country continues its efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

"Among the 62 individuals who contracted the disease, approximately 15 have succumbed to it, while most of the patients have recovered. Currently, only three individuals remain in treatment. Two of the patients who have been on intubation for more than ten days have been extubated, which is the best news you can get in the medical profession," he said.

Nsanzimana added that this marks the first time patients with Marburg have been extubated in Africa, highlighting the potential for recovery even after contracting the virus, news agency reported.

Tension prevailed at a private college at Bachupally in Hyderabad on Monday after a female student of a private junior college allegedly died by suicide in the college hostel.

Angered over the shifting of the body without informing them, the family members and relatives of the deceased ransacked the office furniture.

Police said the student of Intermediate First Year (Class 11) returned to the college hostel on Sunday after the Dussehra holidays.

The college management later informed the girl’s family living in Sangareddy district that she fell unconscious. When the parents reached the hostel, they were informed that she died by suicide and her body was shifted to Gandhi Hospital.

The Tamil Nadu Health Department has advised the public to be cautious regarding the spread of diseases such as dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, and influenza as the northeast monsoon sets in.

Since January 2024, Tamil Nadu has recorded 18,000 dengue cases.

In response, the state’s Public Health Department has urged residents to remove stagnant water from their premises to prevent mosquito breeding.

The department has already launched monsoon camps across the state to identify cases of dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, influenza, and other diseases.

The health ministry here said on Monday it plans to co-host an annual biotechnology convention next month with the World Health Organization (WHO), bringing experts together to discuss strategies for a stable global healthcare supply chain.

Under the theme "Future investment for a healthy and secure decade," the World Bio Summit 2024 will kick off in Incheon, west of Seoul, on November 11-12, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

"The World Bio Summit 2024 will serve as a venue for discussions to address and prepare for global health care threats," Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said, reports news agency.

The event, marking the third of its kind, will invite health ministers and other senior officials from governments, businesses and global organisations to discuss pressing issues in the vaccine and biotechnology sectors.

World Health Organization (WHO) teams have been on the ground delivering supplies to health facilities before the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign starts in southern Gaza, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday said the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in southern Gaza is to start on Saturday and aims to provide more than 293,000 children with the second dose of the vaccine and more than 284,000 with vitamin A supplements, reports news agency.

The second round of the polio vaccination campaign concluded in central Gaza on Wednesday, with more than 181,000 children receiving the vaccine and over 148,000 children getting vitamin A supplements, following the first round conducted from September 1 to 12, reaching more than 559,000 children across the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, OCHA said it continues to sound the alarm about the increasingly dire and dangerous situation that civilians in the north of Gaza are facing. Families there are trying to survive in atrocious conditions under heavy bombardment.

The AIDS Society of India (ASI) on Friday urged the government to include HIV self-testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine, taken to prevent from HIV, in its policies and programmes without much delay.

One in five people living with HIV in the country do not know their HIV status. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended HIV self-testing as part of HIV care cascade as it is an important approach to address gaps in HIV diagnoses, especially among key populations, in 2019.

“We need to ensure that 100 per cent of people living with HIV know their status so that they can receive full cascade of HIV care services and stay virally suppressed (undetectable viral load) – which is essential for them to live full and healthy lives – as well as to end AIDS,” said Dr Ishwar Gilada, President-Emeritus, AIDS Society of India (ASI).

Sudan has recorded 2,520 dengue fever cases, including 13 deaths, in five states, its Health Ministry announced in a statement.

The infections were reported in the states of Khartoum, North Kordofan, Kassala, Gedaref, and Sinnar, the ministry said on Thursday, stressing the need to step up epidemic combating campaigns.

Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted to people via mosquito bites. It is more common in tropical and subtropical climates, news agency reported.

While the majority of infected individuals show no symptoms, those who do typically experience high fever, headaches, severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, skin rash, low blood pressure, and difficulty in breathing. In severe cases, dengue fever can be fatal.

Rwanda has launched the world's first clinical trial for a treatment of Marburg virus disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced late Tuesday.

The initiative, in partnership with the WHO, is testing the safety and efficacy of two treatments: Remdesivir, a drug currently used to treat COVID-19, and MBP091, a specialized antibody developed to fight Marburg virus disease, WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said on X.

The health initiative is part of a process that began two years ago, where 17 African countries, including Rwanda, were identified by the WHO as willing to conduct clinical trials.

Currently, no treatment or vaccine is available for Marburg virus disease.

Rwanda declared a Marburg virus outbreak on September 27, news agency reported.

Ghana has confirmed nine cases of cholera in the country's southeastern Greater Accra Region, health authorities said late Monday.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) said that it has received confirmation from the Ada East and Ada West districts that samples from patients tested positive for cholera.

The first case presented at a health facility with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain a few days after attending a funeral in the Ada East District.

"As of October 11, there were nine confirmed cases in both the Ada East and West districts, with precautions put in place to contain the outbreak," the statement said, news agency reported.

The healthcare and pharma sector saw an overall 64 deals, valued at $2.8 billion in Q3 of 2024, marking the sector's highest quarterly volumes in three years, according to a report on Tuesday.

The report by Grant Thornton Bharat showed that mergers and acquisitions, and private equity deal volumes increased significantly, with 59 deals worth $2.2 billion, the highest since Q4 2021.

However, Q3 2024 saw a 47 per cent decline in deal values compared to Q2 2024.

The decline was mainly due to fewer high-value deals, with only two deals worth $1.8 billion.

In contrast, Q2 2024 had 11 high-value deals (over $100 million) totalling $3.4 billion.

Cancer and dementia are the major risk factors that increase the risk of mortality among patients with sepsis admitted to the emergency medical department, according to a study on Tuesday.

Sepsis is a life-threatening emergency caused by a dysregulated host immune response to an infection that claims millions of lives globally each year.

The study led by a team of Danish researchers found that age and heart disease were the other reasons that can raise the risk of death in sepsis patients within two years.

“We found that certain factors increased the risk of death after sepsis, including, not surprisingly, advanced age,” said Dr. Finn E. Nielsen, a senior scientist in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.

The Norwegian government announced a major financial commitment to the World Health Organization (WHO), pledging 1 billion Norwegian kroner ($93 million) over the next four years (2025-2028).

The contribution, made during the WHO's first investment round for sustainable financing, underscores Norway's dedication to strengthening global health systems and supporting the WHO's crucial role in global health, the Norwegian government said on Monday in a press release.

"The World Health Organization is more important than ever," said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. "WHO has repeatedly proven its significance as a meeting place and coordinating body, especially in times of crisis."

The investment round, the first of its kind, aims to secure more sustainable financing for the WHO's work. Norway is hosting the event with France, Germany, Brazil, Mauritania, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia, news agency reported.

Childhood immunisations and low-cost prevention and treatments combined with new health technologies may help reduce premature deaths by 50 per cent, according to a new study published by The Lancet Commission on Tuesday.

The report laid out a roadmap for every nation that chooses to do so to cut the chance of premature death for its citizens in half by 2050.

“The goal of “50 by 50,” is achievable”, argues the report. If every country achieves the goal, then, a person born in 2050 would have only a 15 percent chance of dying before age 70, down from 31 per cent for someone born in 2019.

It suggested measures such as “expanding childhood immunisations and low-cost prevention and treatments for common causes of preventable death, combined with scaling up financing to develop new health technologies”.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday announced a partnership with domestic pharma giant Zydus Lifesciences to initiate Phase 2 clinical trials of the drug Desidustat in patients with sickle cell disease.

ICMR formalised a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Zydus for a Phase IIa, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Desidustat oral tablet against sickle cell disease -- a genetic blood disorder characterised by the presence of abnormal haemoglobin (Hb).

This comes after drug regulator DCGI recently granted permission to conduct a Phase IIa trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Desidustat.

Desidustat is a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (PHI) that stimulates the production of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that boosts red blood cell production when oxygen levels are low in the blood.

Driven by increasing urbanisation, improved test penetration, and rising health awareness, the Indian diagnostics market, valued at $15 billion in the last fiscal (FY24), is expected to grow at 14 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to a report on Monday.

Tier 2 and beyond cities face significant challenges, with over 65 per cent of diagnostic labs concentrated in tier 1 and 2 cities, presenting vast opportunities for tech-driven solutions, according to a white paper by Praxis Global Alliance launched at the Assocham diagnostics conference in New Delhi.

The white paper examined key trends and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, smart labs, genetic testing, mHealth, telemedicine, mobile diagnostics, and smart wearables that has the potential to bridge the gap and ensure more equitable access to quality healthcare