Health

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has not banned the commonly used paracetamol drug in India, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said on Tuesday.In a reply in the Parliament, during the ongoing Monsoon session, Patel said that “the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has informed that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation is not in receipt of information about rumours” of the regulatory body banning paracetamol.Noting that “paracetamol is not banned in the country”, Patel said that “various Fixed Dose Combinations, including such combinations of paracetamol with other drugs, have been banned in the country”.Further, the MoS noted that the government has rolled out the free drugs service initiative u...

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) has diagnosed over 5 crore adults with hypertension, and 3 crore with diabetes, said Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.“NP-NCD, erstwhile NPCDCS, was launched by the Department of Health and Family Welfare with a focus on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion, early diagnosis, management, and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facilities,” Jadhav said in a reply in the Parliament, during the ongoing Monsoon session.A population-based initiative for prevention, control, and screening for common NCDs was rolled out in the country under the National Health Mission (NHM) as a part of Com...

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) Diabetes continually weakens the immune system, leading to poor health and a high risk of death among patients with tuberculosis (TB), said experts on Tuesday.The link between TB and diabetes -- two critical challenges to global health -- has long been established. TB and diabetes, both separately and combined, significantly affect individuals, communities, and healthcare systems worldwide.India's TB burden remains a major public health challenge, with 28 lakh TB cases -- accounting for 26 per cent, the highest globally in 2024. The country also reported an estimated 3.15 lakh TB-related deaths, accounting for 29 per cent of the deaths globally.The burden of diabetes is also consistently increasing in the country, with over 100 million people currently living with t...

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) Following a healthy diet to lose weight? Make sure it's minimally processed, suggests a study, which showed that reducing processing could help to sustain a healthy weight.In a first, researchers from the University College London (UCL) nutritionally matched minimally processed (MPF) and ultra-processed (UPF) diets.The results, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed that participants lost twice as much weight eating minimally processed foods compared to ultra-processed foods.“The primary outcome of the trial was to assess percentage changes in weight, and on both diets, we saw a significant reduction, but the effect was nearly double on the minimally processed diet,” said Dr Samuel Dicken, first author of the study from the UCL Centre for Obesity Research....

New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) Chronic inflammation may be associated with an increased risk of frailty, social disadvantage, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study.The study, published in the journal Communications Medicine, looked at 74 inflammation-related proteins in blood samples from more than 2,000 women aged between 37 and 84 years and explored how inflammation was linked to frailty, area-level social deprivation, and CVD risk.The researchers identified 10 inflammatory proteins that were associated with both frailty and living in a deprived area.Of these, four proteins that are involved in cellular signaling, growth, and movement (TNFSF14, HGF, CDCP1, and CCL11) were also linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease."To better understand how frailty and deprivation c...

Mumbai, Aug 4 (IANS) Aurobindo Pharma Limited on Monday reported a 10.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 824.2 crore for the first quarter (Q1) of FY26, compared to Rs 918.2 crore in the same period the previous year (Q1 FY25).The pharmaceutical company’s revenue rose 4 per cent YoY to Rs 7,868 crore from Rs 7,567 crore in the year-ago period, according to its stock exchange filing.Operating profit remained largely stable, with EBITDA slipping 1 per cent to Rs 1,603 crore from Rs 1,619.6 crore.The EBITDA margin narrowed to 20.3 per cent from 21.4 per cent a year ago, the company stated in its regulatory filing.The US formulations segment, which contributes a significant share of the business, declined 1.9 per cent YoY to Rs 3,488 crore ($408 million), affec...

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) The Ministry of Ayush on Monday signed two significant Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), to boost the conservation and increase public awareness of medicinal plants in the country.The first MoU was signed between the NMPB and IshVed-Bioplants Venture, Maharashtra, and the second tripartite MoU was signed among NMPB, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.“The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build a healthier and self-reliant India by 2047 guides our efforts today. I congratulate all the institutions involved in signing these important MoUs, which represent a significant milestone in conserving and promoting India’s rich medicinal plant heritage,...

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) A total of 103 Indian cities, as part of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), have shown a reduction in particulate matter PM10 concentration in 2024-25, the government informed the Parliament on Monday.Launched in 2019 to tackle air pollution across India, NCAP focusses on 131 "non-attainment" cities and Million Plus Cities in 24 states. The programme aimed to reduce PM10 concentrations by 20-30 per cent by 2024.Of the 103, “64 cities showed reduction in PM10 levels by more than 20 per cent and 25 of these cities have achieved a reduction of more than 40 per cent,” said Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.“A total of 22 Cities also met the National Ambient Ai...

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has developed an underwater vibration sensor that enables automated and contactless voice recognition.Conducted in collaboration with researchers from Ohio State University, US, the novel sensor offers a promising alternative communication method for individuals with voice disabilities who are unable to use conventional voice-based systems.The research focused on the exhaled air through the mouth while speaking -- a basic physiological function.In cases where individuals cannot produce sound, attempting to speak generates airflow from their lungs. When this air flows over a water surface, it produces subtle waves.The underwater vibration sensor could detect these water waves and interpret spe...

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) Corneal blindness, once considered a condition largely confined to the elderly, is now emerging as a significant threat among teenagers and young adults across the country, health experts said on Monday.Corneal blindness, while serious, is a largely preventable cause of blindness. It occurs when the transparent front part of the eye, the cornea, becomes cloudy or scarred due to infections, trauma, or nutritional deficiencies.Corneal opacities are now the second leading cause of blindness in India, affecting tens of thousands annually.According to experts at the Indian Society of Cornea and Kerato-Refractive Surgeons’ (ISCKRS) three-day meet in New Delhi, India, records between 20,000 and 25,000 new cases of corneal blindness every year, and the number is growing.“A ...