Health

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) The Union government has informed that Parliament has approved 297 new day care cancer centres across the country for FY26.In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav stated the measures undertaken by the government in tackling cancer incidences in the country.In the Union Budget announced in February, the government had proposed that “all district hospitals will have day care cancer centres. About 200-day care cancer centres will be established in 2025-26".The day-care centres are aimed at providing chemotherapy -- an important part of cancer treatment -- to cancer patients."Following the announcement in the Union Budget 2025-26, so far, 297 new day care cancer centres have been approved for the fina...

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), slated for launch next week, is a result of global teamwork and technology, said the Indian space agency.NISAR is the first joint satellite mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA.NISAR will be launched by ISRO’s GSLV-F16 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota at 5.40 pm. It will be the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle’s (GSLV) first launch into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).The NISAR launch is the result of strong technical cooperation between ISRO and NASA/JPL technical teams for more than a decade.“Built across continents in phases, NISAR is a result of global teamwork and tech. NISAR came together through years of integration and testing,” said...

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) To prevent the rising burden of cervical cancer and related deaths in India, more than 10.18 crore women aged 30 years and above have been screened for the condition across the country at the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), the government informed the Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session.India accounts for 25 per cent of global cervical cancer deaths -- largely due to delayed diagnosis.“Till July 20, data from the National NCD Portal indicates that 10.18 crore women out of an eligible population of 25.42 crore females aged 30 years and above have been screened for cervical cancer,” Jadhav said.“This reflects the government’s strong commitment to comprehensive and preventive healthcare delivery through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs,” he added.The achievement i...

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) A commonly used type 2 diabetes medication in the US -- Glipizide -- may be linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions, claimed a study.Researchers from Mass General Brigham examined nationwide data from nearly 50,000 patients treated with different sulfonylureas. They found that glipizide was linked to a higher incidence of heart failure, related hospitalisation, and death compared to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. The findings are published in JAMA Network Open.“Patients with type 2 diabetes are at heightened risk of adverse cardiovascular incidents such as stroke and cardiac arrest,” said corresponding author Alexander Turchin, Division of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).“While sulfonylureas are popular and affordable di...

Mumbai, July 25 (IANS) Sigachi Industries posted a net loss of Rs 100.97 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1 FY26), the company said in an exchange filing on Friday. The company had posted a profit of Rs 16.17 crore in the preceding quarter (Q4 FY25) and Rs 12.75 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago (Q1FY25).However, the total revenue of the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company jumped by 34 per cent to Rs 128.24 crore from Rs 95.7 crore in the same period a year ago. The revenue increased marginally quarter-on-quarter from Rs 128.20 crore in Q4 FY25.Gross profit increased by 14.67 per cent to Rs 54.7 crore, while gross margin declined from 49.79 per cent to 42.64 per cent, the company said in the filing.Meanwhile, EBITDA stood at Rs 24.1 crore, with an E...

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Covid-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden deaths, said Union Health Minister JP Nadda in the Parliament on Friday.Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon session, Nadda noted the role of underlying health issues, as well as genetic links behind the rising unexplained deaths in the country."Covid-19 vaccination does not appear to increase the risk, whereas the role of underlying health issues, genetic predisposition, and risky lifestyle choices does play a role in unexplained sudden deaths,” said Nadda.He cited the studies undertaken by the ICMR and NCDC, as well as the ICMR and AIIMS, to investigate the causes of sudden death.“The studies observed that Covid-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of unexplained sudden death among youn...

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) The Union government on Friday informed the Parliament about the increase in adoption of Ayushman Card, Ayushman Vay Vandana card, as well as the Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA), indicating a significant boost in public health in the country.In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav shared details of transformative policies and initiatives under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to enhance healthcare access and equity for citizens in the county.“Under AB-PMJAY, over 41 crore Ayushman cards have been created, out of which 20.47 crore cards have been created for female beneficiaries,” the MoS said.“Under the Vay Vandana scheme, a total of 75.41 lakh Ayushman Vay Va...

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) More than 9.84 crore hospital admissions worth over Rs. 1.40 lakh crore have been authorised under the flagship Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) scheme, the government informed the Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon Session on Friday.In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav informed that “a total of 31,466 hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme across the country, out of which 14,194 are private hospitals” till June."More than 9.84 crore hospital admissions worth over Rs. 1.40 lakh crore have been authorised under the scheme,” he added.The AB PM-JAY provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to ap...

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Hepatitis B drugs are being vastly underused, and boosting early treatment against the deadly hepatitis B virus (HBV) could save many lives over time, argued scientists in a new paper published in Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology.HBV kills over 3,000 people every day, or over 2 people every minute. Of the people who do not clear the infection and go on to develop a chronic HBV infection, between 20 and 40 per cent will die if they do not receive treatment.The experts noted that even though the currently available drugs do not cure people, they are safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive."These medications are good drugs that are being badly underused," said John Tavis, Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Saint Louis University School of...

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Regular exposure to air pollution, including that coming from car exhaust emissions, can increased your risk of dementia, according to an analysis of studies published on Friday.Dementias such as Alzheimer's disease are estimated to affect more than 57.4 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to almost triple to 152.8 million cases by 2050.The study, published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health, showed that for every 10 micrograms per cubic metre of PM2.5, an individual's relative risk of dementia would increase by 17 per cent.For each 1 micrograms per cubic metre of soot as found in PM2.5, the relative risk for the cognitive condition increased by 13 per cent. Soot comes from sources such as vehicle exhaust emissions and burning wood."These f...