A 3-year-old male was brought to us by his parents with complaints of bilateral progressive lenticular opacity since early childhood. Elsewhere child was diagnosed to have a developmental cataract and referred here for a detailed workup.

Children are being forced to stay at home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and keeping them engaged during this period can be quite difficult.

In what can be described as one of the most challenging surgical fetes, doctors from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi have successfully done fetoscopic valve ablation on a 22-week old foetus.

Surgeons at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore have successfully removed a rare tumour of the nerve cells, ‘Paraganglioma’ which was secreting excess hormone and was present at the lower back, near the spine of 36-year-old patient, Jagadeesh Ratha.

The shoulder joint has the greatest range of motion when compared to hip joint even though both of them are ball and socket joints. The stability of shoulder joint depends on static stabilisers and dynamic stabilisers.

“Mr Uwen was reinvestigated at Manipal Hospital. In addition to aortic valve leak with heart enlargement, he was also found to have gross enlargement of aortic root and early part of his aorta, medically called annuloaortic ectasia.

Dr Partha Pratim Majumder gives a fresh update on Genome Asia 100K, as well as the clinical relevance and possible applications of the project.

Bhim Rao, a retired government officer from Karnataka, is relieved man today as he has been cured of pancreatic cancer by a team of doctors at Narayana Health City, Bengaluru.

Babies with anticipated breathing problems are delivered through EXIT procedure. This method is opted during Cesarean Section.

Cardiac concerns are on the rise. Technology aiding in the prevention and treatment of  heart issues has been in the spotlight for several decades. Often, cardiac problems occur due to the narrowing of arteries, and stents are often the treatment of choice. Stents are small, extendable devices that are placed at the site of the […]

Timely organ transplantation is critical in saving a life. Patients diagnosed with heart or liver disease often require urgent transplantation for the diseased organ as the only means of treatment. Long waiting times for a suitable donor may be detrimental and can result in a loss of life. Patients with kidney disease, on the other […]

45 year old Seema (name changed) had been getting severe headaches and had a few epileptic seizures when she visited Dr Soumya CV, Neurologist, Aster MIMS Kannur. Seema had a previous history of breast cancer and had undergone surgery, roughly 6 years ago. There had been no recurrence since then. However, cancers tend to metastasize, […]

Nikhil (name changed) had been visiting Dr K N Shah for the past 20 years. He first consulted Dr Shah, Senior Paediatric Neurologist, at Lilavati Hospital and Research Center in Mumbai at the age of 5 years, when he had his first epileptic seizure. His family history and birth history were completely normal and without […]

While most children are vaccinated against chickenpox during infancy, the disease often attacks us at some point or the other. In the majority of cases, children develop rash-like lesions along with cough/cold and fever which resolves with minimal treatment. The only memories that might remain are perhaps the odd scar left behind after the skin […]

Gayatri was in her 31st week of pregnancy when her blood pressure started rising and she was taken to the Apollo Children’s Hospitals, Chennai. She had to undergo an emergency C-section to deliver a pre-term baby boy who weighed only 1.2 kgs. At 31 weeks, babies are still far from being ready to live independently, […]

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP is an autoimmune disorder where antibodies destroy platelets, resulting in a tendency to bleed. Common visible symptoms are purpura or bruising, petechiae or large patches of bluish discoloration of the skin and pinpoint dots of bleeding. Bleeding may occur in the nose or mouth, and in […]

Conventional pacemakers are external devices that are placed in a pocket in the chest area and stimulate the heart muscles through a connecting lead or wire.

Vikas Sharma (name changed) brought in his 2-year-old son, Avinash (name changed), to Dr Krishnakumar Shah, Senior Paediatric Neurologist, Lilavati Hospital and Research Center at Mumbai, for a regular check-up.

In India, total body irradiation is a part of the standard of treatment for leukaemia as a conditioning regimen before bone marrow transplantation.

Many consider procreation to be one of life’s main purposes. Having children is a priority for most couples who aspire to have a family.

Neuroblastoma is a rare paediatric cancer that affects immature nerve cells, typically in infants and children under the age of 5.

Four years ago, at the age of 15, Rifat Iqbal developed pain and a large swelling on his left leg

Congenital hearing loss is a very common problem affecting about 6 out of every 1,000 children

Three-year-old Feroz (name changed), was brought to Surya Hospitals, Mumbai, after complaining of limb pain and low-grade fever for over a fortnight

Mrs Malliga, a 63-year old lady from Ambattur in Chennai, had been suffering from chest pain for the past six months.

55-year-old Satish (name changed) suddenly started having chest pains and was rushed to a local hospital in Pallakad, Kerala.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Pratik (name changed), a normal, seemingly healthy child, was visiting his paediatrician for a regular check-up.

Six-year-old Mallika (name changed) was brought to the Department of Neurosciences, Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Mumbai, to consult regarding her year-long- history with epileptic seizures.

13-year old Ciara (name changed) lived in Mauritius. She had been suffering from repeated skin rashes and kidney and lung ailments since she was 2 years old and was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and class IV lupus nephritis.

The formation of a fully developed human baby from an embryo involves a series of complicated cellular and molecular events spread over 40 weeks.

Over the past several decades, life expectancy has been steadily increasing. As medical research and technology advance by leaps and bounds, they have been successful in pushing life expectancy to new heights.

Josh (name changed) is a 30-year-old man, who was healthy, happily married, regularly went to the gym and had a good job and a relatively stress-free life.

42-year-old Pulak Pal (name changed) was working in his hairpin manufacturing factory when he accidentally put his hands into a machine and the fingers of his right hand got crushed.

Elbualy Mohamed Ali, a Kenyan national, was visiting New Delhi to support a close relative who was undergoing treatment for a cancerous condition.

52-year old Jignesh was suffering from weight loss and changes in bowel movement. A similar incident in his brother had already been diagnosed as cancer.

Rajesh (name changed), a 10-year-old boy from Kolhapur, was a studious kid. However, lately, he had started reading his books while lying down

Small children, especially those younger than 3 years, are prone to putting small objects in the mouth.

A 25-year-old male patient presented with repeated episodes of loss of consciousness and seizures

Gurvinder Kaur and Devender Singh gave birth to a normal 3.5 kg baby boy, Angad Singh, on 2 Nov 2011 in Raipur.

Two-year-old Aarav was constantly getting fever and appeared tired and lethargic for over a month. His parents were worried about him and finally took him to Lilavati Hospital and Research Center in Mumbai.

Ramana (name changed), a 14-year-old boy, was brought to Dr. Kiran Kartheek Veeranki, a leading paediatrician practising at Sravani Hospital in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh with a bleeding nose and bleeding gums.

Lysosomal storage diseases are a group of inherited metabolic disorders that occur as a consequence of a deficiency in a single key enzyme required for either lipid, glycoprotein or mucopolysaccharide metabolism, affecting several organs. The key symptoms of lysosomal storage disease include developmental delays, movement disorders, seizures and/or even dementia, deafness or blindness. Some patients […]

A 14-year-old male child from Rajasthan presented with chronic diarrhoea to Dr. Shaivali Joshi, a paediatrician in Mumbai. The child complained of loose stools 4-5 times a day and also had a history of anaemia since infancy. Examination revealed that he had severe platonychia and koilonychia, suggestive of iron-deficiency anaemia. There was no enlargement of […]

Severe congenital neutropenia is a chronic blood disorder due to an accumulation of granulocyte precursors in the bone marrow, resulting in recurrent fever and recurrent infections, including respiratory, skin and oropharyngeal infections, most often due to staphylococci and streptococci

A four-month old male child was brought to Lilawati Hospital in Mumbai with complaints of blindness and frequent rubbing of eyes.

A 19-year old male from Jharkhand presented with a 10-year history of left sided swelling on the face. It was insidious in its onset, with a rapid increase in size during last three years.

An eight-year-old boy was presented to his paediatrician with breathlessness. Upon regular examination, the pediatrician identified a murmur and referred the child to Dr. Shine Kumar, Paediatric Cardiologist at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, for further evaluation.

A 72-year-old woman presented with multiple painful lesions on the abdomen to the dermatology department at Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi.

Brachytherapy is an age-old method that is effective for irradiating cancer cells, especially in cervical, prostate, breast and skin cancers.

Mrs. Sharma (name changed) couldn’t taste her food anymore. “Just like my hair, my tastebuds are also aging,” she thought. Mrs. Sharma, at 70 years of age, had been a well-kept lady until the previous year. She had enjoyed a healthy, active lifestyle in her youth and adulthood.

Prenatal testing and its perceived benefits have been in focus for a long time. There has been widespread debate and passionate arguments on both sides. In India, where the law allows termination of pregnancy before 20 weeks, there are several prenatal tests that are available only after 20 weeks.

Genetic testing can go a long way in determining the treatment and outcome of a disease in a patient. Here is a case of a 19-year old girl who presented with a history of seizures at the neurological department at Amrita Hospital, Kochi, but turned out to have a heart condition.

A one-year-old female child was brought to a tertiary case hospital in Mumbai with fever, pallor, and conjunctival and intracranial hemorrhage. Blood tests revealed low platelet counts and hypothyroidism.

Muscular dystrophy is group of muscle disorders characterized by progressive muscle weakness, with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) being the most common. DMD is an X-linked recessive disorder primarily affecting males,

An 8-year old male child presented to Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Vijaywada, with on and off fever for the past three months. His parents also mentioned that he had had 2 episodes of seizures and complained of shortness of breath over the last 2 weeks.

A 32-year-old man, Nikhil (name changed), brought his 2 sons to the one-of-its-kind Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Centre at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi, to be screened for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Typical epileptic seizures can vary from brief to long periods of vigorous shaking. However, epileptic seizures may also be associated with sudden unconsciousness and/or rolling of the eyes.

Patients with recurrent ischemic stroke are typically given anticoagulant drugs to prevent stroke. In India, one of the most commonly known anticoagulants amongst physicians is the vitamin K antagonist, warfarin.

On a trip to Benaras, a 44-year old male developed a fever with chills. Seven days later, as he returned to Mumbai, he was drowsy and unresponsive, and had convulsions at the airport. He was immediately admitted to Hinduja Healthcare, one of the leading hospitals in Khar, Mumbai.

Recent trends indicate that early onset of breast cancer is becoming more prevalent, with about 5-10% being inherited.

Orthopaedic Oncology deals with bone and soft tissue tumours, and accounts for about 1-2% of all cancers in India, according to Dr Pramod Chinder, an orthopedic oncologist at HCG, Bengaluru. In his experience, these types of tumours typically affect the younger population, predominantly in the age group of 5-20 years, who do not have any known etiology.

Datar Cancer Genetics launched a cancer screening profile in the form of ‘Easycheck360’, a blood test for the detection of 16 types of cancers.

The most common hip related complaints with which a child can presentto orthopaedic outpatient departmentare.

A massive testing campaign conducted across the general population in the European nation of Iceland showed a significant number of people without outward symptoms tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection.

The new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 may be present in conjunctival secretions of infected patients, according to a report from China.

covid-19, coronavirus, corona, ncov, sars-ncov-2

covid-19, coronavirus, corona, ncov, sars-ncov-2

ICMR, meanwhile, issued a protocol for the restricted use of the lopinavir/ritonavir combo in patients with COVID-19 infection.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health (NIH), CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The WHO South-East Asia office said that the novel coronavirus doesn’t spread airborne. However, there has been a reported possibility of aerosol transmission in a relatively closed environment with prolonged exposure.

Even though respiratory failure is the main cause of mortality among hospitalised COVID-19 patients, cardiac injury resulting from the infection is also linked to their mortality, according to a study conducted by researchers at Wuhan, China.

As a measure to prevent the unregulated sale and possible misuse of hydroxychloroquine in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Union health ministry has brought the anti-malarial drug under Schedule H1.

There is currently no scientific evidence establishing a link between ibuprofen and worsening of COVID-19, the European Medicine Agency (EMA) said in a statement.

The US FDA has approved individual exploratory treatment for COVID-19 infections in which a patient may be eligible to receive convalescent plasma under single-patient emergency Investigational New Drug Applications.

Genentech announced the US FDA has approved clinical trial in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous tocilizumab (Actemra) plus standard of care in hospitalised adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Gilead Sciences Inc said it was temporarily putting new emergency access to its experimental coronavirus drug remdesivir on hold due to overwhelming demand.

Entos Pharmaceuticals has announced the development of a Fusogenix DNA vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infections.

CanSino Bio and its collaborators at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences’ Institute of Biotechnology won a quick Chinese regulatory approval to start human testing of their recombinant coronavirus vaccine, the company said.

Recent advancement in diagnostic infrastructure helped discover that genetic factors play an important role in the development of the various diseases.

In today’s time, coronavirus is spreading at an epidemic rate, and many questions are there related to cancer patients who are on chemotherapy or visiting hospitals on a regular basis for treatment.

A healthy vaginal flora protects the body against urogenital infections. The vaginal flora composed of many different kinds of bacteria, the predominant being lactobacilli.

A cancer that affects the production and function of blood cells. Most of these cancers start in bone marrow, where blood is produced.

More than eleven lakh new patients get afflicted with cancer each year in India.

It is an enlightening paper that focuses on developments that have been breaking new ground over the last 5 years when it comes to treating myeloma, which is a blood cancer arising from plasma cells.

The author is Professor, Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.

One would think that re-establishing normal blood flow by implanting a stent at the site of coronary stenosis to relieve the obstruction would result in a positive clinical outcome.

When someone is diagnosed with cancer, it throws innumerable challenges to the patient and to the family.

GLOBOCON 2018 survey states that among Indian women, breast cancer is the commonest cancer overall and 1,62,468 new cases and 87,090 deaths were reported for female breast cancer in India.

There is broad encumbrance of tobacco usage with respect to its accessibility in various forms and magnitude in India.

The prevalence of pseudoexfoliation (PXF) syndrome, a common cause of glaucoma-related blindness, is on the rise in India. If the findings of a recent study by Indian researchers are anything to go by, not only is the rate of occurrence of PXF very high in certain parts of the country, it is also emerging as […]

Influenza vaccination in patients with high blood pressure is associated with an 18% reduced risk of death during flu season, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2019 together with the World Congress of Cardiology. “Given these results, it is my belief that all patients with high blood pressure should have an annual flu vaccination,” […]

Malaria infection is linked with a 30% increased risk of heart failure, according to a small study presented at ESC Congress 2019 together with the World Congress of Cardiology. The mosquito-borne infection affects more than 219 million people worldwide each year, according to 2018 statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO). “We have seen an […]

Woman and child health segment is one of the markets most targeted by nutritional product companies in India. While the products range from vitamin supplements to nutraceuticals and functional health foods, the majority of these products are sold through over-the-counter or consumer health route. Hence, the marketing strategy is largely media-driven and consumers are often […]

Peritoneal surface malignancies are considered to be an enigma and one of the most difficult to treat cancers. They are a group of advanced stage cancers that develop on the lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum.

Immucare Diagnostics, a research-oriented diagnostics laboratory dedicated to supporting the medical fraternity and patients suffering from all types of autoimmune diseases, has been launched in Kerala.

In India, two outbreaks in human were reported from Siliguri (2001) and Nadia (2007), West Bengal. Fruit bats of Pteropus genus are the natural reservoir of NiV.

The Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) has subsequently worked on this document and published these guidelines with a view that IPS will hold all members to its ethical standard

Asthma is a complex inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) and variable airflow obstruction.

The incidence of dry eye disease is reaching alarming proportions in India, especially among urban folks, according to a recently published paper by Indian clinicians.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an organism that causes multi-systemic involvement. Although pulmonary tuberculosis is the major manifestation of the disease, multifocal and extra pulmonary tuberculosis has gained medical attention since the emergence of HIV.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer with an estimated global incidence of 1.8 million. In India, the incidence and prevalence of the disease is 27,605 and 53,700 respectively with a mortality of 19,548 (https://www.uicc.org/new-global-cancer-data-globocan-2018).

The number of cancer-related deaths in India more than doubled between the years 1990 and 2016, according to a paper titled “The Burden of Cancers and Their Variations Across the States of India

Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) in the United States was first described by Drs.
Joseph Crowe and Randall Yetman of the Cleveland Clinic (CCF) in 2004

Most doctors know that every patient responds differently to treatment

X-rays revolutionized orthopedic management in fundamental ways, especially in the diagnosis of conditions and their management.

Metropolis, as a company, has always believed in constantly focusing on innovative models that can benefit both the patients as well as the organisation. That has made us different in an industry that has been stodgy and traditional.

India’s leading diagnostic chain Metropolis Healthcare Ltd has launched a unique subsidiary— Metropolis HistoXpert Digital Services (P) Ltd, to offer advanced tissue investigation services in India.

One of the major challenges in the treatment of neuropathological conditions is getting the drug molecule to cross the blood-brain barrier. The second challenge is getting the drug to work only on the tissue/cells that are affected.

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has released an updated breast cancer screening guideline placing emphasis on shared decision-making between women and their health care providers.

The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), 8th Edition marks a major change in the Tumour Nodal Metastasis (TNM) staging of head_and_neck cancers. It introduces many new concepts to stage and prognosticate patients better, with distinct therapeutic implications.

Thirty nine-year-old Juhi was cautiously delighted when she learned she was pregnant again. She had previously miscarried a foetus affected with Down Syndrome. During her current pregnancy,

THE DISCOVERY of antibiotics was a significant milestone in healthcare that resulted in a reduction in morbidity and mortality caused by bacterial infections. Ironically, better access to antibiotics has resulted in its overuse and misuse, leading to development of resistance to these antibiotics.

Astudy led by the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles claims that Parkinson’s disease can be diagnosed non-invasively by analysing certain biological markers found in tears.

British researchers have developed a blood test that can predict autism with 92 per cent accuracy, according to findings published in the journal Molecular Autism. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by impairment in cognition, behaviour, and social interaction.

In India, an increased prevalence of genetic disorders parallels with the increased population, birth rate and consanguineous marriage preferred by several communities. It is estimated that about 21,400 are born each year with Down syndrome.

Sepsis is among the most common causes of death in hospitals the world over. Diagnosis of this condition, which arises from the host’s response to an infection,

The Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) has recently given its approval to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for conducting clinical trials on medicinal plant Cocculus hirsutus and antiviral drug favipiravir to treat coronavirus patients.

In December 2019, cases of pneumonia of an unknown aetiology were detected in Wuhan City in the Hubei Province of China.

The crosstalk between communicable diseases (CDs) and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is not completely understood, but with COVID-19, NCDs have emerged as major comorbidities.

Even as the central government presses ahead with its decision to conduct a common final MBBS examination, National Exit Test (NEXT), opposition has been growing against the move.

An international team based in Austria has unearthed a previously unknown type of virus in samples of human bodily fluids.

The MCI Board of Governors (BoG) has proposed a compulsory three-month service in district hospitals for all postgraduate medical students as a pre-condition to be eligible to appear in the final exam. Presently, a three-months’ rotating internship in primary health centres or urban health centres is compulsory for students pursuing undergraduate medical courses. The BOG […]

Research is the most important need to improve the quality of healthcare in any country. This can be verified by measuring the number of peer-reviewed articles published in the country. The search term “antibiotic resistance, India” in PubMed with restriction to “human” studies for the past 10 years yielded a result of 2,633 research articles. […]

Ming-Feng Hsueh et al discovered that proteins of cartilage in hip, knee and ankle in humans showed a pattern of regeneration similar to that of highly regenerative animals, such as axolotls. Turnover of insoluble collagen has been earlier suggested to be very limited in human adult cartilage. In this study, researchers could unmask a position-dependent […]

Jieun Kwon et al demonstrated reduced signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) in afflicted patients in response to a new eye drop treatment made from pooled human antibodies. The immunoglobulin pool targets anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies, or ACPAs-a specific type of antibody, found in human tear fluid. ACPAs were found to be involved in […]

Takara L Stanley et al found that the injectable synthetic growth-hormone-releasing hormone, tesamorelin, reduces liver fat and prevents liver fibrosis (scarring) in people living with HIV. About 43% of the enrolled participants had at least mild fibrosis, and 33% had a more severe subset of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Participants […]

Lin-Ping Wu et al developed a simplified technique using brain-specific phage-derived peptide to effectively transport medication into the brain. The method allows for minimally invasive combination delivery through an intravenous injection of various drugs, peptides and nucleic acid therapeutics to the brain. For the study, the researchers utilised a peptide component from a virus that […]

Siddarth Arumugam et al devised a rapid microfluidic test that could detect Lyme disease with similar performance as the standard 2-tiered (STT) algorithm recommended for the laboratory diagnosis of the disease, in a much shorter time of 15 minutes. The researchers used human serum characterized as acute and convalescent early Lyme disease, Lyme arthritis, and […]

Michael G. Stanford et al demonstrated a self-cleaning porous conductive graphene foam filter made of laser-induced graphene (LIG), that can trap pathogens out of the air and kill them with small pulses of electricity. LIG was formed through the photothermal conversion of a polyimide film by a commercial CO2 laser cutter. Through a periodic Joule-heating […]

Shyam Sunder Tummanapalli et al found that peripheral neuropathy, which is often the earliest sign of diabetes, could be traced in the tear film. Researchers found that people with type 1 diabetic peripheral neuropathy had reduced levels of a protein known as ‘substance P’ (SP) in their tear film. Scientists evaluated changes that occur in […]

Jesse A. Brown et al demonstrated that neurodegeneration spreads along connectional pathways in the brain. The researchers evaluated the transneuronal degeneration hypothesis by studying atrophy in a patient with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA). Researchers determined patient-specific “epicentres” at the baseline. They then located each patient’s epicentres in […]

Daniela K. Schlüter et al identified biomarkers for knee osteoarthritis (OA), based on high-frequency acoustic emission (AE) measurements generated from knees during movement. The researchers attached a tiny microphone to the knees which could record and analyse knee health based on the noise produced. The researchers analysed the noise produced by the knees of 89 […]

Senmao Zhang et al demonstrated a significant association between parental alcohol consumption and the risk of congenital heart diseases (CHDs) in offspring. The team found that consumption of alcohol three months before pregnancy or during the first trimester was associated with a 44% increased risk of CHD for fathers and 16% for mothers, compared to […]

Luca Zazzeron et al developed an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator for blood exposure to phototherapy to enhance the removal of carbon monoxide in CO poisoning. The researchers found that exposing blood to visible light enhanced the rate of CO elimination in vivo. They then developed a membrane oxygenator with optimal characteristics to facilitate exposure of blood […]

Yahia Al-Jebari et al evidenced a higher risk of prostate cancer in later life among men who have taken fertility treatment. The team looked at 1.2 million pregnancies in Sweden for over 20 years. Fathers were grouped according to fertility status by mode of conception of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and […]

The central government’s decision to set up new medical colleges has been welcomed wholeheartedly by various stakeholders as it is expected to bridge the huge discrepancy in the country’s doctor-patient ratio. The decision to establish 75 new medical colleges and the addition of 15,700 MBBS seats by 2021-22 were taken with an aim to address […]

Abraham.S et al found the results of a novel chlamydia vaccine to be safe and effective in producing an immune response that could potentially protect against the infection. The vaccine was developed based on a recombinant protein subunit (CTH522). The team analysed the vaccine in 35 healthy women aged 19–45 years. The participants were divided […]

Buchrieser et al found that interferon, a molecule produced particularly in response to viral infection, may be responsible for abnormalities in placental development. Interferon-induced transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) were found to inhibit syncytin, restricting the fusion of trophoblast cells into a multi-nucleated syncytiotrophoblast layer (ST) and preventing the formation of the external layer of the placenta. […]

Reinier J. de Vries et al successfully developed a supercooling protocol that could preserve human livers at –4 °C to extend the ex-vivo life of the organ by upto 27 hours. The team had previously shown that supercooled ice-free storage at –6 °C could extend viable preservation of rat livers. They were able to do this by adding […]

Caroline I. Le Roy et al found that moderate red wine consumption was associated with a healthier gut microbiota among red wine drinkers. Researchers also explored the effect of beer, cider, white wine and spirits on the gut microbiome (GM) and subsequent health benefits. They found that the GM of red wine drinkers was more […]

Pinato.J et al showed evidence suggesting that antibiotic therapy may be associated with a reduced response to immunotherapy in routine practice, irrespective of tumour site. The researchers recruited 196 patients (137 men and 59 women) with non–small cell lung cancer (n = 119), melanoma (n = 38), and other tumour types (n = 39) who received immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICIs), […]

Qingli Niu et al have discovered a novel potential medication that works by utilising the HIV-infected person’s own body to further suppress the HIV virus. Although the drug could complement the current HIV anti-retroviral therapy (ART) medications, it may also be possible that it could lead to HIV remission without a lifetime of taking ART […]

Kanada et al developed a therapeutic approach to deliver enzyme-producing genes that can convert certain drugs to target and kill tumour cells. The researchers used extracellular vesicles (EVs) as delivery vehicles to transfer the genetic material that carries cancer treatments. The delivery vehicle comprised microvesicles loaded with engineered minicircle (MC) DNA that encoded prodrug converting […]

Lo JJ, et al evidenced a potential risk of invasive breast cancer with increased consumption of red meat. The researchers examined the association between the consumption of different types of meat, meat mutagens and incident invasive breast cancer. 42,012 participants were involved in the study. Exposure to meat type and meat mutagens was calculated, and […]

Behary P et al demonstrated a hormone infusion therapy that could improve glycemia and reduce body weight in obese patients. The researchers utilised previously identified three specific hormones, found to be released in the bowel in higher levels after gastric bypass surgery. These hormones involving glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), oxyntomodulin and peptide termed as GOP was […]

Bastidas et al found the herpes zoster vaccine (Shingrix) to be effective in patients who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The phase III zoster efficacy trial tested a 2-dose course of the recombinant zoster vaccine in the HSC recipients. The study showed that during a median 21 months of follow-up, there was at […]

Sliz et al discovered a remarkable association between risk for placenta accreta in pregnant women with a gene mutation that prevents the healthy formation of “natural killer” cells (NK). The researchers found that the mice which carried a mutation in a protein called Grb2-associated binding protein 3 (Gab3) was responsible for preventing normal NK cell […]

Elnabawi YA, et al demonstrated that anti-inflammatory biologic therapies used to treat psoriasis can significantly reduce coronary inflammation in the patients. Scientists utilised a novel imaging biomarker, the perivascular fat attenuation index (FAI), to measure the effect of the therapy in reducing the inflammation. Perivascular FAI assessed coronary inflammation by mapping spatial changes of perivascular […]

Crank et al reported promising results of a novel experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The vaccine contained stabilised prefusion DS-Cav1 molecule developed from a structure-based RSV fusion glycoprotein. The study analysed data from 40 healthy adult volunteers enrolled in the trial. The volunteers received a dose of either […]

Jodi L Ford et al examined the concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in the hair to predict depressive symptoms in adolescents. The study included 432 adolescents between 11 to 17 years of age. The researchers measured depression with a nine-item questionnaire that the participants filled out and evaluated a 3-centimeter hair sample to assess […]

Conniot et al developed a novel dendritic cell-targeted mannosylated nanovaccine for melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer. The study showed that the use of nanovaccine with immunotherapy could potentiate the efficacy of melanoma therapy. Researchers used anti-PD-1 antibody (αPD-1) for immunosuppression blockade and an anti-OX40 antibody (αOX40) for effector T-cell stimulation, expansion and […]

Amar Singh, et al have found a way that would achieve immune tolerance to allografts eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. The researchers could maintain long-term survival and function of pancreatic islet transplants despite complete discontinuation of all anti-rejection drugs on day 21 after the transplant. The researchers infused modified donor white blood cells into […]

Kerlikowske et al showed in their recent study that breast density status should not be used as a stand-alone risk factor to refer women for supplemental imaging discussions. The researchers found that a combined approach using both BI-RADS breast density and BCSC 5-year risk score would identify those women at the highest risk for advanced […]

6-year-old Nishant (name changed) presented to a local hospital with acute onset fever and abdominal pain. He had had blunt trauma to the abdomen in the school a couple of days earlier.

Sepideh Saadatmand et al reported MRI screening to detect cancer at an earlier stage compared to mammography in women with a familial risk of breast cancer.

Natasha van Zyl et al successfully performed nerve transfers, restoring hand function and elbow extension among patients suffering from traumatic spinal cord injury.

William C. Black et al reported continued benefit related to lung cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening on extended follow-up of participants in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).

Ravi Savarirayan et al demonstrated a sustained increase in the annualized growth velocity in children with achondroplasia on treatment with vosoritide for up to 42 months.

Hubert Fleury et al have developed a two-step combination therapy to destroy ovarian cancer, by manipulating the state of cellular aging.

Arie Levine et al demonstrated that Crohn’s disease exclusion diet (CDED) may be used as an effective and well-tolerated, first-line therapy for children with mild-to-moderate Crohn’s disease (CD).

Dmitry Shungin et al found evidence suggesting the role of hereditary traits and factors including obesity, education and personality in tooth decay and gum disease.

Pan L et al investigated how circulating tumour cell phenotypes (CTC) were associated with the clinicopathological features of patients with early cervical cancer.

Amreen Ahmad et al have identified a genetic sequence in the body of malaria parasite that may help develop a more sensitive diagnostic test for the disease.

Richard B. Lipton et al found that the drug rimegepant could eliminate pain and bothersome symptoms on treating patients with migraine in a large-scale phase 3 trial.

Alisse Hauspurg et al found that an increase in blood pressure between the first and second trimester also increased the risk of a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy like preeclampsia. 

Odile Sheehy et al have found that incidence of exposure to any benzodiazepines or specific benzodiazepine agents during early pregnancy could lead to an increased risk of spontaneous abortion (SA).

Eirini Vagena et al have identified a molecular pathway that reveals how obesity acts as a causative factor in the development of depression.

Olli Patrakka et al demonstrated the presence of oral bacterial DNA in thrombus aspirates of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) suggesting a possible role for poor dental care in the cause of cerebrovascular disease.

Border R et al found evidence suggesting that early hypotheses about depression candidate genes were incorrect.

Natan M Bornstein et al have found that acute ischaemic stroke patients ineligible for thrombolytic therapy and with confirmed cortical involvement (CCI) may benefit from an injectable neurostimulator implant that acts on the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG).

Nicko Jackson et al have successfully demonstrated a non-invasive method to detect Parkinson’s disease (PD) using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure waveform shape of beta waves.

Deva Prasad Gopal et al found evidence emphasizing lack of awareness on timely screening of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm babies.

Amanda Ardain et al demonstrated an early protective role for innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection.

Tracey-Lea Laba et al surveyed to find high rates of cost-related underuse of asthma medicines among adults and parents of children with asthma, even in the context of national medicines subsidies.

Sometime last month, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), which controls all the medical colleges in the state, issued an order that the section on Tests for Virginity be removed from the syllabus of the MBBS course

An important discovery in 1949 by Pauling (Pauling L et al. Science) and biophysical validation 8 years later by Ingram (Ingram VM. Nature 1957) relating to the β-globin chain position 6 glutamic acid>valine substitution initiating sickling and leading to haemoglobin tetramerization (α2βs2) laid the genetic foundation for understanding sickle cell disease or SCD

J-M Leyva-Castillo et al have found evidence suggesting the skin-gut communication, which explains a link between food allergy and atopic dermatitis

Chang-Yi Wang et al discovered that treating HIV patients with an antibody that can prevent the virus from binding to human immune cells could suppress levels of HIV in the absence of anti-retroviral therapy

E Mamcarz et al could successfully restore immunity in infants born with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1) through experimental gene therapy

Yu-Heng Cheng et al have developed a new device that allows the capture of pure circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from the blood and the extraction of genetic information without any contamination from other blood cells

Gabriela Pinget et al have found that commonly used food additive titanium dioxide (TiO2) may alter gut homeostasis, promoting biofilm formation

Lin Gao et al showed evidence revealing the biological changes in the brain that drive foetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Gopala K. Anumanchipalli et al have developed a speech decoding device that can transform brain signals into speech

Justin Chan et al developed a smartphone system that could act as a screening tool to help in the diagnosis of ear infections

Elsa Sanchez-Lopez et al have discovered that eliminating damaged mitochondria before they trigger excessive inflammation may help alleviate chronic inflammatory diseases.

Silvia De Santis et al show evidence in the progression of damage within the white matter of the brain during the initial period of alcohol cessation

Elisa Manieri et al discovered that a decrease in a hormone secreted by fat cells is responsible for an increased risk of liver cancer in males.

Dae-Wook Kang et al have demonstrated long-term beneficial effects of microbiota transfer therapy (MTT) in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Robert M. G. Reinhart et al demonstrated that electrostimulation can improve the working memory of older adults by temporarily reversing the age-related cognitive decline.

Brendan J. Tunstall et al demonstrated that administration of neuropeptide oxytocin may help normalize the alcohol use disorder and thereby help reduce alcohol addiction.

Nadav Noor et al have successfully printed the first 3D vascularised engineered heart using a patient’s own cells and biological materials.

In a significant development in the medical education sector in the country, the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) Board of Governors (BOG) has approved the conversion of 2,120 postgraduate diploma seats to postgraduate degree seats from the academic year 2019-20.

Ravindra K Gupta and others remarkably unveiled the possibility for achieving HIV-1 remission through a less aggressive approach using hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT).

Isabell S von Loga et al developed a new vaccine which demonstrates therapeutic efficiency of anti-nerve growth factor (NGF) antibodies in helping alleviate pain in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. NGF is a validated drug target for pain in osteoarthritis.