A new cellular protein involved in discovering obesity

Known as a cardiovascular and diabetes risk factor, obesity is associated with chronic fat tissue inflammation.

Washington DC: Researchers have found that the depletion of iRhom2 protein in mice contributes to less fat in the body and increases energy consumption in fat depots known as adipose tissue.

Obesity is becoming increasing in the global range, a disease that has been seen to be a serious public health issue. Nearly half of the population in Portugal is overweight and nearly 1 million adults have obesity. Known as a cardiovascular and diabetes risk factor, obesity is associated with chronic fat tissue inflammation....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

Brokerages see a steady but lacklustre Q3 for Indian pharma sector

moneycontrol- Sandip Das

A weak rupee and strong API exports during the October-December period have fuelled the hopes that the pharma sector will post better numbers in the third quarter. The optimism, however, may be misplaced, as most brokerages are of the view that the third-quarter numbers will be steady but lacklustre, thanks to no visible recovery in US generics. "Indian pharma industry is likely seeing a lacklustre quarter in Q3, primarily due to no visible recovery in US generics despite continued R&D efforts and the peak price and volume base of the last year due to China supply disruption," brokerage firm Phillip Capital said. Phillip Capital expects a 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in the revenue base of the pharma companies. Despite a broad-base rupee depreciation against all key currencies and inorganic developments, most companies may report muted operating performance primarily due to weak US performance, it said.

India: Wrong medicine kills girl

Gulf News-ANI

Following the death of a 13-year-old girl after allegedly being given the wrong medicine, Delhi police have arrested a man for practising as a doctor without having any such qualification. A complaint regarding the death of the 13-year-old girl was given by the victim’s father Bachchu Paswan on Wednesday who has alleged that her daughter had died because of wrong medicines/injections given by the alleged Doctor Banshi Lal, having a clinic at Sanjay Colony. During the course of inquiry alleged Doctor Banshi Lal produced an Ayurvedic degree and the same was verified from the concerned department and it was revealed that accused Lal never obtained any qualifications nor was entitled to practice any system of Medicine, officials said. A case in this regard was registered under IPC sections 304, 419 and 27 DMC Act at Maidan Garhi police state. The 47-year-old accused was arrested in the case and was sent to judicial custody after being produced in court. Further investigation is in progress.

Doctor pursuing MS arrested for impersonating NEET PG 2020 applicant during exam

Medical Dialogues

An MBBS doctor pursuing MS has recently been arrested for allegedly impersonating an applicant during the conduction of this academic session’s National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for PG Medical Courses- NEET PG 2020. The medico was reportedly offered Rs 2 lakh for the same by his examinee friend to clear the test for him. Patna The police have registered a case against the duo under Sections 420 (Cheating), 467 (Forgery of valuable security), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using genuine as forged) of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 6/9 of the UP Public Examinations Act. Every year, the prestigious exam meant to improve the standard of medical education in India, and also ensure the intellectual and academic standard of students in entering into specialization, faces threat by impersonators. The examination body, National Board of Examination (NBE) which conducted NEET PG 2020 had also issued an advisory for its candidates warning them to be aware of the spoofed emails and messages in the name of the authority forwarded by some touts and unscrupulous elements.

Death of over 100 infants in Kota hospital points to a pan-Indian problem

Scroll.in- Swagata Yadavar

Since December 1, 2019, over 500 infant deaths were reported from just six government hospitals in Rajasthan and Gujarat. In Rajasthan, over 101 infants died in Kota’s JK Lon Hospital, 102 died in Jodhpur’s Umaid and MDM hospitals, and 124 in Bikaner’s Sardar Patel Medical College in December. In Gujarat, 111 infants died at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Hospital in Rajkot and 85 died at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Across India, there were 721,000 infant deaths in 2018, as per the United Nations’ child mortality estimates. That’s 1,975 infant deaths every day, on average, in 2018. “This [INFANT DEATHS] is not a Kota problem,” said Sunil Mehra, paediatrician and executive director of the non-profit MAMTA, which works on maternal and child health. “There are structural issues like lack of appropriate facility at primary centres, delays in referring patients [TO SPECIALISTS] and lack of transportation which lead to high infant deaths.” IndiaSpend analysed health data from 13 states to understand why so many infants and children die across the country. States analysed include some of the poorest that form what the government calls the empowered action group or EAG – Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Assam; as well as Maharashtra and Gujarat, which have been in the news for infant deaths in hospitals; and Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which have among the lowest infant mortality rates in the country. The poor quality of health infrastructure, antenatal care, maternal health and postnatal care jeopardise the lives of children, our analysis shows. Infant deaths are more a symptom of deeper social problems such as malnutrition, sanitation and immunisation, rather than just medical aspects, said Dipa Sinha, assistant professor at BR Ambedkar University in Delhi. Since most of the deaths are from infections such as pneumonia, which can be treated at the primary level, the preventive and primary healthcare system in the country is broken, she said.