Last Updated May 24, 2013 | Healthcare Asia - Medical and Healthcare news in Asia |

Top Story

Antibiotics likely to cure 40% of chronic back pain patients, says study

Antibiotics likely to cure 40% of chronic back pain patients, says study

May 22, 2013

According to a new study published in the European Spine Journal, antibiotics rather than surgery could cure many patients with chronic lower back pain. The Danish study reveals the breakthrough that could save hospital costs to treat back pain and slipped disks tp as mych as US$500 million a year. An earlier interview of Australian [...]

Continue Reading

Research

People choose larger portions of ‘healthy’ foods, end up eating more calories

People choose larger portions of ‘healthy’ foods, end up eating more calories

People will choose larger portions of food if they are labeled as being “healthier,” even if they have the same number of calories, according to a new study. “People think (healthier food) is lower in calories,” said Pierre Chandon, a marketing professor at the INSEAD Social Science Research Center in France, and they “tend to [...]

Accidental find shows Vitamin C kills tuberculosis

Accidental find shows Vitamin C kills tuberculosis

Scientists said Tuesday they had managed to kill lab-grown tuberculosis (TB) bacteria with good old Vitamin C — an “unexpected” discovery they hope will lead to better, cheaper drugs. A team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made the accidental find while researching how TB bacteria become resistant to the TB drug [...]

Air and Noise Pollution Up Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Air and Noise Pollution Up Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Air pollution and noise pollution may boost a person’s risk of developing heart disease, say German researchers. “Many studies have looked at air pollution, while others have looked at noise pollution,” said study leader Barbara Hoffmann, MD, MPH, a professor of environmental epidemiology at the IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Germany. “This [...]

Improve Cardiovascular Activity for Children With Active Video Gaming

Improve Cardiovascular Activity for Children With Active Video Gaming

Researchers at the University of Western Australia and Wales’ Swansea University have revealed that high intensity video games may be good for children. A study which evaluated children’s energy levels and heart rate when they played active video games such as Wii Fit or Xbox Kintect, found that they used as much energy playing such [...]

Link Between Cold Weather and Blood Pressure Identified

Link Between Cold Weather and Blood Pressure Identified

Cold weather affects blood pressure, says recent study. The study has found that some people’s blood pressure is affected more by the cold weather and this blood pressure sensitivity to temperature may be a marker of early mortality, said a statement from the University of Glasgow. Sandosh Padmanabhan, reader at the Institute of Cardiovascular and [...]

Technology & Devices

NTU helps to develop cancer-fighting agent

NTU helps to develop cancer-fighting agent

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have helped to develop a molecular structure which can kill various tumour cells without causing much harm to healthy cells. Along with a team from Lund University in Sweden, they based the complex on a protein naturally present in human breast milk. This has been found to have strong [...]

Concept Vaccine may Protect Against Flu

Concept Vaccine may Protect Against Flu

Scientists unveiled a concept vaccine against flu that they said may protect against various strains with a single jab. Tested in ferrets, considered good human models, the synthetic vaccine uses nanotechnology to attack parts of the influenza virus that different strains have in common, they wrote in the journal Nature. “It provides a basis for [...]

Flavored Toothbrush for a Pleasant Morning

Flavored Toothbrush for a Pleasant Morning

Toothbrushes are all set to take up a new role. They may soon deliver your morning coffee and get you up and alert even faster. Even more exciting is that they could even deliver your medications in the future! A recent patent application has been filed by the Colgate-Palmolive Company to manufacture toothbrushes that contain [...]

India Gets Advanced Breast Cancer Detecting Machine

India Gets Advanced Breast Cancer Detecting Machine

In the national capital, an advanced digital breast cancer detecting machine with the capability to see the lesions in breasts with much more clarity than ever before was unveiled. The mammography machine ‘Amulet’ by Fuji films is claimed to be India’s first low dose resolution system. Speaking at the launch, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma [...]

New Gel Reverses Paralysis

New Gel Reverses Paralysis

An implant in combination with a gel was found to restore the functionality of a torn or damaged nerve. The innovative project’s initial successes were reported recently at several renowned scientific congresses, and the therapy, already tested in animal models, is only a few years away from clinical use, Rochkind said. A nerve is like [...]

Pharmaceutical

New guidelines for docs on prescribing strong painkillers

New guidelines for docs on prescribing strong painkillers

SINGAPORE – Patients suffering from chronic pain are set to benefit more from a group of controversial drugs that may prove better at managing their conditions. For the first time in Singapore, guidelines have been published on how to prescribe these strong painkillers, which include morphine. This will give doctors, who are worried about the [...]

New, Promising Drug Helps Prevent Head and Neck Cancers

New, Promising Drug Helps Prevent Head and Neck Cancers

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have moved a step closer to the goal of prevention of head and neck cancers. Head and neck cancers typically begin in squamous cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common type [...]

Erectile Disorder Drug Could Treat Obesity

Erectile Disorder Drug Could Treat Obesity

Sildenafil – a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction could serve as a weight loss aid, say researchers. According to the research, this is because sildenafil inhibits the breakdown of cyclic GMP, which has been well known as a messenger molecule used by the body to control blood pressure and flow, and has now been [...]

Roche says Japan approves new formulation of arthritis drug

Roche says Japan approves new formulation of arthritis drug

Roche Holding AG’s Japanese subsidiary Chugai said on Monday that Japanese health regulators have approved a new formulation of its rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra. Japanese regulators have approved a subcutaneous forumulation of Actemra which shortens the delivery time of the drug compared to an intravenous formulation and can be administered at home. Roche has also [...]

Anti-inflammatory Drug Helps Combat Flu

Anti-inflammatory Drug Helps Combat Flu

Naproxen – pain reliever was found to exhibit antiviral activity against influenza A virus, find researchers. New influenza vaccines must be developed annually, because the surface proteins they target mutate rapidly, the way cars used to get a whole new look every year. The researchers, led by Anny Slama-Schwok of the Institut National de la [...]

Wellness and Complementary Therapies

Mediterranean Diet Boosts Ageing Brain Power

Mediterranean Diet Boosts Ageing Brain Power

In older people, intake of Mediterranean diet with added virgin olive oil or mixed nuts seems to improve the brain power, finds research. The researchers from the University of Navarra in Spain base their findings on 522 men and women aged between 55 and 80 without cardiovascular disease but at high vascular risk because of [...]

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate Revealed

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate Revealed

Dark chocolate contains high amount of potassium and copper and helps reduce heart disease, high in iron content dark chocolates can also cure anemia, say doctors. An online study indicates that a person should consume two or three grams of sweet candies a week to reap its health benefits. The research also suggests that if [...]

Fish Therapy to Treat Skin Disease in Gaza Strip

Fish Therapy to Treat Skin Disease in Gaza Strip

Fish therapy has found its way to the Gaza Strip with Fouad Yahya, who learnt about it on the internet, becoming one of the first patients to be treated for his skin disease by a fish. “I smiled as I inserted both of my feet in a vessel filled with warm freshwater containing dozens of [...]

Ginger may Benefit Asthma Patients

Ginger may Benefit Asthma Patients

Purified components of ginger may help asthma patients breathe more easily, says study. Asthma is characterized by bronchoconstriction, a tightening of the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. Bronchodilating medications called beta-agonists are among the most common types of asthma medications and work by relaxing the airway smooth muscle (ASM) [...]

Fight Acne at Home

Fight Acne at Home

Natural face packs made of fruits and herbs can help in getting rid of acne. Chandrika Mahendra, senior research scientist, R&D, The Himalaya Drug Company, shares few home remedies for treating acne. Aloe Vera-turmeric pack: Aloe vera is rich in enzymes, polysaccharides and nutrients that exhibit antibacterial and antifungal action. Aloe Vera acts as a [...]

Community health

Vietnamese diabetics rise by 211 pct in 10 years

Vietnamese diabetics rise by 211 pct in 10 years

HANOI- The number of diabetics in Vietnam has increased by 211 percent compared to 10 years ago, while the number of people with glucose tolerance disorder has nearly doubled, local press reported Thursday. The figure was released at a conference held recently by Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center and the city health department at [...]

Rate of weekly rise in dengue cases highest since 2005

Rate of weekly rise in dengue cases highest since 2005

SINGAPORE – Dengue infection numbers surged last week with 620 people falling sick – up more than 10 per cent on the previous seven days. The only time Singapore has recorded a higher rate was during the country’s worst epidemic in 2005, a year when 14,000 people fell sick and 25 died. By 3pm on [...]

Tackling Toilet Paper Crisis in Venezuela

Tackling Toilet Paper Crisis in Venezuela

Venezuelans are experiencing a huge shortage of toilet paper, and stores seem to have run out of stocks. The demand is huge and supply is so short, that the government has ordered 50 million rolls to meet the demand. Most specialists have blamed the current situation to price controls, which has caused shortage of staple [...]

Tainted rice scandal hits Guangzhou eateries

Tainted rice scandal hits Guangzhou eateries

CHINA – The authorities in Guangdong’s provincial capital promised to expand inspections of rice and related products after detecting eight batches of tainted rice and rice noodles. The move aims to ensure only quality rice, rice noodles and related products are sold in the southern metropolis where the grain is a staple food, according to [...]

MOH monitoring Sars-like virus in Saudi Arabia

MOH monitoring Sars-like virus in Saudi Arabia

SINGAPORE – The Health Ministry is “closely monitoring” the Sars-like virus that recently infected two health workers in Saudi Arabia, it said yesterday. But it has not advised against visiting the country as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not recommended any restrictions on travelling to affected areas, added the ministry’s statement in response to [...]

Health alert

World not ready for mass flu outbreak: WHO

World not ready for mass flu outbreak: WHO

The world is unprepared for a massive virus outbreak, the deputy chief of the World Health Organisation warned Tuesday, amid fears that H7N9 bird flu striking China could morph into a form that spreads easily among people. Keiji Fukuda told delegates at a WHO meeting that despite efforts since an outbreak of another form of [...]

Accuracy in Food Laboratory Results Remains a Concern

Accuracy in Food Laboratory Results Remains a Concern

On a routine basis, food microbiology laboratories continue to submit false negative results and false positive results. A retrospective study of nearly 40,000 proficiency test results over the past 14 years, presented today at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, examined the ability of food laboratories to detect or rule out [...]

Pulmonary hypertension: A different kind of pressure

Pulmonary hypertension: A different kind of pressure

More than 25 million people who suffer from a disease that is not easy to diagnose and can be fatal – pulmonary hypertension – commemorated World Pulmonary Hypertension Day last Sunday. Many are familiar with the disease called hypertension (high blood pressure), which is an elevated blood pressure measured by a cuff around the arm. [...]

Binge Drinking Leads to Heart Disease

Binge Drinking Leads to Heart Disease

Binge drinking in college can increase a healthy adult’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, says study published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “Regular binge drinking is one of the most serious public health problems confronting our college campuses, and drinking on college campuses has become more pervasive and destructive,” [...]

Kids Brain Sensitive to Other’s Pain

Kids Brain Sensitive to Other’s Pain

The brains of children react in a way different from that of others, when they see images of others in pain. This pattern of reduced brain activity upon witnessing pain may serve as a neurobiological risk factor for later adult psychopathy, say researchers who report their findings in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on [...]

Other health News

To Block Fruit Fly Immunity, Parasitic Wasps Use Calcium Pump

To Block Fruit Fly Immunity, Parasitic Wasps Use Calcium Pump

May 22, 2013

A new finding offers new insight into how pathogens break through a host’s defenses. Parasitic wasps switch off the immune systems of fruit flies by draining calcium from the flies’ blood cells. “We believe that we have discovered an important component of cellular immunity, one that parasites have learned to take advantage of,” says Emory [...]

Continue Reading

Study Says Salt in Foods is Still High

Study Says Salt in Foods is Still High

May 21, 2013

Salt levels in processed foods or foods sold at fast food restaurants are high despite calls by medical experts, finds US study. Americans on average eat more than twice the recommended daily allowance of salt, and as much as 80 percent of sodium consumption comes from salt that is added by restaurants or in the [...]

Continue Reading

Man dead, 5 hospitalised after suspected exposure to rat urine disease

Man dead, 5 hospitalised after suspected exposure to rat urine disease

May 20, 2013

SUNGAI PETANI – A 23-year-old man died 12 hours after he and six of his siblings were hospitalised, because of suspected leptospirosis, a disease caused by exposure to rat urine. Abu Hanifah Redzuan, a worker for a film production company in Kuala Lumpur, died at Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital here at 4.30pm on Saturday. The [...]

Continue Reading

Go for the White Veggies as Much as You Go for the Colorful Ones

Go for the White Veggies as Much as You Go for the Colorful Ones

May 20, 2013

A new study has said that consuming white vegetables provides as much nutrition as consuming the colorful ones, so one must not forgo eating them. Not many may know that the humble looking potato is an important source of many vitamin and minerals. Nutritionists said that white veggies are good for health and high on [...]

Continue Reading

Kuwait Hospitals Ban Foreigners

Kuwait Hospitals Ban Foreigners

May 17, 2013

A local media reports that Kuwait will soon bar foreigners from attending public hospitals in the mornings. The decision comes after complaints in parliament of Kuwaiti patients having to wait for treatment at public health facilities because of the large number of expatriates. Health Minister Mohammad al-Haifi, who is also a surgeon, ordered that the [...]

Continue Reading

Infected Mosquitoes Love Human Odor

Infected Mosquitoes Love Human Odor

May 17, 2013

A new research claims that mosquitoes infected with the malaria-causing parasite plasmodium are more attracted to human odor than those not infected. The authors investigated the response of mosquitoes infected with P. falciparum malaria parasites and uninfected to human odor collected on a fabric matrix. Mosquitoes that were infected with the parasites landed and probed [...]

Continue Reading

China experts urge caution about eating insects

China experts urge caution about eating insects

May 17, 2013

CHINA – An expert says China is not ready for mass consumption of insects, which the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation claims could protect the environment and help solve the food crisis. The solution to the global problem comes in a research report titled Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security, issued by [...]

Continue Reading

Combined supplements no better for cholesterol

Combined supplements no better for cholesterol

May 17, 2013

Adding a plant-derived compound called a sterol to the cholesterol-lowering agent red yeast rice doesn’t make it work any better, according to a new study. “I expected to see a synergistic effect with red yeast rice, and I was shocked to see no effects whatsoever,” the study’s lead author Dr. David Becker told Reuters Health. [...]

Continue Reading

Foot-and-mouth disease case confirmed in Xinjiang

Foot-and-mouth disease case confirmed in Xinjiang

May 16, 2013

BEIJING- China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Wednesday said that foot-and-mouth disease infections have been confirmed in cattle in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. On May 10, a village in Urumqi County, Urumqi City, reported that 106 head of cattle showed suspected signs of the disease, according to the MOA. The National Foot-and-Mouth Disease [...]

Continue Reading

Which Place Has More Bacteria Than a Toilet?

Which Place Has More Bacteria Than a Toilet?

May 16, 2013

New study pointed out that handbags of women are contaminated with bacteria much more than the numbers of bacteria found in a restroom. The handles of bags were found to have many dangerous bacteria present on them which could pose a problem to human health. One would hardly expect the most contaminated item to be [...]

Continue Reading