Last Updated June 19, 2013 | Healthcare Asia - Medical and Healthcare news in Asia |

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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 [...]

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Research

Iodine in bread not enough for pregnant women: study

Iodine in bread not enough for pregnant women: study

Iodized salt used in bread is not enough to provide healthy levels of iodine for pregnant women and their unborn children, finds study. The study– led by researchers from the University’s Robinson Institute – has prompted calls for pregnant women to keep taking iodine supplements. Iodine deficiency is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) [...]

Sitting less better for workers’ health: study

Sitting less better for workers’ health: study

A study has found that for desk- bound office workers, introducing interventions such as sit/stand workstations can reduce sitting time by over an hour each working day — leading to better health. “What we know now is that adults still need their minimum 30 minutes of exercise a day, but it’s also important to avoid [...]

Too much sugar can be bad for the heart

Too much sugar can be bad for the heart

A study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has found that too much sugar can lead to heart failure. A single small molecule, the glucose metabolite glucose 6-phosphate (G6P), causes stress to the heart that changes the muscle proteins and induces poor pump function leading to heart [...]

Green Coffee Bean Supplements May Not Help Burn Fat, Says Study

Green Coffee Bean Supplements May Not Help Burn Fat, Says Study

A major ingredient in green coffee bean dietary supplements doesn’t prevent weight gain in obese laboratory mice, says study. The first-of-its-kind study also linked the ingredient to an unhealthy build-up of fat in the liver. Vance Matthews, Kevin Croft and their team noted that coffee is rich in healthful, natural, plant-based polyphenol substances. They cited [...]

Men’s restless legs tied to earlier death: study

Men’s restless legs tied to earlier death: study

Men with restless legs syndrome (RLS) were more likely to die during an eight-year study than those without the condition, even after their age and other health problems were taken into account, researchers found. The condition, which remains controversial, causes unpleasant sensations in the legs when a person is at rest, triggering an uncontrollable urge [...]

Technology & Devices

Scientist Discovers Elusive Anti-cholesterol Formula

Scientist Discovers Elusive Anti-cholesterol Formula

A new way that could lead to dramatic reductions in human cholesterol levels has been discovered by Brandeis University scientist. Senior Brandeis research scientist Daniel Perlman was issued a U.S. patent (number 8,460,738) on the new process. Phytosterols in plants and cholesterol molecules in animals are highly similar and when both are dispersed together they [...]

New Clot Removal Device from Codman Neuro

New Clot Removal Device from Codman Neuro

Codman Neuro, part of J&J, has just received the CE Mark for the latest version of its REVIVE SE clot removal device. The device has a nitinol mesh in a really small basket which is capable of expanding and reaching the vasculature in the brain to remove a thrombus blocking an artery. This mesh proves [...]

Researchers Use Math to Kill Cancer Cells

Researchers Use Math to Kill Cancer Cells

Want a good reason to pay attention in math class? Nature Communications has published a paper outlining how advanced mathematical modelling can be used in the fight against cancer. The paper is from Ottawa researchers. The technique predicts how different treatments and genetic modifications might allow cancer-killing, oncolytic viruses to overcome the natural defences that [...]

US warns of cyber attacks on medical devices

US warns of cyber attacks on medical devices

US authorities on Thursday warned makers of medical devices and hospital networks to step up efforts to guard against potential cyber attacks. The US Food and Drug Administration said implanted devices, which could include pacemakers or defibrillators, could be connected to networks that are vulnerable to hackers. An FDA warning notice was sent to medical [...]

Atomic Medicine Has Fantastic Potential to Beat Cancer

Atomic Medicine Has Fantastic Potential to Beat Cancer

In an interview, the head of French nuclear giant Areva’s medical arm told AFP that atomic medicine has “fantastic potential” for fighting deadly, difficult to treat cancers. “We are interested in tumors against which the current therapeutic arsenal is very limited — like ovarian, gastric and pancreatic cancers — where the needs are huge and [...]

Pharmaceutical

New Drug Target in Deadly Form of Leukemia Identified

New Drug Target in Deadly Form of Leukemia Identified

Ways to inhibit the function of a key protein linked to stem cell-like behavior in terminal-stage chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have been discovered by scientists. The study, published in the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the result of a long-standing collaboration between Duke-NUS, the Experimental Therapeutics Centre at the [...]

Drug resistance in new China bird flu raises concern

Drug resistance in new China bird flu raises concern

LONDON – The new bird flu strain that has killed 36 people in China has proved resistant to Tamiflu for the first time, a development scientists said was “concerning”. The H7N9 virus was found to be resistant to Roche’s widely used flu drug in three out of 14 patients who were studied in detail by [...]

Lack of cancer drugs in Turkey leads to black market boom

Lack of cancer drugs in Turkey leads to black market boom

ANKARA- Shortages of cancer medicine in Turkey has led to a booming black market, as Turkish health ministry and drug companies are at odds over pricing policies, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. Cancer drugs are not available on the market, mainly because of the wrong price policies imposed by the Health Ministry, according to the [...]

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 [...]

Wellness and Complementary Therapies

Check If You Wash Your Hands Well

Check If You Wash Your Hands Well

It is good to examine if you wash your hands properly especially after using the toilet. A recent study on the extent of personal hygiene maintained has found that people do not wash their hands properly after using the toilet. This unhygienic practice could be adversely affecting their health. In a study of 3,749 people, [...]

Simple Ways to Prevent Skin Cancer

Simple Ways to Prevent Skin Cancer

Following some quick and simple steps may help people reduce their risk of developing skin cancer, says expert. The easiest way to prevent skin cancer is to protect your skin with clothing, said board-certified dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. He suggests carrying a wide-brimmed [...]

Antioxidants necessary for staying healthy

Antioxidants necessary for staying healthy

As “everybody knows” that reducing the amount of “reactive oxygen species” — cell-damaging molecules that are byproducts of cellular metabolism — is critical to staying healthy. In current health lore, antioxidants are all the rage. What everyone doesn’t know is that our bodies already have a complex set of processes built into our cells that [...]

Baby Rashes No More- Follow These Easy Tips

Baby Rashes No More- Follow These Easy Tips

Painful rashes making your baby cry? Follow these simple tips to avoid harsh skin rashes. Femalefirst.co.uk shares tips to protect baby’s skin from painful rashes. 1. Regular changes: Changing nappies before and after feeding help prevent painful nappy rash. 2. Go nappy free: Give your tiny tot plenty of ‘nappy-free’ time. Let the skin breathe. [...]

Are disposable food containers safe for hot food?

Are disposable food containers safe for hot food?

Although the plastics used to make food packaging may contain carcinogenic substances that can get into food, especially at high temperatures, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has stringent measures in place to ensure that the use of such packaging here does not have adverse health effects. Styrene, which can enter our food or drinks, is [...]

Community health

Thai retailers deny dangerous chemicals in packed rice

Thai retailers deny dangerous chemicals in packed rice

THAILAND – Quality assured as TRA tells social media users to stop spreading rumours Major modern retailers yesterday rejected allegations circulating on social media that they are selling packed rice that has been stored for a long time and has been treated with substantial amounts of anti-fungal and anti-weevil chemicals, which can be dangerous to [...]

Cambodia reports 13,700 malaria cases in 5 months, killing 4 people

Cambodia reports 13,700 malaria cases in 5 months, killing 4 people

PHNOM PENH- Cambodia reported 13,700 malaria cases in the first five months of this year, down 60 percent from 31,100 cases in the same period last year, the National Center for Malaria reported Monday. From January to May this year, the disease killed 4 people, a sharp decrease compared with 27 deaths in the same [...]

Haze situation expected to worsen in Malaysia

Haze situation expected to worsen in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA – The haze, which is affecting several parts of the country, is set to worsen with hotter and drier weather expected over the next few months. The air quality in six towns in the peninsula dropped to unhealthy levels, based on the Air Pollutant Index (API), compared with just three on Saturday. The [...]

Current dengue virus strain replicates 3 times faster

Current dengue virus strain replicates 3 times faster

SINGAPORE – The dominant dengue virus strain causing the current epidemic is a “fit and healthy” one which can replicate inside mMosquitoes at three times the speed of strains that circulated last year. Dr Ng Lee Ching, director of the Environment Health Institute, explained that the insects are becoming infectious much faster after getting the [...]

Poor Health Reduces Women Blood Donors in India

Poor Health Reduces Women Blood Donors in India

While the overall number of blood donors in India has grown over the years, women constitute only a tiny 10 percent share. It is not that women do not volunteer to donate blood. They do, but most of them are not eligible to donate due to health problems like pernicious anaemia and low haemoglobin levels [...]

Health alert

Talcum Powder Increases Risk of Ovarian Cancer

Talcum Powder Increases Risk of Ovarian Cancer

Regular use of talcum powder can increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer by 24 percent, finds new research. US scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have warned that powder particles applied to intimate areas after washing can seep into the body, the Daily Express reported. This can trigger inflammation, while increasing the [...]

Red Meat Ups Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Red Meat Ups Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

More red meat consumption is associated with a higher risk of type-2 diabetes mellitus, finds study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Red meat consumption has been consistently related to an increased risk of T2DM, but previous studies measured red meat consumption at a baseline with limited follow-up information. However, a person’s eating behavior changes over [...]

MERS coronavirus has potential to cause pandemic: WHO

MERS coronavirus has potential to cause pandemic: WHO

The World Health Organization on Monday urged health workers around the world to be on the alert for symptoms of the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), which has the potential to circle the globe and cause a pandemic. The United Nations agency, which issued new, long-awaited guidance to countries on influenza pandemics, said [...]

Beer Consumption Ups Cancer Risk

Beer Consumption Ups Cancer Risk

More than just two pints of beer a year increase the risk of cancer, finds study. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, the chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said that the risks of breast cancer in women were “significantly” higher, even when drinking within the existing Government guidelines of one glass of wine a day, the [...]

Study Says Hair Extensions Causing Young Women to Lose Hair

Study Says Hair Extensions Causing Young Women to Lose Hair

Use of hair extensions among young women is leading to hair loss at an earlier age, says expert. The pull from hair extensions can lead to ‘alopecia traction,’ which causes the hair to eventually fall out as it has undergone increased tension, according to experts at cosmetic specialist company Transform. The company also noted that [...]

Other health News

230 infected by chikungunya so far this year

230 infected by chikungunya so far this year

June 13, 2013

SINGAPORE – Dr Dixie Chua, 73, got worried when her bones started to ache, followed by stiff joints, making movement difficult. At first, she thought she had been doing too much gardening, as she had been pruning and the pain started in her right hand. Then her other arm started aching, followed by her legs. [...]

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Hundreds donate blood in Cambodia to mark World Blood Donor Day

Hundreds donate blood in Cambodia to mark World Blood Donor Day

June 13, 2013

PHNOM PENH- Hundreds of Cambodian citizens and dozens of foreigners working in Cambodia lined up to donate their blood on Wednesday during the celebrations of the 10th World Blood Donor Day. Speaking at the event, Cambodian Minister of Heath Mam Bunheng expressed gratitude to all blood donors, saying that their donation was very valuable to [...]

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Six a minute in China told they have cancer

Six a minute in China told they have cancer

June 13, 2013

BEIJING- Six people are diagnosed with cancer every minute in China and young people and the elderly are most at risk, according to medical experts cited in a report in the bi-monthly China Comment journal. There are about 3.12 million new cases of cancer every year in China, and 2 million deaths, the report said. [...]

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Expert: Calories Important for Body

Expert: Calories Important for Body

June 13, 2013

Experts say that hot and crispy fried snacks, sweets, carbohydrates-rich food and much more should be avoided if you want to keep a check on your weight, but do provide calories to your body. Though most of us avoid having food items with lots of calories, our body requires some amount of calories. “Each and [...]

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NTU designs app that can predict dengue hotspots

NTU designs app that can predict dengue hotspots

June 12, 2013

SINGAPORE – When it comes to stopping dengue, being a social media junkie might just help. Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed a social media-based system called Mo-Buzz that can predict where and when dengue might strike with the help of members of the public. It combines a public health surveillance web application [...]

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Sleep Apnea Ups Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

Sleep Apnea Ups Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

June 12, 2013

Obstructive sleep apnea could increase a person’s risk for sudden cardiac death, says study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Sleep apnea is diagnosed when a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer at least five times per hour during sleep. Symptoms can include loud snoring, choking or gasping during [...]

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After-meal Walks may Help Protect Against Type 2 Diabetes

After-meal Walks may Help Protect Against Type 2 Diabetes

June 12, 2013

A fifteen minute walk after each meal helps regulate blood sugar levels and could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, finds study. The study, published today in Diabetes Care, found that three short post-meal walks were as effective at reducing blood sugar over 24 hours as a 45-minute walk of the same easy-to-moderate [...]

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Exercise can Help Combat Arthritis: Doctors

Exercise can Help Combat Arthritis: Doctors

June 12, 2013

According to doctors, millions of people suffering from arthritis can improve their health by committing themselves to do regular work-outs. Earlier, patients were asked to rest their joints if they became too painful or swollen but now doctors say that the simplest way to beat the painful problem is to do regular and gentle exercise, [...]

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Health benefits of receiving chiropractic care

Health benefits of receiving chiropractic care

June 12, 2013

Chiropractic care includes the manipulation of the spine and other joints, and those doctors who choose to specialize in and practice chiropractic care believe that the body will be able to heal itself when everything is aligned properly. While many people seek out chiropractors when they get injured or are in a lot of pain, [...]

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Grilled Foods may Increase Cancer Risk, Says Study

Grilled Foods may Increase Cancer Risk, Says Study

June 11, 2013

Consuming grilled meats may be linked to an increased risk of breast, stomach, prostate, and colon cancer, finds research. But Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN, a Dana-Farber nutritionist, said that doesn’t mean giving up those tasty summer time treats like burgers, steaks, and ribs. “It’s really about planning ahead and making wise choices,” he [...]

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