Children are particularly vulnerable to the misuse of addiction-forming drugs besides being poisoned, but pharmacies have yet to dispense medication correctly to consumers. This was made known from the findings of a US telephone survey conducted by researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) who, in early 2018, posed as parents of children under prescription medication and made calls to about 900 Californian pharmacies […]
Healthier dietary choices may be as simple as looking at food labels– recent research data by the UK’s Loughborough University suggests that physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) labellingof food/drink could reduce up to 195 calories per person, per day. PACE labelling aims to show how much physical activity is needed to burn off the calories in that particular product – for example, the 229 calories in a small bar […]
Cells need proteins to carry out various biological functions, usually tagged to determine/modify their cellular activity. Now, scientists from the University of Iowa, US, who studied proteins tagged ISG15, have developed a novel method to better understand the workings of the immune system. The research began with a small protein called ubiquitin, which was first discovered as a label to tag a protein for degradation. […]
Hearing can be enhanced with the help of continuous background noise – researchers from the University of Basel, Switzerland, have shown, through research into the area of the brain that processes acoustic stimuli, that the brain better distinguishes subtle tone differences in sound patterns when white noise was added to an existing sound environment. With hearing in human communication, the distinction between sound frequencies/patterns makes for easier […]
A recent study has found that people 45 years and younger with high levels of bad cholesterol have higher cardiovascular risks, including strokes. The “comprehensive” study highlights the long-term risk between cholesterol levels and cardiovascular diseases, by looking at non-HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels in over 400,000 multinational patients. HDL cholesterol is often the good guy, helping to clear fatty deposits in the bloodstream […]
The tiny Pacific nation of 200,000 is to widen its vaccination programme against measles, a highly infectious and deadly disease outbreak. Previous efforts were concentrated on children, who marked most of the dead, but will now include the entire population in a new vaccination campaign. The death toll from the outbreak has recently risen to 60, with 171 new cases in 24 hours, bringing the national total to 4,052, according to the health latest report. […]
Asia’s CAREhab is back again this year – the 2020 run will be held in conjunction with the 6th Singapore Rehabilitation Conference (14th to 15th February) at Singapore EXPO’s Max Atria. Partnering with SingEx Exhibitions and Singapore’s Society of Rehabilitation Medicine (SRMS), the CAREhab-Singapore Rehabilitation Conference looks set to bring together the entire healthcare community to address industry challenges, showcase good practices and encourage collaboration, particularly in the SEA region […]
Researchers have thought all along that synaptic dysfunction causes the debilitating cognitive symptoms seen in schizophrenia; however, new imaging data suggests that these symptoms, such as loss of abilities to plan and remember, are instead caused by the lack of a brain protein that facilitates communication between […]
Aspirin is marketed as a ‘miracle drug’ because of its potential to keep chronic inflammation in check; however, taking too much aspirin may severely damage the fine […]
Australian researchers have recently developed a stable, egg yolk-derived insulin that could significantly change a diabetics’ treatment – the product is known as glycoinsulin and does not form fibril […]
Researchers have singled out an unexpected cause for sleep apnoea – fatty tongues. Sleep apnoea is a disorder which can leave people snoring loudly and gasping […]
New research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), sheds light on a possible trigger for the overproduction of insulin in type-2 diabetes: another, separate molecular pathway stimulated by fatty acids appears to boost insulin production […]
A group of surgeons, biologists and engineers from Zurich, Switzerland, have developed a new machine that can keep donor livers alive outside the body for up to a week. The new perfusion machine’s primary function is to preserve organs set for transplantation by feeding them oxygen and nutrients, but can also restore damaged livers to full function after a matter days […]
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK – about one in seven women in the UK develops breast cancer during their lifetime, contributing to around 55,000 […]
Yet another organ-on-a-chip device – used in medical settings to gauge how a full organ might react to medication or toxins […]
In treating most accident victims, first responders struggle to control bleeding especially with deep or wide open wounds – a team at America’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), […]
As useful as pacemakers may be, they do need to be surgically replaced every few years and may sport a layer of fibrous tissue on its surface by then, which could complicate the removal process, risk infections and so on. However, scientists from the Swiss ETH Zurich Research Institute (ETH Zurich) have designed a new pouch-style membrane that surrounds the pacemaker […]
There is promise for a universal influenza vaccine as scientists from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, US, have developed a […]
Swiss drugmaker Roche’s new immunotherapy solution, Tecentriq, has received the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for use along with Celgene’s Abraxane and carboplatin chemotherapy to treat metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK mutations […]
A breast cancer diagnosis is usually distressing to patients across all age groups, especially for the younger ones who have much of life to experience. In fact, advanced breast cancer (ABC) in pre-menopausal women is more aggressive– it is the leading cause of cancer death in women aged 20–59 years old […]
Scientists from Germany’s Martin Luther University (MLU) have fashioned biodegradable rods to help patients with gum disease and tough-to-treat oral infection. The scientists, along with colleagues at the Fraunhofer research institutes, developed flexible polymer rods to be inserted the space that develops […]
Acute psychosis in schizophrenic patients may soon be treated with a new drug, KarXT that has reported positive results from a placebo-controlled clinical trial. Karuna Therapeutics’ new drug combines xanomeline and trospium, new compounds designed to interact with muscarinic receptors across the body. […]
Early life exposure to pet cats and dogs have been said to alter the human immune system through various means, including pet-induced stress reduction. A study from US-based Johns Hopkins Medicine now suggests that being around a dog […]
Baby food options can be overwhelming when it comes to nutrition for children. There is a lot of advice floating around when it comes to what you should feed your baby. In the current dynamic […]
Honey has been touted as a healing agent due to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties – most recently, an international team has incorporated honey into a surgical mesh coating that could help prevent post-operative infections […]
Cells need proteins to carry out various biological functions, usually tagged to determine/modify their cellular activity. Now, scientists from the University of Iowa, US, who studied proteins tagged ISG15, have developed a novel method to […]
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), US, have recently found that eating an avocado a day led to lower levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) – specifically small, dense LDL particles – and oxidised LDL in adults classed as overweight or obese. Highlights of the study showed that avocados were capable of reducing the […]
In a typical bone fracture or break, the body produces adenosine to provide internal healing, but the substance is metabolised by the body just as quickly. As such, scientists at North Carolina’s Duke University (Duke) designed a prototype bandage to absorb and retain adenosine […]
Dr. He Jiankui’s revolutionary approach to gene-editing may have created problematic “off-target” mutations instead of conferring natural HIV resistance, according to a manuscript released recently. Dr. He’s paper, made public for the first time, contains “a litany of flaws […]
The tiny Pacific nation of 200,000 is to widen its vaccination programme against measles, a highly infectious and deadly disease outbreak. Previous efforts were concentrated on children, who marked most of the dead, but will now include the entire population in a new vaccination campaign. […]
Particulate matter (PM) is the term used to denote solid particles/droplets found in the air and their respective diameters. Major pollutants like PM10 and PM2.5, then, would cause serious health conditions – various concentrations of PM10-like dust and diesel particulate […]
A protein, which has been known to regulate genes, has now been found to also affect the nervous system and could potentially slow ageing. Scientists at Harvard Medical School (HMS), US, suggest that the newfound knowledge of this protein and its relationship to neural activity begets […]
Southeast Asia is on high alert after Singapore reportedly registered its first case of a mysterious viral pneumonia this past week – a 3-year-old female Chinese national has been warded and isolated after developing symptoms similar to the disease, which has affected scores of people in Wuhan, China […]
US healthcare corporation Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced that its widely-used consumer product, Johnson’s Baby Powder, was free of asbestos following allegations by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of trace amounts of the material found in a bottle purchased online. According to J&J, the FDA’s reported results could […]
A person’s cognitive ability is expected to change over the course of their life – new research suggests that cognitive ability during childhood may indicate future risks of dementia. Dementia is a form of cognitive decline that can impede a person’s ability to solve problems, remember, speak, and think […]
Recent research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in Glasgow, UK, highlights a significant relationship between a specific type of gut bacteria and an increased risk of colorectal/bowel cancer. The new research is the first to use an analytical method known as the “Mendelian randomisation” to reveal that a specific type of bacteria […]
Height could predict the risk for diabetes, as a short stature is associated with a higher risk of type-2 diabetes,with each 10cm difference in height corresponding to a 41% decreased risk of diabetes in men and a 33% decreased risk in women. The European Association for […]
Qualitas Medical Group organised a forum titled “Mental Health at the Workplace: The Unspoken Truth” at the Sime Darby Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The main target of the panel session was to increase awareness of the issues of mental health amongst employees, insurance companies, employers, healthcare providers, as well as the government. Representatives from the Ministry of Health, […]
Taking place from 8 – 10 November at Suntec Singapore, Halls 405/406, Eldex (Eldercae Exhibition & Conference) Asia, the region’s most dedicated exhibition for the rapidly growing eldercare industry, will feature pavilions from Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan, the country of honour for the inaugural edition. Majority of the exhibitors come from the lifestyle and wellness, healthcare and rehabilitation, and technology segments. The show will be open to […]
Patients usually take their blood pressure medication at the start of the day, but, new research suggests that nighttime ingestion of these medications results in better blood pressure control and greatly reduces the likelihood of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, such as a heart attack or stroke. Patients who routinely took their antihypertensive medication at bedtime had a 45% lower risk of dying from or experiencing CVD complications […]
Vivid dreams that occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are quickly forgotten due to a cluster of neurons that become active at this time. The recent findings from research by Nagoya University, Japan, could put an end to assumptions as to why people forget dreams. Light sleep, or REM sleep, happens when the body rests but the brain is still active, while deep, non-REM sleep, […]
The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is the fastest ageing region globally. By 2050, the population of older persons (aged over 60) would have reached 1.3 billion. Major issues that are confronting the elders, from nutrition and wellness to access to affordable healthcare. In the region, geriatric healthcare cost is already forecast to reach to US$20 trillion by 2030. Thus, to improve access to quality healthcare and cost healthcare, innovative solutions are created […]
West Malaysia’s Cheras/KL South communities will see a new tertiary care private hospital in Sunway Medical Centre Velocity (SMCV) by the end of 2019, as part of the Sunway Group’s extensive RM320 million (US$77 million) healthcare expansion plan. Encompassing Sunway Velocity’s five key aspects – retail, healthcare, residential, hospitality, education and commercial – the medical centre will provide various facilities, amenities and services, such […]
Natural killer cells are a component of white blood cells, which are crucial to our immune system’s detection/destruction of abnormal cells before they develop into cancerous tumours. Recently, Thai researchers have successfully used these natural killer cells in their national cancer therapy, for high-risk leukaemia (blood cancer) patients […]
Alliianz Malaysia Berhad recently organised a cancer forum called ‘Reimagine Your Medical Choices’ at... Read More
A protein, which has been known to regulate genes, has now been found to also affect the nervous system... Read More
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Scientists say that older people who do lots of exercise develop a strong immune system and are protected... Read More