Yoga for sciatica pain and paralysis

Yoga expert Shalini Vadehra brings you some asanas to combat pain. ...

Multiple Sclerosis treatment a challenge in India?

Chennai: One in a lakh Indians is thought to suffer from multiple sclerosis, a life-long disorder of the nervous system. Support groups are lobbying to bring the disease under the Disability Act, and are fighting for insurance cover. It was 18 years ago that Mariam Nisreen was struck by multiple sclerosis. She just woke up one day, feeling pain in her eyes, tingling in her feet and parts of her...

Superhero 'Balgam Bhai' spreads awareness on TB

New Delhi: A new superhero Balgam Bhai is now in town to spread awareness on tuberculosis. Much like Superman and Spiderman, he's got a message, which is perhaps most relevant for the 21st century India. Launched in five different languages, the new tagline of a campaign to promote testing for tuberculosis in India says, "Do hafte ho gaye kya?" Radharani Mitra, the National Creative Director of the BBC World Service...

45,000 childhood cancer cases reported every year

New Delhi: Startling facts have come to light on the International Childhood Cancer Day on Wednesday. India records up to 45,000 new cases every year. Experts have said that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Ten-year-old Zube has been trying to come to terms with the word cancer. Ironically, he was was lucky enough to get diagnosed early, but his treatment was stopped midway and his cancer recurred....

Superbugs: Rare genetic fusion to blame for spread

Mumbai: British scientists conducting a study on superbugs in London have discovered that a highly rare genetic fusion is to blame for the superbug NDM1. This fusion has given NDM1 the power to easily jump between various species of bacteria at a superfast speed, consequently making it drug resistant. The scientists, who first reported the NDM1 last year, have now found that NDM1, by jumping between bacteria strains, can make...

Is India well equipped to battle cancer?

Mumbai: Cricketer Yuvraj Singh's battle against cancer has put the spotlight once again on the disease that claims 20,000 lives a day worldwide. The question is whether India is well equipped to battle the world's biggest killer. Diagnosed with germ cell cancer, cricketer Yuvraj Singh is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the United States. While it is a shocking news for his fans, but a cancer diagnosis in the 30s is...

Superbugs 'rampant' in India: German news report

New Delhi: Two years after the NDM 1 superbug was first detected in the country, a new report suggests between 100- 200 million Indians might be carrying two deadly forms of superbug, ha-MRSA and ca-MRSA - said to be resistant to all available antibiotics, except for one that has never been tried, because of its potentially fatal side effects. Published in the German news magazine 'Der Spiegel', the report claims...

Malaria kills 45 times more in India than current estimates

London: Malaria kills over 1.2 million people every year worldwide, twice as many deaths as thought earlier, while deaths from the mosquito-borne disease in India could be more than 45 times higher than what is currently estimated, a new study has claimed. Researchers at the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation who collected data on malaria deaths from 1980 to 2010 found that 1.2 million people died...

Yoga to control high blood pressure

Yoga expert Shalini Vadehra is back with some asanas to help control high blood pressure. ...

Leprosy cases on the rise in urban India

New Delhi: India has achieved a huge milestone in eradicating polio but when it comes to leprosy, the chilling fact is that cases are on the rise. In fact, India accounts for 55 per cent of the world's leprosy cases. India officially eliminated leprosy six years ago, but reports now suggest that the cases of leprosy are going up, especially in urban areas. Out of the 2.1 lakh cases in...

Delhi at 100: Creating a healthy new city

87-year-old Brahm Dutt Saigal, a resident of New Delhi, never took a leave in his entire career. He exercised regularly and went on long walks. Nowadays, the working population seems to be too busy or too stressed to take care of its health. ...

Govt downplaying the tuberculosis threat?

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has labelled a hospital's claims of a fatal tuberculosis strain as premature. The question is whether the government is downplaying the disease. 1,000 Indians die of tuberculosis every day and 20 per cent of the total TB deaths in the world take place in the country. The picture seems to be getting darker with reports that show 12 cases of the killer, totally drug resistant TB....

India becomes polio-free, but threat remains

Howrah: India has completed one entire year without registering a single polio case in any part of the country. Bringing down the number from 2 lakh a year to zero is a commendable achievement and an example before other countries to follow. But there is hardly any room for complacency. Two-and-a-half-year-old Ruksaar from Shahpara village in Howrah district is the last registered case of polio in India, and the credit ...

Bumper crop from new maize gene?

London: The discovery by British scientists of a new 'provisioning' gene in maize plants that regulates the transfer of nutrients from the plant to the seed could lead to increased crop yields and improve food security. Scientists from Oxford University and the University of Warwick, in collaboration with the industry have identified the gene, called Meg1. They report their findings, which they believe could help to increase global food production,...

Homeopaths say they can cure cancer

From 99 remedies 200 years ago to more than 5000 today, the homeopathy industry is growing at 30 per cent annually. ...