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Microsoft ties up with Apollo Hospitals for digital healthcare solutions

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  For a quick and easy health and wellness facility, the digital Arm of the  Apollo Hospitals Group  and  Microsoft India  have joined hands to launch enterprise solution within the Microsoft work suite. It has been tested in a pilot program for Microsoft India employees for a period of three months Due to the upcoming covid third wave, organizations have been looking for  digital healthcare  solutions to support their employees and families. Now with the integration of Apollo and Microsoft, employees can get various medical facilities such as medical  teleconsultation , vaccine booking, pharmacy, diagnostic tests, electronic health records, and wellness programs with just a click of the button. The enterprise solution enables a user to consult an Apollo Doctor within 15 minutes of requesting a consult; order medicines from the wide network of Apollo Pharmacies; and request for sample collection from home for prescribed diagnostic tests within Microsoft Teams itself.

China reports most COVID-19 cases since end-Jan, Nanjing starts 2nd mass testing China has taken a zero-tolerance approach to COVID cases, quickly tracing and testing wide swathes of its population to prevent the spread of the virus.

  BEIJING: China reported 76 new COVID-19 cases on July 25, the highest since the end of January amid a surge of local infections in the eastern city of Nanjing, as it starts a second round of mass testing to contain the outbreak. China has taken a zero-tolerance approach to COVID cases, quickly tracing and testing wide swathes of its population to prevent the spread of the virus. Local infections accounted for 40 of the new cases, compared with only five a day earlier, the  National Health Commission   said in a statement on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT Thirty-nine of the local cases were reported in the eastern province of Jiangsu, of which Nanjing is the capital, and one in the northeastern province of Liaoning, it said. The number of new asymptomatic cases - which China does not classify as confirmed cases - rose to 24 from 17 cases a day earlier. Among the symptomless cases, four were local infections - one in Jiangsu, one in Guangdong, one in Jiangsu's neighbouring province of Anhui

New findings on obesity and response to cancer therapy

  Liza Makowski, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Medicine and the UTHSC Center for Cancer Research, has long been interested in how the immune system is altered by obesity and how this impacts cancer risk and treatment. "Obesity is complex, because it can cause both inflammation and activate counter-inflammation pathways leading to immunosuppression," Dr. Makowski said. "How obesity impacts cancer treatments is understudied." Obese patients with breast cancer often have worse outcomes than non-obese patients. However, exciting developments are being made in other cancers that may also hold promise for treating breast cancer. In studies of a new type of immunotherapy drug, called a checkpoint inhibitor, obese patients appear to respond better, compared with their leaner counterparts in some cancers, such as melanoma, ovarian, certain lung, and kidney cancers. It is not clear if this finding is also true for breast cancer patients. Dr. Makowski teamed up with Jo

Obesity

  Obesity   is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy. Body mass index (BMI), which compares weight and height, is used to define a person as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2 and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2. Obesity is associated with many diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, though a limited number of cases are due solely to genetics, medical reasons or psychiatric illness. The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. If this fails, anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption. In severe cases, surgery is performed or an intragastric bal

Anti-obesity drive: Junk food TV adverts to be banned before 9pm

  The government is to impose a UK-wide pre-9pm ban on TV adverts for food high in sugar, salt and fat. Products affected include chocolate, burgers, soft drinks, cakes, sweets, ice cream, biscuits, sweetened juices, crisps, chips and pizzas. There will also be new rules on online promotion, but firms selling junk food will still be able to run websites. A total ban on online adverts was proposed last year, but this has been scaled back after consultation. The TV restrictions come after Boris Johnson made tackling obesity, which affects more than a quarter of UK adults, a priority for the government. Food companies have said outlawing any form of junk food advertising - worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year - is disproportionate. Industry anger at plan to ban junk food ads online Ministers 'should urge public to eat less meat' Coronavirus prompts PM into obesity crackdown How bad is our obesity problem? From the end of next year, TV adverts for junk food - also including

Healthcare problems in developing countries

Developmental and reproductive health indicators in developing countries are still deplorable, and adverse health consequences have been linked to poor socio - economic growth and development. Healthcare problems in developing countries are multifaceted and result from a combination of factors, socio-cultural, economic, political as well as poor planning and/or poor implementation of health policies and programmes. Also, there is the problem of availability, accessibility, affordability, sustainability of services and weak referral systems. These problems are reviewed and practical suggestions made on the way forward. At least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services, according to a new report from the World Bank and WHO. And each year, large numbers of households are being pushed into poverty because they must pay for health care out of their own pockets. Currently, 800 million people spend at least 10 percent of their household budgets on health expenses

Overcome obesity and metabolic disorders with bariatric surgery

The prevalence of obesity in India has doubled over the last decade. A large percentage of individuals in urban areas suffer from obesity, with the risk being higher among women. It also occurs more with increasing age, in highly educated families and in wealthy households. What is obesity? Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms with square of height in meters. What health conditions does morbid obesity contribute to? Morbid obesity increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, sleep apnea, respiratory insufficiency, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, asthma and bronchitis, degenerative disease of the lumbo-sacral spine, degenerative arthritis of weight-bearing joints, heartburn or reflux disease, gallbladder disease, stress urinary incontinence, venous stasis disease, depression and some cancers. What is bariatric surgery or metabolic surgery?