healthcare conference

  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   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 performe...

  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 ...

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...

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?...

   As the current wave of  Covid-19  swept many  children  and young adults in its fold along with their family members, it was revealed that the majority of those who needed ICU care and  prolonged hospitalization  had one factor in common –  obesity  or high body mass index. Dr Ankit Mehta, paediatric intensive care specialist at Zydus Hospital, said that a good 50% of the children treated in ICU during second surge of Covid-19 at the facility were overweight or obese. “We have treated 45 children for Covid in ICU and half of them were obese. This is a serious indicator of obesity being a significant risk factor for Covid in children,” said Dr Mehta. He said that in obese children, Covid-19 disease was seen as it recorded in adults. “The children had lung involvement with CT scores ranging from 6-18, one girl even had 100% lung involvement. They had to be treated as adults with Remdesivir, steroids and anticoagulants,” said Dr Mehta. D...

  An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Research has called for greater government investment in public healthcare to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the elderly. The current pandemic poses a greater risk of social isolation among the elderly, which may lead to a greater adverse impact on their health. In a company release, IIT Madras said the poor among the elderly would suffer more than others. As a result, their access to regular primary healthcare services and continuity of care that is essential for those suffering from non-communicable diseases, given their dependency and lack of mobility, may have worsened further during this pandemic. Overall, given the evidence on the possible hardships that the elderly may have already gone through during the pandemic and hardships that they may face in the future, the importance of strengthening the public healthcare system cannot be over-emphasised, researchers opined. Based on the 75th round of the National Sample Survey (N...

  The onset of the global pandemic has challenged the existing healthcare systems and infrastructure. While doctors and healthcare practitioners across the globe are changing the way they approach healthcare, the viral outbreak has also led to changes in the design of hospitals and medical facilities. Some of these changes may be temporary to accommodate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic; a few fundamental changes will help healthcare infrastructure be better prepared for future trials. Typically, sites for developing healthcare facilities are selected based on factors such as financial feasibility, patient catchment, service area assessments, etc. In a post-pandemic world, it has become crucial for hospitals to have ‘flex’ facilities. Flex facilities like vacant areas or adjacent hospitals nearby will allow hospitals to use surrounding areas to accommodate the increase in patient-care requirements during unprecedented outbreaks or pandemics by multiplying beds or setting u...

  London: UK Health Minister  Matt Hancock  on Sunday said that the 'Delta' variant of Covid-19, first reported in India, is 40 per cent more transmissible than the 'Alpha' strain, detected in the UK itself. "We were previously told by the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) that there would be problems if a variant was 40 per cent to 50 per cent more transmissible," Hancock was quoted as saying by the BBC. "The latest scientific advice is that the  Delta variant , first detected in India, is 40 per cent more transmissible than the Kent strain," he said. While  hospitalisations  currently remain broadly flat, majorly because of the vaccination programme, the rapid spread of Delta would likely "lead to a substantial resurgence of hospitalisations" and put pressure on the NHS, Hancock said. Hancock also said he "wouldn't rule out" the continued wearing of face masks and working from home measures and noted that ...