In India, a country with a vast population and a diverse socio-economic fabric, healthcare remains fraught with challenges including disparities in access. These socio-economic disparities are deep, and they influence health outcomes. It is imperative to bridge these gaps amid the ongoing epidemiological, nutritional and demographic transitions that are bringing …
oral cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among Indian men. Now, scientists at the Cancer Research Institute ( cri ) in Mumbai have taken the first step towards curing the cancer with the help of gene therapy. They will use a genetically-engineered version of a virus called murine leukaemia virus …
Microbes found in mud, soil, and water contain compounds with potent anti-cancer activity, say Michael Shipman and his research team, which is supported by the UK Cancer Research Campaign at Loughborough University of Technology. Researchers are hopeful that these compounds, called azinomycins, will be valuable in treating some of the …
What if the nurturer herself turns into a polluter? Smoking and / or drinking mothers poison the foetus. Alcohol consumers expose the foetus to alcohol syndrome, which engenders congenital malformations and low birth weight in newborns. Smoking during pregnancy passes cancer-causing chemicals to their foetus' blood where these linger for …
There is reason for hope for fair skin individuals worrying about UV radiations triggering sporadic basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. Researchers at the Stanford University, Palo Alto and the University of California, both in the US have identified mutations in the patched gene as a …
Danish researchers have called for a national monitoring of lindane after traces of this chemical (banned in the country) were found in certain remote locations. An investigation by the Danish office for the Environment has established the fact that airborne lindane is being deposited in the southern and the western …
CANCER remains a mystery in its aetiology even today. Death tolls from cancer are gaining staggering proportions; the us recorded 538)000 deaths from cancer in 1994, which amounts to one-fifth of the nation's population. The basic problem in cancer research is the unavailability of conclusive causative agents The disease finds …
CANCER patients at a hospital in Edinburgh are being treated with a drug that gums up the molecular :ccelerator pedals' on the surface of tumour cells. Blocking these sites could halt the growth of tumour cells, so that they wither and die. The drug is designed to treat small-celllung cancer, …
TOUTED to be the best if not the only option for cures against major diseases, biotechnology had seemed to falter midway. Now, however, it is poised for a major breakthrough in treating cancer. A monoclonal antibody - a product of medical innovation - will soon have a go at treating …
Researchers contend that a large number of women undergo masectomy (removal of breast) unneces- sarily, when a tiny tumour is detected. Called ductal carcinoma, this cancer is contained in the milk ducts in the breast. Sometimes they are so small that they go unnoticed till breast x- ray is conducted. …
A TEAM of researchers from the school Of biotechnology of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) in Tamil Nadu, has developed a new drug that could relieve the burden of treatment expenses for cancer patients. They have developed an inexpensive version of the anti-cancer antibiotic, adriamycin, which is being imported currently. The …
Medical researchers of the Kimmel Cancer Centre at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, US, have identified a gene linked to three types of cancers and potentially, to other types as well. The gene called fragile histidine triad (FHIT), offers doctors valuable clues in spotting inllerited genetic mutations that can cause …
WHILE anti-cancer drugs kill turnout cells, healthy tissues in the patient's body cannot escape the chemical crossfire. This leads to vicious side effects that sometimes lead the doctor to halt the treatment before completion of the dosage. Scientists have now come up with a solution to this problem. A drug …
The standard practice of removing small throat tumours using laser is ineffective against the larger ones, so a new procedure using a special drug and light rays can reduce the suffering of patients, if not cure them. The drug called photofrin - manufactured by QLT Phototherapeutics Incorporated of Vancouver in …
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that the drug used to fight breast cancer all over the world can actually be a carcinogenic agent by increasing the risk of contracting endometrial cancer. The disturbing news about Tamoxifen, the medicine given to women after breast cancer operations, was the result …
BETA carotene, the amazing vitamin found primarily in carrots and promoted as a preventive cure for both cancer and heart disease may not work wonders after all. Contrary, to popular beliefs, two studies financed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), US, reveal that beta carotene is completely ineffective in preventing …
SERIOUS efforts are on in the us to develop vaccines to fight cancer. Cancer could be described as the inability of the body's immune system to recognise a sudden, inexplicable mutation of cells and the manufacture of killer T-CeIIs to destroy these cells. Scientists are not entirely sure as to …
Nepalese herbs with anti-cancer properties of which little was known earlier, has stirred a lot of interest in the medical circles in Kathmandu. The leaf of Land Sallo, a herb found in plenty in Nepal, consists of a vital anti-cancer AW agent - Taxis regin - which is now being …
