Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a priority for surveillance in bacterial infections. For leprosy, AMR has not been assessed because Mycobacterium leprae does not grow in vitro. We aim to obtain AMR data using molecular detection of resistance genes and to conduct a prospective open survey of resistance to antileprosy drugs …
The terms of reference of the National Commission on Macroeconomics & Health, included among others, a critical appraisal of the present health system — both in the public and the private sector — and suggesting ways and means of further strengthening it with the specific objective of improving access to …
one would think that if lethal effects of a drug were proven, the pharmaceutical world would give it a quiet burial. Surprisingly, this does not hold true for thalidomide
scientists have accomplished a feat that could one day lead to better treatments for cancer. They have sequenced the genome of the bacterium, Streptomyces coelicolor. This feat is expected to aid the development of several new antibiotics as the bacterium S coelicolor and its relatives are sources of nearly two-thirds …
anti-hiv drug: Pharmaceutical company Glaxo has added yet another anti-HIV drug to its existing list. With the approval from 15 countries in Europe, the new drug Ziagen is a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, intended to be used as part of a cocktail of anti-retroviral drugs. Though Glaxo is the market leader …
left in the lurch: Enron Corp has withdrawn its plan to set up a US $ 6 billion hydroelectric-power project in Nepal. With this, the company's grand plan has been stalled for South Asia. Enron's decision to withdraw from the proposed 10,800 megawatt project clearly shows the wide ripple effects …
Developed initially as a tranquilizer in 1950, thalidomide has ultimately resulted in disquiet and disturbance in the wake of one of the worst drug disasters ever. However, the most agitating fact about thalidomide is that 25 years after a German company paid US $31 million as compensation to German children …
ROHINI's bleeding wounds and mildly deformed fingers - afflicted by leprosy - had initially evoked the traditional reaction of fear and contempt from fellow villagers. But she and thousands of others belonging to Madhya PradesWs (mp) Rajanandagaon district have now been rescued from the evil clutches of leprosy. The cursed …
INDIANS are a peculiar lot. They have three 'unique' genes which are not present in any other race across the world. These genes, belonging to the group DR2, put them at a high risk of contracting diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy. The DR2 group has 11 sub-types of genes. The …
FOR almost an year now, the Bombay-based Cancer Research Institute (CRI) and Delhi's National Institute of Immunology (NII) have been squabbling over credit for the development of an anti-leprosy vaccine. The controversy has taken a fresh twist with the Delhi-based Society for Scientific Values (SSV), an independent watchdog organisation examining …
WITH THE commissioning of India's largest particle accelerator -- a machine that propels sub-atomic particles to high speeds -- at the Nuclear Science Centre (NSC) in New Delhi, research groups from all over the country now have access to state-of-the-art facilities for experiments in nuclear physics, material sciences and biophysics. …
TWO CHEMISTS in Hyderabad, working separately, have synthesised many complex organic molecules (those containing carbon) that are the basic constituent of most drugs. The chemistry of carbon is essential to understand the basis of all life, as most biological processes are mediated by organic compounds. Govardhan Mehta, a professor of …
MOST OF us are familiar with only three states of matter -- solid, liquid and gas. But there is another form of matter -- plasma -- that is neither solid, liquid nor gas. Plasma is composed of charged particles -- electrons and ions -- whereas other matter consists of neutral …
LEPROSY afflicts about 12 million people worldwide, of which about a third are in India. Though the bacteria that causes leprosy -- Mycobacterium leprae -- was discovered 100 years ago, it is only recently that Indian scientists at the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) in Bombay and at the National Institute …
Indian lasers among the world's best The Centre for Advanced Technology in Indore is playing a pivotal role in the indigenisation of lasers and making them easily available. SOME OF the world's most advanced lasers, with a wide range of industrial and medical applications, are now being made in India …
SCIENTISTS the world over are agog at the discovery of flavonoids in tea by Michael Hertog of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, at Bilthoven in the Netherlands. Hertog's discovery supports the belief held by most Chinese that tea is good for health. The East abounds with …
DON'T scoff the next time you have a severe cold and your grandmother gives you an onion to eat at bedtime, because by morning, you will find the cold has disappeared. Onions contain not only flavonoids, but many other ingredients yet to be isolated by scientists. Onions are used for …
