Climate hazards, including extreme heat, are associated with increased risks of developing complications that lead to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. These may include multiple causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality such as gestational diabetes, hyper tensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth. In …
Familial diarrhea disorders are, in most cases, severe and caused by recessive mutations. We describe the cause of a novel dominant disease in 32 members of a Norwegian family. The affected members have chronic diarrhea that is of early onset, is relatively mild, and is associated with increased susceptibility to …
A study on the apparent diabetes resistance of a tribal community in Rajasthan has found that they have the highest occurrence of the HLA gene, which makes the body predisposed to diabetes, in India, and possibly the world.The genetic profiling of the Raika community — a nomadic camel rearing tribal …
President Nasheed sent the bill to control thalassemia back to parliament for further amendments without ratification. The bill was sent back again based on advice of the Attorney General who deemed it to be in conflict with current government policy regarding health care provided to thalassemic patients, President’s office website …
Evidences indicate that India has the highest number of children with birth defects. The lack of public health support for treatment often means lifelong suffering. Many of the tools to prevent birth defects are inherent in the existing reproductive and child health programme. With some additions, a prevention programme could …
The first case of thalassaemia, described in a non-Mediterranean person, was from India. Subsequently, cases of thalassaemia were documented in all parts of India. Centres for care of thalassaemics were started in the mid-1970s in Mumbai and Delhi, and then in other cities. The parent’s associations, with the help of …
EXPOSURE to organic pollutants can disrupt the formation of nervous system in a foetus. This in turn may lead to neural tube defects. The disease affects over 320,000 infants worldwide every year. Earlier studies have linked organic pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), from indoor coal stoves, smoking and vehicle …
The 'Immokalee babies' were born with severe deformities after their mothers were each exposed to pesticides whilst harvesting tomatoes. Barry Estabrook reports on the case that shocked the US.
AFTER imposing a ban on endosulfan, the Supreme Court is now examining the possibility of allowing export of the pesticide. On August 5, the court-appointed joint committee was given a three-week deadline to submit an interim report on the possibility of exporting and disposing of the endosulfan stocks with the …
AUTISM is one of the few developmental disabilities the cause and cure of which remain elusive even 50 years after it was identified. There is no biological test to detect this lifelong disorder until it manifests at the age of around two. Diagnosis is largely based on behavioural and psychological …
THE Supreme Court has turned down the request of pesticide manufacturers to allow them to export the pesticide stocks in India. The court had banned the sale, manufacture, use and export of the pesticide on May 13 on a petition by the youth wing of the CPI(M), the Democratic Youth …
Counter affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of India dated 29/07/2011 by the Department of Agriculture in re: Endosulfan - W.P.(C) NO.213/2011 Democratic Youth Federation of India Vs. Union of India & Ors.
Screening of newborns for genetic disorders is important, but so is educating parents to ensure that they give the proper consent. (Editorial) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7355/full/475139a.html
By raising hell about newborn blood-spot screening, Twila Brase could jeopardize public-health programmes and derail research. The problem is, she has a point. http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110713/full/475156a.html
Ten-member Central team holds talks with doctors KASARAGOD: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Viswa Mohan Katoch has said that steps will be initiated to mitigate the plight of endosulfan victims and their families. The authorities would take steps within two months to address the health hazards faced by …
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has welcomed today’s Supreme Court order banning the use, sale, production and export of endosulfan with immediate effect. This landmark judgment comes on the heels of India’s grudging acceptance at the Stockholm Convention that endosulfan is a serious health hazard and that it should …
Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is rooting for endosulfan just before the fifth Conference of Parties (COP) of the Stockholm Convention meets in Geneva India softens its stand on endosulfan Day 5- April 29: The last day of the Stockholm Convention, ushered some good news for all those crusading against …
Day 5: April 29 The last day of the Stockholm Convention, ushered some good news for all those crusading against endosulfan in India. Endosulfan has finally been brought under the Annex A of the Stockholm Convention, which means that Endosulfan should be banned globally. Endosulfan: meet in Geneva begins, India …
Thalidomide was a widely used drug in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the treatment of nausea in pregnant women. It became apparent in the 1960s that thalidomide treatment resulted in severe birth defects in thousands of children. Though the use of thalidomide was banned in most countries at …
