Health & Medical Services – Page 4

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES /INNOVATION: Patent Won for Medicinal Patch by Scientists of BLDE University

A team of scientists from BLDE Deemed University has won a patent for an innovative method of administering drugs to patients.

The Patent Office, Union government, has granted patent for 20 years, under the Patents Act.

The patent has been granted for the development of “pharmaceutical formulations of electro-responsive smart hydrogel for transdermal drug delivery”.

The patent applicant is Raghavendra V. Kulkarni, Registrar of the university and pharmaceutical scientist.

His team from the Sri Sanganabasava Mahaswami College of Pharmacy includes Sudha B. Patil, Krishnacharya Akkamanchi and Kushal K. Das.

The patented method involves reaching medicine to targeted organs through the skin, at regulated timings, through a patch applied on the skin. The method is expected to ensure painless drug delivery at affordable prices. It is scalable, said a release.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: KARNATAKA: HEALTH & PHARMACEUTICALS: Biocon Biologics’ HULIO, a Humira biosimilar now available in US for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

The company also offers a robust patient support programme — HULIO360, providing benefits like verification and prior authorisation support, copay assistance, a bridge programme for eligible patients.

Biocon Biologics Ltd has announced that HULIO (adalimumab-fkjp) injection, a biosimilar for Humira (adalimumab) — used to treat rheumatoid arthritis — is now available for patients in the US, after five years of experience in Europe and two years in Canada.

HULIO meets the rigorous biosimilar approval standards of the FDA. Like Humira, HULIO is citrate-free and is made without natural rubber latex (to help reduce hypersensitivity reactions). The company also offers a robust patient support programme — HULIO360, providing benefits like verification and prior authorisation support, copay assistance, a bridge programme for eligible patients, and at-home nurse injection training.

“The launch of HULIO, our biosimilar adalimumab, is an important milestone as it expands our well-known biosimilar product offering to patients in the United States. This launch builds on our strong presence in oncology and diabetes and reaffirms our commitment to enabling affordable access to biologics,” said Shreehas Tambe, CEO and MD, Biocon Biologics Ltd.

“We are pleased to make HULIO, a patient-friendly, two-click, pre-filled pen available in the US for patients with certain inflammatory diseases,” said Mathew Erick, Chief Commercial Officer of Advanced Markets, Biocon Biologics Ltd.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA : INVENTIONS / RESEARCH / INNOVATIONS: 04 More New CSIR-CFTRI’s Technologies released in Mysuru

An anti-obese Barley-Seaweed based supplement ‘SeaSlim’, which is supposed to regulate body weight and manages obesity, has also been launched.

In the last seven decades, the Mysuru-based CSIR-CFTRI has developed nearly 400 technologies and over 4,500 licencees’ commercialised several technologies that were transferred to them by the premier institute.

On an average, 15 to 20 technologies were developed at the CFTRI annually and nearly 120-125 technologies were transferred every year, according to scientists.

At ‘One Week One Lab’ initiative that got off to a start at CFTRI here on Monday, July 3, four new technologies were launched by the dignitaries at the inaugural of OWOL. The CFTRI has proposed to release a total of 22 technologies during the weeklong OWOL.

The four technologies include barley-seaweed based anti-obese supplement ‘SeaSlim’; freshness keeper paper under the CSIR’s Floriculture Mission; process for the production of soluble and insoluble arabinoxylan from wheat bran, and production of baker’s yeast.

Freshness keeper paper is made with natural bioactive compounds. It can extend the shelf life of cut roses by 1-2 times longer, the CFTRI said.

A simple paper-based freshness keeper paper – a patented technology which is a chemical-free design to keep cut flowers fresh during transport and storage without disturbing the protocol of cut rose flowers. Freshness keeper technology is a paper wrapped with direct contact with rose flower petals that help enhance fresh-cut flowers’ quality and shelf life by two folds, a note said here.

During the export and transportation time, cut rose flowers have a shelf life of 10-12 days at 4 degrees C. With freshness paper, the shelf life is increased by 6-7 days – taking the total shelf life to 18-20 days.

“The scope of this technology is useful to Indian florists as well as other countries, more significantly who are in import and export of cut flowers as India is ranked 15^th in the export of cut roses.”

This tech is chemical-free and inexpensive, reduces waste, and increases revenue. The tech helps farmers, importers, exporters and big and small vendors, the note added.

According to CFTRI, India is ranked third in the world in the prevalence of obesity. Owing to rising obesity cases, anti-obese foods are flooding the markets. The CFTRI has developed a barley-seaweed based anti-obese supplement called ‘SeaSlim’ having qualities of brown algae and barley for managing obesity. “SeaSlim can be used as a potent antioxidant food. It lowers fat absorption in the small intestine. It lowers the risk of obesity and diabetes. It helps in regulation of body weight by reducing the food intake and can be used as a low-glycemic index food. It can be recommended as a thermogenic food to manage obesity,” the release issued by CFTRI said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

REGIONAL: KARNATAKA: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES: South India’s First Vertebral Stentoplasty Conducted at Bengaluru’s Aster CMI Hospital

A stent was inserted along with the balloon in the vertebrae, and the balloon was inflated later to raise the collapsed vertebra.

A 57-year-old woman, having suffered a spine fracture along with rheumatoid arthritis, underwent a vertebral body stenting procedure at city-based Aster CMI Hospital. This is claimed to be the first such surgery performed in South India.

The woman was brought to the hospital in severe pain and was even unable to walk. With her limited mobility, the doctors decided to perform a vertebral body stenting procedure (stentoplasty), which was minimally invasive. Dr Umesh Srikantha, Sr Consultant – Neurosurgery, Head of Spine Services, Aster CMI Hospital, explained: “The surgery was minimally invasive and was performed using the latest medical procedure in vertebral augmentation which gave immediate relief to the patient, who was able to walk in less than 24 hours. Balloon Kyphoplasty prevents the vertebral body from collapsing and also helps in vertebral body height restoration and shape.”

A stent was inserted along with the balloon in the vertebrae, and the balloon was inflated later to raise the collapsed vertebra.

The cavity formed after deflating the balloon, and was filled with bone cement to support the bone surrounding, Dr Srikantha explained. The whole procedure was completed within an hour and the patient saw significant improvement. She was able to walk comfortably without any assistance, he added.

S Ramesh Kumar, CEO of Aster CMI Hospital proudly called it South India’s first such surgery conducted at their hospital, which was made possible with the help of high-end technology.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES / INNOVATION: First-of-its-kind Innovative Endoscopy Procedure conducted at Kasturba Medical college, Udupi

A team of doctors from the department of gastroenterology and hepatology – Dr Shiran Shetty (prof and head) Dr Ganesh Bhat, Dr Atish Shetty, Dr Balaji and Dr Sandesh Shet (anaesthesia) performed a complex innovative endoscopy procedure called – endoultrasound guided gastrojejunostomy – GJ for a person with gastric outlet obstruction due to underlying cancer. This procedure is less invasive than surgery and can be done and patients who are not fit for any surgery can be discharged the next day and is very cost-effective.

A 55-year-old man with pancreatic cancer and gastric outlet obstruction with persistent vomiting was referred from another hospital. After evaluation and discussion with the team and relatives, we decided to perform a unique endoscopic procedure called EUS –gastrojejunostomy (the connection between the stomach and small intestine) for easy passage of food. The patient could tolerate oral feeds after the procedure.

This is the first-of-its-kind done in the coastal belt of Karnataka.

Dr Shiran Shetty, professor and head department of gastroenterology and Hepatology and Deputy Medical Superintendent said, “Due to newer technology more endoscopy procedures can be done for treatment of various complex diseases and is patient friendly and very cost effective.

Kasturba Hospital, Manipal is one of the first medical college hospital in India to utilize newer endoscopy technology for the management of patients from rural and poor backgrounds

Dr Anand Venugopal, chief operating officer, Teaching Hospital MAHE, Manipal praised the team of doctors and staff who were involved in this innovative procedure.

Dr Avinash Shetty, medical superintendent, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal said, “Currently, the department of gastroenterology and Hepatology at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal performs all major and complex endoscopic procedures equivalent to reputed national and international centers and it gives new hopes to the patients of coastal and middle Karnataka.”

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: INNOVATION – MEDICAL SERVICES / RESEARCH: Detect Diabetes with a Simple Antigen Test, says IISc study

Currently, researchers rely on Radioimmunoassay (RIA) to detect somatostatin levels which use radioactive materials and need to be carried out in labs only.

Detecting diabetes can become as simple as taking a rapid antigen test for Covid-19. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have discovered that fluctuations in levels of other hormones such as somatostatin, secreted by the pancreas, can have a major impact on developing diabetes.

Scientists argue that usually one gets diagnosed with diabetes when they have high blood glucose levels either because their pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin, or their body cells do not respond to signals from insulin that tell them to use up glucose. This can be avoided by keeping levels of somatostatin in check and potentially detecting diabetes sooner. “Changes in somatostatin secretion can be one of the first signs of diabetes,” said Nikhil Gandasi, Assistant Professor, IISc.

Somatostatin is secreted by specific cells of the pancreas, called delta cells. “It regulates insulin and glucagon which is another hormone that works hand-in-hand with insulin to maintain blood sugar levels,” said the study.

Researchers found that when a person is diabetic, their body will secrete less delta cells which means less Somatostatin hormone. The experiment was conducted in pancreatic cells extracted from both mice and humans. The study was published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences called ‘Somatostatin Containing delta-Cell Number Is Reduced in Type-2 Diabetes.’

The team used artificially synthesised somatostatin to test its binding against several commercially available antibodies, in order to identify the one that bound to it most efficiently, which was used to develop the assay. Similar to the Covid-19 rapid antigen test, the kit works like the standard Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay that uses antibody-coated plates to identify the presence of antigens in a sample.

Currently, researchers rely on Radioimmunoassay (RIA) to detect somatostatin levels which use radioactive materials and need to be carried out in labs only. “The procedure also takes three days to complete,” said Caroline Miranda, another first author and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Gothenburg.” The new kit will use less blood plasma compared to the RIA method. Researchers are developing the kit into a simple hand-held device that can be mass-produced.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HEALTH SERVICES / CARDIOLOGY : Initiative offering ‘Cardiologists At Doorsteps’ of Patients launched in Dakshina Kannada

The Dakshina Kannada Zilla Pachayat, Health and Family Welfare Department, and Cardiology At Door Steps (CAD) Foundation jointly launched ‘Hrudaya Vaishalaya’, an initiative offering free consultation services of cardiologists at the doorsteps of people in the district.

As part of the initiative, cardiologists from the CAD Foundation will visit a primary health centre or a community health centre every Wednesday and conduct heart check-up of people from morning till noon. Apart from the check-up, people will be enlightened on lifestyle management.

District Health and Family Welfare officer M. Kishore Kumar said that ‘Hrudaya Vaishalya’ scheme is the extension of CAD Foundation’s initiative under which it has provided ECG machines and other ancillary machines to primary health centres for early diagnosis of cardiac problems. The latter was launched two years ago and CAD has so far provided ECG and other machines to 70% of 73 primary and community health centres in Dakshina Kannaada, Dr. Kumar said.

The first camp under the ‘Hrudaya Vaishalya’ scheme was held in the government health centre in Moodbidri on Wednesday. Inaugurating the camp, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Kumara said Dakshina Kannada is the first district in the State to launch this unique health service. The new programme is a part of the initiative of the government to take health services closer to people, he said.

Founder of the CAD Foundation and senior cardiologist M. Padmanabha Kamath said that he wants to spread ‘Hrudaya Vaishalya’ initiative across the State. Health officers and people should be actively involved to take this initiative to all needy persons.

The next ‘Hrudaya Vaishalya’ camp will be held in a primary health centre in Puttur taluk, Dr. Kishore Kumar said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: LANGUAGES: National Training Programme On ‘Basic Indian Sign Language (ISL) at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru May 24-26

Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication & Sign Language, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru, in collaboration with Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), New Delhi, is organising a 3-day Short-Term Training Prog. on Basic Indian Sign Language (ISL) from May 24 to 26.

The resource persons are from ISLRTC, New Delhi, an institute focused on ISL teaching and research, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

Speech Language Pathologists, Audiologists, Special Educators and students from various parts of the country will participate in the programme.

The programme has been given the status of Continuing Rehabilitation Education (CRE) programme by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).

The inaugural function will be held at 9.30 am in the Seminar Hall of Academic Block, AIISH, Mysuru. K.M. Gayathri, CEO, Zilla Panchayat, Mysuru, will be the chief guest.

B. Elangovan, Principal, JSS Polytechnic for Differently Abled, Mysuru, will be the guest of honour. Prof. M. Pushavathi, Director, AIISH, will preside.

For details, contact A.R. Keerthi, PRO, AIISH, on Mob: 98441-81080.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: CORONATION INVITATION: Bengaluru’s Dr. Issac Mathai Invited by Buckingham Palace to attend King Charles III Coronation

Dr. Issac Mathai, a city doctor and the Chairman of SOUKYA, International Holistic Centre, has been invited by Buckingham Palace, London, to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla on May 6.

Dr. Mathai, already in London, said he would attend the pre-coronation party at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

Dr. Mathai’s association with the British royal family goes back many years. While Camilla had visited SOUKYA around eight times for holistic treatment, Charles visited once in 2019.

Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Mathai said, “For 18 years, both the King and Queen Consort have been consulting me as a holistic consultant. The Queen Consort has visited SOUKYA eight times, and the King came once. They really enjoyed being in India at our centre for treatment.”

“Being a part of the coronation is the proudest moment of my life. I regularly meet the King and the Queen Consort in London. Other than medical consultation, the King has some interest in holistic medicine. The King and I also have a common interest in organic farming and climate change,” he said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: MEDICAL & HEALTH SCIENCES : ‘KMC-EREVNA 2023’, 2-day National Level Medical Undergraduate Conference held in Mangaluru

KMC-EREVNA 2023, a two-day national level medical undergraduate conference was held at Kasturba Medical College on the April 28-29, by the undergraduate students’ research body, Student Research Forum, KMC, Mangaluru under guidance from Dr Priyanka and Dr Deepthi.

The conference comprised of various sessions of scientific paper, poster and case report presentations, ideathon, medical research debate and quiz. Around 300 delegates from across the country participated in the conference.

The inaugural was held on the first day with the lighting of the lamp by chief guest honourable vice chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Lt Gen Dr M D Venkatesh, pro vice chancellor (Mangaluru campus) Dr Dilip G Naik was the guest of honour.

The dean of KMC Mangalore Dr B Unnikrishnan also spoke and Associate Dean (Research) Dr.Pramod Kumar welcomed the delegates.

The vote of thanks was proposed by vice president of EREVNA Janet. Earlier president of organizing committee Ms.Nishtha gave the opening remarks.

The vice chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education lauded the efforts of the student research forum and had some encouraging words for the entire team and participants.

The valedictory event on the final day saw Dr Ramesh Bhat, vice dean, Father Muller Medical College, as the chief guest and the Raghavendra Subramanya, senior vice president, regional head – Karnataka, DBS Bank was the guest of honour.

The associate dean of research Dr Pramod Kumar and the president of the Student Research Forum, Nishtha Gupta were also present.

Secretary of the conference committee Shruthi proposed the vote of thanks.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)