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(In the weekly Health Matters newsletter, Ramya Kannan writes about getting to good health, and staying there. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
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On the health desk, we return again, with a spring in our steps, to documenting indigenous innovations in the medical field. With the present thrust to ‘make in India’, matched with an emphasis on quality, the only likely outcome is top quality, state-of-the-art technology that will be cost effective, accessible and taken across the world to benefit people. The best news this week, in this regard, was the announcement of CEREBO.
Bindu Shajan Perappadan reported on CEREBO, ICMR’s indigenous tech to replace CT/MRI scans for traumatic brain injuries. CEREBO is a portable, handheld, non-invasive brain injury diagnostic tool that can provide colour-coded, radiation-free and cost-effective results; that makes it automatically safe for infants and pregnant women. The Indian Council of Medical Research has created CEREBO as a diagnostic tool aimed at reducing mortality and disabilities caused by traumatic brain injuries (TBI), especially in rural areas where advanced diagnostic tools, including CT or MRI scans are inaccessible or delayed. It has been developed using advanced near-infrared spectroscopy technology powered by machine learning.
Rajiv Bahl, head, ICMR, said it was developed in collaboration with the Medical Device and Diagnostics Mission Secretariat (MDMS); All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal; the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru; and Bioscan Research. CEREBO has undergone clinical validation, regulatory approvals, and feasibility studies, “paving the way for global adoption in emergency and military healthcare systems.”
The new device could detect intracranial bleeding and edema within a minute, he added, and provided colour-coded, radiation-free, and cost-effective results. “Designed for deployment in ambulances, trauma centres, rural clinics, and disaster response units, it enhances early TBI detection and patient outcomes,’’ Dr. Bahl said. The ICMR has sought support from State governments to roll out the device.
She also reported on how the CT-Cal score has emerged a popular, non-invasive tool to detect heart attacks. The coronary artery calcium (CT-Cal) score has emerged as a powerful, non-invasive tool for investigating heart health. Obtained from a heart CT scan, it quantifies the calcified plaque burden in coronary arteries, which directly reflects atherosclerotic disease. Calcified plaque is a build-up of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in and on the walls of arteries, which could lead to the obstruction of blood flow, and the occlusion of arteries by clots, among other issues.
A higher calcium score correlates with increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardiac mortality, while a score of zero is highly reassuring in ruling out significant coronary artery disease in asymptomatic individuals. The strength of the test lies in reclassifying intermediate risk patients, and guiding preventive therapy, particularly in the prescription of statins (a class of medicines).
While we record this, it is also important that we report the findings of a Parliamentary Committee on Petitions: A significant number of cancer drugs don’t fall within price control mechanisms. “This regulatory non-inclusion has led to excessive and often unaffordable pricing, thereby limiting access for a large section of the patient population,’’ it said. The government should undertake urgent measures to expand the scope of the DPCO to include the widest possible range of cancer drugs, the Committee on Petitions has recommended in its report. Additionally, regular and comprehensive market assessments should be instituted to monitor prevailing drug prices and availability trends, the report said.
Experts called for the elimination of mercury-based medical devices in India, last week. The workshop, held in Guwahati, focussed on the harms of mercury exposure at home, (thermometers and sphygmomanometers) especially among children and women, and India’s commitment to the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Named after Minamata, a Japanese city, this United Nations-backed convention is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.
In other news, U.S. suspends chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq over ‘serious’ side effects. Interestingly, there seems to be a surge in the number of chikungunya cases across the world.
Amiran Baduashvili and Lisa Bero, write in The Conversation about a new study that found: Most air cleaning devices have not been tested on people − and little is known about their potential harms. Many respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19 and influenza, can spread through indoor air. Technologies such as HEPA filters, ultraviolet light and special ventilation designs – collectively known as engineering infection controls – are intended to clean indoor air and prevent viruses and other disease-causing pathogens from spreading. Why is this important? Because finding effective ways to remove microbes from indoor air could have profound public health benefits and might help limit economic damage in future pandemics. Engineering infection controls could protect people from infection by working in the background of daily life, without any effort from people.
Talking about infection control and living a healthy life, do read Dr. Sharat Damodar’s piece where he writes about The role of preventive health screenings in achieving a healthier India. Preventive health screenings, whether a simple blood sugar test, lipid profile, mammography, or full-body health check, serve as an early warning system. They assist in identifying risk factors before they develop into major disease.
Meghna M. in this article, tries to examine why people with ASD Level 1 have to jump through hoops to get a proper diagnosis, and how the lack of a diagnosis can be disruptive for many people.
Rishika Priyadarsi and Aditya Ansh write on a very important issue: Why rural India is missing out on menstrual health progress even as urban India is seeing a marked improvement in menstrual hygiene awareness and access to products.
A Lancet report posits that to improve mental health outcomes, improving physical health through lifestyle interventions is crucial, and C. Maya reports.
Maximo Torero Cullen writes that The path to ending global hunger runs through India. In recent years, the gains in the country on this front, are the result of policy investments in food security and nutrition, increasingly driven by digital technology, smarter governance, and improved service delivery, particularly on the part of a much refurbished, modernised Public Distribution System.
In context, also stop by Devyanshi Bihani’s story on The complex web of factors behind India’s persistent stunting crisis. The article argues that a host of factors including teenage pregnancies, poor maternal and child nutrition, and lack of sanitation perpetuate stunting. A stunted child is too short for his or her age as a result of chronic or recurrent malnutrition.
And more on this, Nina Badgaiyan and Namya Mahajan discuss how, for a child, the first 1,000 days of his life are that critical window — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lay the foundation for future success. Brain development and maturation as well as adequate growth through nutrition must happen in this period, failing which the child will never reach their full potential. Read, here: Nourish to flourish, the nutrition and cognition link.
This week, we return to tobacco, focusing on the law, and on vaping.
Parth Sharma,Amod L. Borle, M.M. Singh, Pragati B Hebbar and Rijo M. John outline how India’s Tobacco control laws are out of step with smokeless tobacco. Achieving the tobacco endgame in India requires a coordinated strategy across multiple ministries, alongside stringent implementation of existing laws, increased taxes, and stronger research bodies. Do also read this piece by Dr. Piyush Goel busting the popularly held view that Vaping and hookah smoking are safe alternatives to cigarettes. In fact, they carry significant health risks, he argues, writing that both these habits are clear health hazards that can have lasting consequences.
For the tailpiece of the week, we must, of course, pull up for your benefit, the latest episode of the Health Wrap, our bi-monthly podcast on all things health. Watch it on our YouTube site, or here, on The Hindu: Organ donation gaps, Supreme Court ruling on stray dogs, HIV testing debate
In our explainers this week:
Zubeda Hamid tells you all you need to know about Bloom syndrome.
Dr. Kumardev Arvind Rajamanya explains that Men are also at risk of osteoporosis with advancing age.
What is the One Health approach that will be a solution for the street dog crisis in India? Sharon Sarah Thawaney explains, in this story.
Our reporters across the country pitch in to examine how unregulated cosmetology clinics threaten health and safety of Indian patients.
What has NOTTO said about organ donations to women?
What are the uses of wastewater surveillance?
If you have a few extra moments, you can also catch up with the following articles:
Reshmi Chakraborty on How Kerala’s youngsters are stepping up as palliative caregivers
D.P. Kasbekar on A bistable gene in a deadly bacterium offers a clue to beating it
Pooja Sehgal ,Shirshendu Mukherjee Better-informed AI systems are needed for better health messaging
Cancer should be declared notifiable disease across States, Union Territories: Parliamentary panel
FAIMA launches toll-free mental health helpline for doctors across India
For many more health stories, head to our health page and subscribe to the health newsletter here.
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