Will the 2018 flu vaccine be effective against the deadly virus?

It is a high-stakes gamble with thousands of lives on the line. Yet twice a year, every year, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) bets on the flu — which virus types are likely to dominate in the coming season. On this basis, a vaccine is prepared months in advance. “We cannot say for sure which virus will be circulating,” said Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global influenza programme. “What we’re doing is based on the best possible surveillance information and analysis, and basically to bet, or to project,…

Read More

Are you at risk? Absence of this gene can give men a deadly cancer

A study has recently revealed that men who lack a certain gene subtype may be more susceptible to treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Researchers from Cleveland Clinic confirmed for the first time a mechanistic link between the gene HSD17B4 and deadly, aggressive prostate cancer. The team built upon their earlier seminal work in which they discovered that a gene called HSD3B1, when altered, enables prostate tumors to evade treatment and proliferate. They went on to show that the presence of this gene variant does in fact change treatment outcomes and overall survival…

Read More

World Cancer Day: This Deadly Lifestyle Disease Kills Close to 9 Million Annually

Undeniably, cancer has assumed a menacing character in the world of lifestyle diseases. According to the World Health Organisation, there were an estimated 14 million new instances of cancer in the year 2012 which are on rise ever since. According to the official reports, these numbers are expected to rise by a whopping 70% over the next twenty years. In the year 2015 close to 9 million people across the globe died due to cancer. Every 1 in 6 deaths in the world is caused by cancer which, at present,…

Read More

Poverty Versus Obesity and Alcohol: What’s More Deadly for Your Life?

We know that lifestyle diseases are on the rise. There are several reports published daily, bringing to light various causes, symptoms, preventive measures and other facts to spread more awareness about the consequences of our lifestyle choices, and how major diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, etc are killing thousands every year. We also read how in our chase for making money we are neglecting are health, which then contributes to stress and other ailments. All that money you earn can’t really buy you life, but it perhaps helps in more…

Read More

Sunbeds May Increase Risk of Deadly Skin Cancer

You may want to skip that sunbed after swimming, according to a new study. Sunbeds which are used in indoor tanning emit harmful UV radiation to produce a cosmetic tan. They are typically found in tanning salons, spas, gyms and sporting facilities. Using sunbeds may put people at a higher risk of melanoma – the most dangerous type of skin cancer. In the last decade, melanoma has the strongest increase in incidence and the incidence rates have in fact never been as high as in 2014. The World Health Organisation…

Read More

Modern Life, Bad Habits: Africa Faces Deadly New Illnesses

When Rose Kariuki first felt a lump on her left breast, the spectre of cancer — a disease she had only heard of on television — was the last thing on her mind. “To me, cancer was nowhere near us. It was shocking, I feared death, I feared so many things,” the 46-year-old Kenyan school teacher told AFP. Rose is one of a growing number of Africans suffering from cancer, one of the lifestyle diseases — along with diabetes and heart problems — proving increasing deadly on the continent. A…

Read More