Made in Bangla pills help plan families in Assam border district

Contraceptive pills from Bangladesh are being smuggled in large quantity to Assam’s Dhubri district which is located close to the international border. Dhubri, like many other areas in the country which share a border with Bangladesh, has long been a haven for smuggled products including food items, clothes, accessories and medicines. Now, this includes an oral contraceptive pill called ‘sukhi’. Bangladesh, which has a robust family-planning programme, distributes ‘sukhi’ pills for free which have also made their way across the border to Dhubri. “As far as I know, ‘sukhi’ has…

Read More

‘Less than 20% succeed in managing diabetes despite availability of drugs’

Less than 20% of diabetes patients in India are able to maintain a desired blood sugar profile, cholesterol and blood pressure, despite availability of medicines for all three disorders, findings of a comprehensive scientific study evaluating diabetes management shows. Highlighting the need for improvement in care delivery at clinical level, the study pegs India’s diabetes population at 70 million the second highest worldwide after China. Globally, 415 million people are suffering from diabetes, of which 75% are living in low and middle income countries. The trials, led by researchers from…

Read More

Oestrogen patch may cut Alzheimer’s risk in some women

Administering the primary female sex hormone oestrogen via a skin patch shortly after menopause may reduce Alzheimer’s risk in women, suggests new research. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that newly postmenopausal women who received oestrogen via a skin patch had reduced beta-amyloid deposits, the sticky plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. “This study showed, for the first time, that the brain amyloid deposition — a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease — is reduced in newly postmenopausal women who received 17beta-Estradiol patch form…

Read More

Oestrogen patch may cut Alzheimer’s risk in some women

Administering the primary female sex hormone oestrogen via a skin patch shortly after menopause may reduce Alzheimer’s risk in women, suggests new research. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that newly postmenopausal women who received oestrogen via a skin patch had reduced beta-amyloid deposits, the sticky plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. “This study showed, for the first time, that the brain amyloid deposition — a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease — is reduced in newly postmenopausal women who received 17beta-Estradiol patch form…

Read More

Diabetes control poor in 20% of patients: Survey

Less than 20% of diabetes patients in India are able to maintain a desired blood sugar profile, cholesterol and blood pressure, despite availability of medicines for all three disorders, findings of a comprehensive scientific study evaluating diabetes management shows. Highlighting the need for improvement in care delivery at clinical level, the study pegs India’s diabetes population at 70 million -the second highest worldwide after China. Globally, 415 million people are suffering from diabetes, of which 75% are living in low and middle income countries The trials, led by researchers from…

Read More

Time for fat tax in Kolkata?

Debjani Bhaumik of Behala is a self-confessed pizza-addict and she loves to punctuate her pizza meals with trips to a burger joint on Park Street. Despite being overweight, the homemaker has refused to go slow on her fast-food consumption. The imposition of a ‘fat-tax’ on fast-food by the Kerala government has set her thinking. Even though she isn’t planning to give up, Debjani has decided to cut down on her consumption to reduce the pocket pinch, in case the tax travels to Kolkata. “The tax is a steep one and…

Read More