The United Nations on Friday urged countries to focus on the roots of the AIDS epidemic and draw on a panoply of tried-and-tested tools to help prevent HIV spreading among groups of people who most at risk.

“There is no single magic bullet for HIV prevention, but we can choose wisely from the known prevention options available so that they can reinforce and complement each other,” said Peter Piot, the outgoing executive director of UNAIDS.

Launching a report ahead of Worl…

Cases of HIV/AIDS could hit 10 million in Asia by 2010 – more than doubling the current estimate – unless nations take stronger steps to control the disease, experts warned on Friday.

Meanwhile there could be 500,000 new cases each year as infection rates rise among men having sex with other men.

Some 50 million women are being endangered by the high-risk behaviour of husbands and boyfriends, said Amala Reddy, of the Joint United Nations Programme on Aids.

The…

An American woman who held the record for being the world’s oldest person for over a year died Wednesday at the ripe old age of 115 years, 220 days, the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group said.

Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana, was born on April 20, 1893 – when Queen Victoria still ruled the British empire and before X-rays were even invented.

Parker was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest person in August 2007 following the death of Ja…

Father Sunny Joseph has no doubts about what is required to help treat children and adults with HIV. “We need more money,” he said. “We need much more, for medication especially.”

The reed-thin Roman Catholic priest is administrator at Snehadaan, a community care centre located beyond the glass-fronted IT offices on the rural fringes of the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

Men and women come here for treatment they cannot get elsewhere, either through poverty, lack of m…

More single Japanese men than women are looking for love this Christmas to beat the holiday blues, according to a survey released this week.

Seventy percent of single Japanese males, but only 55 percent of females, want to find a partner in time for Christmas, according to a survey of 150 men and 150 women in their 20s to 40s.

“Single men always feel lonely and Christmas increases their loneliness,” said an official at the Nozze marriage information centre which published…

Cholera has killed 412 people in Zimbabwe to date and the disease is also spreading into neighbouring Botswana and South Africa, the United Nations warned Friday.

A total of 9,908 cases have been recorded in the impoverished southern African country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, raising an earlier toll of 389 dead out of 9,463 affected.

Warning of “alarming regional dimension,” it said the health ministries of South Africa and Zimbabwe …

“Magic mushrooms” will be banned in the Netherlands from next week after a court ruling Friday, in the latest sign of a hardening stance on recreational drug use by the traditionally liberal Dutch.

The ban will be in place from Monday after the district court in The Hague rejected a petition by a body representing vendors of the hallucinogenic fungi to halt a health ministry ban on their cultivation and sale.

The ruling comes days after authorities ordered dozens of Amste…

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, on Friday said sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and “more freedom.”

“Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually I think is short period satisfaction and often, that leads to more complication,” the Dalai Lama told reporters in a Lagos hotel, speaking in English without a translator.

He said conjugal life caused “too much ups and downs.

“Natura…

There is good news for medical tourists! Most insurers retreat when it comes to covering medical procedures performed overseas, but times are changing as some insurers are exploring the option.

Twenty years ago, an American needing knee surgery probably wouldn’t think of jetting off to India for the operation. But times keep changing, health insurance costs keep rising, and Kumar Jagadeesan can cite a statistic that has led many patients to jump aboard a plane.

“A knee surgery operation in the U.S. can cost $45,000 to $50,000,” says Jagadeesan, the vice-president and CEO of Star Hospitals.net, a medical travel company. “In India, the cost would be $10,000, plus the price of a plane ticket,” which could be as little as $1,330 for a round-trip.

Star Hospitals.net is one of several medical travel companies advertising inexpensive services where patients fly to India, Thailand, the Philippines, and other countries to have surgery. With a few notable exceptions, however, insurance companies aren’t eager to cover these trips, even while they acknowledge the cost savings may be great. So for now, most patients must put up their own cash or put down a credit card.

Worries About Credentials

Why are insurers reluctant to send policyholders overseas? “One of the biggest issues is credentialing claims,” says Scott Edelstein, a lawyer with the global law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. “They have to take reasonable measures that the providers overseas have the credentials to provide adequate care.”

Most medical travel companies, including Star Hospitals, currently rely on the Joint Commission International (JCI), an American nonprofit that accredits hospitals in the U.S., to help find suitable medical centers overseas. Lately the number of international hospitals getting the thumbs-up from the JCI has been growing. “There is great potential for growth, which is being driven by the build out of high quality hospitals on the global scene,” says Josef Woodman, the author of Patients Without Borders. Kenneth A. Powers, the JCI’s media relation’s manager, said that in 2005, there were just 76 JCI-accredited hospitals. Now there are more than 220.

JCI accreditation will probably help insurers overcome fears of getting sued by injured patients. But there are other issues to worry about. The insurers “have to make sure there will be smooth claims processing,” says Woodman. And, he says, there are concerns about continuity of care. “What happens when the patient comes back? Even if there are no complications with a procedure, how much is the insurance company willing to cover for physical therapy back in the U.S.?”

Few Legal Options

Despite these lingering issues, a few insurers have been bold enough to dip their toes into medical tourism in the past year. In March 2008, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of South Carolina signed alliances with seven overseas hospitals (BusinessWeek, 03/13/08). And more insurers are in talks with medical tourism companies, attests Rudy Rupak, founder of the medical travel agency Planet Hospital. “Right now we’re having active discussions with insurance companies about adding us to their plan design,” he says.

Getting more insurers involved might help ease patients’ reluctance to fly to another country for a procedure. But lack of coverage is not the only deal-breaker. “What happens if there’s an adverse effect?” asks Edelstein. “Will they have any recourse? That’s a very hot area in the legal arena. For the most part, those patients are not going to have much recourse in the U.S.”

Nor will patients have many legal options in the country where they had the operation. “Access to the court system in countries like India is not as good as in the U.S.,” Edelstein adds. “And even if you do get a trial, the judgments tend to be much lower than they would be in the U.S.”"

Nevertheless, Woodman and others are optimistic about the changing world of medical tourism and the role of health insurers. “When you think of medical tourism 20 years ago, you picture the Beverly Hills crowd of upper-crust men and women going to Brazil for a procedure and coming back home to brag about it,” says Woodman. “The profile has changed. It’s becoming a middle-class and working-class phenomenon, where folks are being driven to seek cost-effective alternatives.”

kyon ki movie theme

Name : prabhjot singh       Country : India

A study has revealed the existence of a new experimental drug which, following several tests on lab animals, has proved its mettle in combating two viruses. One of these viruses is closely related to a potential lethal bioterror pathogen.

The drug, bavituximab, takes a novel tack in confronting viruses, which are notorious for mutations that evade or resist conventional pharmaceutical molecules.

Instead of confronting the intruder head-on, bavituximab waits until the vir…

The time-honored livelihood of many producers in the in the southwest of France is the making of the traditional regional delicacy- foie gras, or duck’s liver. But the global credit crunch is taking its toll on the gourmet food section too. But the customary producers of the French dish are shrugging off its effects – but only until Christmas.

“Our books are already filling with Christmas orders, but I have doubts about next year,” said Annie Nadal, a local foie gras producer. b…

Scientists have found a way to release the pain-relieving potential of one of the same proteins in the body activated by marijuana, according to a study released Sunday.

In experiments on mice, researchers found a chemical that prevents a naturally occurring enzyme from blocking this cannabinoid receptor, called 2-arachidonoylgylcerol, or 2-AG.

Once the enzyme, known as MAGL, is deactivated, the protein is more effective in dampening pain, say the team, led by Benjamin Cr…

Scores of Zimbabwean cholera patients have crossed into South Africa, desperately hoping to survive the nationwide outbreak that has killed nearly 300 people, health officials said Monday.

The United Nations says at least 294 people have died while more than 6,000 cases of the deadly water-borne disease have been detected.

Zimbabwe’s hospitals and clinics struggle to provide patients with even basic drugs and equipment, prompting scores of people to seek help in neighbour…

Tens of thousands of children on a remote island chain in eastern Indonesia are not getting proper nutrition, a report said Monday.

At least 39,080 children in the province of West Nusa Tenggara suffer from malnutrition, local news agency Antara reported.

“Meanwhile, the number of children under the red line (the required nutrition level) is 716,317,” governor Zainul Madji said.

The provincial administration has encouraged a more varied diet among children and…

Nearly two thirds of Russians with HIV contracted the virus that causes AIDS by using illegal drugs, the country’s consumer rights and sanitary oversight agency said Monday.

“The taking of drugs by a parenteral means remains the main way AIDS is transmitted, representing 65 percent of cases,” the Rospotrebnadzor agency said in a statement released at a Moscow press conference.

Russia has a total of 448,000 HIV cases, representing about 0.3 percent of the population, with …

Much before the credit crisis rocked the American economy and the world, Michigan-based Jill Howard (name changed) made up her mind to visit India during the Christmas holidays this year for a joint replacement surgery. The 58-year-old engineer had planned her surgery in India, because she knew that the costs for the treatment would be much lower here compared to the US.

What ensued in the following months was an economic mayhem with the rising number of pink slips, sky-rocketing fuel prices, sinking stock markets and dimming sentiments. Everything, from food prices to air fares hit the roof.

Global crisis shuts funds tap for biotech sector

However, all this had no affect on Howard’s plans for her surgery in India. In fact, now she had all the more reasons to get the surgery done in India as a joint replacement surgery in the US would have cost her a stupendous $50,000 against only $8,000 in India.

“So even if I were to add the airline expenses, travel and stay, it would be cheaper to fly to India for the same treatment,” she said.

Like Howard, several medical industry experts, too, believe that it couldn’t be a better time to fly to India for medical reasons. In fact, many say that the recession was a boon in disguise for the country’s medical tourism sector. (Medical tourism refers to travel undertaken for medical care.)

‘Scope of $700 b rescue fund may be broadened’

According to experts, the immediate impact of any recession was cost cutting and cost rationalisation. So, with the US being the hardest hit by the current crisis, efforts to reign in costs would be the strongest in that country.

According to financial advisory, audit and consulting firm Deloitte, in 2007, about 4,50,000 patients from abroad visited India for medical treatment.

Experts peg the growth of the country’s medical tourism at about 30-35% in the financial year 2008-2009.

Slowdown to last 15 months: Nasscom

Vishal Bali, managing director of corporate hospital chain Wockhardt, said India has been getting about 3,000 patients from abroad every year. “And we see this rising by 35% this year.”

According to Ankur Bharti, consultant, Technopak Health, cost-cutting would be the main growth driver for the country’s medical tourism this year. “Cost-cutting would be the main reason why more international patients would come to India, especially from the US as medical costs are four to five times lesser here,” he said.

Anupam Sibal, group medical director, Apollo hospitals, said a bypass surgery in the US could cost about $75,000. The cost could be around $8,000-9000 in India.

It is ‘recession’ for one in seven of NSE-listed cos

“A liver transplant in the US would cost around Rs 1.5 crore. In UK, the cost would be around Rs 80 lakh. However, in India, a liver transplant costs only about Rs 18-20 lakh for adults and Rs 12-15 lakh for children. Since the difference is so huge, I think patients will prefer flying down to India,” Sibal said.

Kumar Menon, specialist, medical informatics and telemedicine at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) at Kochi in Kerala, said the medical tourism sector would remain constant and largely unaffected by the global economic turmoil.

“At AIMS, we specifically get a huge chunk of Malayalees settled abroad, especially in the Gulf region, coming home for medical treatment during the holidays. This trend would remain unaffected by the crisis.”

Industry professionals, however, warn that treatment involving cosmetic surgery, including areas like cosmetic dentistry, dermatological treatment and ayurvedic massages, will witness a decline.

Menon said the number of patients coming to India for those medical conditions that were not so intense and a treatment for which could wait, will see a decline.

However, areas such as cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology and oncology will continue to get more patients from abroad.

People with (ADD)Attention Deficit Disorder or(ADHD) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may have it harder, but many of them do find successful and rewarding lives. Here are five things you can do to be one of the winners who happen to have ADD or ADHD:

1.Have a vision for your life

Stephen Covey, in First Things First, suggests that each of us should have a vision for ourselves based on our need to live, love, learn, and leave a legacy. Most likely, when you think about your purpose, you will go back to the basics: your family, the people around you, and you yourself. Once you are clear about your purpose, it is easier to work towards what is really important in your life, and not scatter your efforts in ways many of us with
ADD or ADHD do.

2.Take responsibility

I know one young man diagnosed with ADD or ADHD as a child who went through a succession of special schools and even got into trouble with the law. No one expected him to make much of his life, but he was lucky to find teachers who did not accept his excuses of a poor family life and a defect in his brain for his bad behavior. After he accepted that he was responsible for his own life, he turned his life around. He learned carpentry at a vocational school and now successfully runs his own shop and a small carpentry school.

3.Do what you love

For those of us with ADD or ADHD it is easier if we find job where we are paid for doing what we love. Those with ADD or ADHD are often capable of hyperconcentration when they do things they are interested in. When we do what we love, we are using all our strengths instead of struggling to compensate for our weaknesses
and mistakes half of our working lives.

4.Nurture your assets

Which brings us to the next point – take care of the things which are your strengths: your talents, you health, and your relationships. We with ADD or ADHD tend to be careless in this – maybe we don’t know what we are good at, or we are too disorganized to exercise consistently or eat right, and we seem constantly have trouble getting along.

One part of nurturing is looking for things within our control that hold us back. Sometimes something as simple as a eliminating milk and sugars from your diet will make you feel better.

5.Plan to succeed

Some of us distractible, disorganized ADD or ADHD adults are lucky enough to find spouses who are fanatically organized. If you are not so lucky, do your own personal planning. This is actually not so difficult when you have a vision for your life. Ask your self, is this important or urgent? Does this help me fulfill my vision for my life? Concentrate on what you have power or influence over.

So there is no excuse for using ADD(attention deficit disorder) or ADHD(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ) as an excuse. Take charge of your life, and good luck!

1) Do you like to be fit and trim?

Yes/No
2) How often do you dance/exercise/do aerobics?

a) Thrice in a week

b) Five days a week

c) I do not like exercise

d) Whenever I like
3) When you eat out you usually order

a) Samosa, Fried chicken and grilled foods

b) Baked foods ,fruit salad,bhel puri,
4) Choose one statement that best describes you?

a) I love to eat lots of fried and junk foods

b) I eat healthy food most of the time and fast food once in a way.
5) Do you spend time with your family?

Yes/No
6) Do you spend many hours with your friends every day?

Yes/No
7) Do you spend much time in watching TV/internet/playstation every day

Yes/No

Do you spend much time talking with your freinds over the cell phone every day?

Yes/No
9) How many hours you spend in developing your knowledge(studying,reading ,training etc)

a) Considerable time

b) I do not spend any time developing my knowledge
10) Are you making plans for a lifestyle change?

A. Writing it down

B. A Motivator

C. Goals Sheet

D. A Good Reward System

E. All the above
Answers

1) Yes

2) a or b

3) b

4) b

5) Yes

6) No

7) No

No

9) a

10) E
Each correct question carries one mark and a score of 6 and above means your overall fitness is appreciable. Good Luck!

Test your office ergonomics!

• How should your monitor be positioned when typing at your computer
• Directly in front of your ergonomic keyboard
• To the left of your ergonomic keyboard
• To the right of your ergonomic keyboard
• Below your ergonomic keyboard
• Health and safety are not important in a workplace?
• True
• False
• If you do not experience pain while doing repetitive tasks then you do not have to worry about cumulative trauma?
• True
• False
• The best position for your mouse is:
• On top of your keyboard
• Behind your keyboard
• Next to your computer monitor
• Next to your keyboard
• Should the telephone,documents and frequently accessed materials be within an easy arm’s reach while at your desk?
• True
• False
• Your work surfaces should be plain and smooth without hard or sharp edges.
• True
• False
• Should you adjust your work surface height when working at the computer every few hours, when you feel your muscles need a break ?
• True
• False
• Head, neck and trunk should be erect and not slouch.
• Yes
• No
• Trunk to be about perpendicular to floor and not leaning forward/backward.
• Yes
• No
• Shoulders and upper arms to be about perpendicular to floor and not relaxed or elevated.
• Yes
• No

Answers

• A.  Directly in front of your keyboard
• B.  False
• B.  False
• D.  Next to your keyboard
• A.  True
• A.  True
• A.  True
• A.  Yes
• A.  Yes
• A.  Yes

Carpel tunnel syndrome is a medical condition in which the median nerve becomes “pinched” in the carpal tunnel, a condition that causes the person considerable pain and/or numbness in the wrists and hands. The number of people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome has increased in the recent years and ergonomic keyboards and correct posture help provide relief from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ergonomic Keyboards

Ergonomic Keyboards are specially designed computer keyboards with ergonomic considerations to minimize muscle strain,fatigue and discomfort while maximizing productivity. Ergonomic Keyboards and Ergonomic Mouse Products reduce wrist stress by atleast 30% and help you avoid Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Stress Injury associated with computer input.

Ergonomic keyboards help change the position of hand while typing, thereby reducing the stress on your wrists.

A correct posture very much reduces the risk of Carpel tunnel syndrome(CTS) and other repetitive strain injuries (RST).

Keys to a correct posture

• Allow your elbows to hang down straight from your shoulders.
• Keep your wrists in a straight line with your forearm.
• Take care not to slant your wrists.
• Pay attention to your back and foot while keyboarding. Feet should be in front of you on the floor.
• Hips and knees should form a right angle.
• Arms should be comfortable and back should be erect.
• Your wrists should be straight and not bending up or down.
• Chair height should be correct so that you dont crouch.

Top 10 benefits of staying active

• Physical activity burns glucose (calories) and makes your body more sensitive to insulin and ultimately blood glucose level is lowered.

• Physical activity lowers blood pressure. It helps your heart pump slower and stronger.

• Exercise lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and can raise good cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides. Your heart becomes healthy and strong.

• Physical activity can lower blood glucose and weight. Ultimately these may lower how much insulin or diabetes pills you need to take.

• Lose weight with physical activity and be fit and trim. Stay active and keep off excess weight.

• Lower risk for other health problems with exercise. Reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke, some cancers, and bone loss.

• Sleep well and gain more energy.

• Walk off or work out your daily stress.

• Weight training activities such as weight lifts and also walking strengthens your bones and muscles.

• Physical activity makes your body flexible and active.

A Japanese professor on Wednesday launched what he said was the world’s first web-based psychotherapy sessions available via mobile phone, as the country grapples with a growing problem of depression.

The interactive service offers cognitive therapy sessions that identify a person’s level of depression by asking questions about his or her sleeping and eating habits, weight change, and emotional well-being.

Using their mobile phones – which are also widely substituted in J…

The anti-cancer drug Avastin increases the risk of blood clots in the legs and lungs by 33 percent, according to an analysis published by US researchers Wednesday.

The study examined results of 15 clinical trials with Avastin, made by the Swiss firm Roche, involving 7,956 patients with advanced solid tumors.

The risk of developing venous thromboembolism was 33 percent greater in patients treated with the drug, bevacizumab, than in those who were not, according to Shobha R…

School pupils throughout Europe will soon be offered free fruit every week under an EU initiative agreed Wednesday to improve children’s health and tackle obesity.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said the commission would provide 90 million euros (114 million dollars) per year to finance the project, with member states pitching in on a voluntary basis.

The agreement was reached at a meeting of EU farm ministers in Brussels, with the free distribution of f…

The Philippine military has mobilised medical teams to help fight an outbreak of typhoid fever that has left more than 100 people hospitalised northeast of Manila, according to the military.

Teams of doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians as well as equipment will be sent to the towns of Real and Infanta in Quezon Provence to help contain the outbreak, it said.

The Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed that contaminated water from a stream was the main source of…

The global financial crisis will result in devastating cuts to aid funding, as economies of major donor countries slip into recession, the International Federation of Red Cross said Tuesday.

“Western governments have already started revising their humanitarian budgets and some aid organisations are talking about reducing their own budgets, something which will have devastating results to the poor,” said Francoise Le Goff, the group’s chief for southern Africa.

Le Goff sai…

At least two people have died and more than 1,500 are in hospital following a suspected outbreak of cholera in the southern Philippines, health officials said Wednesday.

National Epidemiology Centre chief Eric Tayag said patients were suffering severe stomach pains and diarrhoea but added that field doctors were trying to verify if all the cases were due to cholera.

Tayag said the patients “were showing cholera symptoms” and most came from the settlement of Tagoloan in so…

The government announced plans Wednesday to outlaw prostitution involving women forced into the sex trade through illegal trafficking, but the move was sharply criticised by experts.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith wants to criminalise paying for sex “controlled for another person’s gain” in England and Wales after rejecting a total ban on prostitution because of insufficient public support.

Under current laws, buying or selling sex is not illegal but other activities related…

Online US dating service eHarmony.com has agreed to set up a website for gays and lesbians seeking partners after being accused of discrimination by a gay man in New Jersey state.

Under the terms of a settlement agreement announced on Wednesday by the Division on Civil Rights of New Jersey’s Attorney General’s Office, eHarmony will begin providing same-sex matching services next year.

“The relationship Web site agrees to provide a new service for match-seekers identifying…