Cardiovascular disease risk high in rural area near Chennai

A large study that followed-up people for nearly eight years in a rural area near Chennai finds that cardiovascular disease is becoming an important preventable cause of death in rural areas. In the study area, two-thirds of people who developed cardiovascular disease died. Contrary to the general notion, cardiovascular disease is becoming an important preventable … Continue reading Cardiovascular disease risk high in rural area near Chennai

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Machine learning-based model can determine if skin cancer can spread

Using machine learning of 17 genomic signatures, researchers from IIIT Delhi and CSIR-IMTECH have developed a webserver called CancerSPP that will help clinicians in classifying cutaneous melanoma as either primary or metastatic. The accuracy is over 89%, and both sensitivity and specificity are high. Using the expression of 17 key genes (messenger RNAs) it is … Continue reading Machine learning-based model can determine if skin cancer can spread

Bengaluru team identifies novel mutations that influence bipolar disorder, schizophrenia

Bengaluru-based researchers have identified 42 rare mutations that influence clinical outcomes in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and psychosis. These mutations are in the genes which are implicated in very severe mental disorders. The researchers are planning to incorporate the genes with mutations into brain cells to understand how the variants affect the working of the cells. … Continue reading Bengaluru team identifies novel mutations that influence bipolar disorder, schizophrenia

Adults from South, Northeast India have higher risk of cardiovascular disease

Two large surveys covering nearly 8 lakh adults between 2012 and 2014 have found the average 10-year risk of a cardiovascular disease event varying from 13.2% in Jharkhand to 19.5% in Kerala. The mean risk is 12.7% among females and 21.4% among males. And adults living in urban areas have higher risk than those in rural areas. Two … Continue reading Adults from South, Northeast India have higher risk of cardiovascular disease

IIT Kanpur team finds possible cause of neurodevelopmental disorders

BMP signalling was previously known to play an important role in the early development of the brain. Now, IIT Kanpur researchers have found that BMP signalling plays an important role in cerebral cortex development by regulating the migration of new born cortical neurons and the establishment of polarity in the upper layer of cerebral cortex. … Continue reading IIT Kanpur team finds possible cause of neurodevelopmental disorders

Non-communicable diseases killed more Indians in 2015

  In 2015, India, like other developed countries, had more number of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases. In the case of males, deaths due to non-communicable diseases (3.6 million) were more than double that caused by communicable diseases (1.5 million), while it was nearly double in females (2.7 million due to non-communicable diseases and nearly … Continue reading Non-communicable diseases killed more Indians in 2015

Editorial: Necessary but not good enough

Published in The Hindu on October 3, 2011 A political declaration adopted recently by more than 30 world leaders and 100 senior Ministers at the United Nations General Assembly is a welcome first step in tackling four non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. The declaration calls on all governments … Continue reading Editorial: Necessary but not good enough