Health Bulletin 10/ June/ 2024

Confirming this, Dr. Kaushal, the media coordinator from the All FMGs Association (AFA) informed Medical Dialogues that already more than 200 FMGs have gathered in front of the NMC office and more students are expected to join them.

Denying relief to an FMG, the Delhi High Court has stated that Foreign Medical Graduates cannot get an eligibility certificate to appear in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) i.e. the screening test to practice in India, after obtaining their medical degrees from the medical institutes abroad.

Clarifying that the eligibility certificate has to be obtained before securing medical admission abroad, the HC bench of Justice C Hari Shankar referred to the Supreme Court judgment and noted, "I am bound by the judgment of the Supreme Court in Indian Doctors from Russia Welfare Association and the decisions of the Division Bench of this Court in Ishan Kaul and Shambhavi Sharma, as well as the statutory dictate contained in Section 13(4B) of the IMC Act, all of which envisage obtaining of the Eligibility Certificate before joining the medical course abroad, and stipulate it as a precondition for the candidate to be eligible to appear in the FMGE for practicing in India as a medical professional. I have, therefore, reluctantly had to hold that the Eligibility Certificate cannot be obtained after the candidate has obtained the PMQ [ Primary Medical Qualification] from abroad."

Not even your toothpaste is safe from the hidden dangers lurking in low-calorie sweeteners. A recent study from the Cleveland Clinic suggests that a low-calorie sweetener found in hundreds of popular snacks, toothpaste, and gum may significantly raise the risk of stroke or heart attack. The sugar substitute, xylitol, was initially hailed as a healthy alternative because it exists naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, distinguishing it from wholly synthetic substitutes like Splenda. However, these healthy hopes may have been gravely misplaced.

In a study involving 3,000 adults, researchers found that those who consumed the most xylitol were nearly twice as likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack within three years compared to those who consumed limited quantities. Xylitol is absorbed directly into the blood upon consumption, where it activates platelets, making them more prone to clumping together. This increased platelet activity can lead to the formation of clots that clog the blood vessels of the heart and brain, raising the likelihood of stroke or heart attack.

Reference: Marco Witkowski, Ina Nemet, Xinmin S Li, Jennifer Wilcox, Marc Ferrell, Hassan Alamri, Nilaksh Gupta, Zeneng Wang, Wai Hong Wilson Tang, Stanley L Hazen, Xylitol is prothrombotic and associated with cardiovascular risk, European Heart Journal, 2024;, ehae244, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae244