Health Bulletin 12/May/2023

Here are the top health stories for the day:

RIP Dr Vandana Das: Medical fraternity shattered out on streets demanding Doctors Protection Act

The doctors protesting against the horrifying murder of a young doctor in Kerala have now intensified their protest and they have demanded new legislation for the protection of hospitals with immediate effect.

While the majority of the doctors in the State have remained absent from their work in hospitals for the last 24 hours, the doctors under Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMO) announced a strike Today.

For more details, check out the link given below:

RIP Dr Vandana Das: Medical Fraternity Shattered Out On Streets Demanding Doctors Protection Act

I-T dept raids Mankind Pharma premises in Delhi over tax evasion allegation

First in India: ICMR conducts successful delivery of blood bag under IDrone initiative

A key aspect of drones is that they can be used in healthcare during emergency response, not only for providing vaccines and medicines but also for supplying blood bags.

The inaugural flight in a validation study carried 10 units of whole blood samples from The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC). This drone sortie was in the visual line of sight conducted at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT), Noida.

For more details, check out the link given below:

First In India: ICMR Conducts Successful Delivery Of Blood Bag Under IDrone Initiative

Inhaling menthol may improve cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers from Cima University of Navarra (Spain) have shown in animal models of Alzheimer's disease that inhaling menthol improves cognitive ability. This study discovered that repeated short exposures to this substance can modulate the immune system and prevent the cognitive deterioration typical of this neurodegenerative disease. When analyzing its mechanism of action, they observed that when smelling this aroma, the level of interleukin-1-beta (IL-1b), a critical protein mediating the inflammatory response, was reduced. Furthermore, by inhibiting this protein with a drug approved for the treatment of some autoimmune diseases, they were also able to improve cognitive ability in these diseased mice.

Reference:

Casares, N., Alfaro, M., Cuadrado-Tejedor, M., Lasarte-Cia, A., Navarro, F., Vivas, I., Espelosin, M., Cartas-Cejudo, P., Fernández-Irigoyen, J., Santamaría, E., García-Osta, A., & Lasarte, J. J. (2023). Improvement of cognitive function in wild-type and Alzheimer´s disease mouse models by the immunomodulatory properties of menthol inhalation or by depletion of T regulatory cells. Frontiers in Immunology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1130044.