Health Bulletin 4/February/2023

Here are the top health stories for the day:

Postpone NEET PG 2023: Doctors to protest at Jantar Mantar, demand resignation of Union Health Minister

Upset with the silence from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding the demands of the students for posponement of NEET PG 2023 exam, the doctors under the umbrella of Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) have now decided to organize a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on Sunday i.e. February 5, 2023.

In this regard, the association has already written to the Deputy Commissioner of Police seeking permission for peaceful protest by NEET PG aspirants.

For more details, check out the link given below:

Postpone NEET PG 2023: Doctors To Protest At Jantar Mantar, Demand Resignation Of Union Health Minister

What an irony- When junior SRs get paid more than senior assistant professors!

Imagine getting a much coveted promotion in your job only to come to know later that you are going to get a much much lesser pay than your current pay. This seems to be a situation with various doctors who are joining medical academia at the post of assistant professors only to face an anti climax that their pay package is going to fall by more than 15 percent.

Currently, the trend has developed whereby the salary of Senior Residents, which is a junior post and an entry level to becoming an Assistant Professor in a medical college is actually higher than the person, who has already entered the medical education sector as an Assistant Professor.

For more details, check out the link given below:

What An Irony- When Junior SRs Get Paid More Than Senior Assistant Professors!

FDA approves oral daprodustat for treating anemia in CKD patients on dialysis

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved oral daprodustat (Jesduvroq) for treating anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are on dialysis.

Jesduvroq is not approved for patients who are not on dialysis. Other FDA-approved treatments for this condition are injected into the blood or under the skin.

“With an oral drug option in addition to the FDA-approved injection options, adults with chronic kidney disease on dialysis now have multiple ways to treat their anemia,” said Ann Farrell, M.D., director of the Division of Non-Malignant Hematology in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This approval demonstrates the FDA’s commitment to helping bring a range of therapeutic options to patients with chronic diseases. Patients can consult with their healthcare providers to select the option that is most appropriate.”

For more details, check out the link given below:

FDA Approves Oral Daprodustat For Treating Anaemia In CKD Patients On Dialysis

Researchers develop device to detect brain tumour through urine

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have used a new device to identify a key membrane protein in urine that indicates whether the patient has a brain tumor. Their protein could be used to detect brain cancer, avoiding the need for invasive tests, and increasing the likelihood of tumors being detected early enough for surgery. This research could also have potential implications for detecting other types of cancer. The research was published in ACS Nano.

Although early detection of many types of cancer has contributed to the recent increases in cancer survival rates, the survival rate for brain tumors has remained almost unchanged for over 20 years. Partly this is due to their late detection. Physicians often discover brain tumors only after the onset of neurological symptoms, such as loss of movement or speech, by which time the tumor has reached a considerable size. Detecting the tumor when it is still small, and starting treatment as soon as possible. should help to save lives. 

Reference:

Kunanon Chattrairat, Takao Yasui el at, All-in-one nanowire assay system for capture and analysis of extracellular vesicles from an ex vivo brain tumor model, (2 Feb 2023), ACS Nano Article ASAP, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c08526