Editorial

5th March 2019

Practice Updates

Salt Awareness Week 2019: "It´s time to take ACTION on salt!"

Consuming less than 5 g/ salt (< 2 g of sodium) per adult per day, from all sources, is the WHO recommended intake and the target that countries are to aim for with their dietary salt/sodium reduction initiatives. But no country is on track to achieve.... read more

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'Once lost, hearing doesn't come back': WHO warns on World Hearing Day

Worldwide, some 466 million people have disabling hearing loss, and the WHO estimates that by 2050 that figure will almost double, affecting one in 10 people. The cost of unaddressed hearing loss is believed to be around .... read more

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PAHO calls for Latin American countries to prepare for possible dengue outbreaks

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has called for countries in the Region of the Americas to prepare for a timely response to possible outbreaks of dengue. The disease is endemic in the Region and, since its reintroduction in the 1980s,... read more

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Heart attack patients taken directly to heart centres have better long-term survival

Heart attack patients taken directly to heart centres for lifesaving treatment have better long-term survival than those transferred from another hospital, reports a large observational study presented March 3, 2019 at Acute Cardiovascular Care 20191 a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress... read more

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Data sharing uncovers five new risk genes for Alzheimer's disease

Analysis of genetic data from more than 94,000 individuals has revealed five new risk genes for Alzheimer's disease, and confirmed 20 known others. An international team of researchers also reports for the first time that mutations in genes specific to tau, a hallmark protein of .... read more

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Sleep deprivation may be a risk factor for weaning-failure in patients on ventilators

Attempts to wean intubated, critically ill patients off mechanical ventilators were less successful when the patients exhibited atypical sleep or pathological wakefulness,... read more

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Sleeve gastrectomy safer option in obese Crohn's disease patients

In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly Crohn's disease (CD), sleeve gastrectomy may be the safer surgery, suggests a study reported online Feb. 21, 2019 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.... read more

Medical Voice

The Deeper Meaning of "Lord Shiva"

Many of us are devout followers of Shiva. But, we worship Him without understanding the deep meaning of Shiva. In Hindu mythology, Shiva is one of the three forms (trimurtis) of God, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, the Hindu Triumvirate..... read more

eMedi Humor

Medicolegal Corner

eMedi Quiz

Following prostate surgery, the retention catheter is secured to the client’s leg causing slight traction of the inflatable balloon against the prostatic fossa. This is done to:

A. Limit discomfort
B. Provide hemostasis
C. Reduce bladder spasms
D. Promote urinary drainage

Lifestyle Updates

Press Release

Noise pollution can lead to progressive hearing loss over time
About 900 million people are likely to suffer hearing loss by 2050

 

New Delhi, 4 March 2019: Statistics by the WHO indicate that there are about 466 million people across the world with disabling hearing loss. This number is likely to increase to 900 million by 2050 if no action is taken. The need of the hour is to lay emphasis on early identification and intervention for hearing loss. More than one billion young adults aged between 12 and 35 years are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to higher recreational noise levels. Around one-third of people over 65 years of age are affected by disabling hearing loss.

The primary causes of hearing loss have been identified as inherited diseases, infections, continued exposure to loud noise, drugs and aging. Many of these causes leading to hearing loss could be prevented by approaches like immunization and restricted exposure to loud noise.