Mediwikileaks

In a latest in the fight against cancer, scientists from BARC have developed drugs to combat Cancer.                                                                BARC in Mumbai                                              Source - Homi Bhabha National Institute website They have done so with the help of the fruit  Rampatri plant or Gymnema Sylvestre as it is scientifically called. This fruit extract is used to create two anti cancer medicines which can help destroy tumors and help revive cells damaged in radiation. The scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) based in Anushaktinagar, Mumbai did clinical trials on mices and found that they can help in healing lung cancer and Neuroblastoma, which is a very rare cancer found in children. The Rampatri plant (Image Source - Sakshipost) The BARC scientists hope to start human trials soon and also apply for patents. Hope this fruit extract indeed helps curb cancer and will be available in the Indian market soon.  

A blood test called CancerLocater has been developed by the University of California that not only detects cancer within the body but also where the cancer is located. Infact the test is so simple that the basic idea is to include it in annual check-ups to help detect cancer before it starts showing and symptoms. The test does is it locates the Cancer DNA within the body Each time of cancer within the body has a different DNA which can be picked up and be read by a machine to determine where cancer maybe arising. One of the greatest advantage of a test like this would be to help spot cancer while it is still in the initial stages. This techniques is also non-evasive and will encourage more people to opt for it. India has nearly 1.8 million cancer patients most with cancers that are only caught in the last stages. The survival rates of Cancer can be increased greatly if the cancer is caught during the initial stages.  

Shocked? Well apparently the cure to Diabetes Mellitus or Type 2 Diabetes has been in front of our eyes all along. Type 2 diabetes, is a condition where the body fails to regulate the sugar levels in the blood causes too much or too little insulin to be produced by the pancreas. It usually turns into a life long disease requiring diet control and insulin therapy. According to new research, conducted at McMaster university in Canada, there may be hope for type 2 suffers through an intensive program that involves closely monitoring of diet+exercises+insulin+oral medicines. It basically involves giving rest to your pancreas after which your pancreases returns to normal (according to 40% of the results of study) and you are cured of diabetes or your diabetes is reversed, atleast temporarily. Here are some of the numbers as shared by McMaster University Research Program: 41% of the participants saw their diabetes reverse in just four months after the intensive program. The trial

Surrogacy laws in India were in news again recently because of Karan Johar who chose to have twins through surrogacy. Recently  the  Law Commission has strongly recommended against Commercial Surrogacy. The Surrogate Bill of 2016 came out with some very stringent laws. A lot has been spoken and told about surrogacy in India. Here is a chance for us to look at the cold hard facts of the matter.  The current surrogacy laws in India: Commercial surrogacy has been legal in India since 2002. 1 .India is emerging as a leader in international surrogacy and a sought after destination in surrogacy-related fertility tourism. Indian surrogates have been increasingly popular with fertile couples in industrialized nations because of the relatively low cost. Indian clinics are at the same time becoming more competitive, not just in the pricing, but in the hiring and retention of Indian females as surrogates. Clinics charge patients roughly a third of the price compared with going through

Nation Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has been on a roll - first reducing the cost of life saving drugs and then reducing the cost of stents in India. Championing the cause of affordable medicine further, NPAA has further reduced the cost life saving cancer drugs, some by as much as 85%. The drugs include Iressa of AstraZeneca Pharma India, whose price has been bought down from Rs 29,259 to Rs 3,977, a reduction of 86 per cent and Dr Reddy's laboratories' Grafeel - the price of which has been slashed by 41 per cent, it said.  The reduction is in the price range of 86 per cent to 13 per cent, NPPA said. The other pharma players the prices of whose cancer medicines have been reduced are  Natco Pharma  and Emcure pharmaceuticals among others, it added. In the diabetes segment also, there has been reduction in prices of the drugs, the regulator said. Source (Times of India)

                                              Source- The telegraph UK Recently, the Telegraph UK published a story that has given a number of cancer patients hope about a cure. Recently a trail conducted by USA's Kita Pharma Research for a new treatment called CAR-T cell therapy has been successful in curing 36 out of 101 patients who have terminal cancer. How does the treatment work? The treatment has been referred to as the living drug treatment. It  works by filtering a patient's blood to remove key immune system cells called T-cells, which are then genetically engineered in the lab to recognize cancer cells.  Cancer cells are very good a evading the immune system, but the new therapy essentially cuts the brakes, allowing immune cells to do their job properly.    (Source -  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/02/28/terminal-cancer-patients-complete-remission-one-gene-therapy/) A whole lot of end stage patients, who has already tried and failed to get better w