Mediwikileaks

Mental health in India has always been greatly stigmatized. We are extremely judgmental of people who say they are depressed and approach a psychiatrist for the same. We talk behind their back and generally brand them as 'mental case'. It wasn't until recently Deepika Padukone followed by a number of other celebs disclosed being depressed and having various mental ailments that to some level it seems that we have reached a stage where we can atleast have a conversation about it.  Recently the mental health care bill of 2013 was passed, that updated a lot of definitions of what constitutes mental health. It has been hailed by the general public as a step in the right direction. Here are some of the salient features of the bill that have really been appreciated by everyone.    1. First and most importantly, the mental health bill decriminalizes suicide. Viewed as a revolutionary move, the bill acknowledges the various mental factors contributing to a person...

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, whi...

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...

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-p...

One of the main reasons that fewer transplants actually take place than the people who need them is because the number of Organs available are less than the number of patients. Another issue faced by health workers and transplant teams is that whenever a patient is brain dead, if clearly not specified that they wish to donate their organs (Either through an organ donation card or even facebook status) it becomes the purview of the family to decide whether to donate patients organs. A number of times the families are not aware of the patients wish or they dilly dally the decision wasting precious time and organs. Inorder to over come these issues, France has taken a great decision to have an opt-out policy where organ donation is concerned. What is basically means is that everyone in France is an Organ donor, unless they specifically opt-out of the default status sue to any reason. This simplifies the work of transplant team who only has to look for whether the person has opted o...

                                                                     Source - https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProducts/ArtificialPancreas/ucm259548.htm What is the Artificial Pancreas? One of the most exciting breakthroughs our times, the Artificial Pancreas is a device that will automate the checking of blood glucose level and the dispensing(or withholding) of insulin (according to the glucose level in the blood). The system is made up of a sensor that measures blood glucose under the skin; an insulin pump; an infusion patch that delivers insulin from the pump via a catheter inserted into the skin and a computer chip that uses data to optimize insulin delivery by the minute. (More info -  http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/fda-approves...

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority recently stirred up a controversy when it announced 85% reduction in the coronary stent price. The market leader for the same, a company called Abbott thereafter refused to sell the stent for the deflated price citing their really diminished profit margin. The NPPA however has stood its ground on this issue and set the ceiling price for stents. According to the new law, The biodegradable stent that used to cost Rs.1 lakhs upwards will now cost Rs.30,000. Bare metal stents that used to cost Rs.24,000 now will cost Rs.7500. A coronary stent keep your arteries open while patients undergo treatment for coronary disease. In India where cardiovascular diseases are rampant, stents are useful for a number of major surgeries and treatments.This move mainly will be helpful in bringing down the cost of Angioplasty in private as well as public hospitals. Stents are now a part of National List of Essential Medicines in India thus helping in s...

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/artificial-kidney-may-hit-market-by-end-of-decade/articleshow/56801777.cms What is it? An implantable kidney that works due to silicon microchips. These microchips will house living kidney cells that will grow on an around the microchips. These cells will then mimic the natural action of the kidney. How does it work?  It will work in the same way that a regular kidney works with the patients blood flow. The living kidney cells will create membrane that will filter your blood the way a normal kidney does. Also because it is out of reach from the bodys immune system response it cannot be rejected as with an organ transplant. Who is making it? It is being developed by University of California San Francisco (Shuvo Ray) and Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Nephrology (William H Fissel). Fissell has been working on the implantable artificial kidney for more than a decade with University of California San Franc...

In India everything concerning a childs well being , from the moment they are born, is considered to be a mothers responsibility. It is not surprising therefore that when their 15 to 30 year olds are afflicted with organ failure there is a huge pressure and expectation from mothers to be willing to donate an organ to their offspring. While the father's just take care of the expenses and other details. What really makes my blood boil is when really aged mothers (60 to 70 year olds) are called upon by their children to help them out of their sickness. These patients are mainly egged in by doctors who encourage donation of an organ from blood relative because the organ donation rules in India only allow donation from blood relatives believing they are the most alutirstic and not unfair advantageous to the donor. But the government in their view to create lesser corruption for organ donation have created a population of women and mothers in Indi a with only one kidney after donating a...

If you have ever passed through government hospitals, then you have seen that apart from the horrible state that the                hospitals are in the absolute worst thing is the way in which pregnant women are treated at the hospitals.  Picture Courtesy - http://www.may28.org/obstetric-violence/ Mostly these government hospitals are overcrowded and many a times women in labor are sent back until such time as they are crowning because there is no place to admit them. Also the worst behavior is meted out to women giving birth by being verbally abusive to them, putting too much pressure directly on their stomach during and fracturing arms and legs of newborns while trying to pull them out in a hurry.  There is also no privacy and cleanliness is a real issue. At a time that should be one of the most memorable and beautiful in a women’s life is turned into a more stressful affair than wh...

Previously published here . Wait, before you dismiss this question casually and think ‘Oh no, not another feminist post’, please give some thought to the question in all honesty. I want you to reflect back on the last time that your mom was not feeling well and she brushed it off because everyone including her thought that she had some high BP due to some emotional issues. She would sleep through the day and feel better. You attributed your constant girlfriend’s constant complaints body pain on periods. Or you off handedly dismissed your wife’s general weakness because women generally have low hemoglobin and low Vit D ‘usme kya hai!’. I personally know of so many times that I have gone to a doctor and expressed concern about irregular periods or losing hair or even acne only for these concerns to be brushed off casually. Perhaps it’s also one of the reasons why women prefer going to woman doctors instead of male ones because their concerns are easily brushed off. Irres...

I've always had a problem with the way doctors are treated in India. Especially, in the smaller towns where the penetration of education is low...people think doctors are gods. Even mediocre medical professionals who consult in villages are considered clever than the patients and in a way revered and respected. However, over the years this has created such a divide between the doctor and the patient that even until now Indian patients have a problem opening up to their doctors. Even today I see patients asking the pharmasict/chemist at the medical store about how to take the medicines - pre lunch or post lunch etc...instead of asking the doctors. Here are something I want to define for Indian patients, somethings I wish I could always tell them about the medical profession : 1. Medicine in India is defined as a 'Service'. Just the way you hire your maid or a taxi...the medical professional you hire is a just service and as such if you are cheated in any way or unsat...

A lot of my friends have been wondering how one can become an Organ Donor in India and if you need to register with a particular hospital or clinic etc.  The most important thing to know about Organ Donation is that, you need not be tied down to or registered with any hospital in the world to be an Organ Donor. All you really need is FACEBOOK! Yes I mean it. Facebook.  Mark Zuckerberg has made it very easy for you to become a Organ Donor. No matter which part of the world you are in, you can actually become and Organ Donor on Facebook and announce it tot he world.  Here is how : Select the "Help Centre" on Facebook after you have logged in and select your Organ Donor status:  Just choose the become an Organ Donor and it will take you to your country respective registry. In India it is this website : Just input your Name and other details and you are officially an Organ Donor. It is that easy and yes it is a val...

The White House today made an announcement that will affect thousands of organ transplant recipeints in USA to reduce their waiting time and enable to the number of transplants per day to increase dramatically.  According to research 100% of USA population favours Organ donation and would be ready to donate their organs but only 50% end up doing so.  So according to the three pronged approach initiated by Mr. Barack Obama includes developments in the following three areas has been considered:  1. Development of New Technologies  One the first announcements was to support newer technologies that would allow for organ replacment in the future with new tissue development and other technologies like 3D printing.  "New breakthroughs in bioengineering, transplantation, and organ preservation can further increase the number of organ transplants and improve outcomes," the President's office said. 2. Reducing time taken for Donor Organ...

There is finally some good news for transplant patients in India. The National Pharmacuetical pricing authority of India has reduced some of the cost of major immunosuppresants by almost 20-50%.  The most important among these is Prograf and Pangraf one of the main immunosuppresant for Kidney Transplant Patients. The cost of dailysis, transplant and the follow up medicine is too prohibitve for many Indian patients. further low education and awareness levels contributed to patients skipping medicine to save money or taking them only every altrernate day. A lot others preffered to stay on dailysis due to not being able to afford the cost of transplant and better medicines. While the cost of Tacrolimus has been dractically reduced the other drugs by Roche and Novartis haven't seen as much reduction. We hope the government will be able to bring down the price of all the drugs and blood tests realted to transplant and give a huge boost to organ donation in India.  Fruth...

Really breaks my heart to share this but this news has recently been making rounds and has now been confirmed by Renal and Urology news. End Stage Renal Dailysis patients along with homeodailysis have now have a added concern of cancer after it was learned that dialysis patients are at a higher risk of cancer. source This comes on the heels of the high cancer risks faced by transplants patients evn after transplant due to the immunosupprespants that compromises thier immunity and nutritional indeficiences. Most common cancers in ESRD patients Liver, Kidney, Bladder and Blood Cancer. Here is also a scholarly article from Taiwan on the same . As always stay informaed and make a informed decision on whether dailysis is right for you and your loved ones.

Arthritis is one of the biggest illnesses in India and almost 14% of the entire population suffers from it.  Those plagued with the most common form of arthritis are told to take paracetamol to relieve their pain. But a major study published yesterday found it does little to ease agony caused by osteoarthritis - as many sufferers can no doubt attest. The research, published in The Lancet, warned no matter how high the dose, paracetamol is ineffective against this form of the condition. Osteoarthritis affects up to 10 per cent of men and 18 per cent of women worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation. Paracetamol has traditionally been the main treatment for the condition, because although stronger drugs are more effective, paracetamol has fewer side effects. Research has found the powerful painkiller diclofenac was the most effective treatment, but it comes with severe effects if used over the long-term. Other alternate way to deal with Arthritis pain ...