New Easy to Use Malaria Test Kit (LAMP) Detects Low Level of Parasite in Blood

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 5/18/2013 12:29:00 PM

'A new, easy to use and highly sensitive test that detects malaria parasite in patients suffering from malaria has been developed in UK. It detects malaria with least number of parasites in the peripheral blood, where the conventional tests may fail.English: Life cycle of malaria, NIH, http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/bowman/SSmalaria.htm not very many people have lived through Malaria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)This was published in the ScienceDaily after original publication in the J(...)'

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Air Pollution Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Diseases

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 5/5/2013 3:55:00 AM

'It has been published in the PLOS MEDICINE that suspended particles in the atmosphere may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases through atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis or hardening of arteries is caused by various factors; main players being increased low density lipid level, endothelial dysfunction of the blood vessels and low grade inflammation. While many factors contribute in setting in process; key contributors are smoking, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, alcohol(...)'

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How to Proceed where Conventional Investigations fail to Diagnose Cause of Raised Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 4/29/2013 3:01:00 PM

'Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a blood test frequently ordered for joint pain, fever of long duration, cancer, muscle pain, malaise and in patients with many other symptoms.Measurement of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate with Westergren-method (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The ESR is increased by any cause or focus of inflammation. The ESR is increased in pregnancy, inflammation, anemia or rheumatoid arthritis, and decreased in polycythemia, sickle cell anemia, hereditary spherocy(...)'

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King of Fruits Mango May Actually Do Good to Diabetics

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 4/26/2013 2:29:00 PM

'Generally, diabetics are advised not to take sweets and sweet fruits; so also mango. But, a new research by Edralin Lucas, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Oklahoma State University concludes that mango may actually lower the blood sugar and improve body composition in obese individuals; body mass index of 30 or more.English: Example of Mangoes, shoot in Taipei, Taiwan. Two different species. The right side one being the Gold Mango. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Mango is(...)'

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Male Pattern Baldness may be a Tale-Tell Story of Cardiovascular Risk and Prostate Cancer

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 4/7/2013 12:48:00 PM

'Researchers have found out an association between male pattern baldness with increased cardiovascular and prostate cancer risk. They studied it on 36 990 participants.In the three cohort studies, the adjusted risk of coronary heart disease was 32% higher among individuals with severe vertex baldness compared with men with full hair.English: The back of a middle-aged American man's head, showing typical male pattern baldness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)In the case-control studies, the r(...)'

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Physical Activity and Calorie Restrictions are the Keys to Reduce Obesity Cancer Link.

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 3/9/2013 12:23:00 PM

'Now is proved beyond doubt that overweight individuals are prone for several diseases and suffer form morbidities. About 80 percent of the most common diseases are linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.Two mice; the mouse on the left has more fat stores than the mouse on the right. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Obese people are at an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, vascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. Weight loss and physical activity help to counteract(...)'

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Pre-requisites for Serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Test

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 2/17/2013 10:58:00 AM

'Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a screening test for cancer of prostate in several countries. While, raised value signifies possibility of cancer of prostate that has spread beyond limits of prostate gland; the increased value is also normally found in some benign conditions; and low value can not conclusively rule out the presence of the cancer.Digital rectal exam; drawing shows a side view of the male reproductive and urinary anatomy, including the prostate, rectum, and bladder(...)'

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Sugar Dressing to Treat Non-Healing Wounds

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 2/15/2013 2:10:00 PM

'Yes, I have seen in my childhood; we were being advised to put commonly available sugar in household to stop bleeding from fresh wounds and to heal chronic ulcers. That was forgotten since long, only to be reminded  to-day by an article published in the Mailonline UK. English: Abrasion caused by sliding fall on concrete (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The article says that treating wounds with sugar granules was a folk remedy prevalent in Africa. The study was headed by Mose(...)'

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Inexpensive Rabies Vaccine Produced from Tobacco Plant

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 2/2/2013 1:00:00 PM

';;;Tobacco has a bad name as regards its potential for addiction and cause of several cancers. Sometime back, it was in news that tobacco plant can be used to produce insulin.English: Mature Ecuador Sumatra Tobacco Plant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)  Now, scientists are able to produce monoclonal antibody against rabies in genetically altered tobacco plant. This antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site and keeps the virus away fro(...)'

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The Symptoms and Signs those are Strongly Suggestive of Acute Appendicitis

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 1/26/2013 4:20:00 PM

'Appendicitis is both very easy and very difficult to diagnose. That may result in undue delay in starting the correct treatment or may result in removal of innocent appendix, while the real disease remains illusive. Diagnosis of appendicitis is mostly clinical as no test or imaging can conclusively prove appendicitis pre-operatively.Acute Appendicitis An exemplary case of acute appendicitis in a 10-year-old boy. The organ is enlarged and sausage-like (botuliform). This longitudinal (...)'

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Candidates for Tamoxifen Therapy in Breast Cancer may Benefit from CYP2D6 Blood Test for the Effectiveness of the Therapy

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 12/28/2012 2:07:00 PM

'Candidates for tamoxifen therapy suffering from breast cancer may benefit from a blood test for CYP2D6 to know whether the therapy will be very effective in them. For nearly a decade, breast cancer researchers studying the hormone therapy tamoxifen have been divided as to whether genetic differences in a liver enzyme affect the drug's effectiveness and the likelihood breast cancer recurrence.Researchers from the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer(...)'

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Patients of HER2 Negative Breast Cancer may Benefit from Drugs Used for HER2 Positive Breast Cancer

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 12/15/2012 11:26:00 AM

'Until recently, no targeted treatment was available for HER2 negative breast cancers, those are negative for Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR) and Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (HER2). A multicenter study led by researchers at UC Davis describes new, paradoxical characteristics of the most common type of breast cancer. The findings shed light on how the disease can evade treatment. HER2-positive breast cancers are routinely treated with drugs that ta(...)'

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Cholesterol Lowering Drug and Some Other Interact with Grape Fruit Leading to Dangerous Consequences

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 11/30/2012 1:37:00 AM

'There are now more than 85 drugs that may interact with grapefruit.  The list includes some statins that lower cholesterol (such as atorvastatin, lovastatin, and simvastatin), some antibiotics, cancer drugs, and heart drugs.Grapefruit Schnitt rose Zypern (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Grapefruit contains furanocoumarins, which block an enzyme that normally breaks down certain medications in the body helping in elimination of drugs. When it is not possible, drugs accumulate in body an(...)'

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Taking Dietary Nutrients is better than the Supplements

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 11/1/2012 1:25:00 PM

'I sometimes wonder why our medical representatives come to doctors requesting to prescribe protein, vitamin, calcium and omega3 fatty acid supplements. Many times they will request prescription of these nutrient containing tonics at the time of discharge of patients from hospital after getting cured.It is perhaps to exploit the popular belief of the patients that he/she should regain the lost nutrients quickly by taking the tonics and get back the vigor.Many times, I ask them, why t(...)'

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Foods those can help after Age of Forty

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 10/28/2012 1:13:00 PM

'  1 Oats Fiber soluble or insoluble, help us in many ways to keep off some of the deadly conditions; constipation, colon cancer, rise of bad cholesterol and growth of unwanted bacteria in gut. Oats contain beta-glucans, a soluble fiber that can help lower bad cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL). It contains antioxidants, especially avenanthramides that protect against atherosclerosis (the build-up of plaque on artery walls). 2. CHERRIES Cherries are useful (...)'

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Phase Contrast Tomography for 3D Image of Breast cancer

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 10/23/2012 11:24:00 AM

'Conventionally, breast cancer imaging is done by mammography that gives a 2D view. CT of breast can give good quality image but requires a larger dose of x-rays.To get good 3D image with less radiation, Miao's international colleagues in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France and Germany's Ludwig Maximilians University, used a special detection method known as phase contrast tomography to X-ray a human breast from multiple angles.They then applied e(...)'

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Fat Cell Response to Insulin Decreased in Sleep Deprived State

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 10/16/2012 12:34:00 PM

'Sleep, as generally perceived is required to give brain adequate rest. Now, it has been shown by a group of researchers lead by Matthew Brady, PhD, associate professor of medicine and vice-chair of the Committee on Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition at the University of Chicago that sleep is essential for good functioning of fat cells.It has been seen that sleep deprivation is associated with obesity, irritability, diabetes and heart attack. At cellular level fat cells normally play(...)'

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Breast Implants may Hide Cancer and are Associated with Rare Lymphoma

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 9/24/2012 3:34:00 PM

'Approximately 25,000 women in the UK go for breast implants in a year. A study was conducted on  40,000 women with implants, of whom 409 went on to get cancerResearchers in Canada say women with boob jobs are three times more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancer. Their chances of dying from it go up by 30%.As silicon implants are radio-opaque, so cancerous tissue may remain hidden from getting imaged in mammograms. So, those grow to advanced stage to get detected.Br(...)'

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Can Marijuana be Used to Cure Cancer?

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 9/21/2012 3:33:00 PM

'Some time back, I had read an article, wherein it was described how a young man was getting treated himself with marijuana for a incurable brain tumor; losing hope from medicines available at present. I thought that when there is no other option, it is better to try and test some thing; and at least that will help the patient to remain pain free till the ultimate. Of course, I do not have further information; what happen to the person. Now, I read an article in the smartplanet “Is(...)'

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FDA Approves Linaclotide for Irritable Bowel Disease with Constipation

Author : Prahallad Panda      Blog : Clinician On Net      Date : 8/31/2012 4:29:00 PM

'On August, 30th 2012 US FDA approved linaclotide for irritable Bowel Disease with constipation in adults.According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 63 million people are affected by chronic constipation. Chronic idiopathic constipation is a diagnosis given to those who experience persistent constipation and do not respond to standard treatment. Additionally, an estimated 15.3 million people are affected by IBS. IBS-C is a subtype characterized mainly by abdominal p(...)'

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