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Faridabad: A Kerala-based Meditirina Hospital Pvt Ltd has come under scrutiny after serious healthcare scandal emerged from two of its centre – the heart centre at the Badshah Khan Civil Hospital in Faridabad, where the controversial doctor pretending to be cardiologist Dr Pankaj Mohan treated and performed surgeries on patients for months with reused surgical equipment, and another centre in Hisar which overcharged the poor patients by creating fake bills.
Interestingly, the same company had another centre at Maharaja Agrasen Medical College in Hisar, which was blacklisted by the government in 2022 for creating fake bills. However, despite this past wrongdoing, the company was still allowed to continue running other hospitals in Haryana under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.
In short, it means that even though the company had a history of fraud, it faced no consequences when it came to getting more government hospital contracts.
Also read- Faridabad MBBS doctor who posed as DNB Cardiologist booked
The heart centre, run by Kerala-based Meditirina Hospital Pvt Ltd under a public-private partnership (PPP) with the Haryana government, was abruptly shut down in February 2025 after the government halted its payments to the centre in December 2024.
Investigations by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) are currently underway following two FIRs registered in October 2024 and June 2025, revealing shocking details of medical malpractice and fraud at these two centres.
Medical Dialogues had previously reported that a doctor with only an MBBS degree and no specialised qualification or training in cardiology, shockingly managed to perform over 50 heart surgeries in just eight months at the Heart Care Centre of the District Civil Hospital, Badshah Khan, by impersonating renowned city cardiologist Dr. Pankaj Mohan. The fraud went undetected for months until one day, patients facing complications from surgery visited the real doctor in search of him and discovered the true identity of the accused.
The accused doctor, identified as Pankaj Mohan Sharma, is an MBBS Doctor. Since both doctors share similar names, the accused stole the identity and even the registration number of the real cardiologist and performed surgeries, putting the patient’s life at serious risk. Among those he operated on, several patients’ health worsened after treatment, and some even tragically died.
The fraud came to light when one of the patients, whose condition worsened after a heart procedure at the hospital, visited the cardiologist, only to find out that he had never treated anyone at the civil hospital.
Taking advantage of sharing the same name, Dr. Pankaj Mohan Sharma used the registration number of a cardiologist, Dr Pankaj Mohan, to secure a position at the heart centre. Dr Sharma even used prescriptions that had a stamp that identified him as a ‘cardiologist’, with a DNB (cardiology) degree.
According to probe findings, Dr Sharma served at the centre from July 2024 to February 2025. During the period, several patients suffered complications following the surgery that he had performed, while some had died.
While the fraudulent activities of the doctor were exposed in June, the centre’s alleged medical malpractice and fraud have now come to light.
It has been reported that the centre used equipment such as catheters, needles, wires, and balloons, which were reused across patients, violating medical safety guidelines. Further, the hospital allegedly issued fake and inflated bills, even for patients covered under Ayushman Bharat and below poverty line (BPL) categories. Most importantly, the hospital does not have a separate cardiology department.
The first FIR, registered on October 29, 2024, includes charges under sections 120B criminal conspiracy,420 (cheating), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 203 (giving false information) and 467, 468 and 471 (forgery) of IPC. The second FIR, registered on June 10, 2025, specifically names Dr Sharma and four officials from Meditirina, including its chief managing director, Dr N Pratap Kumar.
Medical Dialogues had reported that Dr Sharma was booked by the police in a case of fraud and criminal conspiracy after he was caught allegedly performing 50 heart surgeries over 8 months at the Heart Care Centre of the District Civil Hospital, Badshah Khan. Along with him, five others associated with the hospital were also booked in the case. They were identified as Dr. N Pratap Kumar, Chief Medical Director of Mediterina Hospital; Dalip Nayyar, head of corporate HR at the facility; Ajay Sharma, head of the Haryana centre; Piyush Srivastava, financial manager; and Mandip, centre head.
Sanjay Gupta, a lawyer and the whistleblower of the case, filed both the complaint, saying he was forced to go to the police after repeated complaints to hospital officials and the health department were ignored.
Meditirina signed a contract with the state government to run the heart centre in Faridabad in 2018. Meditirina also runs centres at Panchkula, Gurgaon and Ambala Cantt in Haryana, at Kollam, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and at Jamshedpur and Chas-Bokaro in Jharkhand.
Doctors at BK Civil Hospital’s other departments said Meditirina staffers took all patients’ medical records, leaving them with no way to continue treatments for regulars at the heart centre.
Gupta told TOI he had to approach the police because multiple complaints to the hospital management, the district’s chief medical officer, and the health department did not elicit a response. He said it was in June 2024 that some patients’ families and a former centre head hired by Meditirina reached out to him for help. The FIR lists the names of 39 patients who were allegedly treated with the re-used devices.
“According to guidelines of Medical Council of India and the World Health Organisation, reused wires, balloons and other equipment should not be used in the treatment of cardiac patients. Doing so poses a serious risk to the patient’s life,” the FIR reads.
The complaint also alleged that Meditirina overcharged patients, issuing bills that exceeded government-approved rates. Inflated reimbursement claims were also allegedly made in cases of patients who were covered under Ayushman Bharat or other schemes. Seven patients — four from the below-poverty line (BPL) category and three Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries — were named in the FIR, with their bills totalling almost Rs 14 lakh.
Mansingh Bhati, who was the centre head at the facility from 2018 to 2021, said he quit the job because of pressure to force doctors into reusing equipment and raising bill amounts.
“Usually, the centre heads were forced to do all the dirty work. We were told to raise fake bills and bills for patients who were exempted. We were also told to use the same equipment again and again on multiple patients,” he said.
“ACB started investigating the case. As a result, govt halted its payments to the centre in Dec, and in Feb, the company abandoned the centre,” Gupta added.
Ram Krishan, who was among those to reach out to Gupta, told TOI his father was 76 years old and had to get a stent in January 2025. The surgery, he added, was done by Dr Sharma.
“The procedure went wrong. The stent was inserted at 12 pm on Jan 11, and he passed away as there were issues during the procedure. I didn’t know at the time that the doctor was unqualified,” Krishan said.
Asked about the cases, Haryana director general of health services Manish Bansal told TOI the department is looking into each issue separately.
“We are trying to resolve the matter. We are also in talks with the (Meditirina) management to restart the centre, keeping in mind the patients. There are various issues that need to be handled carefully in the case before we go any further,” Bansal said.
Faridabad’s chief medical officer, Dr Jayant Ahuja, said, “ACB is probing the malpractice case. The partner hospital walked out. An ACB investigation is currently underway. I can’t comment on the matter as I don’t have any records.”
Also read- MBBS Doctor Poses as DNB Cardiologist, Performs over 50 Heart Surgeries in Faridabad
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Saudi Arabia: A new review suggests that tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) may have neuroprotective mechanisms that could help reduce the risk or progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The findings have been published in Metabolic Brain Disease by Ghadah H. Alshehri from the Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and colleagues.
Tirzepatide is a dual agonist of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptors. Initially approved for managing type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity, tirzepatide has shown additional potential in targeting disease mechanisms associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
It is well documented that T2D and obesity contribute to systemic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress, which in turn can trigger neuroinflammation and oxidative damage in the brain. These processes are recognized as contributing factors in the onset and progression of AD, the most prevalent neurodegenerative condition and a leading cause of dementia worldwide.
The review highlights that tirzepatide’s ability to mitigate systemic inflammation and oxidative stress may offer protective effects against the development of AD pathology. Specifically, tirzepatide may inhibit amyloid-beta (Aβ) production, which is central to the formation of amyloid plaques seen in AD. Furthermore, tirzepatide could help reduce associated neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and neuronal cell death.
Tirzepatide’s impact extends to modulating mechanisms linked to brain metabolism. The review notes that the drug can improve brain leptin sensitivity, potentially breaking the connection between obesity and AD. Additionally, it stimulates adiponectin expression, further contributing to a healthier metabolic profile in patients with T2D and obesity.
On a molecular level, tirzepatide is believed to influence several signaling pathways involved in neuronal survival and function, including PI3K/AKT, GSK3β, BDNF, and CREB pathways. It also affects microRNAs such as miR-212-3p and miR-43a-5p, which are involved in neurogenesis and neuronal differentiation.
Through these mechanisms, tirzepatide helps counteract the harmful effects of chronic hyperglycemia and excess body weight on brain health, potentially slowing the onset and progression of AD. The review underscores that tirzepatide works both peripherally — by reducing systemic inflammation and oxidative stress — and centrally — by protecting neurons and preserving cognitive function.
Despite these promising insights, the authors caution that most evidence for tirzepatide’s neuroprotective effects comes from preclinical studies. As such, there remains a significant need for well-designed clinical trials to validate these findings in human populations.
The authors conclude, “Tirzepatide represents an exciting avenue for future research into AD treatment, offering hope that this antidiabetic and anti-obesity agent could also help combat the growing burden of dementia.”
Reference:
Alshehri, G.H., Al-kuraishy, H.M., Waheed, H.J. et al. Tirzepatide: a novel therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease. Metab Brain Dis 40, 221 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-025-01649-z
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Researchers have discovered that non-invasive liver disease scores predict preclinical atherosclerosis in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), proposing a novel approach to identify patients at higher cardiovascular risk. The results, obtained using carotid ultrasonography, indicate that markers of hepatic fibrosis are highly correlated with carotid plaque presence, particularly in patients with both steatosis and fibrosis. The study was published in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice by Maria C. and colleagues.
There were 679 patients with type 1 diabetes, 49.8% of whom were female. Age was 47.8 ± 10.7 years, and T1D duration was 26.9 ± 10.8 years on average. Participants who were eligible had at least one of the following: age ≥40 years, diabetic kidney disease, or ≥10 years T1D duration with other cardiovascular risk factors. Fatty liver steatosis and fibrosis were assessed by Fatty Liver Index (FLI), Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI), and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score. Participants were grouped based on these scores into three categories: no steatosis, steatosis, and steatosis with fibrosis. Carotid atherosclerosis was quantified by carotid ultrasonography, which counted the number and presence of plaques.
Key Findings
The frequency of liver steatosis and steatosis + fibrosis differed according to the scoring system.
Based on HSI, 45.2% exhibited steatosis and 8.4% had both steatosis and fibrosis. Based on FLI, the values were 13.7% and 5.1%, respectively.
Carotid plaque prevalence grew along the liver disease severity continuum.
For the HSI + FIB-4, plaque prevalence was 34.6% in patients without steatosis, 38.1% with steatosis, and 64.9% with steatosis + fibrosis. With the FLI + FIB-4 combination, plaque presence increased from 38.8% to 50% to 65%, respectively, for the same groups.
Notably, after controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors and T1D-specific variables, only the HSI-defined steatosis + fibrosis group had a statistically significant relationship with carotid atherosclerosis.
The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for carotid plaque presence was 1.97 (95% CI: 1.02–3.82), and for two or more plaques, 1.97 (95% CI: 1.01–3.84).
Non-invasive liver fibrosis markers, especially when steatosis is accompanied by fibrosis, are significantly associated with increased carotid atherosclerosis in people with type 1 diabetes. These findings suggest that hepatic fibrosis scoring, using tools like HSI and FIB-4, can be integrated into cardiovascular risk assessment models to help identify high-risk T1D individuals earlier and potentially guide more intensive preventive strategies.
Reference:
Claro, M., Viñals, C., Giménez, M., Perea, V., Granados, M., Serés-Noriega, T., Blanco, J., Vinagre, I., Mesa, A., Milad, C., Ayala, D., Solà, C., Esmatjes, E., Conget, I., & Amor, A. J. (2025). Hepatic steatosis with significant fibrosis is associated with preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 112334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2025.112334
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Researchers have found in a new study that possible sarcopenia is associated with an increased risk of new-onset composite cardiovascular disease (CVD), indicating that CVD risk may emerge before progression to definite sarcopenia. Additionally, a longer 5-chair stand test (5-CST) time correlated with higher CVD risk, with sex-specific differences in association.
Sarcopenia, an age-related condition, has an unclear association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We aimed to analyze whether sarcopenia and its individual components are associated with new-onset CVD in middle-aged and older adults. Data were derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, with sarcopenia defined by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria. The primary outcome was composite CVD, comprising heart disease and stroke. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and Fine-Gray subdistribution hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs), subdistribution hazard ratios (SHRs), and 95% CIs. A total of 10 649 participants (mean age 64.5±10.7 years, 47.6% male) were included. During mean follow-up of 4.60±1.06 years, there were 1649 (15.5%) cases of new-onset CVD. Possible sarcopenia was linked to increased new-onset composite CVD risk (HR, 1.21 [95% CI, 1.06-1.37]; SHR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.05-1.35]), whereas sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia showed no association. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed that 5-time chair stand test (5-CST) was associated with new-onset composite CVD, with significant sex-specific interaction (P-for-interaction=0.001). Compared with 5-CST≤9.0 s, higher risk of new-onset composite CVD was observed in men for 9.0 s<5-CST≤15.0 s (HR, 1.36 [95% CI, 1.16-1.59]; SHR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.15-1.56]) and 5-CST>15.0 s (HR, 2.19 [95% CI, 1.65-2.90]; SHR, 2.00 [95% CI, 1.53-2.63]). Among women, 5-CST>8.5 s had higher risk of new-onset composite CVD compared with 5-CST≤8.5 s (HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.09-1.45]; SHR, 1.25 [95% CI, 1.09-1.43]). Possible sarcopenia was associated with increased risk of new-onset composite CVD, suggesting that progression to definite sarcopenia may not parallel cardiovascular risk. Longer 5-CST was linked to higher risk of new-onset composite CVD, with sex-specific association.
Reference:
Chen Y, Zhong Z, Prokopidis K, Gue Y, McDowell G, Liu Y, Ditchfield C, Alobaida M, Huang B, Lip GYH. Associations of Sarcopenia and Its Components With Cardiovascular Risk: Five-Year Longitudinal Evidence From China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Jun 18:e040099. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.040099. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40530516.
Keywords:
Possible, Sarcopenia, Linked, Higher, Cardiovascular, Risk, among, elderly, Study, Journal of the American Heart Association, 5‐time chair stand test; all‐cause mortality; cardiovascular disease; heart disease; sarcopenia; stroke, Chen Y, Zhong Z, Prokopidis K, Gue Y, McDowell G, Liu Y, Ditchfield C, Alobaida M, Huang B, Lip GYH
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Denmark: A new large-scale Danish study has highlighted the importance of precise blood sugar control in individuals with diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). The findings, published in Diabetes Care by Dr. Dea H. Kofod and colleagues from Copenhagen University Hospital – Rigshospitalet, suggest that maintaining hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) within a narrow range of 6.7–7.1% may significantly reduce the risk of complications in this vulnerable patient population.
“In patients with diabetes and severe CKD, an HbA1c range of 6.7–7.1% was linked to the lowest risk of complications. Risks of cardiovascular events rose at HbA1c ≥7.2% and <5.8%, while hypoglycemia-related hospitalizations increased at ≥6.7%, highlighting 6.7–7.1% as the optimal target range,” the researchers reported.
The study explored the association between HbA1c levels and diabetes-related complications in adults with severe CKD, defined as having an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) below 30 mL/min/1.73 m². The research team analyzed data from 27,113 patients with diabetes and severe CKD, using data collected between 2010 and 2022 through Danish national health registries. For comparison, two control groups were included—over 80,000 patients each with diabetes and either mild-to-moderate CKD or no-to-mild CKD.
Using multiple Cox regression models, the researchers assessed the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), microvascular complications, and hospital admissions due to hypoglycemia across different HbA1c levels.
The following were the key findings of the study:
Based on the study’s findings, maintaining HbA1c between 6.7% and 7.1% (50–54 mmol/mol) may offer the best balance in reducing the risk of both microvascular and macrovascular complications, as well as minimizing hypoglycemia-related hospitalizations.
Given the growing number of patients living with both diabetes and CKD, this research provides timely insights into optimal glycemic targets for long-term safety and improved outcomes.
The authors recommend that treatment goals for patients with severe CKD should consider individual risk profiles and avoid overly aggressive glycemic targets. Further research could help refine personalized treatment strategies and support evidence-based updates to clinical guidelines.
Reference:
Dea H. Kofod, Nicholas Carlson, Thomas P. Almdal, Tobias Bomholt, Christian Torp-Pedersen, Kirsten Nørgaard, Jesper H. Svendsen, Bo Feldt-Rasmussen, Mads Hornum; The Association Between Hemoglobin A1c and Complications Among Individuals With Diabetes and Severe Chronic Kidney Disease. Diabetes Care 2025; dc250339. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-0339
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Intermittent fasting diets appear to have similar benefits to traditional calorie-restricted diets for weight loss, suggests an analysis of trial evidence published by The BMJ today.
Alternate day fasting also demonstrates greater benefits compared with both calorie restriction and other intermittent fasting approaches, but the researchers say longer trials are needed to substantiate these findings.
According to the World Health Organization in 2022, approximately 2.5 billion adults, 43% of the global adult population, were overweight, and about 890 million (16%) lived with obesity.
Weight loss can reduce cardiometabolic risk factors, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and consequently lower the burden of serious chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting on a regular schedule and is becoming a popular alternative to traditional calorie-restricted diets, which are often unsustainable in the long term.
While no clear definition exists for intermittent fasting, its various methods can fall under three broad categories: time restricted eating (eg, the 16:8 diet involving a 16 hour fasting period followed by an 8 hour eating window), alternate day fasting (a 24 hour fast on alternate days), and whole day fasting (eg, a 5:2 diet involving five days of unrestricted eating and two days of fasting).
But the health effects of intermittent fasting compared with continuous caloric restriction or an unrestricted (ad-libitum) diet remain unclear.
To address this, researchers analysed the results of 99 randomised clinical trials involving 6,582 adults (average age 45; 66% female) to compare the effect of intermittent fasting diets with continuous energy restriction or unrestricted diets on body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors.
Participants had an average body mass index (BMI) of 31 and almost 90% had existing health conditions.
The trials ranged from 3-52 weeks (average 12 weeks) and were of varying quality, but the researchers were able to assess their risk of bias and the certainty of evidence using recognised tools.
All intermittent fasting strategies and continuous energy restriction diets may lead to small reductions in body weight when compared with an unrestricted diet.
Alternate day fasting was the only intermittent fasting diet strategy to show a small benefit in body weight reduction compared with continuous energy restriction (mean difference -1.29 kg).
Alternate day fasting also showed a small reduction in body weight compared with both time restricted eating and whole day fasting (mean difference -1.69 kg and -1.05 kg respectively).
However, these differences did not reach the minimally important clinical threshold of at least 2 kg weight loss for individuals with obesity, as defined by the study authors.
Alternate day fasting was also linked to lower levels of total and “bad” cholesterol compared with time restricted eating. Compared with whole day fasting, however, time restricted eating resulted in a small increase in cholesterol levels. No benefit was found for blood sugar or “good” cholesterol levels in any diet strategy comparison.
Estimates were similar among trials with less than 24 weeks follow-up. But longer trials of 24 weeks or more only showed weight loss benefits in diet strategies compared with an unrestricted diet.
The researchers point to several limitations, such as high variation (heterogeneity) among the diet strategy comparisons, small sample sizes of many included trials, and low to moderate certainty of evidence in most of the investigated outcomes.
Even so, this is highlighted as one of the first systematic reviews to combine direct and indirect comparisons across all dietary strategies, allowing for more precise estimates.
As such, they conclude: “The current evidence provides some indication that intermittent fasting diets have similar benefits to continuous energy restriction for weight loss and cardiometabolic risk factors. Longer duration trials are needed to further substantiate these findings.”
The value of this study is not in establishing a universally superior strategy but in positioning alternate day fasting as an additional option within the therapeutic repertoire, say researchers from Colombia in a linked editorial.
They point out that any structured intervention – including continuous energy restriction – could show benefits derived not only from the dietary pattern but also from professional support, planning, and nutritional education, while diet quality during free eating days could also affect alternate day fasting outcomes.
The focus should be on fostering sustainable changes over time, they say. “Intermittent fasting does not aim to replace other dietary strategies but to integrate and complement them within a comprehensive, patient centred nutritional care model.”
Reference:
Semnani-Azad Z, Khan T A, Chiavaroli L, Chen V, Bhatt H A, Chen A et al. Intermittent fasting strategies and their effects on body weight and other cardiometabolic risk factors: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials BMJ 2025; 389 :e082007 doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-082007
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