Glucose metabolism drives embryonic development in mice, study reveals

Yale University researchers have discovered that glucose metabolism plays a critical role in guiding the early development of mouse embryos, revealing that specific metabolic pathways regulate essential cell signaling during key phases of embryogenesis.

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Study shows long-term, low-dose antiviral treatment benefits patients with eye disease and pain from shingles

Long-term, low-dose antiviral treatment reduces the risk for potentially vision-damaging bouts of inflammation and infection, as well as pain, which occur when shingles affects the eye, according to new research presented October 19 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in Chicago.

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MBBS Student Duped Of Rs 2.8 Lakh By Cyber Fraudsters, probe launched

Gujarat- Recently, a cyber thug gang from Bareilly duped an MBBS student of Rs 2.80 lakh by promising him huge profits on completion of a task. On this, the medico has now filed a case against the cyber fraudsters in Baradari police station. Following the complaint, the police immediately started their investigation against the fraudsters.

The victim has been identified as a resident of Chhota Udaipur district of Gujarat. He is studying MBBS from a private medical college in Gujarat.

During the investigation, the victim medico told the police that the cyber thugs from Bareilly added him to a Telegram group and lured him with fake promises of completing certain tasks. The task was to add some products and to take a screenshot and send it to them. On the completion of this task, the victim was promised to get some money, however, the victim also received a small amount. This task continued for a few days and one day suddenly the fraudsters lured the victim to invest Rs 80 thousand and promised to return Rs 1.20 lakh, as per the Amar Ujala news report.

Falling prey to the trap of cyber fraudsters, the medico sent them 80 thousand rupees. In this way, money was transferred several times. To enhance the credibility of their scam, the fraudsters suddenly demanded Rs 3 lakh and on hearing this demand, he realised that he was being cheated. On this, the victim immediately filed a report of cyber fraud in Baradari police station. Currently, the case is under investigation.

In a similar incident that occurred recently in Hyderabad, two persons were arrested by the cyber crime police for allegedly cheating a 74-year-old doctor of Rs 1.6 crore in a fake money laundering case.

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Allahabad HC slams Govt for denying Medical Care to Undertrial Prisoner during Illness

Prayagraj: Slamming the State government for refusing to provide medical facilities to an undertrial prisoner, the Allahabad High Court emphasized that it is the state’s responsibility to provide care and medical facilities to undertrial prisoners during illness and cannot evade this duty.

Calling the government’s action ‘unjustified’, a single bench led by Justice Samit Gopal stated that the state cannot decline to provide treatment to an accused under custody with adequate medical facilities on any grounds.

The judge made these comments while criticizing the state authorities for refusing to provide medical or surgical help to an undertrial prisoner. The authorities had claimed that they couldn’t provide the treatment because the Model Code of Conduct for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was in place at that time.

Also read- ‘One Duty Room is Insufficient’: Allahabad HC directs SRN Hospital to submit Affidavit for Separate Female Doctors’ Duty Rooms

Following this, the court directed the District Magistrate of Deoria and the Superintendent of Police, Deoria, to personally look into the matter and file affidavits explaining why adequate arrangements were not made for the applicant’s surgery.

While hearing the matter, the judge said as quoted by Live Law“This is entirely unacceptable. The accused is in custody under the state’s supervision. The state cannot refuse to provide him with adequate medical facilities on any grounds. In the present case, in the court’s opinion, the reason given by the Superintendent of the District Jail, Deoria, is completely unjustified.”

The court also instructed the officials to explain under what circumstances the applicant was denied surgery. It asked for an explanation of who was responsible for this, as the surgery, once recommended, should not have been delayed based on the discretion of the officials but should have been performed based on the doctors’ recommendations.

The case came to light after the prison authorities refused to act on a prior court order dated April 16, 2024, in which the Additional Sessions Judge of Deoria had directed that the prisoner be provided with adequate medical treatment as he was unwell in jail. 

However, the jail superintendent refused to provide treatment, citing the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections. It was also stated that medical treatment would only be provided after the MCC was lifted.

Also read- Allahabad HC denies permission to 13-year-old rape survivor to terminate 32-week pregnancy

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Can a Candidate with 88 percent Muscular Dystrophy Pursue MBBS? Supreme Court Seeks Expert Opinion

New Delhi: While considering the plea by an MBBS aspirant with 88% muscular dystrophy, the Supreme Court recently observed that there were no specific guidelines available to assess disability with assistive devices in terms of the guidelines issued by the Government of India.

Therefore, to ascertain whether the candidate suffering from 88% muscular dystrophy is eligible for the MBBS admission, which was beyond the permissible limit of 80%, the top court bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra have sought an expert opinion in this regard.

The bench referred to a recent Supreme Court judgment in the case of Omkar Ramchandra Gond vs Union of India and Others, where a three-judge bench had referred to Dr. Satendra Singh, the founder of an organisation named Infinite Ability.

Opining that a domain expert from the area would sub-serve the ends of justice of a young student seeking to pursue medical education, the top court bench comprising the CJI requested Dr. Singh to take up the assignment and assist the court on whether notwithstanding the quantified disability, the petitioner could pursue the MBBS degree course. 

For this, the Court requested Dr. Singh to examine the petitioner and have due regard to such assistive devices and their potential to assist the petitioner to fulfill the requirements of the degree course in medicine.

“The report of Dr Satendra Singh may be submitted to this Court by 21 October 2024,” the Court order, listing the matter for further hearing on the same day.

Muscular Dystrophies are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases causing progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time.

Since the petitioner’s disability was assessed to be more than the permissible limit of 80%, he was disqualified from pursuing MBBS course. However, challenging this decision he approached the Apex Court and based on the court’s order dated 3 October 2024, a five-Member Board of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences submitted a report evaluating the petitioner’s disability.

The said report stated, “The candidate was re-assessed with the assistive device (single hand crutch & motorised scooty). There was minimal to no change in most of the components for disability evaluation as per the GOI gazette (March 2024) with these assistive devices. The possibility of wheelchair usage was also explored which might be required for better efficiency in ambulation component in near future. However, there are no clear guidelines available to assess the disability with assistive devices as per the Govt. of India gazette guideline.”

“Further it is to be noted that safety, efficiency and agility of movements are needed to independently use the devices and many times some manual support is also required which may not be available to the candidate at all times and may affect the safety of the candidate and the patients during the skills based training provided in the various setups in the labs and hospitals during the MBBS course training. The Board after careful evaluations of all possibilities concurs with the opinion of the previous medical board held at AIIMS Nagpur dated 13.08.2024 that the disability is above 80% even with consideration of assistive devices and also both upper limbs have significant involvement and hence the candidate is ineligible to pursue MBBS course,” added the report.

After examining the report, the Apex Court noted that the AIIMS Committee noted that there were no clear guidelines available to assess disability with assistive devices in terms of the guidelines issued by the Government of India.

“We do not find that there is any independent evaluation on: (i) the extent of the functional disability of the petitioner; and (ii) the extent to which the use of assistive devices would have the potential to bring the extent of functional disability within permissible limits in terms of the government notification,” noted the Court.

Referring to the Court’s order in the case of Omkar Ramchandra Gond, the top court bench further observed,

“We are of the considered view that a domain expert from the area would sub-serve the ends of justice of a young student who seeks to pursue his career in medicine.”

Requesting Dr. Singh to assist the Court, the bench ordered, “…we request Dr Satendra Singh of Infinity Ability to take up the assignment which has been entrusted to him by the present order and to assist the Court on whether notwithstanding the quantified disability, the petitioner can pursue the MBBS degree course. In arriving at his evaluation, Dr Satendra Singh is requested to examine the petitioner and to have due regard to such assistive devices and their potential to assist the petitioner to fulfill the requirements of the degree course in medicine.” 

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently in the case of Omkar Ramchandra Gond, the Supreme Court held that mere existence of a benchmark disability of 40% or above will not disqualify a candidate from being eligible for MBBS admission unless a Disability Assessment Board opines that the candidate’s disability will come in the way of pursuing the course in question.

Further, the Apex Court bench of Justices BR Gavai, Aravind Kumar, and KV Viswanathan also observed that the Disability Assessment Boards should specify the reasons for holding that a candidate suffering from benchmark disability is not eligible to pursue the course.

The court further said that the National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations uniformly barring candidates with benchmark disabilities from medical education are overbroad and directed the NMC to revise its regulations adopting a more inclusive approach.

To view the order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/supreme-court-disability-257466.pdf

Also Read: Mere Existence of Benchmark Disability No Bar for MBBS Admission! Supreme Court tells NMC to revise regulations

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14 Arunachal Pradesh districts eligible for malaria-free certification

Itanagar: 14 out of the 25 districts in Arunachal Pradesh are now eligible for malaria-free certification, according to Dr KT Mulung, state program officer for the National Center for Vector Borne Disease Control (NCVBDC).   

According to the PTI report, Mulung was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day state review meeting on vector-borne diseases organised by NCVBDC at Naharlagun near here.  

The meeting focused on evaluating the state’s efforts towards malaria elimination and reviewing the progress in combating vector-borne diseases.  

Additional Senior Regional Director of the Regional Offices of Health and Family Welfare, Shillong and Guwahati, Dr Juliana Lyngwa praised the remarkable reduction in malaria cases in the state.

Also Read:WHO Recommends new Malaria Vaccine for children which is cost-effective and efficient

Lyngwa attributed the achievement to the dedication of health officials and field staff.  

She also stressed the importance of proper documentation to ensure smooth progress towards receiving malaria elimination certification.  

State Family Welfare Director Dr Amping Perme underlined the department’s commitment to achieving a malaria-free Arunachal Pradesh in the near future, news agency PTI reported.  

National Health Mission (NHM) Mission Director Marge Sora assured of proper allocation of funds for vector-borne disease control programmes.  

The meeting, which will conclude on October 17, will review the strategies and develop actionable plans to accelerate the progress towards a malaria-free Arunachal Pradesh.  

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that several hospitals in Delhi are seeing an increased footfall of dengue patients, doctors said, even as the city’s civic body has not released reports on vector-borne diseases for the last several weeks.  

Sources at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here said on Tuesday that a 38-year-old woman suffering from dengue died on September 17 at the Centre-run medical facility.  

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Gilead withdraws bladder cancer drug Trodelvy in US

Bengaluru: Gilead Sciences said on Friday it was voluntarily withdrawing its drug, Trodelvy, for previously treated patients with a type of bladder cancer after consultation with the U.S. health regulator.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had granted accelerated approval to Trodelvy, an antibody-drug conjugate, for metastatic urothelial cancer in 2021, while its continued approval was dependent on results of a confirmatory trial.

Also Read: Gilead Sciences inks pacts with Dr Reddy’s Labs, Emcure, Hetero and 3 others for HIV drug Lenacapavir

The drug, however, failed to improve survival for patients with advanced bladder cancer in the trial.

Shares of the drugmaker fell 1.3% to $86.25 in premarket trading

The decision does not affect approval for Trodelvy for other patients within or outside of the U.S., the company said.

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Merck eyes more acquisitions for life science after USD 600M Mirus Bio deal

Gdansk: German science and technology group Merck is open to more acquisitions for its Life Science business after announcing in May it would buy Mirus Bio for $600 million, it said ahead of its Capital Markets day on Thursday.
“Our guiding principle is and always has been, the right target, at the right time, for the right price,” CEO Belen Garijo said in a statement.
“For larger future transactions, Merck is focusing on the Life Science business sector,” the firm added.
Shares in the group were up 6.06% at 0727 GMT. ODDO BHF analyst Oliver Metzger attributed the move chiefly to gains in German pharma peer Sartorius, whose shares jumped 13% on Thursday after it said it expects an improved second half.
Merck narrowed expectations for its Life Science business, aiming for annual organic sales growth in a 7-9% range from a previously anticipated 7-10%.
It also said it will intensify the in-licensing of drug candidates in its Healthcare division.
The Hesse-based company changed its outlook for its Healthcare business to “slight growth”, compared to a previously expected mid-single-digit percentage range, due to “recently announced pipeline setbacks”, the statement said.
Merck has reported a string of setbacks in the development of cancer and multiple sclerosis drugs in recent years.
The company however raised the mid-term outlook for its electronics division to a 5-9% range from a previous 3-6%, benefiting from high demand for chips for AI applications.

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CVS Health CEO steps down amid financial challenges

New Delhi: CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch has stepped down with company shares down 19% this year and the national drugstore chain struggling.
Lynch will be replaced by David Joyner, who will attempt to steer the health care giant through a worsening environment of rising medical costs.
CVS cut its financial expectations for the third time in August with all major pharmacy chains attempting to navigate a drastically changed landscape, facing competition online and elsewhere.
Joyner, who will also join the company’s board, most recently served as executive vice president of CVS Health, and president of CVS Caremark. He led the pharmacy services business, which provides solutions to employers, health plans and government entities and serves approximately 90 million members through Caremark, CVS Specialty, and other areas. Joyner has 37 years of health care and pharmacy benefit management experience.
CVS Health also announced on Friday that Chairman Roger Farah will now be executive chairman.
“We believe David and his deep understanding of our integrated business can help us more directly address the challenges our industry faces, more rapidly advance the operational improvements our company requires, and fully realize the value we can uniquely create,” Farah said in a statement.
The Woonsocket, Rhode Island company’s preliminary forecast is for third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.05 to $1.10 per share, citing higher-than-expected medical cost trends. Analysts polled by FactSet predict earnings of $1.69 per share.
Back in August CVS Health changed the leadership of its health insurance business as it continued to deal with escalating costs. At the time, the company named Lynch to lead its insurance segment, replacing Executive Vice President Brian Kane, who is left the company about a year after arriving.
Rising claims from the company’s Medicare Advantage coverage have hurt CVS Health for much of this year and contributed to repeated trimmings of its outlook for 2024. Medicare Advantage plans are privately run versions of the federal government’s coverage program mainly for people age 65 and older.
CVS Health also said in August that it has been hurt by a drop in quality ratings for those plans and pressure from Medicaid coverage it manages in several states.
CVS Health’s stock is down nearly 13% before the market open on Friday.

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Kezar to terminate mid-stage trial for Lupus treatment

Bengaluru: Kezar Life Sciences said on Thursday it would terminate its mid-stage trial studying its experimental drug in patients with active lupus nephritis and focus on developing the drug for a rare chronic disorder called autoimmune hepatitis.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold on the trial of the drug, zetomipzomib, studying it in patients with active lupus nephritis, which causes inflammation and damage in the kidneys due to a form of immune-related condition called lupus.
The regulator’s decision came after the company paused the study in September to review safety data following the deaths of four patients.
An independent study committee had recommended a pause on the trial after it found that three of the fatalities showed a common pattern of symptoms and the deaths happened close to the time of dosing, while a non-fatal adverse event also showed a similar proximity to the dosing time.
Kezar said it would continue its mid-stage trial in patients with autoimmune hepatitis, a disease in which the immune system attacks the liver and causes inflammation and tissue damage, without modification after the review of an independent committee.
Till date, no serious adverse events have been observed in the trial, Kezar said.

Separately, Kezar said its board has rejected Concentra Biosciences’ proposal to buy the company’s outstanding shares for $1.10 apiece in cash.

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