-The Times of India HYDERABAD: A chunk of kidney patients in the state are under 40 years of age. Worse, most of the cases undergoing dialysis treatment or even kidney transplants are again in their thirties. This disturbing trend in AP will be analyzed as part of a marathon study that aims to unearth the magnitude of and reasons behind the alarming rise of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) among middle-aged people in...

-Down to Earth But public sector, too. needs quality improvement, say researchers from University of California What should cash strapped low- and middle-income countries do to improve access to health care? Should they strengthen the public health sector or the private sector? The question remains unresolved, but often funds are redirected from the public exchequer to the private health sector, even though, there is not enough data to guide policy. Recently, the...

-Down to Earth Move comes a year after WHO said the test leads to misDiagnosis The Union health ministry has banned blood tests to detect tuberculosis while terming these tests useless. The ban came into effect on June 7, almost a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued an advisory to countries to stop conducting these tests for TB. The international body said in July 2011 that these tests give inaccurate...

-The Hindu Aamir Khan's “Satyamev Jayate” has drawn sharp criticism from Indian Medical Association   Taking forward the debate on commercialisation of health, initiated by actor Aamir Khan in his television show “Satyamev Jayate” that drew sharp criticism from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), health activists have said distortions in medical practices, induced by unregulated commercialisation, have become systemic problems. In an open letter to the IMA, which has sought an apology from Mr....

A breath test to detect the deadly tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in six minutes flat has been developed in the US, with help from experts in Mumbai. Doctors from Hinduja Hospital in Mahim and the state-run JJ Hospital in Byculla have helped validate the prototype for the point-of-breath test, according to an article published in medical journal 'Tuberculosis' recently.  The test could emerge as the quickest way to screen a patient for...