Swine flu has taken six more lives in Gujarat, taking the total number of fatalities owing to the deadly virus in the state thus far to 222.

Out of the six new deaths two each were reported from Rajkot, Vadodara and Ahmedabad.

Health officials also said that 21 fresh cases have also been reported from different regions of the state comprising Jamnagar, Surat, Banaskantha, Amreli, Anand, Junagadh, Kutch, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Rajkot

A new research carried out by the Sleep Research Centre (SRC) at Loughborough University in UK revealed that women need around 20 minutes of more sleep as compared to men.

The study also disclosed the fact that women are comparatively busier than men and they have a multi-tasking mind that requires better sleep.

Professor Jim Horne, Director of SRC said, "Women's brains are wired differently from men's and are more complex, so their sleep need is slightly greater."

A new study disclosed that around 125.2 million preggies are prone to malaria annually.

Plasmodium falciparum, a protozoan parasite occurring in the tropic and sub-tropic, is the major cause of the majority of malaria fatalities.

But, the most common type of malaria is P. vivax malaria, which also thrives in temperate areas.

The majority of malarial casualties are among young kids in sub-Saharan Africa but expecting mothers and their unborn babies are at high risk of having malaria.

According to recent reports, ten more people have lost their lives due to the deadly H1N1 flu across India, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,194.
Out of seven new casualties, three took place in Gujarat and one each in Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
In addition, reports of three fatalities, which happened earlier in Gujarat (2) and the capital (1), were received from the state agencies concerned by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare today.

A new research published at the New England Journal of Medicine Chronic disclosed that obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common lung problem, brings down the heart's function considerably, even when the trouble shows no or less symptoms.

This is the first time such a string connection has been founded between COPD and cardiopathy, even when COPD is in its mildest form.

Managed Care Company UnitedHealth Group claims on Thursday its fourth-quarter profit jumped 30 percent on higher premium revenue, despite a continued reduction in commercial enrolment.

The health group reported its fourth-quarter net earnings of $944 million or $0.81 per share in comparison to $726 million or $0.60 per share last year.

The 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters augured a profit of 73 cents per share on $21.72 billion in revenue. In addition, they speculated the company to report earnings of $0.73 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Cambridge scientists have undertaken a new research which might be able to explain why physical exercise can end up improving brain power. A recently published study revealed that mice which exercised ended up performing better on many memory tests.

Also, these mice managed to grow new cells in a part of the brain which is directly linked to memory, in contrast to those mice which had not indulged in any exercise.

Study authors have stressed that the new brain cells drove the mice to perform better on the tests.

Thanks to a new plasma technology which has just arrived on the scene, people who are fearful of going to a dentist because of the potential pain involved will now be more comfortable in future.

Christened "plasma jets", the new offering could one day be used to effectively clean out bacteria from tooth cavities, thereby eliminating the need for a filling.

Researchers have stressed that the new plasma jets could be available within the next 3-5 years.

On Wednesday, American scientists and researchers revealed that they have been able to identify a new class of medicines that had managed to block the hepatitis C virus from replicating in experiments carried out in the laboratory.

Activity was discovered by the team within an important protein of the Hepatitis C Virus, or HCV, which is required by the virus in order to reproduce. In addition, scientists also identified a tiny molecule that has the capability to inhibit the replication of the virus. It was then that senior author Dr. Jeffrey Glenn of Stanford University, and his team, set out to find compounds that could curb the protein from working.

A new study has revealed that even a very mild and slight case of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, could end up having a substantial impact of a person's heart.

Researchers have stressed that heart failure, which is caused by a lung disease, is "well documented" in sufferers of severe COPD, but this is the first ever study which has revealed a link between the milder forms of the disease and impairment in heart function.

"This study shows that COPD, even in its mildest form, is associated with diminished heart function. We now have evidence that the presence of even mild COPD may have important health implications beyond the lungs”, said lead Graham Barr.

On Wednesday, American researchers revealed a groundbreaking discovery when they shared that they have been able to track a distinct pattern of brain activity in patients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the discovery could give doctors an effective and objective way to try and diagnose and treat the condition.

A team of experts at the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA Medical Centre used a brain imaging device known as magnetoencephalography, which is basically used to track how the brain processes information, and discovered that there were definite differences in brain activities of people with PTSD and the healthy population.

A recent research has asserted that there is little, or no, evidence to support the speculation that women must not be allowed to eat and/or drink during labour.

For decades on end now, the ongoing childbirth practices demand that once a woman goes into labour, her intake of food and fluids should be restricted to quite an extent, sometimes limiting it to merely ice chips. The practice was mainly started on the back of concerns that a woman's stomach content could get aspirated into her lungs when she is given general anaesthesia during delivery.

In the most recent trading session, stocks of hospitals and managed-care were mostly trading low, led by companies which are Medicaid focused. Wednesday's market, overall as well, witnessed a downward trend after Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts special election. He will be filling in the late Edward Kennedy's Senate seat.

With Mr. Browns victory, major threat has been posed to the Democratics’ initiative to revamp the American health-care system, as it will manage to eliminate the yet unmatched majority in the Senate.

Queensland Deputy Premier Paul Lucas has publically revealed his illness, that he has been diagnosed with epilepsy following a health scare at home on Sunday night.

However, this is not the first time he has faced a health scare as a politician. He fainted while moving a barbecue at a friend's home way back in December 2008.

"It is a little bit peculiar for epilepsy to manifest itself at my age ... but I'm looking forward to functioning and being back fighting fit',' Mr Lucas revealed in sheer confidence and optimism.

A 12-year long study has suggested that erectile dysfunction (ED) may be an alarming signal of future cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks, strokes, atherosclerosis and congestive heart failures, and asking patients about it is potentially an inexpensive and safe alternative, instead of conventional screening methods.

The report was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and stressed that men with ED faced a 40% increased risk of developing cardiovascular problems.

After major concerns about the rapidly rising rates of abuse and addiction, access to painkillers which contain codeine might be restricted across New Zealand within a mere months.

As per recommendations shared by the New Zealand Medicines Classification Committee, pack sizes of all medicines which contain the drug should be made smaller, and should only be sold directly by pharmacists.

Medsafe, the country's medicines regulator, has shared that there are currently some 30 pain relievers circulating in the market which contain codeine, including popular brands like Panadeine and Nurofen Plus.

Codeine is most commonly used as a base for the illegal manufacturing of "homebake" heroin.

A latest Government-backed study has revealed that overdoses and drug-related deaths are not unusual or uncommon among people who are prescribed opioid drugs by their doctors for chronic pain.

With the findings, there has arisen an urgent need to analyze patients on such prescribed drugs more closely, particularly people who are given medicines like OxyContin, Vicodin, and methadone for long-term use. In addition, there is a need for reassessment of current prescribing practices.

“The threat to patient safety is too great to allow current pain management and opioid prescribing practices to remain as they are”, shares White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Deputy Director A. Thomas McLellan.

As has been shared by Wellesley officials, many of an elementary school's staff members had to be hospitalized immediately when they were administered shots of insulin instead of H1N1 injections. Superintendent Bella Wong confirmed that none of the students were in danger at the vaccine clinic that was held for the staff on Friday at the Schofield Elementary School.

All the people who had been injected with the wrong medicine have successfully recovered.

Ms. Wong, in a letter send out to the staff and parents, clarified that the insulin had belonged to students with diabetes, and was provided by their parents.

Under a new set of proposed regulations, patients in Health Maintenance Organizations across California will witness their waiting times for attaining a doctor's appointment being cut down, and even their telephone calls to physicians will be answered more quickly. For the first time ever, the new rules look to establish time standards in medical services, thereby helping patients receive whatever they require well in time.

Regulators from California have said that the state would be the first with such time sets, which require that HMO patients are attended to by a general practitioner within 10 business days of asking for an appointment. A specialist, on the other hand, would have to attend a patient within a maximum of two weeks.

Researchers have recently revealed that the number of cervical cancer deaths can be effectively pulled back if a different screening test is used to begin with, instead of smear tests, in women who are over 35.

After extensive study, researchers have been able to conclude that if women are screened for the presence of human papillomavirus, which is considered to be the root of cervical cancer, it would help diagnose the condition while it is still in its preliminary stages.

Italian data collected from 95,000 women has revealed that those who were screened for HPV ended up developing fewer cancers than those who had gone in for pap smears.