Latest in Health
NBC News
30 minutes ago
- Health
- NBC News
There's Good News Tonight: Three men get new hearts and find friendships
There's good news tonight in San Diego, where months long hospital stays helped three men bond while waiting for heart transplants. NBC News' Priscilla Thompson reports on the happy moments when they found out the last of the group was getting a new heart, plus what's next for their friendships, now that they're home.
Irish Times
31 minutes ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Alcohol labels fool nobody
Sir, – The logic behind placing warning labels on bottles of alcohol seems to be that the product can cause health and other problems and, therefore, people must be told. Apart from the fact that this is condescending – people already know that – it is unwise to take the same approach to alcohol as has been adopted towards tobacco. Alcohol only causes problems in excess, while most people use it in moderation. Last Saturday, for example, in the Drinks section of The Irish Times, there was an article headlined 'Wine shops moonlighting as bars are saving the neighbourhood'. On the opposite page were the four recommended tipples of the week. READ MORE Should that, too, be banned as it encourages dangerous behaviour? There is no evidence that warning labels will have any effect, in particular on problem drinkers. Labelling a bottle of wine 'This could kill you' is an irrelevant message for most people and will be regarded as laughable and therefore ignored. The obvious measure to take is to properly fund addiction treatment and services. That takes time, money and political will. Slapping warning labels on bottles is an exercise in 'Something must be seen to be done. Here is something'. – Yours, etc, DAVE SLATER, Co Kildare.
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Health
- Time of India
Maternal mortality claimed 1,168 lives in Maharashtra in 2024-25
1 2 3 Pune: As many as 1,168 women in the state lost their lives to maternal mortality in 2024-25, health department officials said. Pune district accounted for the highest number of maternal deaths at 95 during this period. Officials cited high population as well as the district being a referral point for other neighbouring districts, with many complicated cases referred at the last minute for the high number of deaths. The leading causes of these deaths were hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, haemorrhage, sepsis, pulmonary embolism and other serious diseases like TB, cancer, etc, said health officials. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune As per the state health department, 2024-25 saw a slightly higher number than 2023-24 when 1,131 maternal deaths were reported. In the past five years, the number of maternal deaths has been fluctuating with no steady decline or rise in numbers. Officials said that of the 1,168 maternal deaths reported in 2024-25, 68 women were from outside Maharashtra. Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of women in the area. Many women in reproductive age die due to complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or abortion. As per World Health Organization, "Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. " Dr Sandeep Sangale, additional director, State Family Welfare Bureau, Maharashtra, said, "We have been making several efforts to bring down maternal mortality in the state and right now as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) report on maternal mortality, the state's ratio stands at 36 for 2020-2022, which was 38 for 2019-2021." Maharashtra has the second lowest maternal deaths after Kerala. "The national average for 2020-22 stands at 88. Through our home-based care and post-natal visits by Asha workers, we have been able to reduce mortality. We will further strive to reduce maternal deaths because each life is precious. Although cities may show a higher death rate, this is because they are referral points for neighbouring districts, so when the case reaches at the last minute, the death is registered under that district," he added. SRS is one of the largest demographic sample surveys in the country that, among other indicators, provide direct estimates of maternal mortality through a nationally representative sample Dr Abhijit More, health activist and co-convener Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, said, "Compared to other states, Maharashtra is doing better. Multiple policies targeted at decentralizing maternal care at the village level, providing nutrition to pregnant women and keeping a tab on every pregnant case through Asha workers have helped in achieving this. These early interventions and a robust women's hospital network in multiple districts are lowering deaths among women, however, we must work to ensure no woman dies due to unavailability of healthcare at the right time. " Pune: As many as 1,168 women in the state lost their lives to maternal mortality in 2024-25, health department officials said. Pune district accounted for the highest number of maternal deaths at 95 during this period. Officials cited high population as well as the district being a referral point for other neighbouring districts, with many complicated cases referred at the last minute for the high number of deaths. The leading causes of these deaths were hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, haemorrhage, sepsis, pulmonary embolism and other serious diseases like TB, cancer, etc, said health officials. As per the state health department, 2024-25 saw a slightly higher number than 2023-24 when 1,131 maternal deaths were reported. In the past five years, the number of maternal deaths has been fluctuating with no steady decline or rise in numbers. Officials said that of the 1,168 maternal deaths reported in 2024-25, 68 women were from outside Maharashtra. Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of women in the area. Many women in reproductive age die due to complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or abortion. As per World Health Organization, "Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. " Dr Sandeep Sangale, additional director, State Family Welfare Bureau, Maharashtra, said, "We have been making several efforts to bring down maternal mortality in the state and right now as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) report on maternal mortality, the state's ratio stands at 36 for 2020-2022, which was 38 for 2019-2021." Maharashtra has the second lowest maternal deaths after Kerala. "The national average for 2020-22 stands at 88. Through our home-based care and post-natal visits by Asha workers, we have been able to reduce mortality. We will further strive to reduce maternal deaths because each life is precious. Although cities may show a higher death rate, this is because they are referral points for neighbouring districts, so when the case reaches at the last minute, the death is registered under that district," he added. SRS is one of the largest demographic sample surveys in the country that, among other indicators, provide direct estimates of maternal mortality through a nationally representative sample Dr Abhijit More, health activist and co-convener Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, said, "Compared to other states, Maharashtra is doing better. Multiple policies targeted at decentralizing maternal care at the village level, providing nutrition to pregnant women and keeping a tab on every pregnant case through Asha workers have helped in achieving this. These early interventions and a robust women's hospital network in multiple districts are lowering deaths among women, however, we must work to ensure no woman dies due to unavailability of healthcare at the right time. "
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Health
- Time of India
Minor seeks permission from Delhi high court to terminate pregnancy after sexual assault, HC asks AIIMS for report
New Delhi: A 16-year-old minor victim of sexual assault sought the Delhi High Court 's nod on Friday to terminate her 26-week-old pregnancy. Taking note of her plight, HC asked for a report about the feasibility of carrying out the termination procedure from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after it was informed that, on intimation of the police, the hospital set up a board on Friday itself. "Keeping in mind the urgency cited, the above medical board is directed to conduct the necessary medical examination and to give the requisite report. Let such report be transmitted to this Court in a sealed envelope on or before 30 June 2025, or the investigating officer of the case would be permitted to collect such sealed envelope, containing the report, from the concerned medical board," Justice Manoj Jain noted. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi The girl, who was sexually assaulted twice, moved the court through her mother and informed her that she is currently at an approximate 26-week gestational period as per the latest ultrasound findings. Since the current gestational age is beyond the permissible limit of 24 weeks, the mother sought the intervention of the HC for termination of the pregnancy, claiming that the minor learnt only on 21 June 2025 that she was pregnant. Through their counsel, the mother-daughter duo said she wants to terminate the pregnancy arising out of the alleged sexual assault and sought that a medical board be constituted to submit its medical opinion in terms of Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The plea also sought a clear direction to the authorities to medically terminate such pregnancy as she is not willing to continue with it. It was also submitted that since the pregnancy is a direct consequence of sexual assault, the anguish caused by such pregnancy is required to be presumed as a grave injury to her mental health. Aware of the urgency of the situation, as the minor is a victim of sexual assault, the court asked AIIMS to immediately examine the victim and furnish a report so that it can take a call if she is fit to undergo the procedure. Last year, the HC, in a separate matter of a widow suffering from depression, recalled its nod for termination of the fetus after AIIMS, where the woman was medically examined, opined against it. In its report, AIIMS said as per the MTP Act, the provision of termination of pregnancies beyond 24 weeks is to be done for fetuses having significant abnormalities and "feticide in this case is neither justified nor ethical as the fetus is grossly normal. "
The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- Health
- The Guardian
US supreme court rules key provision of Obamacare constitutional
The US supreme court has ruled that a key provision of 'Obamacare', formally known as the Affordable Care Act, is constitutional. The case challenged how members of an obscure but vital healthcare committee are appointed. The committee, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), is a panel of 16 volunteer health experts who determine which evidence-based preventive health services private insurance companies must cover without cost for patients. The requirement is a provision of the ACA – and one of the few instances when privately insured American patients pay nothing for healthcare. The case, 'in line with other court decisions, strengthens the control of political appointees over the bureaucracy', said Dorit Reiss, a University of California San Francisco law professor and an expert in health law and vaccine policy. The case, formally called Kennedy v Braidwood Management, Inc, affirms that final decisions come by secretaries, in this case health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a known vaccine skeptic. 'This makes it harder for Congress to isolate expert decisions from political review. So the stakes in appointing the political heads – in this case the secretary – are very, very high,' said Reiss. While the court affirms the constitutionality of the taskforce itself, it also held that members force can be removed at will by the health secretary, and that the secretary may review the taskforce's recommendations before they take effect. Kennedy used those powers only this June, when he unilaterally fired all sitting members of a critical vaccine advisory panel, and remade the panel with ideological allies. The new panel members then delivered Kennedy a victory by recommending against a vaccine preservative called thimerosal, despite a scientific consensus that the ingredient was safe. The court issued the opinion in a 6-3 ruling. The opinion was written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and joined by John Roberts, Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. In 2020 alone, an estimated 150 million Americans benefited from the preventive healthcare provision, according to the O'Neill Institute at the Georgetown University law center in Washington DC. Although the provision requires insurers to cover a wide range of services – from annual check-ups to cancer screenings and immunizations – the case centered on the provision of Prep, or pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV. A small group of plaintiffs claimed provision of PrEP violated their religious beliefs. They were represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former solicitor general of Texas who pioneered the state's 'bounty hunter' abortion law. Their arguments were backed by Republican and conservative groups, although the specific ACA provision was defended by both the Trump and Biden administrations. Major public health groups, hospitals, disease advocacy groups and Democratic attorneys general opposed ending the provision. Although the court affirmed the constitutionality of the panel, it also affirms that any health secretary, including Kennedy, could remake the panel with allies. The secretary could 'override experts' conclusions and remove things like PrEP', said Reiss. However, she added that the power was not 'absolute'. If the secretary's recommendation contravened the decision of an expert panel and there was a lawsuit, the secretary would still need to make 'a convincing case that there was a reason to deviate from the panel, if there is a lawsuit', said Reiss. That has left the Aids institute, and other groups who advocate for healthcare access for HIV and Aids patients, to say it 'celebrates' the decision while acknowledging uncertainty about the future. 'I think we have to be worried about what that means for future USPSTF decisions given what has happened with' the vaccine panel, said Rachel Klein, the deputy executive director of the Aids Institute. 'Knowing what preventive care is effective to keeping people healthy – and therefore cost-effective to cover – is crucial to helping people be as healthy as possible. That requires listening to medical and scientific experts. We hope that USPSTF will continue to be a body worthy of our trust to make scientifically sound decisions about preventive services going forward.'
