47,307 people with autism, cerebral palsy enrol for Niramaya health insurance scheme in 2024: Centre

New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Developing antidepressant medications that target cells in the gut may open a novel path towards effective treatment of mood disorders like depression and anxiety, finds a study. Targeting gut cells may open new ways to reduce depression and anxiety.

New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) Developing antidepressant medications that target cells in the gut may open a novel path towards effective treatment of mood disorders like depression and anxiety, finds a study.

These gut-targeting medications may also lead to fewer cognitive, gastrointestinal, and behavioral side effects for patients and their children than current treatments.

“Antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft that raise serotonin levels are important first-line treatments and help many patients but can sometimes cause side effects that patients can’t tolerate,” said Mark Ansorge, Associate Professor of clinical neurobiology at Columbia University Vagelos.

Ansorge noted that the study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, suggests that limiting these drugs “to interact only with intestinal cells could avoid these issues”.

Further, the team noted that the novel approach may also help pregnant women, without exposing the child.

Antidepressants that raise serotonin (called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs) — the first-line pharmacological treatments for anxiety and depression for over 30 years — are known to cross the placenta and increase problems related to mood, cognitive, and gastrointestinal later in childhood.

On the other hand, leaving depression untreated during pregnancy “also comes with risks to the children,” Ansorge said. “An SSRI that selectively raises serotonin in the intestine could be a better alternative.”

Notably, Serotonin is also produced outside the brain, largely in cells that line the intestines. “In fact, 90 per cent of our bodies’ serotonin is in the gut,” said the team.

This knowledge raises the possibility that increasing serotonin signaling in the gut may impact gut-brain communication and ultimately mood, they noted while testing its possibility in mice.

They found that increasing intestinal serotonin reduces anxiety, and depressive behaviors in mice

“These results suggest that SSRIs produce therapeutic effects by working directly in the gut,” Ansorge said.

The animals also displayed none of the cognitive or gastrointestinal side effects commonly seen in patients taking SSRIs or in mice with increased serotonin signaling throughout their entire bodies.

–IANS

rvt/

Phnom Penh, Dec 10 (IANS) Cambodia on Tuesday banned energy drinks at schools as the Southeast Asian country has seen a significant rise in diabetes among young people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron said the move was aimed at preventing the risk of non-communicable diseases, especially diabetes, which was caused by the consumption of sugary and energy drinks.

“The consumption, distribution, sale, and advertisement of all kinds of energy drinks in and around schools’ campuses are strictly prohibited,” he said in a directive, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the prohibition was applied to all public and private educational institutions as well as technical education institutions across the country.

Naron advised all schools to remind students of the effects of having energy drinks when they gathered for the salutation of the national flag.

He also instructed the schools to seize energy drinks from sellers in and around the schools and terminate their stall rental contracts if they defied the ban.

The prohibition came hours after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the kingdom has reported an increase in diabetes, advising the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to take action to prevent the disease among students.

“Some children consume up to three cans of sugary or energy drinks a day,” he said during a groundbreaking ceremony for the University of Health Sciences Hospital in Phnom Penh.

According to Minister of Health Chheang Ra, diabetes was a major cause of mortality in Cambodia.

He said while infectious diseases were once the primary cause of death in the country, non-communicable diseases currently accounted for more than half of fatalities.

The minister said four main types of non-communicable diseases are heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease.

–IANS

as/

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) Amit Mandali, a resident of Patdi tehsil of Surendranagar district of Gujarat, was facing a life-threatening health condition sometime ago. Faced with financial hardships and family turmoil over his liver infection, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) came to his rescue and emerged as a lifeline for the family.

Under the flagship scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, Amit Mandali got his entire hospitalisation and treatment done for free. Today, he and his family are highly happy and relieved to have overcome the life-threatening ailment.

Amit is getting healthy again, marking the return of happiness and joy to his family. He and his family are highly grateful to PM Modi for the Ayushman scheme.

Expressing gratitude to PM Modi, they submitted: “If the Ayushman card was not there, he would not have got the treatment at a private hospital.”

Amit Mandali’s family comprises a son and wife as well as old parents.

The family’s financial conditions are not strong and hence, when afflicted with the disease, their world came crashing down.

The family was broken and filled with sorrow, when one day, they found that Amit’s liver was damaged.

The situation became grimmer as he remained the sole earning member of the family.

He and his family were not in a position to bear the expenses at a private hospital.

At that moment, Ayushman Card scheme became his lifeline. He visited IKDRC, Ahmedabad for treatment. The complete treatment and the expenses were taken care of, under the Ayushman Bharat card.

Notably, AB PM-JAY is one of the biggest welfare schemes of PM Modi-led government, under which health cover of Rs 5 lakhs is provided to every family, amounting to approximately 55 crore beneficiaries, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

The ambit of the scheme has been on constant expansion, after its launch in 2018.

Recently, the scheme was expanded to cover all senior citizens, at 70 years of age and above, irrespective of the income slab.

Initially, 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families comprising the bottom 40 per cent of the country’s population were covered under the scheme.

In January 2022, the beneficiary base was revised to 12 crore families. The scheme was further expanded to cover 37 lakh ASHAs working across the country and their families for free healthcare benefits.

–IANS

mr/pgh