Science Today

Novartis reaffirms its commitment to the fight against liver fluke (fascioliasis), signing a renewed memorandum of understanding with the World Health Organization (WHO) to extend its drug donation for Egaten® (triclabendazole) until 2022. Egaten is currently the only treatment for fascioliasis recommended by the WHO and is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. This new four-year commitment (January 2019 to December 2022) includes the donation of 600,000 tablets of Egaten annually, expected to reach 300,000 patients per year. Since the start of the donation program in 2005, Novartis has donated approximately 4 million tablets of Egaten, valued at USD 41 million, helping to treat around 2 million people with fascioliasis in more than 30 countries worldwide. Fascioliasis, commonly known as liver fluke infestation, is a neglected tropical disease that currently affects an estimated 2.4 million people worldwide[1], with an additional 180 million at risk of infection[2]. It is...

India’s drug controller has initiated an investigation against all companies importing key raw material  valsartan for commonly used  for hypertension  drugs from Chinese manufacturer  Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals . This comes in the wake of recall of medicines containing valsartan in several developed countries recently, including the US, Germany and Italy after reports that an ingredient used in valsartin’s manufacturing by this particular company carries “potential cancer risk”. Both the importer and the Chinese manufacturer,  Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals, will be issued a show-cause notice soon. Valsartan medicines are used to treat patients with high blood pressure in order to reduce complications such as heart attack and stroke. Regulatory agencies, including US Food and Drug Administration and  European Medicines Agency , started a review of medicines containing the active substance valsartan. However, even as the review is underway, na...

By: M. Mirza Riyaz Beig The scientists, who have studied the impact of electromagnetic waves on human eye, say that cell phone usage can also lead to early cataract in lens apart from affecting retina, cornea and other ocular systems of the eye. While scientists across the globe are still debating whether cell phone radiation exposure results in brain tumors, a new study carried out by scientists at Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT) has revealed that cell phones also affect eyes. “The wavelength of wireless signals (which is about 2 to 2.5 cm) used for cell phones and other wireless terminals matches with that received by the human eye. The dielectric constant (absorption capacity) of eye tissues is around 70 which is greater than unity (above 50). This means that the eye can absorb electromagnetic energy very quickly,” explains Dwivedi. These scientists have also recommended that a mobile handset should be kept as far as possible from the eye. “It should not be ...

Lifestyle diseases from Mirza Riyaz Beig

By Asma Naqi  The composition of detectable small organic compounds in the ethanol extract of Achillea micrantha was defined by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis. There were 71 low molecular weight organic compounds observed, two of which remained unidentified. The antibacterial activity of the extract was studied in respect to Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar diffusion test and serial dilutions to define minimum inhibitory concentration. In order to compare the antibacterial activity of the herb and blossom truss extract of A. micrantha, the extracts of A. millefolium and A. leptophylla was used. In relation to the microorganisms tested, a significant inhibitory effect was observed with the aqueous alcoholic extract of A. micrantha at the minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.05 µg/ml. About this plant:  https://www.gbif.org/species/3120277