New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Acceptance of modern contraceptives in India has increased to over 56 per cent, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel said on Thursday.

In a virtual meeting with State/UTs, Patel highlighted this as the success of the country’s National Family Planning Programme, which currently offers a variety of reversible modern contraceptives encompassing condoms, intrauterine contraceptive devices, oral pills, injectable contraceptives, etc.

“It is encouraging to note that the acceptance of modern contraceptives in the country has increased to over 56 per cent,” she said.

From 47.8 per cent (NFHS 4, 2015-16) to 56.5 per cent (NFHS-5, 2019-20), the “increase has been substantial”.

The NFHS-5 data also “shows an overall positive shift towards spacing methods (between pregnancies) which would positively impact maternal and infant mortality and morbidity”.

Notably, “the Unmet Need for Family Planning has declined to 9.4 from 12.9 (NFHS IV) which is an encouraging achievement,” she added.

Further, Patel noted that “more than 65 per cent of India’s population falls in the reproductive age group which makes it pertinent to ensure that they are provided with choices and not burdened with unplanned family growth”.

She informed that from the earlier two phases, the Union Government’s family planning programme “has now been expanded to three phases: the preparatory phase, community participation, and service delivery.” Importantly, she noted that after seven decades of family programme activities, “31 of 36 states/UTs have now reached replacement level of Total fertility rate (TFR)”. She called on states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Manipur to take up “concerted activities to bring down the TFR”.

Patel also noted that the Mission Parivar Vikas (MPV) scheme has been expanded to over 340 districts from 146 districts initially.

The meeting also launched an innovative Family Planning Display Model “Sugam” and family planning posters in Hindi, English, and regional languages imbibing the current year’s theme. Newly-developed radio spots and jingles aimed at creating awareness about family planning and increasing the uptake of family planning commodities were also launched. —

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) A novel nanoformulation to cure deadly brain tumours has shown promise in pre-clinical trials, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi said on Thursday.

Glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of cancerous brain tumour in adults, poses significant treatment challenges despite available options like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Patients diagnosed with glioblastoma typically have a life expectancy of only 12-18 months post-diagnosis.

The team developed a novel nanoformulation, namely Immunosomes, that combines a CD40 agonist antibody with the small molecule inhibitor RRX-001. The innovative approach, published in the journal Biomaterials, aims to enhance treatment efficacy for brain tumours, potentially offering new hope for improving outcomes in glioblastoma patients.

In this study, mice bearing glioblastoma treated with Immunosomes showed complete eradication of the tumour and remained tumour-free for at least three months. In addition, the treatment generated a strong host immune response to fight against brain cancer. After three months, the team re-challenged the long-term surviving mice by implanting glioblastoma cells.

Surprisingly, the mice pre-treated with Immunosomes showed near-no tumour growth, revealing that Immunosomes could generate long-lasting immune memory that can prevent future tumour recurrence without further treatment.

In addition to producing long-lasting protection against glioblastoma, treatment with Immunosomes can reduce the toxicity associated with CD40 agonist antibody, which otherwise presents a significant challenge for clinicians globally.

“We are highly motivated by these results, and are excited to translate these findings to human clinical trials with a wider range of glioblastoma patients,” said Dr Jayanta Bhattacharyya, Associate Professor, Centre for Biomedical Engineering, IIT Delhi.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Highlighting that one-fifth of the global population resides in India, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda on Thursday stressed the need to reaffirm and recommit to work towards population stabilisation.

Addressing a virtual meeting with State/UTs the minister called on Centre and States “to collectively work to ensure that women can exercise their right to make family planning choices”.

“The goal of Viksit Bharat can only be achieved when the health of India’s families is well maintained which can be achieved by smaller families,” he stated on the occasion of World Population Day.

Women should not be “burdened by unwanted pregnancy”, the minister said, noting that “the objective of the family planning programme needs to be ‘Birth by choice and by informed choice”.

He also called on the Centre and States to collectively address the “unmet needs of contraceptives, especially in the high-burden states, districts, and blocks”.

“Promoting healthy timing and spacing between births, achieving optimal family sizes, and empowering voluntary adoption of contraceptive choices are crucial for nurturing healthier and happier families, thereby contributing to our nation’s brighter future,” he stated.

Further, he also lauded ‘Mission Parivar Vikas’ (MPV), one of the successful schemes of the National Family Planning Programme, which was initially launched for 146 high-priority districts (HPDs) in seven high-focus states, and later expanded to cover all districts in these states and six northeastern states.

He emphasised the remarkable impact of the scheme and underlined the significant increase in access to contraceptives in these states and successful reductions in maternal, infant, and under-five mortality rates.

“Making districts as the primary focal point” helped in bringing down the Total fertility rate (TFR) in states, as well as in the nation, he said.

Cautioning states/UTs against getting complacent in these efforts, he stressed “to work towards maintaining low TFR in the States that have already achieved it, and work towards achieving in other States”, he added.

The Union Minister also commended the tireless work and dedication of the healthcare and frontline workers and various line departments in reaching the last mile in spreading the messages of family planning and service delivery.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats like butter to one with plant-based unsaturated fats like olive oil can affect the fat composition in the blood, which, in turn, can influence long-term disease risk, according to a study on Thursday.

The current guidelines call for increasing dietary unsaturated fat intake while reducing saturated fats to prevent cardiometabolic diseases, which include heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and insulin resistance.

The new study, published in Nature Medicine, demonstrated that a controlled dietary substitution of saturated fats with unsaturated fats may be good for health and can reduce cardiometabolic risk.

For the study, the team involved 113 participants who were divided into two groups: one consuming a diet high in saturated animal fats, while the other group had a diet rich in unsaturated plant-based fats.

These were followed for 16 weeks, and their blood samples were analysed using lipidomics, or an analysis of fats in the blood.

A higher multi-lipid score (MLS) — indicating a healthy blood fat profile — showed a substantially reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. A healthy fat-rich diet was found to be associated with a 32 per cent fewer incident of cardiovascular disease and 26 per cent fewer type 2 diabetes cases.

The “study confirms with even more certainty the health benefits of a diet high in unsaturated plant fats such as the Mediterranean diet and could help provide targeted dietary advice to those who would benefit most from changing their eating habits”, said Clemens Wittenbecher, research leader at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

The study also showed that it is possible to accurately measure diet-related fat changes in the blood and directly link them to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. It also highlighted the potential of lipidomics-based scores for targeting and monitoring dietary interventions in biomarker-guided precision nutrition approaches.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Even as the latest suicide case of a father-son duo in Mumbai shocked us, experts on Thursday said that suicide is the largest public health crisis facing people, both young and old in India.

India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of suicides in the world. According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report released in April, 1.71 lakh people died by suicide in 2022 in India.

The suicide rate has increased to 12.4 per 1,00,000 — the highest rate ever recorded in India.

But what is leading to the tragedy?

Health experts point out that the major reason is depression — a mental illness that in some can be genetic and can be induced by some kinds of stressors.

“The most common underlying reason for suicide is depression which in layman’s language we say stress otherwise it can be due to impulsiveness or other factors also, but the majority are because of depression,” Rajiv Mehta, Vice Chairperson, Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, told IANS.

The doctor noted that common stressors in life are related to work, finances, relationship issues, and health.

“These are the four common areas where the ups and downs in life can produce stress and slowly when stress becomes severe, it gets converted into anxiety and depression, which leads to suicide,” he explained.

Studies also indicate that about 50 to 90 per cent of individuals who die by suicide also suffer from mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

“Today, suicide is the largest public health crisis facing India. It is the leading cause of death among youth. Suicide can occur impulsively during periods of extreme stress, and those who are vulnerable may struggle to cope with such stressors as financial difficulties, medical conditions, or personal loss. Loneliness and isolation are also significant risk factors,” Shyam Bhat, Psychiatrist and Chairperson, LiveLoveLaugh, told IANS.

“The rising trend of suicide in India is quite concerning and calls for attention,” added Shambhavi Jaiman, Consultant Psychiatrist, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram.

In addition to mental health concerns or mental illnesses like depression, economic stress, unemployment, financial instability, huge amounts of debt for whatever reasons in their business, family conflicts, and marital discord all leading to hopelessness, are other contributing factors, the doctor told IANS.

Unfortunately, due to stigma and fear, discussions about suicide often happen in hushed tones, which only adds to its mystery.

Shyam called for offering genuine support without judgement or unsolicited advice to people in distress and helping them seek guidance.

“If you notice someone feeling depressed or down, encourage them. Offer support in helping them connect with a mental health professional who can provide perspective and guidance,” he said.

–IANS

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