Health Matters newsletter: sleepless nights heres a drug to help

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(In the weekly Health Matters newsletter, Ramya Kannan writes about getting to good health, and staying there. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)

We’ve said this before, but it bears saying again on those cheery Tuesdays, when we at the health desk are able to bring some good news to start this newsletter. Believe me, there’s nothing else we like doing more.

This week, the good news is for those who find their sleep is disrupted, as the U.S. approves first drug treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea. OSA is a dangerous condition in which breathing stops intermittently while a person sleeps. Sufferers wake up repeatedly during the night because of a blocked airway, preventing them from reaching the deep, refreshing stages of slumber. The condition is linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, stroke and depression. Zepbound, the drug approved by the FDA recently, works by activating receptors of hormones secreted from the intestine… to reduce appetite and food intake. By reducing body weight, it also improves OSA.

We have brought news from Africa repeatedly about the Marburg virus, including explainers. Now, what we are hearing is what we might want to hear: Rwanda and WHO declare end of Marburg outbreak after no new cases reported. The country first declared the outbreak on September 27 and reported a total of 15 deaths and 66 cases, with the majority of those affected healthcare workers who handled the first patients. Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss.

I write about a family in Chennai coming up with a composite child survival and health index to monitor performance of States, Union Territories in India. This takes into account 11 parameters, each of them given equal weightage, and with data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), is used to evaluate the performance of various states in the country. This will also provide a ready tool to keep track of surveillance and monitoring in the country.

Also, ICMR has reportedly developed an AI tool to predict IVF outcomes in men with infertility. It predicts sperm retrieval rates and success rates of assisted reproductive technology in men with ‘Y’ chromosome microdeletion. And in case you were not aware, in nearly 50% of couples experiencing infertility, the problem is with the male partner. Another healthcare institution in the public sector AIIMS says its doctors are in process of developing low cost adaptive cellular therapy for treatment of multiple myeloma. We will continue to follow any developments on this.

Bindu Shajan Perappadan brings us some sobering information, with reference to healthcare costs: Soaring inflation pushes up health insurance premiums; makes standardised care costlier. Healthcare market experts note that this level of escalation is unsustainable, and market correction should be kicking in soon. Speaking to The Hindu, Sumit Bohra of the Insurance Brokers Association of India (IBAI) said in India, rising healthcare costs and growing health insurance premiums are feeding each other. Health activist Arun Gupta said accessing assured, quality health care is now not a matter of right but a matter of having the ’right’ insurance cover.

Here is definite cause for concern: 1,394 batches of drugs recalled in 2023-24 for failing quality tests: Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel told the Parliament. While India aspires to become a leader in pharmacology in the global arena, quality and standards are still far from ideal, and the attention should be paid to these two sectors, with an urgency not yet apparent. Staying on pharma, Aditya Sinha makes a case for Making affordable generics more reliable. Bioequivalent to branded drugs, generics offer cost-effective alternatives. India leverages economies of scale and low production costs to supply affordable medication domestically and internationally. Ensuring the quality of generic medicines in India is vital to make them affordable and effective as innovator drugs.

Delhi AQI’s stays in ‘severe’ category; remains India’s most polluted city for third day in a row. Even as we despair at that, there’s worse: The air pollution is over 16 times the limit prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to official data. Severe level air pollution “affects healthy people” and “seriously impacts” those with existing diseases, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Dyuti Sen explains The challenges of enforcing universal health coverage while emphasising the pressing need to do so, given the vast differences that exist regionally and State-wise, in terms of what is available to the people.

We had told you earlier about The Hindu-Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore tie up for Healthy India, Happy India, to help create awareness on health conditions, treatments and preventive actions that can be undertaken. Here is the first online webinar in that series: Urinary tract infections are common in women, thanks to their anatomy, say doctors. Do watch this space for more.

Shonali Muthalaly writes from the recent nutrition conference in Sri Lanka about the importance of food diversity. Food diversity is crucial to human and environmental health, she says, quoting chef Thomas Zacharias, who spoke on initiatives to champion local and seasonal food, archive culinary knowledge, and build awareness around where food comes from.

Rijo M. John talks of the movement that calls to Levy a higher GST rate on tobacco, sugared beverages. Over the past seven years, there have been no significant increases in GST rates on harmful products such as tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages, except for two minor hikes on tobacco. This has made these products more affordable, undermining efforts to curb their consumption. The Group of Ministers (GoM) has now proposed to raise the highest GST tier on tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages from 28% to 35%.

Serena Josephine M. reports on the Tamil Nadu health department’s move to call on the Centre to Add mumps vaccine to universal immunisation programme, in the light of a sudden resurgence of infections. And Sujatha R. talks of the emotional, and yet necessary task of Learning to accept end of life care and palliative support.

Tailpiece

This week’s story for this section is the one by Jack McBride and Tesla Monson, harking back as it does to new glimpses into birthing patterns, back when early ancestors actually had a tail. Primates often gave birth to twins 60M years ago: new research, they say. Several of the wet-nosed primates – including lemurs, lorises and galagos – and almost all of the marmosets and tamarins from South America give birth to twins. Prior to the writers’ work, researchers thought these distinctive twin-bearing primates must be different, from the more common, ancestral trait. “But our research flips that narrative on its head: It’s actually the singleton-bearing primates that are derived and distinctive. Further back in evolution, two babies at once was the norm. Our ancient primate ancestors gave birth to twins,” the article says.

We have a bunch of explainers this week on a range of subjects, do hit the link on those you want to read on.

Flora Hui advises: Here’s how to choose the right pair of sunglasses.

Zubeda Hamid writes: Ustad Zakir Hussain died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. What is this lung condition? and explains Why some packaged foods are under the scanner?

Here, read about How sugar restrictions in early life could reduce risk of diabetes later on

C. Aravinda introduces the concept of Never events: unacceptable failures in implementing patient safety protocols

Monisha Madhumita writes on Navigating the risks of massages and beauty treatments

Aditya Ansh tells the leprosy story: India’s path towards a stigma-free society

If you have a few extra moments, do also read the following stories:

Afshan Yasmeen writes: In Karnataka, where C-section delivery figures have jumped, State to now audit all such procedures

R. Prasad asks Does 2022 H5N1 bind, replicate better in the respiratory tract?

Soibam Rocky Singh reports from the Delhi High Court: Hospitals cannot refuse free medical treatment to rape, acid attack victims

Disability and queer health in medical education — India under the lens