Killer litchi the cause of mysterious disease plaguing children of Muzaffarpur

February 2, 2017

New Delhi, Feb 2: Since 1995, every year a mysterious disease has been haunting Muzaffarpur in Bihar, in which large numbers of children would get feverish, then proceed to having seizures and convulsions and finally slipping in and out of consciousness. Scores of researchers and experts have launched exhaustive searches to find the root cause of this deadly disease, but to no avail. Until now.

litchi In 2014, hundreds of children were admitted to hospital with symptoms of this illness, locally called as “chamki ki bimari,” or “tinsel disease.” Of 390 admitted for treatment, 122 died, reports CNN.

A new report published in The Lancet Global Health medical journal, claims to have discovered the source of the disease, which is the litchi fruit.

The illness, whose symptoms are said to resemble encephalitis, have several factors contributing to it including, heat, humidity, malnourishment and pesticides.

Researchers from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention and India’s National Centre for Disease Control compared test results of children who had developed the mysterious illness, and children who had not.

According to the study, most the sick children had consumed the fruit recently and were also six times more likely to have visited a fruit orchard in the last 24 hours.

Muzaffarpur, is the largest litchi farming region in India.

The results said that children who fell ill were twice as likely to have skipped dinner, which, according to the researchers probably resulted in “night-time hypoglycaemia.”

However, urine samples showed that two-thirds of the ill children showed evidence of exposure to toxins found in lychee seeds -- found in higher levels in unripe fruits.

In the presence of these toxins “glucose synthesis is severely impaired,” the study said, leading to dangerously low blood sugar and brain inflammation in the children.

Following the developments, the Centre had issued a statement advising children to henceforth “minimise litchi fruit consumption” in affected areas, and eat an evening meal during the “outbreak period.”

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Lung cancer rates are rising in young women

Agencies

February 6,2020

Researchers have found the rates of lung cancer are higher in young women than men.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined lung cancer rates in young adults in 40 countries across five continents and uncovered a trend of higher lung cancer rates in women compared with men in recent years.

The emerging trend was widespread, affecting countries across varied geographic locations and income levels.

The changes appeared to be driven by a rising rate of adenocarcinoma lung cancer among women, said the study researchers from University of Calgary in Canada.

Lung cancer rates have been higher among men than women because men started smoking in large numbers earlier and smoked at higher rates; however, recent studies have reported converging lung cancer incidence rates between sexes.

Among men, age specific lung cancer incidence rates generally decreased in all countries, while in women the rates varied across countries with the trends in most countries stable or declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to those in men.

For the findings, lung and bronchial cancer cases between 30-64 age group from 1993-2012 were extracted from cancer incidence in five continents.

The study found the higher emerging rates of lung cancer in young women compared to young men.

According to the researchers, future studies are needed to identify reasons for the elevated incidence of lung cancer among young women.

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'Diet drinks don't promise to aggravate weight loss'

Agencies

January 5,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 5: After a woman filed a lawsuit against a diet soda company, the California court has declared that the beverage does not promise to help buyers in losing weight.

The woman had gulped down the drink for over a decade but did not lose inches as a result.

The three-judge panel declared during the hearing: "The prevalent understanding of the term in (the marketplace) is that the 'diet' version of a soft drink has fewer calories than its 'regular' counterpart."

However, the members of the US 9th circuit court have felt that the consumers tend to make out something of their own that is unreasonable and eventually hamper the reputation of brands through a deceptive allegation, reports Fox News.

The response was due to a misleading case filed against Diet Dr Pepper by Shana Becerra from Santa Rosa, California. Shana claimed that she has been addictively purchasing the low-calorie beverage for the past 13 years hoping for losing some fat but failed to lose even a single inch.

The woman also stated that the attractive and fit models misled her into believing that drink will help her in perfecting her body like them.

However, the court's decision was that advertisements are for representational purposes only. "Cannot be reasonably understood to convey any specific meaning at all," as written by Judge Jay Bybee.

Shana had last week made such allegation against Diet coke as well where the court came to a similar verdict. She claimed that she had found various studies where it is evident that the artificial sweetener aspartame used in diet beverages actually boosts weight gain.

But the artificial sweetener is approved in by the concerned administrative department and thus is used in most American drinks.

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