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Individuals who drink 1.5 to 3.5 litres of coffee per day, with or without sugar, had a lower risk of death than adults who do not drink coffee at all, according to a recent research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Previous research on the health impacts of coffee has revealed that it is linked to a decreased risk of mortality, but did not differentiate between unsweetened coffee and coffee with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Researchers from Guangzhou’s Southern Medical University utilised data from the UK Biobank study’s health behaviour questionnaire to look at the links between sugar-sweetened, artificially sweetened, and unsweetened coffee intake and overall and cause-specific death.

To determine coffee drinking patterns, more than 171,000 people in the UK without known heart disease or cancer were asked a series of dietary and health behaviour questionnaires. The researchers discovered that people who drank any amount of unsweetened coffee were 16 to 21% less likely to die over the 7-year follow-up period than those who did not.

Sweetened Coffee helps

They also discovered that those who consumed 1.5 to 3.5 cups of sugar-sweetened coffee were 29 to 31% less likely to die than those who did not drink coffee. Adults who drank sugar-sweetened coffee added just around 1 teaspoon of sugar per cup of coffee, according to the authors. Participants who drank coffee with artificial sweeteners had unclear results.

Any accompanying editorial by the editors of Annals of Internal Medicine notes that while coffee has qualities that could make health benefits possible, confounding variables including more difficult to measure differences in socioeconomic status, diet, and other lifestyle factors may impact findings. The authors add that the participant data is at least 10 years old and collected from a country where tea is a similarly popular beverage.

Also Read: Drinking coffee on daily basis may be beneficial to heart? Know how

They caution that the average amount of daily sugar per cup of coffee recorded in this analysis is much lower than specialty drinks at popular coffee chain restaurants, and many coffee consumers may drink it in place of other beverages that make comparisons to non-drinkers more difficult. Based on this data, clinicians can tell their patients that there is no need for most coffee drinkers to eliminate the beverage from their diet but to be cautious about higher calorie specialty coffees.

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Shoulder dystocia is alleviated by the fact that human shoulders slow down before birth and then accelerate up afterward, according to a recent research.

The researchers used computed tomography to produce cross-sectional clavicle reconstructions in humans, chimpanzees, and Japanese macaques, and then examined unique shoulder-width to birth-risk relationships in humans and the other primates. The research findings were published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

Why is it that human moms have such a difficult time giving birth compared to our evolutionary counterparts, chimps and macaques?

A large head and broad shoulders are the distinguishing features. However, it has made a significant impact in terms of birth safety.

“The question is actually two-fold, ” says study author Naoki Morimoto of Kyoto University. “What also makes childbirth difficult for women is the relatively narrow pelvis.”

When examining the development of birthing, Morimoto’s team uncovered two key elements of female human skeletal architecture that demand special consideration. The first has its own set of benefits: first, human shoulder growth slows immediately before delivery and then accelerates afterward; second, this occurrence alleviates the problem of shoulder dystocia, in which the shoulders obstruct the fetus’s safe passage down the birth canal.

“It is important to note that the second point reconciles the incompatibility of wide shoulders with the narrow birth canal. The shoulders show an ‘intelligent’ modification in fetal development,” notes lead author Ph.D. candidate Mikaze Kawada.

In terms of the head and shoulders, size ratio to the pelvis is what makes a human skeletal component ‘human.’ Our huge heads are a product of our highly evolved brains, and our wide shoulders explain our bipedal stability and ability to hurl stuff far.

On the other hand, when our forefathers walked farther and more frequently, the requirement to make walking more effective lowered the size of the pelvis.

From prenatal through adult samples, Morimoto and his team employed computed tomography to produce cross-sectional images of the clavicle in humans, chimps, and Japanese macaques.

The researchers next looked at the relationship between shoulder breadth and birth risk in humans and the two other primates. Chimpanzees have relatively broad shoulders, but less shoulder-related delivery problems than macaques. Chimpanzees’ pelvis — and hence their birth canal — is bigger than that of humans since they move about on two feet less frequently.

“We surmise that the wide shoulders, relative to the pelvis of our ancestors, emerged simultaneously with the narrower pelvis as we became fully bipedal,” says Morimoto, “but before the brain evolved to today’s size.”

Morimoto concludes, “This study motivates us to further examine the extent to which obstetric and metabolic constraints in our ancestors have influenced human ontogeny in relation to evolutionary adaptations.”

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On Saturday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope clarified the state’s position on the Centre’s letter to five states urging them to closely monitor emerging clusters of COVID-19 cases, maintain an adequate number of tests, and send samples from infected individuals for genome sequencing. He said that while they encourage people to wear face masks in closed places, they have not mandated it by imposing a penalty.

Tope while speaking to reporters here today said, “Masks should be worn in closed spaces like buses, schools, railways, and offices. This is not mandatory, therefore no fine is imposed. But I appeal to the Maharashtra public to wear masks.” “There has been a slight increase in positive cases in the limited cluster areas like Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Palghar, due to which Maharashtra’s contribution in the active Covid-19 cases in the country is increasing. That’s why the Health Department of the Central government had sent a letter to the states observing a surge in Covid cases,” said Tope quoting the letter sent by the Centre.

Also Read: Delhi HC asks DGCA to take strict action against passengers violating mask norms at airports

On Friday, the Centre sent a letter to five states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, advising them to follow a five-step strategy, namely test, track, treat, and vaccine, as well as follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, monitoring clusters of new COVID-19 cases, and adequate testing in accordance with the guidelines.

Appeal to wear masks

He further stated that the Centre had instructed the states to obey the “in-general Covid rules” that had been established.

“It is a part of in-general guidelines for the people to wear face masks in closed spaces like buses, schools, railways, and offices, and hence we appeal to wear face masks, however, we have not mandated it by imposing a fine on not wearing a face mask,” said Tope.

The state Health Minister’s comments come only days after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar expressed alarm over the rising number of Covid cases in the state, emphasising the necessity for face masks to be mandated.

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On Sunday, India’s COVID-19 cases surpassed 4,000 for the second time in four days, with 4,270 new infections reported in the previous 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry.

On Friday, India’s daily total of COVID-19 cases surpassed 4,000 for the first time in over three months, with 4,041 new infections recorded. However, the country saw a slight decrease yesterday, with 3,962 new COVID cases registered. With this, India’s active COVID caseload has reached 24,052, accounting for 1.03 percent of all positive cases in the country.

The daily positivity rate of 1.03 percent was observed in the last 24 hours, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded to be 0.84 percent, the health ministry informed today.

With 2,619 recoveries in the last 24 hours hence, the total recoveries now reached 4,26,28,073. India’s Recovery Rate is currently at 98.73 percent.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra also recorded over 1,000 new infections on Saturday, the highest since February 20 when 1,437 infections were logged. Of these, Mumbai accounts for over 60 percent of cases in the state as the city logged 889 infections yesterday.

As per the health ministry, India conducted 4,13,699 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours. The country has so far conducted 85.26 crore total tests so far, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data.

The country has administered more than 194.09 (1,94,09,46,157) vaccine doses so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive. This has been achieved through 2,47,42,189 sessions.

India has also administered 3,65,91,994 precaution doses to all the beneficiaries so far.

COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years began on March 16, 2022. So far, more than 3.44 crore (3,44,23,443) adolescents have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The ministry also informed that more than 193.53 crores (1,93,53,58,865) vaccine doses have been provided to States and UTs so far, while over 14.81 crores (14,81,06,650) balance and unutilized COVID vaccine doses are still available with them to be administered.

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On Saturday, Biological E. Limited, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical and vaccines company, announced that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved its Corbevax COVID-19 vaccine as a heterologous COVID-19 booster dose for individuals aged 18 and up after six months of primary vaccination (two doses) with Covaxin or Covishield vaccines for restricted use in an emergency situation.

A statement issued by pharmaceutical and vaccines company read, “The BE’s Corbevax is the first such vaccine in India to be approved as a heterologous COVID-19 booster. Recently, BE has furnished its clinical trials data to the DCGI who after a detailed evaluation and deliberations with the Subject Experts Committee granted their approval for administering the Corbevax vaccine as a heterologous booster dose to people who have already taken two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin.” Biological E’s clinical trial data showed that the Corbevax booster dose provided significant enhancement in immune response and the excellent safety profile required for an effective booster, said the statement.

Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E. Limited, said, “We are very happy with this approval, which will address the need for COVID-19 booster doses in India. We have crossed yet another milestone in our COVID-19 vaccination journey. This approval reflects once again the sustained world-class safety standards and high immunogenicity of Corbevax.”

The statement further said, “Biological E has conducted a multicentre Phase III placebo-controlled heterologous booster clinical trial in 416 subjects from 18 to 80 years of age who were previously vaccinated with two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin at least 6 months prior to the administration of CORBEVAX as a booster dose.”

According to the pharmaceutical business, the booster dose of Corbevax significantly boosted neutralising antibody titers in the Covishield and Covaxin groups when compared to the placebo.

Also Read: Biological E’s Corbevax gets DCGI nod

“In a subset of subjects evaluated for nAb against the Omicron variant, the Corbevax booster shot resulted in a significant increase in the nAb titers against the Omicron variant. After the booster dose of Corbevax, Omicron nAbs were observed in 91 pc and 75 pc of subjects who had received primary vaccination by Covishield and Covaxin respectively,” said the statement.

It stated that the Corbevax booster dose also resulted in a significant Th1 skewed cellular immune response as indicated by cytokine expression analysis post-stimulation of the T-cells, said the company in its statement.

“The Corbevax heterologous booster vaccine was well tolerated and safe. There were no severe or adverse events of interest for 3 months of follow-up after the booster dose was administered,” said the statement.

The Corbevax vaccination slot can be booked through the Co-WIN app or Co-WIN portal. So far, 51.7 million doses of Corbevax have been administered to children across the country, including 17.4 million who have completed the two-dose regimen. BE has supplied 100 million doses of Corbevax to the Government of India.

“Corbevax is entirely developed and manufactured by Biological E. Limited in association with Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine as a recombinant protein subunit vaccine against COVID-19,” the statement concluded.

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After complaining of itching and rashes on her body, a five-year-old child in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, is being tested for monkeypox.

The test is only a “precautionary step,” according to the Chief Medical Officer of Ghaziabad, because the girl has no other health difficulties and has had no intimate contact with anyone who has travelled overseas in the last month.

“Samples of a five-year-old girl have been collected for testing for monkeypox, as a precautionary measure, as she had complaints of itching and rashes on her body. She has no other health issues and neither she nor any of her close contacts travelled abroad in the past one month,” CMO Ghaziabad said.

The Union Health Ministry responded proactively on Tuesday, issuing ‘Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease’ to guarantee advance readiness across the country, in light of an increase in reports of monkeypox (MPX) cases in non-endemic countries.

According to the recommendations, a confirmed case of monkeypox is defined as the discovery of unique sequences of viral DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or sequencing in a laboratory.

“All the clinical specimens should be transported to the Apex Laboratory of ICMR-NIV (Pune) routed through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network of the respective district/state,” it said in the guidelines.

The epidemiology of the disease (including host, incubation period, period of communicability, and mode of transmission); contact and case definitions; clinical features and complications; diagnosis, case management, risk communication, and infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance, including the use of personal protective equipment are all covered in the Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease.

“The guidelines stress surveillance and rapid identification of new cases as the key public health measures for outbreak containment, mandating the need to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission. It explains the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures, IPC at home, patient isolation and ambulance transfer strategies, additional precautions that need to be taken care of and duration of isolation procedures,” the statement reads.

Contacts should be examined at least daily for the development of signs/symptoms for a period of 21 days (as defined by case definition) after their last contact with a patient or their contaminated items during the infectious period, according to the recommendations.

In addition to raising awareness of risk factors, the guidelines go into detail about educating people about Monkeypox virus prevention measures such as avoiding contact with any sick person’s material, isolating the infected patient from others, practising good hand hygiene, and using appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for patients.

The Ministry further said that the Monkeypox has been reported as endemic in several other central and western African countries such as Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone. However, cases have been also reported in certain non-endemic countries e.g. USA, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Austria, Israel, Switzerland etc.

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare continues to maintain a close watch over the evolving situation.

On Saturday, India saw a slight decrease in COVID-19 cases, with 3,962 new infections recorded in the past 24 hours.

After nearly three months, India’s daily total of COVID-19 cases surpassed 4,000 cases yesterday, with 4,041 infections recorded in the past 24 hours. With this, India’s active COVID caseload has increased to 22,416, accounting for 0.05% of the country’s total positive cases.

The daily positivity rate of 0.77 per cent was observed in the last 24 hours, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded to be 0.89 per cent, the health ministry informed today.

With 2,697 recoveries in the last 24 hours hence, the total recoveries now reached 4,26,25,454. India’s Recovery Rate is currently at 98.73 per cent.

As per the health ministry, India conducted 4,45,814 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours. The country has so far conducted 85.22 crore (85,22,09,788) total tests, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data.

The country has administered more than 193.96 crore (1,93,96,47,071) vaccine doses so far under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

“This has been achieved through 2,47,05,065 sessions,” the Ministry said. COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years began on March 16, 2022. So far, more than 3.43 Cr (3,43,23,522) adolescents have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to a study conducted by experts at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, processes connected with a specific diabetic treatment may also aid to guard against Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings, which were published in Neurology, suggest that the drug’s target protein might be a promising option for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is growing more widespread, yet there are no treatments that can delay or stop the progression of the disease, and developing new drugs is a long, expensive, and complicated process.
As an alternative, discover currently authorised medications that can be shown to be effective against the condition and offer them a new application.

Diabetes medicines have been proposed as potential possibilities, however research testing diabetes drugs for Alzheimer’s disease have yielded inconclusive results thus far. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet employed genetic approaches to investigate this further in the current work.

“Genetic variants within or nearby the genes that encode a drug’s target proteins can cause physiological changes similar to the effects of the drug,” says the study’s first author Bowen Tang, doctoral student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet. “We utilise such variants to test the repurposing potential of already approved drugs.”

The researchers started by looking for genetic polymorphisms that mimicked the pharmacological impact of diabetic medications, specifically blood glucose reduction. An study of data from over 300,000 people in the UK Biobank registration was used to accomplish this.

Variants were discovered in two genes that code for the target protein of a family of diabetic drugs known as sulphonylureas. The researchers proved that these variations are linked to increased insulin release, a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, and a higher BMI, all of which are consistent with the drug’s effects.

The researchers next looked at the relationship between the genetic variants discovered and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. They accomplished it by analysing data from over 24,000 persons with Alzheimer’s disease and 55,000 healthy people. They discovered that sulphonylurea gene variations were connected to a decreased incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.

Rajesh Bhushan, the Union Health Secretary, has written a letter to officials in five states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, requesting that they closely monitor emerging clusters of COVID-19 cases, maintain an adequate number of tests, and send samples from infected individuals for genome sequencing.

“There are few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India’s cases indicating the possibility of a localised spread of infection. There is, therefore, a need to follow a risk assessment based approach on the public health responses without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic,” read the letter. The state is advised to follow a five-fold strategy i.e test – track – treat – vaccination and should also follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, monitoring clusters of new COVID-19 cases and adequate testing as per guidelines.

In India, the number of Covid-19 cases has been steadily declining for the previous three months, according to Bhusan. He added there has been a modest increase in instances in the last week, with 15,708 cases recorded in the week ending May 27th, up to 21,055 cases as of June 3rd. During the week, weekly optimism increased from 0.52 percent to 0.73 percent, he noted.

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