India is hoping to be taken off the list of polio endemic nations with mounting evidence to show that the transmission of the virus is at an all time low.

For the first time since November 2010, most of the environmental samples tested to know if the polio virus is circulating in the air, have been found to be negative.

When asked about the move, former president of Rotary International Rajendra Saboo told PTI, "Yes, it is possible. Things look positive and the signals are favourable too."

He said, "The process of putting India off the list is on. The WHO is the certifying body. Its monitoring board is making assessment of our progress and the process is nearing an end. Results are expected to be favourable to India."

Rotary International has been involved with the polio eradication initiative worldwide, especially in India.

Saboo said India can be put off the list of endemic nations for polio, "as we can see from the sewage samples collected that there is no polio virus in the air".

A health ministry official said, "a few samples remain to be tested. But so far majority of the samples tested from sewage disposal sites of four migration hubs of the country have been found to be negative. This is a very encouraging sign, a proxy indicator that we are well on track to eradicate polio."

Health Ministry officials said they were hoping for the WHO to assess the mounting positive evidence and come out with their report accordingly, hoping that the WHO's certification may help India move out of the endemic nation list soon.

Sources said the announcement may well be made at the two -day Polio Summit where the World Health Organisations' assistant director-general for polio, emergencies Dr Bruce Aylward will be present.

Some antipsychotic medication may increase the risk of death in patients with dementia more than others, according to US research.

The drugs have a powerful sedative effect so are often used when dementia patients become aggressive or distressed.

Experts said better alternatives were needed to antipsychotics.

A study in 2009, suggested 180,000 people with dementia were taking antipsychotic medication in the UK and said the drugs resulted in 1,800 additional deaths.
Data differences

Researchers at Harvard Medical School followed 75,445 people in nursing homes who had dementia and were prescribed antipsychotics.

The researchers said some drugs were associated with more than twice the risk of death than risperidone, another antipsychotic which was used as a benchmark to compare the other drugs.

The study concluded: "The data suggest that the risk of mortality with these drugs is generally increased with higher doses and seems to be highest for haloperidol and least for quetiapine."

However, the way the study was conducted meant it could not say definitively that certain drugs actually caused more deaths, merely that there was a link between the two.

The Department of Health said antipsychotic use was "resulting in as many as 1,800 unnecessary deaths per year. This is simply unacceptable."

"That's why reducing the level of antipsychotics prescribing for people with dementia by two-thirds is one the key priorities in the National Dementia Strategy."

The Dementia Action Alliance - which includes the Alzheimer's Society, Age UK and the Department of Health - has called for all prescriptions for antipsychotics to be reviewed by the end of March 2012.

Dr Chris Fox, who researches dementia at the University of East Anglia, said: "This study provides an interesting insight into the differential harm of these medicines.

"More work is needed on alternatives to these medicines in dementia with behavioural problems.

"In addition, there is a need to consider duration of use in more acute situations such as severe distress. Is six or 12-week use safe in people with dementia?"

Alzheimer's Research UK's chief executive Rebecca Wood said the risks of antipsychotics were "well-established" yet "progress has been frustratingly slow" in reducing their use.

She said the drugs "should only be used for people with dementia where there is no alternative for dealing with challenging behaviour".

Dr Anne Corbett, research manager at Alzheimer's Society, said: "For a minority of people with dementia antipsychotics should be used, but then only for up to 12 weeks, and under the correct circumstances. For the majority, they do far more harm than good."

Ditching sugar-laden drinks and switching to either slim-line versions or water can help dieters shed up to 5 per cent of their body weight in just six months.

Researchers yesterday claimed that the simple substitution by those trying to lose weight will see them shift a minimum of 5lb.

Their study, due to appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared weight loss for 318 overweight or obese people.
Volunteers were divided into three groups - one group switched from calorie-laden beverages to diet soft drinks, the next switched to water, while the third group did not change their drinks and just received general information about healthy choices that could lead to weight loss.

While many of us may remain undecided about how much is too much for us to take tea in a day, researchers have now claimed that drinking three cups of tea a day could help us keep heart attacks as well as type 2 diabetes at bay.

A review shows that regular drinking of tea, with or without milk, can reduce the risk of heart problems by cutting levels of bad cholesterol and blood sugar, Daily Mail reported.

As per experts, the benefits of tea are largely due to the flavonoid content antioxidant ingredients that counteract cardiovascular disease.

One cup of tea provides 150-200mg of flavonoids and it is the best source of antioxidants in the diet

Drinking three or more cups of black tea a day protects against heart disease and two or more cups a day may protect against type 2 diabetes, a review in the journal Nutrition Bulletin found.

Nutritionist Carrie Ruxton, co-author of the latest review and a member of the industry backed Tea Advisory Panel (TAP), said: "There is far more to the nation's favourite drink than we realise.

"With its antioxidant flavonoids, black tea packs a powerful punch with many health benefits particularly for the heart. And recent studies show that the flavonoids work their magic whether or not we choose to add milk."

In addition, a 12-week study of 87 volunteers showed how drinking three cups of tea a day produced a significant improvement in various cardiovascular risk factors.

Flavonoids that are found in tea are said to assist in controlling inflammation, reducing excess blood clotting, promoting blood vessel function and also limiting furring up of the arteries.

When we come down with the flu, we might think the worst is over after a week of a sore throat and body aches. But such viral infections may have lasting, unseen effects on the brain, emerging research suggests.

Viruses such as influenza and herpes may leave brain cells vulnerable to degeneration later in life, and increase the risk of developing diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, research suggests. That's because these the viruses can enter the brain and trigger an immune response - inflammation - which can damage brain cells.

Viruses and other sources of inflammation "may be initiating factors in some of the most common neurological diseases," said Dr. Ole Isacson, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, who discussed the topic in an article published today (Feb. 15) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

It's unlikely one bout of the flu will cause significant damage. But over a lifetime, injuries to cells accumulate, Isacson said, and along with environmental stresses, this can kill cells and the development of brain diseases. Variations in the number of infections we get may be the difference between a person developing Parkinson's disease at age 65 or at age 95, Isacson said.

It's possible that toning down the inflammation that occurs shortly after viral infection could reduce cell damage and the risk of subsequent brain disease, Isacson said. Isacson pointed to a 2011 study of 135,000 men and women found that those who took ibuprofen (a medication that can reduce inflammation) were 30 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's over a six year period compared to those who did not take the medication.

Brain infection

One of the earliest pieces of evidence for the virus-brain disease link comes from the 1918 influenza pandemic, according to Isacson's article. After that outbreak, there was a dramatic increase in cases of a disease called postencephalitic parkinsonism, which has many of the same symptoms as Parkinson's.

In a more rigorous test of the link, a 2009 study showed that mice injected with the H5N1 flu virus developed infections in cells in a brain region known to be significantly impacted by Parkinson's disease, Isacson said.

Research has also shown that infection with certain herpes viruses can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. And very rarely,encephalitis, or brain inflammation caused by viruses, can lead directly to an acute, but transient, form of Parkinson's disease.

But more often, viral infections in our brain are silent, Isacson said. We don't see the full impact of these infections until brain degeneration is substantial, he said.

Preventing disease

Several weeks after infection, inflammatory molecules known as cytokines reach a peak concentration, Isacson said. It's this "cytokine storm" that Isacson and his colleagues suspect is responsible for the brain cell damage associated with viral infections.

If researchers could find a way to block this peak from occurring, they might reduce the risk of certain neurological diseases, Isacson said.

In addition, researchers could also try to identify viruses that cause particularly severe cytokine storms, to better understand which infections pose the greatest risk to the brain, Isacson said.

The idea that immune system inflammation may influence the development of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders is just one hypothesis out of many that are being investigated today, said Heather Snyder, senior associate director of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association. More research is needed to understand what, if any, effect the immune system has on brain diseases, Snyder said.