After 3,988 cases and 49 deaths because of dengue being reported across the nation except few states, it is now the State of Punjab which is falling under the grip of it. Number of hospitals are getting cases from across the state who are now finding it difficult to manage the inflow of patients.

The difficulty is all the more aggravated as the government hospitals are not properly equipped with the facilities required and the patients are now being sent to PGI in Chandigarh or private medical college hospitals in Ludhiana. It has been reported that more than 50,000 cases approximately has come up.

Washington, Oct 27: Researchers from University of Medicine Berlin and McMaster University in Canada have found that stress may activate immune cells in the skin, leading to inflammatory skin disease.

This cross talk between stress perception, which involves the brain, and the skin is mediated through the "brain-skin connection".

The immune cells in skin can over-react, resulting in inflammatory skin diseases like atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

London, Oct 27 : Viagra can overcome the signalling defect and relieve exercise-induced fatigue associated with muscular dystrophies, according to a new study.

In the study on mice, researchers at University of Iowa showed that Viagra could alleviate fatigue in the animals with mislocalized enzyme called neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS).

They also showed that there was a difference between the prolonged fatigue after mild exercise in muscular dystrophy patients and the inherent muscle weakness caused by the disease.

The researchers identified a faulty signalling pathway that apparently leads to exercise-induced fatigue in mouse models of muscular dystrophy.

Sydney, October 27: While the number of women turning to mammograms has significantly increased following breast cancer diagnoses among many celebrities, experts have found that many of them are in the under-40 age group, where mammographic screening is not effective.

"It is important to dispel the misconceptions, address unnecessary alarm and provide the facts for this age group," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Dr. Helen Zorbas, director of the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, as saying at the launch of breast cancer awareness day in Sydney.

Washington, October 27 : A new study suggests that rheumatoid arthritis sufferers may be at increased risk for periodontal disease—a gum disease characterized by inflammation that leads to separation of the teeth from the gums, loss of bony support, and possible tooth loss.

Study leader Dr. Clifton O. Bingham III, a rheumatologist from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, revealed that the research team evaluated the prevalence of periodontal disease and other aspects of oral health in 153 patients with RA, who were already enrolled in a cardiovascular disease study.

The researcher said that 66 per cent of the patients were female, ranged in age from 45 to 84 years, were primarily Caucasian, and had, on average, suffered from RA for 

Washington, October 27 : A new study has revealed that people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more likely to suffer greater heart-related complications, and have an increased risk of death following a heart attack, when compared to other heart attack patients.

Dr. Hilal Maradit Kremers, a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist and lead author of the study, has revealed that the research team followed 38 heart attack patients who had RA to compare their mortality rates to those who had suffered a heart attack but did not have RA.

The researcher has also revealed that most patients were female, with a mean age of 76 years.

The team evaluated treatment of heart attacks and tracked patient outcomes (heart failure and death).