A pair of 13-month-old conjoined sisters, who were abandoned by their poverty-stricken parents, have been successfully separated.

Aradhana and Stuti were left at the Missionary Hospital in Padhar, India, after they were born on May 11 last year, because their parents could not afford to take care of them. Their father Hariram Yadav is a poor local farmer who has just two acres of land.

The twins, who were joined at the chest, were separated yesterday during a 12-hour operation involving 23 doctors and 11 nurses from India and Australia. They were wheeled in the operation room at 8am, before the surgery followed from 9am to 9pm.

The team first separated their hearts, which were joined by the same membrane, followed by their fused livers.



One of the earliest documented cases of conjoined twins were Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst. They were born joined at the hip in 1100 in Kent and were know as the Biddenden maids. They died aged 34.

Source : dailymail

Five-year-old Zach Tahir suffers from a rare medical condition which means he's slowly eating his way through his bedroom.

Zach has a constant need to chew, but as he can't distinguish between food and inedible objects he wants to eat everything from window blinds to the plaster on his walls.

The youngster from Salford, Greater Manchester, who is autistic and cannot speak, has an extreme form of a disorder called Pica.

To keep him safe mother, Rachel Horn, has to go to extraordinary lengths ripping up celery to encourage him to eat it instead of thread and even sprinkling nuts on the carpet.

Rachel has now launched a fundraising drive to build a 'safe room', without objects Zach could try to consume.

Rachel, 32, said: 'He eats almost anything - mud and moss, stones, carpet, grow bags, thread, paper, wallpaper and hair.

'He loves to climb on his windowsill and eat his black-out blind. He likes to have something to chew on at all times. It is not the taste he likes, but the texture.

'It's frustrating as Zach doesn't speak - not one word - and meal times are a nightmare.

He doesn't sleep much and I get exhausted, but unlike other autistic children he loves to give me hugs and he dances.'
Zach, who lives with his mum and sister Isabella, two, was diagnosed with autism and learning difficulties aged three. His Pica, which is believed to be linked to autism, was diagnosed around the same time.

Rachel first noticed her son wasn't developing at the rate of other children when he was nine months.

She is hoping to raise £15,000 to make Zach's bedroom safe, furnishing it with items including a special mattress without seams.

Source : dailymail

London : Scientists in Cameroon have warned that eating monkeys and apes could cause the next HIV, it was reported here Saturday.

They are already tracking a HIV-like virus called simian foamy virus, and fear more viruses could spread and lead to a global health crisis, Daily Mail reported.

Eighty percent of the meat eaten in Cameroon is killed in the wild and is known as "bushmeat", with gorilla, chimpanzee or monkey favourites.

According to one estimate, up to 3,000 gorillas are slaughtered in southern Cameroon every year.

Elsewhere, the Washington-based Bush Meat Crisis Task Force estimates that up to five million tonnes of wild animals are being "harvested" in the Congo Basin every year - the equivalent of 10 million cattle.

A study earlier this year by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), identified evidence of viruses, including simian foamy virus, in illegally imported wildlife products confiscated at several US international airports.

Babila Tafon, head vet at the primate sanctuary Ape Action Africa (AAA), in Mefou, Cameroon, has spotted the virus in animals brought to his sanctuary. The AAA cares for 22 gorillas and more than one hundred chimps which are orphans of the bush meat trade.

Source : mangalorean

A child dubbed 'turtle boy' because of a giant mole that covered his back like a shell, can now live a normal life thanks to a British surgeon.

Didier Montalvo, six, from Colombia, had the rare condition Congenital Melanocytic Nevus.

There was a chance the growth could turn malignant but Didier's mother Luz could not raise the money for the operation.

The family were also ostracised from their rural village as the superstitious residents said Didier's condition was due to being conceived during an eclipse.

They feared he was touched by evil forces which meant he could not attend school or be baptised.


'I want to grow up,' Didier said.

'But the mole won't let me.'

But thanks to leading plastic surgeon Neil Bulstrode, who operated on him free after hearing of his plight, Didier can now grow up as any other child.


The story will be told tonight as part of Channel 4's Bodyshock documentary series.

Mr Bulstrode flew to the Colombian capital Bogotá to help a team of surgeons remove Didier’s birthmark, which had grown so big that it was feared it could become malignant.

The doctors then had to carry out a complicated series of skin grafts over several stages.

Mr Bulstrode told the Evening Standard: 'Didier’s was the worst case I had ever seen. Effectively three quarters of the circumference of his body was affected.

'Obviously he has had to go through a number of painful operations, but we feel it was worth it. It’s great to see the photos of how Didier is getting on now. I’m really happy with how things have healed.'

Mr Bulstrode is an expert in treating patients like Didier, who suffer from the rare condition. The cause is not known but experts think there is a change in the development of skin cells in the embryo triggered by a gene mutation.

Mr Bulstrode, who carries out about 40 CMN removals a year on patients at Great Ormond Street, said that working with the team in Bogotá had been an amazing experience.


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Source : dailymail

A 12-year-old girl from southwest China has a rare medical condition that has caused her belly to swell up like a pregnant woman.

But Meng Caixiu of Guizhou Province is not about to give birth.

She has a liver cyst, which is a rare condition where a bubble along the side of her liver fills up with fluid, causing her belly to get bigger and bigger each day. According to the American Liver Foundation, most patients with liver cysts do not experience symptoms, nor do the cysts develop to become life threatening of harmful for the liver. The cause of liver cysts are unknown in most cases.

For Caixiu, she was diagnosed with her condition when she was just a year old, and her bellow has kept swelling since.

According to China Central Television (CCTV) reports, her parents are at their wits' end, having spent all their savings and even gone into debt to treat her condition to no avail.

Doctors who have seen her have not been able to cure her.

In a video interview, her father Meng Guofan said that her condition is worsening by the day.

"She looks so pitiable. Now the family is so impoverished that we can't afford medical fees," he said.

"She is such a poor child," he lamented.
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1: Maximize Your Muscle — Muscles are fat-burning furnaces, so be sure to do enough resistance training to build and maintain them (these fast workouts tone your whole body in 30 minutes), and follow your workout with a healthy meal or snack that contains protein, carbohydrates and fat. Building new muscle raises your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) so you'll burn more calories every day.

2: Don't Forget Cardio — Cardio improves definition and burns the fat that covers your muscles, especially belly fat. Combining regular aerobic exercise with strength training will give you the slimming effect you've been going for. After all, toning without cardio is like building a house on a weak foundation. Blast calories with these 20-minute cardio workouts from celebrity trainer Jackie Warner.

3: Never Skip Meals — Eat six small meals a day to avoid blood-sugar spikes and minimize urges to binge. Try to schedule meals at the same time each day. If you feed yourself well throughout the day, you'll learn to understand when your body truly needs food. You can't starve yourself and expect to make good choices at the next meal. Need a few healthy lunch ideas? Check out these top food swaps from a nutritionist.

See the rest of the tips after the break!

4: Get Real — Fuel your body with wholesome, nutritious foods, and limit your intake of refined carbs (anything sugary or white-flour based). To maximize the calories burned through digestion and stave off hunger, get plenty of complex carbs (fruits, vegetables and beans) and eat a little protein with every meal. It doesn't need to be meat; nuts, lowfat dairy, tofu, and beans are all good vegetarian protein sources. These eight amazing (new!) superfoods make it easy to get all the nutrients your body needs.

5: Sleep Tight — Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. A recent study from Case Western Reserve University found that, on average, women who sleep for 5 hours or less per night are 32 percent more likely to gain weight and 15 percent more likely to be obese than those who get at least 7 hours. If stress is keeping you up at night, try these 10 simple tips to reduce stress.

6: Drink More Water — In a small German study, subjects who drank 16 ounces of water at a time experienced a 30 percent increase in metabolic rate during the following hour, burning an extra 24 calories. The researchers recommend cool water because the body expends extra calories warming it up to your body temperature. Water's not the only healthy drink. We sipped our way through dozens of smoothies, teas, and juices to find this list of the most delicious and nutritious liquids.

7: Focus On Your Assets — Playing up your favorite body parts can boost your confidence and draw attention away from spots you want to minimize. Sculpting your shoulders, arms, chest, and back, for example, can help balance heavier hips so you look more proportionate. Plus, you'll be firmer all over. Celebrities do it all the time: These seven sets of sexy, toned legs are proof!

8: Eat Until You’re Full — Undereating causes your metabolic rate to drop and your body to hold onto fat. Most nutrition experts recommend that the average, active woman consumes at least 1,800 calories daily. But watch out for underestimating the calorie count of "healthy" foods. Even some salads (like these five diet traps) are packed with extra calories.

9: Control What You Can — Keep stress levels in check by managing your time, focusing on the present and not over-committing. Many studies have found a link between high levels of stress and weight gain. You don't have to commit to regular yoga classes or meditation sessions. Here, 10 totally doable ways to de-stress anytime, anywhere.

10: Step on the Gas — Alternate the speed and intensity of any cardio workout routines to stoke your fat burners. For instance, if you're walking, do a few minutes at a moderate pace, then speed-walk or jog for a few minutes; repeat. If you're running, go for a few minutes, then sprint for a minute and repeat.

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Children as young as six who spend hours watching television or playing video games are at greater risk of developing heart problems later in life, a new study led by an Indian-origin scientist has suggested.

The University of Sydney study involving 1,492 primary school children found that those who spent hours glued to the screen suffered narrowing of blood vessels in their eyes – an early warning sign of increased likelihood of heart disease and high blood pressure.

However, those who exercised at least for one hour a day were significantly healthier, said the researchers.

For the study, Dr Bamini Gopinath and her team included 1,492 six- to seven-year-old children in 34 primary schools in Sydney.

Their parents were also asked to report the amount of time the children spent watching TV, playing video games, reading and engaging in indoor and outdoor physical activity.

The scientists then took digital photographs of the blood vessels at the back of each child's eye and calculated their size. They also measured height, weight, body mass index and blood pressure.

It was found that on average, children spent 1.9 hours per day watching TV or playing on their computer and only 36 minutes doing physical activity.

They had an average "retinal arteriole" narrowing of 2.3 microns. But those who regularly participated in outdoor physical activity had retinal blood vessels that were 2.2 microns wider.

"We found that children with a high level of physical activity had a more beneficial micro-vascular profile compared to those with the lowest levels of physical activity," Dr Gopinath said in a statement.

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Finding time for exercise on a regular basis is perhaps the biggest challenge most of us are confronted with. Fitting exercise into a busy schedule is definitely challenging, yet at the same time extremely valuable in terms of well-being. Read on a few tips to make your lifestyle a little more active with the help of a few simple changes.

Exercising more often seems to be one of the most popular resolutions people make. Although exercising is often seen as a top priority due to the various benefits it provides, a crammed schedule is often a serious impediment when it comes to achieving our goals. Using our creativity to sneak in exercise into our daily routine is one of the easiest ideas we can use to move a little closer to our goals, without making significant changes that might be hard to maintain over the long term.

Analyzing our daily routines is the first recommended step, as it might help you determine the time gaps you might be able to use to become fitter. Typically small changes such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or exercising while watching TV, are among the first thoughts that come to our minds, however, there are several other ideas that might be used for specific situations.

According to several studies, morning exercise routine has a higher success rate when it comes to forming the exercise habit, compared to routines started later in the day. While getting up earlier in order to exercise might not be a realistic idea, perhaps making walking an integrating part of your daily commute is a more sound idea. Increasing the pace or the distance can be a good choice if you wish to make things a little more challenging.

Breaking out of the comfort zone is another mandatory condition for success. Taking advantage of the power of momentum is a great way to add more exercise to our daily routines as it can help us eliminate excuses and cut back our resistance to change. Therefore, whenever possible, it is advisable to avoid postponing exercise to a later moment in the day when your motivation is likely to decrease significantly and making excuses becomes more convenient as a result.

Increasing the pace of your normal activities can also be a good alternative. Even though most people are well aware of the fact that household chores can burn a significant amount of calories, few choose to make these activities more efficient in order to maximize the benefits. However, putting this simple concept to work can be extremely helpful as it is a time saving option that can have tremendous additional perks.

Socializing and exercise don't have to be two separate things. Active relaxation can be just as rewarding as more passive forms of relaxation. Moreover, group sports or games that require physical effort can be a lot more enjoyable when friends are involved, as a little competitive spirit can be a great motivator. This type of strategy is a win-win, one can help all the parties involved to get closer to their fitness goals.

Divide exercise sessions throughout the day. If scheduling a specific amount of time to exercise seems a little unrealistic given your hectic schedule, booking several mini sessions through your day might give you a comparable benefit. Varying the exercises and aiming to include various muscle groups is ideal as it can help you keep your fitness routine progressing.



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Accumulation of excess fluids in the body, or water retention, can lead to high blood pressure. Often, sodium consumed through diet remains to be the major cause of fluid retention, also referred to as edema. Let's find out about some natural diuretics for high blood pressure and their healing mechanism.


Whenever you consult your doctor for high blood pressure, he/she may recommend a medication acting as a diuretic, to flush out excess fluid build up in your body. Natural diuretics are also often preferred to lower water retention. It should be noted that though these natural remedies are not supported by strong scientific evidence, still they have been used for decades, or rather i would say, for centuries. It is imperative that you consult your physician while following these natural diuretics for high blood pressure, through diets, or as a supplement. Always keep in mind, these natural remedies need to be administered under medical supervision only. Depending upon your body's need, your doctor decides the dosage quantity for you, either through diet or through medication. Some of the natural diuretics for high blood pressure are as follows.

Natural Diuretics for Lowering Blood Pressure
Garlic: Garlic, also referred to as Allium sativum scientifically, is considered to be one of the best remedies for lowering blood pressure. Garlic, consumed as cloves or through garlic powder capsules, reduces dysfunction or spasm of small arteries, helps to maintain normal pulse rate and alleviate symptoms of high blood pressure such as giddiness and shortness of breath.

Brown rice: Brown rice is one among natural diuretic foods, low in cholesterol and salt content and hence, works best as hypertension medication. Brown rice diet, enriched with calcium, creates alleviating effect on nervous system and reduces the symptoms of high blood pressure.

Dandelion: Though not supported by scientific evidence, dandelion remains to be the most favored natural diuretic. Some sources state that dandelion does not exhaust potassium content in the body. Dandelion tea reduces water retention in the body. However, make sure that you seek your doctor's opinion before self administering dandelion, since it may react with some antibiotics.

Celery Seed: This herb, taken through diet, or in form of a capsule, is enriched with a diuretic ingredient, called as 3-n-Butylphthalide. Some research has affirmed that celery seeds boost blood circulation in the body. Celery seed intake may lead to allergic reaction, so consult the doctor before adopting celery seed as a diuretic.

Indian gooseberry: A tablespoon of honey and fresh indian gooseberry juice blend in the morning is also advised to lower blood pressure.

Watermelon: Watermelon, believed to be a shielding agent against high blood pressure, expands blood vessels, thus lowering blood pressure.

Parsley: Parsley, one among the best herbal diuretics for high blood pressure, is enriched with potassium. It stocks potassium quantity in the body. It is also believed that, parsley works best if consumed as tea.

Lemon: Along with vitamin C, lemon is also enriched with vitamin P. Lemon tea benefits include obstruction of capillaries from getting brittle.

Prescription diuretics and over the counter diuretics for high blood pressure is the most popular way of curing high blood pressure in the UK and the US. The mechanism in these diuretics is to excrete excess amount of salt and water through urine, which in turn, lowers blood pressure. It also soothes blood vessels and thus helps to reduce blood pressure. Consult your doctor for diuretic brands available in pharmacy.

This was about natural diuretics for high blood pressure. Since centuries, these diuretics have been found to work best for high blood pressure, but you have to remember, you should consult your doctor before taking these, since some of these have side effects such as allergy reactions.