Bone Trouble

Bengaluru, May 29 (IANS) An MLA of the ruling BJP in Karnataka, L.A. Ravi Subramanya, has courted controversy after a telephonic conversation between a social activist and hospital staff went viral, in which the MLAs name figures more than once, allegedly asking for a commission of Rs 900 to administer Covid vaccine to people.Subramanya is the uncle of BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya. His Assembly constituency Basavanagudi is part of the parliamentary constituency represented by Surya.In the purported audio clip that has now gone viral on social media, the hospital staff could be heard telling social activist Venkatesh that the vaccine cost of Rs 900 has to be remitted to Subramanaya's office and only after that inoculation will be done at the AV Hospital.In the purported conversation, the staff member claiming to be working at the AV hospital is asked why the vaccine costs so much. To which, the hospital staff curtly says that those who want free vaccines can go the vaccine centres run by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The staff member does not revert when she is told that vaccines are not available there. The AV Hospital is located in the Hosakerehalli area in Bengaluru.While Venkatesh has claimed that he had lodged a complaint against Subramanya, it is still not clear in which police station the complaint was filed.Reacting to the controversy, Subramanya flatly denied all the allegations. "This audio clip is the handiwork of 'miscreants' who did it with an intent to malign my name. I visited the AV Multispeciality Hospital at Hosakerehalli, which was highlighted in the audio clip, to meet those who intentionally supported these charges," he argued.The MLA asserted that it is a shame that miscreants have indulged in such a smear campaign, and that too when the entire world is working towards a common good to help each other during the pandemic.As the controversy erupted, the AV Hospital promptly issued a statement refuting any role of the MLA or any public representative in the entire vaccination drive being carried out by the hospital."It is clarified that the vaccination drive in the hospital is an independent activity of the hospital. The MLA has no connection with it. The vaccines are procured by the hospital and are administered to the people at government prescribed rates," the statement said.Earlier, Subramanya along with his nephew Surya had stormed into a BBMP war room and lashed out at the officials and workers for bringing disrepute to them on May 2, and billed it as the biggest expose of the bed blocking scam. Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy too had gone with them and slammed the control room staff.Since then, Surya has been criticised for singling out 17 Muslims staff who worked in the 212-strong war room and insinuating that they were part of the bed booking scam.Later, videos surfaced which showed Satish Reddy's aides manhandling IAS officer V. Yashavantha for refusing to handover beds to the MLA.This act was strongly condemned by the IAS association of the state, which demanded that those who attacked the IAS officer should be arrested.Another controversy broke out when Reddy's aide Babu was arrested by the police for his alleged involvement in the bed booking scam. The probe was ordered by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa minutes after Surya had held a press conference on the expose on May 2.--IANSnbh/arm

London- People consuming vegan diet may have poorer bone health, suggested a new study. In a new study, the bone health of vegans as well as people following a mixed-food diet was determined with an ultrasound measurement of the heel bone. The findings showed that people following a vegan diet had lower ultrasound values compared to the other group, which indicates poorer bone health. "A vegan diet is often considered health-conscious. However, our scientific findings indicate that a vegan diet does affect bone health," researcher Andreas Hensel from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, said in a statement. For the study, the team investigated a study that involved 72 men and women. The bone health of all participants was assessed at the heel bone using ultrasound measurements. Information on age, smoking status, education, body mass index, physical activity and alcohol consumption was also collected. By using a statistical model, the team was able to identify a pattern of twelve biomarkers that play an important role in bone health from 28 nutrition- and bone-relevant parameters from blood or urine. It was shown that in combination vitamins A and B6, the amino acids lysine and leucine, omega-3 fatty acids, selenoprotein P, iodine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, calcium, magnesium and a-Klotho protein were positively associated with bone health. Conversely, lower concentrations of the hormone FGF23 were observed at higher ultrasound levels in this pattern. (Agency)

Lisbon- Although weight loss surgery is a highly effective treatment for obesity, it can be detrimental to bone health, say researchers, adding that exercise may help address this shortcoming. Exercise has been suggested as a therapeutic approach to attenuate bone loss induced by bariatric surgery (BS), but its effectiveness remains unclear. The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, aimed to determine if an exercise-training programme could induce benefits on bone mass after bariatric surgery. "These findings showed that a structured exercise programme may be a valid treatment option to minimize weight loss surgery-induced bone loss, which may be particularly important since many patients undergo surgery in early adulthood or even at pediatric ages," said lead author Florêncio Diniz-Sousa from the University of Porto in Portugal. The research team randomised 84 patients undergoing weight loss surgery to an exercise group or a control group for 11 months. The exercise group performed high impact, balance, and resistance exercises three times per week. Twelve months after surgery, participants in the exercise group had higher bone mineral density measurements at the lumbar spine and the forearm compared with those in the control group. Also, participants who attended at least half of the exercise sessions had higher bone mineral density at the femoral neck than those in the control group. The findings suggest that an exercise programme is an effective strategy to ameliorate bone health in post-bariatric surgery patients. "As stated in recently released World Health Organization physical activity guidelines, regular exercise should be a priority for everyone, including patients who have undergone weight loss surgery," Diniz-Sousa added.(IANS)

London - Compared with people who ate meat, vegans with lower calcium and protein intakes (on average) had a 43 per cent higher risk of fractures anywhere in the body, researchers have warned. According to the findings, published in the journal BMC Medicine, vegetarians and people who ate fish but not meat had a higher risk of hip fractures, compared to people who ate meat. However, the risk of fractures was partly reduced once body mass index (BMI), dietary calcium and dietary protein intake were taken into account. "We found that vegans had a higher risk of total fractures which resulted in close to 20 more cases per 1000 people over a 10-year period compared to people who ate meat," said study author Tammy Tong from the University of Oxford in the UK. "The biggest differences were for hip fractures, where the risk in vegans was 2.3 times higher than in people who ate meat, equivalent to 15 more cases per 1000 people over 10 years," Tong added. For the findings, the research team, analysed data from nearly 55,000 people in the EPIC-Oxford study, a prospective cohort of men and women living in the UK, who were recruited between 1993 and 2001, many of whom do not eat meat. Out of the 54,898 participants included in the present study, 29,380 ate meat, 8,037 ate fish but not meat, 15,499 were vegetarians, and 1,982 were vegans when they were recruited. Their eating habits were assessed initially at recruitment, then again in 2010. Participants were followed continuously for 18 years on average, until 2016 for the occurrence of fractures. During the time of the study, 3,941 fractures occurred in total, including 566 arm, 889 wrist, 945 hip, 366 leg, 520 ankle and 467 fractures at other main sites, defined as the clavicle, ribs and vertebrae. In addition to a higher risk of hip fractures in vegans, vegetarians and pescetarians (those who eat seafood but not meat) than the meat eaters, vegans also had a higher risk of leg fractures and other main site fractures. The authors observed no significant differences in risks between diet groups for arm, wrist or ankle fractures once BMI was taken into account. The researchers found that the differences in risk of total and site-specific fractures was partly reduced once BMI, dietary calcium and dietary protein intake had been taken into account. "This study showed that vegans, who on average had lower BMI as well as lower intakes of calcium and protein than meat eaters, had higher risks of fractures at several sites," the authors wrote. (IANS)