Micro nutritional deficiency impacts concentration in kids

cognitive functions -- attention, concentration and in vasomotor coordination -- among urban school children and adolescents, aged 6 to 16 years, across 10 cities of India.

The study was conducted from April 2019 to February 2022 on 2,428 participants from 60 schools in India and was published in the medical journal 'Plos One' on February 2, 2023.

micronutrient deficiency, 23. 8 per cent had any one and 69. 2 per cent had more than two micronutrient deficiencies. The study showed that vasomotor coordination is linked with the levels of calcium, folate, vitamin A and B12 and the working memory is associated with iron, folate, vitamin A and B12," she said.

"These capabilities were lesser in children with deficiencies. Girls were more deficient than boys.

New York, Feb 23 (IANS) Love to use smartwatches, fitness trackers to keep a check on your health? If you are using pacemakers or other implanted cardiac electronic devices for your heart health, these wearable gadgets may inadvertently affect your heart health, warned a study. The rise of wearable health tech has grown rapidly in recent years, blurring the line between medical and consumer devices.

The study, published in Heart Rhythm, noted that despite the obvious benefits, certain fitness and wellness trackers could pose serious risks among people using cardiac implantable electronic devices such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices.

It is because the smartwatches, rings or scales emit electrical currents which can interfere with these lifesaving implantable heart devices, causing them to malfunction.

"The present findings do not recommend the use of these devices in this population due to potential interference," said researchers from the University of Utah in the US.

For the study, the team evaluated the safety of smart scales, smart watches, and smart rings with bioimpedance technology via simulation and testing. "Bioimpedance sensing generated an electrical interference that exceeded Food and Drug Administration-accepted guidelines and interfered with proper CIED functioning," explained lead investigator Benjamin Sanchez Terrones, from the varsity's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

He emphasized that the results, determined through careful simulations and benchtop testing, do not convey an immediate or clear risk to patients who wear the trackers, but noted that the different levels emitted could result in pacing interruptions or unnecessary shocks to the heart. "Our findings call for future clinical studies examining patients with CIEDs and wearables."

Lucknow, Feb 23 (IANS) Micronutritional deficiency in school children can have an adverse impact on their concentration, vasomotor coordination and working memory.

A cross-sectional multi-centre study conducted by researchers at King George's Medical University (KGMU) has found this.

The study aimed to explore association of micronutrient deficiency (MD) with level of general intelligence and specific

Project administrator and head of pediatrics department, KGMU, Prof Shally Awasthi said: "We assessed eight micronutrients by taking blood samples which included four minerals-calcium, iron, zinc and selenium and four vitamins-A, B12, D and folate at the biochemistry lab of KGMU."

Cognitive function was assessed using CPM/SPM, co-ding, digit span and arithmetic tests by trained psychologists.

"In July, we found that only 7 per cent participants had no

"The study demonstrates that 17. 6 per cent participants were anaemic as per WHOdefined criteria. We found that anaemia was associated with micronutrient deficiency. More than two MDs were more common in anaemic children than non-anaemic," she added. Research was a comprehensive multi-centre work, with a good sample size. But the study was limited to urban settings only. Due to logistic issues, the sample size was equally divided across all study sites.

Why head injuries may up risk of developing brain cancer

London, Feb 27 (IANS) Suffering head injuries can one day lead to the development of a relatively rare but often aggressive form of brain tumour called a glioma, according to a study.

The study, published in journal Current Biology, found that patients who experienced a head injury were nearly four times more likely to develop brain cancer later in life, than those who had no head injury. The reason is that mutations in certain genes synergise with brain inflammation, which is induced by acute injury and then increases over time during the natural process of ageing to make astrocytes more likely to initiate a cancer. However, it is important to keep in mind that the risk of developing brain cancer is overall low, estimated at less than 1 per cent over a lifetime, so even after an injury, the risk remains modest, said researchers from the University College London.

"Our research suggests that brain trauma may contribute to an increased risk of developing brain cancer in later life," said lead author Professor Simona Parrinello from UCL's Cancer Institute."We know that normal tissues carry many mutations which seem to just sit there and not have any major effects. Our findings suggest that if on top of those mutations, an injury occurs, it creates a synergistic effect. "In a young brain, basal inflammation is low so the mutations seem to be kept in check even after a serious brain injury. However, upon ageing, our mouse work suggests that inflammation increases throughout the brain but more intensely at the site of theearlier injury. This may reach a certain threshold after which the mutation now begins to manifest itself," Parrinello said. Gliomas are brain tumours that often arise in neural stem cells. More mature types of brain cells, such as astrocytes, have been considered less likely to give rise to tumours. However,

London, Feb 23 (IANS) Exercising at least once a month as well as having satisfying relationships in adulthood are linked to better cognitive functioning and good brain health in old age, stopping dementia in its tracks, two studies have suggested.

The exercise study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, showed that people who reported being physically active at least one to four times a month between the ages of 36 and 69 had the biggest cognitive effect.

This effect was greater than for those who reported exercising frequently (more than five times a month) during at least one survey period, but who did not necessarily keep this up, the findings showed.

"Our study suggests that engaging in any leisure-time physical activity, at any point in adult life, has a positive effect on cognition. This seems to be the case even at light levels of activity, between one to four times a month," said lead author Dr Sarah-Naomi James, from MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at University College London.

"What's more, people who have never been active before, and then start to be active in their 60s, also appear to have better cognitive function than those who were never active," James added. The second research, published in General Psychiatry, revealed that having unsatisfying social relationships can be as much of a risk factor for disease as obesity, physical inactivity or alcohol intake.

The findings led by a team from the University of Queensland in Australia showed that middleaged women with the lowest levels of relationship satisfaction were more than twice as likely to develop multiple chronic conditions as those who were very satisfied with their relationships. Although the study included only women, the findings still had "significant implications" for health, the researchers noted.