Periodic fasting 'may protect against diabetes in at-risk groups'

Insulin resistance is when insulin production becomes so high that the pancreas can no longer produce the body's required levels of insulin, which causes blood sugar to rise. The researchers believe fasting may prevent this.

"The fat cells themselves are a major contributor to insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.” Because fasting may help to eliminate and break down fat cells, insulin resistance may be frustrated by fasting."

After 10-12 hours of fasting, the body begins to scavenge other sources of energy throughout the body in order to sustain itself. The benefit to prediabetics, is that because the body feasts on the LDL (or "bad") cholesterol in fat cells, it negates the effect of insulin resistance.

Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research and Clinical Database Management

The Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research and Clinical Database Management program conducted by ACRI in affiliation with Mysore University, invites BSc., MSc. in Life Sciences, M.Sc.in Health Sciences  and B.Pharma and M.Pharma graduates to join the course and enjoy different opportunities offered by the Pharma and Clinical Research  Sector.

The course starts in July 2014 and along with 7 months theory classes, there will be a 3 months compulsory internship program with reputed companies in the Industry.

Excellent Career Opportunities:

As the Indian population grows at the rate of 1.5 % every year, the requirement for jobs will drastically increase. As a result of this, government spending will increase in various sectors and very significantly in the Healthcare sector.

As per the McKinsey report, government spending in healthcare will increase significantly. It has been growing at 18 per cent annually since 2005 to 2006, and is translating into a higher level of access in Tier-II and rural markets.

Secondly, there would be a demand for new therapies and innovative drugs due to aggressive players in market.

Sl NO	THERAPIES	GROWTH
1	OTC/Self-medicate	Grow over 14% annually
2	Biologics	3 billion segment by 2020
3	Vaccines	20 per cent over the next decade

In the base case scenario, all the important growth drivers will observe vigorous progress. The market will grow more than four times to reach USD 55 billion by 2020. 

As the Indian population grows, the prevalence of diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease will also show drastic increase.

Insurance coverage would grow to cover the entire Indian population below the poverty line.

Moreover, the Pharma sector will influence the patient funnel by increasing awareness and treatment, thereby increasing the patient pool by 15 per cent.

Skill requirements for the Pharma and Clinical Research industries will increase manifold in the years to come. 

Tomato extract 'improves blood vessel function' in CVD patients

Results of a study revealed that CVD patients who received lycopene supplementation showed improved blood vessel response to acetylcholine, compared with healthy volunteers, which indicated normalized endothelial function.

Tomatoes and tomato products, including ketchup and tomato puree, have the highest concentrations of lycopene. Lycopene improves blood vessel response to acetylcholine by 53% in CVD patients. It works by simulating the release of nitric oxide - a hormone that helps the blood vessels to dilate, improves the function of blood vessels in cardiovascular disease patients. It reinforces the need for a healthy diet in people at risk from heart disease and stroke.

A daily 'tomato pill' is not a substitute for other treatments, but may provide added benefits when taken alongside other medication.

Apurv Jha of batch-22, gave an excellent presentation on the technical topic of “Evidence Based Medicine”.

Induja and Bikash Barman of batch-22, gave a good presentation on the technical topic of “Labelling Documents”.

Steffi D’souza and Salma of batch-22, gave a very good presentation on the technical topic of “Drug Monographs”.

Batch-22 students of ACRI, portrayed a creative and dramatic role-play on the technical topic of clinical research.