The Journey Goes on …

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your continuous support. With God’s grace and your esteemed support, Double

Helical has become a credible publication in the health domain. As the year 2015 from where we started our journey nears its end, we present to you a bouquet of informative and in-depth stories based on research and analysis in this year-ender issue.

As part of our cover story ‘Living in a Gas Chamber”, we are highlighting increasing level of air pollution in the capital city Delhi. Pollution has come knocking as a systemic disaster. The story probes whether the Centre and the State Governments have any action plan to combat the deteriorating air quality. As per reports, the air quality in the National Capital Region is deteriorating day by day due to increasing pollution with the result that the incidence of respiratory and other chest ailments is on the rise. The situation has reached such an alarming dimension that many people are installing oxygen cylinders at home for emergency purposes, especially as a precautionary measure where elderly people are staying.

Medical practitioners feel that the problem needs the attention of not just some individuals, but of an entire system, to make the metro cities’ air breathable again. Delhi is not alone, almost every busy city around the world is slipping into this inescapable state of ghettos of traffic fumes and industrial effluents. For example, Beijing’s case has been scary in recent times, caught in a manufacturing race over time. No doubt, the economic inevitabilities, an unplanned development and a socio-economic life propelled by hysterically aspirational marketing are taking life around the world to a point of no return.

There is a total lack of awareness about when to apply the simple first aids called hot and cold therapies, widely practiced by the people everywhere, sometimes leading to harmful consequences. As pointed out in “Decreasing Discomfort” heat and cold are the two most common types of non-invasive and non-addictive therapy for muscle and joint pain but its use depends upon whether the pain is acute or chronic and the type of injury, if any. Sex is an important part of life. The story “Sex without Shame” discusses how sex is still a taboo in India. Couples need to banish monotony in their relationships and work towards developing and maintaining a fulfilling sex life. At one level, sex is just another hormone-driven bodily function designed to perpetuate the species. Of course, this narrow view underestimates the complexity of the human sexual response.

On World AIDs Day, Double Helical brings a very special story title “Chinks in the Strategy”. The most poignant part of the AIDS scenario is that children are being forced to share the burden of the curse.India has entered the third, and perhaps the most perplexing decade of its fight against HIV-AIDS epidemic. Today, less than a tenth of those who need second-line HIV drugs have access to them. These patients run the risk of developing resistance to drugs and can become a bigger threat to their community. Although medicines have had a salutary effect on the epidemic so far, yet we could head for big trouble if patients don’t adhere to treatment or fail to get it on time. Mumbai currently has over 30,000 people living with the disease. Disease is

no longer a death sentence. But the  Indian Governement programme faces problems that the officials aren’t ready to accept.

As a special feature we are focusing on current stage of prevalence of diabetes. As you know, the incidence of diabetes is spiraling in India while the US has been       successful                 in controlling it. We need to intensify the awareness campaign   to   check   its alarming rise. Diabetes takes a heavy toll by slowly damaging all

vital organs and impairing the human physiology. The global burden of diabetes has become a huge cause of worry amongst health administrators the world over. Even though the actual causes are complex, there  is good evidence that a large number of cases of  diabetes  and  its  complications  can  be prevented by a healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight, and avoiding tobacco.

Apart from above, there are a number of thought- provoking stories in the current issue. Wishing you a very Happy New Year 2016 and happy reading