Cancer vax for women to be available in five to six months

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A vaccine to fight cancers affecting women will be available in five to six months, and those in the age group of nine to 16 years will be eligible for inoculation, Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference here, the Union Minister of State for Health, Family Welfare and Ayush (Independent Charge) said that research on a vaccine is nearly complete and trials are underway.

"The number of cancer patients has increased in the country, and the Central government has initiated steps to address this issue. Women above 30 will undergo screening at hospitals, and daycare cancer centres will be established for early detection of the disease," Jadhav said. He said the government has also waived off customs duty for medicines used in cancer treatment.

The minister said, "The research on a vaccine for cancers that affect women is nearly complete, and trials are underway. It will be available in five to six months, and girls in the age group of nine to 16 years will be eligible for inoculation."

Asked about the cancers the vaccine will tackle, Jadhav said breast, oral and cervical cancers. Asked about transforming the existing healthcare centres into Ayush facilities, Jadhav said hospitals have Ayush departments, and people can avail of these facilities. He said the country has 12,500 such health facilities, and the government is increasing them.

Meanwhile, a reviewhas detailed the varied mechanisms by which sex hormones -- involved in reproduction -- influence brain health, including a direct effect on neurons and by affecting how genes involved in brain function express themselves.

Researchers, including those from McGill University, Canada, found that neurosteroids, which are derived from hormones produced in the brain, could have a significant potential for treating disorders of the nervous system.

The review, published in the journal Brain Medicine, looked at a range of neurological conditions, including vascular disorders such as migraine and stroke, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, and sleep-related ones. "Our understanding of how reproductive hormones impact neurological conditions has expanded dramatically. These hormones don't just affect reproductive functions -- they fundamentally influence how the nervous system develops, functions, and responds to injury or disease," author Hyman M. Schipper, a professor of neurology and medicine (geriatrics) at McGill University, said.