Star hospital

  Every breath tells a story Remember the time you breathed in really deeply. The cool air filled your lungs, and you felt more alive. Now think about not being able to do that every day. This is what it is like for millions of people who have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD. Breathing is what keeps us alive. Our bodies are always changing how we breathe. We breathe slowly when we are sleeping, quickly when we are running around and oddly when we are really upset. This is all completely normal. When you are always out of breath, when every breath is hard, that is something you should pay attention to. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, can make breathing very difficult.  How Breathing Works When you breathe, air goes through your nose or mouth and into your lungs. Oxygen then moves into your bloodstream. It is carried to every cell in your body for energy and survival. When you breathe out, your body pushes out carbon dioxide. The waste gas. Throug...

  A New Understanding of the Gut–Brain Axis By Dr. Neeharika L. Mathukumalli , Senior Consultant Neurologist and specialist in autoimmune neurological diseases, STAR Hospitals, Banjara Hills Recent research has strengthened the growing evidence that the gut–brain axis plays a critical role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), according to Dr. Neeharika L Mathukumalli, Sr. Consultant in Neurology and specialist in autoimmune neurological diseases at STAR Hospital, Banjara Hills . Referring to a study published in Cell Reports , Dr. Neeharika explains that certain gut bacteria may produce inflammatory forms of glycogen, a type of sugar, which can trigger immune-mediated damage to brain cells. “This study provides an important biological link between gut microbiota and neuroinflammation, which has been a missing piece in understanding diseases like ALS and FTD,” she said. How These Diseases Affe...

  Heart valve diseases can gradually affect the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently, often leading to breathlessness, fatigue, and reduced quality of life. One of the most common valve-related problems is mitral regurgitation, a condition in which the mitral valve does not close properly, allowing blood to leak backwards inside the heart. Advances in interventional structural cardiology have taken us far from traditional open-heart surgical solutions and have now made it possible to treat patients with less invasive techniques such as the MitraClip procedure . This has emerged as an important treatment option for patients with severe mitral regurgitation who are considered high-risk for conventional surgery. Understanding Mitral Regurgitation The mitral valve is located between the left upper chamber and the left lower chamber of the heart. Its role is to ensure blood flows in the correct direction. In mitral regurgitation, the valve becomes weak or damaged and fails to clo...