Amid the latest wave of Covid-19, the number of SARS-CoV2 infections in the country has risen to 2,170. As many as 511 new cases were recorded from the previous day, according to the latest update by the Health Ministry on Saturday. Meanwhile, 255 patients were discharged or migrated in the last 24 hours, indicating an improvement in recovery.

As per the data, the number of deaths across multiple states, since January 1, 2025, surged to 22.

Kerala with 1,147 cases is the worst-hit state, followed by Maharashtra (424), Delhi (294), and Gujarat (223).

The highest number of deaths have been reported from Maharashtra (7), followed by Kerala (5), and Delhi (2).

Amid 84 new Covid-19 cases reported on Friday, the Maharashtra public health department has issued an advisory asking the hospitals to keep ICU beds, oxygen supplies and other necessary resources ready.

At the same time, the department has advised people to wear masks, maintain social distancing and wash their hands frequently.

On the other hand, medical experts suggested that people who have not taken a booster dose for a long time should consider getting vaccinated.

The department’s advisory is crucial as the total number of infections reported in the state this year has gone up to 681 in the wake of 84 new cases reported on Friday.

Of the 681 patients, 207 recovered till May 30. The number of active cases currently stands at 467.

Australian researchers have identified a common genetic variant that doubles the risk of dementia in men.

The team from Curtin University said that one in three people carry one copy of the variant, known as H63D, while one in 36 carry two copies.

The research, published in the journal Neurology, found that men who carry a double H63D variant are twice as likely to develop dementia in their lifetime compared to women.

The study, based on 19,114 healthy older people in Australia and the US, investigated whether people who had variants in the hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, which is critical for regulating iron levels in the body, might be at increased risk of dementia.

"Having just one copy of this gene variant does not impact someone's health or increase their risk of dementia. However, having two copies of the variant more than doubled the risk of dementia in men, but not women," said Professor John Olynyk, from the Curtin Medical School.

In a significant boost to India's medtech innovation landscape, the Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Union Department of Science and Technology (DST), on Friday announced financial support to the development of India’s first indigenous thrombectomy device for stroke care.

The board sanctioned assistance to Mysuru-based S3V Vascular Technologies’ pioneering neuro-intervention integrated manufacturing plant for the treatment of stroke, which sees nearly 1.5 million cases every year in the country.

The project envisions the establishment of a state-of-the-art upstream integrated manufacturing facility at the Medical Devices Park, Oragadam in Chennai’s Sriperumbudur.

The plant will develop and manufacture advanced mechanical thrombectomy kits -- a life-saving intervention for patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended all countries to use both maternal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody to protect babies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -– the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children globally.

While the maternal vaccine -- RSVpreF -- can be given to pregnant women in their third trimester to protect their infant, the long-acting monoclonal antibody -- nirsevimab -- can be administered to infants from birth, just before or during the RSV season, stated the recommendations, published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER).

“Every year, RSV causes about 100,000 deaths and over 3.6 million hospitalisations in children under the age of 5 years worldwide. About half of these deaths occur in infants younger than 6 months of age,” the WHO said.

Sleeping disorders may be act as an early indicator of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia (LBD) -- a type of dementia, according to a study.

The study focussed on patients with Rapid eye movement behaviour disorder -- a sleep disorder where individuals physically act out their dreams during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep.

"Normally, when we're asleep and dreaming, our muscles are paralysed, but around age 50, some people become very agitated during sleep and start punching, kicking and screaming," said Shady Rahayel, a medical professor at Université de Montréal in Canada.

Unlike sleepwalking, which occurs during slow-wave sleep, RBD occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, he added, and it affects people of middle age.

In the study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, the researchers said that nearly 90 per cent of people with the disorder will go on to develop either Parkinson's disease or LBD.

Mongolia has recorded 335 new cases of measles infection over the past 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 4,274, according to the country's National Centre for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) on Friday.

Meanwhile, 114 more measles patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,793, the NCCD said in a statement.

According to Mongolian doctors, the majority of new measles infections were among children aged 10-14 who had only one shot of the measles vaccine, news agency reported.

In this regard, the NCCD advised parents to protect their children from a potentially severe disease by getting them two doses of the measles vaccine.

Depression can significantly raise the risk of dementia both in middle age as well as among those aged 50 and above, according to a study.

Dementia affects over 57 million people globally. There is currently no cure, so identifying and treating the factors to reduce the risk, such as depression, is an important public health priority.

The findings showed that potential links between depression and dementia are complex and may include chronic inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation, vascular changes, alterations to neurotrophic factors, and neurotransmitter imbalances. Shared genetic and behavioural-related modifications may also increase the risks.

The study, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, highlights the importance of recognising and treating depression across the life course, not just for mental health, but also as part of a broader strategy to protect brain health.

People with autism could be at a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease early in life, according to a large-scale study that showed similar underlying biological mechanisms of the conditions.

Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet questioned a possible connection between the neuropsychiatric diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which affects an individual's thought processes, behaviour, and interpersonal communication, and early-onset Parkinson's disease -- a condition that affects locomotion and movement.

The results, published in JAMA Neurology, show that people with an autism diagnosis were four times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than people without such a diagnosis.

The correlation between the conditions remained even when controlling for socioeconomic status -- a genetic predisposition for mental illness or Parkinson's disease and other such factors, said the researchers, who suspect the role of dopamine.

Amid another global wave of Covid-19 disease, a new study showed that about 15 per cent of babies and toddlers are facing long-Covid conditions and that their symptoms can vary based on age.

Long Covid in kids can be defined as prolonged symptoms that last for at least three months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The study, published in the JAMA Pediatrics, is based on 472 infants and toddlers, and 539 preschool-aged children enrolled from March 2022 to July 2024, found that about 15 per cent of kids had long Covid.

About 40 of 278 infants aged 2 years and under (14 per cent) had persistent symptoms, while 61 of 399 children aged 3 to 5 years (15 per cent) had the symptoms.