Barbie Launches First Doll with Type 1 Diabetes
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News18
13 hours ago
- News18
Barbie Launches First Doll with Type 1 Diabetes
In a historic first, Mattel in association with Breakthrough T1D, has introduced the first Barbie doll with Type 1 diabetes.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Easing women's health to the foreground
On women's health, from pregnancy to menopause and more, TB drugs and deaths, the Nipah situation in Kerala, a Barbie doll with diabetes and many other developments At the health desk, we rely a lot for primary information and supportive analyses on studies and explainers from experts to take across health messages to our audience, besides the news breaks, of course. But the most satisfactory stories are those that are done on the field, talking to people, getting a sense of what is happening on the ground. This past week, S. P. Saravanan reported from Erode district in western Tamil Nadu, and brought to us a shocking detail from a State that is reportedly progressive as far as health parameters are concerned: Pregnant tribal woman in T.N.'s Thalavadi Hills ceases contact with health team over fear of hospital birth. A 25-year-old pregnant tribal woman from Solagar Dhoddi in the Thalavadi Hills of Erode district ceased contact with health workers just days before her due date, raising alarm among authorities. Shevanthi, originally from Masinagudi but living now with her husband Chandran, a daily-wage worker, was scheduled to be admitted to a hospital on July 7, 2025. Despite efforts by a government health team that camped in the village for four days, she remained untraceable as of July 10. This is the kind of story that stops us in our tracks. What are the circumstances that lead to something like this? Of course, we are aware of nosocomephobia, or the irrational fear of hospitals, leading to an avoidance of medical care, yet it is the responsibility of the State to bring in patients who need medical care in emergency situations. It is heartening yet, to see that a medical team camped in the village for four days just to trace one patient, and perhaps there is a lesson there for that other States as well, any State that is interested in improving its institutional delivery rate. There are adequate studies showing the importance of institutional deliveries in aiding the health and safety of both the mother and the child. We are going to stay on the Shevanthi story and we'll be sure to report any developments; hopefully the delivery will be uneventful for both mother and baby. While we are at women's health, given the number of stories that were published this past week on the subject, let's continue in the same vein. Dr. K.R. Antony explained why it is important to foster a commitment to stop maternal deaths. Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes. He went on to explain the categorisations of States in India, based on their performance in reducing maternal deaths. While the maternal mortality rate in the country has seen a decline since 2017, the truth is one of uneven progress, with vast regional differences. From maternal death to menopause. Naomi Cahn, Bridget J. Crawford and Emily Gold Waldman in The Conversation, wrote about how Menopause treatments can help with hot flashes and other symptoms – but many people aren't aware of the latest advances. Most women are encouraged by family, general practitioners and even gynaecologists to grin or grit and bear with symptoms of menopause, so very few actually land up seeking treatment for their condition. However, technically, menopause is a point in time. It typically starts 12 months after the last menstrual cycle and marks the end of fertility, and it usually occurs between ages 45 and 55. It's preceded by perimenopause, a transitional phase during which menstruation changes but continues, that can last as long as a decade. Not everyone going through menopause experiences symptoms – although 85% do – and their severity varies. The authors wrote that new, nonhormonal treatments for hot flashes are in development, too. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved fezolinetant. It is the first drug designed specifically to treat hot flashes and night sweats. A second new drug may be marketed soon. Antidepressants, epilepsy medications and other nonhormonal drugs are also being prescribed off-label to treat some menopausal symptoms. While you are at it, read this story by Athira Elssa Johnson during Fibroid Awareness month in July. She argued that Advances in treatment improve outcomes for women with uterine fibroids, but access remains a challenge. Uterine fibroid prevalence in India varies across studies, with some reporting rates between 20% and 40% in women of reproductive age, while others show higher percentages, even up to 77% developing fibroids during their childbearing years. While there isn't a specific national health programme in India directly targeting uterine fibroids, they are addressed within the broader framework of reproductive health and maternal care programmes. Management of fibroids is highly individualised and depends on the woman's age, severity of symptoms, fibroid size and location, and her reproductive plans, experts have insisted. While fertility is an issue involving both women and men, this story probably fits here, as the UNFPA highlights the lack of agency on the part of women to make decisions regarding their sexual health. The real fertility crisis is one of agency: UNFPA Asia Pacific director Pio Smith told me recently, during the third ministerial conference on civil registrations and vital statistics in Bangkok. 'There have been many demographic alarm bells, about falling population rates, and some have missed the mark. And there have been anticipatory responses, and some have been effective and some less so. And they varied, I would say, across regions and across the globe. Very often, what we see at UNEPA is that, the headlines, the policymakers too often frame the decline in fertility rates as the result of deliberate choice.' He added: 'At the UNEPA, we are unmasking that to say, very often, it is women who are too seldom able to make voluntary informed choices about their reproductive opportunities. Particularly when you look at, you know, about a quarter of women are unable to say no to sex,' he added. Serena Josephine M.'s article based on a study went on to establish the impact of Going without food and water to avoid using toilet due to fear of safety on urban women. Researchers assessed the prevalence of withholding (food and water) and suppression (urination/defecation urges) among urban women in Kampala, Uganda and Tiruchi, India. The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence and frequency of sanitation-related withholding and suppression among urban women and to identify if and how privacy, safety, security and health were associated with these often-overlooked sanitation coping behaviours. Karan Babbar and Prakarsh Singh analysed the reasons why India's growth is leaving a generation of women behind. They reasoned that this was because our development model is equipped to solve problems that can be addressed by purchasing power and basic infrastructure. But it is failing to solve complex, chronic health issues that require a robust public health system, high-quality preventative care, and trusted medical counsel for adult women. Remember the couple in the U.S. who conceived after years of fertility treatments thanks to AI? Here, Satyen Mohapatra explained how that became possible. He also analysed how AI is revolutionising modern obstetrics and gynaecology, including fertility treatments, today. Moving on to one of our staples: infectious diseases: An ICMR-NIE study calls for year-round monitoring of respiratory infections. This comes in the view of a new public health study, published in Discover Health Systems journal last month, which has revealed key insights into how Tamil Nadu monitors and responds to cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). The study found that surveillance efforts are stepped up only during outbreaks or specific seasons, even though respiratory viruses circulate throughout the year. Maitri Porecha in an elaborate interview with the very articulate Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist at the WHO and presently, Principal Advisor for the National TB Elimination Programme in India, advanced the theory of Undertaking TB death audits like the maternal mortality model to aid India's TB elimination goals. A detailed dissection of every tuberculosis-related death at the district level or a 'TB death audit,' much like the public health approach adopted by the Centre to reduce maternal deaths, will prove to be useful, Dr. Swaminathan emphasised. Dr. Swathi Krishna Njarekkattuvalappil and Parth Sharma wrote on the paradox of market restriction for anti-TB drugs. The idea to restrict the availability of newer anti-TB drugs to prevent antimicrobial resistance is laudable; however, it must be implemented only after careful planning and adequate groundwork, in order to prevent any interruption of access to drugs for eligile patients. This article is quite pertinent given India's recent episodes of drug shortages for TB and even HIV. This one is also on TB, but from the past. In our Nobel Laureates series, we highlighted Finsen's Nobel-winning light therapy and its role in treating skin tuberculosis. Most people consider pigeons vermin, but did you know that they are responsible for causing severe lung infections, and even death? Read this piece: Why pigeon droppings need a public health response and better protection for sanitation staff. Exposure to these droppings, especially in enclosed or unventilated areas, is linked to serious respiratory and fungal illnesses, particularly among immunocompromised individuals and sanitation workers, thereby making their handling a very important task for civic and municipal authorities. Bindu Shajan Perappadan reported last week that Enrolment in third phase clinical trials for India's first dengue vaccine nearly complete. Quoting Manoj Murhekar, director, National Institute of Epidemiology, an ICMR institution, she wrote: The trial will be rolled out at 20 centres across the country. In India, all four serotypes of the dengue virus are known to circulate or co-circulate in many regions, so it's vital to ensure that we have an effective vaccine that achieves good efficacy for all four serotypes. Putting this on the record, here: Swiss medicines authority issues first approval for antimalarial drug for treatment of infants. We will follow this one up as well. Here's an update on the Nipah situation in Kerala, which we focussed on last week as well, in stories that we wrote, but also with our bi-monthly podcast The Health Wrap by The Hindu, where Abdul Latheef Naha joined us online from Malappuram, detailing his trials in chasing the Nipah virus story. Read on, for this past week: Nipah patient from Palakkad continues to be critical, 173 included on contact list Woman who died in quarantine tests negative for Nipah in Kerala One more Nipah case in Kerala as patient dies at Perinthalmanna hospital Nipah death in Palakkad leads to alert in six Kerala districts Slipping to another of our constants, lifestyle diseases, we had a report from a Study which projected that over 15 million people born during 2008-2017 could develop gastric cancer in life. With eating choices changing, and more people eating out more than ever before, the impact of these changing habits on the gut cannot be missed. The authors called for more investment in preventing gastric cancer, especially through population-level screening and treating of the bacterial infection, known to be preventable through effective treatment. One thing that needs to be addressed immediately is the salt consumption by Indians. ICMR says Indians taking too much salt, and launches study to address issue. The Karnataka government has declared that all Sudden heart attack deaths among people under age of 45 should be notifiable in the State. Afshan Yasmeen, in context, reported on Jayadeva's Premature Coronary Artery Disease registry which showed that over 24% of patients aged below 40 were drivers. Raj Mariwala, Ishwar Singh and Saba Kohli Dave recorded the impact of heat stress on the mental health of rural workers in Rajasthan. In the last of the Healthy India Happy India series that emerged from an association between The Hindu and Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore, experts examined the impact that Vitamin D deficiency imposes on public health. Sahana Mira S. highlighted a trend of Gen Z-ers hooking on to ChatGPT to analyse their mental health. Experts have cautioned that AI therapy, with all its biases, can only be a temporary fix for mental health. Not surprisingly, a NIMHANS study found higher degrees of depression among 'severely injured' road traffic accident victims. The authors of the study recommended that following medical treatment, RTA victims and their families must undergo psychosocial counselling to lessen their anxiety and enhance their quality of life. With growing evidence linking diet to cognitive function, even little changes to your eating habits may help protect your mind as you age, Aisling Pigott and Sophie Davies recommend what foods you should put on your plate keeping this in mind. For the tailpiece this week, how can we look elsewhere as Mattel launched its Barbie doll with diabetes? Apparently the doll, which comes with accessories such as a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump, has sold out within a few days of it being unveiled. The new Barbie has been designed in partnership with the global type 1 diabetes not-for-profit Breakthrough T1D. 'Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation,' said Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls. 'Barbie helps shape children's early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love.' Well, why not, if it can influence perception early on? This week, our explainers are plentiful enough to drown you, but pick and choose what you want to read from the list below : Dr. C. Aravinda explained Skeletal signatures: how bone age shapes medicine, law, and sport In the All You Need to Know series, R. Sujatha wrote on scoliosis and Shrabana Chatterjee on Charles Bonnet Syndrome Dr. Firuza R. Parikh wrote a very interesting article explaining Egg freezing and fertility preservation: what you should know if you decide to opt for this Dr. Sandeep Bafna did a detailed note on Treating and managing urinary incontinence both among women and men Did you know there is a safer, cleaner, smarter anaesthesia that is taking over operation theatres? Yes, Dr. Tushar Chokshi would know about TCI-TIVA. Dr. Monisha Madhumita elaborated on the global call to end skin bleaching and prioritise dermatological equity to mark World Skin Health Day on July 8. We have a bunch of other stories lined up; if you have a few moments more, do stop by: Science Quiz: On movies around health Suneetha Reddy on Demography and democracy — moving forward with better health outcomes Snehal Mutha on Doctors' associations oppose move to allow homoeopathy practitioners to prescribe allopathic medicine Siddharth Kumar Singh Guided by sound, not sight: How a Hyderabad centre is redefining possibilities for the visually impaired For many more health stories, head to our health page and subscribe to the health newsletter here.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
WITERATI: Jamuns, jhoolas & joys of monsoon
It is rather with reluctance that mango lovers must watch the retreat of the King of Fruits with the advent of rains. Surveying aam pheriwalas turn into a tiny trickle is so like seeing gilt-edged palanquins laden with gold and grandeur slip into the sands of time. Jamuns owe their popularity not only to being a monsoon staple but also to their medicinal benefits. (HT File) Ah, but that's the story of the seasons. Sights and smells come and go like the seasons, like the scoreboards at Wimbledon or Lord's. Just as many a heart begins to jump with joy at jamuns, there come tidings that indirectly revalidate the goodness of our very own Indian blackberry. Jamuns owe their popularity not only to being a monsoon staple but also to their medicinal benefits. For all those diabetics who overindulge taste buds to Dussehris and Chausas in summer, jamuns come as the perfect detox. For, they are rich not only in antioxidants but also regulate blood sugar levels and improve insulin function. Speaking of stuff sugary, some sweet tidings from Mattel couldn't have come at a better time. The maker of the world-famous Barbie has launched a version of its signature doll depicting Type 1 diabetes. Attired in a blue polka dot dress and boasting toffee-tone tresses, the new Barbie makes it fashionable to flaunt an insulin kit on her size-zero waist and a glucose monitor on her arm. This first-of-its-kind Barbie comes dressed in the colours of inclusivity. The idea driving doll #242 is to make Barbie relatable to multitudes of children suffering from Type 1 diabetes. Driven by a desi DNA inclined to that indigenousness called jugaad, one is struck with an idea -- how about getting 'berry' serious to add to the accessories of Barbie? What if the #242 dolls were depicted also dangling a jar of jamuns! Mother Nature's very own cure for the condition. Jamun derivatives as jugaad for diabetes. Adding the blackberry as Barbie's accessory could add to the awakening. By driving home this natural detox for diabetics. A jar of jamuns could jolly well give not only an Indian twist to the tale, but also take the doll's social messaging a step further. As Rumi rightly reminds us, 'The cure for pain is in the pain.' Commendable the way the digital era is showing us how new-age pop icons of childhood can be marketed as mascots of social messaging. Just jamuns Back to the joys of jamuns. Back to the bylanes of bachpan. Being schooled in scrambling up stuffed trees for the blackberry. The baarish of plucking and pelting. Saawan's signature sights and smells not only nudge nostalgia. The season spurs as much the poetic pen. Monsoon nostalgia comes alive in contemporary voices thus. 'To plant some fruit trees, to harvest some, ideas smelling headily of earth and rain together,' this ode to Saawan's fruits is penned in well-known poet Sumita Misra's 'Petrichor'. 'Petrichor' alludes to the 'pleasant, distinctive smell frequently accompanying the first rain...' Joys of jhoolas Saawan is synonymous as much with jhoolas, as jamuns. Jhoolas herald a flood of festivities, a flow of poetry. Poets bring to barsaat their ink, imagination and imagery. 'In the jhoola swing could be, Today's Sita, Draupadi, she has no wings, And the jhoola swing, is placed in the pleasure garden by his command,' thus is captured contemporary womanhood's peculiar paradox by acclaimed poet Malashri Lal in 'Swinging in Sawan Rain' from the collection, 'Mandalas of Time'. Thus the lament looms, thus the clouds of change cast shadows over jhoolas to jamuns. For better or for verse. Just as the digital era's doorstep brown bags of BB, Blinkit & Co have stolen the schooling that comes from scrambling and scraping, so may builder-bulldozed urbanisation, environmental degradation to deforestation, and climate change also be robbing us of Saawan's joyrides on jhoolas. Bitter-sweet new ground realities. Like the bitter-sweet berry. The curious case of 'There's Something About Blackberry'.
