Ibuprofen is a commonly available over-the-counter painkiller that you can pick up from nearly any pharmacy or supermarket. Known for its effectiveness, it helps relieve various aches, pains, inflammation, and even symptoms linked to colds, flu, or coronavirus.

However, it’s important to remember that ibuprofen isn’t suitable for everyone. The NHS advises that people in eight key situations should avoid this anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication, and anyone unsure should check with a pharmacist or doctor.

Ibuprofen Warning: Who Should Avoid It?

The NHS advises the following people should avoid taking ibuprofen:

• Anyone who has had an allergic reaction to ibuprofen, aspirin, or another NSAID
• Those with a stomach ulcer or a history of ulcers
• People with asthma or allergies (such as hay fever)
• Individuals with chickenpox
• Anyone with heart, liver, or kidney problems
• People with blood clotting issues
• Anyone who has previously had a stroke
• Those who are pregnant or trying to conceive

People who have had allergic reactions to ibuprofen, aspirin, or similar NSAIDs like naproxen should avoid it entirely, as should expectant mothers. Those with kidney problems, asthma, or a history of stomach ulcers should always seek medical advice before using ibuprofen, including topical forms.

The NHS adds: “How you take your medicine and the dose you use depends on the type of ibuprofen and how much it contains. Always read the packet or leaflet that comes with your medicine. Ask a pharmacist or doctor for guidance if you’re unsure about how to take it or encounter any problems. If a doctor prescribes ibuprofen, follow their instructions carefully.”

Typically, adults can take one or two 200mg ibuprofen tablets or capsules up to three times a day, leaving at least six hours between doses. In some cases, a higher dose may be prescribed, but only under a doctor’s supervision.

Medicines That Require Extra Caution

If you’re taking certain medications, consult a doctor before using ibuprofen. These include:

• Anticoagulants (such as warfarin)
• Steroid medicines
• Antidepressants
• Blood pressure-lowering medicines

The NHS has also noted: “If you’re taking ibuprofen for short-term pain, like a toothache or period pain, you may only need it for a day or two. Long-term conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, may require longer courses.”

Who Needs to Consult a Doctor Before Taking Paracetamol?

Paracetamol isn’t suitable for everyone either. The NHS advises that certain groups should get medical guidance before taking it:

• People on certain medications
• Anyone who has had an allergic reaction to paracetamol or another medicine
• Individuals with liver or kidney issues
• People who regularly drink more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol per week
• Those weighing less than 50kg (eight stone) may need a lower dose

Official NHS guidance, as reported by the Mirror, states: “Most people aged 16 and over can take paracetamol. It is also safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Paracetamol can take up to an hour to start working and its effects typically last about five hours.”

"God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only choice is how."

This is what Justice JB Pardiwala said, quoting Henry Ward Beecher to allow India's first ever passive euthanasia for Harish Rana. AIIMS Delhi has now started protocols to implement the Supreme Court verdict for Harish Rana's passive euthanasia. Sources and several reports have mentioned that the process could take two to three weeks.

How Is AIIMS Delhi Preparing For Passive Euthanasia?

A specialized team headed by professor and head of the department of anesthesia and palliative medicine, Dr Seema Mishra, has been constituted to implement the process. The team comprises doctors from departments of neurosurgery, onco-anesthesia, and palliative medicine, and psychiatry.

“The process generally involves withholding or withdrawing the nutritional support gradually while ensuring adequate pain relief. The patient is given palliative sedation so that he or she is not in distress. Life support measures such as artificial nutrition, oxygen and medications are slowly withdrawn. The aim is not to prolong nor hasten death,” Dr Sushma Bhatnagar, former head of the department of onco-anaesthesia, pain and palliative care, AIIMS-Delhi.

Harish Rana Update

A video from Rana's home in Ghaziabad showed that relatives were offering prayers and a member of the Brahma Kumaris put a 'tilak' on his forehead. She said, "Sabko maaf karte hue, sabse maafi mange hue, so jaao...theek hai." Which loosely translates to: Forgiving everyone and asking forgiveness from everyone. Now sleep. It's okay.

The Brahma Kumari seen in the video was Sister Lovely from Mohan Nagar Seva Kendra in Ghaziabad. Komal, who is also a member of Brahma Kumaris based in Mount Abu, told this to news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). "She is following a ritual with the words that mean he (Harish) leave the world in a happy state, seeking and giving forgiveness...it is part of a meditative chant that comforts the soul and eases the entire process of soul merging with the sublime," she told PTI.

According to Komal, alongside medical consultations, the family also sought spiritual guidance as they prepared for the inevitable after the Supreme Court’s directions.

Read: Harish Rana Case Brings Spotlight On How Passive Euthanasia Has Evolved Over The Years

Harish Rana's Passive Euthanasia

The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgment allowed 32-year-old Harish Rana, who had been living in a vegetative state for last 13 years, the right to die. This means, that the apex court allowed passive euthanasia for Rana. The bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala an Justice KV Vishwanathan allowed the withdrawal of life support of Rana, who has been in a coma and kept alive on tubes for breathing and nutrition after he sustained severe head injuries following a fall from a building in 2013 in Chandigarh.

The judgment is a win, however, Ashok, Rana's father said that his feelings are mixed. "As a father, this is extremely painful. But on humanitarian grounds, this is the best we can do for my son." He continued, "It is just not a matter of my son, but there are many others in such a state in the country. I think it is the grace of God who guided the Supreme Court judges... I am happy that with this judgments, many others may find a way."

Tech giant Microsoft's new artificial intelligence model GigaTIME will help reduce time and cost as well as expand access to cancer care, said CEO Satya Nadella today.

Nadella noted that its multimodal AI system has shown promise in transforming routine pathology slides into detailed spatial proteomics data -- a high-resolution map of proteins.

The advanced technology may help doctors analyze tumors faster, thus bringing hope to millions of cancer patients worldwide for a better and faster diagnosis.

Taking to social media platform X, Nadella said: “We’ve trained a multimodal AI model to turn routine pathology slides into spatial proteomics, with the potential to reduce time and cost while expanding access to cancer care”.

What is GigaTIME

GigaTIME is a multimodal AI model for translating routinely available hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) pathology slides to virtual multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) images.

H&E is the "gold standard" technique in pathology for diagnosing cancer. The mIF images share details of proteins and their locations in cancer cells, thus advancing precision immuno-oncology research.

Developed in collaboration with Providence and the University of Washington, the team trained GigaTIME on a dataset of 40 million cells with paired H&E and mIF images across 21 protein channels.

The multimodal AI, which analyzed standard pathology slides, showed the potential to generate a “virtual population” of tumor cells. It also revealed the detailed protein activity within cancer cells.

The images also offer deeper insights into how tumors behave and disease progression, enabling doctors to cut down the time and cost of diagnosis.

“GigaTIME is about unlocking insights that were previously out of reach,” explained Carlo Bifulco, chief medical officer of Providence Genomics and medical director of cancer genomics and precision oncology at the Providence Cancer Institute, in a Microsoft Blogpost

“By analyzing the tumor microenvironment of thousands of patients, GigaTIME has the potential to accelerate discoveries that will shape the future of precision oncology and improve patient outcomes,” Bifulco added.

How GigaTIME Works

In the paper, detailed in the journal Cell, scientists from Microsoft reported that they applied GigaTIME to 14,256 cancer patients from 51 hospitals and over a thousand clinics.

The AI system generated a virtual population of around 300,000 mIF images spanning 24 cancer types and 306 cancer subtypes.

This virtual population uncovered 1,234 statistically significant associations linking mIF protein activations with key clinical attributes such as biomarkers, staging, and patient survival.

"By translating readily available H&E pathology slides into high-resolution virtual mIF data, GigaTIME provides a novel research framework for exploring precision immuno-oncology through population-scale TIME analysis and discovery," the researchers said.

"The GigaTIME model is publicly available to help accelerate clinical research in precision oncology," they added.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) released the 2026 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia. These guidelines introduce important updates in cardiovascular risk assessment, lipid testing, and lipid-lowering therapy.

The guidelines focus on the cases of young people facing heart issues and thus highlight 10 key actions for 2026, which also includes early detection and starting cholesterol check as early as the age 19.

The guidelines have been published in the March 2026 issue of Circulation. The document was developed by a multidisciplinary panel that presented several organization, including the American Diabetes Association (ADA), National Lipid Association (NLA), and Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA).

The 2026 guidelines will replace the widely used earlier AHA/ACC 2018 cholesterol guidelines, while incorporate new findings and big clinical trials, which will include lipid biomarkers, and enhanced cardiovascular risk prediction models.

What Are The New Steps Introduced By ACC/AHA 2026 Guidelines?

The focus of the new guidelines is on early detection and lifelong risk reduction. The key 10 actions include:

Read: AHA Cholesterol Guidelines 2026: How Indians Can Improve Heart Health

Early Prevention

One of the biggest shifts in the new recommendations is the focus on early detection and management of lipid disorders, especially among younger people. The aim is to reduce lifetime exposure to atherogenic lipoproteins and prevent the long-term development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Use PREVENT For Risk Prediction

The guidelines introduce the PREVENT risk equations to estimate 10-year and 30-year cardiovascular risk in adults aged 30–79. This replaces the earlier pooled cohort equations and is expected to improve how patients are categorized according to risk.

Early Treatment For Borderline-risk Patients

Lipid-lowering therapy can now be considered for primary prevention in individuals with a borderline 10-year ASCVD risk (3–5%). For those with intermediate risk (5–10%), treatment decisions should involve shared discussions between doctors and patients.

LDL-C

The updated guideline reintroduces clear LDL-C and non-HDL-C treatment targets, along with percentage reduction goals. These benchmarks help clinicians decide when to intensify treatment.

ApOB Testing

The recommendations suggest measuring apolipoprotein B (ApoB), particularly in patients with high triglycerides, diabetes, or cases where LDL-C levels may underestimate the number of atherogenic particles.

Adults Must Undergo One-time Lp(a) Testing

Because lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the guideline advises that all adults undergo at least one lifetime test to identify inherited cardiovascular risk.

Coronary Calcium Scoring (CAC)

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring can help guide treatment decisions, especially for people with borderline or intermediate cardiovascular risk who are unsure about starting statin therapy.

Lipid Therapy for High Risk Comorbidities

Adults aged 40–75 years with conditions such as diabetes, stage 3–4 chronic kidney disease, or HIV infection should receive lipid-lowering therapy for primary prevention, even if their baseline LDL-C levels are not elevated.

Secondary Prevention Methods

For patients with established ASCVD and high risk, the guideline recommends an LDL-C target below 55 mg/dL, as lower levels are linked to better cardiovascular protection.

Stating - The Cornerstone of Therapy

Despite newer medications, statins continue to be the first-line therapy for most patients with dyslipidemia and play a major role in reducing ASCVD risk. Additional treatments such as ezetimibe, PCSK9 inhibitors, bempedoic acid, and inclisiran may be added depending on treatment goals and patient needs.