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Deaths in children’s intensive care at ‘all time low’

World Health Organization, 37% of Syrian hospitals have been destroyed and a further 20% severely damaged.

A group of 50 doctors, including Nobel Prize winners, say Syria’s health system is at breaking point as medics are forced to flee the fighting.

The signatories to the letter in T

The Lancet say it is “arguably one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises since the end of the Cold War”.

According to the Violations Documentation Centre, 469 health workers are currently imprisoned.

Some 15,000 doctors have left Syria, says the Council on Foreign Relations.

Of the 5,000 physicians in Aleppo before the conflict started, only 36 remain.

Makeshift clinics have become fully fledged trauma centres, struggling to cope with the injured and sick”

The signatories to the letter in The Lancet

According to the World Health Organization, 37% of Syrian hospitals have been destroyed and a further 20% severely damaged.

“Makeshift clinics have become fully fledged trauma centres, struggling to cope with the injured and sick,” says the letter.

It warns that horrific injuries are going untended; women are giving birth with no medical assistance; men, women, and children are undergoing life-saving surgery without anaesthetic; and victims of sexual violence have nowhere to turn to.

“The Syrian population is vulnerable to outbreaks of hepatitis, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. The lack of medical pharmaceuticals has already exacerbated an outbreak of Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a severe infectious skin disease that can cause serious disability, there has been an alarming increase in cases of acute diarrhoea, and in June aid agencies reported a measles epidemic sweeping through districts of northern Syria,” the letter says.

The signatories, which include former WHO chief Gro Harlem Brundtland, demand that medical colleagues in Syria be allowed and supported to treat patients, save lives, and alleviate suffering without the fear of attacks or reprisals.

“We call on the Syrian Government and all armed parties to refrain from attacking hospitals, ambulances, medical facilities and supplies, health professionals and patients,” they say.

 

 

Radiation from airport body scanner detect signs of skin cancer

Airport security screening check points has great potential for looking underneath human skin to diagnose cancer at its earliest

Terahertz radiation, the technology that peeks underneath clothing at airport security screening check points has great potential for looking underneath human skin to diagnose cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages, a researcher has revealed.

Anis Rahman , Ph.D., explained that malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer , starts in pigment-producing cells located in the deepest part of the epidermis. Biochemical changes that are hallmarks of cancer occur in the melanocytes long before mole-like melanomas appear on the skin.

Rahman said that terahertz radiation- form of ‘non-ionizing’ radiation- is ideal for looking beneath the skin and detecting early signs of melanoma.

T-rays can be focused harmlessly below into the body and capture biochemical signatures of events like the start of cancer.

Rahman, president and chief technology officer of Applied Research and Photonics in Harrisburg, Pa., described research focusing T-rays through donated samples of human skin that suggest the technology could be valuable in diagnosing melanoma.

In addition to developing T-rays for cancer diagnostics, Rahman’s team has successfully harnessed them to measure the real-time absorption rates and penetration in the outer layer of skin of topically applied drugs and shampoo.

Other wide-ranging applications include the detection of early stages of tooth decay, trace pesticides on produce, flaws in pharmaceutical tablet coatings, and concealed weapons under clothing, as well as testing the effectiveness of skin cosmetics.

The research was presented at National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

 

Source: Zee news

Woman suing hospital, doctors over prank during surgery

A Los Angeles woman is suing an area hospital after one of its surgeons affixed a fake mustache to her upper lip and fake tears and then photographed her – all while she was still under anesthesia.

ABC News reports the unnamed patient, who also worked at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, where the procedure was performed October 2011, also hit her unidentified anesthesiologist with a raft of incendiary legal claims.

The patient says she learned of the bizarre photos from co-workers who had seen them after returning to work as a surgical supply purchaser at the hospital.

“Perhaps the most vulnerable position any human being will ever endure in their life is a time when they are placed under full anesthesia,” reportedly reads the lawsuit, filed Aug. 15 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Among the myriad claims leveled against the anesthesiologist and Dr. Patrick Yang is that the pair also positioned the patient’s neck “so that they could keep her mouth open in order to make a crude sexual joke,” during her procedure.

Perhaps most troubling is that the suit also reportedly accuses Yang and Co. of choosing to employ full anesthesia, rather than a simple sedative, so they could stage the whacky photo shoot, or “for the sole purpose of humiliating and embarrassing the patient.”

Torrance Memorial Medical Center acknowledged the alarming affair in a statement to ABC News, saying it was “intended to be humorous in nature.”

And although the hospital conceded that the anesthesiologist and the nurse “demonstrated poor judgment,” the medical facility reportedly dismissed most of the woman’s allegations as “factually inaccurate, grossly exaggerated or fabricated.”

“While the breach of professionalism outlined above regrettably did occur, Torrance Memorial is vigorously defending this lawsuit and requesting its dismissal,” reportedly reads the statement, which goes on to chalk the whole matter up as a practical joke between friends gone awry.

Yang and the patient were “friendly,” the hospital’s statement to ABC News says, and “had a good working relationship,” prior to the procedure.

“We take patient rights and privacy very seriously,” the statement reportedly reads. “After our internal investigation into the 2011 incident, we conducted additional training among the hospital’s staff about demonstrating professionalism at all times. We have taken substantial steps including privacy training to ensure patient rights are respected and protected for every patient in our hospital, even if that patient is a friend and colleague.”

Source: Fox News

Nuclear plants don’t raise child leukemia risk

Despite fears to the contrary, children who live near nuclear power plants have no greater risk of developing leukemia or a type of cancer known as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a large British study published on Friday.

Researchers who studied some 10,000 children aged fewer than 5 and analyzed birth records for nearly every case of childhood leukemia in Britain from 1962 to 2007 found no apparent extra risk from living near an atomic power station.

John Bithell of the Childhood Cancer Research Group, who led the study, noted there have been concerns about child leukemia near nuclear plants in Britain since the 1980s, when a television program reported an excess of cancer in children near the Sellafield plant in north-west England.

There have since been conflicting reports in Britain and other European countries about whether children living near such reactors are at greater risk of developing childhood cancers.

A study on Germany, published in 2007, did find a significantly increased risk. But a 35-year-long survey in Britain by the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, published in 2001, found no evidence that living near nuclear plants increased the incidence of children developing leukemia.

Bithell said the findings of his research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, and should be reassure the public.

“Our case-control study has considered the birth records for nearly every case of childhood leukemia born in Britain and, reassuringly, has found no such correlation with proximity to nuclear power plants,” he said in a statement.

Leukemia is a cancer of immature white blood cells that mostly occurs in children between 2 and 4 years old.

It is rare, affecting around 500 children a year in Britain, and experts say 85 to 90 percent can now be cured.

Bithell’s research group was funded by the Scottish and English governments and the charity Children with Cancer UK.

They measured the distance children lived from the nearest nuclear plant both at birth and when diagnosed with leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Data on cancer cases came from the National Registry of Childhood Tumours, which has kept records of nearly all children diagnosed since 1962 and is estimated to be more than 99 percent complete for leukemia cases over the period studied.

Hazel Nunn, head of health information at the charity Cancer Research UK, said the results were “heartening”.

“This study supports the findings of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment that being born or living near a nuclear power station doesn’t lead to more cases of leukemia and similar cancers in children under 5 in the UK,” she said.

“But these results can’t rule out any possible risk, so it’s still important that we continue to monitor both radiation levels near nuclear power plants and rates of cancer among people who live close by.”

Source: fox news

UN: 6.6 million children under 5 died last year

Childhood death rates around the world have halved since 1990 but an estimated 6.6 million children under the age of 5 still died last year, the U.N. children’s agency said Friday.

Nearly half of all children who die are in five countries: Nigeria, Congo, India, Pakistan and China, it said in a report.

“Progress can and must be made,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF’s executive director. “When concerted action, sound strategies, adequate resources and strong political will are harnessed in support of child and maternal survival, dramatic reductions in child mortality aren’t just feasible, they are morally imperative.”

The top killers are malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea, the report said, taking the lives of about 6,000 children under age 5 daily. A lack of nutrition contributes to almost half of these deaths, the U.N. said.

Eastern and Southern Africa have reduced their death rates for children under 5 by more than 50 percent since 1990. West and Central Africa are the only regions not to have at least halved the number of children under 5 dying over the past 22 years, the U.N. said.

Nigeria bears more than 30 percent of early childhood deaths for malaria and 20 percent of the deaths associated with HIV. Globally, the country accounts for one in every eight child deaths, the U.N. said.

While these numbers are grim, the rate of improvement globally seems to have plateaued at about 4 percent improvement per year since 2005, the report said. The estimated numbers are based on solid data from about half the world’s countries. And for regions with the biggest problems, they had to rely on modeling techniques.

Countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Brazil showed tremendous progress, due in part to increased community health care. Affordable and increased interventions – like treated mosquito nets, medicines, rehydration treatments and improved access to safe water – helped improve the early childhood death rate in other countries as well.

But improvements were not as bold in countries like Nigeria, Congo, Sierra Leone and Pakistan, the report showed.

Lake said a new sense of urgency was needed to improve the figures.

“Yes, we should celebrate the progress,” he said. “But how can we celebrate when there is so much more to do?”
Read more: Fox news

 

Ethiopian farmer claims he is 160 years old

He claims to have clear memories of Italy’s invasion of his country in the 19th century. However, there is no birth certificate to prove his age.

Many people won’t be aware of Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1895, but one man doesn’t just know about the battle – he claims to have lived through it.

Retired farmer Dhaqabo Ebba, from Ethiopia, says he is a staggering 160 years old, which would make him the world’s oldest living man.

He claims to have clear memories of Italy’s invasion of his country in the 19th century. However, there is no birth certificate to prove his age.

In a statement to Oromiya TV, he provided so much detail on the history of his local area that reporter Mohammed Ademo became convinced that Mr Ebba must be at least 160 years old.

This would make him 46 years older than the oldest ever recorded man.

“When Italy invaded Ethiopia I had two wives, and my son was old enough to herd cattle, “said Ebba.

He then recounted his eight-day horseback rides to Addis Ababa as a child – a journey that takes only a few hours today.

As Ebba grew up in an oral society, there is no paper trail and no living witnesses to verify his age.

However, if his claim can be medically confirmed, he would oust 115-year-old Misao Okawa, who is currently recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person.

Source: Fox news

US firm brings next generation pacemaker in India

St Jude Medical Inc, a global medical device company, today announced the launch of next generation pacemaker in India.

The NYSE-listed firm announced the first commercial implant of `Allure Quadra’, a cardiac resynchronisation therapy pacemaker (CRT-P), in the country.

The first-to-market quadripolar pacemaker system offers more pacing options for patients with heart failure (HF), a company release said here.

Quadripolar leads allow for increased implant efficiencies, which clinical data indicates can result in fewer surgical revisions. Broad clinical evidence on the advantages of the quadripolar technology has been documented in more than 100 publications worldwide, it said.

Explaining how this new technology works, Anil Saxena of Fortis Escorts Hospital, said: “Historically, pacing systems that treat heart failure included a lead with only one electrode in the heart. Later, these were replaced by leads with two electrodes.

“Nearly 40 per cent of patients do not effectively benefit from traditional pacing due to potential complications all of which require repeat surgeries.”

The new technology has four electrodes and 10 programmable pacing configurations, allowing electro-physiologists to manage their patients with greater flexibility and improved patient outcomes, Saxena said.

The worldwide prevalence of heart failure has been rising over the last few decades. More than 26 million people globally suffer from HF, with a prevalence rate in India estimated to range from 1.3 to 4.6 million people.

Lightning strike leaves Ohio boy brain-damaged

A 13-year-old southwest Ohio boy seriously hurt by a lightning strike at an Indiana summer camp in June is breathing on his own but hasn’t been able to speak or move without help, his family and doctors said.

The jolt of lightning stopped Ethan Kadish’s heart and led to brain damage, his parents and doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital said Tuesday. The boy is still undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at the hospital, and the damage to his brain was significant, said Dr. David Pruitt, the hospital’s medical director of in-patient rehabilitation.

“It’s very early in Ethan’s recovery process, and I expect his overall brain recovery time will extend at least for a couple of years,” Pruitt said.

The boy was injured June 29 at Goldman Union Camp Institute, a Reform Jewish camp that serves children in the Midwest entering grades three to 12. A 9-year-old Chesterfield, Mo., girl, and a 9-year-old Louisville, Ky.-area boy were also hospitalized for injuries from the lightning strike but were released a few days later.

Camp Director and Rabbi Mark Covitz said Kadish was teaching younger campers how to play ultimate Frisbee when the lightning struck near the athletic field on a mostly sunny day with a rumble of thunder in the distance, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Covitz said no one saw the lightning, but a loud crack was heard and staffers later found a dead tree about 40 yards from the field.

The boy’s father, Scott Kadish, said he heard people who were there refer to the lightning “as a bolt out of the blue.”

Covitz speculated that the lightning may have bounced off the tree.

The boy’s mother, Alexia Kadish, said she sees some small progress and often climbs into her son’s hospital bed to comfort and talk to him.

“I see more light behind his eyes,” she said of her son, who loved playing baseball.

She said she often talks to him about what his brother and sister are doing and about TV shows and the Cincinnati Reds.

 

Tea made from mamala tree may help fight AIDS

The prostratin compound shows both preventing HIV from infecting human cells and awakening dormant HIV viruses that are hiding inside human

A compound found in a medicinal tea brewed from the bark of a tree could help fight AIDS, scientists have found.

The tea used by tribal healers on the South Pacific island of Samoa to treat hepatitis contains the compound prostratin, extracted from the bark of the mamala tree.

Scientists have found a way to isolate the compound and synthesise it so it is 100 times more potent.
The new version of prostratin shows promise in laboratory tests for both preventing HIV from infecting human cells and awakening dormant HIV viruses that are hiding inside human latently infected cells.

Latent HIV cell reservoirs are untouchable by today`s antiviral medicines. Antiviral medicines reduce active virus levels in patients` blood and keep patients healthy.
But when patients stop the medication, the hibernating HIV in reservoirs awakens to resupply active virus. Prostratin flushes HIV out of its cellular sanctuaries so that antiviral drugs can attack and hopefully eradicate the HIV from the body.

Speaking at the American Chemical Society`s meeting in Indianapolis, Paul A Wender from Stanford University described efficient new ways of making prostratin.
Wender and colleagues first developed a way to make the tea ingredient, prostratin, in large amounts from readily available ingredients.

He described how that initial synthesis broke down a major barrier to probing prostratin`s antiviral effects. Until then, scientists had to extract prostratin from the bark of the Samoan mamala tree, and only tiny and variable amounts were so obtained.

Samoa is where another scientist, Paul Cox, in 1987 heard a native healer praise mamala bark tea as a remedy for viral hepatitis. It led scientists at the National Cancer Institute to analyse the bark and identify prostratin as a key ingredient.
Wender`s synthesis of prostratin opened the door to research on the substance and enabled his team to change prostratin`s architecture.

“We now have made synthetic variants of prostratin, called analogs, that are 100 times more potent than the natural product,” Wender said.

Wender`s group also synthesised bryostatin, a substance that occurs naturally in sea creatures called bryozoans, and appears even more effective for AIDS and have applications for Alzheimer`s disease and cancer.

“Bryostatin has shown great promise in laboratory experiments as the basis for development of potentially transformative medicines for cancer, Alzheimer`s disease and the eradication of HIV/AIDS,” Wender said.

Researchers have designed simpler and more readily synthesised analogs of bryostatin which are up to 1,000-fold more potent in flushing HIV out of its hiding places than prostratin.

Source Zee News/health

Chinese boy whose eyes were gouged out is getting implants

A 6-year-old Chinese boy whose eyes were gouged out by an attacker is receiving implants at a hospital in southern China after a Hong Kong eye doctor volunteered his service.

The implants are a precursor to fitting Guo Bin — known as Bin Bin — with prosthetic eyes that will look and move more like normal eyes, but which do not restore vision.

A personal assistant to Dr. Dennis Lam Shun-Chiu said the surgery started Tuesday afternoon at Lam’s private hospital in Shenzhen.

Police in the boy’s home province of Shanxi say they suspect his aunt gouged out his eyes, but have not identified a motive for last month’s attack. The woman has since committed suicide.

Ho said Bin Bin and his family travelled to Shenzhen on Sunday.