Tag: Psoriasis

IH News Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

by Vaani, posted in News

Politics and Policies

  • The Obama administration on Tuesday defined the “essential health benefits” that must be offered to most Americans and by allowing employers to offer bigger financial rewards to employees who quit smoking or adopt healthy behaviors.

Programs

  • In the 62nd WHO Regional Committee for Africa session in Luanda, Angola, the World Health Organization (WHO) has presented its updated health promotion strategy for Africa.
  • The first unrefrigerated vaccine, MenAfriVac vaccine against meningitis has been approved in Africa.
  • According to the International Status Report released in the Conference of Parties to the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC), health warnings in cigarette packets in India only cover 40% of the front face of the packet.

Research

  • According to the researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services the Obama health care reform could provide more than a million women in the U.S. with access to potentially lifesaving tests for breast and cervical cancer.
  • Scientists are working on small pox vaccine to treat the deadly liver cancer.
  • According to the reports released by the United Nations (UN), deaths from HIV/ AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa have dropped down by 32% in the last seven years.
  • A study reveals that malnourished, stunted growth children are growing into obese adults in Africa.
  • According to a study published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine, increase in suicide in the United States between 2000 and 2010 is attributable to increase in hanging/ suffocation that too has increased among the people aged between 45- 59 years.
  • A study links between unemployment and heart attack risk.
  • A study indicates link between a child having a happy teenage and his/ her chances of having a wealthier adulthood.
  • According to a study published in the journal Nature, compounds inhibiting protein synthesis or by utilizing the gene therapy targeting neuroligins in rats, scientists at the McGill University and the University of Montreal have created new hope for treatment / understanding of autism spectrum disorders.
  • According to a study published in the journal Radiology concussions may cause brain disruption.
  • Researchers in Australia are very close to treating a hereditary disease, dilated cardiomyopathy.
  • Experts say that the lifestyle of people of Mexico has led to having a diabetes disaster in that country.
  • According to the researchers malaria vaccine is only 30% effective in infants in preventing them getting this deadly disease.
  • According to the researcher’s key to feeling younger is to keep smart phones, watching reality television shows and beating younger relatives at games.
  • Scientists in Canada have linked “Happy gene” to “Fat gene”.
  • According to a study, up to 20% under the 65s liver disease death has risen in England due to high levels of drinking and obesity.
  • Scientists have found a link between the drug used to treat Psoriasis inflammation and reduction in dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
  • According to the scientists at London, smoking rots the brain by damaging memory, learning and reasoning.
  • A study reveals that one in every ten children in California, U.S. is uninsured. This is higher than the national average.
  • A group of Indian and U.S. scientists in their study have predicted hidden epidemic of neurological disability for people of India.

Diseases and Disasters

  • According to the Germany’s national health institute, a patient from Qatar has been confirmed being infected with a new type of coronavirus. He has severe respiratory problems.
  • Dengue cases on rise in India.
  • Second death has been reported due to Corona virus.
  • Large amount of spores of Lichen forming Trechelomonas algae responsible for the red rain in some parts of Sri Lanka.
  • About 1000 students of a school in Sri Lanka have been hospitalized following some allergic reaction.

 

 

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

by Vaani, posted in News

Politics and Policies

  • The Department of Health and Human Services bolsters health care and public health disaster. It has awarded more than $971 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories, and four of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
  • India is completing a proposal to provide essential drugs free to patients in government-run hospitals and clinics at a cost of $5 billion over five years.
  • Rapid H.I.V. Home test wins federal approval.
  • Republican governor of Florida says state won’t expand Medicaid.

Programs

  • George W. Bush launches cancer project in Botswana. This $3 million initiative has been started to fight against cervical cancer. This project is funded by the Presidents’ Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and is supported by the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership.
  • A drug created at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has been deployed to fight malaria in India.
  • U.S. $124,276,000 assistance package is expected for Liberia. A new development agenda “An agenda for transformation” will focus on critical areas like education, economy, health etc.
  • The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is providing support to the treatment center in village of Wabaria, situated in Northern Mali after identification of the new cases of cholera in the village
  • La Madre de los Pobres charity reaches needy in nearly 20-plus countries.
  • New child health card and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is introduced in Zimbabwe to ensure good records of all preventive interventions like exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, calendar of immunizations and prevention of mother to child transmission.
  • International donors offer Afghanistan $16B.
  • Traditional Indian sweetener jaggery (gur) will be launched as complete health food for all age groups soon in India.

Research

  • New study maps hotspots of human-animal infectious diseases and emerging disease outbreaks like tuberculosis and Rift Valley fever.
  • Single dose radiation at the time of surgery helps women with early stage breast cancer forego 6-7 week radiation regimen.
  • Australian researchers from the Skin and Cancer Foundation have found a link between psoriasis and other diseases.
  • Research from Fourth Military Medical University yields new findings on Parkinson’s disease.
  • Researchers at the University of Minnesota School Of Public Health have found new evidence that fast food intake increases risk of diabetes and heart disease in people.
  • Zebra fish provides insights into causes and treatment of human diseases. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh are using it to study the biological mechanisms underlying human disorders and identifying potential treatment approaches for an impressive array of organ and systematic diseases.
  • Caffeine may help to lower the risk of skin cancer. The results of the study conducted by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston suggest that it is the caffeine in coffee that is responsible for the decreased risk of basal cell carcinoma associated with increasing coffee consumption.
  • Amniotic fluid yields alternatives to embryonic stem cells. The scientists from Imperial College London and the UCL Institute of Child Health have succeeded in reprogramming amniotic fluid cells without having to introduce extra genes.
  • Organic tomatoes contain higher levels of antioxidants than conventional tomatoes. The researchers have shown that these tomatoes do not use not use nitrogenous fertilizers and thus they activate their own defense mechanisms resulting in increased production of all antioxidants.
  • A study conducted by a researcher at the University of Maryland has shown that the women infected with Toxoplasma gondii parasite which is spread through contact with cat feces or eating undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables, are at increased risk of attempting suicide.
  • A recent research has shown that deleting single gene results in autism-like behavior and immunosuppressant drug prevents autism symptoms. This gene is associated with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a rare genetic condition.
  • Using a mouse model of autism, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have successfully treated an autism spectrum disorder characterized by severe cognitive impairment.
  • A team of researchers at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology at the University of Copenhagen are closer to understanding the biology behind GHB, a transmitter substance in the brain, best known in its synthetic form as the illegal drug fantasy.

Diseases and Disasters

  • Monsoon rains cause havoc in Bangladesh.
  • The Philippines Department of Health has instructed the Bureau of Quarantine to be on alert, following an outbreak of a fatal respiratory disease in Cambodia.
  • According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, South Sudan faces worst health crisis.
  • According to a recent report released, Fukushima disaster was man-made.