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Nurses Week: The Angels called Nurses

The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity taking a place beside the Physician and the the Priest...- William Osle...

STROKE! BECAUSE WE CARE

Medic-ALL (OCT 29 2015) DISEASE 

One out of Six people will suffer a Stroke during their lifetime! That's a pretty scary statement, but one that can become even more alarming without a day like today. The 29th October is the day observed worldwide as the World Stroke Day, it was established 9 years go by the World Stroke Organization to underscore the seriousness and high rates of the disease worldwide, raise awareness on the prevention and treatment of the condition and ensure better care and support for survivors.



This year, the World Stroke Organization is introducing a new slogan for this important health observance: “Because I care…” This theme reminds us that caring about ourselves, our families, and our friends is the key to preventing strokes and to helping those who experience a stroke. 

A Stroke or Cerebrovascular accident is caused by an interruption in the blood supply to the brain resulting either from  the bursting of a blood vessel or the blockage of a vessel by a clot. The major symptoms include a sudden weakness of usually one side of the face, arm or leg (could involve all at once), numbness, confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech; it could also cause a difficulty seeing with one or both eyes; difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; severe headache with no known cause; vomiting; fainting or unconsciousness.

The Slogan for this year's World Stroke Day seeks to emphasize the fact that the condition is preventable. One of the best ways to help save lives from stroke is to know what a stroke looks like (see common symptoms above) . Learning about stroke can help you act fast to save a co-worker, friend, or relative. Although stroke risk increases with age, strokes can—and do—occur at any age.

To prevent strokes, physical activity and healthy eating play a huge role. Keeping a good watch on vascular disease and stroke risk factors such as elevated blood pressure(hypertension), high blood sugar or diabetes and high cholesterol levels are also very important in every part of the world.



Here are some of the latest recommendations by the World Health Organization to stress these prevention measures

Eat a healthy diet: A balanced diet is crucial to a healthy heart and circulation system. This should include plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish and pulses with restricted salt, sugar and fat intake. Alcohol should also be used in moderation.

Eating foods high in cholesterol can build up fatty deposits, called plaque, on the walls of your blood vessels. These deposits can block the flow of blood to the brain, causing a stroke

Take regular physical activity: At least 30 minutes of regular physical activity every day helps to maintain cardiovascular fitness; at least 60 minutes on most days of the week helps to maintain healthy weight.

Being overweight or obese can raise total cholesterol levels, increase blood pressure, and lead to diabetes

Avoid tobacco use: Tobacco in every form is very harmful to health - cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or chewable tobacco. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is also dangerous. The risk of heart attack and stroke starts to drop immediately after a person stops using tobacco products, and can drop by as much as half after 1 year.

Smoking cigarettes also raises your blood pressure!

Check and control your overall cardiovascular risk: An important aspect of preventing heart attacks and strokes is by providing treatment and counselling to individuals at high risk (those with a 10 year cardiovascular risk equal to or above 30%) and reducing their cardiovascular risk. A health worker can estimate your cardiovascular risk using simple risk charts and provide the appropriate advice for managing your risk factors.
  • Know your blood pressure: High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but is one of the biggest causes of sudden stroke or heart attack. Have your blood pressure checked and know your numbers. If it is high, you will need to change your lifestyle to incorporate a healthy diet with less salt intake and increase physical activity, and may need medications to control your blood pressure.
  • Know your blood lipids: Raised blood cholesterol and abnormal blood lipids increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Blood cholesterol needs to be controlled through a healthy diet and, if necessary, by appropriate medications.
  • Know your blood sugar: Raised blood glucose (diabetes) increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. If you have diabetes it is very important to control your blood pressure and blood sugar to minimize the risk.
Stay Healthy...See you next year...Oct 29, 2016!

Medic-ALL.Inc 2015

Sources: WHO website, World Stroke Organization, Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Pathological Hazard! Patient wakes up at Post-Mortem

Medic-ALL (10:13:2015) via AFP

A homeless Indian man who had been pronounced dead woke up on an autopsy table, shocking hospital staff who were about to begin a post-mortem, authorities said Tuesday.



Police in Mumbai said they found the man, who has not been named, unconscious and suffering from multiple infections on Sunday morning and took him to the local hospital.

A doctor at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital certified the man as dead and sent the body for autopsy, Ashok Dudhe, Mumbai Police deputy commissioner told AFP.

"As the autopsy was about to begin, the man awoke triggering chaos after which the doctors rushed to the room. Then they snatched the death certificate from my staff and tore it up," Dudhe said.

The Dean of the Hospital,  Dr Suleman Merchant said the police forced the error by asking doctors to examine the man on the road outside the hospital, because they were busy with security arrangements for a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"They forced my doctor to examine the patient on the roadside as they wanted to rush back to the prime minister's security duty," Merchant said.

"Had the police allowed my staff to take the man indoors, they might have been able to do a better job," he said.
The man is being treated in the hospital for severe malnutrition, suspected alcoholism and substance abuse, Merchant said.
"He is delirious still and we are trying to stabilise him. Let's hope the damage from his past can be tackled," the dean said.
Police officer Dudhe called the suggestion police were responsible for the mix-up "ridiculous" and said the hospital was "trying to cover up their negligence".

The police have finished an internal enquiry into the incident and a report has been sent to the commissioner's office, he added.

Mumbai's police are regularly faced with unclaimed dead bodies and media reports have suggested mortuaries are running out of space to hold the corpses.

Source:AFP 

Medic-ALL.Inc 2015!

MSF: Medico-Humanitarian Giants!

Medic-ALL(10:04:2015) via AFP


Doctors Without Borders (MSF), whose Kunduz hospital in Afghanistan was hit by a suspected US air strike on Saturday, is one of the largest medical charities in the world, counting more than 36,000 volunteers working in 60 countries.




MSF was founded on December 21, 1971 when a team of French medics and journalists, including humanitarian icon Bernard Kouchner, denounced what they described as a genocide in secessionist Biafra, in Nigeria.

The non-profit provides emergency medical care in war zones, during epidemics and in the wake of natural disasters, and is a self-governed group of 24 associations worldwide, based in Switzerland.


Its stated commitment to caring for patients regardless of race, religion or political affiliation and reputation for working in the toughest of conditions saw it awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

In 2014, the charity oversaw 384 projects worldwide, 31 percent of which were linked to armed conflict.

Operations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Niger, Liberia, Ethiopia and Iraq take up just over half of the organisation's total spending.

On its website, MSF says it "rejects the idea that poor people deserve third-rate medical care and strives to provide high-quality care to patients", and is well known for bringing the public's attention to forgotten conflicts through its work.

Last year, the organisation treated more than half a million patients in clinics and hospitals across 63 countries, including 2,200 suffering from the Ebola virus.
It works to combat the spread of diseases such as malaria, with 2.1 million patients treated last year, as well as HIV and cholera, according to a report by the charity.

Another focus is malnutrition. MSF doctors cared for more than 200,000 severely underfed children in 2014.
MSF is funded overwhelmingly by a network of 5.7 million private donors, who provided 89 percent of its $1.44 billion budget last year.


MSF has inspired a number of imitations -- including Hospitals Without Borders and Reporters Without Borders -- groups which set out to improve hospitals in developing countries and to campaign against ill-treatment of journalists respectively.

Medic.ALL.Inc 2015

Coffee Love On World Heart Day!

Medic-ALL(09:29:2015) WORLD HEART DAY, NATIONAL COFFEE DAY

In the midst of all the coffee freebies around today, it is certainly not my intention to crash the “coffee party”, why would I anyway? , especially having being been a proud caffeine-addict myself over the years. But it’s certainly a perfect occasion, the National Coffee day which happens to coincide with the World Heart Day. Great for me, a lover of the heart and a coffee die-hard!

World Heart Day takes place on this day every year offers an opportunity for people across the globe to take part in the world’s biggest intervention against cardiovascular disease (CVD).


                                                           Coffee; Not a bad heart-choice!

The focus for this World Heart Day is on creating heart-healthy environments. By ensuring that people are able to make heart-healthy choices wherever they live, work and play, the World Heart Day encourages us all to reduce our cardiovascular risk, towards promoting a heart-healthy planet for those around us.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death and disability in the world today: over 17.3 million people die from cardiovascular disease every year.

What about Coffee?

For your information; A cup of Coffee is more than just black water with a rich smell.
A single cup of coffee contains several important nutrients, including Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium and Niacin.

So far, studies have shown that drinking coffee regularly in moderation reduces the risk of heart failure.

Plain coffee is calorie free, which makes it a better beverage choice than others, even when low-fat milk is added. However, adding cream, whipped cream and sugars (including flavored syrups) fills them with unneeded calories.

The Benefits! 

The caffeine in a cup of coffee might help small blood vessels work better. Coffee consumption has been linked with a lower incidence of heart rhythm disturbances in both men and women, and lowered stroke risk for women. Among 13,000 people, those who drank one to three cups every day were 20 percent less likely to go to the hospital for arrhythmias than abstainers.

Lowers Diabetes Risk

Coffee has also proved beneficial in the context of cardiovascular disease risk factors like Diabetes. Recently, Australian researchers found a correlation of about 7% drop in the odds of having type II diabetes for every additional cup of coffee drunk daily following 18 studies of nearly 458,000 participants. Six to seven cups of either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee tanked the chance of getting the disease by a third.

It is important to add however, that regular coffee, contains caffeine which can raise the blood pressure, as well as blood levels of the fight-or-flight chemical epinephrine (also called adrenaline),

Other Benefits of Coffee

Cancer
Though, the evidence of a cancer protection effect of coffee is weaker than that for type 2 diabetes, the drink has proven to be more  effective against liver cancer, where it lowers the chances of developing the disease by half. There is also a link between coffee and lung cancer, but only those who got the disease because they smoked. On the other hand, drinking it was actually found to be a protectant for non-smokers with lung cancer.


Keeps the Brain Sharp

Coffee has also been linked to lower risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. That characteristic mental jolt coffee provides which most medical students and doctors can relate with may extend a lifetime. Recent studies have shown that Parkinson’s, age-related cognitive decline, and maybe even Alzheimer’s could be kept at bay by coffee. The Alzheimer’s and dementia risk may be lowered by an amazing 65 percent thanks to coffee!

Helps You Withstand Pain

Interestingly, coffee may be the answer to mild pain relief.  This is according to a national study done in Norway, in which coffee-takers in an office reported a lower pain-intensity level when compared with those who abstained

Most Importantly, Lowers Death Risk

This is according to a meta-analysis of 20 studies with 1 million participants carried out by the National Institutes of Health. They found that coffee somehow helped  lower ones chances of dying from any cause. The AARP Diet and Health study showed that men can lower their chance of dying by 6 percent with just a cup a day. The more they drank, the lower that chance went — five cups, of course, was the maximum recommended.

After all said....Lets Drink it up #CoffeeLove!

Sources: World Heart Day, WebMD, The Inquisitr

Medic-ALL.Inc.2015


Nigeria Kicks Out Polio!

Medic-ALL(09:28:2015) GLOBAL HEALTH

In what has been described as a historical achievement for global health by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Nigeria was last Friday declared free of Polio by the World Health organization and subsequently removed from the Polio-Endemic List, leaving Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two countries in the world that have never been free of the disease. (Read Polio: The "PAN" and the"PAIN").



Nigeria has not reported a case of wild poliovirus since 24 July 2014, and all laboratory data have confirmed a full 12 months have passed without any new cases. Health officials have described this as a major victory in the fight to rid the world of polio. The World Health Organization records show that as recently as 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.

Since then however , there appeared to be collaborative effort by all levels of government, civil society, religious leaders and tens of thousands of dedicated health workers which resulted in one of the world's most populous nations successfully stopping the disease. More than 200 000 volunteers across the country repeatedly immunized more than 45 million children under the age of 5 years, to ensure that no child would suffer from this paralysing disease. Innovative approaches, such as increased community involvement and the establishment of Emergency Operations Centres at the national and state level, have also been pivotal to Nigeria’s success.

In a statement by Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa “Stopping polio in Nigeria has been a clear example that political engagement, strong partnerships and community engagement are the engines that drive the momentum of public health programmes, enabling them to achieve great things. I would like to congratulate everyone, particularly political, religious and community leaders in Nigeria and across Africa, for reaching a year without cases of wild polio.”



Certainly the victory over Polio in Nigeria would not have been possible without the support and commitment of donors and development partners. Such continued support, along with continued domestic funding from Nigeria, will be essential to keep Nigeria and the entire region polio-free, keeping in mind the vulnerable nations in the region( See Polio:The "PAN" and the "PAIN").

The World Health Organization, through her Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan praised the commitments and efforts that got Nigeria off the Polio-Endemic list whilst reiterating the need for supportive efforts to be rendered to Pakistan and Afghanistan.


Eradicating polio will be one of the greatest achievements in human history, and have a positive impact on global health for generations to come. Nigeria has brought the world one major step closer to achieving this goal and it’s critical that the world seizes this opportunity to end polio for good and ensure future generations of children all over the world are free from this devastating disease.

Source: WHO Media Centre

See Also  Polio:The "PAN" and the "PAIN"

Medic-ALL.Inc 2015

3yr old diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes,Youngest Patient Yet!

Medic-ALL (09:18;2015) IN THE NEWS

A 3yr old girl was diagnosed with diabetes, making her what is thought to be the world’s youngest case of diabetes in history. The child’s story was documented in a case presented this week at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm. The case is being presented by doctors at the University of Texas, Houston.



Dr. Michael Yafi of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, United States who is presenting the case study, said the patient, a 3-and-a-half-year-old Hispanic girl presented to the paediatric endocrinology clinic with symptoms of excessive urination and thirst, but her medical history was unremarkable except that her parents were obese, but had no history of diabetes. 

The child weighed 77 pounds -- compared to an average of about 35 pounds for a girl her age. Her BMI was also in the top 5 percent for children her age and hence she was being evaluated for childhood causes of obesity. Following review of the child's diet by the doctors, it was found out that the family had poor nutritional habits with uncontrolled calories and fat. Laboratory tests revealed she had high fasting plasma glucose, but she tested negative for antibodies that would have indicated Type 1 diabetes. After ruling out other potential causes for her obesity and weight gain, doctors diagnosed her with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is typically seen in adults, but as the epidemic expands, the disease has been rising dramatically in children, as well. In a statement Yafi said "Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of type 2 diabetes even in very young obese children, although of course type 1 diabetes can also still occur in obese children and is in fact much more common in young children than type 2 diabetes."

The girl was subsequently started on a liquid version of the diabetes drug metformin and her parents received nutritional training and medical advice to help them control their daughter's food intake and increase her physical activity. The metformin therapy was decreased by 50 percent each month, and then stopped. Six months after her diagnosis, the girl had dropped 25 percent of her body weight and had normal blood glucose levels.


According to Dr Yafi the reversal of type 2 diabetes in children is possible by early screening of obese children, early diagnosis, appropriate therapy and lifestyle modification.

Around 9.3 percent of the American population has diabetes, amounting to 29.1 million people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2014, while 8.1 million people are undiagnosed.

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015

Sources: FoxNews, CBSnews

Nobody wants Surgery!

Medic-ALL(09;16;2015) SURGERY AND ETHICS 

By Kayode Kuku MB;BS

Experiencing medical practice as a student and physician in a “developing” country, I came in contact with a lot of patients who hated to hear of the option of having surgery to manage whatever condition they were being managed for. From the simple surgical procedures (appendicectomies, lumopectomies) to the cesarean-sections for child delivery and even more major surgeries to improve the patients’ quality of life, having surgery was bad news to most.



It was common to associate the phobia for surgery with the level of education of some of the patient, but I later found that even the most learned shared in the phobia apparently. I came to realize that the dislike for surgery was a general phenomenon and this submission was substantiated following my exposure to patients in the developed society, it didnt matter if it was a minor excission procedure or a total knee replacement. The fact is most people would prefer not to have surgery, while some have an outright phobia for surgery.

A while ago I came across the term“Tomophobia” which refers to the fear of surgery or surgical operations. It is considered a social phobia. Tomophobia is said to be caused by a number of reasons, which include: 1) A bad situation or traumatic event occurred in the person’s life as a child involving a surgery; 2) The risks associated with having surgery (i.e., in extreme cases, death); 3) Some are afraid of how their life will be after a surgery (i.e., diet, movement, sex, health, longevity); 4) People are scared of contracting other illnesses or getting sicker after a surgery; 5) Some are afraid of having major procedures like heart or brain surgeries; 6) Some are just  afraid of possible negative outcomes from surgeries (i.e., scars, bruising, or loss of mobility); and 7) While others  just don’t like anything that causes them pain, including surgery. These are only a few possible causes. There are probably hundreds more causes.



The symptoms of Tomophobia typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry mouth and shaking. Tomophobia is treated counseling, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic programming and medicines could also be prescribed.


However, I honestly do not think that majority of the patients I have come across in practice who have either  fled the doctor’s office or cried when given the option of surgery suffer from Tomophobia. For most it’s probably more of a natural feeling of not wanting to be cut with a knife or scalpel, hence the thought of having an invasive procedure coupled with the imagination of a cut through the skin sends shrills down the spine of the patient and gives rise to resulting anxiety. Even after consenting to have surgery, patients experience anxiety. An important step in dealing with surgical anxiety is to become as well informed as possible regarding the illness, prescribed therapies, and surgical treatment. Having a complete understanding of the procedure,the indication, the methods to be applied, and how it is performed can relieve a great deal of worry. An understanding of anesthesia and the low risks of having anesthesia may also help with concerns about surgery. Both the patient and the surgeon have a role to play in this regard. 




If anxiety is caused by a lack of knowledge about the procedure, it is essential that the patient asks questions and finds the satisfactory answers until the decision to have the surgery and the choice of surgeon is fully understood. For many, anxiety is a normal response to being expected to make a life altering decision with minimal information. Once the patient has the necessary facts the anxiety may be relieved. In some cases, anxiety occurs when the patient has no idea of what the surgery entails and is left to imagine what the procedure and the result will be like. The physician performing the surgery can provide a realistic idea of what the outcome of the surgery will be and a typical course of recovery.

Other patients are not comfortable with the idea of surgery, because of the length of their stay in the hospital and recovery time.  This is understandable in the case of patients who have to take time off from their regular work schedule and bear the financial implications of so doing. It is the duty of the managing team and surgeon to adequately counsel the patient on the importance of having the surgery, discuss the possible length of hospital stay and recovery and if applicable, the urgency or not.

The truth is that, doctors have an obligation to help their patients and to refrain from providing ineffective treatments (beneficence and non-maleficence). The goal of medicine is to promote the welfare of patients, and physicians and surgeons possess skills and knowledge that enable them to assist their patients. Due to the nature of the relationship between physicians and patients, doctors are expected to weigh and balance possible benefits against possible risks of an action in the management pf a clinical scenario. What this means is that the best of surgeons know exactly when NOT TO offer or do surgery for a patient. So, patients be rest assured, no real doctor likes to cut you open for the fun of it, ask all your questions to deal with whatever fears you have, the surgeon is always more than happy to answer.

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015!

Refs: Anxiety Disorder. Patient Version. U.S. National Institutes of Health,




POLIO; The "PAN' and the "PAIN

Medic-ALL (09:01:2015) DISEASES

Just a few years ago “P-A-I-N’ was the acronym popularly used among medical students to recall the countries where Polio was endemic, but that changed a couple of years ago when the “I” which referred to the nation with the 2nd largest population in the world, India, left the likes of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria (P-A-N) on the list of countries that have never stopped Polio.

                              Nigeria aims to follow in the footsteps of India through increased government 
                              commitment and stakeholders support. Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative website

It had been a much-anticipated moment as the World Health Organization notified the national authorities in India on 25 February 2012 that the country was officially removed from the list of countries with active transmission of endemic polio. This came weeks after India marked 12 months in which no Indian child had been paralyzed by polio. India has not seen a case since a 2-year-old girl in the state of West Bengal developed paralysis on 13 January 2011.

It is interesting to note that, as recent as 2009, India had the highest burden of polio cases in the world (741), more than the three other endemic countries combined. But the government resorted to extraordinary measures to reach children with the vaccine so much that the Polio eradication efforts became a most widely-recognized brand in India, with a Bollywood megastar as its public face.
Polio remains endemic in three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially vulnerable countries.......CONTINUE READING HERE

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015

Pioneering Surgery gives man world's first 'bionic' penis

Medic-ALL (08;26;2015) IN THE NEWS! From engadget

When Edinburgh, Scotland resident Mohammed Abad was six years old, he was involved in a horrific car accident. He was struck by a vehicle and then dragged nearly 600 feet (180 meters), tearing his tallywhacker (and left testicle) clean off. But thanks to advances in modern medicine, and a dedicated team at the University of London, Abad will soon have a bionic penis that puts Steve Austin's junk to shame.

The University of London team has spent more than three years crafting a new, 8-inch wang out of skin grafts culled from Abad's forearm and becomes erect by mechanically pumping fluid into it. This pump is activated by a button located near his remaining testicle. "When you want a bit of action you press the 'on' button," Abad told The Sun. "When you are finished you press another button. It takes seconds. Doctors have told me to keep practising." He'd already undergone two surgeries before the recent 11-hour marathon installation surgery. Doctors on the team report that the prosthesis should be sufficient for Abad to start a family, if he so chooses.
This marks the first time that such a device has been successfully implanted. However, in March, a 21-year-old South African man received the world's first natural penial transplant.
MedicALL. Inc

NOT IN VAIN! The Ice Bucket Challenge

Medic-ALL (08:21:2015) MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS




About this time last year, a whole lot of people from all works of life voluntarily bathed with ice-containing buckets in what was popularly known as the "Ice Bucket Challenge" all in  a bid to raise awareness and money for research the medical condition Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis A-L-S , also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. A year and over $220 million donations later we have dividends to show.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins , who took the challenge themselves and got soaked, say they've made a major breakthrough in A-L-S research, and they credit it largely to the massive influx of public interest and the funds raised through the movement.

Jonathan Ling and Philip Wong, researchers at John Hopkins say they have discovered how a brain protein called TDP-43 linked to A-L-S works and with it, have developed a potential treatment for the disease.

About a decade ago, researchers discovered people with A-L-S often had clumps of TDP-43 protein outside the nucleus of their brain cells. But it was unknown whether it was the cause or the result of the degenerative disease.

In experiments using mice, they made a protein to mimic TDP-43 and put it into the nerve cells, or neurons.The cells came back to life, indicating the protein problem is at least part of the reason the nervous system slowly dies off in A-L-S. This sparked interest that the treatment could be used to slow down or halt the progression of the conditionThe team of researchers at Hopkins already have funding to put their protein into human trials, all because so many people were willing to get wet.

 In spite of the the overwhelming rave on social media about the disease, thanks to the "Ice Bucket Challenge", A-L-S is a relatively rare disease , with about 7000 deaths in the United States  from the disease each year. According to the ALS Asssociation website, about 15 people are newly diagnosed of the disease on  daily basis  and more than 5,600 yearly. It was partly surprising to find hundreds of celebrities, politicians and personalities "gladly" get caught up (and drenched) for the cause. The campaign helped the ALS association raise $115 million last year.

The average life expectancy in persons  with ALS is two to five years from the time of diagnosis.  However, with recent advances in research and improved medical care, many patients are living longer and with more productive lives. Half of all those affected live at least three years or more after diagnosis.  About 20 percent live five years or more, and up to ten percent will survive more than ten years. 


Ref: abcnews, BostonGlobe, ALS Association

See also ALS and the Ice Bucket Challenge

 Medic-ALL.Inc 2015!.





The "Female VIAGRA" is HERE; FDA approves the Pink Pill

Medic-ALL (08:19:2015) SEXUAL HEALTH 

Up until now it was totally right to use the phrase "it's a man's world" when it concerned managing sexual dysfunction and improving sexual function and libido. But not anymore, as the United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA yesterday approved a counterpart for the men's "blue pill" in the form of the "Female Viagra" or if you like, "the Pink Pill.




The pill which is aimed at improving the female's desire for sex was approved after extensive lobbying campaign by the drug's makers, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, which has gone on for several months. In fact, there were campaigns launched by activist groups with petitions claiming that the lack of libido-enhancing drugs for women reflected "persistent gender inequality" at the FDA,since there were 26 government-approved drugs to treat sexual dysfunction in men.

The approved drug is called Flibanserin and will be marketed under the brand name Addyi. It is to be taken daily to treat pre-menopausal woman suffering from hypoactive sexual desire, which is a condition characterized by low sexual desire that causes marked distress or interpersonal  difficulty and is not due to to a co-existing medical or psychiatric condition, problems within a relationship or the effects of a medication or other drug substance. The FDA has asked the makers to specially train doctors and pharmacists who dispense it and keep track of any problems with women taking the drug. Hence, only trained physicians will be allowed to write prescriptions for the pill.

How exactly does it work?

Unlike Viagra and other men's erectile dysfunction medications which work by increasing blood flow to all parts of the body including the genitals, to improve a man's physical ability to have sex. Filbaserin modifies serotonin, a message carrying chemical in the human brain and is also said to increase the effects of desire-enhancing chemicals like dopamine. 

According to documents, the studies which compared Addyi with a placebo found that women using the drug had a median of 0.5 or 1.0 more satisfying sexual events a month, depending on the study. The median number of satisfactory sexual experiences each month before the drug test was two or three.

All Safe..?

The FDA is requiring a strong warning to women that the drug should never be taken while taking alcohol and there is also the risk of sudden loss of consciousness while taking the pill as well as the long term risk of taking a psychoactive drug daily for years. Women should also avoid taking Addyi with certain medications such as medications which are used to treat yeast infections.

As critics and supporters continue to debate the "controversial" approval and efficacy of the "Female Viagra", many consider it a huge advancement in women's health and many believe other medications will soon follow after "Addyi". However, as part of this approval, drug's makers have agreed to carry out further studies to ensure the safety of the new medication.

Medic-ALL Inc 2015!

International Left-Handers Day: Separating Facts From Myths About Lefties

Medic-ALL (08:13:2017)

 Happy Left-Handers' Day

Let the Real left handed folks. "please Stand up"! 
Forget what the world thinks of you, to be special,  means to be uniquely different, and that is exactly what left handed people are.

There are a lot of beliefs and myths about left handed people or "lefties" as they are fondly called. This beliefs range from how this handedness plays a role in their behaviors and level of intelligence to whether it's a genetic trait or not.




Today, August 13 marks the International Left-Handers day, a day set aside to celebrate the 11% of people (that's about 836,000,000 out of the 7.6 billion) in the world who have the amazing ability to use their left limbs for tasks that most of the general population can only carry out comfortably using their rights limbs.


Facts show that about 13% of men are left-handed , while it's 10% in women. Even though we seem to live in world designed for "right-handers" , today represents a perfect opportunity to tell your family and friends how proud you are of being left-handed, and also raise awareness of the everyday issues that lefties face.

RESPECT THE LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE! They are truly Special

READ MORE in this Medical Daily article on the Facts regarding Left-Handedness. Happy "Left-Handers' and "Left-Footers' Day!

Click here for more : August 13 Is International Left-Handers' Day: Let's Separate Facts From Myths About Lefties



Ref: MedicalDaily

Medical Jobs in Saudi Arabia

Medic-ALL @ One !!!: MedJobs:

Medic-ALL ( 08: 03;2015) Jobs for Doctors in Saudi Arabia  There are great opportunities for doctors to work in the Kingdom of...

Prevent Hepatitis, Act Now


World Hepatitis Day!


Every 28th of July, marks the World Hepatitis Day. This year's campaign not only focuses on raising  awareness of the often underestimated viral inf , but also on preventive measures against it.

There are about 400million people living with hepatitis B and C worldwide. Up to 1.4 million people die due to the infection every year and there are millions of new infections on a yearly basis.

The transmission of the virus can be prevented through better awareness and services that improve safety practices including blood and injection safety, perinatal screenings and vaccinations.

Four Hundred million deaths is certainly more than enough for A Call to Awareness and Action.

Lets Join the Campaign Today

http://worldhepatitisday.org/

Ref: World Health Organization Media Center
WorldHepatitisDay website

Medic-ALL.Inc 2015!!! One Year Anniversary


LIFE AFTER MED SCHOOL Episode II


Choosing A Medical Specialty






Some medical students know exactly what kind of doctor they want to be long before applying or resuming medical school. For others, it takes years of lectures, coursework and clinical rotations for them to decide on what specialty they fancy the most. Even so, many more still have a hard time making up their minds long after graduation.

This decision could prove to be a task for many medical graduates! Asking one's self certain questions (starting with the questions in a first episode of the sequel ; "What You Must Know Before Leaving Med School") could help narrow down the choices.



The very first question to consider at this point involves your Personality.

1. What kind of Person am I?
Are you a people person? Do you genuinely enjoy listening to people? Are you interested in having a lot of patient contact? Or do you prefer as little as possible patient contact? Certain specialties such as Family Medicine, Psychiatry and aspects of Internal Medicine offer a lot of patient contact while others like Radiology and Pathology offer less patient contact. You may also want to consider your personality type in terms of your love for routine or for variety as the case may be. You don't want to be bored in your choice of specialty! SO IT BASICALLY STARTS WITH KNOWING YOURSELF!

The next 2 really important questions you want to consider have do with your Time.

2. How much Time do I want to have for myself and my family down the years? & How many years would I like to put into training?
These are really crucial questions that may well determine how happy you would be in your choice of specialty. Even though you would love to be the "Benjamin Carson" of your generation, the time it will take you to go through a Neurosurgical residency in any part of the world and practice as a Neurosurgeon is worth considering, especially if raising a family with a working wife (perhaps an equally ambitious medical  graduate also considering a surgical residency!) is important to you. You definitely have to be clear on how much time you want to give to the profession. COUNT THE COSTS!..

Along the same line as the previous 2 points involves considering the sort of lifestyle you wish to have outside the hospital doors!

3.  What type of lifestyle do I want?
After the long hours of work and  "crazy" calls, there is nothing wrong with wanting some kind of life outside of the hospital walls. If this is important to you, you want to narrow your focus in the direction of specialties that are less time intensive. Even within specialties certain sub-specialties consume less of the doctors time than others. So it's basically a question of how much free time you wish to have to yourself on the long run. This one is more important to some than others.


4. Do you love Emergencies?
Are you one of those that live for the "energy-drive and adrenaline-rush"  of the emergency room or are you allergic to stress? It is important to know if you are someone who does well under pressure as you consider a choice of specialty. Certain aspects of medicine are filled with life-threatening situations in which you are regularly involved in high pressure,  life or death situations in your patients. You want to sure of what you can handle before getting into a specialty. ARE YOU HARDCORE?

5. Does the Paycheck matter to you?
This is one, I was almost not going to talk about, not because it's not important , but largely because I personally have my reservations when it comes to practicing medicine with remuneration in mind. This is obviously a key factor in "Choosing a Medical Specialty" for many. However, there are many parts of the world where doctors employed by the government earn similar salaries irrespective of specialty or call hours, while in other countries there are differences in the paychecks of practitioners across specialties. Hence, those who are going to decide based on the paycheck will nurture the idea of practicing in another environment. This leads to the next question

6. Where do I want to Train/Practice?
The increasing trend of medical students trained in developing countries pursuing residency training notably in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia has largely been due to the desire to get the "best" training possible as well as better appreciation and a "better life" worthy of the sacrifices of the medical profession. Other reasons include a lack of availability of adequate training facilities for certain sub-specialties such as Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic  , Vascular Surgery, Interventional Cardiology and Intervention Radiology most commonly. Hence, answering the question of where you would want to train or practice could indeed open up more options of specialties that may necessarily not be "marketable" in your home country.  See What You Must Know Before Leaving Med School"Episode 1.




Finally, it is important that you choose a specialty that you love! You want to enjoy doing what you do, asides from being able to settle you bills, having time for your family and going on exotic vacations. For the sake of the patients you are going to care for and the younger colleagues who look up to you and are eager to learn from you, YOU NEED TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO. You therefore should consider this last question!

7. What Makes Your Day!
This may involve thinking back to your medical school days or internship years and  recalling the events of your clinical rotations or particular patient encounters. There are days you felt happy to be a medical student, call hours that you weren't in a hurry to disappear from, those rotations that stood out in your clinical years, all simply because you enjoyed yourself! Perhaps your "innate" area of expertise and dream specialty choice is embedded in those memories.

Having giving so much into this course of study and practice, the least we owe ourselves is to be Happy Doctors, Giving our All on a daily basis, simply because we are Passionate about what we do.

CLICK HERE FOR EPISODE 1 OF THE SERIES; What you must know before leaving Med School

Medic-ALL inc 2015! Anniversary Week Special

Tackling The Scourge of Cancer; A Plea


The scourge of cancer continues to spread across our world beyond the boundaries of age race and color.

In spite of our knowledge of cancers, their risk factors, tumor markers and oncogenes, cancer deaths seem to continue to skyrocket with almost no restrictions as to which organs can be ravaged and totally taken over by cancer cells.





As some have said, if we look at the situation from a certain angle the warning from the World Health Organisation of a tidal wave of cancer sweeping the globe over the next 20 years could be considered a good news. Cancer used to largely be considered a disease of old age, with cancers such as breast, lung, colon, ovarian prostate and cervical been expected mostly in older age group – this meant that more people in the world were surviving long enough to get it. But while it is good to grow old (rather than die young) no one wants to die of cancer. However many cancers still kill people before their time as we have begun to some of the above listed cancers in the middle age group. Cancer has continued to impose an immense and growing burden on families, health systems and states that care to notice. Hence the WHO’s alarm call

The World Health Organisation estimates that the worldwide burden will rise by 70 per cent from 14 million cases in 2012 to 24 million in 2035, much of it borne by poorer countries. Of all the exports of the modern world, cancer is one of which we should feel least proud. Once a disease of rich countries it is now a global epidemic – and the Westernisation of traditional lifestyles is in large part to blame. Cigarettes, alcohol, fast food, sedentary lifestyles – all are fuelling its growth. 

Many believe that a huge percentage of cancer cases could be avoided, with "simple" dietary and lifestyle modifications. For example, Dr Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer says "Prevention is the key, with the single most effective measure thought to be curbs on the tobacco industry.  

In China, One billion deaths were recorded from smoking alone in the last century. Lung cancer remains the commonest form of cancer in China – and the world. It accounts for almost one in five of all cancer deaths.  

Asides from cigarette smoking, certain Western diets have been associated the development of cancers. Even with a family history of cancer or in someone already battling the disease, it is believed that this lifestyle modifications can help in fighting off cancer.   


What we eat and what we don't eat has a powerful effect on our health including the risk of cancer. For example, a daily serving of red or processed meat (bacon, sausage, hot dogs) increases the risk of colorectal cancer by about 20 percent , while eating whole soy foods like Green Soybeans (Edamane) can reduce the risk of breast cancer. How you prepare your meat also matters! ; Prepare meat, poultry and fish by baking, broiling or poaching fathers than by frying or charboiling. Whole grain breads, pasta and cereals should be choosen over breads, cereals and pasta made from refined grains. 

Dairy protein consumption has been implicated as a risk factor for prostate cancer, while eating more fruits and vegetables lower the risk of colon cancers and a variety of common cancers. Alcohol and Obesity have also been known to be drivers of cancers, especially breast cancers.  

Yes Cancers are deadly, unfortunately family history plays a role in many cancers yet we know that certain cancers are preventable, we've known that for the last 3 decades maybe. But what has the privileged West done about it? Are we really doing enough? Have we acted on all the volumes of information in our medical books and journals? From Smoking, to Obesity to Alcohol consumption to our diets? Are we going to watch the rates of cancer soar, from laryngeal to tongue to penile cancers. Is there yet something to be done by those who can? Bans on smoking and ultra-cheap alcohol may be a start, but can we do more? 

Is this a case of the Western world having started a global epidemic, asking the middle- and low income countries to do as they say , but not as they do? 

Certainly, tackling the scourge of cancer in the world over will require both genuine responsibility and action from all stakeholders in both the developed and developing economies from governments to individuals. Everyone has a Role, shall we?  


Medic-ALL Inc! ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL!!!

Malaria Vaccine Finally!

DISEASES
Doctor's age long quest for a malaria vaccine has finally paid off as health officials in Europe on Friday, approved the world's first vaccine for malaria


The ancient scourge spread by mosquitoes sickened nearly 200 million people in 2013, killing about 600,000 -- mostly in Africa.

The malaria parasite which is carried by mosquitoes can persist in the human body for years. It is harder to make a vaccine against a parasite as compared to a virus or bacteria, because the parasite has a complicated life cycle that takes it from the blood to the liver and back again.


Most of the victims of malaria are children under the age of 5. In fact, the disease claims the life of one child every minute. After almost three decades of research, Dr. Moncef Slaoui and his team at GSK have finally produced an effective vaccine.
According to Slaoui, the vaccine is only about 30 percent effective, but with malaria so rampant, it could be a game-changer, preventing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.
Dr. Slaoui has been working on the vaccine for 27 years, and it was really emotional for him to hear that it had been approved.

GlaxoSmithKline worked with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative to develop the vaccine, which was called RTS,S when it was experimental but which now has the brand name Mosquirix. The European Medicines Agency has OK'd it for use in children 6 weeks to 17 months old.





The Vice president of product development for PATH, Dr David Kaslow, MD said in a statement that today marked a significant scientific milestone for the long-standing partnership to develop a vaccine, but stressed that there were yet many steps to be taken in order to have the vaccine reach children in Africa who are most in need of protection against the parasite.



The vaccine was tested in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and cost about $600 million to develop. It's now up to the World Health Organization to determine its roll-out date, which could be as early as 2016.

Ref: CBS news, NBC news
Medic-ALL Inc 1 Year Anniversary!


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