Blog 9

Danielle Mason
10/25/12

In the article I read from BBC news, there are major concerns about the financing of drugs that prevent and treat Malaria. The Affordable Medicines Facility for Malaria or the AMFm has no hard evidence that their efforts are saving lies of the dying people. With this in thought, places like the UK are threatening to take away their funding for Malaria medicines that go out to other countries such as Ethiopia and Nigeria.  On the other hand, the AMFm says that a study shows that they are lowering drug prices for usually high priced good drugs. With over 200million people contracting malaria each year and 665 thousand dying as a result each year, the funding for these malaria prevention and treatment facilities is quite controversial. Oxfam believes that by keeping the AMFm active it is dangerous economically since the global budget will be investing so much money but not knowing if it is a worthwhile investment since there is no proof of the AMFm’s  outcomes. Additionally some western aid groups refuse approaches that have any involvement with private sectors. In reality, the programs getting the life saving treatments are supplying the people who need it most where they are already looking for treatment options.  In my opinion I believe the AMFm has to have at least some type of benefit to the treatment and prevention of malaria. I believe that it should continue to be funded regardless from where or who because the ultimate goal is to bring medicine to those around the world with restricted access and to save the lives of people who may die of something that is curable/treatable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20046199

blog 8

Danielle Mason

10/19/12

In the article I read from BBC.com, US researchers say that there is a small benefit to older men who take multivitamins on a regular basis. The benefit associated with the multivitamins is a lower risk of developing cancer. The same affect can’t be said for younger men or females who also take the same multivitamin. For older men certain vitamins are prescribed for different age groups, such as men over the age of 65 are encouraged to take Vitamin D pills because different age groups have different needs. Although these multivitamins may be good for some men, for others it may have the same affects as if they were taking a placebo pill. Many doctors are in doubt or against or in doubt of these studies though since the results seem to vary in different people for no apparent reason or take no affect at all. The doctors that are in doubt suggest a balanced diet filled with plenty of veggies and fresh fruits is the best bet for older men if they are hoping to protect themselves against cancer, the same is suggested for younger men and women. After reading this article it is obvious to me that more research on this topic is needed, but when thoroughly done I believe increasing protecting against cancer is possible. This discovery would obviously not be the cure to cancer, but I feel that it would bring the world one step closer. Cancer prevention tactics would be a great help to society since cancer is one of the leading killers in the world of innocent people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19977164

Blog 7

Danielle Mason

Soc 202-03

10/12/12

In the article I read from BBC News a woman named Kaylee celebrates 25 healthy years since her heart transplant at the age of only a few months.  Kaylee was the first successful infant heart transplant in the UK. To this day Kaylee spends her time working as a sales associate and is a participant in world transplant games and raises awareness for the need of organ donors of all ages.  In the 25 years Kaylee has lived a healthy life with her new heart, 112 other babies in the UK have had successful heart transplants. As great as it is to hear babies surviving from heart transplants, in the UK 2 babies have died because of a shortage of donated organs and 6 have fell extremely ill. Kaylee and the doctors she has been working with are trying to stress the importance of people becoming themselves or allowing their loved ones to become organ donors to save lives. I myself am an organ donor and I don’t see why anybody would turn down the opportunity to give organs, blood, or anything at that matter to help save another human beings life, since they obviously won’t be using those parts once they die.  This article has a worldwide affect because people die all over the world because they aren’t able to obtain organs vital to life. I think that if the need for organ donors is stressed to the maximum maybe people around the world will start to see how they can help and understand that the need for organs is a increasing problem. I know that I wasn’t aware that hospitals were in need of more organs so I’m sure many others aren’t informed either. It is the job of the knowledgeable to spread the word for the cause and help the people that are in need of organs and may be in a life or death struggle without them.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-19915904

blog 6

Danielle Mason

10/4/12

Soc 202-03

In the article I read Swedish researchers did a study that showed results that women ages of 70-92 who took an aspirin a day for 5 years between would show a slower decrease in cognitive ability that woman who did not. The researchers used an mini mental state exam to test the intellectual capacity of the women before and after the five year period to prove their theory. Although the deterioration of cognitive abilities did slow, taking aspirins daily has no effect on the development of dementia. Since aspirin is easily available the researchers discourage self prescribing aspirin to try and achieve effects as they did. One of the main reasons they discourage self prescription is because the long term effects of the aspirin routine are not known yet and they may outweigh the benefits of slower cognition loss.

I believe this is a wonderful discovery because who wouldn’t want their grandmother or mother to be around a while longer? I know I would. Also taking into account that the loss in cognition abilities does not only affect the United States but the entire world which is also how it is a global issue. I feel if research does allow us to sustain the cognitive abilities of our elders it would be a great advancement because the elders would be able to work longer and people would be able to live longer happier lives. Not that the lifespan of humans today is too short of a time, but if the almighty power allows us to find a solution to longer lives and better cognitive abilities than I think that’s great for the world and man kind.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19819065    

Blog 5

Danielle Mason

9/28/12 1:25pm

BBC NEWS Health- Epilepsy 'is a global health problem'

In the article I read the reporter talks about the global issue of epilepsy. Epilepsy is a condition in the brain where electrical currents are disturbed causing seizures or short periods of altered consciousness.  Researchers found that 85% of global epilepsy occurs in low and middle-income countries and 60% of the people with epilepsy will receive no treatment. One of the reasons this is, is because people in low to middle-income countries don’t know that with the right treatment epilepsy is a controllable disorder. Additionally, in some of the poorer places around the world facilities to diagnose, treat, and care for epileptic patients are nowhere to be found. Some countries have traditional beliefs about epilepsy and where it comes from which contribute to the reasons why epileptic patients don’t receive the treatment they need. Seeing this is such a big issue globally, global health services should take the steps to improve the situation and raise awareness for the treatment of this disorder.

Before I read this article I didn't realize how big of a problem epilepsy was around the world. I thought epilepsy was a condition that only a few out of every couple hundred people had. After reading this article I now realize that epilepsy is a huge problem worldwide that a significant number of people are suffering from. The issue of epilepsy is a global social problem because the number of people that struggle with epilepsy worldwide is huge, but the significantly lower number of people struggling with epilepsy that do not have facilities and/or the treatment for their condition is beyond belief. Epilepsy treatment awareness needs to be spread to help the many people struggling get the care they need.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19746452

Blog 4

Danielle Mason
Swiss Rejects Smoking Ban
9/23/12 6:33

In the article I read from BBC News Switzerland rejected a full ban on smoking in public places. A majority of Switzerland’s 25 cantons voted for the ban at 70%, although Geneva was slightly in favor of the ban at 52%. Places like restaurants and hotels are allowed to have smoking rooms although people say that that may put the employee’s health at risk. The Swiss socialist party said that by protecting the non-smoking customers the employees would be protected as well. Larger cantons have out their own smoking bans in place in places of employment to decrease the health risks for its employees. Other public places like hotels were happy the outcome of the vote was a “no” because it would have made some of their investments pointless or unneeded. Also as reported by Dr. Jean-Charles Rielle, who was a member in the committee that proposed the ban, in the places where the ban on smoking rooms were put into play already there has been a 20% decrease in the number of people hospitalized with cardiovascular issues.

At first when reading this article I was against the idea of banning smoking/smoking rooms in public areas. I thought that by banning public smoking it was taking away someone’s right to smoke if they’re of age as long as they do it in the designated area. After reading the statistic from Dr. Jean-Charles Rielle my mind changed. If by banning smoking rooms alone decreased 20% of hospitalizations due to cardiovascular issues then maybe over time people will begin to smoke less since they won’t be able to smoke when and where they want. If smoking is restricted then maybe people won’t take the time to go elsewhere and smoke so they’ll just surpass the thought of it and move on to their next task. Cardiovascular diseases, which can be caused by smoking, are one of the leading causes of death in the world. So if we minimize the causes of cardiovascular disease we will inadvertently decrease the number of deaths caused by it and save millions of lives worldwide. Hopefully other countries will have this issue of public smoking and vote “yes” to banning public smoking.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19690450 -article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rate - add info

Blog 3

Danielle Mason 

9/14/12

4:59pm 

In the article of child health care accelerating and death rates decreasing, the article shows many different statistics and why this problem is now being handles much more aggressively. In 1990, 12 million children died before their 5^th birthday. Compared with 2011, only 6.9 million children passed. Statistics shown in the article, we are allowed to see that child mortality has fallen in the last 2 decades in all parts of the world. They’ve all fallen by at least 50% and this is a shocking number, let alone that this is the global number applied to many different parts of our world. Rates are jumping in the reduction of under-five mortalities. Although this is great, studies showed that 40% of child deaths in the first month of life were very much preventable. According to the Millennium Development goal 4 of reducing this mortality rate by an even more staggering percentage by 2015, only 6 out of 10 regions are showing they may reach the goal. Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, has dedicated their company to child survival since 1990. In the4 article Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia face the greatest challenges in children surviving and count for the 80% of under-five deaths. They continue to show the causes of these young deaths as many of them are diseases or preterm complications. There is now a call for systematic actions to reduce these alarming numbers even more. It is very feasible for communities to have these interventions. This pertains to our society as a very important issue. As we all know in the saying, children are the future, it is very true. High mortality rates of young children are only hurting our future because who knows what these children could grow up to be and they certainly keep the world going. Emotionally and economically, it is a social norm to have children and educate them to take our own places in the business world and continue to raise the bar financially. High mortality rates certainly cause a rift in the world and is an important issue that needs a lot of support if we even want the chance of having a great grandchildren, and being proud of them.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2012/child_survival_20120913/en/index.html

Blog 2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19487092
Danielle Mason
Bad Sleep May Predict Alzheimer's

 In the article I read scientists tested mice to see is the causes of Alzheimer’s could be seen earlier on.  Mice that sleep less are the mice that will potentially get Alzheimer’s so if the studies prove a correct pattern in sleep and attainment of Alzheimer’s, it may be preventable. Scientists believed that if Alzheimer’s can be caught early on than that could help to find a potential cure in the future. By the time Alzheimer’s is found in a human the brain is already deteriorating, but if it can be caught early on then there is a chance that it can be prevented. Even though there are differences in mice and human brains scientists are sure they can find a way to prove their theory.  Scientist also found that there are patterns between thinking skills declining and sleep patterns which also contributes to the theories on sleep activity and attainment of Alzheimer’s.

In my opinion I think this is a huge achievement for health scientists. Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease that is especially emotionally damaging so to find a cure would be amazing. This revelation is related to the global society because any cure to any disease will better society. There will be one less disease to worry about and for people around the world to suffer from. Hopefully scientists will continue and further their studies on this topic and find the cure. Eventually with more studies like this more and more diseases will be cured and people can live healthier lives.

Blog 1

Danielle Mason

New York Times- Severe Diet Doesn't Prolong Life (8/27/12)

8/31/12 6:11pm 

In the article I read, scientists fed a group of monkeys a significantly reduced diet compared to the control group that was fed a regular healthy diet. Scientists were trying to prove that by living a healthier lifestyle throughout life into your mid seventies you would prolong your life expectancy by 6 years for males or 5 years for females. Scientists thought if the monkeys’ life was extended by the reduced diet, then so would humans since we are their descendants. The results of this study were wrong of course, monkeys fed a reduced diet and monkeys fed a normal diet lived about the same amount of years. Similar studies were done on mice and the results were about the same except for 1/3 of the mice actually lived shorter lives. People quickly dismissed this saying, “There is something wrong with mice”. Basically different studies on different species showed very similar results except for a few varying outcomes.

My feelings on this topic are mixed. I feel like it's a great advancement for science to be able to do experiments to extend the human life and better health. On the other hand I feel like it isn't natural for human life to be pushed beyond its natural limits. I know this advancement would be great to help people in other countries with lower life expectancy to extend their lives and reach their full potential, but if it isn't in god’s will for us to live past a certain age then I don't think it should be tampered with. Especially if the results vary slightly through different species, what if when used on humans it causes us to die sooner? I think advancement is wonderful, just not when it messes with the human nature.