Blog 12

Manila Hospital, No Stranger to Stork,

Awaits Reproductive Health Bill’s Fate

Summary: In Manila, Philippines, there is a huge problem with Women having babies. The hospitals there are full of women that are too young, too old, and too poor to be having children. The hospitals have pregnant women waiting out in the streets to get in, have their babies, stay a night in beds with other women, and be sent home. Most of these women can’t afford to pay for the hospital visits and can’t even afford contraception. A new bill is trying to be passed that will educate women about sex and also subsidize contraception. The Roman Catholic Church is against the bill saying that it is immoral and that a high birthrate lessens poverty. However this isn’t the case when a family has no income at all and is living with multiple children in the slums. Married couples are trying absences as a way to stop having babies because they can’t afford contraception like birth control or condoms.

Analysis: I support this bill. Everyone should be educated about sex and should have contraception available to them. Healthy, safe sex should be practiced by everyone. It’s unfair to the children because it’s not their fault and equally it’s unfair for the couples because when you marry someone its human nature to have sex with that person. It’s a lot cheaper to provide contraception than it is to pay for hospital bills. The hospitals in Manila are so full of women having children that they don’t have enough beds for half of their patients. I worry about the babies not getting what they need like the proper medications, care, and treatment in their most delicate and fragile point of existence. Education is something that can only help the population as a whole.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/world/asia/10iht-manila10.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1353042860-Ca/NeTBf6yH789mKpBORlQ

11/16/12

Blog 11

“Sandy destroys years of valuable medical research”

Summary:

Super storm Sandy has but years of research in jeopardy. Research in heart disease, cancer and neuro-degeneration was at New York University on Monday when the generators malfunctioned and the center was flooded. The hospital evacuated about 300 patients to near-by hospitals however they were not able to save the specimens from the lab, which were mice. These mice had specific strands of DNA that were being researched and modified in efforts to stop global diseases. Any of those mice could have held the key to a major biomedical break through. Dr. Krogsgaard, a cancer biologist said “All the work we did, all the time and money, we’re going to have to start all over.” The scientists who lost years of their work are devastated over the loss. For some of them this means there work will never get published, and they won’t be able to receive grants for their research. Storm Sandy has disrupted the global, biomedical field.

My Analysis:

This is a potential disaster for biomedical research. Science, especially bio-science, is a very complex field of study. If one part of a million piece research puzzle is destroyed the entire project is ruined. If one of those mice held the key to curing cancer, then that research is gone and could take years and years to get there again. In the article it said that it was possible some of the scientists kept sperm and embryo specimens from their mice, however it would not be all of them and it would still take time to reproduce those mice. They made modifications to the genes that are unique to a particular mouse and will be extremely difficult to reproduce. So no matter what this storm has put the research at NYU back. The goal now will be to try to replace the mice as closely and quickly as possible in order to catch up on years of lost research.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/08/health/sandy-research-time/index.html?hpt=he_c2

11/9/12

11:24am

Blogentry10

                Summary:

With the number of children diagnosed with Autism increasing rapidly early diagnosis is critical to improve the overall outcome of this disorder. Normally Autism begins to become apparent around the age of three years old. The symptoms of Autism mainly involve the areas of communication, social interactions and repetitive behaviors. According to statistics one in eighty-eight children are currently diagnosed with autism, one in fifty-four of them being boys.  Recently researchers have been able to show that a behavioral therapy called the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) “actually normalizes the brain activity and improves social behavior” instead of simply improving the symptoms of the disorder.

                Geraldine Dawson was the developer of this method of therapy with the help of Sally Rodgers. ESDM therapy uses applied behavioral analysis (ABA) teaching methods, which mean “a one-on-one interaction with just the child and the therapist.” It is a very playful environment that is meant to engage the child and helps them “develop a social relationship.” It can also be done just about anywhere.

                Studies began with 48 children between 1 ½ and 2 1/2. “Half of these children received 20 hours of the ESDM therapy over five days a week.”  Thanks to the ESDM therapy children who received it “now showed normal brain responses, identical to typical 4-year-olds.” The children who did not receive the ESDM therapy showed results in which that was not the case.

Analysis:

While there is no cure for autism it is important to keep these children engaged. I’m excited to see further testing on this therapy to find out if does help. Autism is a disease that affects people all over the world. It seems that it’s getting more and more common. Parents who have these children often have great financial burdens due to hospital visits, testing, and special accommodations needed for their child. Anything that we as people can do to help an autistic child and his/her family, we should without hesitation.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/31/health/autism-therapy-brain/index.html?hpt=he_c2

11/2/2012

10:11am

Blog entry 9

“The Island Where People Forget to Die”

Summary:

Dan Buettner is a researcher who studies the longevity of human lives. This is a study based off is late parents earlier work. He studies isolated population of people who live much longer lives than most. On the island Ikaria (Greek) he studied a man named Stamatis Moraitis who survived a gunshot wound during war in a Greek war. He moved to the U.S. where he later learned in 1976, at the age of 60, that he had lung cancer and was only expected to live 9 months. He slowly began to get his strength back and was doing things like planting a garden and working in his family’s vineyard. Today he is 102 and is Cancer free. He stated that he had gone back to his doctors to see if they could explain how he was cancer free, but that they were dead. He is not the only one in his community with this amazing story others have similar stories and are still living happy and healthy simple lives on this island. When Buettner asked why he was told it was because of the fresh air, wine, lack of worries, and “that people forget to die.”

Analysis:

                This man survived cancer with no treatment what so ever. He simply went back home to die and to save money on funeral costs for his wife and children. And he survived cancer by working in his garden. That is amazing to me. It shows what the human body can do if given the right circumstance. Further research is needed to pinpoint why people are living longer than most, maybe there’s a key in the genes or in the food they eat, either way this story shows promise of a longer future for people. My great grandmother is still alive today and she’s 100 years old. She has no health problems and lives a very conservative life. She is active and does exercise daily, she has never used any drugs or alcohol which would abuse her body, and eats things that are healthy. Based on the correlation it is possible that there is a link between these types of activities and a longer life.

10/26/2012

11:14am

Blog Entry 8

Global Tuberculosis

Summary:

 Tuberculosis is a disease that can affect anyone anywhere in the world. There are treatments that are very effective and have allowed more than twenty million people to live today. However while we have treatment for it people are still dying all over the world because of the disease. “Tuberculosis is second only to HIV/AIDS in the number of people it kills.” One in five who has the drug resistant form of Tuberculosis is being treated. That means that four out of five who have it are not being treated at all and this is mostly in places like India and China. Most of these people are in low and middle-income countries due to gaps in funding for treatment. New vaccines are being created to help with these gaps according to the World Health Organization (WHO). If this problem is not fixed more deaths because of this disease should be expected. Dr. Fauci says that “we have a moral obligation to address this problem.” Tuberculosis is a Global health threat still today even though we have treatments for this deadly disease.

Analysis:

                Tuberculosis is a disease that has plagued all members in our global society since it first came about. It is a disease that can kill people even though we have a treatment. This makes me question what would happen if a cure for HIV/AIDS was discovered. What would happen to the individuals who still had the virus but were unable to afford proper treatment? Is it fair for one person who has more money and resources to get treatment as opposed to someone who can’t afford it? Tuberculosis is a disease that we should be able to declare a victory over, but we can’t because of money. Too many people are dying today because they don’t have enough money to take care of their health. This topic sheds light on the global health care issue.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/17/fight-against-tuberculosis-a-mixed-bag/?iref=allsearch

10:56am 

10/19/12

Blog entry 7

Summary:

The Ugandan health officials have stated that the outbreak of Ebola is now over. Ebola is a type of virus which is the direct cause of viral haemorrhagic fever. VHF has symptoms of a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle soreness, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, internal and external bleeding, low counts of white blood cells, elevated liver enzymes, and most often death. Uganda has had an outbreak since late July of this year which has killed 17 people. There were 24 probable and confirmed cases with only one third of them surviving according to the WHO. Ebola is a highly contagious and infectious virus that is spread through direct contact with body fluids from and infected person. “Initial symptoms of Ebola can be mistaken for other illnesses such as the flu. Ebola spreads mostly through “remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.” The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that there is no reason to change travel or trade because of this out break and health officials have “declared the country free of Ebola.”

Analysis:

I want to know where Ebola grows at. What kind of climate does it like? I know it said in the article that it spreads through remote villages in Central and West African rainforests, but as a medical major, my curiosity lies with weather or not it likes dark damp places or if it likes sunlight to multiply. Also I wonder how it only killed 17 people. If it is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids and family members care for the individual as if it’s the flu then how it that more people weren’t infected? It just seems to me that more people would have been exposed to contracting the disease, but thank goodness they weren’t because it could’ve been an epidemic. It’s crazy to me to think of how easily a person’s life can be changed just by contracting a virus that one can’t even say can cause death.

Amanda Micaela Cook

10-11-12

11:14pm

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/06/health/uganda-ebola-free/index.html?iref=allsearch

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/