Blog 13 FDA Reversal

The Food and Drug Administration have advised all patients on Friday to continue taking a widespread cholesterol drug even though there had been concerns that the drug might contain specks of glass, retreating advice it gave just a day earlier.  Millions of people are taking Ranbaxy Pharmaceutical's generic Lipitor, or atorvastatin, and numerous have been calling the pharmacies because they were confused about whether or not to take the drugs in which they have in their medicine cabinets.  Ranbaxy originated a recall on November 9 and told all the pharmacies to stop distributing the drug, but gave no feedback to the clients about what to do with what was in their medicine cabinets.  Dr. Janet Woodcock, the director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, thought the agency would review how it handles communication to the public during recalls.  It took them some time to think out what was going on. They realised that they needed to fix their processes a little bit.  Between 3 million and 4 million people have taken Ranbaxy's atorvastatin, according to Ross Muken, who is the senior managing director at ISI Group. The company has greater than a 40% share of the generic Lipitor market.  The FDA made no public declarations on the recall until Thursday, when the agency said anxious patients should stop taking their medicine if their pharmacist established it was from a recalled lot.  After a conference call Friday afternoon with pharmacies and other groups, the agency decided to change their direction.  It caused people to believe that they should stop taking their medicine.  The glass particles are as small as a grain of sand, she added. Ranbaxy has stopped making atorvastatin while they investigate how the glass got into the drug, according to the FDA.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/health/fda-generic-lipitor/index.html?hpt=he_c2

Blog 13: Woman, 93, left severely dehydrated in hospital despite complaints from daughter

An elderly woman died in a hospital severely dehydrated, even after her daughter had made several complaints. The woman was taking to the hospital after severe vomiting and was in a "copious pain." Her daughter was a nurse lecturer and when she visited she noticed her mother had not been hooked up to a drip bag to make sure she would not become dehydrated. When she addressed a nurse with her concerns she was "dismissed" and three days later her mother died from dehydration. After later returning and realizing the drip had still not been connected she once again complained, with several doctors over hearing her. The drip was not adequately set up until later during the night shift. The NMC council agreed that the daughter was right to be upset with the treatment and it was reported that the daughter was told her mother was fine, and still was not given the intravenous drip. There has been a lot of cases concerning the treatment provided for patients in hospitals. I got to see first hand part of the treatment when I went to pick up my father after his knee surgery, and the nurse pushed him in a wheel chair with one hand as he check his check messages on his phone in his other hand. Mistreatment can occur at any hospital. It is an expectation that when you or a family member is in the hospital that the care received should be the best. More awareness of the problem could easily be the solution.

Blog 12: For Alzheimer's, Detection Advances Outpace Treatment Options

A reversal of dementia remains unobtainable despite improvements in the degenerative disease's ability to be detected. A new scan, available in most major metropolitan areas, allows for the disease to be detected in earlier stages than before, giving the patients and their families more time to react and plan for the future. The scan reveals plaques composed of the protein beta-amyloid, many of which lead to Alzheimer's disease, something previously only able have been done in an autopsy. Medicare and other insurers will not pay for the scans, which are risky and upwards of $3,000.

This new ability to detect Alzheimer's is unfortunate in that it disrupts whatever blissful ignorance the victims may be expereincing and forces them to confront the reality that they will face for the rest of their lives, however many years or months they have left. Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, discovered that he had pancreatic cancer when he had around four months left to live and used that time to give his "last lecture" and write a very inspirational book about it. However, many others are faced with financial strains due to the current economy and have not the freedom that he had to do as they pleased and cross off their bucket lists. This new and advanced medical technology actually poses a psychological disadvantage in that respect. It is one thing to be expecting an aging population in wealthy countries, but a demented aging population is another thing entirely. The elderly, who have long been a source of wisdom and guidance for the young, are now finding their ability to do that significantly lessened. Alzheimer's is also known as Type III Diabetes, and for that reason one of the top priorities of the United States government should be to reduce the circumstances that allow for diabetes (namely fast food). However, the cost of doing such a thing frequently impedes them and a clash emerges between financial interest and the well-being of the population: in the future, what will it be forced to choose?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/health/for-alzheimers-detection-advances-outpace-treatment-options.html?ref=health

Blog 12 Premature Deaths in Developing countries

Prematurity is the second most common cause of death for children under age five. Each year 15 million babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and rates are rising almost everywhere. An estimated 1.1 million premature babies die each year. Most are born just a few weeks early in developing countries, where they die from a lack of simple care. Child health experts from organizations including the World Health Organization, Save the Children and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked at what could be done in the 39 most developed countries if four recognized measures were implemented. These interventions are stopping smoking, promoting single pregnancies in IVF treatments, reducing planned Caesarean sections - which are often carried out before due dates. If all these were implemented, the researchers suggest premature birth could be prevented for 58,000 babies.  Research should also focus on preterm birth causes and solutions in low income countries where preterm birth rates are highest and the underlying causes may be much simpler to address.

Developing countries are a main target for this problem, often with the lack of resources to actually have a baby to the 37 week term. But, if simple steps like not smoking, and reducing Caesarean sections could be the difference between a healthy baby and an abnormal baby, why wouldn’t you agree to it? Being able to have a healthy baby should be every mother’s priority, because you lower risk for oncoming diseases and illnesses. Taking control of that situation would not only, help but it would increase the birth rates, and Japan would be a country that would benefit from that. Apart from that, developing countries need to not only, focus on having healthy baby, but healthy relationships as well. If developing countries also became aware of contraception’s and birth control methods that would limit how many children they would have, and they could focus on just having a small nuclear family. Instead of having to take care of many babies and children that often do not make it past 5 years old.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20342108

Alexa Florencio-Picazo
11/16/12

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 12: smaller medium larger Flu During Pregnancy May Be Linked to Autism Risk

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=164986

A new study that was conducted shows that mothers who experience the flu for more than a week during pregnancy are at a higher risk for their child having autism. Autism is something children around the world have not just in the United States. During the study it was mentioned that not all expecting mothers should be alarmed because there are mothers who experience the flu or took antibiotics that have children with no sign of autism. There was no increase of women having an increase of having a child with autism it just showed the mothers having a risk. Having a sinus infection, the flu, a cold, or other infections is very common among women during pregnancy. This study makes women around the world more aware of just staying more healthy during pregnancy to avoid becoming sick. The study did show that the fetal brain is effected by the mother having an infection. It doesn't have a large effect only a small one. Even though there has been studies on autism no single cause has been determined yet.

Blog 12: Hospital Death in Ireland Renews Fight Over Abortion

After a woman’s died whose life could have been saved by an abortion Ireland is beginning to rethink their law on the total ban of abortions. The woman’s name was Savita Halappanavar was seventeen weeks pregnant when she went to the University Hospital of Galway because she was having back pain. After examination she was informed that she was having a miscarriage and that the fetus had no chance of surviving. She requested to have an abortion but because the heart was still beating it would be illegal. Three days later the heartbeat had stopped and the fetus was removed but she had gotten the blood disease, septicemia, and never got better, she died on October 28^th. Although in 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was allowed when there was a high risk the law has still not been passed.

This article is significant because it shows that although abortion is a major ethical issue in some cases it should be allowed. It should be up to the mother in the end whether or not she decides to keep her baby because it is her body. If a fetus has absolutely no chance of surviving and is putting the mother in so much health danger that she may die then the baby should be aborted. Without this law put in to place in Ireland than many women may be in the same chance that Savita Halappanavar was in and may die because they are not allowed to abort their babies when their lives are in grave danger. I believe that abortion should be legal in all countries but not everyone agrees. Abortion should at least be legal when the mother has a high risk of dying and should also be allowed when there is no way that the fetus will survive. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/world/europe/hospital-death-in-ireland-renews-fight-over-abortion.html?_r=0

Blog 11 Royal Marines Help Hospital

Not everyone is capable of dealing with the issues of post-traumatic stress however the Royal Marines have their methods of helping them cope. It was developed by the Royal Marines and has been used by a number of police forces and fire services too and helps staff identify the signs of stress and trauma in colleagues and equips them to engage with them, offering support or helping them to access other support services within the health board, if needed. Techniques developed by the Royal Marines on how to deal with stress are being used by hospital staff working in an accident and emergency (A&E) unit. It is part of a year-long pilot scheme at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales (UHW). It comes after 83% of A&E UHW staff said they needed more support to deal with work-related stress and anxiety. Staff will also be trained to spot potential signs of stress and anxiety in colleagues and deal with it appropriately. Staff has had training similar to that used by marines to deal with "mental rigors" of their day to day role. As well as the obvious human and social costs, it is estimated that mental health problems cost the Welsh economy £7.2bn every year, and we encourage all employers to make staff mental health and wellbeing a priority           

Now that this program is out there it will help so many Cardiff hospital staff deal with stress, something they were not able to cope with.  It is creating a culture where people feel confident to talk about their mental health and better inform to support each other can only be a positive thing for individual staff members, patients and the department as a whole. Also, when one is in control of themselves and their emotions they tend to work harder and more efficiently, and that is very critical at a hospital. Apart for that, the money they are spending on stress related problems will slowly decrease and end up benefiting everyone.

Alexa Florencio-Picazo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20225371

Blog 11 Malala's Story

A serious incident happened on October 9^th, with the shooting of 15-year-old Malala.  In one of the most conservative parts of Pakistan, gunman stopped the van, which was carrying young Malala. They ordered that the other girls in the vehicle must identify her. Malala though had experienced frequent death threats in the past, but was never to caught up in them.  So the girls eventually pointed her out to the gunmen so that they would not be injured. Even with that said there was one gunman who opened fire, wounding these three girls. Two of these girls were lucking having non-life-threatening injuries, but when the bullets struck Malala, they were aimed at her head and her neck.  The assailants were able to get away though.  Malala was in a terrible condition.  Her uncle had described her as having agonizing pain and saying how she was unable to stop moving her arms and legs.  Doctors were working hard in order to save her life, then her condition dropped severely.  They did operations in order to remove a bullet from her neck.  After her surgery, she was not responsive for just under three days.  A month later, it is considered a miracle that Malala is alive, a girl who fights for the right of other girls to get an education, is still living and even more shocking that she has suffered no major brain or nerve damage.  In just over four weeks, Malala has gone from intensive care in Pakistan, and showing no signs of consciousness to now being able to walk, write, read and smile again in a hospital in the UK.  Outside of her room in her hospital, the world has turned her into the global symbol for the fight to allow girls everywhere in the world access to an education.  The United Nations has now decided to declared Saturday, November 10, Malala Day. This is a day to focus on Malala and all of the other millions of girls like Malala who are not enrolled in school.  

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/10/world/asia/pakistan-malala-one-month/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Blog 11: As Dengue Fever Sweeps India, a Slow Response Stirs Experts’ Fears

There is an epidemic of dengue fever in India that is causing a growing alarm. The government have refused to acknowledge the size of the problem that is threatening millions of people. India is the focus of a mosquito- borne plague that is spreading across the globe. It was reported in a few countries in the 1950’s. Now the epidemic has spread throughout half the world. It is a tropical disease that is only life- threatening for a small percentage of the people infected. Many Western tourists are returning from vacations with dengue fever now that it has reached the shores of United States and Europe. In India, contributions to the epidemics growth include areas of standing water and hospitals have become overrun with patients. Officials say that over 30,000 people have been infected with the dengue fever just through October.  Under reporting of the disease contributed to the diseases spread. There have also been discouraged efforts to clean up the sources of the diseased. This has also caused a slowed effort in the search for a vaccine. This disease is also able to hide in plain sight because many people who are infected only show mild symptoms of fatigue. 20 percent of those infected have more serious flu like symptoms such as high fever, vomiting, skin rash, and muscle aches that can be so powerful the disease has the nickname of backbone fever.

This article is significant because there are a number of people who are un diagnosed and do not know that their infection could cause an increase in this illness. Without the proper care for the disease and vaccine the disease will continue to spread not only throughout India but throughout the world. Something needs to be done to stop the dengue fever from spreading and to help others recover from this illness.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/world/asia/alarm-over-indias-dengue-fever-epidemic.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

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

Blog 11: smaller medium larger Insomnia May Raise Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke (Lindsay Chase)

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=164718



A new study done by Taiwanese researchers suggests that people with insomnia my have double the risks of heart attack and stroke, opposite of those who sleep well. There has always been a correlation between sleep and sickness and other health issues. It can contribute to "obesity, depression, and high blood pressure" as found in many other studies. Also health issues can even cause insomnia, for instance, restless leg syndrome. When health issues are paired with insomnia they can increase the risk of heart disease even more. Researchers used a health database that showed 11,000 people in the database have insomnia and more than 32,000 do not.This was concluded after people with depression, anxiety, and etc. were taken out of the results. Researches did a longitudinal study for four years on some and found that they did experience a heart attack. A very small percent in the list of those who slept well had a heart attack, and that shows that there is a connection between insomnia and heart risks. A larger percentage of those suffering from insomnia also suffered from a stroke in the four years in the study. Other doctors who have gone over the evidence of this study conclude that more people should start making sleep a priority rather than not. Lowering the risk of insomnia can in result lower the risk of cardiovascular problems. For instance, it can lower the risk of a heart attack and a stroke.