Yet another health blog - what's up in the field of medicine

prGCD - plant cell expressed recombinant Glucocerebrosidase enzyme (GCD) may be used for treating Gaucher disease

2009-08-17T13:49:00.001-07:00

Protalix Biotherapeutics proudly announced that prGCD, their lead proprietary product candidate,could be used for the treatment of Gaucher disease.

On their website they mention "We have reached an agreement with the United States Food and Drug Administration on the final design of the pivotal phase iii clinical trial for prGCD through the FDA's Special Protocol Assesment (SPA) process. We have completed enrollment for this study in December 2008 and expect to report results of the clinical trial in the second half of 2009. We anticipate submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) for prGCD to the FDA and other comparable regulatory agencies in other countries in the fourth quarter of 2009. We are treating patients in our pivotal phase III clinical trial in North America, South America, Israel, Europe and South Africa."

This may be a big breakthrough in the management of this otherwise fatal condition.

Know the fat in your diet

2009-06-18T20:57:00.001-07:00

In lay man terms fat can be divided into either 'Good fat' or 'Bad fat'. It is important to remember that fat is an essential part of your diet and it is the excess of fat that is harmful.

Unsaturated fats are the Good fats. They could be Mono or Poly unsaturated fats (depending on the number of hydrogen atoms the fat can accept). They decrease the harmful LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein a.k.a. the Bad cholesterol). A specific kind of unsaturated fat called Omega 3 fatty acid has been shown to be cardio-protective (good for your heart).

Below are examples of food items rich in these Good fats.

Monounsaturated fat	Oils from vegetable sources like Olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil and nuts.
Polyunsaturated fat	Most vegetable oils like safflower, corn, sunflower, soya bean oil and cottonseed oil
Omega-3 fatty acids	Salmon and other similar fishes, flax oil and walnuts

Saturated and trans fats (trans-fatty acids) are the Bad fats. They can increase the risk of atherosclerosis (clogging of the blood vessels).

Following is a list of these Bad fats that you should avoid.

Saturated fat	Meat, poultry, seafood, egg yolks, dairy products, lard and butter. Amongst plant products coconut and palm oils have the highest saturated fat
Trans fat	Crackers, cookies, french fries and margarine
Dietary cholesterol	Similar to saturated fat except it is only in animal fats.

Fat should not contribute more than 35 % of your daily calories per USDA. For example a healthy adult may consume about 2100 calories. No more than 700 should come from fat. Each gram of fat gives 9 calories hence you should not be eating more than 77 grams of fat. This is the MAXIMUM you should eat. No more than 10% of these should come from saturated fats. Trans fat should be no more than 2 grams a day. You should also not be eating more than 300mg of cholesterol a day.

Using the guide above you should try to change your cooking style trying to replace the Bad fat with the Good counterpart.

Ill effects of caffeine/coffee

2009-06-18T20:25:00.001-07:00

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and increases wakefulness. It is estimated that more than half of all Americans have at least one coffee every day.

One cup of coffee has about 100mg of caffeine. Up to 200-300mg of caffeine per day have been considered harmless by most. But some circumstances may warrant limiting or stopping caffeine intake. These include:

Insomnia
Nervousness
Restlessness
Nausea/vomiting/gastric ulcer symptoms
Fast or irregular heartbeat
Muscle tremors
Headaches
Anxiety

WHO declares Swine flu a pandemic

2009-06-11T08:19:00.001-07:00

WHO declares Swine flu a pandemic, for the first time in 40 years. Pharma companies are rejoicing as this is likely to boost Tamiflu sales.

Laboratory-confirmed cases of new influenza A(H1N1) as officially reported to WHO

Country	Cumulative total		Newly confirmed since the last reporting period
	Cases	Deaths	Cases	Deaths
Argentina	235	0	33	0
Australia	1224	0	173	0
Austria	5	0	0	0
Bahamas	2	0	1	0
Bahrain	1	0	0	0
Barbados	2	0	0	0
Belgium	14	0	0	0
Bolivia	3	0	0	0
Brazil	36	0	1	0
Bulgaria	2	0	0	0
Canada	2446	4	331	1
Cayman Islands, UKOT	1	0	0	0
Chile	1694	2	1283	1
China	142	0	34	0
Colombia	35	0	10	0
Costa Rica	93	1	25	0
Cuba	5	0	0	0
Cyprus	1	0	0	0
Czech Republic	2	0	0	0
Denmark	8	0	1	0
Dominica	1	0	0	0
Dominican Republic	91	1	47	0
Ecuador	60	0	0	0
Egypt	8	0	7	0
El Salvador	69	0	0	0
Estonia	4	0	1	0
Finland	4	0	0	0
France	71	0	13	0
Germany	78	0	15	0
Greece	5	0	0	0
Guatemala	60	0	30	0
Honduras	89	0	55	0
Hungary	3	0	0	0
Iceland	2	0	1	0
India	4	0	0	0
Ireland	12	0	1	0
Israel	63	0	9	0
Italy	50	0	0	0
Jamaica	7	0	3	0
Japan	485	0	75	0
Korea, Republic of	48	0	1	0
Kuwait	18	0	0	0
Lebanon	8	0	5	0
Luxembourg	1	0	0	0
Malaysia	5	0	0	0
Mexico	5717	106	0	0
Netherlands	22	0	12	0
New Zealand	23	0	9	0
Nicaragua	29	0	11	0
Norway	9	0	0	0
Panama	221	0	42	0
Paraguay	16	0	11	0
Peru	64	0	3	0
Philippines	54	0	21	0
Poland	6	0	1	0
Portugal	2	0	0	0
Romania	9	0	0	0
Russia	3	0	0	0
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	0
Singapore	18	0	3	0
Slovakia	3	0	0	0
Spain	331	0	40	0
Sweden	16	0	2	0
Switzerland	16	0	0	0
Thailand	8	0	0	0
Trinidad and Tobago	2	0	0	0
Turkey	10	0	0	0
Ukraine	1	0	1	0
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	0
United Kingdom	666	0	109	0
United States of America	13217	27	0	0
Uruguay	24	0	7	0
Venezuela	12	0	8	0
Viet Nam	15	0	6	0
Grand Total	27737	141	2449	2

West Nile fever in Fairfax county

2009-06-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

West Nile virus was first detected in Fairfax County in 2000 and since then it has almost constantly been around in that area.

The county website recently posted reminder on their website that the west nile virus is still active and advised public to take all possible mosquito precautions.

Infection with WNV can be asymptomtic (no symptoms), or can lead to West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease.

Symptoms are flu like with fever, headache, tiredness, and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash and swollen lymph nodes.

The symptoms of severe disease are from brain involvement (encephalitis). These include headache, neck stiffness, altered sensorium and convulsions.

Luckily 80% of the infections are asymptomatic.

Preventing mosquito bites:

Use a repellent containing DEET (Look for: N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide). When possible, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. (Remember mosquitoes can bite through thin clothing) Spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or DEET gives extra protection. (It is not safe to use permethrin directly on skin however.)

Decrease moquito breeding:

Drain standing water from around your home. Install moquito proof door and window screens.

Swine flu incidence map - is it a pandemic yet?

2009-06-03T16:12:00.001-07:00

The World Health Organization is on the verge of declaring the swine flu a worldwide pandemic.

The disease has spread to almost a hundred countries and claimed more than 100 deaths. Swine flu has fortunately not yet reached Africa, Thailand, most of China and other places with high incidence of AIDS.

Whether it is geographic location or herd immunity that is protecting these countries not clear. On one hand scientists are claiming that the routine flu shots protect against swine flu as well albeit partially there may be unknown genetic protective factors in these countries.

image from who.int

Cell phone elbow

2009-06-02T17:39:00.001-07:00

Do you talk for long time on your cell phone? It may be time to switch to a handsfree device as doctors identify increasing number of cases with what was previously known as cubital tunnel syndrome. The common symptoms include numbness, tingling and pain in the forearm and hand.

It is the second most common compression syndrome after carpal tunnel syndrome. The experience in treatment of this syndrome is limited and some doctors say the outcome is not as good as carpal tunnel syndrome release surgery.

Tobacco Health Warnings - Show the truth. Picture warnings save lives

2009-06-02T17:22:00.001-07:00

The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2009 is "Tobacco Health Warnings", with an emphasis on the picture warnings that have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit. More and more countries are fighting back against the epidemic of tobacco by requiring that packages of tobacco show the dangers of the product's use, as called for in guidelines to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Warnings that graphically show the terrible effects of using tobacco are more visible on packages than text-only warnings. They compete more successfully with the rest of the package design – standing out and sending a clear message. Not everyone can read. Picture-based warnings are critical for communicating health risks to the large number of people who are illiterate and for reducing health inequality.

Picture-based warnings help counter the tobacco industry's use of branding and imagery. By detracting from the overall attractiveness of tobacco packaging, the warnings deter new users, who are often the most vulnerable to the companies' manipulation.

From: Who.int

Make-or-break the american healthcare system

2009-06-02T17:19:00.001-07:00

President Barack Obama told used the phrase "make-or-break" with regards to the American health system. "This is a necessity. This is something that has to be done," Obama said. "We cannot avoid bringing about change in our health-care system. Soaring health-care costs are unsustainable for families, they are unsustainable for businesses, and they are unsustainable for governments, both at the federal, state and local levels."

The health care industry is believed to be the least hurt in this economic crisis but the current health scenario appears very gloom. Not only for the public at large but also for the industry as a whole.

Swine flu in London

2009-06-02T09:49:00.001-07:00


A confirmed case of Swine flu in London reports BBC. His symptoms are told to be mild. He recently traveled to the United States. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8079713.stm