March 15th 2008
This week in medicine
Drug trials Greater obligations are to be placed on pharmaceutical companies, by UK law, to accelerate transfer of information about the adverse effects of trial drugs. This move comes after a 4-year investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency into GSK, which acted within current legislation when it withheld trial reports on the risks posed to adolescents by its antidepressant Seroxat.
Japan’s pledge On Feb 29, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a contribution of US$184 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This fulfils the promise of US$500 million pledged in 2005, and represents Japan’s firm commitment to fighting these major diseases.
Funds for girls In its latest budget, the Indian Government has announced a 15% increase in health funding. It has also agreed to pay poor families who bring up girls nearly US$3000 in an attempt to stop the widespread practice of female infanticide, which still occurs in 80% of Indian states-927 girls are born for every 1000 boys.
Report on Gaza A coalition of eight charities has published a report which states that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worse now than at any time since Israeli occupation began in 1967. The Israeli Government’s blockade has dramatically worsened levels of poverty, unemployment, education, and health services. The report concludes that the blockade is unacceptable, and illegal, and fails to deliver security for Palestinians or Israelis.
Breast reconstruction Breast-cancer diagnoses are increasing, but early findings from the National Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction Audit suggest that access to breast-reconstruction surgery in England and Wales can be improved. In 2005-06, only about 11% of women in England who had mastectomies received immediate reconstruction surgery, and a quarter of NHS trusts did not provide the immediate option locally.
Smoking ban Mexico is to join the growing number of smoke-free countries. The Senate has voted to introduce a nationwide law to ban smoking in indoor workplaces and enclosed public spaces such as offices, schools, hospitals, and public transport. Restaurants and bars will be required to provide separate walled-off rooms for smokers.
Healthy China The Chinese health ministry has assembled a timely package of initiatives designed to reform womens’ health care-Healthy China 2020. Although women have equal rights to health care, access differs in rural and urban areas. By 2015, the health ministry envisages that all women in China will give birth in hospital, thus curtailing maternal and infant mortality, which is statistically higher in rural China.
Research grant Spain’s Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional has given a 2-year grant of €5 million to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative. This grant signals a substantial increase in the Spanish Government’s financial investment in research and development for neglected diseases, and the agency now hopes to provide more than €10 million during 2008.
Take care WHO’s 9th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion will take place in Merida, Mexico, this week. High on the agenda will be transport safety and prevention of violent injuries, especially in light of the increased risks caused by globalisation of people-international migrants are now estimated to number more than 40 million worldwide.
Agent Orange Attempts to assess the adverse health effects of Agent Orange and other herbicides that were used during the Vietnam war have been stymied by the difficulty of measuring individual exposures. The US Institute of Medicine has now released a report that recommends a proximity-based model for epidemiological studies.
Amphibious treatments A compound discovered in the skin secretion of a south American frog-pseudin-2-could be used to treat type 2 diabetes. Lab tests showed that a synthetic version of pseudin-2 stimulated insulin release in pancreatic cells. Similarly, the diabetes drug exenatide was developed from a hormone in the saliva of the Gila monster lizard.
Sleepless in more than Seattle US adults are not getting enough sleep, according to a four-state survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which partly blamed late-night television and internet surfing. The study also found that retired citizens had better sleep habits than did working people and that those living in Hawaii slept more than their counterparts in the other three states. Early retirement in Hawaii anyone?
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