Blog #13 (Health/Disease)

“Anti-H.I.V. Trial in Africa Canceled Over Failure to Prevent Infection”  by Donald G. McNeil Jr.

-Amber Kocher

A trial in Africa that was trying to prevent HIV infections in women was cancelled due to failure.  This study was a trial of a microbicide gel that women used vaginally to protect them against the virus, but still allowed them to get pregnant.  This trial was the second one, and it succeeded what was reported as a successful first trial.  Researchers were disappointed in this trials failure because of the good results they had from the first one.  This gel was being developed so that women who feared rejection and violence from there partners (if asked to use a condom) could use it secretly.  The original study showed that it “protected 39% of the women who used it and that those who used it most regularly reduced their chances of infection by 54%”.  The second trial was cancelled because it showed that the drug was safe but it was not effective, and it ethically required the cancellation to prevent any further infections in the trial patients.  Data and answers for why the trial failed will not be clear until 2012 because the trial is still blind and the placebo and actual drug patients won’t be revealed until that time.

This failure of this trial is hard hitting because researchers and organizations are working on things like this to help solve social and health problems in places like Africa where the people don’t have access to proper health care and treatment.  HIV and AIDS is such a huge problem in the world, and its extremely concentrated in the continent of Africa, so this study failing is quite a setback.  The development of the microbicide gel is a good step in the right direction, and hopefully the research and the data will unveil what went wrong, and researchers will be able to perfect it and try again.  With cultures and practices being different, and condoms and birth control not always an option, developing something that these women can use safely and effectively is something that needs to continue to have attention.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/health/research/anti-hiv-gel-trial-is-canceled-in-africa.html?ref=health

Blog #12 (Health/Disease)

“Self-harm common in teenagers, Australian study shows” by Smitha Mundasad

-Amber Kocher

A study done by The Lancet study in Australia shows that one in 12 people in there teenage years self harm.  This was a long-term study in which 2,000 adolescents were surveyed over a period of 15 years.  The study also showed that 90% of the adolescents who self harm stop by the time they reach adulthood, and 10% continue on as adults.  Researchers believe there is a correlation between self-harm and suicide, and 50-60% of people who committed suicide had a past of self-harming.  Some of the most common forms of self-harm were burning and cutting.  Researchers found that depression, anxiety, cigarette and cannabis smoking, and heavy alcohol use were all correlated with self harm.  Authors of the study think that it should be a comfort to schools and families since it showed that 90% resolve their self-harm issues before adulthood, but mental health experts don’t want peopled lulled into a false hope that self harm is just a phase and that it is something that their children will grow out of. 

Self-harm is something that should be taken extremely seriously, and it has a direct correlation to suicide risk in teenagers and adults.  This is an important issue, because there needs to be help available to those who need it and can’t find it themselves or at home.  Programs in schools and in health care are great for helping detect self-harm in adolescents.  Stronger emphasis on the causes of self-harm, how to detect it, and how to handle it should be stressed in the school systems.  Parents need to be educated just as much as school educators.  Being aware of what children are doing at home and at school will be critical in helping adolescents.  This study does show that a trend happens and that a lot of people resolve their issues.  But that 10% is something that should still bother people, and the percentage of people that self harm at all in any time in there life is something that should be at 0%, and the causes of self harming need to be assessed and ultimately resolved. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15759946

Blog #11 (Health/Disease)

“Australia cigarette ‘plain packaging’ law passes Senate”

-Amber Kocher

A law has been passed by the Australian Senate in order to help reduce cigarette and tobacco use throughout the country.  The cigarettes will no longer be sold in their brand packaging with colors and logos.  All the cigarettes will be sold in olive green cartons.  In addition to the uniformity, there will be graphic images printed on the cartons that warn of the consequences of smoking.  Tobacco companies have stated that they plan on fighting and challenging the law.  The government says that they will not back down and will not be deterred from their goal of eliminating tobacco use in Australia.  Health Minister Nicola Roxon stated “We’re not going to be bullied into not taking this action just because tobacco companies say they might fight us in the courts.”  A spokesmen for some of the tobacco companies in the industry says that the government will definitely have to spend a large amount of time and money fighting the legal actions brought against the law by the tobacco companies.

            Australia is the first country in the world to introduce these kinds of laws, and hopefully won’t be the last.  While motions have been made in other countries to reduce the exposure of tobacco use in public, Australia is taking a firm step to eliminate tobacco use, or at least reduce it to a minimal amount.  Laws such as no smoking in restaurants and in specific public places are common in America and other countries.  The problem that these strict rules face is they are hindering the capitalist rights of these companies, and will probably face a lot of legal action and challenges by these companies.  While it’s a positive thing to try and be rid of tobacco products, it is citizens rights to buy and use what they want, and for the companies to be able to differentiate their products and market them until if and when tobacco becomes illegal.  It will be interesting to see how the legal battle turns out because this situation is the first of its kind, and if these steps really lead towards minimizing tobacco use, it will be a great example for other nations to follow suit.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15670297

Blog #10 (Health/Disease)

“Abuse of painkillers reaches ‘epidemic’ levels in US”

-Amber Kocher

Abuse of painkillers and prescription drugs in the US has risen according to a report done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The article states that sales of prescription drugs have risen quickly and sharply over the last few years.  This is connected to the face that fatalities caused by the misuse of prescription drugs and narcotic pain relievers have more than tripled in the last decade.  According to a report done by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the sales of the individual drugs to pharmacies has gone up for than 300% since the year 1999, as well as the actual prescriptions being given to patients by doctors.  Solutions were suggested such as individual state health policies being harsher and a crack down on tracking prescriptions being given inappropriately.

This article is startling in that the CDC is claiming that this “epidemic” is now being called the fastest growing drug problem in the US.  It says that overdoses on pain relievers cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.  The United States has always been on a fast track whether it’s in technology, war, politics, science, murder rates, etc.  Health care is a huge issue in the US currently, and while there are many flaws in the systems and solutions being used and also suggested as change, the government really should become more involved.  The tendency to pop a pill every time you aren’t feeling well isn’t strictly an American problem, but its certainly more common in the US.  The United States has a large effect on other countries, as well as its relations with other powerful nations in Europe and so on, and if money and production and technology is being spent on something that’s becoming a serious problem and “epidemic”, there definitely needs to be change.  Harsher regulation of doctors and patients, while still retaining the freedoms that citizens have in their healthcare choices, needs to happen.  The only problem is that if it’s possible to balance the influence of the government while still retaining the choice of individual health care for some.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15548478

Blog #9 (Health/Disease)

"CDC panel recommends HPV shot for boys"

-Amber Kocher

            The United States government panel the CDC has now started to recommend that the HPV vaccine (human papillomavirus) should be given to boys.  The vaccine was always available for males and female, but this new vote means that the vaccines will most likely be covered under medical insurance now for both genders.  This new vote is because HPV can be prevented in both males and females, and not enough teen girls have been getting the vaccine.  The vaccine can help prevent various cancer and genital warts cause by the virus.  The article states that last year, 49% of adolescent girls received the first of the three HPV shots, while only a third had the full round of 3 vaccines.  Doctors think that the low rates for girls is because of misconceptions about the vaccine.  A lot of parents don’t understand fully or think that the vaccine is only for adolescents that are sexually active.  Also, people like Michelle Bachman say things like she heard the vaccine can cause mental retardation. 

            This vaccine is a huge step forward in preventative measures for STD’s and long-term effects of diseases and health problems linked with STD’s and unprotected sex.  There are some negative connotations around it, but most of them are from being ill-informed about the vaccine.  It’s important that young boys know that this vaccine is helpful, and is not just for girls.  If this vaccine has all of the benefits that it does, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be available to as many people as possible.  Other sources have stated that it is being used in more poverty stricken places such as Africa, where the medical system is not as fortunate as the US.  Some people believe that this vaccine should be a requirement for students to attend school.  While the benefits of this vaccine are numerous, and there are almost no cons to outweigh the pros, making this vaccine something mandatory and regulated by the government is a violation of personal choice.  This vaccine has made leaps and bounds towards eliminating and preventing certain cancers, and it should be readily available to any boy or girl who wants it.  But it should be theirs and their parents own decision on whether or not to get the vaccine. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15456021

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/hpv/#vacc

Blog #8 (Health/Disease)

Amber Kocher

“Mobile phone brain cancer link rejected”

A study was done in Denmark that was testing the relationship between long-term cell phone use and brain/nervous system cancers.  Most people know or have heard someone say that if you use your cell phone too much, you could risk getting cancer.  The Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Denmark tested this theory over an 18 year time period.  They tested a group of 350,000 subjects over this period and found out that there is no greater risk of developing any kind of cancer when using a cell phone.  The World Health Organization has not ruled out cell phones as a carcinogenic risk, so they categorized it in the same area as coffee, which means that the theory hasn’t been proved or disapproved yet, so you should still use caution.  The Department of health still maintains that people under 16 should only use a phone when necessary and to keep usage and calls short.  A few doctors and professors were quoted about the report done on this research, and one point they made was that this study wasn’t specified by how much each of these individuals used their phones, such as business people using it more than the average person.

            Cell phones in my opinion are the best and worst piece of technology we have today.  It’s fast, easy and keeps us connected to everything going on through text, email, internet and so on.  But it is disconnecting us from the actual people standing 3 feet away from us.  Technology like phones and the internet are keeping people from interacting in person and its changing the way people relate and communicate on a daily basis.   This is a social problem because people don’t know how to interact anymore, and its not just affecting the social aspect but is affecting employers, doctors, therapists, and families.  People are staying connected to tons of people spread all over the place, but can’t interact with people right in front of them.  It’s disconnecting us and preventing us from having daily human interactions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15387297

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/CellPhonesAreTheNewCigarettes.aspx

Blog #7 (Health/Disease)

“California bans use of sunbeds for under 18-year-olds”

-Amber Kocher

California has just become the first state in the United States to ban the use of tanning beds for anybody under the age of 18.  Up until this point, the law stated that anyone under the age of 14 couldn’t use them, but teenagers between 15 and 17 could use them with permission from a guardian or parent.  Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill and it will go into effect on January 1^st.    The World Health Organization’s research agency released information that tanning beds are “carcinogenic to humans”, which means it causes cancer, and they moved tanning beds into its highest risk cancer category.  The research that caused the World Health Organizations decision showed that the risk of the most deadly type of skin cancer, which is melanoma, was “increased by 75% in people who regularly used tanning beds before age 30”.    This ban is the first in the United States with such a high age, but Texas has a similar ban in which people under the age of 16 cannot tan in sunbeds, as does Brazil, in which tanning beds have been banned completely.  England and Wales passed a ban back in April 2011, which bans the use of sunbeds under the age of 18.  The US Indoor Tanning Association released a statement that this ban would be hurting their business, because teenagers under the age of 18 made up between 5% and 10% of their customers. 

            This law is something that is controversial, and is probably angering quite a lot of people.  But with the facts presented on the dangers of indoor tanning, and the regularity that people are using them, its something very important to be discussed and changed.  Standards of beauty are different all over the world, and they’re something that has been consistently changing over time.  While the saying “pain is beauty” is something thrown around without thinking, its truthfulness is kind of disturbing.  The lengths people go to be considered beautiful within their standards or culture is shocking sometimes, and when people resort to doing something harmful, specifically when they’re children and don’t really know or care about the consequences, that is when this becomes an issue.  When something is socially acceptable and expected, and its damaging long term, such as tanning is, change needs to happen.  California is pushing for that change and has taken steps forward.  Hopefully other states in the US and other countries will follow suit. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15237003

Blog #6 Health/Disease

“Contraceptive Used in Africa May Double Risk of HIV” by Pam Belluck

Amber Kocher

A recent report has shown that an extremely popular contraceptive hormone shot for women in Africa doubles the risk of HIV infections.  It also has shown that when this shot is given to HIV positive women, their partners also have a higher risk of becoming infected then women who don’t use it.  This study has caused some alarm for health authorities because this shot is the most common form of contraceptive for sub-Saharan Africa, and it’s the most affordable and easily distributed.   This study was only done on African women, but scientists believe the effects would be the same for all women using the contraception.  There has been a lot of alarm raised because the concern for HIV transmission is so much greater in Africa (from heterosexual transmission) than anywhere else in the world.  The shot’s brand name is Depo-Provera and it’s distributed by the Pfizer company.  They would not comment on the recent report, but the study has caused the World Health Organization to convene sometime in January.  They will be deciding on whether the study has strong enough evidence and scientific findings to alert the public and to advise women against using this form of contraceptive.

This report has raised some serious issues for international health authorities because this shot was the easiest and most affordable method for helping women with contraception.  This shot was the answer to an already existing social problem.  The article talks about how this was the way to prevent hundreds of thousands of African women from unwanted pregnancy, complications and injuries resulting from complications and unavailable medical help.  Now, this report is showing that while it is helping with one problem, it’s causing an already serious and dangerous issue to escalate.  HIV transmission and AIDS in Africa is already something that needs to be controlled and hopefully one day it can be cured, and it will be nonexistent.  But until that day comes, using a product that doesn’t protect against it, but increases your chances by 2 times more likely is not a small problem.  This generic contraceptive, while extremely popular in Africa, it isn’t as popular in other countries.  Even though it’s not as common, it is still used by many other women all around the globe.  Hopefully these results will either be confirmed or denied in January by the World Health Organization and an affirmative plan of action will result.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/health/04hiv.html?_r=1

Blog #5 (Health/Disease)

“Mexico Supreme Court upholds abortion stance.”

Amber Kocher

In Mexico, the Supreme Court decided to keep its amendment that says life begins at conception, and that abortions are unlawful.  This movement was fueled by anti-abortion campaigners and protesters.  The amendment was voted unconstitutional by 7 of 11 justices, but it needed 8 votes for the amendment to be overturned.  The issue is that Mexico City allows abortions with a time limit, as well as some other Mexican States having their own dictations.  Women’s rights activists and health workers fear that the individualized rules between the states will create a divide and will prevent some people from being able to go to Mexico City and other places for legal abortions.  They believe that women from states where abortions are heavily restricted will not have the opportunity or be allowed to travel where it is legal.  The article says that all Mexican states allow abortions in cases of rape and mortality risk to the mother, but pro-choice campaigners believe that this practice doesn’t always happen, and with the laws staying in place, it will be even less frequent.

This article is focused more on the legal aspect of this issue than the health side.  But I believe that it is and could become even more of a health problem.  If women can’t find a way to get an abortion, and desperately want to have one, they could be more likely to find a less safe and sanitary way to have one.  Another thing is that people will go to extreme lengths to find somewhere to get one, and they could travel into the US or other neighboring countries where the practice of abortion is legal.  Since Mexico has kept this conservative law in place, this could also influence other countries to make the same decision.  While I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I think that the decision to have or not have a child is up to each individual.  It’s their body and their child, and involving laws and politics is wrong.  And when something like this could encourage women to resort to desperate measures, it becomes a health issue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15104022

Blog #4 (Health/Disease)

“UK medics lead Europe’s first embryonic stem cell trial”  -Fergus Walsh

Amber Kocher

Doctors in London have started the first clinical trial using embryonic stem cells for the first time in Europe.  They are using these cells on patients with an incurable disease called Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, which causes sight loss over time.  The trial is used to find out whether these replacement retinal cells, derived from the stem cells, are safe and effective to use.  The trial is partnered with an American company that had already started treating with these cells in California.  There are other companies in the United States that have, and are continuing to use stem cell research with things such as spinal injuries.  There are people who support this trials saying that embryonic stem cell research and therapy has huge potential, not just in the treatment of blindness, but also things like cancer, and heart disease.  This study is the first of its kind in Europe, and experts believe it can lead the way for other studies and research and can significantly add to the knowledge on stem cell research and therapies, therefore only advancing the field further.

After reading this article, I researched what exactly stem cell research is, and got the basics of what the cells are and where they come from.  There are three different types of stem cells, they come from adults, which are usually from bone marrow, they can come from the umbilical cord, and then the come from embryos themselves, which are the cells used in this study.  Embryonic stem cell research is controversial, because it involves a human fetus and the fetus doesn’t live.  Some people view it as murder.  Doctors and scientists argue that the fetus is at such an early stage and it doesn’t even have human features.  The cells are taken when the embryo is referred to as a blastocyst, so it’s very early in the development of a fetus.  The possibilities and promise that come from stem cell research are quite large, and could help some serious issues and diseases in the medical world, that don’t have cures yet.  The problem is whether it’s ethical.  These studies and clinical trials could make leaps and bounds in the medical world, and as the knowledge continues to grow, other countries may start to use this knowledge.  The issue of ethics is that the cost is technically a human life in the cases of embryonic study.  People who are against this have raised concerns about raising embryos just for science, and that you are weighing the value of one life against another.  I think there is great potential in this field of study, but I don’t know if it could ever be something completely successful with such heavy issues of ethics and what is right and wrong.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15017664

Blog #3 (Health/Disease)

“Big drop in children under five dying, says UN report.”

Amber Kocher

According to the article, the number of children under the age of five who die annually has dropped.  It was 12 million deaths in 1990, and it dropped to 7.6 million last year.  A report was done by Unicef and the World Health Organization to find out the cause.  Some of the reasons for the change are underdeveloped countries as well as poverty ridden countries are getting better access to health care and early immunization.  Clean water and nutrition for mothers and infants is also a huge reason.  The UN still believes that a lot more needs to be done to reach the goals that the UN has for obliterating child mortality.  Some of the countries that improved were Sierra Leone, in which their government offered free health care for child and parents.  Also Malawi, Liberia, Niger, and some other countries in Africa and Asia improved greatly.  The majority of the deaths cam from India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  A statistic shows that within the first 5 years of life, “one in 143 children die before they reach the age of five in developed countries.  That compares to the one in 8 that die in sub-Saharan Africa.” 

This article is a great example of an existing issue showing progress, and it’s continuing to move in the right direction.  With the efforts of other countries, and just thing within these developing countries changing, they were able to drop the infant mortality rate by almost half over the last 10 years.  Infant mortality for reasons that are completely preventable is an issue that needs immediate attention, and it’s starting to get some.  With organizations like the UN bringing attention to this and other countries and organizations getting involved to give people basic rights, like clean water, I can definitely see this issue becoming non-existent in the future.  As the article and the UN said, there is still a long way to go, but the more people that are aware and the more people that get involved, the better.  Even the governments of these developing countries are seeing the issues and trying to change, as Sierra Leone did.  An infant dying because it and its mother didn’t have access to immunizations, health care, or clean water is something almost completely unheard of and definitely would not go unnoticed in the US, or in countries in Europe.  So why should it continue anywhere else?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14930778

Blog #2 (Health/Disease)

“Detecting covert consciousness in the vegetative state”

Amber Kocher

9/9/2011

A psychologist named from the University of Western Ontario did a study on coma patients that were in a vegetative state.  He discovered that some patients that are considered brain dead and minimally conscious were actually capable of brain activity and can be conscious and aware of their surroundings.  They used fMRI’s to measure brain activity when the patients were reacting to stimuli.  The early study asked a woman to imagine playing tennis and walking around in her house.  The brain activity measured by the test showed that the correct parts in her brain were responding the way a healthy conscious person would.  A later study was done which used the similar thought.  Imagining playing tennis was yes, and walking on a familiar street was no.  These to thought processes have different response areas in the brain, so they were able to communicate with these patients and get simple associations.  Owen’s group consisted of 54 vegetative patients, and he did the yes/no study.  Out of all 54, 5 were capable of answering the questions.  These patients had been labeled brain dead before the study.

This study is amazing in itself, seeing as coma patients and minimally conscious people can’t really have a lot of testing or experimenting.  Most is relatively unknown about these conditions, and the extent of the brain activity can’t really be measured.  This article talks about a breakthrough that can help families with tough decisions, and can also be an indicator of the likelihood of recovery.  For most countries with any sort of modern medicine, this will make a difference.  I know that there is still so much about the brain that is relatively unknown and anything that helps break through the barriers to gain more knowledge for science and medical reasons is a good thing for the world.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2011/sep/02/detecting-covert-consciousness-vegetative-statee

Blog #1 (Health/Disease)

"Global governments must get tough on obesity."

Amber Kocher

2:01 am 9/2/11

Researchers and experts all agree that the issue of obesity is getting worse, and more prevalent.  They expect percentages to rise in the near future, specifically in the UK and the United States.  They expect the Rate in the UK to rise from 25% to 40% by 2030, and for it to change from 1 in 3 to 1 in 2 in the US.  The debate is on who is responsible for taking control and leading the society in a better direction.  The individual vs. industry is a part of it.  Also many believe that the government needs to become more strongly involved, and have more regulations, such as taxing junk foods, limiting advertising.  Especially discouraging youth from unhealthy choices and lifestyles, and providing aid in schools and directly to families.  A lot of people don’t want the government to be more involved than they already are.  Another issue is that according to the article, more people are willing to invest time and money into more drastic answers, rather than dealing with the issue itself and its underlying origins.  Some suggest surgeries and drugs, rather than stopping the lifestyle from being available altogether, and giving people more healthy choices and environments. 

I think this issue is something tied into many facets of social problems, not just health.  Our economy is something that incorporates less quality for less money.  We can go to a fast food restaurant and get a meal for under 5 dollars, but you can’t get a head of lettuce or broccoli to feed a family for that much.  We lower the quality of our food to make it less expensive, and these corporations that produce this lower quality product, generally control the markets.  Eating organically and healthy is a wonderful thing if you can afford it, but most Americans and even countries in Europe can’t in our current economic crisis.  I don’t have the answer as to whose responsibility it is and what the right way to handle the problem, but I think the best way to handle this problem is start in the schools.  A lot of programs are already in place and awareness is becoming more common.  Educating children about diet and exercise, and removing unhealthy options is a great place to start. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14669203