Year: 2020

Categories : COVID Medical IndustryTags : Leave a comment

Netcare CEO Recounts Challenges and Lessons of 2020

On By ModernMedia

In an interview posted on Moneyweb, the CEO of Netcare, Dr Richard Friedland, related how the company had weathered a very hard financial year.

“We have certainly felt the effects financially and we haven’t been able to pay a dividend to shareholders. But, as I’ve said to all of our frontline workers, we paid a dividend to South Africa in terms of looking after so many thousands – more than 28 000 Covid patients. That is far more significant than anything we could have done in monetary terms,” said Friedland.

The company learned valuable lessons, being at “the tip of the spear” of the COVID pandemic. Following their first cases on March 9, a large outbreak occurred at St Augustine’s, followed by a much smaller one at Kingsway. 

Friedland spoke of the sacrifices the staff had made over the past months, saying “This is not a time to abandon them. It’s a time to stand with them. It does mean our recovery will be longer, but we’ll do that together. And I think it’s critically important, given the headwinds we’re facing in South Africa.”

The company made much of its profit from asset disposal, but Friedland said that they were seeing a return to demands for elective surgery, excepting their two hospitals in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. He noted that there was a noticeable uptick in cases, similar to what they had experienced in the first wave, and that their hospitals were relatively full. However, they were putting their lessons learned into practice by having readied adequate stores of PPE and oxygen, for example. The length of stay has been reduced from 22 days to seven. He remarked on how stressful the pandemic had been for all concerned, but he said that continued efforts must be made.

“[…]Covid nearly robbed us of our humanity, and we need to be very careful about that going forward, particularly as healthcare workers, when patients cannot see their loved ones, when they’ve got to communicate with us through masks and spaces. We’ve managed to find other ways, through Facetime and mobiles, to communicate with their loved ones; but there’s no excuse for [not] improving communication all the time. I think Covid exposed that and there’s been a lot of anxiety as a result that we still need to manage,” concluded Friedland.

Categories : HospitalsTags : Leave a comment

Cash for Medical Intern Posts to be Investigated

On By ModernMedia

The South African Medical Association (Sama) has said that it will investigate claims that changes of intern position at hospitals are being sold for cash.

On Monday, Sama chair Dr Angelique Coetzee said that this violated doctors’ ethical responsibility to provide treatment to patients regardless of whether that location suited the doctor or not.

Students were reportedly prepared to pay up to R100 000 for posts at their hospital of choice.

“We simply cannot have a situation where intern positions are being ‘sold’ for whatever reason. The placement of interns is a difficult process, and many doctors are unfortunately not placed where they want to be. For those fortunate enough to have found placements, to now sell them to the highest bidders is not fair on others waiting for legitimate placements,” Coetzee said.

The trading of posts reportedly takes place over social media platforms and messaging services, including Facebook and Telegram.

“Given the complexities and historical issues with the placement of intern doctors, the current haggling over preferred placements is out of touch with the realities of the situation. And, ultimately, this sends the message that with enough money, certain people are able to buy themselves the placements of their choice, a situation we cannot accept or tolerate,”  Coetzee said.

Source: Sowetan Live

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Cutting Edge Bio-printing Fabricates Tiny Kidneys

On By ModernMedia

Researchers from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and biotech company Organovo have successfully bio-printed miniature human kidneys with unparalleled speed and quality to be used for toxicity screening of medications known to cause kidney damage. 

A world leader in modeling the kidney, Professor Melissa Little of the MRCI said, “Drug-induced injury to the kidney is a major side effect and difficult to predict using animal studies. Bioprinting human kidneys are a practical approach to testing for toxicity before use.”

The new study involved testing the toxicity of aminoglycosides, a class of antibiotics that commonly damage the kidney. The study revealed deaths of certain types of kidney cells when exposed to aminoglycosides.

Organovo first began bio-printing kidneys in 2015, but their new processes are much faster, allowing 200 mini-kidneys to be produced in 10 minutes. The improvement in speed and quality has opened the doorway for bioprinting entire organs for transplant. “3-D bioprinting can generate larger amounts of kidney tissue but with precise manipulation of biophysical properties, including cell number and conformation, improving the outcome.”

Professor Little said that prior to this study, the possibility of using such technology for transplantation was too complicated to consider. “The pathway to renal replacement therapy using stem cell-derived kidney tissue will need a massive increase in the number of nephron structures present in the tissue to be transplanted,” she said.

“By using extrusion bioprinting, we improved the final nephron count, which will ultimately determine whether we can transplant these tissues into people.”

Source: Medical Xpress

Categories : Ageing ExerciseTags : Leave a comment

Standing Protects against Heart Failure in Older Women

On By ModernMedia

A study examining elderly women’s amount of time spent sitting or standing has shown a marked increase in the risk for hospitalisation for heart failure.

The Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study followed 81 000 postmenopausal women for 9 years. None of the women had been diagnosed with heart failure and could walk at least one block unassisted, and they self-reported the amount of time they spent sitting or lying down. Over this time, 1402 women were hospitalised with heart failure.

The researchers graded the amount of sedentary time (sitting or lying down) into three categories: 6.5 hours or less; 6.6-9.5 hours; and more than 9.5 hours. Those who sat 9.5 hours or more experienced a 42% increase in the rate of heart failure compared to those who sat for 6.5 hours or less.

Lead author of the study,  Michael J LaMonte, PhD, MPH, research associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, said that there was a lack of data on sedentary time and heart failure, and even less so in elderly women.

“Our message is simple: sit less and move more. Historically, we have emphasised promoting a physically active lifestyle for heart health—and we should continue to do so! However, our study clearly shows that we also need to increase efforts to reduce daily sedentary time and encourage adults to frequently interrupt their sedentary time.” 

He added, “This does not necessarily require an extended bout of physical activity; it might simply be standing up for 5 minutes or standing and moving one’s feet in place. We do not have sufficient evidence on the best approach to recommend for interrupting sedentary time. However, accumulating data suggest that habitual activities such as steps taken during household and other activities of daily living are an important aspect of cardiovascular disease prevention and healthy aging.”

Source: Medical Xpress

Categories : Pain Management UncategorizedTags : Leave a comment

Anaesthetic Clues Hidden in Tarantula Venom

On By ModernMedia

In a finding that promises new research into pain management, a tarantula toxin molecule has been revealed to use a “stinger” to permanently close the voltage sensors on nerve cells’ sodium channels.

Chronic pain is difficult to treat, and attempts to seek relief can sometimes lead to opiate overdose, addiction, prolonged withdrawal, and even death. This means that there is a critical need to develop pain management medications that are safer, more effective and non-addictive. Tarantula toxin is of interest because it has to be fast-acting, shutting down the nerves of the tarantula’s prey and immobilising it before it can escape.

The tarantula toxin’s mechanism of action has proved elusive: the tarantula toxin-ion channel chemical complex has been hard to capture in its functional form. This has made it especially challenging to replicate the calcium-channel blocking effect in a small molecular form suitable for anaesthetic compounds. To overcome this obstacle, the researchers took a toxin-binding region from a specific type of human sodium channel that is key to pain transmission and imported it into their bacterium-derived model ancestral sodium channel. In doing so, they successfully obtained a clear molecular view of the configuration of the potent toxin from tarantula venom as it tightly binds to the sodium channel receptor site.

Prof William Catterall of the University of Washington School of Medicine explains: “Remarkably, the toxin plunges a ‘stinger’ lysine residue into a cluster of negative charges in the voltage sensor to lock it in place and prevent its function. Related toxins from a wide range of spiders and other arthropod species use this molecular mechanism to immobilise and kill their prey.”

The researchers hope that these insights will lead to the development of a new variety of anaesthetic compounds.

Source: News-Medical.Net

Categories : COVIDTags : Leave a comment

SA Medicinal Plants Show a COVID Treatment Promise in New Study

On By ModernMedia

Researchers at the Durban University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu-Natal have been examining plants used in traditional African medicine to see if they have any application in treating COVID.

There has been increasing interest in investigating medicinal plants for compounds to use in the treatment of COVID, which still lacks an effective treatment despite effective vaccines being demonstrated.

The researchers began with 29 compounds from medicinal plants known to be effective in treating the common cold, flu, other respiratory conditions, as well as their antimalarial, antiviral and antioxidant activity.

Using a biocomputational approach that does simulated “molecular docking” with various compounds and the known molecules of SARS-CoV-2, the researchers found a number of plants, including the Rooibos bush, contained useful compounds. These displayed favourable binding orientations and were thus identified as being potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain and SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent polymerase. Four compounds showed extremely good binding to the virus, indicating that they may prevent viral replication.

The next stage of their work will be an in vitro study, before moving onto animal models but is contingent on the team being able to secure funding.

Source: The Conversation

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Inexpensive Oxford COVID Vaccine Proven Effective

On By ModernMedia

A vaccine developed by the University of Oxford has shown to be effective, according to the BBC. The vaccine trial was conducted with over 20 000 volunteers in the UK and Brazil.

The vaccine conferred 70% protection, compared to the 90% and above level from the other two vaccines. However, a small dose followed by a large dose however, conferred 90% protection.   

At £3 (R60) a dose, the Oxford vaccine is less costly than the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines which cost £15 (R300) and £25 (R500) respectively. The Oxford vaccine is also easier from a logistical perspective as it can be stored at higher temperatures. In an encouraging sign for controlling the pandemic, it appears that there were fewer asymptomatic infections with the low-dose-then-high-dose vaccine administration. 

The UK government has four million doses already prepared, and if the vaccine is authorised, the government will roll out an immunisation program on a vast scale. Care home staff, health care workers and the elderly will receive the vaccinations first. Meanwhile, Oxford’s manufacturing partner AstraZeneca is preparing to produce three billion doses. However, logistical challenges remain.

Prof Peter Horby, from the University of Oxford, said, “This is very welcome news, we can clearly see the end of [the] tunnel now. There were no Covid hospitalisations or deaths in people who got the Oxford vaccine.”

Categories : Diet and NutritionTags : Leave a comment

Meat-free Diets Increase Risk of Fracture

On By ModernMedia

Research conducted on one of the largest dietary and health studies has revealed that people eating vegan, and to a lesser extent, vegetarian and pescetarian, diets are at higher risk for fractures.

This is in line with earlier studies that had indicated that vegan diets had weaker bones, but it had been unclear if this translated to an increased fracture risk.

Participants eating a vegan diet had a more than doubled increase of hip fracture risk; those on vegetarian and pescatarian diets also had an increase in hip fracture risk of 25%. Vegans, but not vegetarians and pescetarians, were also at increased risk of other fractures.

The research was done using data from the EPIC-Oxford trial, which followed over 65 000 participants from 1993 onwards, and controlled for a number of variables such as age, gender and level of physical activity.

The presence of protein helps to absorb calcium, and vegans are unlikely to be getting enough calcium without supplementing their diet. It is notable that after the 1990s, plant-based milk substitutes began to be fortified, which may have affected the results. 

A vegan diet also resulted in other health benefits as well as risks. Compared to an omnivorous diet, a vegan diet conferred a 10% reduction in cancer rates, 20% reduction in heart disease but also increased stroke risk by 20%.

The article is available to read at BMC Medicine.

Source: New Scientist

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Effectiveness of COVID Government Interventions Compared

On By ModernMedia

Currently, the most widely used tool to deal with the spread of COVID are non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which involve measures such as social distancing. In the face of the sudden emergency of the COVID pandemic, governments around the world implemented a wide range of NPIs, some based on scientific advice and some not. The effectiveness of these government interventions is compared in a new study.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of these responses, researchers studied government interventions across 79 countries and territories. Each item was ranked, making a comprehensive dataset of 6068 interventions and compared to the reproduction number, Rt. They were analysed with four computational methods, including machine learning.

The study found that the most effective interventions were those that restricted movement such as travel restrictions and lockdowns, as well as social distancing. Cancellations of gathering also seemed to be effective. The least effective were appeals for international aid, tracking and tracing, disinfecting surfaces had the least impact.

Interventions also had differing effectiveness depending on what stage of the pandemic they were implemented in.

The most consistently effective intervention across all locations was contact tracing and quarantine.

Source: News-Medical.Net

Categories : Gastrointestinal Neurodegenerative DiseasesTags : Leave a comment

Gut Immune Cells Protect The Brain in MS Flare-ups

On By ModernMedia

Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, have observed gut immune cells moving up out of the gastrointestinal tract to the brain during multiple sclerosis (MS) flareups, where they seem to exert some protective effects.

In MS, other immune cells attack the myelin sheath, resulting in flare-ups, where they experience memory problems, vision loss, pain and other problems. These flare-ups subside after some days, but it is not known why the disease switches back and forth between flare-up and remission.

The new research revealed that the flare-ups were brought under control with the unlikely assistance of gut immune cells, which produce Immunoglobulin-A (IgA) and act as the immune system’s first line of defence in the GI tract. Some of these cells actually leave the gut and migrate to the brain, where it appears they reduce inflammation.

“It was a very new idea,” said lead author, Sergio Baranzini, PhD, neurology professor at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, . “Nobody thought to look for this type of immune cell.”

The gut immune cells were found only in cerebrospinal fluid of MS sufferers when they experienced a flare-up, and not in remission. Recent research indicated that an unhealthy GI microbiome was involved in MS, and the researchers determined that these immune cells only attacked potentially damaging bacteria, not the myelin sheath.

It is anticipated that this discovery may bring insights into new therapies to treat the disease. 

Source: Medical Xpress