Category: General Interest

Categories : General InterestTags :

A Romantic Partner’s Perception of Emotions may Improve Relationships

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Photo by Monstera from Pexels

In a study examining the perception of emotion in romantic relationships, researchers found that, regardless of how an individual is truly feeling, knowing their partner sees their emotions as a typical reaction to a given situation might lead to better relations between the couple, especially when conflict arises.

To find out how emotional meta-accuracy – the ability to correctly understand a romantic partner’s impressions of the self – impacted momentary relationship quality, the researchers surveyed 189 romantic couples. The couples were mostly heterosexual, average age 23 and were recruited from around the university campus. The researchers asked their subjects to engage in three different types of interactions: couples were asked to engage in a neutral unstructured conversation; then, they were asked to talk about something they disagreed on; finally, they engaged in a positive conversation. They were then surveyed on their own emotions and their partners’ perception of their emotions.

“We were interested in understanding how our beliefs about how we are seen by others affects the quality of our relationships,” said Hasagani Tissera, a PhD candidate and lead author on the paper.

“No matter why you are feeling a certain way, interactions within a couple are likely to be more positive when you know your romantic partner sees your emotions as similar to how a typical person would feel in a given situation,” Tissera said.

The researchers found that, overall, couples were better able to cope with conflict when they knew how their partner perceived their emotions.

Furthermore, the study suggests that “…to remain blissfully unaware of [your partner’s] unique impressions…” may lead to better momentary relationship quality. “Or, to put it differently, if you know your romantic partner sees you’re angry because of a reason that’s unique to your experience and not based on how the average person might feel, chances are it will hurt your relationship – at least in that moment,” Tissera said.
The findings were published in the journal Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Source: McGill University

Categories : General Interest HIVTags :

HIV Co-discover Dies

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HIV Infecting a T9 Cell. Credit: NIH

Luc Montagnier, the French virologist credited as being a co-discoverer of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has died aged 89. He jointly received the 2008 Nobel Prize was jointly awarded to Montagnier for his work in isolating the virus.

He was lauded for his crucial research, but in later life he was criticised for unscientific claims about autism and COVID.

Local news site FranceSoir reported that he died on Tuesday in Neuilly-sur-Seine “surrounded by his children”.

The virologist first began working on the virus in the early 1980s while at the Pasteur Institute in France. Montagnier and his team examined tissue samples from patients who had the mysterious new syndrome.

In 1983, Luc Montagnier’s team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris discovered HIV‑1. They cultured T cells from a lymph node biopsy from a 33-year-old homosexual French patient with symptoms that can precede AIDS (subsequently called pre-AIDS), such as lymphadenopathy. 
Finding that they had isolated a retrovirus, they were able to infect T cells from a healthy donor, but were unable to infect other cell types, including B cells and fibroblasts. 

The group concluded that this patient at risk for AIDS was infected with a T cell–tropic retrovirus; however they could only tentatively associate it with AIDS. In 2008, Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi from his team were awarded the Nobel Prize for the isolation and characterisation of HIV-1.

However, US scientist Robert Gallo published similar findings in the same edition of Science in which the Pasteur team had announced theirs. He later concluded that the virus caused Aids. This led to years of heated debate over who actually discovered HIV.

Gallo revealed in 1991 that the virus he found came from the Pasteur Institute the year before, and the two men publicly agreed in 2002 that Montagnier’s team discovered HIV, but that Gallo first showed its role in causing Aids.

However, when Montagnier and Barré-Sinoussi were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008 for their work – alongside Harald zur Hausen for his work on cervical cancer – the committee made no mention of Gallo, which provoked controversy.

Later on, Montagnier attracted great criticism for a series of unscientific claims, including over the causes of autism and later over the origins of COVID.

French media first reported that he had died at the American hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 8 February, and his death was officially declared by authorities some time later.

Source: BBC News

Categories : General Interest Medical IndustryTags :

ICD-11 Comes into Effect

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Source: Pixabay

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) has now come into effect, with the latest update going online on Friday, 11th February.

Compared with previous versions, ICD-11 is entirely digital with a new user-friendly format and multilingual capabilities that reduce the chance of error. It has been compiled and updated with input from over 90 countries and unprecedented involvement of health-care providers, enabling evolution from a system imposed on clinicians into a truly enabling clinical classification and terminology database that serves a broad range of uses for recording and reporting statistics on health. It also allows entries to appear in multiple categories: for example, stroke appears under both the cardiovascular and neurological categories.

“International classification of diseases is the cornerstone of a robust health information system”, said Dr Samira Asma, the Assistant Director-General for Data, Analytics and Delivery for Impact at the World Health Organization (WHO). “ICD has been instrumental in helping us respond to the COVID pandemic using standardised data and continues to be crucial for tracking progress towards universal health coverage. We hope all countries will take advantage of ICD-11’s powerful new features.”

Among other updates, ICD-11 improves the clarity of terms for the general public and facilitates the coding of important details such as the spread of a cancer or the exact site and type of a fracture. The new version also includes updated diagnostic recommendations for mental health conditions and digital documentation of COVID certificates.

These updates reflect recent progress in medicine and advances in scientific understanding. For example, codes relating to antimicrobial resistance are now aligned with the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS). ICD-11 is also more capable of capturing data on health-care safety, thus identifying and reducing unnecessary events that may harm health such as unsafe workflows in hospitals.

ICD is used by health insurers who make reimbursement decisions on the basis of ICD coding, by national health programme managers, by data collection specialists, and by anyone who tracks progress in global health and determines health resource allocation.

“A key principle in this revision was to simplify the coding and provide users with all necessary electronic tooling – this will allow health-care professionals to more easily and completely record conditions,” says Dr Robert Jakob, Team Lead, Classifications Terminologies and Standards, WHO.

In addition to coding and capability updates, ICD-11 includes new chapters on traditional medicine, sexual health, and gaming disorder – which has now been added to the section on addictive disorders.

ICD-11 was adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2019 and Member States committed to start using it for mortality and morbidity reporting in 2022. Since 2019, early adopter countries, translators, and scientific groups have recommended further refinements to produce the version that is posted online today.

Source: World Health Organization

Categories : General Interest Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags :

NHI Faces Healthcare Human Resource Emigration Challenges

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Photo by Daniel Eledut on Unsplash

While the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) could make use of existing private healthcare human resources, the necessary tax increases to fund it could drive more healthcare professionals from the country, the Professional Provident Society (PPS) has said.  Economic and other factors, such as the Durban unrest, have already caused a surge of emigrations of professionals since July last year. In addition, foreign students graduates who study critical skills in South Africa (such as nurses and GPs) will no longer have an easy route to permanent residency. 

The PPS, which counts about 30 000 healthcare professionals among its membership, pointed out the vulnerability of South Africa’s tax base – which has shrunk to only 6.9 million taxpayers, down from 7.6 million the year from the year before.

While it raised a number of concerns about the NHI, the group stated that it was broadly supportive of establishing universal healthcare in the country, and this goal could still be accomplished by using a dual public-private system. The PPS further noted that the government could benefit from the exceptional administrative capabilities and existing patient management systems.

However, NHI is dependent on strong, competitively remunerated human resources, with PPS pointing out that “South Africa has experienced a mass exodus of nurses in the 90s; we cannot risk that again. Both the government and private sector need to find a solution for South Africa and it cannot ‘import solutions’.”

“Professionals are a big proportion of healthcare delivery and the tax base. Their voices need to be considered.

“We urgently need to see the funding model, the implementation of the Health Market Inquiry (HMI) and details of how the system will work.”

The PPS said in a 2019 report that the highest risk to effective universal health cover in South Africa is losing highly skilled professionals to emigration. Healthcare professionals have a great deal of geographic freedom, and it is becoming easier to work in their trades the world over. COVID with its restrictions may have slowed emigrations by skilled professionals, but since July 2021, experts have seen a surge backed up by 18 months of pent-up demand. 

The PPS noted that research has shown “that the decision to emigrate is a complex one that is driven by various personal and societal pull and push factors.”  The NHI could be yet another push factor adding to the list of healthcare professionals’ sore points. “Healthcare worker migration from South Africa in the past has been driven by policy decisions and socio-economic and political considerations.

“In 2001, the number of nurse emigrants was roughly 20% of the total number working within the public sector in South Africa. That, together with being ranked as having the eighth-highest global number of emigrating physicians in the year 2000, created a dire situation for the sustainability of healthcare in South Africa at the time.”

Among general professionals, PPS’s research has indicated that many are considering emigration. A majority of respondents surveyed (73%) cited NHI as a potential reason for emigration, with 15% unsure and only 12% not considering leaving at all.

In addition to losses from emigration, the Department of Home Affairs has ended a 2014 waiver which allowed a quicker path to a residency permit for foreign students who acquire critical skills in South African higher learning institutions. Going forward, foreign students will no longer be able to apply for permanent residency visas without complying with the usual requirements such as providing proof of five years’ work experience. This is seen as detrimental to South Africa’s ability to attract and retain skilled professionals. This may further impact NHI implementation as the necessary skilled human resources are squeezed further as fewer foreign students may choose to study and then work in South Africa.

Source: BusinessTech

Categories : General InterestTags :

How Detrimental to Sleep is Media Use Before Bedtime?

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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

A new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found a complicated relationship between media use and bedtime and sleep quality and duration, with short, simple media use resulting in earlier bedtime and longer sleep duration.

Many factors contribute to sleep disturbance among young adults. Use of media is increasing rapidly, and little is known regarding its association with sleep disturbance. Previous research showed that social media use before bedtime in young adults resulted in reduced and poorer quality sleep.

The study examined how sleep might be impacted by media use – such as watching movies, television, or YouTube videos; browsing the Internet; or listening to music – before bed.

In the study, 58 adults kept a diary that recorded information related to time spent with media before bed, location of use, and multitasking. Electroencephalography captured parameters such as bedtime, total sleep time, and sleep quality. 

Media use in the hour before sleep was associated with an earlier bedtime. If the before-bed use did not involve multitasking and was conducted in bed, it was also associated with more total sleep time. A long use of media associated with later bedtime and less total sleep time.

Sleep quality, operationalised as the percent of total sleep time spent in N3 and REM sleep, was unaffected by media use before bed.

“If you are going to use media, like watching TV or listening to music, before bed, keep it a short, focused session and you are unlikely to experience any negative outcomes in your sleep that night,” said lead author Morgan Ellithorpe, PhD, of the University of Delaware.

Source: Wiley

Categories : General InterestTags :

Record Numbers of ‘Healthcare Hero’ Entries for Doctors’ Day

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“She brings humanity, humility, understanding and – dare I say it – love into her practice.”

Stories of appreciation, like this one, are just the medicine South Africa’s doctors need, over 670 days into the COVID pandemic. Since March 2020, the country’s healthcare workers have been manning the frontline of this global healthcare crisis, regularly putting themselves at risk of exposure in order to help their patients. And now, many patients are giving back.

“This is why we say thank you” is the theme on the Doctors’ Day website. This dedicated website is part of an initiative called Doctors’ Day, created by EthiQal, a division of Constantia Insurance Company Limited. The initiative was launched in 2018 and is celebrated annually on 16 November. This national day is intended to raise awareness about the value that so many of the country’s doctors bring to the lives of their patients and families – and the website is the platform where stories of gratitude can be read.

“This is the fifth year that we’ve run Doctors’ Day and every year the number of stories we receive grows substantially. We’ve far surpassed the responses from last year, as more and more patients take the time to share their healthcare hero stories,” says Alex Brownlee, EthiQal Executive.

Stories of appreciation
Every year, EthiQal calls on the nation to celebrate and recognise South Africa’s doctors. Heading into the third year of the COVID pandemic, the healthcare industry deserves to be recognised more than ever for the critical role they continue to play in meeting the needs of our nation, explains Brownlee.

Of the hundreds of entries from the 2021 Doctors’ Day competition, five of the most moving stories have been selected and are featured on the website, with each winning entrant receiving R1000. EthiQal also donated R10 000 to the Healthcare Workers Care Network – a nationwide healthcare worker support network. The winning entries can be read at www.doctorsday.co.za

“Our firm belief is that doctors are national assets, and so the core of the Doctors’ Day message truly resonates with everyone who works at EthiQal. We love Doctors’ Day because it gives people an opportunity to share their sincere messages of thanks. It’s just one small way that patients can give back to their doctors. We look forward to all the new entries and heart-warming stories that we’ll receive in November,” says Brownlee.

Categories : General InterestTags :

Men in Medical Face Masks Rated as More Attractive

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Source: Sammy Williams on Unsplash

Besides COVID prevention, there is an upside to wearing the ubiquitous face masks worn in many countries: they increase attractiveness, at least in men. 

A study published in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications measured how different types of face masks changed the attractiveness of 40 male faces.

However, the researchers discovered the type of covering matters – blue medical masks were found to increase facial attractiveness more than other types of masks.

Dr. Michael Lewis, an expert in the psychology of faces, said: “Research carried out before the pandemic found medical face masks reduce attractiveness – so we wanted to test whether this had changed since face coverings became ubiquitous and understand whether the type of mask had any effect.

“Our study suggests faces are considered most attractive when covered by medical face masks. This may be because we’re used to healthcare workers wearing blue masks and now we associate these with people in caring or medical professions. At a time when we feel vulnerable, we may find the wearing of medical masks reassuring and so feel more positive towards the wearer.

“We also found faces are considered significantly more attractive when covered by cloth masks than when not covered. Some of this effect may be a result of being able to hide undesirable features in the lower part of the face—but this effect was present for both less attractive and more attractive people.”

In the study, 43 female participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of images of male faces without a mask; wearing a cloth mask; a blue medical face mask and holding a plain black book covering the area a face mask would hide. The research took place seven months after face masks became mandatory in the UK.

“The results run counter to the pre-pandemic research where it was thought masks made people think about disease and the person should be avoided,” commented Dr Lewis.

“The current research shows the pandemic has changed our psychology in how we perceive the wearers of masks. When we see someone wearing a mask we no longer think ‘that person has a disease, I need to stay away’.

“This relates to evolutionary psychology and why we select the partners we do. Disease and evidence of disease can play a big role in mate selection – previously any cues to disease would be a big turn off. Now we can observe a shift in our psychology such that face masks are no longer acting as a contamination cue.”

Next steps are to see if the reverse holds true for women’s attractiveness to men.

Source: Cardiff University

Categories : General InterestTags :

A Look Back at 2021

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Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels


The start of 2021 saw South African hospitals battling for resources amid a COVID surge, and planning for what would be a very controversial and drawn-out vaccination programme which would be partly paid for by the overflowing coffers of the country’s medical aid schemes. Indeed, there was a real concern that the as-yet-to-be-named Beta variant would evade vaccines, which would prove to be true – and a story which would be repeated with the Omicron variant later in the year. In China, the start of an investigation into the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan was stymied by the Chinese government denying them entry.

The middle of the year saw the Third Wave, now driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant which had ravaged India earlier in the year. Production setbacks further dogged South Africa’s vaccine programme as millions of Johnson & Johnson vaccines were deemed unfit for use. In Brazil, deaths passed half a million amid condemnation of the mishandling of the COVID pandemic by its President Jair Bolsonaro. Economic frustration, stoked by political manoeuvring around the trial of former President Jacob Zuma, saw much of the country erupt in looting and violence. This would seriously damage COVID vaccination and surveillance efforts in the affected areas, particularly KwaZulu-Natal.

Statins seemed to be losing some of their bad image as new studies revealed that they were not associated with cognitive decline, following on from a 2020 study showing many of their feared side effects were the result of the ‘nocebo’ effect. The US government initiated a probe into how a controversial drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease managed to receive approval despite no evidence of benefit. Dr Zweli Mkhize stepped down as Health Minister amidst revelations about procurement irregularities relating to the Digital Vibes contract.

Towards the end of the year, South African vaccination rates fell due to a combination of factors: vaccine hesitancy, apathy and difficulty servicing remote areas. Omicron was detected in late November, immediately raising alarm due to the extremely large number of mutations it possesses. In response, countries around the world announced immediate travel bans or heightened quarantine restrictions. However, these proved futile as the highly contagious Omicron was already loose in the borders of many countries, rendering the controversial containment efforts moot.

Fortunately, early signs from Netcare showed that Omicron caused less severe disease. By year end, new effective COVID treatments were going through these stages of their final approval. Merck’s Molnupiravir (Lagevrio) had shown promise for the treatment of COVID, though later analysis with additional data showed it to be less effective than believed. Expected production for Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid) was expected to increase to 80 million courses after results showed an 89% reduction of hospitalisation or death for outpatients. As the year closed, there was some good news for South Africa’s economy as travel bans were lifted – though the countries imposing them now had Omicron surges of their own to contend with.

Categories : Ageing General InterestTags :

Most Superheroes Will Age Healthily, Researchers Conclude

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Spider-Man has a healthy outlook, so long as he doesn’t binge drink or smoke like his mentor, Iron Man. Source: Pixabay

Australian researchers in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal took a whimsical look at the ageing trajectories of Marvel superheroes based on their attributes and behaviours as seen in the films, finding them to be largely well-adjusted and likely to age healthily. 

Positive behaviours and health assets
Marvel superheroes are physically active, socially engaged, and optimistic, with high educational attainment and (with one notable exception) healthy weight, all of which have been associated with a positive ageing trajectory.

The review found that superheroes regularly engage in physical activity and exercise, both associated with healthy ageing. They often undertake high intensity interval training (HIIT), associated with improved health status in ageing men.

Even during discussions about how to stop aliens from enslaving humanity, superheroes stand regularly and pace, increasing their step count and further improving their healthy outlook.

In terms of social engagement, superheroes exhibit a high degree of social cohesion and connectedness, both linked to reduced dementia risk. People with strong social ties tend to live longer than isolated people, regardless of other risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.

The superheroes show a positive or optimistic mindset on several occasions, as well as psychological resilience and a sense of purpose, all of which have been associated with healthy ageing.  Some have traumatic backgrounds, including Spider-Man who was orphaned, which increases his risk of substance abuse and mental health problems. However, his supportive social contacts, including positive male role models help mitigate this.

Most of the superheroes did not drink or smoke excessively, save for Iron Man and Thor, which is associated with longevity and healthy ageing. However, Thor is already thousands of years old and the researchers could not assume that modifiable personal traits would affect his life trajectory.

Negative behaviours and risk factors
Superheroes are exposed to loud noises, air pollution, and receive multiple head injuries precipitated by high risk physical activities.

Superheroes are repeatedly exposed to loud noises such as explosions, which is linked to hearing loss, which in turn is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Some of the superheroes, such as Hulk and Thor, have booming voices, potentially indicative of early sensorineural hearing loss.

During their activities, superheroes sustain multiple major head injuries, increasing their dementia risk. Involvement in high risk activities, which could increase their likelihood for life changing physical injury and disability.

Of the individual cases presented, Black Panther has probably the best health outlook, as he is extremely wealthy and intelligent, health assets that he shares in common with Iron Man. However, unlike Iron Man, he does not drink or smoke excessively, and is a vegetarian, which has well-studied benefits in healthy ageing.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Hulk was noted to have serious health concerns. Bruce Banner transforms to the Hulk when he experiences tachycardia—specifically, a heart rate of 200 beats per minute. The frequency of this occurrence suggests a predisposition to cardiac arrhythmias, possibly indicating underlying cardiac disease.

Hulk’s body mass index (BMI) is about 120 (calculated from height 213cm–243cm and weight 471kg–635kg). Although being in the overweight category might be protective, obesity is associated with a higher death rate as well as dementia, and several chronic health conditions and frailty. Hulk’s BMI also raises pragmatic concerns around future access to appropriate healthcare. Hulk’s almost constant anger (“That’s my secret Captain. I’m always angry”) might lead to increased inflammation and comorbidity in advanced old age.

Source: The British Medical Journal

Categories : General InterestTags :

Brain Surgeons versus Rocket Scientists: Who’s Brainier?

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Source: Sammy Williams on Unsplash

A light-hearted research article published in the Christmas edition of the BMJ sought to see once for all who is ‘brainier’: brain surgeons versus rocket scientists.

Brain surgeons and rocket scientists are often put on a pedestal as the exemplars of intellectual endeavour. But which of them is smarter and deserves the accolade more? Or at all? A group of neurosurgeons – who were, of course, totally unbiased – decided to resolve this conundrum.

Delving into the background of the phrases, they wrote that, “The phrase ‘It’s not rocket science’ is thought to have originated in America in the 1950s when German rocket scientists were brought over to support the developing space program and design of military rockets,” a research team led by University College London neuroscientist Inga Usher explained in their new paper.

“The origin of ‘It’s not brain surgery’ is less clear. It is tempting to speculate that the pioneering techniques of the polymath and neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing captured the attention of the public and promulgated the phrase.”

Their study aimed to settle the debate once and for all, and to “provide rocket scientists and brain surgeons with evidence to support their self-assuredness in the company of the other party.” The researchers tested participants across cognitive domains such as emotional discrimination and motor control. Eschewing an overall winner, they assessed the cognitive characteristics of each specialty using a validated online test, the Great British Intelligence Test (GBIT). This test had been used to measure distinct aspects of human cognition, spanning planning and reasoning, working memory, attention, and emotion processing abilities in more than 250 000 members of the British public. Rather than being an IQ test, it is intended to more finely discriminate aspects of cognitive ability. The dataset also let the researchers benchmark both specialties against the general population.

The neurosurgeons showed significantly higher scores than the aerospace engineers in semantic problem solving (possibly attributable to their familiarity with Latin and Greek scientific terminology). Aerospace engineers showed significantly higher scores in mental manipulation and attention. Domain scores for memory, spatial problem solving, problem solving speed, and memory recall speed were similar for both groups. When each group’s scores for the six domains were compared with those in the general population, only two differences were significant: the neurosurgeons’ problem solving speed was quicker and their memory recall speed was slower. No significant difference was found between aerospace engineers and the control population in any of the domains. 

The researchers observed that, “despite the stereotypes depicted by the phrases ‘It’s not rocket science’ and ‘It’s not brain surgery’, all three groups showed a wide range of cognitive abilities. In the original GBIT, 90% of Britons scored above average on at least one aspect of intelligence, illustrating the importance of studying multiple domains that make up a concept of intelligence rather than a single measure.”

The researchers came to the conclusion that, based on the findings, in situations that do not require rapid problem solving, it might be more correct to use the phrase “It’s not brain surgery”. It is possible that both neurosurgeons and aerospace engineers are unnecessarily placed on a pedestal and that “It’s a walk in the park” or another phrase unrelated to careers might be more appropriate. Other specialties might deserve to be on that pedestal, and future work should aim to determine the most deserving profession.

On a more serious note, they also considered that fewer young people are choosing surgery or engineering as a career path, and that such pursuits are commonly seen as ‘masculine’, deterring many females at an early stage. Their results however, showed that neither field differed significantly in cognitive aspects from the general public, which should help reassure future candidates that there is no ‘requirement’ for any type of personality trait.

Source: The British Medical Journal