Tag: 5/4/22

Categories : COVID Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags :

After More than Two Years, SA’s State of Disaster Finally Ends

On By ModernMedia
Image by Quicknews

More than two years since the start of the COVID pandemic. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday evening (4 April) announced the repeal of South Africa’s national state of disaster. A transition to new regulations to manage the pandemic will take place in coming weeks.

However, the end of the state of emergency had already been extended, a decision met with much criticism. Its end had long been called for, including experts such as Professor Shabir Madhi of Wits University.

Speaking about the extension in January, Prof Madhi told the Daily Maverick that the state of disaster regulations “have done very little when it comes to protecting people from being infected, because, had it had any impact, we wouldn’t have had 70% of the population infected with the virus at least once since the start of the pandemic.”

In the announcement, President Ramaphosa said the state of disaster and associated lockdown restrictions had been needed to properly deal with the COVID pandemic.

The state of disaster also allowed the establishment of the COVID TERs scheme, the R350 social relief of distress grant, the extension of driving licences and other necessary changes.

President Ramaphosa stated that the state of disaster and its powers were always ‘temporary and limited’, with the country now entering a new phase in the pandemic. While SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate in the country, experience had already shown early in the fourth wave that the Omicron variant has decoupled COVID infection from rates of hospitalisation or deaths.

“Going forward, the pandemic will be managed in terms of the National Health Act. The draft Health Regulations have been published for public comment. Once the period for public comment closes on the 16th of April 2022 and the comments have been considered, the new regulations will be finalised and promulgated.

“Since the requirements for the National State of Disaster to be declared in terms of the Disaster Management Act are no longer met, Cabinet has decided to terminate the National State of Disaster with effect from midnight tonight.”

President Ramaphosa said certain provisional regulations will remain in place for a further 30 days to ensure a smooth handover to the new regulations under the National Health Act.

The transitional measure which will automatically lapse after 30 days include:

  • Wearing face masks must continue to be worn in an indoor public space.
  • Gatherings will continue to be restricted in size. Indoor and outdoor venues can accept 50% of capacity subject to vaccination or a COVID test. Gatherings of 1000 people indoors and 2000 people outdoors are permitted for the unvaccinated.
  • Travellers entering South Africa will need to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test.
  • The R350 SRD grant will remain in place, with the Department of Social Development finalising separate regulations allowing it to continue.
  • The grace period for driving licence extensions remain in place.

All other regulations fall away from midnight and the COVID alert levels will no longer apply, President Ramaphosa said. The no-fault vaccination compensation scheme will also continue operating.

Source: BusinessTech

Categories : CancerTags :

Exercise Slows Tumour Growth and Reduces Complications

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels

In mouse studies, researchers found that exercising prior to developing cancer was associated with slower tumour growth and helped reduce the effects of a cachexia, a cancer complication also known as wasting syndrome.

Cachexia is a metabolic wasting disorder that affects up to 80% of patients with advanced cancer and is associated with about a third of all deaths from cancer. Cachexia is characterised by severe progressive muscle wasting, a decline in heart structure and function and an overall poorer quality of life.

“Most exercise, especially aerobic exercise, is easily accessible and affordable,” said Louisa Tichy, a graduate student in Traci Parry’s lab at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “Therefore, engaging in consistent aerobic exercise such as running is a cost-effective way to reduce the risk of cancer and cancer complications.”

Tichy presented the research at the American Society for Investigative Pathology annual meeting.

Previous research has shown that exercise could have anti-inflammatory effects and might positively impact cancer cachexia by slowing its development and preserving cardiac structure and function. However, very few studies have focused on preconditioning.

“Our preclinical study indicated that preconditioning – or exercise prior to tumour bearing – appears to play an important cardioprotective role during cancer cachexia by preserving cardiac structure and function,” said Tichy. “It also helped stunt tumour growth, even when animals did not exercise during the tumour-bearing period.”

For the new study, the researchers studied mice that exercised on a treadmill for eight weeks and non-exercising mice. After the eight weeks, the researchers induced cancer in some of the exercised mice and some sedentary mice while keeping some mice from both groups cancer-free to act as controls.

Mice with cancer and a sedentary lifestyle were found to have poorer heart function – as measured with echocardiography – than the mice that exercised prior to cancer induction. Also, exercising mice had a smaller tumour volume and a 60% smaller tumour mass than the sedentary mice.

“This data is crucial in identifying the significance of exercise and the best timing of exercise as a protective and preventative measure against the detrimental effects of cancer cachexia,” said Tichy.

Understanding how the underlying proteins and pathways are affected by cancer and exercise can be used to inform exercise interventions. The researchers say that devising safe and effective exercise interventions for cancer patients would require evaluating the best intensity, duration and timing of exercise in preclinical models before human tests.

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : CancerTags :

Cardamonin may Have Anticancer Properties

On By ModernMedia
Breast cancer cells. Image source: National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

The natural compound cardamonin present in the spice cardamom and other plants could have therapeutic potential for triple-negative breast cancer, according to a new study using human cancer cells. The findings also show that the compound targets a gene that helps cancer cells elude the immune system.

Around 10–15% of breast cancers are triple-negative, which means they lack receptors for oestrogen or progesterone and don’t make excess amounts of a protein called HER2. These tumours are difficult to treat because they don’t respond to the hormone-based therapies used for other types of breast cancer. They also tend to be more aggressive and have a higher mortality rate than other breast cancers.

“It has been challenging to develop a targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer that is safe and effective at the same time,” said Assistant Professor Patricia Mendonca, PhD, of Florida A&M University. “Because of this, there is a critical need to investigate medicinal plants as a new way to combat this cancer.”

The research was presented at the American Society for Investigative Pathology annual meeting.

“The fact that cardamonin has been used for centuries as a spice and, more recently, as a supplement shows that its intake is safe and may bring health benefits,” said A/Prof Mendonca. “Our research shows that cardamonin holds potential for improving cancer therapy without as many side effects as other chemotherapeutic agents.”

For the new study, the researchers investigated how cardamonin affected the expression of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) gene, which is found in tumour cells. PD-L1 is overexpressed during breast cancer progression and plays a critical role in helping breast cancer cells evade the body’s immune system.

The researchers used two genetically different triple-negative breast cancer cell lines – one derived from women with African American ancestry and the other from women of European origin (Caucasian). They found that cardamonin treatment caused a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability in both cell lines. It also reduced PD-L1 expression in the Caucasian cell line but not the African American cell line, indicating that cells from different races may respond differently to cardamonin because of genetic variations among races. 

“This is the first study to describe cardamonin’s inhibitory effect on the expression of PD-L1, which is relevant for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer,” said Mendonca. “These findings add support to other research that has shown differences in the tumour microenvironment between African and non-African Americans.”

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Mavacamten is Promising in Reducing Shortness of Breath in Cardiomyopathy

On By ModernMedia
Woman holding her chest
Photo by Joice Kelly on Unsplash

A new drug, mavacamten, shows promise in providing relief to cardiomyopathy patients experiencing shortness of breath, according to new research presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Session.

Dr Florian Rader presented results of an international clinical trial showing that mavacamten alleviated the shortness of breath in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The genetic condition causes thickening of the heart muscle, and as a result, heart muscle cells enlarge and scarring often develops between cells. Patients with the condition typically experience shortness of breath, chest pressure, irregular heartbeat, and, although rare, sudden cardiac arrest.

“Until now, existing treatments for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have been suboptimal, leaving most patients symptomatic and often, in need of invasive or even open-heart surgery,” said Dr Rader, who served as site principal investigator of the clinical trial at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. “Follow-up data from this extended clinical trial shows success in lessening the obstruction to blood flow out of the heart in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Along with this relief of obstruction came substantial improvements in symptoms and an important heart failure blood biomarker.”

As Dr Rader explained, mavacamten showed preliminary success in relieving symptoms associated with the condition – chiefly, shortness of breath, which can be debilitating.

Key data from the clinical trial includes:

  • The average age of the 231 clinical trial participants was 60 years old, and 39% of those on the trial were female. The median follow-up was 62 weeks.
  • 69% of trial participants had improved shortness of breath after 48 weeks of treatment.
  • Treatment with mavacamten was generally well tolerated, and no new safety concerns were raised during longer-term follow-up.

Dr Rader said that no disease-specific targeted treatment options have been developed for the condition since it was first described some 60 years ago.

Though the prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is roughly 1 in every 200 patients, Dr Rader said that the condition is thought to be widely underdiagnosed.

“A lot of patients have the condition and often feel short of breath or palpitations but their doctor doesn’t recognise these symptoms as stemming from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” Dr Rader said. “Instead, patients may be told by their physician they are out of shape, need to lose weight or are suffering from an anxiety condition.”

The correct approach, said Dr Rader, is to first pay close attention to the patient’s symptoms. If shortness of breath is a main concern, then a doctor should listen to the patient’s heart for a murmur, then follow up with an electrocardiogram, and, ultimately, an echocardiogram, which most often will lead to the correct diagnosis.

Source: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center