GCC cancer registry under development

Epidemiological data will help to establish trends and quality of cancer treatment in the region

The Gulf Federation for Cancer Control (GFFCC), in partnership with various health authorities across the GCC, is calling for a GCC-wide cancer registry with the aim of greatly improving cancer care in the region. The registry will make available an updated vital data that can be used to assess current trends in cancer diagnosis and treatment, and which will help researchers and doctors in their work to develop new treatments for cancer and provide better preventative education. Having a constantly updated registry of this kind is vital, as the last available information dates all the way back to 2005. Read more

Pediatric Innovation discussed at World Health Care Congress

• Doctors highlighted shared challenges on common children’s diseases, including obesity, asthma, and diabetes

In an effort to contribute to knowledge and innovation in the field of pediatric medicine, experts from Children’s National Medical Center and its Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, both located on the Sheikh Zayed Campus for Advanced Children’s Medicine in Washington, DC, covered key issues related to children’s health in the region at the second annual World Health Care Congress Middle East (WHCC) taking place in Abu Dhabi this week. Read more

Diabetes Care Update: Premix insulin

Novo Nordisk, a leading healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care, is continuing to develop new strategies that aim to change the pattern of diabetes treatment management. This is done through a multi-pronged approach involving healthcare professional training, awareness campaigns, patient education and training of other medical personnel involved in the diabetes management. Read more

Promising new therapy for depression discussed

More than 6,000 healthcare professionals gathered at the 24th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Paris to discuss new data on Agomelatine, a new and innovative antidepressant developed by Les Laboratoires Servier – France.

Prof. Sidney Kennedy, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Canada and Prof. Dan Stein, Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, presented new results at the conference, highlighting the powerful efficacy of Agomelatine in the treatment of anxiety amongst depressed patients when compared with other commonly prescribed antidepressants. The beneficial effects of Agomelatine were even more pronounced in the highly anxious depressed patients. Read more

Strokes rising among youth

High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol are all the risk factors for stroke, researchers highlighted in a report published in the Sept. 1 issue of the Annals of Neurology magazine.

During the past years, researchers noted a rise in stroke among youth. They discovered that diabetes, cholesterol and tobacco use “has also increased in adolescents and young adults experiencing stroke.” According to statistics, the number of people aged 15 to 44 hospitalized for stroke jumped by more than third only between 1995 and 2008. The increase may be due partly to the increasing numbers of young people who have diseases, such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes – diseases usually associated with older adults. Read more

Moving beyond Embryonic Stem Cells: iPS Cells

For nearly two decades, the medical world and the American public have grappled with the lightning-rod topic of stem cells, in particular the controversy surrounding cells from human embryos. But when researchers four years ago successfully “reprogrammed” adult body cells to become stem cells, some thought the ethical debate was nearly over. Those redirected cells, known as induced pluripotent cells, or iPS cells, show potential as therapy.

“The benefit is they require no destruction of human embryos,” says Mayo Clinic hematologist/oncologist C. Christopher Hook, M.D., an author reviewing the science and ethics of stem cell technologies in the July issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. “The hope is that these cells may make embryonic stem cells unnecessary, but, according to the stem cell scientists, we’re not there yet.” Read more

Fighting Cancer with Cancer: Promising Use for Thyroid Cancer Gene

A mutant gene long thought to accelerate tumor growth in thyroid cancer patients actually inhibits the spread of malignant cells, showing promise for novel cancer therapies, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings will be presented by Mayo Clinic researcher Honey Reddi, Ph.D., at the Endocrine Society meeting in Boston.

Dr. Reddi’s discovery could have widespread implications in cancer research and endocrinology. It could help oncologists sharpen the diagnosis of specific types of thyroid cancers, while leading pharmaceutical researchers toward therapeutics derived from a protein once thought to feed tumor growth. Read more

Middle East as Cosmetic surgery destination

Contributed by Hetty Proudhonne of Plasticsurgeryguide.com

Combining travel to exotic locales with elective cosmetic surgery procedures is quickly gaining popularity throughout the world. Medical tourism is a booming industry, and one of the world’s regions that are benefiting the most from the boom is the Middle East.

Most people may not immediately connect the countries of the Middle East with the idea of having a nose surgery performed, but plastic surgery is surprisingly popular, and common, among residents of the region. In Iran, affluent people frequently rely on cosmetic surgery to enhance their personal appearance and hence, their self-confidence. Surgeons in the country have performed so many rhinoplasty (nose surgery) and face lift procedures, in fact, that they have become singularly adept at the surgeries and are highly in demand by patients from all corners of the globe. Read more

Victoza, New Diabetes Drug Coming to four Gulf States

A Denmark-based healthcare company is bringing Victoza, described as a “revolutionary” new treatment for type 2 diabetes, to four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain on Jan 12.

In a statement, Novo Nordisk said Victoza was to be used once daily, irrespective of meals. Read more

German researchers reported possible HIV infection cure

Researchers in Germany reported that they may have cured a man of HIV infection, according CNN.

In the study, published last week online in the journal Blood, researchers at Charite-University Medicine Berlin treated an HIV-infected man who also had acute myeloid leukemia (a cancer of the immune system) by wiping out his own immune system with high-dose chemotherapy and radiation and giving him a stem-cell transplant. Stem cells are immature cells that can mature into blood cells. At the time of the transplant, which occurred in February 2007, he stopped taking anti-HIV medications. Thirteen months later, after a relapse of the leukemia, he underwent a second round of treatment followed by another stem-cell transplant from the same donor. The donor’s stem cells contained a rare, inherited gene mutation that made them naturally resistant to infection with HIV, according to the authors, led by Kristina Allers, who hypothesized that HIV would nevertheless rebound over time. But that has not happened. Read more

Next Page »