Coffee Love On World Heart Day!

Medic-ALL(09:29:2015) WORLD HEART DAY, NATIONAL COFFEE DAY

In the midst of all the coffee freebies around today, it is certainly not my intention to crash the “coffee party”, why would I anyway? , especially having being been a proud caffeine-addict myself over the years. But it’s certainly a perfect occasion, the National Coffee day which happens to coincide with the World Heart Day. Great for me, a lover of the heart and a coffee die-hard!

World Heart Day takes place on this day every year offers an opportunity for people across the globe to take part in the world’s biggest intervention against cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Watch  World Heart Day Video

                                                           Coffee; Not a bad heart-choice!

The focus for this World Heart Day is on creating heart-healthy environments. By ensuring that people are able to make heart-healthy choices wherever they live, work and play, the World Heart Day encourages us all to reduce our cardiovascular risk, towards promoting a heart-healthy planet for those around us.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death and disability in the world today: over 17.3 million people die from cardiovascular disease every year.

What about Coffee?

For your information; A cup of Coffee is more than just black water with a rich smell.

A single cup of coffee contains several important nutrients, including Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium and Niacin.

So far, studies have shown that drinking coffee regularly in moderation reduces the risk of heart failure.

Plain coffee is calorie free, which makes it a better beverage choice than others, even when low-fat milk is added. However, adding cream, whipped cream and sugars (including flavored syrups) fills them with unneeded calories.

The Benefits! 

The caffeine in a cup of coffee might help small blood vessels work better. Coffee consumption has been linked with a lower incidence of heart rhythm disturbances in both men and women, and lowered stroke risk for women. Among 13,000 people, those who drank one to three cups every day were 20 percent less likely to go to the hospital for arrhythmias than abstainers.

Lowers Diabetes Risk

Coffee has also proved beneficial in the context of cardiovascular disease risk factors like Diabetes. Recently, Australian researchers found a correlation of about 7% drop in the odds of having type II diabetes for every additional cup of coffee drunk daily following 18 studies of nearly 458,000 participants. Six to seven cups of either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee tanked the chance of getting the disease by a third.

It is important to add however, that regular coffee, contains caffeine which can raise the blood pressure, as well as blood levels of the fight-or-flight chemical epinephrine (also called adrenaline),

Other Benefits of Coffee

Cancer

Though, the evidence of a cancer protection effect of coffee is weaker than that for type 2 diabetes, the drink has proven to be more  effective against liver cancer, where it lowers the chances of developing the disease by half. There is also a link between coffee and lung cancer, but only those who got the disease because they smoked. On the other hand, drinking it was actually found to be a protectant for non-smokers with lung cancer.

Keeps the Brain Sharp

Coffee has also been linked to lower risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. That characteristic mental jolt coffee provides which most medical students and doctors can relate with may extend a lifetime. Recent studies have shown that Parkinson’s, age-related cognitive decline, and maybe even Alzheimer’s could be kept at bay by coffee. The Alzheimer’s and dementia risk may be lowered by an amazing 65 percent thanks to coffee!

Helps You Withstand Pain

Interestingly, coffee may be the answer to mild pain relief.  This is according to a national study done in Norway, in which coffee-takers in an office reported a lower pain-intensity level when compared with those who abstained

Most Importantly, Lowers Death Risk

This is according to a meta-analysis of 20 studies with 1 million participants carried out by the National Institutes of Health. They found that coffee somehow helped  lower ones chances of dying from any cause. The AARP Diet and Health study showed that men can lower their chance of dying by 6 percent with just a cup a day. The more they drank, the lower that chance went — five cups, of course, was the maximum recommended.

After all said....Lets Drink it up #CoffeeLove!

Sources: World Heart Day, WebMD, The Inquisitr

Medic-ALL.Inc.2015

Nigeria Kicks Out Polio!

Medic-ALL(09:28:2015) GLOBAL HEALTH

In what has been described as a historical achievement for global health by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Nigeria was last Friday declared free of Polio by the World Health organization and subsequently removed from the Polio-Endemic List, leaving Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two countries in the world that have never been free of the disease. (Read Polio: The "PAN" and the"PAIN").

Nigeria has not reported a case of wild poliovirus since 24 July 2014, and all laboratory data have confirmed a full 12 months have passed without any new cases. Health officials have described this as a major victory in the fight to rid the world of polio. The World Health Organization records show that as recently as 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.

Since then however , there appeared to be collaborative effort by all levels of government, civil society, religious leaders and tens of thousands of dedicated health workers which resulted in one of the world's most populous nations successfully stopping the disease. More than 200 000 volunteers across the country repeatedly immunized more than 45 million children under the age of 5 years, to ensure that no child would suffer from this paralysing disease. Innovative approaches, such as increased community involvement and the establishment of Emergency Operations Centres at the national and state level, have also been pivotal to Nigeria’s success.

In a statement by Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa “Stopping polio in Nigeria has been a clear example that political engagement, strong partnerships and community engagement are the engines that drive the momentum of public health programmes, enabling them to achieve great things. I would like to congratulate everyone, particularly political, religious and community leaders in Nigeria and across Africa, for reaching a year without cases of wild polio.”

Certainly the victory over Polio in Nigeria would not have been possible without the support and commitment of donors and development partners. Such continued support, along with continued domestic funding from Nigeria, will be essential to keep Nigeria and the entire region polio-free, keeping in mind the vulnerable nations in the region( See Polio:The "PAN" and the "PAIN").

The World Health Organization, through her Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan praised the commitments and efforts that got Nigeria off the Polio-Endemic list whilst reiterating the need for supportive efforts to be rendered to Pakistan and Afghanistan.


Eradicating polio will be one of the greatest achievements in human history, and have a positive impact on global health for generations to come. Nigeria has brought the world one major step closer to achieving this goal and it’s critical that the world seizes this opportunity to end polio for good and ensure future generations of children all over the world are free from this devastating disease.

Source: WHO Media Centre

See Also  Polio:The "PAN" and the "PAIN"

Medic-ALL.Inc 2015

3yr old diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes,Youngest Patient Yet!

Medic-ALL (09:18;2015) IN THE NEWS

A 3yr old girl was diagnosed with diabetes, making her what is thought to be the world’s youngest case of diabetes in history. The child’s story was documented in a case presented this week at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm. The case is being presented by doctors at the University of Texas, Houston.

Dr. Michael Yafi of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, United States who is presenting the case study, said the patient, a 3-and-a-half-year-old Hispanic girl presented to the paediatric endocrinology clinic with symptoms of excessive urination and thirst, but her medical history was unremarkable except that her parents were obese, but had no history of diabetes. 

The child weighed 77 pounds -- compared to an average of about 35 pounds for a girl her age. Her BMI was also in the top 5 percent for children her age and hence she was being evaluated for childhood causes of obesity. Following review of the child's diet by the doctors, it was found out that the family had poor nutritional habits with uncontrolled calories and fat. Laboratory tests revealed she had high fasting plasma glucose, but she tested negative for antibodies that would have indicated Type 1 diabetes. After ruling out other potential causes for her obesity and weight gain, doctors diagnosed her with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is typically seen in adults, but as the epidemic expands, the disease has been rising dramatically in children, as well. In a statement Yafi said "Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of type 2 diabetes even in very young obese children, although of course type 1 diabetes can also still occur in obese children and is in fact much more common in young children than type 2 diabetes."

The girl was subsequently started on a liquid version of the diabetes drug metformin and her parents received nutritional training and medical advice to help them control their daughter's food intake and increase her physical activity. The metformin therapy was decreased by 50 percent each month, and then stopped. Six months after her diagnosis, the girl had dropped 25 percent of her body weight and had normal blood glucose levels.

According to Dr Yafi the reversal of type 2 diabetes in children is possible by early screening of obese children, early diagnosis, appropriate therapy and lifestyle modification.

Around 9.3 percent of the American population has diabetes, amounting to 29.1 million people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2014, while 8.1 million people are undiagnosed.

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015

Sources: FoxNews, CBSnews

Nobody wants Surgery!

Medic-ALL(09;16;2015) SURGERY AND ETHICS 

By Kayode Kuku MB;BS

Experiencing medical practice as a student and physician in a “developing” country, I came in contact with a lot of patients who hated to hear of the option of having surgery to manage whatever condition they were being managed for. From the simple surgical procedures (appendicectomies, lumopectomies) to the cesarean-sections for child delivery and even more major surgeries to improve the patients’ quality of life, having surgery was bad news to most.

It was common to associate the phobia for surgery with the level of education of some of the patient, but I later found that even the most learned shared in the phobia apparently. I came to realize that the dislike for surgery was a general phenomenon and this submission was substantiated following my exposure to patients in the developed society, it didnt matter if it was a minor excission procedure or a total knee replacement. The fact is most people would prefer not to have surgery, while some have an outright phobia for surgery.

A while ago I came across the term“Tomophobia” which refers to the fear of surgery or surgical operations. It is considered a social phobia. Tomophobia is said to be caused by a number of reasons, which include: 1) A bad situation or traumatic event occurred in the person’s life as a child involving a surgery; 2) The risks associated with having surgery (i.e., in extreme cases, death); 3) Some are afraid of how their life will be after a surgery (i.e., diet, movement, sex, health, longevity); 4) People are scared of contracting other illnesses or getting sicker after a surgery; 5) Some are afraid of having major procedures like heart or brain surgeries; 6) Some are just  afraid of possible negative outcomes from surgeries (i.e., scars, bruising, or loss of mobility); and 7) While others  just don’t like anything that causes them pain, including surgery. These are only a few possible causes. There are probably hundreds more causes.

The symptoms of Tomophobia typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry mouth and shaking. Tomophobia is treated counseling, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic programming and medicines could also be prescribed.

However, I honestly do not think that majority of the patients I have come across in practice who have either  fled the doctor’s office or cried when given the option of surgery suffer from Tomophobia. For most it’s probably more of a natural feeling of not wanting to be cut with a knife or scalpel, hence the thought of having an invasive procedure coupled with the imagination of a cut through the skin sends shrills down the spine of the patient and gives rise to resulting anxiety. Even after consenting to have surgery, patients experience anxiety. An important step in dealing with surgical anxiety is to become as well informed as possible regarding the illness, prescribed therapies, and surgical treatment. Having a complete understanding of the procedure,the indication, the methods to be applied, and how it is performed can relieve a great deal of worry. An understanding of anesthesia and the low risks of having anesthesia may also help with concerns about surgery. Both the patient and the surgeon have a role to play in this regard. 

If anxiety is caused by a lack of knowledge about the procedure, it is essential that the patient asks questions and finds the satisfactory answers until the decision to have the surgery and the choice of surgeon is fully understood. For many, anxiety is a normal response to being expected to make a life altering decision with minimal information. Once the patient has the necessary facts the anxiety may be relieved. In some cases, anxiety occurs when the patient has no idea of what the surgery entails and is left to imagine what the procedure and the result will be like. The physician performing the surgery can provide a realistic idea of what the outcome of the surgery will be and a typical course of recovery.

Other patients are not comfortable with the idea of surgery, because of the length of their stay in the hospital and recovery time.  This is understandable in the case of patients who have to take time off from their regular work schedule and bear the financial implications of so doing. It is the duty of the managing team and surgeon to adequately counsel the patient on the importance of having the surgery, discuss the possible length of hospital stay and recovery and if applicable, the urgency or not.

The truth is that, doctors have an obligation to help their patients and to refrain from providing ineffective treatments (beneficence and non-maleficence). The goal of medicine is to promote the welfare of patients, and physicians and surgeons possess skills and knowledge that enable them to assist their patients. Due to the nature of the relationship between physicians and patients, doctors are expected to weigh and balance possible benefits against possible risks of an action in the management pf a clinical scenario. What this means is that the best of surgeons know exactly when NOT TO offer or do surgery for a patient. So, patients be rest assured, no real doctor likes to cut you open for the fun of it, ask all your questions to deal with whatever fears you have, the surgeon is always more than happy to answer.

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015!

Refs: Anxiety Disorder. Patient Version. U.S. National Institutes of Health,

POLIO; The "PAN' and the "PAIN

Medic-ALL (09:01:2015) DISEASES

Just a few years ago “P-A-I-N’ was the acronym popularly used among medical students to recall the countries where Polio was endemic, but that changed a couple of years ago when the “I” which referred to the nation with the 2^nd largest population in the world, India, left the likes of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria (P-A-N) on the list of countries that have never stopped Polio.

                              Nigeria aims to follow in the footsteps of India through increased government 

                              commitment and stakeholders support. Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative website

It had been a much-anticipated moment as the World Health Organization notified the national authorities in India on 25 February 2012 that the country was officially removed from the list of countries with active transmission of endemic polio. This came weeks after India marked 12 months in which no Indian child had been paralyzed by polio. India has not seen a case since a 2-year-old girl in the state of West Bengal developed paralysis on 13 January 2011.

It is interesting to note that, as recent as 2009, India had the highest burden of polio cases in the world (741), more than the three other endemic countries combined. But the government resorted to extraordinary measures to reach children with the vaccine so much that the Polio eradication efforts became a most widely-recognized brand in India, with a Bollywood megastar as its public face.

Polio remains endemic in three countries – Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially vulnerable countries.......CONTINUE READING HERE

Medic-ALL. Inc 2015