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WHO Partners With Traditional Healers In Africa

There’s an AIDS epidemic in Africa, and efforts to fight it are hampered by the endemic social problems of that continent. Chief among them are the lack of sufficient modern health resources, the spread of destructive rumors and myths about HIV/AIDS, and even the persistence of HIV denial in Africa (although this last factor is better than in the past).

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance are teaming up with the Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Zambia (THPAZ) to address the first problem –- the lack of health services.

Most Zambians use traditional healers for primary healthcare. The WHO has therefore decided to utilize traditional healers in the fight against AIDS. There are interesting pros and cons to this policy, but it must first be recognized that there is no ideal solution to the problem. The resources to provide optimal modern health care to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS (which would need to include a massive education program) in Zambia and the rest of Africa simply do not exist. One might argue that the world should provide those resources, but let’s put that issue aside and focus on what to do in the meantime. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*

The Global Cost Of Fighting Cancer

Cancer is the world’s costliest disease, sapping the equivalent of 1.5 percent of the global gross domestic product through disability and loss of life, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Cancer cost $895 billion in 2008, and that’s before factoring in the cost of treating cancer.

Cancer and other chronic diseases cost more than infectious diseases and even AIDS, according to a report the ACS [presented last] week. While chronic diseases are 60 percent of all deaths globally, they receive only 3 percent of private and public research funding. The organization is calling for a new look at priorities by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. (Associated Press)

*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*

The Global Burden Of Diseases: Who’s Healthier On The Planet?

survey_button_square.gifMy friend and colleague Bill Heisel, one of our news reviewers, also works at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. He wrote to me that this group:

“… has launched a major global health survey to measure the impact of more than 300 diseases or injuries and more than 40 risk factors. This is the most ambitious global health measurement project in two decades. And when people answer the survey, they will be providing information that will directly shape the final outcome of the research because ‘disease burden’ is partly objective but partly subjective.”

And his pitch to anyone to take the 15-minute, anonymous, online survey is this:

“With unprecedented money and attention pouring into global health efforts, the need for accurate data is urgent. By taking part in the survey, you will contribute to the scientific understanding of global health problems and ultimately enable policymakers to make better decisions.”

Click HERE to begin the survey. Thanks for the news, Bill. And thanks to anyone who takes the time to complete the survey. You may help this team reach its goal of 50,000 people around the globe filling out the survey.

The research is part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, in collaboration with Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Queensland, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

And you can follow the project on Twitter.

*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*

WHO And H1N1: Conflict Of Interest?

On June 11, 2009, Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared that the H1N1 flu that was then spreading around the world was an official pandemic. This triggered a series of built-in responses in many countries, including stockpiling anti-viral medications and preparing for a mass H1N1 vaccination program.

At the time the flu was still in its “first wave” and the fear was that subsequent waves, as the virus swept around the world, would become more virulent and/or contagious –- similar to what happened in the 1918 pandemic. This did not happen. At least our worst fears were not realized. The H1N1 pandemic, while serious, simmered through the winter of 2009-2010, producing a less than average flu season, although with some worrisome difference. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*

Pain Relief Study Has Potential — With A Spin

The development of drugs and other treatments for specific symptoms or conditions relies heavily on either serendipity (the chance finding of a beneficial effect) or on an understanding of underlying mechanisms.

In pain, for example, there are limited ways in which we can block pain signals –- such as activating opiate receptors, or inhibiting prostaglandins. There are only so many ways in which you can interact with these systems. The discovery of a novel mechanism of modulating pain is therefore most welcome, and has the potential of leading to entirely new treatments that may have a better side effect profile than existing treatments and also have an additive clinical effect.

A recent study by Nana Goldman et. al., published in Nature Neuroscience, adds to our understanding of pain relief by identifying the role of adenosine in reducing pain activity in the peripheral nervous system. The researchers, in a nice series of experiments, demonstrated that producing a local painful stimulus in mice causes the local release of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) that peaks at about 30 minutes. This correlates with a decreased pain response in the mice. Further, if drugs are given that prolong the effect of adenosine, the analgesic effect itself is prolonged. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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