FDA warns pharma Tennessee tied infection

WASHINGTON (AP) - Public health officials are investigating several reported complications with potentially contaminated drugs made by a specialty pharmacy Tennessee.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the investigation involved seven reports of patients who received steroid injections of Main Street Family Pharmacy, a compounding pharmacy in Newbern, Tenn.

Injection contains methylprednisolone acetate, the same drug at the center of last year's deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis. More than 55 people were killed and more than 740 others have been sick after receiving contaminated injections of compounding pharmacies Massachusetts. Steroids are commonly used to treat pain.

The FDA said at least one of the seven cases seems to be a fungal infection. The government recommends doctors stop using sterile drugs distributed by pharmacies.

Main Street Family Pharmacy is a compounding pharmacy, which means a mixture of custom formulations based medicine physician specifications. Compounding pharmacies have long operated in a legal gray area between state and federal regulations. Since the outbreak last year, the FDA has increased inspections of compounding pharmacies across the country, triggering a potentially contaminated drug given state.

A woman contacted at Main Street Family Pharmacy on Friday afternoon could not immediately comment.

In a separate announcement, the North Carolina Department of Health said it is investigating two cases of complications reported by patients who received injections at a clinic in Greenville. State officials said the problems reported to date involves skin infections. There were no reports of meningitis, stroke or death, according to state broadcaster.

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This is Made in Japan New Therapy for Breast Cancer

Patients with cancer, especially breast cancer may be satisfied with chemotherapy or other cancer therapies that long-term average and can cause side effects such as hair loss.
Unlucky Japanese scientist, discovered a new radiation therapy accurately claimed disable tumor but short term.

Is Kumiko Karasawa, an expert on radiation oncology and breast cancer specialist who discovered a new therapy for breast cancer called 'heavy ion radiotherapy'.
In this therapy, patients are exposed an ion beam contains particles that can 'attack' directly to the tumor cells are malignant accurately and paralyze it.

Recently with the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Karasawa started the first trial for the therapy.
In these experiments, Karasawa will treat 20 patients at least 60 years old with small tumors that have not spread in the body.

Each patient will be asked to undergo treatment for one hour per day over a period of four days, much shorter than conventional radiation therapy that may last for months.
This trial will be undertaken during the five-year patient and the overall development of participants will be observed closely by researchers.

"Eventually we managed to conduct this experiment because we have a better understanding of the types of breast cancer can derive any benefit from this therapy," said Karasawa was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail, Saturday (05/25/2013).

Karasawa but also did not deny the contribution of the progress of medical devices that can keep the soft breast tissue does not move so much irradiation procedure to be accurate.

For business technology in the medical field, so far it has not been a lot of countries that can rival Japan.
Moreover, this is the land of rising sun 'home' for three of the six largest medical center in the world with a variety of high-tech facilities valued at 97.2 million U.S. dollars, or around Rp 949 billion.

Kyodo News also reported that this therapy proves effective for disabling types of other cancers, including prostate cancer and lung cancer, but heavy ion radiotherapy have not been tested in patients with breast cancer earlier.

Especially noticeable is the difference of the therapeutic power of rays used in radiotherapy.
In the conventional radiotherapy, X-rays and gamma rays only show their full potential on the surface of the body but will continue to weaken as the rays into the tissues.
But the ion particle therapy used Karasawa style is different because the power of the light remains the same despite having to go into the deeper tissues of the body.

"Hopefully this will give you an alternative therapy for patients who do not want surgery and can not undergo radiation therapy usually requires regular patient to visit the clinic regularly for months," he concluded.

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Actress Angelina Jolie Do a Double Mastectomy

WASHINGTON - Actress and UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie is currently in the spotlight for his decision to perform a double mastectomy to reduce the chance of getting breast cancer, even though he is free of cancer.

The decision was based on a genetic test done, and the other options available to women at risk of breast cancer.

Decisions cut both her breasts when she did not have cancer has drawn attention to preventive surgery.
Angelina Jolie says the death of his mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, to cancer in 2007 at the age of 56 years, also plays a role in the decision to undergo a double mastectomy.

Jolie says that her children wondered if he too would die of cancer.
According to him, the genetic tests showed she had a 87 percent chance of breast cancer and 50 percent for cervical cancer.

The doctors found that certain genetic mutation can increase the possibility of getting breast and uterine cancer.
Two major genes associated with breast and cervical cancer are BRCA1 and BRCA2 derived.

One study found that if a woman has a BRCA-related cancer earlier in his life, then his daughter will get cancer even earlier than in real him, if he inherited gene mutations.

Women with BRCA-related breast cancer has a survival rate similar to other cancer patients at the same stage. But Dr. Marc Boisvert of MedStar Washington Hospital say there is a significant difference.

"The problem is these cancers often occur in women younger and younger women tend to have more aggressive cancers, and they did not suspect him," said Boisvert.

The women in the 20s and 30s are not likely to get breast cancer screening.
Those most likely to have the most BRCA mutations is of European Jewish descent.
But "you can still have it if you are black, white, Hispanic, Chinese descent, Asian, or any tribe," said Boisvert.

National Cancer Institute recommend genetic testing if close relatives had breast or uterine cancer.
But do not have a BRCA1 or 2 mutation does not mean freedom from cancer.
And have an inherited gene does not mean that you will definitely get the disease.
But genetic experts can come up with a percentage, in terms Jolie is 87 percent for breast cancer.

Genetic testing costs alone can reach thousands of dollars.

Preventive surgery can reduce the possibility of a less than 5 percent, but according to Boisvert was not the only option.

"I think the important educational role here because your mind at ease investagate that you are being watched carefully and find out how much the numbers, and how the possibility of recurrence of it," said Boisvert.

Boisvert said that ultimately, the patient needs to feel comfortable with the treatment, whether it's prudent oversight or operation.

In an article published in the New York Times on Tuesday (14/5), Angelina Jolie says she decided to perform the procedure after knowing that he was carrying a gene that increases the risk of developing breast cancer and cervical cancer.

Jolie says some surgical procedures performed starting in February and ending in late April, lowering the risk of cancer from 87 percent to 5 percent.

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WHO Warns Polio outbreak in the Horn of Africa

WHO World Health Organisation warned the outbreak of polio in the Horn of Africa .

According to WHO a four-month old girl near Dadaab develop symptoms of polio last month, and two others were involved in contact with the boy later was found positive for Type 1 polio virus.


WHO says this is the first case of polio were confirmed in Kenya in nearly two years.


Added, one more case of Type 1 polio virus was confirmed this month in Banadir, Somalia.


WHO confirms that vaccination campaigns for children are taking place in Somalia, and the second round of vaccinations scheduled start on Sunday in parts of Kenya region.

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Television Help Global Lower Birth Rate

Ownership of television and media coverage on a large scale to be the most influential factor to the decline in birth rates in the world .

The population of the world is now more or less amounted to seven billion people.
Where the birth rate continues to rise in some countries, especially developing countries like India.

However, a new study reveals just the opposite, global birth rates have declined significantly in some areas.
Martin Lewis, Stanford University geographer said, declining birth rate is especially the case in India in which every woman has an average of 2.5 births per year.
While in the United States, every woman is expected to have an average of 2.1 births per year, this figure is the data in 2013.

Here we see the birth rate of India was not too showed significant differences in the numbers compared to the U.S. which is a developed country, where usually have a low birth rate.
"This is an extraordinary thing, global birth rate decline massively. Yet this seems less media attention," said Lewis.

Fertility decline is due to several factors, such as rising incomes and rising levels of literacy in women.
Besides ownership of television and media coverage on a large scale to be the most influential factor to the decline in birth rates in the world.

According to Lewis studies revealed that the cable associated with decreased reports of violence against women and children.
Moreover, it also increases the freedom of women and lowers fertility.
Why reduce fertility?

Because on television, people can see a picture of the present family.
Presenting numerous television models middle class families who can fight and get through the transition from traditional to modernity.
To assist this process, in fact the model of middle-class families with little children.

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Here's 6 Negative Effects Cigarette In Hair and Skin, Still Wants to Smoke?

Smoking is a habit and the trend for today's urban society, especially youth and adulthood.
In fact, in addition to damage the heart and lungs, smoking also can give bad influence on hair and skin.
Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute assisted by senior consultant dermatologist, Dr. Nipun Jain, examines how smoking can affect a person's appearance.

"Smoking can damage the hair and skin, and makes a person look much older. This is caused by the nicotine and other chemicals into the arteries and block the flow of oxygen and vital nutrients throughout the body," said Dr. Jain.

Here are 6 negative effects of smoking for healthy hair and skin, as reported by the Times of India, Friday (05/24/2013):

1. Sagging skin and wrinkles

Chemicals released from tobacco smoke trigger the destruction of collagen and elastin.
This causes sagging skin and wrinkles are very clear.

2. Lines around the lips

When smoking cigarettes, certain muscles around the lips are used in a manner that may cause keripu.
This can also lead to loss of elasticity in the skin around the lips.

3. The spots on the face

Various studies have shown that smokers are more prone to freckles on the face.
These spots are a darker skin color spots found on the face and hands.

4. Changes in skin color

This change is also called 'stained finger'.
Excessive smoking cause discoloration of the skin, nails, and teeth.

5. Hair loss

Smoking can accelerate the process of thinning hair, not only the men and also women.
Smoking also clogs arteries that reduces the flow of nutrients to the body, including to the head.

6. Eye wrinkles

Smoke from a burning cigarette in touch with the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes.
Inhaling cigarette smoke can also damage the structure of the skin and blood vessels around the eyes.
The destruction caused by the hazardous chemicals produced by cigarettes.

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This is the Compound in the Brain that Make Us Feel Itchy

Probably never crossed your mind where they come from itchy, but if your home is a lot of mosquitoes or you are allergic to certain foods.
But according to a group of researchers from the U.S., there is a chemical in the brain that become major cause itching.

In fact according to the researchers, in the absence of these compounds, there would be no itching or scratching his desire for the body that feels itchy.

The team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Maryland tested a variety of chemical compounds that carry information to the brain to find out what's behind the emergence of compound itch.
Until finally they found a compound called Npbb.

"When we exposes Npbb deficient mice with a substance that can trigger itching and we were very impressed because nobody saw it happen. Mice were not scrape himself," said research team leader Santosh Mishra as reported by the Daily Mail, Friday (
24.05.2013).

Conversely, when the mice were given injections contains Npbb, they immediately started scratching his body.

According to the researchers, the findings could provide hope finding better treatments for people who suffer from a disease that makes the skin feel very itchy.
Among people with eczema, diabetes and liver disorders.

Similarly, kidney dialysis patients who often suffer from severe itching, or cancer patients who often faced with the reality that pain relievers cause severe irritation on their skin until they are forced to stop treatment.
Moreover, the skin damage caused by constant scratching activity can cause infections in patients who are terminally ill.

Even so, the researchers emphasize that the finding of Npbb which also has other important roles in the body, the solution does not merely create a drug that can inhibit the performance of the compound.

"The challenge is to find a similar biosirkuit on people, evaluate and identify what molecules can be targeted for lethal chronic itching without causing unwanted side effects. So this is just the beginning," said another researcher, Dr. Mark Hoon.

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WHO: "Corona Virus Transmitted Between Humans"

Saudi Arabia - For those of you who want to travel to the Middle East should be wary.
Do you remember, six months ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on the existence of Corona Virus or Virus Middle East SARS-like virus.
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the spread of the virus is likely transmitted between humans.

In this week, WHO said the virus that attacks the respiratory tract, lining of the lungs, and kidneys-it has spread among patients treated in a hospital.
In a Saudi Arabian hospital, 15 patients were survived to fight this virus, after seven patients died.

Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment World Health Organization (WHO), Keiji Fukuda, confirmed that Corona Virus transmitted in a small group of patients who were treated in a hospital.
"But so far there has been no evidence of spread to the general population," Fukuda said in a press release quoted by the site npr.com, Tuesday, May 14, 2013.

Previously, a French citizen of patients who have recently returned from Dubai also infected with the scientific name of Mers-CoV or the Middle East's Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.
Other cases also occurred in Jordan, where patients are treated simultaneously in one hospital become infected.

While not having the same arrangement of cells and infect a different way with SARS Corona Virus from the Middle East is more deadly.
Mortality rate of SARS patients, 8,000 patients were infected, as many as 800 people died.
Meanwhile, the WHO noted, until May 2013, of the 34 patients were infected with Corona Virus, 18 people died.
By doing so, fatal deaths (case fatality rate) due to Corona Virus infection reached 53 to 66.6 percent, while only 10 percent of SARS.

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