Mystery disease kills eight more in Bihar |  |
- Mystery disease kills eight more in Bihar
- Delhi government health scheme left 775 kids dead
- Scientists develop first ever drug to treat 'Celtic gene' in cystic fibrosis sufferers
- Stopping foreclosure delay will bring housing improvement, Kansas State study says
- Learning from mom boosts low-income kids' school readiness
- Anti-HIV gel being evaluated in pregnant and breastfeeding women
| Mystery disease kills eight more in Bihar Posted: 20 Jun 2011 09:18 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Patna, June 20 - The Bihar government voiced alarm after eight more children died in Muzaffarpur district, taking the toll from a mysterious disease sweeping the state to 28, officials said Monday. The children died after reporting high fever followed by bouts of unconsciousness and convulsions. Locals termed the disease 'chamki ki bimari' and said the symptoms were similar to encephalitis, a disease that causes inflammation of the brain. Over three dozen children are undergoing treatment in hospitals but health officials are still unable to identify the disease. Alarmed by the deaths, Bihar Health Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey visited Muzaffarpur Monday evening to take stock of the situation. It was Choubey who had earlier described the soaring sumemr heat in the region as the cause of the deaths three days ago. 'The situation in Muzaffarpur appears to be serious. We will take care,' Choubey told IANS. An official in the chief minister's office told IANS that Nitish Kumar held a meeting with officials and directed them to take immediate measures to tackle the situation. He asked the principal secretary of the health department, Amarjeet Sinha, to send a team of experts to Muzaffarpur. Nitish Kumar, who returned from a week-long visit to China Sunday, appealed to union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to immediately send a central team to Bihar to investigate the mystery disease. According to reports, children with symptoms similar to those of encephalitis were also found in other districts like Sheohar, Gopalganj, East Champaran, Siwan and Sitamarhi. Muzaffarpur Malaria Officer Bhagirathi Prasad Sunday told IANS: 'It is unfortunate the cause of the deaths could not be ascertained till date.' It is not the first time Muzaffarpur is in news for deaths of children due to an unknown disease. Last year also, over two dozen children died but the state government failed to identify the reason. http://www.rxpgnews.com    |
| Delhi government health scheme left 775 kids dead Posted: 20 Jun 2011 06:05 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, June 20 - As many as 775 children and eight pregnant women, enrolled in the Integrated Child Development Services - scheme of the Delhi government under which nutritious food and health facilities are provided to underprivileged women and children, died last year, a RTI reply says. In a reply to an application under the Right to Information - Act filed by child rights activist Manish Bhatnagar, an ICDS official said: 'According to record, the number of children enrolled in ICDS scheme who died in Delhi last year was 775.' Eight pregnant women enrolled also died last year. The ICDS scheme is a pilot project of the Delhi government's women and child development department with an aim to improve nutritional and health status of children below six years and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition. 'In 2009, seven pregnant women and 882 children enrolled with the ICDS died,' the official said. Women and child development department director Rajiv Kale told IANS: 'The mortality rate is not so high. We are covering approximately 727,000 children and only around one percent of them died.' Bhatnagar said: 'The reason behind the deaths is yet unknown. However, the number of deaths is alarming as the scheme provides health facilities and food to children who are economically deprived in Delhi.' Said NGO Centre for Social Research director Ranjana Kumari: 'The death figure is high. A total of 775 kids died in Delhi in 365 days. It is a matter of concern.' 'There is need for serious investigation into the circumstances under which the deaths took place. People responsible for this must be punished and the government should be accountable,' Ranjana Kumari told IANS. Currently, 55 projects are functioning under the ICDS in various parts of Delhi, covering approximately 727,000 children up to the age of six as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. In addition, supplementary nutrition is being provided... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Scientists develop first ever drug to treat 'Celtic gene' in cystic fibrosis sufferers Posted: 20 Jun 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) An international research team led by Queen's University have developed a ground breaking treatment for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. The new drug will benefit sufferers who have the 'Celtic Gene', a genetic mutation which is particularly common in Ireland. The study, which was carried out by scientists at Queen's University Belfast, the University of Ulster, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and teams of researchers in Europe, USA and Australia found significant improvement in lung function, quality of life and a reduction in disease flare ups for those receiving the new treatment. The drug (VX-770) is a significant breakthrough not only for those with the 'Celtic Gene', known as G551D, but also for all other Cystic Fibrosis sufferers as it indicates that the basic defect in Cystic Fibrosis can be treated. This is the first drug aimed at the basic defect in Cystic Fibrosis to show an effect. It is still too early to determine whether this treatment will improve life expectancy but the improvements in the breathing tests and the reduction in flare-ups would suggest survival will be better. Stuart Elborn, Centre Director in the Centre for Infection and Immunity at Queen's University and co-leader of the study said: The development of this drug is significant because it is the first to show that treating the underlying cause of Cystic Fibrosis may have profound effects on the disease, even among people who have been living with it for decades. The remarkable reductions in sweat chloride observed in this study support the idea that VX-770 improves protein function thereby addressing the fundamental defect that leads to CF. Dr Judy Bradley, from the University of Ulster said: This drug opens the defective channel in the lung cells of people with Cystic Fibrosis and allows proper lung clearance of bacteria. This is a ground breaking treatment because it treats the basic defect caused by the gene mutation in patients. ... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Stopping foreclosure delay will bring housing improvement, Kansas State study says Posted: 20 Jun 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) MANHATTAN, KAN. -- As housing prices in the United States continue to drop, a Kansas State University professor says the best way to help the market is to stop delaying foreclosures. While negotiations continue between state attorneys general and banks over a settlement that looks at foreclosure practices, some of the settlement proposals may backfire and do more harm than good, according to two recent studies co-authored by Kansas State finance professor Eric Higgins. Higgins co-authored the studies with Charles Calomiris, a professor at Columbia Business School, and Joseph Mason, finance professor at Louisiana State University, in response to current negotiations that have delayed many foreclosures from occurring. Because the terms of the proposed servicer settlement call for banks to do more on forgiving mortgages, the studies say it would only encourage more homeowners to strategically default on their loans. Delaying or prolonging the foreclosure process doesn't help either because it prevents the market from recovering. In no way do our studies suggest that foreclosure is a good thing, said Higgins, von Waaden Chair of Investment Management and head of the department of finance. It is very unfortunate, but to delay the foreclosure process doesn't help anybody. It doesn't help the homeowner who is in debt and can't get out of debt. It's not helping the economy because we can't find the bottom of the housing market. And it's not helping neighborhoods because you have neglected houses. It's also not fair to call the banks the only bad guys who caused the housing market fiasco, Higgins said. Of course, there's blame to be had by the banks, Higgins said. But there's also blame to be had by the people who knew that they were borrowing too much. There's blame to be had for investors who bought these mortgage-backed securities without performing adequate diligence. And there's blame on the regulators who overlooked many problems... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Learning from mom boosts low-income kids' school readiness Posted: 20 Jun 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Previous research says on average, children living in poverty are less well prepared to start school than children from middle-income homes. Now, new research says home learning experiences may help low-income children's school readiness. Our findings indicate that enriched learning experiences as early as the first year of life are important to children's vocabulary growth, which in turn provides a foundation for children's later school success, said Eileen T. Rodriguez, survey researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Rodriguez, the study's lead author, conducted the research as part of her Ph.D. program at New York University. This research provides an important glimpse into how children learn and develop in naturalistic settings across time, said Amber Story, a social psychologist and deputy director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, which funded the study. Such data is difficult to gather but it adds a necessary dimension to our understanding of learning and all the factors that impact it before the child even reaches the classroom. Over a five-year period, the study examined the learning environments of more than 1,850 children and their mothers from predominantly low-income households; that is, households at or below the federal poverty line. Researchers used home visits to gather information when the children were one, two, three and five years old. The researchers gathered information on how often children took part in literacy activities, such as shared book reading; the quality of mothers' engagements with their children, such as children's exposure to frequent and varied adult speech; and the availability of learning materials, such as children's books. From this information, the researchers calculated a total learning environment score at each age for each of the children. They also measured the number of words the children understood and their knowledge of... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| Anti-HIV gel being evaluated in pregnant and breastfeeding women Posted: 20 Jun 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) PITTSBURGH, June 20, 2011 -- Determining whether a promising HIV prevention gel is safe for women to use while they are pregnant or breastfeeding is the aim of a new clinical trial being conducted by the National Institutes of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN). Researchers are hopeful that the study -- the first clinical trial of the vaginal microbicide tenofovir gel in breastfeeding women and only the second in pregnant women -- will bring them a step closer to developing a safe and effective HIV prevention product women can use throughout their lives. The Phase I trial is underway at two U.S. sites -- Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) -- but has implications for women throughout the globe. Indeed, nearly 16 million women are living with HIV worldwide, with most acquiring infection through unprotected vaginal sex. Microbicides, such as tenofovir gel, are products being developed to prevent HIV infection when used in the vagina or rectum. Researchers anticipate tenofovir gel may be the first vaginal microbicide approved for preventing HIV infection in women. Tenofovir gel and other vaginal microbicides under development are intended to be used by sexually active women -- the very women most likely to get pregnant -- yet we have very little information about whether these products are safe for them to use, said Richard Beigi, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who is leading the study. In fact, HIV prevention may be most critical during pregnancy due to heightened immune responses or hormonal changes that appear to make pregnant women twice as likely to be infected by sexual partners. Most women also continue to be sexually active and use medication while they are pregnant and breastfeeding, so we need to know if products like... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
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