Medical Portal

More than 300 pigs have died in the south of China from a new unknown illness. Quickly spreading disease has struck already 1300 animals in two cities of province Guangdong, however cases of infection transfer to the person are not fixed yet.
According to the information of the Hong Kong newspaper “Min Pao” referring to the official statistics, for the first time this disease was fixed in a small town of Unfou in the beginning of April and then it spread to the next the city of Gaojao. In opinion of the edition, the “messengerâ€? of disease was river water, as people threw away carcasses of dead animals.
The nature of a disease is unknown. The province Guangdong is known as a place of an origin of two last most dangerous infectious diseases “atypical pneumonias” and avian flu, with its victims worldwide more than a thousand people.

Scientists from Cornell University during the research proved for the first time that the disastrous events occurring in a person’s life, have negative effect on a brain not only of those people who were in an epicenter of the disaster.
Such conclusion was made by scientists as a result of tomographies of a brain of several dozens of persons - New York inhabitants. These people on September, 11, 2001, were in the thick of things. They witnessed the destruction of the glorified skyscrapers and people deaths.
Scientists mark, that it has been already known earlier, that disaster victims and witnesses frequently suffer depressions, posttraumatic syndromes and other psychological deviations. But this research has shown also, the change of that part of a brain which is responsible for emotion of fear. Researches tested also people, who didn’t witness the tragedy.
As a result of research, its authors have drawn a conclusion that the brain is changed even if people were not victims of the event. In fact, in case of the strong stress these people also can face psychological problems.

The European Institute of a family policy predicts demographic crisis in the European Union in 2025, and calls authorities and governments of the member-countries to follow a policy, stimulating an increase of natality.
“Europe faces the reduction of natality, and from 2025 on the European Union will face negative demographic dynamicsâ€?, - as it is stated in the report of the head of the Institute Eduardo Heartfelder.
According to the experts, during 1994-2006 the natural increase of the population was 19 million persons in EU. At the same time the given demographic parameter was by 80 % provided by the immigrants.
The head of the European Institute of a family policy supposes that the increasing demographic crisis is caused by a number of socio-economic factors. In particular, the amount of abortions in Europe has increased by 30 % during the last decade: absolute leaders are Belgium and Spain where the amount of such operations has increased by 50 % during the same period.
Heartfelder has noted also the growth of divorces among Europeans: according to the statistics, on the average one divorce accounts for two marriages. The population of 27 countries of the EU is about 500 million.

Scientists assume that the chemical element selenium has positive effect on the organism of HIV positive patients.
Conclusion about the positive influence of selenium on the organism of HIV positive patients made scientists from the Miami University. During the experiment 91 HIV positive patients daily took medicines with the high content of selenium. Another 83 patients took placebo. In the beginning of the experiment selenium level in an organism of all participants of the experiment was identical.
After nine months of taking medicine medical examination has shown that the group, where patients had been taking selenium, has lower risk of virus activity, than the other one. This promising research forces to assume, that selenium medicines should be combined with the traditional therapy.
The researchers stated that selenium can be simple, inexpensive and safe addition to common HIV treatment. The mechanism of selenium influence on an organism is unknown thoroughly. According to one of the hypotheses, selenium has antioxidant properties and is able to restore the damaged cells of the immune system.

Some patients have died for the last several days in hospital of the southern Italian city of Kastellanet because of malfunction in work of the equipment stimulating coronary activity, inform Ansa agency.
The hospital has got the equipment 12 days ago whereupon nine patients who underwent treatment with its help died in medical institution.
Two persons died Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. After these lethal cases the personnel of the local social organization interfered in the matter and came to a conclusion that the reason of patients` death was in malfunction of the device. According to the News agency, other seven patients have died earlier, probably, for the same reason.
Thursday evening the hospital was closed. Police conducts the further investigation.

British scientific from the University of Glasgow during the research have established, that loss of the loved person can become the reason of death.
Scientists have made such conclusion, having observed for 4 thousand married couples in the age from 45 till 64 years since 1970th. It was found out, that the widow or widower had run the increased risk to die during the first six months after the death of the near relation. And then within five years more he or she is threatened with serious heart problems.
Such pattern was kept even viewing the individual risk factors, such as, smoking or alcohol abuse. One of the scientists, who took part in the research, Stuart Wilson, noted that if the couple has lived together for a long time, the chances of a long “survival� for the other partner is rather low.

Within last two weeks three groups of researchers from France and the USA have declared successful tests of a new surgical technique, which allows getting access to internals through natural apertures on a body of the patient.
Endoscopic appliance is entered through a mouth, or through a vagina, and then penetrates into an abdominal cavity through a small puncture in walls of these bodies. The removed tissues, and also samples of tissues for the analysis are taken outside the same way.
Ohio University Medical Center experts have carried out ten biopsies through a mouth. Simultaneously two similar operations have been successfully carried out in New York and Strasbourg (France).
According to the researchers, these surgeries are first experiences in territory of Europe and the USA. At the same time the Indian surgeons declare, that they extract appendix through a mouth for a long time.
The new surgical technique named natural orifice translumenal endosurgery, NOTES, is a natural development of laparoscopic surgeries, however, it does not demand even small cuts on a body of the patient.
Absence of scars on a body and the short recovery period are NOTES` main advantages.
One more advantage - small risk of infectious complications which frequently arise after common surgeries.
Possible NOTES` negative consequences - internal hemorrhage and also the postoperative pains.

British scientists have created a pocket device for the control of a foetus` heartbeat. This device will help pregnant women to control the work of child’s heart and in case of any deviations to call for medical aid.
15-years cooperation of engineers and doctors from Nottingham University resulted in development of a simple device in size of a mobile phone which can be used by the pregnant woman out of the medical institution and which does not demand doctor’s interference. Such high-sensitive device calculates heartbeat frequency in real time. Then the received data are transferred with the help of wireless technology to the nearest computer or handheld computer.
Safety of the device has already been confirmed by the existing European Community standards. As informed one of the leading researchers Barry Hiens-Gill, clinical tests of the device is planned to be finished by July, 2007, and in his opinion, already this October new device will appear on sale.

Scientists from the USA and Thailand during the research have made an interesting opening. They found out that alcohol strengthens the action of antioxidants contained in berries and fruit.
Specialists from the Thai University Kasetsart and US Department of agricultural researches studied various ways of fresh berries preservation and storage and came to a conclusion about the profit of fruit-berry alcoholic cocktails.
According to scientists` estimations, the combination of berries and alcoholic drinks strengthens action of the antioxidants contained in a strawberry, approximately by a third.
Profitability of antioxidants results from their ability to connect free radicals - active molecules with free chemical connection which damage the cellular membranes and DNA.
According to experts - dieticians, some ways of fruit processing can really strengthen properties of fruit and vegetables. At the same time scientists warn, that any antioxidants cannot compensate harm to the health which causes unlimited alcoholic drinks use.

Since 2008 in Japan people will be able to buy cigarettes in the vending machines only having special card with the coded age of the owner.
The decision to introduce such restrictions was taken by the Japanese Association of trading vending machines manufacturers, Association of tobacco products manufacturers and a number of other organizations representing the tobacco industry in Japan.
It is planned to equip all vending machines with the reading device by July, 2008. Only this way Japanese will be able to buy cigarettes.
These measures are going to restrict youth access to cigarettes, while now they can buy it everywhere, in any building with trading vending machine. According to the official data, about 83 % of the Japanese young men – pupils buy cigarettes through vending machines.
The number of such automatic devices in the end of 2006 was 565 200.
Since 2004 some restrictions were introduced: street vending machines are turned off from eleven in the evening till five mornings. However it does not influence the situation.