Medical Portal

About 70 thousand women all over the world annually die from consequences of the abortions made by nonprofessionals, or in unsanitary conditions. Serious complications after such abortions, leading to long or chronic diseases, are fixed at five more millions women.

Such data are resulted in the research conducted by American Gattmacher Institute together with the World Health Organization.

Developing countries account for the majority of abortions - about 35 million. They also account for about 97 percent of unsafe abortions. Now all over the world each fifth pregnancy ends with abortion on the average, however in various regions this parameter varies essentially.

Authors of the research consider that the legislative interdiction for abortion will not lead to decrease in absolute number of abortions. In particular, in Ghana, where abortions are forbidden, and HIV preventive maintenance is built on propagation of abstention from illegitimate sex, in 2003 54 abortions account for 1000 women, that is twice as much, than in the USA. However, critics say, last conclusions are based on rather approximate data, as there are no regular account of abortions in the countries where they are forbidden.

The American organization Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has declared that more than half of tested by them lipsticks contained lead.

The statement of the organization says, 33 red color lipsticks of different manufacturers have taken part in their research. According to the results of their researches, 61 % from them contained lead, at the same time beauty aids of some manufacturers, such as Cover Girl, L”Oreal and Christian Dior, contain more lead, than the others.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics marks, that Food and Drug Administration didn’t put any restrictions on lead content in lipsticks. At that, for example, in third of analyzed lipsticks lead content has exceeded the maximum permissible limit set for sugar candies.

Scientists from Duke University (USA) have found out that an appendix, which was earlier considered useless and even problem organ, is very important in immune system of the person.

The appendix serves as a place of rise of the bacteria necessary for normal work of bowels.

Functions of an appendix are connected to huge amount of microorganisms in digestive system of the person.

An organism of the healthy person has more bacteria, than cells and many of them are useful. However a number of diseases, such as cholera and dysentery can cause death of all bacteria. The role of an appendix is to help digestive system to work in a normal order, reproducing new microorganisms.

In a modern society an appendix loses its value as intestinal flora can be easily restored with the help of medical preparations. However earlier, when epidemics were frequent, the role of an appendix was huge.

Nevertheless in a case of appendicitis doctors in any case recommend to remove an appendix as delay can lead to complications and death. Only in the USA from 300 to 400 people die annually from appendicitis.

Use of mobile phone within ten and more years considerably increases risk of brain tumors – glioma and acoustic neurinoma. Most frequently tumors appear on that half of head which mainly adjoins to a mobile phone during the conversation.

According to Occupational Environmental Medicine, Swedish scientists from University Orebro have analyzed the data of 11 researches conducted in the Great Britain, USA, Germany, Japan, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. All of them were devoted to interconnection between use of mobile phones and development of tumors, and contained the information about the people, who have used phones within ten and more years.

In most cases tumors arose on that side of a head which mainly adjoined with mobile phone during conversation.

Received by the Swedish scientists data are contrary to the results of some earlier researches. In particular, the research conducted last January in Great Britain has not revealed interrelation between use of mobile phones and risk of glioma.

Moreover, some researchers assure that radiation of mobile devices does not have negative influence on cells or DNA.

In EU member-states there are more elderly people, than children, informed European statistical agency Eurostat.

According to the publish by the agency data, in structure of the EU population children under 14 make only 16,2 %, and elderly people in the age of 65 years and more - 16,6 %.

For the last 25 years total number of young people in the EU member-states has reduced by 23 million (21 %, 10 % from which - only for during last decade).

According to the Eurostat information, the most “old” population among the EU countries has Italy where each fifth resident is more than 65 years old, and the part of young people makes only 14,2 %.

Ireland has the youngest population, its part there makes 20,7 %. Despite these parameters, an aggregate number of the population in the EU, which is almost 500 million people today, for the last 27 years has increased by 8,2 %.

Eurostat explains it, first of all, by an increase in population due to inflow of immigrants. Only the last year natives of the third countries have provided 75 % of demographic growth in the EU.

FDA experts have recognized Prexige produced by Novartis AG unsuitable for sale in the USA. This decision was not unexpected - recently this preparation has been withdrawn from sale in Australia in connection with possible influence on liver.

Now this preparation is sold in Europe; experts consider, that there it will not be withdrawn from the market in the foreseeable future. In USA Novartis plans to continue negotiations with FDA. Representatives of the company declare, that Prexige - «is a valuable preparation for treatment of pains at patients with osteoarthritis, who do not have contra-indications».

In Australia the preparation has been withdrawn from the market after eight registered cases of the serious side-effects connected to influence of the medicine on liver. In two cases patients died, in two more liver had to be grafted.

Prexige is allowed to sale in 50 countries of the world. For first half of this year its sale have made 52 million dollars. In its time the company hoped for the greater commercial success of a preparation.

Last month Novartis has informed the European doctors on new contra-indications to the treatment. Prexige now is not recommended for the patients, who suffer from diseases of liver, and who had similar diseases earlier, and also to patients who take other preparations influencing liver.

People who sleep five or less hours per day, live less than those who sleep seven hours, assert the British scientists. Surplus of sleep is not less harmful: people spending in a bed eight and more hours, die earlier.

Scientists from Worweek University and the London Imperial College used the data on the durations of sleep of 10308 state civil employees gethered in 1985-1988, and updated in 1992-1993. Supervision over participants was kept within 17 years.

Having analyzed the available data for the specified period, researchers have found out, that people, who slept for five and less hours in a day, 2 times more often died from cardiovascular diseases. As a whole, the death rate in this group was 1,7 times higher, than in a group of the employees sleeping for seven hours a day.

Want of sleep was associated with the increased risk of putting on weight, hypertension and diabetes of the 2 type, informed one of the authors of the research Francesco Kappuchio.

At the same time scientists have paid attention, that among those who slept for eight and more hours, the death rate was also twice higher, than among people, sleeping for seven hours a day.

Researchers could not explain this dependence, however have assumed, that long sleep can be a sign of depression, or breakdown typical for oncological diseases.

The rhythm of a modern life almost does not leave people time for reading. However thirst of knowledge forces us to search for new opportunities for its satisfaction. We read in trains of the underground, buses, we try to receive the information from the screen of the computer. It, certainly, expands borders of our intelligence, but also undermines health of organs of vision.

The Australian researchers came to a conclusion that constant and continuous reading can lead to changes of a cornea and reduction of visual acuity. The reason is in that that during reading eyelids, depending on illumination and a visual angle, create some pressure upon a cornea, that leads to change of the eye form. Physicians advise to make small breaks in reading for prevention of complications, enabling eyes to have a rest.

The same advice can be given to people, whose work is connected to necessity of long contact of eyes with the screen of a computer or a map.

British scientists from the Medical school of Hull and York have conducted an experiment and found out that black chocolate more effectively than white helps to treat chronic weariness.

10 people participated in experiment: 5 from them within two months consumed 45 g of black chocolate daily. The others ate white, but tinted so that it did not differ seemingly from black.

Then the experiment has been suspended for a month and after that researchers have changed type of chocolate.

It turned out that those who ate black chocolate, less complained of weariness. But when they stopped to eat it, they began to complain of weariness even more.

The head of the research, endocrinologist Steve Atkin has said: “Black chocolate is rich with polyphenols which positively influence on health, in particular, lower pressure. However the high content of polyphenol, probably, promotes increase of serotonin level in a brain, and low serotonin level is connected with a syndrome of chronic lassitude”.

According to Atkin, additional researches are required to confirm his conclusions; however, his experiment didn’t harm any patient. But what is the most important, none from volunteers has put on excess weight.

The majority of the patients requiring transplantation of organs die because of lack of donor kidneys. Therefore the given research is vital, as it gives hope to such patients for the further life with artificial, but functionally capable organ.

The work was conducted at the University of Tokyo on mice which did not have the gene responsible for formation of kidneys. Embryos of such mice received embryonic stem cells with normal genic number. As a result mice had normal kidneys. Scientists mark, that this is the first research on cultivation of an artificial kidney.

The next stage will be transplantation of the organs, which were grown this way to check up their functional ability. Conducting of similar experiment on larger animals - cows or pigs - is in the long term prospects.