Adelaide part of golden staph vaccine trial

Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital is after volunteers for a trial of a vaccine aimed at preventing potentially-deadly golden staph infection.

The bacteria live on the skin of about 30 per cent of the population and are usually harmless.

But if they enter the bloodstream, it can lead to pneumonia and joint infections.

Hospital patients are susceptible if they are recovering from surgical or other wounds.

Dr Helen Marshall says the hospital wants to recruit about 50 people for the trial.

“We’re hoping to enrol adults particularly for the study, 18 to 25-year-old adults and then 50 to 85 years,” she said.

“The study is being done in many centres around Australia, we’re just one of the study centres participating.”

The hospital can be contacted on 8161 6328.

Teddy bear-shaped nurse robot developed

London, September 1 (ANI): Japanese scientists have come up with a robot resembling a huge, happy teddy bear to help look after hospital patients.

RIBA, Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, which can lift a weight of 61 kg on its foam padded arms, is the work of the government-run Riken research institute.

Dr. Toshiharu Mukai, the lead researcher, said the device was developed to lift hospital patients in and out of their wheelchairs and beds.

“We have developed RIBA because we want to help caregivers when they are required to transfer patients between hospital beds and wheelchairs,” the Telegraph quoted Mukai as saying.

The robot, that can also recognise faces and voices and respond to up to 30 spoken commands, may be seen in hospitals and retirement homes within three years.

Mukai said battery-powered RIBA was based on a teddy bear because humanoid versions could leave people uncomfortable. (ANI)

Hospital food in UK found to be worse than prison meals

London, Sep 1 (ANI): A new study has shown that food provided at hospitals in the UK is worse than that served to prison inmates, despite huge amounts of money spent by the patients.

According to the Bournemouth University study, jail diets were far “better than most civilians have”, and researchers found people on NHS wards do not get the same standard and staff do not check if the food is eaten.

Around 40 percent of patients are malnourished when they arrive at a hospital, but the situation does not tend to improve while they are there.

“Hospital patients don’t consume enough. If you are using food as a means of treatment then it’s not working,” Sky News quoted Professor John Edwards as saying.

“And from the work we’ve done we know that people who sit round a table eat a lot more, but this doesn’t happen in hospitals,” he said.

The study found that trays are removed by cleaning staff so that doctors do not know how much was eaten.

In addition, set mealtimes mean patients undergoing tests may miss food altogether, and the researchers said that there was a lack of enough support for those who needed help eating and drinking.

In contrast, prison food was found to be cheaper and healthier.

“If you are in prison then the diet you get is extremely good in terms of nutritional content,” Edwards explained.

“The food that is provided is actually better than most civilians have. There’s a focus on carbohydrates, then there’s the way they prepare the food, it’s very healthy.

“They don’t add salt and there’s relatively little frying of food – if you have a burger then it goes in the oven,” he added.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that good food was important for a patient’s treatment and experience of NHS services.

“The majority of patients are satisfied with the food they receive in hospitals, and we are working to improve services further,” he stated. (ANI)

Cause of MJ’s death may be revealed next week

New York, July 14 (ANI): The suspense surrounding the death of Michael Jackson may come to an end next week.

Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest on June 25 after his personal doctor said he found the singer unconscious in bed with a faint pulse.

Investigators found dozens of bottles, boxes and bags of pills while searching the property in Bel Air where Jackson died.

Among other drugs, the highly dangerous surgical anaesthetic Diprivan, which is legally available only to hospital patients and is administered via intravenous injection, was also seized.

Winter said a determined cause for the star’s death may just be around the corner.

“Hopefully we’ll have something to report at the end of next week. We’re still on track,” the New York Daily News quoted him as saying. (ANI)

Jackson popped 55 different pills everyday

London, July 12 (ANI): Late Michael Jackson had been popping a total of 55 different pills everyday in his final six months, according to reports.

The news came in line with the announcement that results of drug tests on the ‘Thriller’ singer’s brain and blood will be delayed further.

The decision was made after 28 prescription medicines were found at his rented mansion in LA, reports the Daily Star.

Drug Enforcement Agency officers have found dozens of bottles, boxes and bags of pills while searching the property in Holmby Hills where Jackson died.

Among other drugs they seized the highly dangerous surgical anaesthetic Propofol, which is legally available only to hospital patients and is administered via intravenous injection.

Propofol comes under the list of drugs found under the trade name Diprivan.

According to experts, without proper monitoring, the drug could lead to cardiac arrest -which ultimately caused Jackson’s death.

One LA-based doctor described the astonishing cache of drugs as a “guaranteed cocktail of death”.

It included the potent painkillers Demerol and OxyContin. (ANI)

Novel procedure enables ‘blind’ man to drive again

London, May 20 (ANI): Nigel Cook had to hand back his driving licence when his sight deteriorated but a new procedure has enabled him to see so well that he is now allowed to drive again.

Cook, a former police officer, suffered from macular degeneration, a condition that obscured his central vision with a dark fog.

However, after surgeons implanted two tiny plastic lenses in each of his eyes, he can now see.

It may not be a cure for the disease, but it overcomes the defect on the retina that causes the blind spot.

“It has changed my day-to-day life beyond recognition,” Sky News quoted Cook as saying.

“It’s so exciting. To be able to do routine things without struggling to work out who it is you are looking at, it’s fantastic,” he added.

The new lenses act together like a telescope, magnifying the image in the eye.

So while the dark central blind spot remains the same size, the image of what patients are looking at is bigger, so they can make out details previously hidden from them.

Andrew Luff has helped to pioneer the technique at the Optegra Eye Hospital.

“Patients who are struggling to carry out activities of daily living may suddenly find it easier to cook meals or find their way around the house,” he said.

“I’ve also had good reports that patients are able to play golf rather better than they could before,” he added. (ANI)

Patients should not be left to suffer due to infighting at hospitals: HC

New Delhi, March 31 (ANI): Taking the authorities at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to task over neglecting patients due to ego clashes among doctors, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday stated that internal disputes at the hospital would not to be tolerated at the cost of suffering patients.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah expressed concern over patients not being treated properly due to ego clashes among different groups of doctors in the premier institute.

The court’s observation came while taking cognisance of a letter written by a mother of month-old child, alleging callousness on behalf of AIIMS doctor in treating her child.

In the letter, the mother Rekha told the court that her baby was suffering from heart ailment and was admitted to the AIIMS under the supervision of Doctor A K Bisoi, a Cardio Thoracic Surgeon. However, the baby was neglected by hospital authorities after Bisoi was suspended by the Health Minister on March 9.

Taking serious consideration of such a situation at the premier hospital, the court said, “We are interested in saving the child. Tell us how you are going to do it. We are not concerned about internal disputes in the hospital. Patients are suffering because of internal fighting.”

“No body should be victimised because of ego clash,” the court said while directing the hospital to bring one specialist doctor before it in the afternoon to assure that the child would be properly treated. (ANI)

People in Manipur question the purpose behind mindless violence

Imphal, March 29 (ANI): People from all walks of life in Manipur have condemned the recent spate of kidnappings and killings in the state. With each passing incident they feel they are becoming targets of a mindless violence, serving no one’s interest.

Local militant groups recently bombed the SUBA Hospital of Imphal, killing four and injuring one critically.

The incident evoked widespread condemnation from local residents and they came out on streets in protest.

People from all sections of society, shopkeepers of the Kombirei keithel (market) of RIMS road, staff of SUBA Hospital, Local residents, Meira Paibis, staged a sit-in protest in protest against the atrocity,

The Kangleipak Communist Party- Military Council (KCP MC) claimed responsibility for the blast. They said they attacked the hospital as a ‘warning’ to government doctors not to work in private hospitals.

“As a member of public, I condemn the attack at the hospital. Patients come here for treatment and I do not agree with their attempt to kill innocent people. Militants targeting hospitals where peace of mind is essential, is something we the public strongly condemn,” said K. Subash Singh, a local resident.

“Militant activities are increasing everyday. They are harming innocent public who are struggling to make ends meet and it has become very difficult for us. We are unable to cope with such activities,” another local resident W. Ashalata Devi in Imphal.

Shops, including pharmacies and private hospitals remained closed in protest against the bomb attack.

The worst affected as usual when such incident takes place, were the common people.

“I express my deep sorrow on the blast to the people of Manipur. I request them not to attack in future not only on any hospital but also everywhere in Manipur,” said W. Nimai Singh, Managing Director of Imhpal’s Suba Hospital.

Rising militant activities have made life extremely difficult for the people in Manipur. Innocent people today live in fear and are tired of militant activities. Everyone here seeks peace and normalcy.

In another incident, militants recently abducted a Public Works Department’s Assistant engineer M. Janaki and his wife in Imphal.

It so happened that militants broke into the house of the engineer, who was on leave because of poor health, and abducted him and his wife.

Their abduction sparked off protests in the State.

The children are in utter shock. They don’t know what would happen to their parents. They want their parents be released safely.

“Our parents look after us and the incident has disturbed us a lot. I am in the middle of my exams and not able to concentrate on my studies. My younger sister has just finished her exams. We are not able to eat. We are upset to think about their welfare, ” said Jecy Moirangthem, victim’s daughter.

The kidnapping of the engineer and his wife was strongly condemned by residents of Singjamei, Imphal.

Relatives of the victims, PWD employees, and local residents staged a protest demonstration in front of PWD office, demanding safe release of Janaki and his wife at the earliest.

“Such incidents cause us pain. They happen frequently and it is becoming difficult to live like this. We have been repeatedly appealing for an end to such activities,” said Kh. Ahilya Devi, local resident.

“People have been affected by frequent bomb attacks and kidnapping and if this continues how will our society progress? How will the future generation survive? Where is the hope for a better future?,” said Sanahanbi Devi, local resident.

People in Manipur want an end to kidnapping and threats that are being made against engineers among others. Such incidents are disruptive and affect normalcy in the state.

People in Manipur have increasingly got fed up of incidents of killings, abduction, and extortion demands by militants here.

Every incident leaves the residents here with questions like how could individuals of their state terrorise their own brethrens. (ANI)

One-fourth of world’s CCTVs are deployed in bureaucratic and authoritarian UK

London, Mar.9 (ANI): A quarter of the world’s CCTV cameras are deployed in Britain, which is increasingly becoming a bureaucratic and authoritarian state, a study of Labour’s decade in power claims.
According to The Telegraph, national debt is running at 175,000 pounds per household, five times more than thought, while each year the Government has passed 3,500 regulations, along with 100,000 pages of rules and explanation.

The study’s author, Eammon Butler, a director of the leading think tank the Adam Smith Institute, claimed that two publishers because of the “unconventional” nature of the content had turned down his book.
Among the claims in the book are that Britain has a quarter of the world’s CCTV cameras, the largest of any country and that taxes have risen by 51 per cent since 1997.

In the audit of 10 years of the Labour Government, Dr Butler says that there are now 1,406 litter wardens and dog catchers who have been given powers to levy on the spot fines.

Dr Butler said he wrote the book because he got “so angry about the way that they have no concept of the rule of law”.

Dr Butler found that in just one year – 2006/7 – half of the 722,464 DNA samples collected by the police came from children, including a seven-month year old girl.

One in nine hospital patients picks up an infection during their stay on a ward, while the total cost of outstanding claims against the NHS is 9.2 billion pounds.

He said that 30,000 of the 200,000 people who die of cancer and strokes each year would survive “if they lived anywhere else in northern Europe”.

Dr Butler also claimed in the book that the number of people receiving state benefits has risen from 17 million people in 1997 to 21 million people by 2007.
He found that nearly six million families receive 16 billion pounds worth of child credit. (ANI)

Now, a statistical model to predict stroke risk with 86pct accuracy

Washington, February 26 (ANI): Experts at the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP) say that an individual’s lifetime risk of stroke can now be predicted with the aid of a new statistical model.

During a study, they used genetic information from 569 hospital patients, and showed that their predictive model could estimate an individual’s overall risk of cardioembolic stroke – the most common form of stroke – with 86 percent accuracy.

“For complex diseases like stroke, it’s not just a single mutation that will kill you. More likely it is an interaction of many factors,” explains CHIP researcher Dr. Marco Ramoni, an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and senior author of the study reported in the journal Stroke.

Working in collaboration with Dr. Karen Furie, the director of the stroke unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Rachel Ramoni, of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Ramoni identified 569 patients that had presented to MGH’s emergency department and outpatient neurology clinics between 2002 and 2005 with symptoms of suspected stroke.

The researchers gathered information from the 146 patients with confirmed cardioembolic stroke, and 423 controls who were followed and found not to have stroke.

The team looked for 1,313 genetic variants, called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, known to correlate with stroke.

The SNPs that each patient had were then entered into the model, known as a Bayesian network, which not only helped the researchers identify the genetic variants that correlated with stroke, but also enabled them to determine how such factors interplayed and what was the strength of such interactions.

“The model looks for factors, combines them and finds out which are the best predictive factors. It’s never one factor at a time, it’s always more than one factor. What this technology allows you to do is to generate a network of factors that contribute to stroke,” says Ramoni.

According to the researcher, the model was able to predict an individual’s risk of cardioembolic stroke with an accuracy of 86 percent.

“It sounds like magic. But it’s just a piece of technology. It gives hope that we will be able to predict early on whether someone is at risk of getting stroke, and allow you to convince them to make life changes,” says Ramoni.

“The next step is to get more SNPs. These analyses looked at only 1,313 out of 3.3 million known SNPs. Even a million SNPs would cover the vast majority of the genome. We would get much better predictions,” the researcher adds.

Ramoni also says that by identifying all the genetic variants that modulate the risk of stroke, it could provide insight into its mechanisms and provide targets for future drugs.

He is currently refining the model and believes that this technology could be used to predict inherited risk of many other conditions. (ANI)