| | | Drugs of abuse |  This week saw the release of two major studies suggesting that, contrary to popular opinion, cannabis is a potentially harmful drug. A review of many different studies of cannabis, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet suggests that smoking cannabis when young leads to a greater chance of developing a psychotic disease such as schizophrenia later in life. And a New Zealand study, published in the journal Thorax suggested that smoking one joint a day does major damage to the small airways of the lungs. Those who have been campaigning for the legalisation of cannabis have always claimed that it is less harmful than other common – and legal – drugs of abuse, namely tobacco and alcohol. One of my most influential teachers when I was at medical school said that if tobacco and alcohol had been recently discovered they would never have been licenced for use – and he's quite correct. That's what I find somewhat hypocritical about the whole approach to research around the potential harms of illegal drugs. Although we well know, to our cost as a society, that tobacco and alcohol, are harmful, studies showing the harms of illegal drugs get far more press. And the newspapers and magazines that run popular stories about them will continue to advertise alcohol as long as they legally can, and would advertise cigarettes if they were able. Don't get me wrong – I admit to being rabidly anti-smoking – but I certainly enjoy a glass of wine (or two), but I do think that we need to sort out our priorities when it comes to warning young people about the dangers of drugs of abuse.
Dr Bridget Farham, editor: https://www.bizcommunity.com
| | Headlines | Female circumcision declines in Ethiopia's southern region
New TB vaccine could save over a million lives
Parting with the prepuce is central to becoming a man
Water cuts leave Kenyan slum residents ‘at risk'
FDA panel votes to keep Avandia on shelves despite risks
Aid package targets drinking water in Guinea's Forest Region
Climate change and malaria in Nairobi
Cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis later in life
Fish oil better than vegetable oil for your health
Earthquake scare highlights Kenya's emergency response weaknesses
Sierra Leone telecommunications company gives the blind a shoulder to lean on
Social networks and obesity
CD4 counts in resource-limited settings
Hunger bites Zimbabwe's health and education sectors
PAN African Health Congress: The countdown begins
Brain chip could predict and stop epilepsy seizures
New gene therapy for 200 inherited forms of blindness
Korean mummies provide clues to combat hepatitis B
India to use train to raise HIV/AIDS awareness
Drug reduces HIV viral loads
A day in the life of Oscar the cat
Evista recommended to prevent breast cancer
US pharmaceutical company puts arthritis drug program on hold
‘Viva Viagra' ad campaign raises concerns
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| | PAN African Health Congress | | | Pan African Health Congress 2007
www.panafricanhealth.com
18 - 19 September 2007
Sandton Convention Centre | |  |
| | | PAN African Health Congress: The countdown begins - Leigh Angelo: Bizevents
 The countdown to the Pan African Health Congress 2007 has commenced. The Congress takes place from 18 to 19 September and will again be held at the world class Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
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Medical | | Cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis later in life
Cannabis use leads to an increased risk of psychosis later in life, according to a large review published this week in The Lancet. The authors conclude that there is now enough evidence to warn young people that using cannabis may lead to mental health problems later in life.
Darfur attacks hamper relief efforts
Increasing attacks on aid workers and food convoys in Sudan's Darfur region have disrupted relief aid to millions of people, according to international aid agencies.
Libya-EU ties improve after medics' release
Libya and the European Union (EU) have said their ties will improve following the release of six Bulgarian medical workers.
Fish oil better than vegetable oil for your health
Scientists have provided new evidence that using more fish oil than vegetable oil in the diet decreases the formation of chemicals called prostanoids, which, when produced in excess, increase inflammation in various tissues and organs.
New gene therapy for 200 inherited forms of blindness
An improved approach to gene therapy may one day treat some of the nearly 200 inherited forms of blindness, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest.
A day in the life of Oscar the cat
Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar the Cat has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents of the Steere Nursing Home in Providence, Rhode Island are about to die...
Forum gets to the heart of matters
 Medtronic, a global leader in medical technology, recently staged its first Knowledge Exchange Forum for medical practitioners and allied partners. The forum took place from 30 June - 1 July 2007 at the Kievits Kroon Country Estate & Spa, east of Pretoria.
‘Viva Viagra' ad campaign raises concerns
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has expressed concern over Pfizer's new US television advertising campaign for its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, Bloomberg/Arizona Republic reports.
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Chronic diseases | | FDA panel votes to keep Avandia on shelves despite risks
Although evidence indicates that the diabetes drug Avandia causes an increased risk of heart attack, FDA advisers suggested that it stay on the market. The advisers said the drug packaging should include what is called a "black-box" warning to call patients' attention to the drug's risks.
Social networks and obesity
If you are overweight, change your friends. Obestity spreads through social networks according to this fascinating study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Brain chip could predict and stop epilepsy seizures
An implanted stimulator being studied at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital may be able to predict and prevent seizures before they start in people with uncontrolled epilepsy.
Evista recommended to prevent breast cancer
An FDA advisory panel on Tuesday voted in favour of recommending that Eli Lilly's bone-strengthening drug raloxifene, sold under the brand-name Evista, be approved to reduce the risk of breast cancer in some women, the Wall Street Journal reports (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 7/25).
US pharmaceutical company puts arthritis drug program on hold
Targeted Genetics Corporation announced that after recent discussions with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the development program of tgAAC94, an investigational therapy for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis, has been placed on clinical hold.
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Corporate Social Responsibility | | SAPS women donate food to Mpumalanga children
[Thabisile Khoza] The South African Police Service Women's Network has donated items including clothing, food parcels and shoes to about 149 children who live in informal settlements near Kaapmuiden in Mpumalanga.
GP tourism helps with wheelchair access
The Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA) on Thursday, 26 July, unveiled a new initiative to install ramps in the province's places of leisure, to help improve access for wheelchairs and prams.
Sierra Leone telecommunications company gives the blind a shoulder to lean on
As part of their social responsibility, one of the leading mobile telecommunications companies in the country, Celtel, has dished out US$5,000 to the Milton Margai School for the Blind choir for a performance tour in the United Kingdom.
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Emergency medicine | | Earthquake scare highlights Kenya's emergency response weaknesses
A series of earth tremors that caused panic in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has raised concerns over the country's ability to respond to sudden major disasters.
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HIV/AIDS | | Parting with the prepuce is central to becoming a man
Silvestre João has good and not-so-good memories of his circumcision. "Let's go eat honey in the bush," his father told the nine-year-old. There was honey aplenty, and more: kumbi, the ritual initiation of the Makhuwa people of Mozambique's northern coast.
CD4 counts in resource-limited settings
A simplified low cost method for measuring absolute and percentage CD4 counts with flow cytometry is comparable to established commercial assays and is affordable for routine use in Africa and could improve clinical decision making in patients with HIV.
India to use train to raise HIV/AIDS awareness
Indian Ministry launches nationwide train trip to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among youth in rural villages.
Drug reduces HIV viral loads
Clinical data show Pfizer's antiretroviral maraviroc reduces HIV viral loads among treatment-naive people, company says.
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Infectious diseases | | New TB vaccine could save over a million lives
Initial trials of a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine mean the drug will now progress to phase II trials.
Water cuts leave Kenyan slum residents ‘at risk'
 Residents took to the streets of Nairobi's second largest slum, Mathare, on 31 July after five days without water left them facing serious disease outbreaks, they said.
Aid package targets drinking water in Guinea's Forest Region
One of the aims of a US$80million aid package signed on 20 July by the Guinean government and 14 UN agencies is to boost drinking water availability in the troubled Forest Region in the southeast of the country.
Korean mummies provide clues to combat hepatitis B
Mummies that have recently been unearthed in South Korea may provide clues on how to combat hepatitis B, according to Prof. Mark Spigelman of the Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Malaria | | Climate change and malaria in Nairobi
Malaria is the most common disease in Africa's largest slum, Kibera, in Nairobi, say health workers, but at a cool altitude of about 1,700m, the capital city has long been considered a non-malarial zone.
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Obstetrics and Gynaecology | | Female circumcision declines in Ethiopia's southern region
 The number of girls and women who undergo female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has declined in Ethiopia's Southern Regional State, and could be reduced further if stronger penalties were enforced, an NGO leader said.
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Paediatrics | | Mokopane Hospital the 'best for babies'
[Kulani Mavunda] Mokopane Hospital, in Polokwane, is considered to be the best hospital in Limpopo to have a baby.
Hunger bites Zimbabwe's health and education sectors
 The effects of the government's month-old price-control policies, which have brought widespread shortages of basic commodities, are also beginning to tell in the education, health and social service sectors.
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