Blood test to predict premature
birth
Delivery before 37 full weeks, so-called preterm
delivery, is the biggest problem in perinatal medicine today, as it increases
the risk of the child being seriously ill in the short and long term.
The problem is that only 30 per cent of women who come in with early contractions actually give birth before full term.
The problem is that only 30 per cent of women who come in with early contractions actually give birth before full term.
Now, researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a method to predict if pregnant women with preterm contractions will give birth within seven days.
The method offers new possibilities to delay delivery and prepare care for the premature baby.
The researchers studied 142 pregnant women who came to Sahlgrenska University Hospital during the years 1995-2005 with early contractions without rupture of the membranes.
As a result of the study, the researchers have developed a new method that can predict with high precision if a pregnant woman with contractions will give birth within seven days.
"To have time to give the woman cortisone, which speeds up the development of the fetal lungs, it is common practice to delay the delivery by a couple of days with the help of tocolytic treatment. Being able to predict if a woman who comes to the hospital with preterm contractions will actually give birth early and thereby requires follow-up and possible treatment is therefore very important," said Panagiotis Tsiartas, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and specialist at the Obstetrical and Gynecological Clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
The method is based on a newly developed blood test that looks at two specific proteins in the woman's blood combined with an already established examination that uses ultrasound to measure the length of the cervix.
"Statistically, the method can predict with 75 to 80 per cent accuracy if a woman will give birth early," said Panagiotis Tsiartas.
"We will need to conduct further studies before the method can be used in full, but if the results of these studies are good, the test will hopefully lead to new types of treatments to prevent premature birth and treat the serious complications resulting from it," Panagiotis Tsiartas added.
Their work has been published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Source: www.timesofindia.com
24.09.2012
Three
Pakistani docs joins 300 Indian ones at Punjab health camp for the poor
Three
doctors from Pakistan joined over 300 Indian physicians during a mega medical
camp for free treatment of patients Sunday at the Badal village – the native
village of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The three Pakistani
doctors checked scores of patients with their Indian counterparts at the
village, located 180 km from Chandigarh.
Addressing
the gathering after inaugurating the medical camp, Punjab Governor Shivraj
Patil said such initiatives would play a pivotal role in further strengthening
the ties between India and Pakistan. This would promote mutual cooperation and
people-to-people contact, he added. Patil said that frequent visits of the
medical fraternity of both countries would not only upgrade their medical and
diagnostic skills but would also go a long way in providing quality health care
facilities to people of the subcontinent. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal
urged all doctors in Punjab to devote at least one day to treat poor patients
free of cost at medical camps. While honouring the doctors from Pakistan, Badal
thanked them for participating in the medical camp here.
Source: http://health.india.com
24.09.2012
Painkillers more fatal than heroin
and cocaine put together!
A
new report suggests that prescription painkillers kill more people in US than
heroin and cocaine combined. Experts from the Prescription Drug Monitoring
Programme (PDMP) Centre of Excellence at Brandeis University’s Heller School
for Social Policy and Management systematically assessed prescription drug
monitoring programmes and found a patchwork of strategies and standards.
“An
epidemic of prescription drug abuse is devastating American families and
draining state and federal time, money and manpower,” said Hal Rogers, chairman
of the House Appropriations Committee. ”Law enforcement and health officials
are doing heroic work and, thankfully, this report provides a road map to help
them further.”
”Being
proactive is the key to success in the fight against prescription painkiller
abuse,” said John L. Eadie, Director, PDMP Centre Brandeis University. ”While
doctors may routinely collect and report data to a state programme that signals
where and when prescription painkillers are likely being misused, the programme
might not share that information with others who can best use it.” By the end
of 2001, the report found that 16 states had authorized the creation of
prescription drug monitoring programmes; within 11 years that number had grown
to 49. Today, 41 states have programmes in operation, according to a Brandeis
statement.
Source: http://health.india.com
24.09.2012
The beautiful thing
about learning is nobody can take it away from you
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