Heartbeat Medical

15/07/2023

Israel: Doctors ‘Re-Attach’ Palestinian Boy’s Head

In a remarkable medical feat, a team of surgeons in Israel successfully reattached the head of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Suleiman Hassan, who had suffered an internal decapitation following a bicycle accident.

This intricate procedure involved surgically reconnecting the base of his skull to the top of his spine. Internal decapitation is an exceptionally rare injury, resulting from a sudden impact that causes the tearing of ligaments and muscles holding the head to the upper vertebrae of the spine.

Although the boy's head had nearly detached from the base of his neck, the skin and major blood vessels remained intact, as confirmed by the doctors involved in the case

02/03/2023

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05/01/2023

Social Media May Alter Brains Of Children — Study

Habitually checking social media as a young teenager is linked to hypersensitivity to peer feedback and may potentially lead to permanent changes in the brain’s reward and motivation centers, neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina suggested in a study published on Tuesday in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study looked at a group of 169 teens as their brains developed between the ages of 12 to 15 and their self-reported use of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

When those with usage the researchers classed as “habitual” – meaning they checked their accounts 15 or more times a day – played a game that modeled feedback in the form of peer approval, they became increasingly sensitive to that feedback.

23/12/2022

Here is a list of institutions that provide counselling and rehabilitation services for patients battling drug addiction:

1. Highlands Halfway Home +2638644210999
2. Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre +263273790238
3. Serenity Mind Centre +263716825245
4.Mandipa Hope Rehabilitation +263776911153
5. Tirivanhu Rehabilitation +263773593014
6.Mubatirapamwe Trust +263772379751
7. Beatrice Rehabilitation Centre, Harare
8. Tariro Rehabilitation Centre, Harare
The following public psychiatric institutions also offer help in fight drug addiction:
1. Sally Mugabe Psychiatric Unit (Harare)
2. Parirenyatwa Annex Psychiatric Unit (Harare)
3. Ingutsheni Psychiatric Hospital (Bulawayo)
4. Ngomahuru Hospital and Halfway House (Masvingo).

06/11/2022

Zimbabwe is the first country in Africa to announce regulatory approval for long-acting injectable cabotegravir for HIV prevention

The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) announced that it has approved the use of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.

“The information submitted to support the approval of the product indicated that the product is safe, effective and of good quality. MCAZ is confident that the product will benefit those who receive it.

WHO recommends that CAB-LA may be offered to people at substantial risk of HIV infection as part of comprehensive HIV prevention approaches. Two large studies showed that CAB-LA injections every 2 months were safe, well-tolerated, and highly effective in reducing the risk of HIV acquisition. WHO released comprehensive guidelines, calling for countries to consider this effective prevention option, and highlighted the need for implementation science to support its introduction. CAB-LA is the third PrEP product recommended by WHO for HIV prevention. Tenofovir-based oral PrEP was recommended in 2015 and the dapivirine vaginal ring, another long-acting product, in 2021. The availability of these 3 products provides increased choices for HIV prevention.

03/11/2022

Experimental Antibody Malaria Drug Tested in Africa

African researchers believe a new one-time drug created from lab-made malaria-fighting antibodies can protect adults from the deadly disease for six months with just one IV-delivered dose.

The US-developed experimental treatment proved 88% more effective at warding off infection than a placebo in the study of 330 villagers in Mali, by breaking the life cycle of parasites before they enter the liver where they can multiply.

Estimates suggest the treatment could cost as little as $5 per child per malaria season.

06/10/2022

New research suggests there may be an ideal window of time to eat during the day.

Eating relatively early may be beneficial for weight loss, and keeping meals within a 10-hour period could improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels, according to two small studies published Tuesday in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The first study found that eating on a later schedule made people hungrier over a 24-hour period than when they consumed the same meals earlier in the day. Late eating also led the study participants to burn calories at a slower rate, and their fat tissue seemed to store more calories on a later eating schedule than an early one. Overall, the study suggests that eating later can increase a person’s obesity risk.

The second study, done among a group of firefighters, found that consuming meals within a 10-hour window shrunk “bad cholesterol” particles — suggesting a potential reduction in risk factors for heart disease. That eating window also improved blood pressure and blood sugar levels among firefighters with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The two studies add to existing evidence that there may be optimal times to start and stop eating, according to Courtney Peterson, an associate professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who wasn’t involved in either study.

“You have this internal biological clock that makes you better at doing different things at different times of the day. It seems like the best time for your metabolism in most people is the mid- to late morning,” Peterson said

Past research has found that circadian rhythms — the body’s internal clock that helps regulate sleeping and waking — can influence people’s appetite, metabolism and blood sugar levels

22/08/2022

Monkeypox cases jumped 20% in the last week to 35,000 across 92 countries, WHO says

Infections increased by nearly 7,500 to more than 35,000 cases total across 92 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Nearly all cases are reported in Europe and the Americas among men who have s*x with men, according to the WHO.

Global vaccine supplies are limited, and there’s limited data on the shots effectiveness in the current outbreak.

Monkeypox continues to spread across the globe with cases jumping by 20% over the last week, according to the World Health Organization.

Infections increased by nearly 7,500 to more than 35,000 cases total across 92 countries, but nearly all reported cases are in Europe and the Americas, according to WHO data. Twelve deaths have been reported so far.

The overwhelming majority of patients continue to be men who have s*x with men. The global supply of the monkeypox vaccine, called Jynneos in the U.S., remains limited and data on its effectiveness in the current outbreak is sparse. Jynneos is manufactured by Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic.

Though data on the vaccine’s effectiveness is limited, there are reports of breakthrough cases in which people who received the shots after exposure to the virus are still falling ill as well as individuals becoming infected after receiving the vaccine as a preventative measure.

The monkeypox vaccine can be administered after exposure to reduce the risk of severe disease or before exposure to reduce the risk of infection.

The WHO has observed some mutations in the monkeypox virus though it’s not yet clear what these changes mean for the behavior of the pathogen and how it impacts the human immune response.

The first known instance of an animal catching monkeypox from humans in the current outbreak was recently reported in Paris. A pet dog became infected by a couple who fell ill from the virus. The couple reported sharing their bed with the dog. Public health officials have advised people who are ill with monkeypox to isolate from their pets.

17/06/2022

FDA Authorizes Kids as Young as 6 Months to Be Vaccinated Against COVID

Almost two and a half years into the pandemic, vaccines for children as young as six months old have finally received emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In an announcement, the FDA greenlit both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children age six months to 17. Previously, the Moderna jab had been authorized for adults only, and the Pfizer jab had been approved for kids over 5 only. The FDA said the authorization came after rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness.

10/06/2022

My Circumcision Experience + the free T-shirt

When I took the decision to get circumcised, I had gathered up most if not all the facts, 60% protection against s*xually transmitted infections including HIV, better overall hygiene, amongst the more taunted benefits, but it took some time for me to finally make the decision. Eventually I did, and for all the appealing and compelling benefits of circumcision, in the end it was not about those.

Its been four days since a procedure was done on my p***s, they removed the fo****in, much like the vestigial appendix, Google promised I wasn't going to miss that piece of meat, and so I was composed, confident even. Behind the curtain, a male and a female, clad in plastic aprons and surgical gloves, one seemed to be assisting the other, asked me to lie on the bed on my back, hands behind my head, trousers and undergarment down to the knees, and so there it was, the time had come.

Before everything, I had gone through a briefing on how the procedure would go, it was a relaxed environment, they allowed questions, I had many, but it was just me testing their depth, and they were quite competent.

After a few painful needle pricks injecting lignocaine (a local anaesthetic) and a five minute wait, I was numb, I felt absolutely no pain as they used clamps to secure the fo****in. That's as far as I was willing to watch though, and before long my mind wandered off.

THE T-SHIRT
I happen to have ever owned just one branded t-shirt, got it about four years ago, it's ragged now, but the message written on it is still very clear..NGENA KU-SMART, GET CIRCUMCISED TODAY it screams on the front and back. Everytime I wore that t-shirt must have been a subconscious call to go ahead and do it..Finally I deserved the t-shirt, I thought, as I was interrupted by some movement in the mobile clinic we were in, they were done, I was stitched up, bandaged and I was ready to continue my day, not before I got final instructions, and a plastic bag with post surgical care essentials.

As I reflect on my experience, I find great joy in the decision I made, I have a bit of pain but not as much as I imagined, I can go to work, I can walk around, and that matters to me. I have six weeks to get back to 100%, I'm pumped for the journey.

Adapted with permission
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12/01/2022

A man receives a heart from a genetically altered pig
In a first, a man with life-threatening heart disease received a heart from a genetically modified pig, in a groundbreaking procedure that offers hope to hundreds of thousands of patients with failing organs. The eight-hour operation took place in Baltimore on Friday, and the patient was doing well yesterday, according to his surgeons.

“It creates the pulse, it creates the pressure, it is his heart,” said Dr. Bartley Griffith, who performed the operation at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “It’s working and it looks normal.” The patient decided to gamble on the treatment because he would have died without a new heart, had exhausted other treatments and was too sick to qualify for a human donor heart.

Scientists have worked feverishly to develop pigs whose organs would not be rejected by the human body, research that has been accelerated by advances in gene editing and cloning technologies. The heart transplant comes months after surgeons in New York successfully attached the kidney of a genetically engineered pig to a brain-dead person.

21/12/2021

FDA approves first injectable treatment for HIV preexposure

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Apretude (cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension) for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms (77 pounds) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of s*xually acquired HIV. Apretude is given first as two initiation injections administered one month apart, and then every two months thereafter. Patients can either start their treatment with Apretude or take oral cabotegravir (Vocabria) for four weeks to assess how well they tolerate the drug.