Pig Flu (Swine Influenza)

source : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Swine influenza (swine flu, pig flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. In normally, people do not get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human, as reported.

Like seasonal flu, swine flu in humans can vary in severity from mild to severe. CDC, reported between 2005 until January 2009, 12 human cases of swine flu were detected in the U.S. with no deaths occurring. However, swine flu infection can be serious. In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman in Wisconsin was hospitalized for pneumonia after being infected with swine flu and died 8 days later. A swine flu outbreak in Fort Dix, New Jersey occurred in 1976 that caused more than 200 cases with serious illness in several people and one death.

Swine flu's symptoms in human are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu, that include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like, seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. That means that we may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know we are sick, as well as while we are sick.

To prevent of infection always remember to wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Some viruses and bacteria can live 2 hours or longer on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs, and desks. Frequent hand washing will help you reduce the chance of getting contamination from these common surfaces.

Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. Germs can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine influenza viruses. Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick (within 2 days of symptoms).

People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Pig Flu (swine influenza) : A new epidemiology case

World were shocking with an influenza-like illness (ILI) that spread around the world. A deadly strain of the flu virus has killed people in Mexico and there are fears that it is spreading across North America.

As reported in World Health Organitation, Mexico has reported three separate events of influenza-like illnesses. In the Federal District of Mexico, surveillance began picking up cases of ILI starting 18 March. The number of cases has risen steadily through April and as of 23 April there are now more than 854 cases of pneumonia from the capital. Of those, 59 have died. In San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, 24 cases of ILI, with three deaths, have been reported. And from Mexicali, near the border with the United States, four cases of ILI, with no deaths, have been reported.

Of the Mexican cases, 18 have been laboratory confirmed in Canada as Swine Influenza A/H1N1, while 12 of those are genetically identical to the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses from California. The majority of these cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico.

The majority of these cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico.

Because there are human cases associated with an animal influenza virus, and because of the geographical spread of multiple community outbreaks, plus the somewhat unusual age groups affected, these events are of high concern.

The Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses characterized in this outbreak have not been previously detected in pigs or humans. The viruses so far characterized have been sensitive to oseltamivir, but resistant to both amantadine and rimantadine.

The World Health Organization has been in constant contact with the health authorities in the United States, Mexico and Canada in order to better understand the risk which these ILI events pose. WHO (and PAHO) is sending missions of experts to Mexico to work with health authorities there. It is helping its Member States to increase field epidemiology activities, laboratory diagnosis and clinical management. Moreover, WHO's partners in the Global Alert and Response Network have been alerted and are ready to assist as requested by the Member States.

Golf is an Easy Game for All People

Currently, golf is not a luxury game anymore. People can play golf in ranges that are spread everywhere, especially in developed countries. Both, mini-ranges or wide ranges are easy to reach. Anyone can play it, because it’s easy to play. We can found kids and their parents were playing golf in a mini range, and they looked enjoying the game.


Learn the game is not too difficult, the tutorials can be found at the courses in so many places, and the cost is also cheap. Or, we can also get the course by online through the internet at sites such as Golfkurs Platzreife , although it’s in Dutch, but with google translation, it will be easier to learn how to play golf in your own language. If you need an instructor beside you when learn the game, you just need to go to any golf ranges, they will provide to you an instructor. May be it will be difficult at the first, but when you understand the techniques and the principles, you will be a golf addicted.

At the past, we could only found the golf tools and equipments in a big store and those will be expensive stuffs. But now, we can get those easier in sport stores anywhere. The sport stores have made the golf tools and equipments as one of items that they must sell. We also can get it easily via online at the golf shops on the internet. We just access the golfshop and choose the tools and equipment that you need for playing golf. Beside that, you can book a golf range by using internet.

Who ever found this game should be proud with all the golf currently development. And he should thanks to Tiger Woods and other golf professional players that have made golf known by people around the world. It’s become a game for all people and a game that easy to play.

Hot tea can gain the risk of oesophageal cancer

A study of a population in Northern Iran gives a conclusion that the hot tea has associated with a high risk of esophageal cancer . It reported for the first time on 27 March 2009 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Farhad Islami, MD, from the Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and colleagues writen that the relation between drunk hot drink and esophageal cancer risk has been reported in several studies from various parts of the world. "In Golestan, tea and water consumed by common people, compared with the average intake. An ecological research shows that the population of Golestan drink tea at a higher temperature than the people who live in neighbour areas with lower incidences of esophageal cancer" they reported.

The objective of this research is to evaluate relation between drinking tea habits in the province of Golestan in Northern Iran, which is a region with high incidence of squamosh cancer cells (SCC), and the risk of suffering the disease. Dringking tea habit and the temperature at which tea is usually drunk also determined for healthy people who are registered in the research. The researches were reporting that drinking hot tea, a common habits in the province of Golestan, is associated with a high risk of esophageal cancer.

Also the researches write that a large proportion of Golestans that drunk hot tea, then this habit can be counted as an important part of the esophageal cancer cases in this population. Informing the public about the dangers of drinking hot tea can help in reducing the incidences of the cancer in the Golestan and in a population that has a similar high risk due to teh same habit.

David C. Whiteman, from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research at the Royal Brisbane Hospital in Australia, recommended to tea to cool down the tea for 5 - 10 minutes before drinking. He added that mechanism of heat need to encourage the development of tumor explored further and may provide a better feedback about the basics of this discovery. This is not a warning, however, and this should not reduce the enthusiasm of people to respect the dringking tea ceremony. Instead, we must follow the recommendations resulting from this research is to take time 5 to 10 minutes between making and pouring tea, which will be enough provide a sense of good and not cause injury due to heat.

Té caliente Esofagus aumentar el riesgo de cáncer

Un estudio de la población en el norte de Irán a la conclusión de que el té caliente estrechamente asociada con un alto riesgo de sufrir cáncer esofagus. Se ha informado de que por primera vez el 27 de marzo de 2009 en el British Medical Journal (BMJ).

"La relación entre el calor húmedo y esofagus el riesgo de cáncer ha sido reportada en varios estudios de diversas partes del mundo", informó por Farhad Islami, MD, del Hospital de Shariati, la Universidad de Teherán de Ciencias Médicas en Irán, y sus colegas. "En Golestán, el té y el agua son las bebidas consumidas por el público en general, en comparación con la media de la ingesta. Ecológico investigación muestra que la población de Golestán beber té a una temperatura superior a las personas que viven en zonas cercanas a la incidencia del cáncer esofagus inferior .

El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar la relación entre los hábitos de beber té en la provincia de Golestán, en el norte de Irán, que es una región con alta incidencia de cáncer de células squamosa esofagus (carcinoma de células squamosh, SCC), y el riesgo de padecer la enfermedad. Té hábitos y la temperatura a la que el té es bebido por lo general también determinará para las personas sanas que están registrados en la investigación.

Beba té de aduanas se encuentran en los 300 pacientes que novijenkins histologis ha sufrido esofagus SCC en comparación con las 571 personas que sufrieron las mismas cosas en el ambiente de la vecina en un caso de control de estudios y 48.582 personas en el grupo de investigación novijenkins cohorte. Resultados de la investigación indican el final de la SCC esofagus con té hábito.

Hábito de beber té negro se informó en el 98% de los voluntarios, la media del volumen diario de más de 1 litro. Informó que la temperatura es inferior a 60 ° C en el 39,0% de los voluntarios, 60 ° C a 64 ° C en el 38,9%, y 65 ° C o superior encuentran el 22,0%.

En caso-control, el riesgo de padecer cáncer aumentó esofagus caliente para el té o el té es muy caliente en comparación con el té caliente. También aumentó significativamente el riesgo para el té 2 a 3 minutos después de verter, o menos de 2 minutos después de verter el té en comparación con al menos 4 horas después del vaciado.

"Beber té caliente, una práctica común en la provincia de Golestán se asocia con un riesgo elevado de cáncer esofagus", informó por los investigadores.

Limitaciones de esta investigación es la posibilidad de sesgo de información sobre la cantidad y la temperatura del té se consume, la investigación, la validación se realiza en personas sanas, la posibilidad de sesgo, y es que faltan algunos datos.

"Una gran proporción de Golestán que beber té caliente y, a continuación, este hábito puede ser considerado como una parte importante de la esofagus casos de cáncer en esta población", escriben los investigadores. "Informar al público sobre los peligros de beber té caliente puede ayudar a reducir la incidencia de cáncer en la Golestán y esofagus en una población que tiene un alto riesgo similar debido a un hábito."

En asistente editorial, David C. Whiteman, del Instituto Queensland de Investigación Médica en el Royal Hospital de Brisbane en Australia, se recomienda el té se enfríe durante 5 minutos antes de beberla.

"Mecanismo de calor necesario para estimular el desarrollo de tumor de estudiarse más a fondo y pueden proporcionar una mejor información acerca de los fundamentos de este descubrimiento", escribe el Dr. Whiteman. "Es significativo que esto no es una advertencia, sin embargo, y esto no debe reducir el entusiasmo de la gente respecto a la ceremonia del té. Por el contrario, debemos seguir las recomendaciones resultantes de esta investigación a meberikan de 5 a 10 minutos de tiempo entre toma y verter el té, que será suficiente proporcionar un sentido del bien y no causar lesiones causadas por el calor ".

Teamwork : We can find it in sports

“Teamwork” is a new term, but the concept has existed since the beginning of living things. Teamwork is a concept of multiple individuals work together to accomplish a common objective.

We can find teamwork in sports, especially in team sports, and those are the most common and easier samples of teamwork. There is no such thing as a one person of basketball team or football team that works alone. A striker in soccer can make a goal without a support from his team. The team consists of many individuals working together against the opponent. Without teamwork, a volleyball team has no chance of getting their goal unless they are lucky, or their opponents aren’t any good. . Even for a cheerleader team, there must be a team work for making a good performance that will become a good support for the sport team.

Also in individual sports, such as boxing or tennis, a boxer can't beat his opponent without preparing him self. And to do that he need a good teamwork from his coach, manager, etc. Even their stuff's supplier for training is one part of his team.

So, teamwork is working, and it will be better when every team member puts in a same effort to reach the common objectives.

WHO Wants Money Spent on Making Hospitals Safe

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) Apr 07 - The World Health Organization launched a campaign on Tuesday to get countries, especially in disaster-prone areas, to spend more money on hospital safety to ensure buildings are not damaged when needed most.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the cost of constructing, or retrofitting, buildings able to withstand earthquakes, floods or strong winds was insignificant when compared with the cost of having hospitals collapse in the midst of a disaster.

"In large emergencies, such as those caused by earthquakes, or floods, some countries have lost as much as 50 percent of their hospital capacity to respond right at the time when life-saving functions and services were most acutely needed," Chan told a news conference in Beijing.

"When a new hospital is built, construction specifically designed to withstand earthquakes and extreme weather events adds about four percent to the cost," she said. "This is a very small amount when you consider the huge investment in a hospital, and the huge investment lost when a hospital collapses."

The WHO pointed to disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in which around two-thirds of health facilities in Indonesia's badly hit Aceh province were damaged. Pakistan and Algeria suffered similarly during recent earthquakes.

Hospitals were also damaged during last year's massive earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province, in which approximately 80,000 people died.

"Experience in Latin America and the Caribbean shows that retrofitting a structurally sound facility will cost no more than one percent of the hospital's budget," Chan said.

"Abundant experience demonstrates the tremendous pay-off... when hospitals remain standing and functioning as beacons of security and solidarity in the midst of disaster and despair."

Stop Smoking Hypnosis

Millions of people smoke, and to many, particularly those that have been smoking for some time, the prospect of quitting seems daunting. An addiction to nicotine is a serious one, and is multifaceted: there is a physical component, in that your body craves the nicotine the cigarettes contain, and a psychological one, in that many habits and situations become associated with cigarettes for the smoker.

For these reasons it is important that you come up with a plan of attack in order to quit smoking: although the cold-turkey technique works for some people, the vast majority of smokers will have success only with a more comprehensive plan. When you first consider the prospect of quitting smoking, it's probably going to seem far fetched, but keep in mind that thousands of people - people that are no different from you - quit smoking every year. If they can do it, there's no reason that you can't. Many smokers also feel that after a certain age it is "too-late" to quit smoking. Simply put, this isn't true, and should not be used as an excuse to avoid an attempt to quit smoking: the health benefits of quitting smoking begin the very day you stop.

Before you actually have your last cigarette, begin to build up your willpower. Your willpower is going to be your most important tool in quitting, and it's very unlikely that you will be successful without it. Spend some time thinking of the reasons you want to quit smoking. Learn about the health benefits of quitting, for both yourself and the people around you. Do some math and come up with some figures for the amount of money you'll save by not buying cigarettes, and think of something you'll use that money for.

Once you've built up your willpower, it's time to have your last cigarette. To keep your spirits up, understand that the human body is incredibly resilient, and your health will improve as soon as you stop smoking - literally. 8 hours after your last cigarette, carbon monoxide levels and oxygen levels in your blood stream will return to normal. At 24 hours after your last cigarette, you statistically reduce your chance of a heart attack. Only 48 hours after your last cigarette, your sense of taste and smell will improve as your nerve endings start growing. As you continue to stay smoke free, think of the longer-term benefits to quitting in order to keep your willpower up: even after 2 weeks your lung power will begin to increase, and continue to do so over time.

Other aspects of your health will continue to improve in various ways. The ultimate motivator should be the knowledge that 15 years after quitting, your risk of death is almost the same as someone who has never smoked - a remarkable fact that illustrates our the human body's surprising ability to restore itself. By coming up with a concrete plan to quit smoking you will greatly increase your chances of success. Crucial is understanding the important role that your willpower will play in the process, and planning to build up this willpower weeks before you attempt to quit. Once you've stopped you have to keep the strength of this willpower up, and to do so, remind yourself of the health benefits you will be privy to immediately after butting out that last cigarette.

About the Author
Abbas Abedi writes for http://www.instantstressmanagement.com.

Burn Calories To Lose Weight

Do you depend on standard aerobic and cardio work for fat loss? If you do, you probably spend 30 minutes of exercise trying to burn a certain amount of calories. Does burning 500 calories a day cause you to lose one pound of weight per week? Well, according to statistics, it should. But if it did, you more than likely would not be still reading this article.

Here is a great fat loss tip I will uncovered.

Fiction: You have to burn at least 500 calories per workout to lose weight. Fact: One of the worst inventions to lose fat was the calorie counting stairmaster, exercise machines, and treadmills.

Millions of men and women are now obsessed about how many calories they burn per workout, because of these inventions. You're probably one of these people, watching every calories as it creeps up ever so often during a slow cardio workout. Without taking to mind that you can wipe out a thirty-minute, 300-calorie cardio session with one mouthful of a glazed donut. There are far too many people being mislead to believe that if they don't burn 300-500 calories per workout, then they will not lose weight. After all, isn't this what you've been told over and over again in those shinny stylish fashion/fitness magazines?

There are many problems with this kind of approach to weight loss. For the record, it's hard to tell if the calorie counter machines are even accurate enough. One story on CBS news proved that calorie counting machines overestimated calorie burning numbers up to twenty percent!

If you are still depending on slow cardio for progressive fat loss, you will find that it is relatively useless and at the very least, ineffective. It will take a long time for you to burn a large number of calories and one study has shown that men who only used cardio workouts for fat loss ended up with a lower resting metabolic rate. By only depending on cardio you will basically undo the calorie burning you are trying to achieve. On the other hand, men in the same study that used weight training did not undergo a lower metabolism.

So what is the recommendation to losing fat in a faster and more effective way? The answer is to use weight lifting and interval workouts to burn less calories in less exercise time, but with a high intense form of training.

Your body will burn greater amounts of calories after exercise using intervals than it would after doing slow cardio and your metabolic rate will stay high. A fair amount of experts call this method the "after burn effect". So how are you supposed to do intervals, you may ask? Well, you could do a sprint for thirty seconds and rest for ninety seconds and redo that for six sets - using the bicycle is preferred or the treadmill if you are familiar with it.

Within that short time span the interval training will cause your muscles to go wild with energy. I like to call it a metabolic turbulence. This insane metabolic boost causes lots of calories to burn after exercise to get your body back under control. The results will cause you to burn more calories and fat in the post exercise period as your body attempts to get things back to normal.

Now there is a single time that you would want to count your calories, but that is only when you are counting up to determining how many calories you take in per day. Remember, you can wipe out an entire calorie burning workout in less than one minute just by eating junk food. Without some discipline and structure in your nutrition, there is nothing that any program can do to help you lose weight. So there you have it, workout nutrition discipline and interval training. These are the two anti-calorie counting methods that will help you get lean by losing fat.

About the Author

James S. Wallace http://www.yourhealthevolution.com/

Hopkins Scientists ID 10 Genes Associated With a Risk Factor for Sudden Cardiac Death

Dateline: BALTIMORE, March 22 (AScribe Newswire) —

One minute, he's a strapping 40-year-old with an enviable cholesterol level, working out on his treadmill. The next, he's dead.

That an abnormality in his heart's electrical system had managed to stay on the Q.T. — until it proved lethal — is characteristic of sudden cardiac death, which annually claims more than a quarter million Americans. A dearth of discernable symptoms and lack of detectable molecules circulating in the blood makes the prediction of sudden cardiac death largely dependent on genetic risk factors.

Having identified 10 common variants of genes that modify the timing of the contraction of the heart, known as the QT interval, scientists in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in collaboration with an international contingent of researchers, now provide new insight about the underpinnings of the QT interval which, when prolonged or shortened, predisposes to sudden cardiac death.

QT interval, which is determined from a standard electrocardiogram (ECG), reflects the time it takes for the heart (ventricles) to contract and then reset for the next heartbeat.

Publishing March 22 in Nature Genetics, the international team including researchers from the Technical University in Munich, Johns Hopkins and others, used DNA samples previously collected for epidemiological studies to analyze the genomes of 15,842 individuals whose QT intervals had been measured by electrocardiogram. With DNA microarray chips, each able to assess hundreds of thousands of markers in each sample, followed by bioinformatic techniques to increase the number of markers, the researchers screened approximately 2.5 million markers to detect subtle alterations in the sequences of these genomes that modify the QT interval.

By focusing on 2.5 million sites in a genome of 3 billion sites, the scientists surveyed one-one-thousandth of nearly 16,000 genomes. This relatively small but still extremely powerful screen correlates genomic architecture with QT intervals, according to Aravinda Chakravarti, Ph.D., a professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine.

These common variants at 10 locations across the genome represent perhaps dozens of yet-to-be-identified genes that affect this trait, Chakravarti adds. Of the 10, one that had been previously identified — Nos1ap — was confirmed. Several others were suspected culprits, the effects of which hadn't been demonstrated in preliminary screens.

However, almost half were surprising new genes that no one would have guessed as being involved in cardiac biology, says Dan Arking, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine. So it really does open up a new world of investigation because these are genes that would have never come up if we had only focused on a list of known candidate genes.

A separate study, led by Christopher Newton-Cheh, M.D., M.P.H., of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Human Genetic Research and Cardiovascular Research Center , found similar results from more than 13,000 individuals. We were very reassured to see such strong replication in two independent studies, says Newton-Cheh.

While any single genetic variation in any one individual does not necessarily imply a significant alteration to QT interval, much less increased risk of sudden cardiac death, there is meaning that resides in the collective.

The power of this genetic analysis is a result of screening many thousands of samples, says Chakravarti: We're not very good at predicting what happens to any one, single sample. It's sort of like, I could examine in great detail how important my vote was in the last election, but it's trivial compared to the collective vote. An individual's genome is important as part of the study's whole, but individually, it's of little consequence.

Likewise, if scientists analyze the effect on QT interval by any one of the genetic variants, the alteration amounts to just a couple milliseconds, which is not a huge amount, says Arking: But if you put all 10 genetic variants together, that bumps up the QT interval by about 20 milliseconds, which is significant.

This latest study builds on research published in 2006, when a screen of 100,000 sites in individuals of European ancestry first showed that the Nos1ap gene is associated with the QT interval; and subsequent research showing that sequence changes in Nos1ap are also a risk factor for sudden cardiac death. A third paper, published in January 2009 in PLoS one, widened the original screen to include multiethnic populations; that study confirmed that Nos1ap genetic variants alter QT interval in all populations and, in fact, have a stronger effect in women than men.

The reason people die from this cardiovascular disorder is because we know nothing about the antecedents, Chakravarti says. It's like a truck barreling down a slope: there's no way to stop it. The only way out is to understand the science of this in a deep, meaningful way. If we know, we can begin to intervene.

The research was supported in part by National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Donald W. Reynolds Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Fondation Leducq, State of Bavaria, Ministry of Health of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, South Tyrolean Sparkasse Foundation, and the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation.

Authors of the paper, in addition to Chakravarti and Arking, are Georg B. Ehret, Anna Kottgen, W.H. Linda Kao, Josef Coresh and Man Li, Johns Hopkins University; Arne Pfeufer and Christine Happle, Technical University Munich, Germany; Serena Sanna, Gianluca Usala, Mariano Dei, Silvia Naitza and Marco Orru, Istituto di Neurogenetica e Neurofarmacologia, Cagliari, Italy; Martina Muller and H.-Erich Wichmann, Helmholtz Center Munich; Gerhard Steinbeck and Stefan Kaab, Klinikum Grosshadern, Munich; Goncalo R. Abecasis and Vesela Gateva, University of Michigan; Christian Fuchsberger, Peter P. Pramstaller and Andrew A. Hicks, EURAC European Academy, Italy; Siegfried Perz, Helmholtz Center Munich; Maja Barbalic and Eric Boerwinkle, University of Texas Health Science Center; Benno Putz and Bertram Muller-Myhsok, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich; Angelo Scuteri, Istituto Ricovero e Cura per Anziani, Rome; Ronald J. Prineas, Wake Forest University School of Medicine; Samer S. Najjar and Edward Lakatta, National Institute on Aging; Thomas W. Muhleisen, University of Bonn; Stefan Mohlenkamp and Karl-Heinz Jockel, University Hospital of Essen, University Duisburg-Essen; and David Schlessinger, National Institute on Aging.

CONTACTS: Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations and Public Affairs: Maryalice Yakutchik, 443-287-2251, myakutc1@jhmi.edu or Audrey Huang, 410-614-5105, audrey@jhmi.edu

NOTE TO EDITORS: Video clips of Chakravarti and Arking are available at: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press%5freleases/2009/03%5f22%5f09. .html

ON THE WEB:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/geneticmedicine/

http://www.nature.com/ng/index.html

Weight Loss is Key to Reduced Diabetes Risk

The American Diabetes Association has just released a study showing definitively that the best strategy for preventing type 2 diabetes is weight reduction. Diabetes risk was lowered by 58% in people on the study-implemented weight loss regimen, as compared to no change for placebo subjects.

In the study, subjects randomized to the “intensive lifestyle intervention” (aka the Diabetes Prevention Program) or to a placebo group. For every kilogram of weight loss, there was a 16% reduction in risk. The study not only compared the lifestyle intervention subjects with placebo subjects, but additionally analyzed the effect of each lifestyle change within the lifestyle intervention group—weight loss, a reduced fat diet, and regular exercise—to determine which was the best predictor of reduced diabetes risk. While the actual weight lost served as the best predictor, and therefore was the key factor in type 2 diabetes prevention in the study, the researchers point out that the weight loss amounts to a highly correlated measuring tool for reduced risk, with real results grounded in the lifestyle changes that brought on the weight loss.

“Lower percent of calories from fat and increased physical activity predicted weight loss,” they write. “Increased physical activity was important to help sustain weight loss. Among 495 participants not meeting the weight loss goal at year 1, those who achieved the physical activity goal had 44% lower diabetes incidence.” (The weight-loss goal in the Diabetes Prevention Program was to reduce weight by 7%.) Thus, the weight loss predictor incorporates the other two predictors, making regular exercise and reduced fat diets vital to the fight against type 2 diabetes.

Targeting weight loss, then, ultimately means modifying your diet to include less saturated fats,and adding regular moderate exercise to your weekly routine. A total of 1,079 high-risk people, ages 25 to 84, participated in the study over a three-year period. Their mean age was 50 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 33.9 kg/m2. A BMI of 20 to 25 is considered healthy, with 25.1 to 30 indicating slight-to-moderate overweight, and over 30 qualifying as clinical obesity. (Visit www.bariatricedge.com to calculate your BMI.) All of the study’s subjects had a compromised ability to process glucose when they began the study, but had not yet developed type 2 diabetes. On the diet, fat intake was reduced to less than 25% of total calories.

The study represents an ongoing revision in focus in the literature from managing diabetes to
preventing it, and within that area of research, a de-emphasis on heredity and other risk factors,and an emphasis on proactive and definitively proven preventive techniques—namely weight management through a reduced fat diet and regular exercise.

(Diabetes Care, 2006, Vol. 29, No. 9, pp. 2102-2107; American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org)

Jobs for Medical Professionals on Blue Dot

BLUEDOT, is the first health care consultancy and services company in Indonesia which provides the most complete health care services to the clients, such as employee health benefits consultancy; health insurance consultancy; managed care; third party administration; medical evacuation and repatriation and other assistance services; health care providers network (doctors, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, clinical laboratory, optics, ambulances) and other services.

Paramedic
Requirements:
Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, Pharmacy/Pharmacology, Medicine or equivalent.
At least 3 year(s) of working experience in the related field is required for this position.
Male, 28-35 years old
Certified Emergency Response for Trauma (Basic Trauma Life Support)
Certified Emergency Response for Cardiac (Basic Cardiac Life Support)
Certified for First Aid & Basic Life Support
Indonesia Manpower Ministry Occupational Health Certificate (Hiperkes)
Able to communicate in English (oral & written)
Computer skill
Certified in Medical Fitness

Medical Personel (Doctor)
Requirements:

• Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Science
• Male, 28-40 Years Old
• At least 3 year(s) of working experience in Medical Emergency Response.
• Certified Emergency Response for Trauma (Advance Trauma Life Support/ATLS)
• Certified Indonesia Man Power Occupational Health (HIPERKES)
• Certified Advance Cardio Life Support/ACLS
• Able to communicate in English both oral and written
• Computer Skill
• Post PTT

Payroll Staff
Requirements:

• Female, 23-28 years old
• Having good knowledge in Taxation (PPh 21, PPh Masa, SPT)
• Certified in Brevet Pajak A & B
• Able to operate Microsoft Windows
• Minimum 2 years experrience at Payroll Position
• Able to work in a Team

Send your complete resume with certificate and recently photograph to:
PT Insan Dharma Nusa
Blue Dot Centre Blok K, L, M
Jl. Gelong Baru Utara No. 5-8 - Tomang
Jakarta Barat 11440
or email : bluedotgroup@yahoo.com or anastasia.reni@idn.co.id