Syndromes

The Chronic Medication Distribution Project, which was launched to reduce long queues at clinics and improve maternal and child health, are amongst the achievements the Gauteng Provincial Government can boast about. This is according to MEC for Health Brian Hlongwa, who on Tuesday reflected on the departments achievements over the past six months.

Kampala - HIV-positive Ugandans are twice as likely to quit antiretroviral therapy (ART) if they also use traditional herbal medicine, a new study by scientists at the country's leading university has found.

A University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine collaborative study with Boston Universitys Slone Epidemiology Center found an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) in newborns of mothers who used certain commonly prescribed antidepressants in late pregnancy. The results of the study will be published in the February 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

With less than two percent of HIV-infected Zambians able to access antiretrovirals, plans were announced on Tuesday to begin testing traditional medicines as an alternative treatment for the pandemic.

esearchers from Temple University in Philadelphia say tests on rats show highly repetitive actions may damage tendons, ligaments and bones. Experts have been divided over whether repetitive tasks like typing can by themselves cause this damage. Writing in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, the scientists say their study could help industry and medicine to tackle the problem earlier. As many as two out of three people who suffer work-related health problems damage their tendons, ligaments or bones. They can go on to develop osteoarthritis, tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome, where tendons or ligaments in the wrist become enlarged or inflamed. Dr Ann Barr and colleagues decided to carry out tests on rats to see if highly repetitive tasks were enough to cause them physical problems. Because multiple factors play a role in the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, including work tasks, home activities and medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, we studied work tasks alone to isolate their impact, said Dr Barr. They found highly repetitive tasks did cause damage to the rats. Many reduced their movements or avoided the task completely. Dr Barr said that the rats appeared to pick up injuries relatively quickly. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually takes a long time to develop, yet we started seeing evidence of tissue damage within three to six weeks. This finding suggests that we may be able to intervene earlier in the development of the disorder and prevent further, more severe damage, she said. This information is critical in helping industry and medicine establish workplace guidelines prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorder. (Source: BBC News 12 November 2003).

The first suspected case of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome illness Sars has turned up in Durban. A 30-year-old Durban man is in isolation at the Crompton Hospital in Pinetown after he returned from Vietnam via Singapore on Sunday. All those who have been in contact with him have also opted to be in self-quarantine. The hospital spokesperson,Marietjie Kelly, said the patient's temperature had come down but they want to be absolutely sure that he didn't pick up the disease. She said the patient was in a stable condition and did not pose a danger to others. It is believed that the man who was on a business trip to south east Asia, was taken to hospital yesterday morning. Sars has made its way half way around the world but no case of the disease has been diagnosed in South Africa. (Source: SABC News 7 May 2003)

South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases put the country on the alert for signs of the deadly SARS that has already infected 1804 and killed at least 62 by 1 April 2003. The institute said it had sent step-by-step instructions to the department and private and state medical laboratories detailing what to do should doctors suspect SARS in a patient. Doctors should be on the lookout for high temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celcius, they should look for respiratory illness such as coughing or shortness of breath, but most importantly they should get the patient's travel and contact history. According to the guidelines, patients suspected of having SARS must be isolated and barrier-nursed with mask, gown and glove precautions. Specimens including clotted blood and nasopharyngeal swabs should be sent to the institute. The epicentre of the disease is in Asia where the majority of the deaths have occurred. Scientists fear the disease may be spread by close human contact such as that experienced inside passenger planes. Meanwhile, doctors at the Nelspruit Medi-Clinic said that a man who was admitted to the hospital with some of the symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and who had recently travelled to Mozambique and Hong Kong appear to be suffering from malaria. (Source:SAPA, 1 April 2003) For update and more information on SARS Visit:http://www.who.int/csr/sars/en/