ks early, and allow public health officials to be on alert for new surges,” wrote Louise C. Ivers, MD, MPH, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and executive director

Santo Domingo.- Despite an increasing number of donors at the National Blood Center, the Dominican Republic continues to face a blood shortage of approximately 150,000 units annually, accounting for around 50% of the national demand of 300,000 units. Dr. Pedro Sing, the director of the National Blood Center, highlighted the significance of voluntary donations and emphasized the need to raise awareness about this crucial act.

He assured that the National Blood Center currently fulfills 100% of the emergency blood supply for the Hugo Mendoza Pediatric Hospital, 65-70% for the Robert Reid Cabral Hospital, and close to 50% for the Francisco Moscoso Puello, Salvador B. Gautier, San Lorenzo de Los Mina, and Darío Contreras hospitals.

On the occasion of World Donor Day, which is celebrated on Wednesday, the National Blood Center plans to organize various large-scale blood collection events in Santo Domingo, Santiago, and La Vega. Among these events, there will be a collaboration with the Banco de Reservas Health Insurance (ARS) and the signing of an agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to further increase blood reserves.

Dr. Sing also announced the opening of the first Node or blood bank at the Vinicio Calventi Hospital this week. This Node operates within a network model, where donor clubs are established to collect blood. The collected blood is then processed at the Hemocentro and returned to the respective hospital.

This NCD Civil Society Response in Support of the 2023 Bridgetown Declaration to be adopted this week, provides key messages and follow-up recommendations by the Healthy Caribbean Coalition and the NCD Alliance.

It represents civil society’s ongoing contribution to the development of the 2023 Bridgetown Declaration and accompanying Annexes for adoption at the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Ministerial Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health (14-16 June 2023). The recommendations are the result of NCDA’s and HCC’s involvement in the process so far.

It is hoped that this Conference will be a turning point for SIDS, supported by the global community, to accelerate action on the largely preventable burden of NCDs, including mental, neurological and substance use disorders (MNSDs), that disproportionally impacts SIDS. People living in SIDS are at higher risk of dying prematurely from a major NCD, and SIDS show the highest rates of childhood and adult obesity worldwide.

Read the response document

The post An NCD Civil Society Response in Support of the 2023 Bridgetown Declaration appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

The study is aimed to investigate the relationship between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to apolipoprotein A ratio (HDL-C/ApoA) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

They retrospect the consecutive medical files of 1058 subjects with T2DM and recorded their clinical information and laboratory findings. Subjects with T2DM were divided into DR group (n = 522) and non-DR group (n = 536). We compared the lipids values of the two groups. Meanwhile we also observed the prevalence of DR at different HDL-C/ApoA levels. Binary logistic regression was used to correct confounding factors. Smooth curve fitting model and subgroup analysis were used to determine the correlation, non-linear relationship and threshold effect between HDL/ApoA and DR.

Results

HDL-C/ApoA value of DR group was significantly higher than non-DR group (0.88 ± 0.17 vs 0.84 ± 0.13, P < 0.05). The prevalence of DR significantly increased as HDL-C/ApoA level increased. There was association between HDL/ApoA levels and DR in the adjusted models (OR 1.55, 95%CI 0.60 to 4.02). After full adjustments for other relevant clinical covariates, patients with HDL/ApoA values in quartile 3 (Q3) had 1.50 times (95 % CI 1.00 to 2.17) and in Q4 had 2.39 times (95%CI 1.65 to 3.47) as high as the risk of DR compared with patients in Q1. HDL/ApoA showed a non-linear relationship with DR, with an inflection point value of 0.759. When HDL/ApoA>0.759, HDL/ApoA was significantly positively associated with DR (HR = 26.508, 95 % CI 7.623–92.174; P < 0.0001). Compared to patients with age < 60, HDL/ApoA was obviously associated with DR when age ≥ 60 (OR = 38.05, 95 % CI 8.06–179.69; P < 0.001).

HDL-C/ApoA was found to be associated with the incidence of DR in patients with T2DM. After adjusting potential related factors HDL-C/ApoA OR value was 1.55 (95%CI 0.60 to 4.02). A non-linear association between HDL/ApoA and DR was observed in T2DM. Subgroup analysis showed that age could alter the relationship between HDL/ApoA and DR.

Reference:

Cong Zhang, Wenjian Lin, Qian Xu, Hongxue Li, Chengye Xu, Xuefei Ma, Ming Hao, Hongyu Kuang. Association between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to apolipoprotein A ratio and diabetic retinopathy: A cross-sectional study, Journal of Diabetes and its Complications, Volume 37, Issue 6, 2023, 108471,ISSN 1056-8727, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2023.108471.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1056872723000697)

r Fee Act date of June 14, 2023 by the FDA — approximately 4 months earlier than the standard review cycle.“Pediatric functional constipation is an all-too-common issue that physicians see

BBC – A mother-of-three has been jailed for more than two years for inducing an abortion after the legal limit.

Carla Foster, 44, received the medication following a remote consultation where she was not honest about how far along her pregnancy was.

The “pills by post” scheme, introduced in lockdown, allows pregnancies up to 10 weeks to be terminated at home.

However, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the woman was between 32-34 weeks pregnant when she took them.

Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks. However, after 10 weeks the procedure is carried out in a clinic.

Prosecutors argued Foster had provided false information knowing she was over the time limit and had made online searches which they said indicated “careful planning”.

The court heard between February and May 2020 she had searched “how to hide a pregnancy bump”, “how to have an abortion without going to the doctor” and “how to lose a baby at six months”.

Based on the information she provided the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), she was sent the tablets because it was estimated she was seven weeks pregnant.

Her defence argued that lockdown and minimising face-to-face appointments had changed access to healthcare and so instead she had to search for information online.

“The defendant may well have made use of services had they been available at the time,” said her barrister Barry White. “This will haunt her forever.”

On 11 May 2020, having taken the abortion pills, an emergency call was made at 18:39 BST saying she was in labour.

The baby was born not breathing during the phonecall and was confirmed dead about 45 minutes later.

A post-mortem examination recorded the baby girl’s cause of death as stillbirth and maternal use of abortion drugs and she was estimated to be between 32 and 34 weeks’ gestation.

Foster, from Staffordshire, already had three sons before she became pregnant again in 2019.

The court heard she had moved back in with her estranged partner at the start of lockdown while carrying another man’s baby.

The judge accepted she was “in emotional turmoil” as she sought to hide the pregnancy.

Foster was initially charged with child destruction, which she denied.

She later pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion, which was accepted by the prosecution.

Leniency letter ‘not appropriate’

Sentencing, judge Mr Justice Edward Pepperall said it was a “tragic” case, adding that if she had pleaded guilty earlier he may have been able to consider suspending her jail sentence.

He said the defendant was “wracked by guilt” and had suffered depression and said she was a good mother to three children, one of whom has special needs, who would suffer from her imprisonment.

She received a 28-month sentence, 14 of which will be spent in custody with the remainder on licence.

Ahead of Monday’s hearing, a letter co-signed by a number of women’s health organisations was sent to the court calling for a non-custodial sentence.

However, the judge said it was “not appropriate” and that his duty was “to apply the law as provided by Parliament”.

He told the defendant the letter’s authors were “concerned that your imprisonment might deter other women from accessing telemedical abortion services and other late-gestation women from seeking medical care or from being open and honest with medical professionals”.

But he said it also “has the capacity to be seen as special pleading by those who favour wider access to abortions and is, in my judgment, just as inappropriate as it would be for a judge to receive a letter from one of the groups campaigning for more restrictive laws”.

‘Archaic law’

The sentencing has sparked outcry among women’s rights organisations and campaigners.

BPAS said it was “shocked and appalled” by the woman’s sentence which they said was based on an “archaic law”.

“No woman can ever go through this again,” said its chief executive, Clare Murphy.

“Over the last three years, there has been an increase in the numbers of women and girls facing the trauma of lengthy police investigations and threatened with up to life imprisonment under our archaic abortion law,” she said.

“Vulnerable women in the most incredibly difficult of circumstances deserve more from our legal system.”

She said MPs must do more to offer protection so “no more women in these desperate circumstances are threatened with prison again”.

Meanwhile, Labour MP Stella Creasy called for “urgent reform”.

“The average prison sentence for a violent offence in England is 18 months,” she said in a tweet.

“A woman who had an abortion without following correct procedures just got 28 months under an 1868 act – we need urgent reform to make safe access for all women in England, Scotland and Wales a human right.”

The Crown Prosecution Service said: “These exceptionally rare cases are complex and traumatic.

“Our prosecutors have a duty to ensure that laws set by Parliament are properly considered and applied when making difficult charging decisions.”

When asked whether the prime minister was confident criminalising abortion in some circumstances was the right approach, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said the current laws struck a balance.

“Our laws as they stand balance a woman’s right to access safe and legal abortions with the rights of an unborn child,” he said.

“I’m not aware of any plans to address that approach.”

The post Mother jailed for taking abortion pills after legal limit appeared first on Barbados Today.

Diario Libre spoke with the gastroenterologist Carmen Cabral, who affirmed that salmonella is one of the main bacteria causing food poisoning, together with Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia Coli (E. Coli), and Campylobacter.

The specialist acknowledged that, lately, in her professional practice at Centro Medico Moderno, she has seen an increase in positive diagnoses for salmonella and Escherichia coli.

“Could it be that they are in the water, in the vegetables? Could it be that people are eating more in the street? Something is happening!” the specialist commented.

According to Cabral, “before there was a lot of amoeba, but now you do a gastrointestinal panel on patients, and you find Campylobacter, Escherichia coli and salmonella like nothing else. I’m not even surprised anymore.”

“Where there is no good food handling, that’s where you get infected,” she said.

The gastro listed the symptoms: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, headache, and sometimes bloody diarrhea.

“When the patient goes to the emergency room it is because he is dehydrated most of the time because he has vomited a lot. Then come the complications where the patient can go into sepsis or septic shock,” she said.

The physician emphasized washing vegetables for salads, washing hands after going to the bathroom, covering food to avoid flies, and not reheating food more than once.

“A lot of pesticides are used and the handling from the field to the final consumption destination is too much. Some people think that vinegar is enough,” he commented.

Cabral recommends using chlorinated water with 20 drops of chlorine per gallon and leaving the products to soak for half an hour.

“They should be washed with bottled water, because if you use tap water, we are not at all,” she specified.

The doctor pointed out that the effects of food poisoning would depend on the organism of each individual but that there is an incubation period depending on the pathogen in the food.

Salmonella, frequent in poultry, eggs, and dairy products, usually lasts between six hours to six days in its incubation period.

Escherichia coli typically lasts three to four days; sometimes, it can take up to 10 days. It is found in raw or undercooked meat, unpasteurized juice or milk, soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, and contaminated water and feces of people carrying the bacteria.

In seafood poisoning, the reaction usually takes 30 to 60 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Cabral recommends seeking medical advice since these bacteria can cause intestinal perforation and affect the liver and gall bladder if not adequately treated.

Treatment usually includes antibiotics, usually with metronidazole, and sufficient hydration.

NON-PROFIT organisation Stand Up for Jamaica continues to question how mentally ill individuals can be placed behind bars.

Pointing to the case of Noel Chambers, an 81-year-old man who died in the custody of a facility after a 40-year wait for trial, the advocacy group laments that there is a need for "urgent change".

Chambers was deemed unfit to plea when he was charged with murder and incarcerated on February 4, 1980. He died on January 27, 2020 from a severe kidney infection.

"Mentally ill inmates cannot be fit to plead and need to be diverted to community mental health care; and [there is need] for a modern, forensic psychiatric facility to be built to provide treatment for the most severe cases. The Ministry of Health has been providing for some of them while courthouses still send them to prison," Carla Gullotta, executive director at Stand Up for Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.

"While international scrutiny and the work of human rights activists have inculcated a greater focus on human rights issues behind bars, the treatment of mentally ill prisoners remains a significant concern," Gullotta continued.

She said despite the efforts of correctional administrators, mentally ill inmates will continue to present a significant challenge because of the danger they pose not only to other prisoners and correctional officers, but also to themselves.

"These are issues which plague correctional services in Jamaica and put the country at risk of violating basic human rights provisions enshrined in international law. It is for this reason that we promote the call for a change to be made in the justice system with how inmates' right to a fair trial is systematically ignored. For persons deemed unfit to plead, we urge the courts to divert these persons to the mental health clinics which have been established by the Ministry of Health."

In 2019, Gullotta said some 313 mentally ill people were locked away in correctional institutions across the island, even though they're not supposed to be there.

Director of medical services at the Department of Correctional Services, Dr Donna Royer-Powe had said that there is nowhere to adequately accommodate them.

The following year, the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) called for the establishment of psychiatric facilities for prisoners with mental health issues, following the death of Chambers.

Then INDECOM Commissioner Terrence Williams had said that when he was found upon his death, Chambers was chronically emaciated and severely malnourished. He noted that his body was covered with vermin bites and that there were live bed bugs — popularly called chink in Jamaica — all over his body and that he was suffering from bed sores.

Williams said it was clear that Chambers was a victim of inhumane treatment in our prisons.

In 2021, consultant psychiatrist and therapist Dr Wendel Abel had said that considering the widespread issue of mental health in prisons, a mental health-care programme in Jamaica's penal system is long overdue.

This came after Matthew Samuda, then minister without portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, announced that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) was authorised to hire a consultant forensic psychiatrist who will design and oversee a forensic mental health-care programme.

Gullotta told Your Health Your Wealth that inmates are hostages captured among different agencies which are supposed to deal with their trials and their sentences.

"DCS may be an insufficient executor but fundamental focus has to be on the justice system and its lack of accountability. Pending trials, courthouses not sending notifications about court dates, poor professional performance from some attorneys," were among some of the issues, she lamented.

Drugmakers hiked the price of these 43 drugs by more than the rate of inflation and are required to pay the difference of those medicines to Medicare, the federal health program for Americans over age 65."People taking 43 of these drugs could pay less (in coinsurance) to access these important treatments, starting July 1," Dr Meena Seshamani, director for Medicare at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) told reporters.The Medicare agency plans to send the first invoices to drugmakers in 2025 for the rebates owed to Medicare this year and for 2024.President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes a provision that penalises drugmakers for charging prices that rise faster than inflation for people on Medicare.Biden announced in March that his administration would subject 27 drugs to inflation fines for the second quarter of this year. The new list of 43 replaces that selection for the third quarter of 2023.The list of drugs facing the inflation penalty for the third quarter includes - for the second time - AbbVie's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira and Seagen's targeted cancer therapy Padcev, the White House said in a fact sheet.Read also: USFDA advisory committee votes unanimously to confirm clinical benefit of Leqembi for Alzheimer's Disease