Healthwatch |
Compiled & coordinated by Edward
ARAMBEWALA |
Wishing for a better tomorrow
Auditory verbal therapy centre launched:
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Imagine... If you were given one chance to fulfil your desires what
would you like to wish for? Wealth? Power? A holiday filled with fun and
luxury? All of these suggestions sound tempting but think... Picture a
world of silence...A life without sound or communication.
Give him a chance to live his dream |
There are thousands of people: infants, children, adolescents, middle
aged and elderly fellow human beings who are not fortunate to possess
the gift of speech and hearing. Such individuals forced into a life of
isolation sparked the dream of setting a new centre to aid the hearing
impaired - WISH (Wickramarachchi Institute of Speech and Hearing), an
auditory verbal therapy centre.
Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Education speaks at the
launch |
Wickramarachchi Opticians was established in 1976 with the aim of
providing high-quality yet affordable life care products to the public
in the fields of ophthalmology and audiology. Its first market offering
was the Danavox hearing aid, coupled with electro medical and audiology
equipment.
The company had been the first in the region to introduce the digital
programmable hearing aids as well as the Cochlear implantable hearing
solution invented by Graeme Clark. They have also performed more then 50
successful surgeries up to date.
They also spearhead a social responsibility initiative in
collaboration with a charity called the ‘Sunflower village’, which
possesses both audiological and political departments. Through this
project over 5000 children have received spectacles and digital hearing
aids from Siemens and over 87,000 spectacles were donated to victims of
the tsunami along with Australia’s funding. To celebrate its 30th
anniversary, J.M.Wickramarachchi and Co. launched WISH on January 30.
The staff of J.M. Wickramarachchi and Co. |
WISH was initiated along with the Warren Estabrooks centre and was
fully equipped with state of the art technology and internationally
acclaimed techniques in therapy. Minister of Education, Susil
Premajayantha was the chief guest at the launch while Warren Estabrooks,
president of WE Listen International was guest of honour.
“We hope to help the hearing impaired to speak and hear better as
well as conduct education, research and audiological assessment with
regards to speech and hearing. The centre is mainly aimed towards
children who are hearing impaired and need help with their education.
We hope to train teams from the Government to assist hearing impaired
adults and children together with the Ministry of Social Services and
Education,” Mihira Wickramarachchi, CEO of J.M. Wickramarachchi and Co.
said.
Warren Estabrooks, president of WE Listen International and
other distinguished guests opens WISH |
“We are affiliated to the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) too. My wish is to ensure that all
hearing impaired children in the island have access to develop
themselves into well rounded individuals and enable them to enjoy the
facilities towards this path.”
Speaking at the launch Minister Premajayantha said that the Ministry
had held a national symposium with the participation of specialists in
the field and NGOs and hope to start a training institute to train
teachers in the field of special education.
Wickramarachchi’s future goal is to open a company that will produce
audiological supporting equipment to cut down cost as well as continue
to help raise standards in audiology.
Pictures by Palitha Gunasena
British research:
Couch potato lifestyle may speed up ageing
Being a couch potato in your free time could make you a decade older
biologically than someone who is physically active, according to a major
study of people’s “chromosomal clocks” by British researchers.
Researchers at St Thomas’ Hospital in London measured the lengths of
telomeres, the DNA that bookends our chromosomes, in the white blood
cells of 2,401 twins, and found that people who did not exercise in
their spare time had shorter telomeres than very active people, New
Scientist reported Tuesday on its website.
Telomeres shorten each time a cell divides, and when they become too
short a cell can no longer divide, so telomeres act as a kind of timer
counting down our biological age.
The researchers found that on average, the least active (getting just
16 minutes exercise a week) had telomeres 200 base pairs shorter than
the most active (exercising 3 hours a week), which translates into them
being about 10 years older biologically.
The researchers, whose previous study showed that smoking and obesity
can shorten telomere length by the equivalent of 10 years, found that
exercise and telomere length were linked independently of whether people
smoked or were overweight.
Accounting for whether or not participants had a chronic disease
(possibly making them sedentary) did not change the findings either,
suggesting that other factors linked with an inactive lifestyle affect
biological age, they said.
One of those factors seems to be psychological stress, which could
translate into oxidative stress, a source of free radicals that can
cause DNA mutations and shorten telomere length.
According to the researchers, although exercise can alleviate such
stress, it only seems to help with cellular ageing if done in people’s
leisure time.
Slogging away in manual jobs, on the other hand, tends to have the
opposite effect and can shorten telomeres because of “the psychological
stress of being in the lower social pecking order,” according to leading
researcher Tim Spector.
Telomere length can be inherited, but even after analyzing a subgroup
of twin pairs, who share both genetics and upbringing, “the twin who was
doing more exercise had longer telomeres - on average, an 88 base pair
difference,” Spector said.
Spector said that whether having shorter telomeres means a person
dies younger is unproven, but the person is “more likely to have
age-related diseases,” such as Alzheimer’s. Nevertheless, although
telomere length cannot be restored, it may be possible to slow down the
process by starting to exercise, he added. Xinhua
SLMA Guidelines To Researchers on Science & Health Communication To
The Media
The SLMA (Sri Lanka Medical Association) has issued a booklet to
research scientists on science and health on the guidelines they should
follow in communicating with the media.
The booklet compiled by Dr. Waruna Gunatilake (Chairperson Media
Committee SLMA) is available at the SLMA Office at Wijerama Mawatha.
The SLMA Media Committee comprise the following doctors:
Ruvaiz Haniffa, Ananda Wijewickrama, Chandana Attapattu, N.
Ganeshanathan, I.L.K. Jayaratne, B.M.H. Anupama Banneheke, W.A.V.H.
Pallewela, N.K. Gunawardena.
Jayarani Tennekoon, Chandani Kumari, Nadeera Wijesekera.
Medex Colombo 2008
The Colombo Medical Faculty which is renowned for its immense
contribution towards the nations health care system is organizing an
exhibition of national magnitude that would undoubtedly exalt the health
standards of our country.
It is scheduled from March 26 to April 1 at the BMICH. Even though
the nations health indices boast of levels found in developed countries,
it is an open secret that there are pivotal areas that need immediate
awareness and resolutions.
The ultimate goal of MEDEX Colombo 2008 is structured in a way that
would enlighten the masses about common ailments, medical myths
important medical procedures and normal medical physiology.
Participants will learn through “hands on” experience the “must know”
medical protocols that would followed in life and death situations.
Medex Colombo 2008 hopes to raise awareness of many fascinating
aspects of the medical field such as Intensive Care Unit. Other latest
technology break through in Cancer and Heart diseases etc. through real
life displays and activities.
Special interviews on Sri Lanka’s most common illnesses such as
diabetes, high blood pressure, updates on the current diseases the world
is facing, such as “Bird flu” will be conducted.
The quest towards individual health awareness will not be compete
without acquiring a fundamental knowledge on the important structures
and functions of the human body. This would be displayed by a vast array
of specimens for the participants to all for themselves have the body
works.
Medex Colombo 2008 is an event that has long been awaited. It is an
opportunity for all Sri Lankans to improve their health and well being,
which will ultimately help us to achieve our national goal to be a
strong and active nation.
Asian diet over Western diet for good health
One out of every four deaths in the United States is due to cancer.
Nutrition is one of the important factors involved in reducing risk for
cancer. Soyfoods fit the dietary guidelines for reducing cancer risk,
and they also contain anti-carcinogens which may prove to be protective.
In the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death.
Lifestyle factors are important in the etiology of the disease.
Cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet all contribute to
cancer risk. Scientific evidence indicates that one third of cancer
deaths in the United States are due to dietary factors.
Epidemiological studies show that populations which consume a typical
Asian diet have lower incidences of breast, prostate, and colon cancers
than those consuming a Western diet. The Asian diet includes mostly
plant foods, including legumes, fruits, and vegetables, and is low in
fat. The Japanese have the highest consumption of soyfoods.
On the other hand, the typical Western diet includes large amounts of
animal foods, is lower in fibre and complex carbohydrates, and is high
in fat. Soyfoods are dietary staples in the Orient, but are not commonly
included in the Western diet.
Japan has a very low incidence of hormone-dependent cancers. The
mortality rate from breast and prostate cancers in Japan is about
one-fourth that of the United States.
There is evidence that suggests the difference in cancer rates is not
due to genetics, but rather to diet. Migration studies have shown that
when Asians move to the Untied States and adopt a Western diet, they
ultimately have the same cancer incidence as Americans.
The American Cancer Society has created guidelines designed to help
reduce the risk for cancer. Their recommendations include:
* Choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources
* Limit your intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal
sources
Soyfoods fit these guidelines for a health-promoting diet. Soybeans
contain high quality protein, and make an excellent substitute for
animal foods. Soyfoods and soy products are amazingly versatile, and can
easily be incorporated into a varied diet.
Because of the trends seen in the epidemiological studies,
case-control studies have been conducted to find out whether there may
be a relationship between the consumption of soyfoods and decreased
cancer risk.
A study of dietary intakes and breast cancer showed that in
premenopausal women, high intakes of animal protein were associated with
increased risk, while high intakes of soyfoods were associated with
decreased risk.
Other long-term studies have noted an inverse association between
regular consumption of miso soup and breast cancer risk in premenopausal
women. This association has not been shown in postmenopausal women.
In Hawaii, a long-term study of 8,000 men of Japanese ancestry showed
that men who ate tofu daily were only one-third as likely to get
prostate cancer as those who ate tofu once a week or less.
Other case-control studies conducted in Asia have shown an
association between regular consumption of tofu or other soyfoods and a
66 per cent to 80 per cent decreased risk for rectal cancer.
Anti-carcinogens: Soybeans in Soybeans contain five classes of
compounds which have been identified as anti-carcinogens. These include
isoflavones, saponins, phytates, protease inhibitors, and phytosterols.
Most of these substances can be found in many different plant foods,
but soy is the only significant dietary source of isoflavones. Soy
isoflavones, especially genistein, have been the subject of a tremendous
amount of cancer research.
Soy and health
The Chiang Mai Declaration on Dengue
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a communication on what future
action is planned in dealing with the dengue and the DHF (Dengue
Haemorrhagic Fever) referring to the Chiang Mai Declaration on Dengue
says that the participants at this conference held in 2002 agreed and
committed themselves to the following.
* Endorse the WHO global strategy
* Work for increased political commitment and resources
* Promote partnerships involving both the private and public sectors.
* Build and reinforce health systems for surveillance, treatment,
prevention and control
* Develop new and improved tools and strategies for prevention and
control.
The UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training
in Tropical Diseases (TDR) has prioritized research activities to:
* Develop and evaluate improved diagnostic methods for early
detection.
* Accelerate the development and evaluation of dengue vaccines.
* Support mosquito control studies.
* Promote the establishment of research networks using the web-based
Dengue Net Surveillance System.
Laughter is the best medicine
A dermatologist was once interviewed by a journalist as to why he
chose that particular field of medicine. The dermatologist replied,
“It is for three good reasons.
First: Nobody will ring your doorbell at 12 midnight to say there is
a bad patient.
Second: Nobody will die of it.
The third and the most important reason is that you can’t cure it for
ever.”
Sent by:
H.M. Gunatilake, Hospital Secretary, Base Hospital, Marawila.
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