HEALTH WATCH

Excessive use of mosquito coils brings health problems

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Recently Health Ministry informed the public that improper use of mosquito coils, mats etc cause liver damage, corner (in the eye) damage, Asthma, wheezing, shortness in breath, headache and loss of fertility in both men and women. Therefore the public should strictly follow the correct method of using them and avoid excessive use of mosquito coils.

According to the same information, Sri Lankans burn 10 containers of mosquito coils per day and Colombo citizens use Rs. 50 million worth mosquito coils per day. The accurate use of mosquito coils can reduce the side effects. The people need to light the mosquito coil/mat etc half and hour before their bed time and it should be done after closing down all doors and windows of the room/house and switching off the fan. After half and hour, all doors and windows of should be open and leave open for some time before closing them down before sleep. Only after that, the room/house is safe to sleep.

But at the moment a lot of people do the opposite and light one or two mosquito coils/mats etc close to their heads and legs in the closed room just before going to bed. Then they switch on the fan. They start to inhale all the smoke and ash produced by the mosquito coil which is unhealthy and cause various health problems.

All what they need is to prevent mosquitoes from biting their face and legs. Normally they cover the rest of their bodies with a bed sheet or something. But excessive heat prevailing in the country during the nights prevent them from using bed sheets to cover their bodies. In the morning a lot of people complain about head aches, wheezing and shortness in breath. The air- tight rooms and the fans help dangerous chemicals to get into lungs swiftly.

Medical Research Institute Director Dr. Anil Samaranayake pointed out the importance of proper use of mosquito coils in order to minimize health complications. According to the researches and studies conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Consumer Guidance Society of India, long term use of mosquito coils/mats etc can cause liver damage, corner damage etc. Various chemicals in mosquito coils such as Cynthetic Pylathroid, Allethrin, D Allethrin, Bio Allethrin, D Trans Allethrin, etc cause those health complications.

There are many other methods that you can use to prevent mosquitoes biting you during the night and day. Dengue mosquitoes bite people during the morning and evening. Therefore using mosquito coils does not help much to prevent dengue. There are special type of medicated net materials in the market that you can use to cover your windows etc and also use as mosquito nets at night. Using large mosquito nets is another successful method of preventing mosquito bit in the night. The nets made out of cotton wool or any similar material can be used with a fan to avoid excessive heat. There are various types of mosquito traps available in the market now. There are many natural plants and leaves that can be used to chase away mosquitoes. There are many natural stuff such as `Pengiri oil' that you can apply on your body without causing any health problems to avoid mosquito bites.

Another very successful method of preventing mosquitoes from coming into homes is closing down doors and windows early around 5 pm or 5.30 pm. A large number of mosquitoes start to 'invade' homes after around 5.30 pm. They invade homes till around 7.30 pm. Therefore it can be prevented by closing down doors and windows before 5.30 pm. This will control the problem to a certain extent.

Mosquitoes live inside homes- inside cloth racks, cupboards and all dark and quiet places. Cleaning such places often can control mosquito menace to a certain extent. But the best way of eradicating mosquito menace is destroying all mosquito breeding sites located in your garden and home and also in your surroundings. You have to pay special attention to blocked gutters. You have to keep the whole area clean. Dengue mosquitoes can fly only 500 metres.

Therefore it will help to prevent dengue, one of the deadliest diseases which killed hundreds of people in the previous years. It killed over 100 people only during last six months.

When we have a problem to solve we have to have few main things. The first thing is enthusiasm / urge. Then comes activating your brain and thinking hard about the most safe, long lasting and practical way of solving the problem.

Sperm created from stem cells may lead to successful fatherhood

Japanese scientists from Kyoto University effectively derived sperm cells from embryonic stem cells of mice, and used the sperm produced to successfully fertilize eggs. This first-ever breakthrough paves the way for new ways of researching and treating infertility in humans.

According to the study authors, the results of the fertilized eggs were fruitful as they produced "healthy offspring that grew into fertile male and female adult mice." The details of the study were recently published in a special online edition of the U.S. journal Cell.

Although the potential use of the exciting new technology in humans remains a decade or more away, the results of the experiment provide hope for taking on the monumental challenge of deriving sperm precursors, or early-stage sperm, also known as primordial germ cells (PGCs), from human embryonic stem cells that can grow into healthy sperm. The study authors pointed out that this is "one of the most fundamental challenges in biology."

Regarding the research, lead study author Mitinori Saitou, professor at the department of anatomy and cell biology graduate school of medicine, Kyoto University, noted that the study is "the first to report the generation of fully functional germline cells from ES (embryonic stem) cells."

Although previous studies have had marginal success in attempting to create sperm using stem cells, none have led to a breakthrough until now.

Defects among both sperm and egg development are the largest culprits of infertility. However, scientists have faced major struggles in studying the details of the process due to the many stages that occur in the womb.

For their study, the research team began with stem cells taken from mouse embryos during the first days of life and with the use of a mixture of chemicals and vitamins, coaxed them into early-stage sperm that were injected into the testacles of infertile mice. This produced fully-functional sperm that successfully fertilized eggs, and led to the birth of 60 healthy youngsters who went on to reproduce.

Saitou pointed out that the same procedure could possibly be carried out using cells from the skin of human adults. These cells could be used to make sperm for infertile men. The team intends to conduct further research using the technique, and study its effects on later generations of male and female mice.

They also hope to experiment with the creation of eggs. By discovering the secrets of sperm and egg production, treatments that can boost fertility could be developed to help millions of couples who are otherwise unable to conceive.

However, critics question the ethics involved in the research. While some disagree with the creation of life by mostly artificial means, others question the right to interfere with the basic foundation of life in general, just to satisfy the desire of childless couples to conceive.

Still others argue that the use of the new technology could make men become 'redundant' in the process of creating life.

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Managing pain effectively

Padma EDIRISINGHE

Pain is as old as the saga of humans. Even the mighty king Ramesses II of the Land of the Pharaohs and Nile River is said to have suffered from arthritis.

A multitude of Sri Lankans, old and middle aged and even young suffer from all types of pain. Here is a question and answer session with Dr.Harindu Wijesinghe, who has specialized in the sphere of pain management at Concord Hospital in Sydney, Australia and is today a Consultant in Rheumatology , Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine.

Q: What is meant by pain management, Is it elimination of pain or reduction of pain or control of pain?

A: Pain management can mean either complete removal of pain or when this is not possible control of pain thus enabling the patient to live a better life.

Q: How is this achieved?

A: Pain occurs due to many causes. The first step in pain management is to reduce or manage the patient's pain. In modern pain management this is achieved by using a variety of different treatment methods which are used together. These include drugs, injections, physiotherapy, massage and other methods.

Another important thing in pain management is to find the cause of the pain. If the cause is found we can completely remove the pain and prevent it from recurring. So what we mean by pain management is controlling or removing the pain by using a number of different methods.

Q: Is pain a disease?

A: Pain is not a disease; it is our body telling us that there is something wrong within our body which needs attention. A good example of this is if you pull one of your fingers back you will feel pain. This is your body telling you that there is something wrong with your finger, once you let go this pain will go away. This is the same with all types of pain once the cause is found and corrected the pain will also reduce or disappear.

Q:How does pain occur?

A: We have specialized nerve endings in our body when these get irritated our mind perceives this as a feeling of distress, suffering, or agony. Pain has a protective function; acting as a warning sign and preventing further injury. However, even mild pain can have a detrimental effect on performance and severe pain will limit movement. And sometimes pain lasts longer than the initial insult and becomes a chronic pain; this type of pain is difficult to treat and may need management in a specialized center.

Q: What are the areas in the body most afflicted by pain?

A: Pain can affect any part in the body. Pain affecting the chest, stomach or head may be due to a serious cause such as a heart attack and demands immediate medical attention. The main causes of chronic pain that we see are due to back, neck , knee , shoulder and hand pain. Pains due to problems in these areas are the commonest cause of pain worldwide.

Q: What were the treatments used then and by whom?

A: Many herbs that are used today have been around since ancient times. They have been used for easing the pain. Some of these herbs are even used in modern day medicines. In Egypt there were often bone injuries like broken bones and fractures, arthritis as well as joint inflammation which in fact was the disease suffered by Ramesses II. Other diseases included the Tuberculois of the spine and age-related chronic arthritis. They used various herbs treatment and even surgeries like amputation for these ailments. So pain and remedies for pain has been there for a long ime.

If it existed in ancient and medieval Lanka have you any idea by what names they were called ? What the local/Ayurvedic remedies were?

As western medical practitioners of Sri Lankan origin we are proud to say that the earliest records of dedicated hospitals were in Mihintale in Sri Lanka where evidence of dedicated medicinal treatment facilities for patients are found. So there were most probably ancient remedies for pain then.

Q: Is pain increased due to modern life styles?

A: Modern life style as well as increased life expectancy of people has in a way increased pain in people. One of the main reasons of pain is wear and tear of joints and cartilages which occurs with aging. As we all know people now live longer and because of this the elderly population is increasing and this leads to increased number of patients with pain.

Due to a more sedentary lifestyle with less physical activity people have weak muscle and they are also more overweight and this leads to joint pains. Also occupationally jobs which lead to long hour of sitting such as computer related work also lead to pain in neck, back and hand. Another very important factor is stress which appears to increase this dilemma of pain among people. Pain occurs to day even among young due to changed life styles.

Q: How is pain connected to obesity?

A: When your weight increases you put more weight on your joints such as the knees, hips and lower back which are the main weight bearing joints. This puts more stress on the bones ,cartilages , ligaments and muscles of these joints. This increased stress leads to small damages in theses tissues which manifest as pain.

Q: Is there a disparity between the genders as regards pain victims?

A: Researchers have found that females are subject to more pain because they have a different set of hormones and because of the hormone fluctuations only particular to females. Thus a variety of chronic and painful conditions, for example are more common in women and these include migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia.

Q: Why do the old and the aged get more afflicted with pain?

A: As you age your bones, cartilages and other tissues age with you. During your life time you will accumulate small tears and breaks in these tissues which will increase as you grow older. This with the combination of increased weight as you age leads to more pain in the elderly. Unfortunately pain in the elderly sometimes is not detected and is mistaken by others as depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, appetite disturbance and limitations in the performance of daily activities. Thus pain in the elderly has to be assessed and treated properly.

Q: Is there a complete cure for pain diseases?

A: Complete cure depends on the cause of the disease. Some types of pain can be completely cured. However sometimes pain can't be cured and in these situations we have many different treatment methods including some very new methods to control these pains.

Q: Knee pain seems to be the most common. What are the most common forms of medication for these?

A: Knee pain is treated with tablets to relive the pain along with physiotherapy methods. As always the cause for the knee pain must be assessed as there many different causes for knee pain. If there is a correctable cause we will use methods to correct the underlying disease.

The commonest cause for knee pain is wear and tear of cartilage in the knee which we call knee osteoarthritis. This is treated by using a combination of drugs, physical therapy methods, strengthening exercises, posture corrections' and advice on weight reduction. In our treatment along with all these methods we place a very special emphasis on explaining the disease and the treatment process to the patient which helps relieve the anxiety of the patient.

Q:What is the role of injections in treatment?

A: Injections given into the joint are effective and help reduce pain, however they should be given by someone with experience in this process as if given incorrectly there can be complications. We use a combination of steroids and local anesthetics for the injections which can be given to nearly any painful joint in the body. Given properly they can be repeated without causing any further damage to the joints.

Q: What is the role of operations?

A: Operations are usually done when all methods of pain control have failed. However the choice of doing an operation for pain is the patient's choice and different patients select the operation for various reasons while other patents prefer not to undergo surgeries.

Eliminating the need for prostate biopsies

Studies show that a new urine test could eliminate the harmful effects of over-diagnosis and over-treatment of prostate cancer.

Although prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, some doctors suggest that the current screening process may be more detrimental, as well as ineffective, than helpful. In 2007, over 200,000 men in the United States were diagnosed with prostate cancer, while over 29,000 men died from the disease.

Researchers are hopeful that urine tests that detect two genetic markers associated with prostate cancer will provide more accurate diagnoses. According to a study published in Science Translational Medicine, an excess of Prostate Cancer Antigen-3 (PCA-3) occurs in about 95 percent of prostate tumors. In addition, a fusion gene called TMPRSS2-ERG is present in roughly half of all prostate cancers. Therefore, a urine test to detect these genetic markers would provide a more effective purpose for men to go through the discomfort of a prostate biopsy.

Current screening procedures include a blood test that measures the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in men, which often leads to false positives and unnecessary biopsies. Although it may seem like a great idea to be more safe than sorry, unnecessary biopsies as well as further treatment put men at high risk for harmful side effects such as incontinence, impotence, radiation exposure, and avoidable expenses.

Lead researcher Dr. Scott Tomlins and his team studied urine samples from 1,312 men who had high levels of PSA after initial blood tests. Based on tests from those samples, the men were placed into three groups: low, intermediate, and high-risk for prostate cancer. These predictions were eventually compared to results from their prostate biopsies. Researchers found that 21 percent of men from the low-risk group, 43 percent from the intermediate-risk group, and 69 percent from the high-risk group actually had prostate cancer.

Furthermore, 7 percent of those diagnosed with prostate cancer from the low-risk group had aggressive prostate cancer, compared to 40 percent from the high-risk group.

So far, results seem promising. On the other hand, further testing will have to look at a more diverse sample of men. Most of the men from this study are Caucasian. In addition, researchers will be testing patients who have not already had initial PSA tests in order to determine how effective urine tests could actually be. Studies have shown that prostate cancer is indeed curable in its early stages. Therefore, regular screening would seem to be beneficial to men, especially in their high-risk, later years.

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