Trans fats, not saturated fats, increase risk of death

Trans fats, not saturated fats raise the risk of death and coronary disease. Saturated fats come mostly from animal products such as butter, cows' milk, meat, salmon and egg yolks. Trans unsaturated fats, or trans fats, are made from plant oils and are used in margarine and various packaged backed and snack foods.

For years everyone has been advised to cut out fats. Trans fats have no health benefits and pose a significant risk for heart disease, but the case for saturated fat is less clear. While no one is advocating an increase of the allowance for saturated fats in dietary guidelines, there is no evidence that higher limits would be specifically beneficial to health.

Researchers reviewed 50 observational studies to see the relationship between consumption of both forms of fat and health outcomes in adults. The researchers found that intake of trans fats increase the risk of dying by 34 percent, increase the risk of dying from congenital heart disease by 28 percent, and increase the chance of developing congenital heart disease by 21 percent.

Trans fats were not, however, linked to type 2 diabetes or stroke because of inconsistencies in the data, researchers said. Saturated fats were found by the researchers to generally not be associated with any of the diseases.

The lack of a link between saturated fat did not surprise researchers, as they write in the British Medical Journal, because previous studies have not found it to be linked to colon or breast cancer. Foods high in saturated fats have been found, however, to be associated with processed foods and meats with an increased risk for cancer.

If people are told to eat less saturated or trans fats,  a better choice must be offered. But not much evidence of the best replacement choice was available. These studies suggest replacing foods high in these fats, such as high-fat or processed meats and donuts, with vegetable oils, nuts, and whole grains.

While the study at McMaster University found that saturated fats are not associated with increased risk of death, the Danish Dairy Research Foundation found that moderate amounts of butter could result in increased levels of blood cholesterol.

That study, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that olive oil was a better alternative to butter because, unlike butter, it was not seen to cause as great an increase in blood cholesterol.

DNA test frees man of rape charge, after 34 years in prison

A Pennsylvania man who spent more than three decades behind bars for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl has been freed after a DNA test.

A judge voided 63-year-old Lewis Fogle's 1982 conviction this week.

Fogle, who had denied shooting Deann Long in the head in 1976, said upon release that he was looking forward to a steak dinner.

His tearful wife, Deb Fogle, who wed him three months before his conviction, was waiting for him outside court and said she always believed he would be cleared.

The Innocence Project, a group that works to exonerate wrongfully convicted people, had led calls for new DNA testing in the case.

It said sperm evidence had "excluded Fogle and pointed to an unidentified male".

"This has been an extremely long journey for Mr Fogle, who has always maintained his innocence of the 1976 crime," said David Loftis, of the Innocence Project.

District Attorney Patrick Dougherty conceded the conviction ought to be thrown out after agreeing to the new DNA test.

But he said he does not believe Fogle is wholly innocent of involvement in Miss Long's death.

The prosecutor said he would decide by next month whether to retry Fogle.

Fogle has been released on a bail bond as he remains charged.

He was among four men arrested in 1981 after a mental health patient identified them under hypnosis as suspects.

Fogle was convicted of second-degree murder based on the testimony of three jailhouse informants.

Charges against his three co-defendants were dropped for lack of evidence.

The district attorney said he would seek DNA from two of the other three men originally charged who are still alive.

Nigeria's silent rage of malnutrition

A SILENT crisis is raging in Nigeria. Each year, no less than  one million Nigerian children die before their fifth birthday. Malnutrition contributes to nearly half of these deaths.  Malnutrition remains a great challenge, particularly for mothers and children. It contributes to the deaths of about half a million children each year — or about 1 out of every 2 child deaths — and imposes a staggering cost to the nation.

Health experts at a media dialogue on child malnutrition with the theme: “Spend More Money on Nutrition”, organised by UNICEF in collaboration with its partners,  said the first 1,000 days represents a critical window of opportunity.

They said adequate nutrition during this period can avert malnutrition by ensuring that children have the best possible opportunity to grow, learn, and rise out of poverty. Head, Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, in a presentation entitled “Nutrition Situation in Nigeria”, described a child’s nutritional status as the reflection of overall health and a cornerstone for survival, health and development.

“Malnutrition among Nigeria’s children is a serious problem throughout the country. Isokpunwu declared,  explaining that an undernourished child has lower resistance to infection and is more likely to die from illness. In addition to increasing mortality risk, poor nutrition in the first two years of life leads to stunted growth, which is irreversible and associated with impaired cognitive ability and reduced school and work performance.

Although the global target is to reduce stunting by 40 percent and reduce and maintain wasting below 5 percent by the year 2025. 

In an investigation of the three key indicators for monitoring the nutritional status of a child under 5 years of age –  underweight, stunting and wasting, data from the Summary of Findings of National Nutrition and Health Survey conducted from 9th February to 5th May, 2014, indicated that the country has a stunting prevalence of 32 percent among children under 5 years of age; while about 21 percent and 9 percent are underweight and wasted respectively.

“Almost 30 percent of Nigerian children are underweight, meaning they don’t weigh enough for their age. This is more than double the proportion of neighbouring Ghanaian children who are underweight.”

Report of a new survey, titled  “Malnutrition: Nigeria’s Silent Crisis,” presents the reasons why proper nutrition for women and children is so important, especially in the first 1,000 days from the start of a woman’s pregnancy until her child’s second birthday. 

The survey notes as a sad  commentary that the rates of stunting in Nigeria have stagnated for more than a decade. About 2 in 5 Nigerian children are stunted, with rates of stunting varying throughout nationwide.

Among factors that contribute to Nigeria’s ongoing struggle with malnutrition include lack of adequate information by parents and caregivers who are not well-informed about appropriate feeding practices and have little understanding about the essential types and varieties of foods that children require to grow up healthy.

The publication prepared by the Nutrition Division, Department of Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, with assistance from the Population Reference Bureau, PRB,  also features the consequences of malnutrition, how investments in nutrition can improve health and economic outcomes, and which interventions are known to be most effective.

In general, the survey found that malnutrition prevalence in the North West and East regions are higher than in the South of the country. 

From the findings, the percentage of children in Nigeria who are wasted, or too thin for their height, has steadily increased over the last decade, rising from 11 percent in 2003 to 18 percent in 2013. At least 1 million Nigerian children under the age of 5 are affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition, SAM, each year.

The children have severely low weight for their height and are at risk of dying unless given urgent attention. About 4 out of 5 Nigerian children do not meet the World Health Organisation’s recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life, while  70 percent of children ages 6 to 23 months are not receiving the minimum acceptable diet.

Women favor elective C-section over normal delivery

German researchers wrote in a new study that while the reasons women request them are clear, c-sections carry increased risks because of the nature of the procedure. The publication in the German Medical Association's journal - Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, hints that scientific progress, social and cultural changes, and, in particular, legal change have led to a fundamental change in attitudes to CS among patients and doctors.Giving birth via C-section has become common among women, but the World Health Organization (WHO) warns of the unwanted consequences of the procedure.
The UN agency says medically unnecessary c-sections should not be performed because c-section birth can lead to short- and long-term health problems for both the mother and child. In a statement released on Friday, WHO discouraged resorting to C-sections unless deemed necessary due to fetal distress, prolonged labor and the abnormal position of the baby.C-section is considered one of the most common surgeries done globally. 
Goal of this procedure is to safely deliver the baby if delivery through vaginal birth is not possible. the WHO, however, warns that c-section is linked with major complications, which include disability and death, and thus should ideally only be undertaken when medically necessary..In 1991, 15.1 percent of babies in Germany were born by c-section, a number that increased to 30.7 percent in 2012.
This, researchers write, despite the fact that less than 10 percent of the procedures were medically necessary.Rates around the world also have increased as Central American mothers have c-sections 31 percent of the time, 32.2 percent in the United States, and overall European rates are around 25 percent.

Researchers wrote that no difference in neonatal outcome was found between elective c-section and vaginal delivery, leading them to conclude that many are based on societal factors which may increase the risks of the procedure.Scientific advances, social and cultural changes, and medicolegal considerations seem to be the main reasons for the increased acceptibility of cesarean sections. Cesarean section is, however, associated with increased risks to both mother and child. It should only be performed when it is clearly advantageous.The international healthcare community has long considered 10-15 percent as the ideal number of c-section births per country, but while the surgery can prevent maternal and child death and morbidity, no evidence can show the benefits of the procedure for women and their babies who do not need c-section.

Women would rather have an elective Cesarean Section than a vaginal delivery, according to  research. A review of worldwide Cesarean Section data that shows the occurrence of the procedure has significantly increased because women favor them over vaginal delivery.

GSK births online pharmacists' training program

L-R: President, Pharmacists Society of Nigeria, Pharm, Olumide Akintayo, Commercial Development Manager, Africa & Development Countries in Asia (ADC), Mr. Jide Adeosun, Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Mr. Lekan Asuni and National Treasurer, Pharmaceutical  Society of Nigeria, Pharm. Duru Emeka during the signing of Memorandum  at the media launch of GSK’s innovative training program tagged Scientific Course for Pharmacist Education (SCOPE) in partnership with Pharmacist Society of Nigeria held in Lagos recently,

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has partnered  the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) on an innovative training program, tagged Scientific Course for Pharmacist Education (SCOPE), which is aimed at enhancing the knowledge of Nigerian Pharmacists.

 SCOPE, a non-promotional and free online training program for Pharmacists, consists  nine disease area modules that is accredited by the United States based Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

 Google Nigeria Country Manager, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, in her contribution at the media conference to announce the partnership explains that "The Internet plays a key role in professional development across all sectors and it's great to see GSK and PSN driving digital awareness within the pharmaceutical sector."

 A 2013 survey  in Nigeria revealed that 50 per cent of Pharmacists seek training as a value added service from GSK. This need led to the development and launch of SCOPE, which is designed to enhance the knowledge base of pharmacists and improve pharmaceutical care outcomes for patients at the pharmacy. These would improve patient productivity and wellbeing, thereby building credibility for pharmacists within their communities. 

Jide Adeosun, Commercial Development Manager, Africa & Developing countries in Asia (ADC) commended the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) for pioneering this partnership with GSK.

“We are committed to rolling out similar programmes across Africa” he said.

In his remarks, PSN President, Olumide Akintayo said successful completion of SCOPE is now a requirement to receive 10 credit points towards the required 30 credit points under the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme of the PCN

 Akintayo noted that the partnership with GSK will further strengthen PSN’s doggedness to promote and maintain a high standard of Pharmaceutical education in Nigeria, stressing that, SCOPE “facilitates a future grounded on professionalism through new frontiers in quality education updates.’’ 

Lekan Asuni; Managing Director GSK, stated that today’s MOU signing marks a milestone for not only the Partners, PSN and GSK, but also for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.  “We consider this education partnership a great opportunity for us at GSK to fulfil our mission of improving the quality of human life.  Through this innovative programme, SCOPE, we aim to enhance the knowledge of Nigerian pharmacists, and in turn, positively impact the lives of patients in Nigeria. The online platform was chosen to implement the modules because its more cost effective than face to face trainings with a wider reach as pharmacists in hard to reach area can benefit. Access to quality education will indeed build credibility in the Pharmaceutical industry.” 

Among key opinion leaders in attendance were heads of departments of pharmacy in Teaching Hospitals and Hospitals across the Southwest region of Nigeria; Mrs. Awofuwa, Director of Pharmacy, General Hospital, Ajeromi; Pharm. Bukky George, C.E.O, Health Plus, Pharm Dorcas Omeire, University Of Lagos Medical Centre, Mrs. Nmadu, Director of Pharmacy, Central Bank Of Nigeria Staff Clinic, Pharm Bolanle Adekoya, Deputy Director of Pharmacy, Lagos University Teaching Hospital Idi-Araba, Pharm Salami, Director of Pharmacy,   Health Service Commission and host of other dignitaries within the industry.

Apes may soon begin to speak

Humans are not the only primates with the capacity for speech. Koko the gorilla understands a silent form of communication, American Sign Language.

At The Gorilla Foundation, where Koko has spent more than 40 years living immersed with humans -- interacting for many hours each day with psychologist Penny Patterson and biologist Ron Cohn, she is performing amazing vocal behaviours.The vocal and breathing behaviors Koko had developed were not necessarily supposed to be possible.

And the particular vocal repertoire of each ape species was thought to be fixed. They didn't really have the ability to learn new vocal and breathing-related behaviours.
These limits fit a theory on the evolution of language, that the human ability to speak is entirely unique among the nonhuman primate species still around today.
In a study published online in July in the journal Animal Cognition, Perlman and collaborator Nathaniel Clark of the University of California, Santa Cruz, sifted 71 hours of video of Koko interacting with Patterson and Cohn and others, and found repeated examples of Koko performing nine different, voluntary behaviors that required control over her vocalization and breathing. These were learned behaviors, not part of the typical gorilla repertoire.
Among other things, Perlman and Clark watched Koko blow a raspberry (or blow into her hand) when she wanted a treat, blow her nose into a tissue, play wind instruments, huff moisture onto a pair of glasses before wiping them with a cloth and mimic phone conversations by chattering wordlessly into a telephone cradled between her ear and the crook of an elbow.
"She doesn't produce a pretty, periodic sound when she performs these behaviours, like we do when we speak," Perlman says. "But she can control her larynx enough to produce a controlled grunting sound."
Koko can also cough on command -- not particularly groundbreaking human behavior, but impressive for a gorilla because it requires her to close off her larynx.
"The motivation for the behaviors varies," Perlman says. "She often looks like she plays her wind instruments for her own amusement, but she tends to do the cough at the request of Penny and Ron."
These behaviors are all learned, Perlman figures, and the result of living with humans since Koko was just six months old.
"Presumably, she is no more gifted than other gorillas," he says. "The difference is just her environmental circumstances. You obviously don't see things like this in wild populations."
This suggests that some of the evolutionary groundwork for the human ability to speak was in place at least by the time of our last common ancestor with gorillas, estimated to be around 10 million years ago.
"Koko bridges a gap," Perlman says. "She shows the potential under the right environmental conditions for apes to develop quite a bit of flexible control over their vocal tract. It's not as fine as human control, but it is certainly control."
Orangutans have also demonstrated some impressive vocal and breathing-related behavior, according to Perlman, indicating the whole great ape family may share the abilities Koko has learned to tap.

Africa advances towards polio-free status

The last wild polio cases in Africa were reported in central Somalia on 11 August 2014. Although it is not yet an official milestone on the path to polio-free certification,  one year since the last wild polio case was detected on the entire African continent, is a signal of an important progress toward eradication.

Nigeria, the last endemic country in the African region, marked one year without a case of wild polio on 24 July 2015. If continued lab results in the coming weeks confirm no new cases in Nigeria, and if the WHO African Region then goes 2 more years without a case of wild polio in the face of strong surveillance, it could be certified polio-free by the Africa Regional Certification Commission.

In a Horn of Africa outbreak assessment completed in June 2015, an assessment team concluded that transmission in Kenya and Ethiopia has also been interrupted. Undetected low level transmission in Somalia cannot be ruled out, the team concluded, and outbreak response activities are continuing throughout the country.

A polio-free Africa would leave Pakistan and Afghanistan as the only countries where polio transmission has never been interrupted.

Universal test for oral, genital herpes coming

Differences in strains of the herpes simplex viruses, HSV, may lead to the development of more accurate diagnostic tests and possibly a vaccine for oral and genital herpes.
After existing tests for HSV proved to be significantly inaccurate while testing patients in East Africa, researchers sought to understand the different strains of HSV1, which causes cold sores, and HSV2, which causes genital herpes, in order to create a better test.
HSV2 is more rare than HSV1, however it also has been shown in studies to make people more susceptible to getting the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.
The current test was made based on the genomic sequencing of European strains of HSV. It tests for a glycoprotein present in both strains of the virus, however researchers thought the specific glycoproteins in African strains are different from those in the U.S. and Europe.
A professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Thomas Quinn, remarked that the test was just not as specific as it should be
"Because HSV2 enhances HIV transmission, we have been testing people across East Africa for genital herpes, but everybody was coming up positive."
The first study published in the Journal of Virology, researchers gathered 34 strains of HSV2, finding 14 in Uganda, 8 in Japan, 1 in South Africa, and 11 in the United States, and included 2 previously gathered strains from South Africa. They mapped the strains' genomes, comparing them to one another and to HSV1. HSV2, they found, has far less genetic diversity regardless of where the strain of the virus came from.
In the second study, researchers looked specifically at the glycoproteins in HSV2 from each of the regions because of the results of Quinn's tests on patients in East Africa. The researchers compared glycoprotein G in the 36 newly mapped strains, as well as 26 previously gathered ones. They found that glycoprotein G, as well as glycoproteins I and E, showed variation from the North American and European versions diagnostic tests already target.
Finding the differences explains why the tests in Africa appeared so unreliable. He expects the discoveries of both studies will help lead to the development of more accurate diagnostic tests.
The fully mapped genomes of HSV2 strains also may lead to the development of a vaccine for the virus because researchers now have an understanding that the strains are not all that different, which may mean fewer antigens will be needed for innoculation.