NEw SARS-likE viRUS EMERGES iN MidEASt - Kuwait Times

HEALTH & SCIENCE
New proof testosterone reason women outlive men
WASHINGTON: Scientists said yesterday they have
new evidence about why women live longer than
men; from a study of historical data showing castrated
Koreans far outlived their non-eunuch contemporaries.
The study, published in the scientific journal
“Current Biology,” used detailed genealogical records
of the Imperial nobility during Korea’s Joseon
dynasty, which spanned more than 500 years from
the late 1300s to the early 1900s. According to the
data, most men, including kings and royal family
members, died in their late-40s or early-50s.
But noble-class eunuchs-men who were castrated
either by accident or because of social benefits-
AKRON: Dr Mark Pozsgay, and Dr Adrian G Dan both, advanced laparoscopic surgeons,
close up the incision through the belly button.
AKRON: There’s a novel way to remove a gallbladder: Use a surgical
robot to take it out through the navel. Rather than using just
their hands to guide instruments through multiple incisions,
some surgeons are performing remote-controlled procedures
through the patient’s belly button. The single-port, robotic-assisted
gallbladder removal is the latest step in the push to make minimally
invasive procedures even less invasive. After placing robotic
arms and a 3-D camera through a 1-centimeter incision in the
belly button, trained surgeons can sit away from the patient at a
control panel for the daVinci Surgery System and carefully navigate
through an inflated abdominal cavity with tiny, precise
movements.
“We are heading toward minimizing minimally invasive surgery,”
said Dr Jihad Kaouk, director of the Center for Robotic and
Image Guided Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. The first robotic
single-port gallbladder removal using new instruments designed
for the technique was performed about 1 years ago at the
Cleveland Clinic as part of a trial, according to Kaouk. The surgical
lived, on average, to the ripe, old age of 70. Study
author Kyung-Jin Min of South Korea’s Inha
University, told AFP the reason is probably that manly
hormone, testosterone: “Testosterone is known to
increase the incidence of coronary heart disease and
reduce immune function in males,” he said.
Castration “removes the source of male sex hormones,”
the study notes, adding the practice has
already been proven to help many male animals live
longer.
Castration also cuts off the possibility of reproduction,
which Kyung-Jin noted could also be a factor.
According to “one of the leading theories of
aging, aging occurs at the expense of reproduction,”
he said, because the body has limited energy that
can be used either to keep up reproductive function,
or else to keep up everything else. But although the
eunuchs could not father children biologically, they
married, adopted and raised children, and generally
lived lives very similar to their non-castrated peers.
“In order to eliminate socioeconomic factors that
could have affected lifespan, the lifespan of the
eunuchs was compared to the lifespan of men from
other Yan-ban (noble class) families with a similar
socioeconomic status,” Kyung-Jin said. And “to
exclude genetic factors that could have affected the
AKRON: Dr Mark Pozsgay, left, and Dr Adrian G Dan, center, both advanced laparoscopic surgeons,
adjust the instruments on the daVinci Surgical System.
Surgeons offer procedures
through belly button
Movements are smoother with robotic-assisted single-incision surgery
system was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration
for gallbladder removal about nine months ago.
Akron General and Summa health systems in Akron, Aultman
Hospital and Mercy Medical Center in Canton and Wooster
Community Hospital are offering the single-incision, robotic gallbladder
surgery to patients who qualify for the procedure,
according to the maker of the daVinci Surgical System.
Performing surgery through the belly button can mean less
scarring, reduced pain, lower blood loss and faster recovery than
with the four incisions typically used for laparoscopic surgery,
according to Dr Adrian G Dan, an advanced laparoscopic surgeon
at Summa.
AKRON: The view through the eye piece of a second control station shows what Dr Adrian G Dan sees as he uses the daVinci
Surgical System for a gallbladder surgery on John Mohney, 46, of Stow, September 10, 2012, at Summa Akron City
Hospital.— MCT photos
French trial
opens on cancer
radiation scandal
PARIS: Two doctors and a radio physicist were due to go on trial
yesterday on manslaughter charges arising from radiation overdoses
given to nearly 450 cancer patients in a French hospital. At
least seven people died as a result of overdoses administered to
patients at the Jean Monnet hospital in Epinal in northeastern
France between 2001 and 2006. At least 24 people treated
between May 2004 and August 2005 received 20 percent more
radiation than they should have due to a calibration error.
Another dysfunction led to 424 people being overdosed by
between eight and 10 percent in the period spanning 2001 and
2006. Many of the victims were being treated for prostate cancer.
Scores of victims are due to testify from yesterday until
October 31, some of them by video-link because they are too ill
to attend court. The two doctors, Jean-Francois Sztermer, 64,
Michel Aubertel, 62, and radio physicist Joshua Anah, 54, are
accused of involuntary homicide, not helping people in danger
and destroying evidence. Three health executives are also in the
dock on charges of not helping people in danger. The errors
occurred when the radiation machines were being upgraded
with new ones acquired in 2004 and also due to doses being
miscalculated.
Michel Noel, 63, said he wanted justice. “My state of mind
before the start of the trial is not good,” said Noel, who underwent
treatment at the general hospital for prostate cancer at
the end of 2005. “All that I hope for is that the officials accept
their errors and are sentenced,” he told AFP. “I live with a pouch
(that collects urine) and I cannot have sex,” he said. “It’s very difficult.”
— AFP
And by operating with a robot through the single port, he
said, surgeons can get a better view with less clashing of instruments
than what occurs when they try to manually move surgical
tools through one opening. With robotic-assisted single-incision
surgery, “the movements are much smoother,” agreed Dr Charu
Paranjape, director of acute-care surgery service at Akron
TEXAS: This photo provided by Kim Chapin shows a 41-pound fat cat
named Skinny at the Richardson, Texas, Animal Services shelter. - AP
General. “It has 3-D vision, so it’s much clearer.”
Because the robotic approach is newer, the procedures can
take longer and cost more, Paranjape said. The single incision also
needs to be slightly larger compared to the cuts used for a multiport,
minimally invasive approach. But, he said, “the important
part is it’s evolving. It’s very exciting.” When John Mohney, 46, of
Stow, Ohio, had his malfunctioning gallbladder removed at
Summa Akron City Hospital last week, he opted for Dan to perform
the procedure through one incision in the belly button.
“It seemed like a good choice-one incision instead of four,” he
said. Mohney was a good candidate for single-port robotic surgery
because he’s not overweight and doesn’t have scarring from
previous abdominal surgery-factors that can be contraindications,
Dan said.
Mohney left the hospital several hours after his surgery. Two
days later, he was able to go watch his son’s middle school football
game. “It’s a lot better than I thought it would be,” he said. “I’m
glad I did it this way.”Not everyone, however, is convinced less is
more. Dr Raymond P Onders, director of the adult minimally invasive
surgery program at University Hospitals Case Medical Center
in Cleveland, said he stopped doing any procedures through a
single incision after discovering an increased risk for postsurgical
hernias.
The results of a multisite, long-term study presented last year
by Onders at an American College of Surgeons meeting showed
8.4 percent of patients suffered postsurgical hernias at the incision
site within one year of single-incision laparoscopic gallbladder
removal. Patients who had gallbladders removed through the
four-port laparoscopic procedure had a 1.2 percent postsurgical
hernia rate. “We feel the data did not support single-port gallbladder
surgery,” he said. “It’s not worth having a second surgical
procedure.” Instead, Onders said, he opts for minimally invasive
surgery with fewer incisions-three instead of four. Summa’s Dan
said the risk for hernia can increase whenever larger incisions are
used. However, he said, the risk can be minimized if “a very meticulous,
good closure” is performed by the surgeon.
Kaouk pointed to another multisite study involving
Cleveland Clinic surgeons that showed no increased hernia risk
with single-port laparoscopic procedures. Kaouk said he
expects more robotic procedures to be done through a single
incision as the technology improves. “We think that the future of
single-port surgery would be in robotics,” he said, “and we are
just witnessing the early attempts of it.”— MCT
RICHARDSON: Don’t be fooled by the name:
Skinny the cat is one hefty feline. And all 41
pounds of her needs a home. A Dallas-area animal
shelter has cared for the 5-year-old orange
tabby since getting a call about a stray in a yard
about a week ago. Kim Chapin with Richardson
Animal Services said Friday that Skinny’s “very
sweet” - and the largest cat she’s seen in 21 years
TOKYO: Japanese police yesterday arrested a
man who posed as a doctor to earn cash,
examining 2,300 people with little more than a
few hours of self-study to back it up, police
and media said. Miyabi Kuroki, 43, had no
experience of medical school and passed himself
off as a qualified doctor after finding the
identity of a legitimate physician on the
Internet, Jiji Press reported.
He was dispatched by an employment
agency to a Tokyo hospital where he conducted
medical interviews, examined electrocardiograms
and explained check-up results to
lifespan, we compared the lifespan of eunuchs with
multiple Yan-ban families.” Modern men looking to
extend their lifespan could consider “testosterone
reduction therapy,” but Kyung-Jin said it’s probably
premature.
For one thing, it is not clear if it would have an
effect if the therapy were started at an older age-the
eunuchs were all castrated as children. And for
another, the therapy could have side effects that
some men may feel make that longer life less worth
living. “We may need to consider the side effects of
it,” Kyung-Jin said, “mainly, reduction of sex drive in
males.”—AFP
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
Breathing
Europe air
shortens lives
BRUSSELS: Air pollution is shortening
lives by almost two years in parts of the
European Union, the European
Environmental Agency (EEA) said,
strengthening the case for a tightening of
emissions restrictions in the bloc.
Legislation had managed to cut the
amount of some toxins belched out by
exhaust fumes and chimneys across
Europe, an EEA report published yesterday
said. But there were still dangerous levels
of microscopic particles, known as particulate
matter and linked to diseases such as
lung cancer and cardiovascular problems,
it added. On average, air pollution was
reducing human lives across the region by
roughly eight months, the report said. It
also quoted separate European
Commission-funded research showing
that a reduction in particulates levels
could extend life expectancy by 22
months in some areas.
The report did not spell out where
those areas were, but it said that Poland
and other industrial regions of eastern
Europe had particularly high levels or particulate
pollution. Alone among British
cities, London also exceeded daily EU limits
for particulate matter. Speaking after
the launch of the report, EU Environment
Commissioner Janez Potocnik said that a
review of EU air quality laws next year
needed to bring EU limits on pollution levels
closer to the stricter World Health
Organization (WHO) recommendations on
safe levels of pollutants. “This (the report)
is a really serious warning about the
importance to our quality of life and
health,” Potocnik told Reuters.
Apart from the impact on health, EEA
Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade
said that the pollution cost the bloc 1 trillion
euros ($1.3 trillion) a year in healthcare
and dealing with the wider impact on
ecosystems. “European Union policy has
reduced emissions of many pollutants
over the last decade, but we can go further,”
she said.
Particulate matter is considered to be
the most serious air pollution risk in
Europe. Using the most recent data from
2010, the report said that 21 percent of the
bloc’s urban population was exposed to
larger particulate matter at concentrations
above a daily EU limit. Up to 30 percent of
city dwellers faced exposure to finer particles
above the yearly EU target level. These
finer particles are small enough to pass
from the lungs into the bloodstream, making
them particularly hazardous to health.
Another major air pollutant is ozone,
which can cause respiratory problems.
Again, exposure levels were high, with
sunny Mediterranean nations particularly
affected because sunlight is needed to
form ozone. In 2010, 97 percent of EU
inhabitants were exposed to ozone above
the WHO reference levels - and 17 percent
above the much lower EU target level.
The pollutants come from fumes from
cars, industry and household fuel burning.
After going through complex chemical
reactions in the air, the pollutants get
into water and agricultural land, thereby
posing a threat to agricultural production.
- Reuters
41-pound cat named Skinny
up for adoption in Texas
with the shelter. Not surprising. US government
growth charts show Skinny weighs about as
much as the average 4-year-old child. Chapin
says Skinny appears healthy except for being
overweight and likely having diabetes. Blood
tests have been ordered. Chapin says somebody
apparently had been caring for the cat but officials
aren’t sure who owned the huge kitty. — AP
Self-study ‘fake’ Japan
doc examined 2,300
more than 2,300 people, local media said. He
was undone when a medical exam study
school where he had “taught” became suspicious
and contacted the hospital.
Police in Tokyo said yesterday they had
arrested Kuroki on suspicion of forging a
medical license in 2009 and earning 2.62 million
yen ($34,000) by illegally working part
time as a doctor at a hospital in Tokyo in
2010 and 2011. The suspect reportedly
admitted the wrongdoing, telling investigators:
“I wanted money to pay child care and
living expenses.”—AFP