Drug Shown to Cut HIV Risk in Breastfed Babies

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

We talked last week about the value of breastfeeding for a baby’s development. But getting the milk into the baby can seem difficult, at least at first. So here is some advice.

Breastfeeding should begin right after a baby is born. There may be experts at a hospital or other health center who can show a new mother several different positions for breastfeeding.

A mother can get a painful back or neck if she leans over to feed her baby. Better to bring the baby to the breast instead. The baby’s mouth should be open as wide as possible so that all of the nipple and area around it fit inside.

A baby should be fed often at the beginning, usually about every two hours. The Mayo Clinic in the United States also notes it is best to feed before a baby gets too hungry. Experts say that when a mother breastfeeds often, it helps increase her milk production.

Women can learn more about breastfeeding from books or support groups or the Internet. But some mothers face difficult decisions.

In developing countries, breastfeeding remains a leading way for babies to become infected with the AIDS virus. Yet formula mixed with dirty water can make a baby sick.

Earlier this week, at a conference in Boston, AIDS experts reported good news. They said a study of about two thousand babies showed that the drug nevirapine can cut the risk of HIV infection through breastfeeding.

Nevirapine is widely used in developing countries to prevent infected mothers from passing the virus to their babies during childbirth. The babies are currently given nevirapine just once, at birth.

But this is what the study found: Babies given nevirapine daily for six weeks had about half the rate of HIV infections as those given only a single dose. By six months of age, they still had almost one-third less risk of infection or death.

Scientists reported that six weeks of nevirapine appeared to be as safe as the single dose given under current guidelines. Teams from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland led the study with investigators from Ethiopia, India and Uganda.

In two thousand six the United Nations changed its policies on breastfeeding by HIV-infected mothers. The new advice supports breastfeeding for six months if mothers do not have money for basic foods or baby formula. The idea is that the benefits of breastfeeding are greater than the risks.

Experts say newborns who are not breastfed have five to seven times the risk of dying from pneumonia or diarrhea compared to breastfed babies.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Faith Lapidus.

05 February 2008

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

A New Push for Breastfeeding in Developing Countries

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

We talked last week about a series of new studies of hunger in mothers and children in developing countries. The Lancet medical journal published the series. In it, researchers said poor nutrition in the first two years can permanently damage a child, physically and mentally.

One of the interventions they placed great importance on was breastfeeding.

Mothers at an event in Manila in May 2006 to bring attention to breastfeeding in the Philippines

The World Health Organization says babies should receive only breast milk for the first six months. On its Web site, the W.H.O. says breast milk is the ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants. And it notes that as part of the reproductive process, breastfeeding also has important health considerations for mothers.

Studies have shown that women who receive counseling about breastfeeding are more likely to feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months.

The La Leche League is an international organization that promotes breastfeeding. Jack Newman is a Canadian doctor who serves as a health adviser to the group. He has written and spoken widely on what he says are several mistaken beliefs that stop women from breastfeeding.

Many women think they will not produce enough milk to feed their baby. Doctor Newman says the large majority of women in fact produce more than enough milk to feed their babies.

Some women worry that breastfeeding will hurt. Again, Doctor Newman says this is not true. He says breasts can hurt a little in the first few days of nursing. But he says any pain beyond that would most likely be the result of incorrect breastfeeding or an infection.

Jack Newman says it is not uncommon for people to believe that baby formula is just as good as breast milk. But he says only a mother’s body can produce the right levels of all the nutrition that a baby needs as these needs change. He also points out that unlike formula, breast milk contains infection-fighting antibodies — and it’s free.

Medical experts agree that, in general, breast milk is the best possible food for a new baby. But one problem with breastfeeding is that many new mothers are not sure how to do it correctly. We will talk about that next week.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Transcripts and MP3s of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Pat Bodnar.

29 January 2008

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Hunger Blamed for a Third of Deaths in Children Under 5

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

New research says thirty-five percent of all child deaths worldwide are caused by undernutrition — hunger. The Lancet, the British medical magazine, just published a series of five studies. The answer, they suggest, is greater investment in nutritional services and improvements to health systems.

A 2-year-old severely undernourished boy in Maharashtra state, India, during a drought in 2001

The research involved poor to middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Robert Black from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland was the lead author of the series. He says more than three and one-half million mothers and children under five die in poor countries each year because of undernutrition.

He says more than two million children die from underdevelopment, either before or after birth, or from severe wasting. Millions of others who survive face a lifetime of disabilities or early death.

And the effects are not just physical. Poor brain development from poor nutrition can limit economic success as children become adults. Then the cycle of poverty and undernutrition often repeats for their children.

Doctor Black says undernourished children are also more likely to have conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease as adults.

He says the studies show that nutrition programs need to place greater importance on the first two years of life. Undernourished children can suffer permanent damage by age two.

The researchers say mothers should be urged to breastfeed and taught how to breastfeed correctly. Also, diets should include foods rich in vitamin A and the mineral zinc. The researchers say early interventions like these could reduce child deaths by twenty-five percent.

Undernutrition is one form of malnutrition, but malnutrition can also mean eating too much.

The Lancet series on maternal and child nutrition has faced some criticism. The international group Doctors Without Borders praised the series for calling for greater attention to the issue. But the medical aid group says the researchers underestimate the number of child deaths from malnutrition.

And it criticized them for not strongly supporting new efforts to replace hospital care with community- and home-based care. This involves giving children nutritionally dense products called ready-to-use food. The researchers say there are findings that support this treatment but more studies are needed to compare it to hospital care.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Mario Ritter.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Taking the Pulse of Public Opinion About Health Problems

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

What do you think of health in your country? Researchers asked people in forty-seven countries around the world. They also asked them what they think of the efforts of donor nations. The findings are in the new Kaiser/Pew Global Health Survey.

AIDS orphans wait for food in Manzini, Swaziland

Majorities in almost every country said wealthier nations are not doing enough to help poorer ones. That includes help with economic development, reducing poverty and improving health.

But in countries that receive the most development aid, people were much more likely to say that wealthy nations are doing enough. And in wealthier nations, there was strong support to do more to help.

The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Global Attitudes Project did the survey.

The top health concern in the Latin American and Middle Eastern countries in the survey was fighting hunger and poor nutrition. In Central and Eastern Europe, people said they worry most about their ability to get health care. And in parts of Africa and Asia, the most pressing health issue is preventing and treating H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.

In some countries, large majorities said AIDS is a bigger problem now than it was five years ago. But in most countries, the survey found a strong sense of progress in treating and preventing H.I.V.

Yet finding new drugs and other treatments for public health problems is one thing. Putting them to use in developing countries where they could save thousands of lives each day is another.

Scientists at the Fogarty International Center in Maryland say more work in the area of implementation science could bridge the problem. Karen Hofman is head of international science policy at the center, part of the National Institutes of Health. She describes implementation science as the next level for health research.

One example she notes is male circumcision. Studies have found that it may help prevent the spread of H.I.V. But different cultures react differently to the idea of circumcision. Doctor Hofman says researchers must now study how best to employ this medical intervention in culturally sensitive ways.

Another example is drugs that are normally effective in suppressing H.I.V. In poor countries, these might not work in patients who also suffer from malaria, tuberculosis or bad nutrition. In other words, Doctor Hofman says, when it comes to treatments, one size does not fit all.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Steve Ember.

effort=تقلا، تلاش‌، كوشش‌، سعيKaiser=قيصر، امپراتور، كايزرpoverty=فقر، فلاكت‌، تهيدستي‌، كميابي‌، بينواييAttitude=گرايش‌، حالت‌، هيئت‌، ط‌رز برخورد، روش‌ و رفتارissue= بر امد، پي‌ امد، نشريه‌، فرستادن‌، بيرون‌امدن‌، صادر شدن‌، ناشي‌ شدن‌، انتشار دادن‌، رواج‌ دادن‌، نژاد، نوع‌، عمل‌، كردار، اولاد، نتيجه‌ بحث‌، موضوع

implementation= اجرا ، کاربرد، به کار گرفتن ، پیاده سازی، انجام

bridge=پل‌، جسر، برامدگي‌ بيني‌، (د.ن‌.) سكوبي‌ درعرشه‌ كشتي كه‌ مورد استفاده‌ كاپيتان‌ وافسران‌قرار ميگيرد، بازي ورق‌، پل‌ ساختن‌، اتصال‌ دادن

employ=استعمال‌ كردن‌، بكار گماشتن‌، استخدام‌ كردن

intervention= مداخله‌، شفاعت ، اقدام ، نفوذ

suppress=موقوف‌ كردن‌، توقيف‌ كردن‌، فرو نشاندن‌، خواباندن‌، پايمال‌ كردن‌، مانع‌ شدن‌، تحت‌فشار قرار دادن

fit=بيهوشي‌، غش‌، تشنج‌، هيجان‌، درخور، مناسب‌، شايسته‌، مناسب‌ بودن‌ براي‌، (مج.)شايسته‌بودن‌، متناسب‌ كردن‌، سوار يا جفت‌ كردن‌، (حق.)صلاحيت‌ دار كردن‌، تط‌بيق‌ كردن

 

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Skin Care: Don’t Let a Little Cut Fool You

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Even minor cuts can become infected if they are left untreated. Any break in the skin can let bacteria enter the body. An increasing number of bacterial skin infections are resistant to antibiotic medicines. These infections can spread throughout the body.

But taking good care of any injury that breaks the skin can help prevent an infection.

Medical experts say the first step in treating a wound is to use clean water. Lake or ocean water should not be used. To clean the area around the wound, experts suggest using a clean cloth and soap. They say there is no need to use products like hydrogen peroxide or iodine.

It is important to remove all dirt and other material from the wound. After the wound is clean, use a small amount of antibiotic ointment or cream. Studies have shown that these medicated products can aid in healing. They also help to keep the surface of the wound from becoming dry. Finally, cover the cut with a clean bandage while it heals. Change the bandage daily and keep the wound clean.

As the wound heals, inspect for signs of infection including increased pain, redness and fluid around the cut. A high body temperature is also a sign of infection. If a wound seems infected, let the victim rest. Physical activity can spread the infection. If there are signs of infection, seek help from a doctor or other skilled medical provider.

For larger wounds, or in case bleeding does not stop quickly, use direct pressure. Place a clean piece of cloth on the area and hold it firmly in place until the bleeding stops or medical help arrives.

Direct pressure should be kept on a wound for about twenty minutes. Do not remove the cloth if the blood drips through it. Instead, put another cloth on top and continue pressure. Use more pressure if the bleeding has not stopped after twenty minutes. Deep cuts usually require immediate attention from trained medical providers.

Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years. A tetanus booster shot may be required if a wound is deep or dirty.

To learn more about first aid, contact a hospital or local organization like a Red Cross or Red Crescent society. There may be training programs offered in your area.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Brianna Blake. For more health information, go to voaspecialenglish.com to download transcripts and MP3s of our reports. Wishing you a safe and healthy New Year, I’m Steve Ember.

increasing= فزاینده

inspect=سركشي‌ كردن‌، بازرسي‌ كردن‌، تفتيش‌ كردن‌، رسيدگي‌ كردن

seek = جستجو كردن‌، جوييدن‌، ط‌لبيدن‌، پوييدن

firmly=بطور محکم

train=قط‌ار، سلسله‌، تربيت‌ كردن

provider=مهيا كننده‌، بدست‌ اورنده

booster=بالا برنده‌، زياد كننده

shot=گلوله‌، تير، ساچمه‌، رسايي‌، پرتابه‌، تزريق‌، جرعه

Crescent=هلال‌ ماه‌، هلالي‌ شكل

offer=تقديم‌ داشتن‌، پيشكش‌ كردن‌، عرضه‌، پيشنهاد كردن

 

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

A Common Disease Many People Have Never Heard Of

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or C.O.P.D., affects more than two hundred million people around the world. The World Health Organization says at least five million people died from it in two thousand five. Ninety percent were in developing countries.

Smoking is the top cause of C.O.P.D.

In the United States, C.O.P.D. is the fourth leading cause of death. But even with these numbers, many people have never heard of it.

The Canadian Lung Association Web site explains that C.O.P.D. is the new name for emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These are the two most common forms of it, and many people with C.O.P.D. have both of them.

The result is progressive and incurable lung damage. The tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs become partly blocked. This makes it difficult to breathe and often produces a cough that will not go away.

People with C.O.P.D. often have swelling that causes the airways to narrow. And they often produce more mucus than normal. This oily substance protects the airways, but too much of it blocks them.

Smoking is the most common cause of C.O.P.D. Nonsmokers can get the disease from breathing other people’s tobacco smoke.

Air pollution can also cause the disease. Miners and others who work around some kinds of dust and chemicals are at higher risk. And children who repeatedly suffer lung infections have a greater chance of developing the disease as adults. Genetics may also play a part.

Doctors can perform a quick breathing test with a machine called a spirometer that can help diagnose C.O.P.D. But experts say people are often not tested or treated correctly for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Patients may not consider a continuous cough serious enough to seek medical attention. Or doctors may misdiagnose it as asthma or another infection.

Some of the early warning signs are a cough that will not go away and an increase in mucus production. Another sign is difficulty breathing after minor activity like walking up stairs.

There are ways to slow the progress of the disease. Doctors say the most important thing is to stop smoking. There are medicines that can reduce inflammation and open air passages. Also, exercise is often advised. If the disease is severe, a doctor may order oxygen treatment or even operations to remove damaged lung tissue.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. For transcripts and MP3 archives of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty.

leading=راهنمايي‌، هدايت‌، نفوذ، عمده‌، برجسته

incurable= علاج‌ ناپذير، بي‌ درمان‌، بيچاره‌، بهبودي‌ ناپذير

swelling=تورم

protect=حراست‌ كردن‌، نيكداشت‌ كردن‌، نگهداري‌ كردن‌، حفظ‌ كردن

Miner=معدنچی

suffer=تحمل‌ كردن‌، كشيدن‌، تن‌ در دادن‌ به‌، رنج‌ بردن

perform=انجام‌ دادن‌، كردن‌، بجا اوردن‌، اجرا كردن‌، بازي‌ كردن

seek=جستجو كردن‌، جوييدن‌، ط‌لبيدن‌، پوييدن

 

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Study Supports Home Care for Severe Pneumonia in Children

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

The single largest killer of children under age five is pneumonia. This lung infection kills about two million children each year, mostly in developing countries.

A boy with pneumonia at a camp for earthquake survivors in Pakistani Kashmir in December 2005

In developed countries, most pneumonia cases are caused by viruses. But in the developing world, about sixty percent are caused by bacteria. These cases can be treated with antibiotic drugs.

The World Health Organization currently says children with severe pneumonia should be admitted to a hospital and given injectable antibiotics. But many poor families do not have the money for a hospital or live too far away.

Now, new research could lead to a change in that advice. A study in Pakistan found that children with severe pneumonia can recover fully at home taking antibiotics by mouth. The study is in the Lancet medical journal.

The W.H.O. and the United States Agency for International Development paid for the study. It was done in five Pakistani cities by the School of Public Health at Boston University.

The research involved more than two thousand children between three and five years old. Half received intravenous antibiotics during a forty-eight-hour hospital stay. The others were sent home to take antibiotics for five days.

The treatment failed in eighty-seven children in the hospitalized group and seventy-seven in the home group. These children were then given another therapy.

During the study, five children died, four of them in the hospital group.

W.H.O. medical officer Shamim Qazi says the new findings will help children, families and hospitals. Children may get other infections in a hospital. Many hospitals are already overcrowded. And treatment at home would be less costly.

The study confirmed the findings of three other studies in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. These showed that in hospitals, oral antibiotics were just as effective as injectable antibiotics in treating severe pneumonia in children. 

A few cases are so severe they will still need hospital care. But Doctor Qazi says the W.H.O will be updating its guidelines this year with the new evidence.

Boston University professor Donald Thea led the research in Pakistan. Doctor Thea says a change could lead to new training for community health workers. If they learn how to treat severe pneumonia in young children locally, then more children are likely to survive.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Our reports are on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

currently=بطور جاری

admit= پذيرفتن‌، راه‌ دادن‌، بار دادن‌، راضي‌ شدن‌ (به‌)، رضايت دادن

Lancet=نيشتر، هرچيزي‌ شبيه‌ نيشتر، پنجره‌ نوك‌ تيز

involve=در گير كردن‌ يا شدن - مشغول فعالیتی بودن

fail=شكست‌ خوردن‌، رد شدن‌، قصور ورزيدن‌، عقيم‌ماندن

overcrowd=  انبوه‌ شدن‌، بسيار شلوغ‌ كردن‌، ازدحام‌ كردن

confirmed=مسلم‌، برقرار، تاييد شده

confirm=تاييد كردن‌، تصديق‌ كردن‌، تثبيت‌ كردن

updating=بهنگام‌ دراوري

update=بصورت‌ امروزي‌ در اوردن‌، جديد كردن

guideline=راهبرد، راهنما، رهنمون‌، شاقول

survive=زنده‌ ماندن‌، باقي‌ بودن‌، بيشتر زنده‌ بودن‌ از، گذراندن‌، سپري‌ كردن‌، ط‌ي

 

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

US Doctor Group Urges Autism Testing for All Babies

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The American Academy of Pediatrics says all children should be tested for autism by the age of two.

Ryan Taylor was diagnosed with autism in 2004; he is shown with his father, Craig, at their home in Connecticut

Autism is a general term for a group of brain disorders that limit the development of social and communication skills. Medical professionals call them autism spectrum disorders.

Experts say autism is permanent and cannot be cured. But there are ways to treat it that they say can reduce the severity. The academy says the earlier treatment begins, the better the results.

The medical group released two reports Monday with detailed information to help doctors identify autism. Chris Johnson at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio was one of the authors. She says doctors should look for signs of autism when they examine babies at eighteen months and twenty-four months.

Doctors traditionally consider the possibility of autism only if a child shows delayed speech or unusually repetitive behaviors. These may be clear signs of it, but they usually do not appear until a child is two or three years old.

Doctor Johnson says the medical profession has learned a lot about earlier signs of autism. She says the identification process can begin in the waiting room at a doctor’s office.

Parents could answer a list of written questions about their baby. Then the doctor could perform tests as simple as observing the baby’s ability to follow a moving object with its eyes. Experts say failing to watch a moving object may be a sign of autism.

Doctors and parents can also look for behaviors that are normal in babies under one year of age. For example, does the baby appear to respond to a parent’s voice? Does the baby make eye contact? Does the baby wave or point at things?

Young children usually have a favorite soft object like a stuffed animal or a blanket. But children with autism may like hard objects instead, and want to hold them at all times. They may not turn when a parent says their name or when the parent points at something and says “Look at that.”

Doctor Johnson says the goal of the new advice is early intervention instead of the traditional “wait and see” method to identify autism.

The second report from the American Academy of Pediatrics deals with management of autism cases. We will discuss that next week.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Children’s Doctors Group Calls for Early Medical and Educational

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Last week we reported about new advice on autism from the American Academy of Pediatrics.  It said doctors should look for signs of the brain disorder when they examine babies at eighteen months and twenty-four months.

At the same time, the medical group provided new guidelines for care and treatment of children once they are identified as autistic.  We promised more information on that part of the new guidelines this week.

Autism is a general term for a group of brain disorders that limit the development of social and communication skills. Medical professionals call them autism spectrum disorders.

Experts say autism is permanent and cannot be cured. But there are ways to treat it that can reduce the severity. The academy says the earlier treatment begins, the better the results.

The new guidelines include educational interventions, medical care and family support tools. 

An autistic 3-year-old studies flash cards held by an instructor

The American Academy of Pediatrics says young autistic children should enter some kind of learning program.  It says such children should be actively involved in the program at least twenty-five hours a week all year long. The group also says it is best if there is a small number of students for each teacher.  The A.A.P. says autistic children do better with more direct attention from and interaction with their teachers.

The group also calls for interaction between autistic children and non-autistic children of the same age when possible.  However, the A.A.P. guidelines note that children with more severe cases of autism spectrum disorder may have serious behavior problems.  These could make interactions with other children difficult or even harmful.

The experts advise parents to receive training for dealing with autism. But the A.A.P. warns parents and doctors against several kinds of treatment programs. These include those that claim a high level of success or a cure for the disorder.  The guidelines suggest using treatments that are based on results of controlled studies supported by established scientific organizations.

The A.A.P. says autistic children should have the same general health care as other children, including immunizations against disease.  It says some autistic children have behavior, social or medical problems that may require treatment with drugs.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Transcripts and MP3 files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.  I’m Bob Doughty.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Diabetes Called a Growing Worldwide Epidemic

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Today is World Diabetes Day, part of a campaign to urge governments to do more to fight the disease. Organizers warn of a diabetes epidemic affecting two hundred forty-six million people worldwide.

Last December the United Nations passed a resolution to observe World Diabetes Day every November fourteenth. The International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization began the event in nineteen ninety-one. The federation is an alliance of diabetes groups. It also has partnerships with drug companies.

People with diabetes have too much glucose, or sugar, in their blood. The body changes food into glucose for energy with the help of insulin, a hormone. In diabetics, the body produces little or no insulin or has trouble using the insulin that is produced.

As a result, too much glucose remains in the blood instead of entering cells. Over time, the disease can cause blindness, kidney disease and nerve damage. It also can lead to strokes and heart disease.

People with type one diabetes need insulin injections. Many with type two do not. Instead, it can be controlled through diet, exercise and treatment. And people may be able to prevent it.

This year’s World Diabetes Day campaign is about children and adolescents.

Dr. Francine Kaufman

One of the organizers is Doctor Francine Kaufman. She traveled around the world for a film called “Diabetes: A Global Epidemic.” The Discovery Health Channel will show it on Sunday.

Type two diabetes used to appear mostly in adults, but now more and more children have it. Doctor Kaufman says it is spreading as more people rise out of poverty in developing countries — for example, India. 

FRANCINE KAUFMAN: “They’re in cars all day long, and they’ve got satellite dishes outside their houses. They are eating more food, and more westernized food and getting overweight and developing diabetes.”

She says another place where diabetes is spreading is South Africa.

FRANCINE KAUFMAN: “We were in the townships and people were overweight. There is more food available than has been in the past. And people are getting on buses and going to offices and not necessarily being as physically active as they have been in the past.”

Doctor Kaufman says solutions must be developed country by country and patient by patient. In Brazil, for example, a health clinic holds dances to get diabetes patients more active. Doctor Kaufman says the message of World Diabetes Day is that the disease is manageable and, in the case of type two diabetes, preventable.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report.  I’m Barbara Klein.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Stored Blood Found to Lose a Life-Saving Gas

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report. 

Scientists have discovered that stored blood loses a life-saving gas. This discovery may explain why a great number of people get sick after receiving stored blood. 

In recent years, experts have wondered why patients who should survive sometimes

die after receiving a blood transfusion.  The cause of death is often a heart attack or stroke.

Jonathan Stamler is a professor of medicine at Duke University in North Carolina. He and other researchers found that stored blood has very low levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a gas found in red blood cells. The gas helps to keep blood passages open so that oxygen in the cells can reach the heart and other organs. 

Professor Stamler and his team found that nitric oxide in blood begins to break down as soon as the blood is collected. Their findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  

Another team of Duke University scientists carried out a separate study. Professor Stamler says the second study found that the breakdown of nitric oxide begins within hours of blood collection.

He says the life-saving gas is partly lost after three hours. And about seventy percent of it is lost after just one day. As a result, he says, there is almost no time that stored blood has enough nitric oxide.

The researchers tested their findings on dogs. They found that low levels of nitric oxide reduced the flow of blood in the animals.

However, Professor Stamler says the scientists corrected the situation. They added nitric oxide to the stored blood given to the dogs. He says the extra nitric oxide repaired the ability of red blood cells to expand blood passages.

Professor Stamler says people who are in serious need of a blood transfusion should have one. But he says more studies are needed to show who would receive the most help from stored blood.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by SooJee Han.  For more health news, along with transcripts and MP3 files of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And if you have a general question about health, click on the Contact Us link or write to special@voanews.com. We might answer your question in a future report, so please include your name and country. I’m Faith Lapidus.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Controlling Cholera May Be Easier Than Thought

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

There are low-cost vaccines, taken by mouth, that can protect against cholera. The vaccine is commonly provided to international travelers, but not to communities that suffer cholera epidemics. There are questions about how effective it would be as a control measure.

New findings suggest that it would be highly effective. These are based on the predictions of a computer model. Researchers say the model shows that the vaccine could reduce new cases in high-risk areas by ninety percent. And they say only half the population would have to take it once every two years.

Angolan children gathering water at a waste-filled stream.  A cholera epidemic in Angola killed over one thousand people last year.

Cholera is a serious bacterial disease found mainly in developing countries. People can get it from water or food that comes in contact with human waste. The intestinal infection causes a loss of fluids.

Cholera is treated by drinking an oral rehydration solution which replaces lost fluids and salts. In the most severe cases, fluids are injected into the body. Without treatment, it usually kills people within eighteen hours to several days. Estimates are that the disease kills at least one hundred thousand people a year. 

Ira Longini at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, led the new work. A team from the United States, South Korea and Bangladesh based it on a large study of oral cholera vaccine.

The study took place between nineteen eighty-four and nineteen eighty-nine. It involved two hundred thousand women and children in rural Bangladesh.

The team developed the computer model based on the results of the study. The model showed that if fifty percent of a high-risk community is vaccinated, many unvaccinated people also would be protected.

The researchers say the number of new infections could drop below one in one thousand people in the unvaccinated population. This would be the result of what is known as “herd protection.”

The idea is that vaccinated people would not become infected, so they would not create conditions for spreading the disease. Unvaccinated people then would have a better chance of avoiding it.

Ira Longini says researchers are very good at predicting where cholera is likely to spread. So vaccination efforts could target those areas.  The findings appear in the medical journal published by the Public Library of Science and available free of charge at plos.org.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. For more health news, along with transcripts and MP3 files of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

prediction=

Estimate=           

take place= اتفاق افتادن

rural=روستايي‌، رعيتي

drop=ژيگ‌، قط‌ره‌، چكه‌، نقل‌، اب‌ نبات‌، از قلم‌ انداختن‌، افتادن‌، چكيدن‌، رهاكردن‌، انداختن‌، قط‌ع‌ مراوده

below=درزير، پايين‌، مادون

herd=رمه‌، گله‌، گروه‌، جمعيت‌، گرد امدن‌، جمع‌ شدن‌، متحد کردن

effort= تقلا، تلاش‌، كوشش‌، سعي

target=نشانگاه‌، هدف‌، نشان‌، هدف‌ گيري‌ كردن‌، تير نشانه

appear=ظ‌اهرشدن‌، پديدار شدن

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Want to Stay Warm in Winter? Think COLD

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Winter in many places means ice skating, sledding and snowball fights. But unless someone is prepared, outdoor fun can also mean frostbite and hypothermia. Today we talk about how to stay warm, dry and safe.

Frostbite is damage that happens when skin is exposed to extreme cold for too long. It mainly happens on the hands, feet, nose and ears.

People with minor cases of frostbite that affect only the skin may not suffer any permanent damage. But if deeper tissue is affected, a person is likely to feel pain every time the area gets cold.

If blood vessels are damaged, people can suffer an infection, gangrene. Sometimes, doctors have to remove frostbitten areas like fingers and toes.

Hypothermia happens when the body cannot produce as much heat as it loses. The condition comes on slowly. Signs include uncontrollable shaking, unusually slow breathing and difficulty thinking clearly. If not treated, hypothermia can be deadly.

The best way to avoid cold-related injuries is to be prepared for the outdoors. Here is a simple way to remember four basic steps to staying warm. Think of COLD — C.O.L.D.

The C stands for cover. Wear a hat and scarf to keep heat from escaping through the head, neck and ears. And wear mittens instead of gloves. Gloves may not keep hands as warm because they separate the fingers.

The O stands for overexertion. Avoid activities that will make you sweaty. Wet clothes and cold weather are a bad mix.

L is for layers. Wearing loose, lightweight clothes, one layer on top of another, is better than a single heavy layer of clothing. Also, make sure outerwear is made of water resistant and tightly knit material.

Can you guess what the D in COLD stands for? D is for dry. In other words, stay as dry as possible. Pay attention to the places where snow can enter, like the tops of boots, the necks of coats and the wrist areas of mittens.

And a couple of other things to keep in mind, one for children and the other for adults. Eating snow might be fun but it lowers the body’s temperature. And drinking alcohol might make a person feel warm, but what it really does is weaken the body’s ability to hold heat.

Next week, experts talk about what to do, and not to do, to help someone injured by extreme cold.

And that’s the VOA Special English Report, written by Caty Weaver. For more health news, along with transcripts and MP3s of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

ice skating=سر خوردن روی یخ با کفش ویژه

sledding=سورتمه رانی روی یخ

outdoor=بيرون‌، بيروني‌، صحرايي‌، در هواي‌ ازاد

frostbite=سرمازدگي‌، يخ‌ زدگي‌ بافت‌ بدن‌ در اثر سرما

expose=بي‌پناه‌ گذاشتن‌، بي‌ حفاظ‌ گذاردن‌، درمعرض‌ گذاشتن

suffer=تحمل‌ كردن‌، كشيدن‌، تن‌ در دادن‌ به‌، رنج‌ بردن

permanent=پايدار، ابدي‌، ثابت‌، ماندني‌، سير دائمي

escaping= در رفتن ، خلاصی یافتن

instead=در عوض

overexertion=to exert (oneself) too much; overtax

exert=ثقل‌، اعمال‌ زور، تقلا

layer=چينه‌، لايه‌، لا، ط‌بقه‌بندي‌ كردن‌، مط‌بق‌ كردن‌، ورقه‌ورقه

loose=شل‌، سست‌، لق‌، گشاد، ول‌، ازاد، بي‌ ربط‌، هرزه

tightly=سفت‌، محكم‌، تنگ(gnat)، كيپ‌، مانع‌ دخول‌ هوا يا اب

knit=بافتن‌، كشبافي‌ كردن‌، بهم‌ پيوستن‌، گره‌ زدن‌، بستن

lower=پايين‌ اوردن‌، تخفيف‌ دادن‌، كاستن‌ از

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

In Treating Hypothermia, Slow and Gentle Are Best

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

We talked last week about ways to avoid hypothermia and other cold-weather injuries. Today we are going to talk about emergency treatment.

Hypothermia can be mild, moderate or severe. Mild hypothermia is something that most people who live in cold climates have experienced. You feel so cold that your body starts to shake, not very much but uncontrollably.

The treatment for mild hypothermia starts with getting out of the cold, and changing into dry clothes if necessary. Drinking warm, non-alcoholic liquids and eating something sugary can stop the shivering. Taking a warm bath or sitting by a fire or doing some exercise can also help the body warm up. These are all common sense treatments.

But the treatment changes when people enter the moderate or severe stages of hypothermia. Their body temperature drops below thirty-five degrees Celsius. They lose the ability to think clearly. Their muscles become stiff. They might bump into things or fall over objects.

Adrienne Freeman is a park ranger at Yosemite National Park in California. She is part of the Yosemite Search and Rescue team. She says rescuers will first try to prevent additional heat loss by placing extra covering around a victim’s chest, head and neck.

She says it is important to work fast to get people out of the cold and to medical help as soon as possible. But she says it is equally important to move the victim slowly and gently.

Ranger Freeman says any rough or sudden movement can force cold blood from the arms, legs and hands deep into the warmer middle of the body. The sudden flow of cold blood can create shock, a serious condition. It can also cause a dangerously abnormal heartbeat.

Adrienne Freeman says the process of “rewarming” a person needs to be done slowly, in a hospital setting. She says something else to keep in mind is that a hypothermia victim may seem dead but still be alive.

An extremely low body temperature can cause the heart to beat so slowly that a pulse may be difficult to find. Ranger Freeman says members of search and rescue teams have a saying that victims are not dead until they are warm and dead.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. If you missed last week’s advice about how to avoid cold-weather injuries, it can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

avoid=دوري‌ كردن‌ از، احتراز كردن‌، اجتناب‌ كردن‌، ط‌فره‌ رفتن

injury=اسيب‌، صدمه

mild=ملايم‌، سست‌، مهربان‌، معتدل

moderate=معتدل‌، ملايم‌، ارام‌، ميانه‌ رو، مناسب‌، محدود، اداره کردن

bump=دست‌ انداز جاده‌، ضربت‌، ضربت‌ حاصله‌ دراثر تكان‌ سخت

Rescue=رهايي‌ دادن‌، رهانيدن‌، خلاصي

rescuer=رهادهنده

victim=قرباني‌، ط‌عمه‌، دستخوش‌، شكار، هدف‌، تلفات

equal=هم‌اندازه‌، برابر، مساوي‌، هم‌ پايه‌، همانند

rough=زبر، خشن‌، درشت‌، زمخت‌، ناهموار، ناهنجار

force=زور، نيرو، جبر، عنف‌، نفوذ، (درجمع‌) قوا، عده‌، شدت عمل‌، (فيزيك‌) بردار نيرو، خشونت‌ نشان‌ دادن‌، درهم شكستن‌، قفل‌ يا چفت‌ را شكستن‌، مسلح‌ كردن ، راتدن

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

After US football’s Kevin Everett damaged his spine, doctors quickly

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

On September ninth, American football player Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills tried to bring down an opponent. There seemed to be nothing unusual about what he did. The twenty-five-year-old Everett put his head down and, with his helmet, crashed into the other player to tackle him.

But it was Kevin Everett who immediately went down. He had severely injured his spine. He could not move.

Kevin Everett of the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills is moved off the field

Even before an ambulance drove him to a hospital, doctors tried an experimental treatment to limit the damage. They wanted to prevent his spinal cord from swelling and destroying nerves.

In the ambulance, the doctors injected cold saline, or salt water, into his blood system. This brought his body temperature down to about thirty-three degrees Celsius — about four degrees below normal.

This kind of treatment is sometimes called hypothermia therapy.

At the hospital, doctors performed an emergency operation to repair broken bones in his spine and put it back in the correct position. But they also continued the cooling treatment. Kevin Everett received cold saline through a tube into his body for about twenty-four hours.

Spinal injuries like these are often life-threatening and almost always completely disabling.

Within three days, however, he had some movement again in his arms and legs. How much he might recover is still not clear. But the doctors involved with his care have said they believe the cooling treatment is at least party responsible for his progress.

Cooling treatment is common for people who have had strokes. The treatment is also used with people whose hearts have stopped and been restarted. In both situations, doctors hope to limit nerve damage that can result from a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Yet studies of hypothermia therapy have shown mixed results. In some cases it may lead to blockages in blood flow and damage to organs.

Doctors say cooling treatment for spinal injuries, to be effective, must begin immediately after the injury happens. But some doctors say there is no proof that Kevin Everett is improving because of hypothermia therapy. They suggest that his injuries were not as severe as doctors had first thought.

In any case, this past weekend, Kevin Everett sat up in his hospital bed for more than four hours. He also lifted his right arm for the first time.

And that’s the VOA Special English HEALTH REPORT, written by Caty Weaver. For more health news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Mario Ritter.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

New Test for H5N1, and New Findings Why Virus Is So Deadly

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Scientists continue to look for ways to deal with the deadly form of bird flu virus.

Medical workers care for a bird flu patient in Medan, Indonesia, last year

Researchers in Singapore, for example, have developed a new test for the h-five-n-one virus. They call it a “lab on a chip.”

If successfully marketed, the hand-held device could be used to look for cases in affected areas and help contain outbreaks. Project leader Juergen Pipper says medical or aid workers would know in less than half an hour if a person is infected.

The device tests material collected from a quick swab of a person’s throat. The test uses magnetic force to control individual droplets containing added magnetic particles. The scientists say the droplet itself becomes a little laboratory that can do things like pump, separate and mix.

They note that an increasing number of similar tests are available to process cells, genetic material and proteins.

Juergen Pipper says the device can process complex tasks in a way similar to a traditional biological laboratory. The researchers say it works about ten times faster than current tests for the virus and could cost much less.

The developers think the same idea could also be used to find other viruses, including those that cause AIDS, SARS and hepatitis B.

Their research was published in Nature Medicine.

As of Tuesday, the World Health Organization had counted three hundred twenty-nine cases of the bird flu virus since two thousand three.

Sixty percent of the patients died. Many experts worry that the virus could kill large numbers worldwide if it starts to spread easily from person to person.

Indonesia has had the most cases, more than one hundred, and the most deaths. Last Friday a twenty-one-year-old man from west Jakarta became the eighty-sixth victim. Health officials say they do not know how he became infected.

An international team reported last week that the virus is so destructive, it can even infect unborn children. Researchers studied the bodies of two people killed by h-five-n-one. The study appeared in the Lancet.

They found that the virus caused a surprising amount of damage to the lungs. It also spread to the brain and to the digestive and reproductive systems. Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York says one victim was pregnant and the virus had spread to her fetus.

Yet the findings may help point to ways to limit damage by targeting not only the virus itself, but also how the body reacts. 

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Mario Ritter.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Combination of Medicine and Therapy Called Best for Depressed Teens

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Depression can cause long periods of sadness and hopelessness, feelings of low self-worth, even physical pain. It is the leading cause of suicide.

The World Health Organization says more than one hundred twenty million people worldwide suffer from depression. But many people may not know it can start at a young age. In the United States, for example, health officials estimate that about five percent of adolescents are depressed.

Researchers in the United States have just reported on a study of more than three hundred patients ages twelve to seventeen. All suffered from major depression disorder, the most common form of the disease.

The researchers divided them into three groups. One received the antidepressant drug Prozac. Another received cognitive behavioral therapy. The third received both.

The study found that the best treatment was a combination of antidepressant and cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T. This kind of therapy teaches patients to recognize and deal with the thoughts that can result from depression.

It centers on current feelings instead of past events.

At twelve weeks, the researchers found reduced levels of depression in all three groups. But they say the group receiving the combination of treatments had the greatest reduction. This continued through the end of the nine-month study.

The researchers say eighty-six percent of those who received both treatments had improved. This was compared to eighty-one percent each in the two other groups.

The study did not include an untreated control group. So there is no way to know for sure if it was the treatment that eased the depression.

The findings by Duke University researchers appear in the Archives of General Psychiatry.  The National Institute of Mental Health paid for the seventeen million dollar study.

The researchers say the group that received Prozac alone had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts than the other two groups. Experts say antidepressant drugs can increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in teenagers.

And, earlier this year, the government asked drug makers to extend that warning to patients age eighteen to twenty-four during initial treatment. Generally that means the first one to two months.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. To learn about World Mental Health Day, observed each year on October tenth, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Of ‘Knockout’ Mice and the Men Who Developed Them

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

This year’s Nobel Prize in medicine will go to three researchers who found a way to learn about the duties of individual genes. They discovered how to inactivate, or knock out, single genes in laboratory animals. The result is known as “knockout mice.” 

The Karolinska Institute named the winners last week. Two Americans, Mario

Capecchi and Oliver Smithies, will share the one and one-half million dollar prize with Martin Evans of Britain. They will receive what is officially called the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December tenth.

In the nineteen eighties, Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies both studied cells in mice to find how to target individual genes for changes. But the kinds of cells they independently studied could not be used to create gene-targeted animals.

Martin Evans had the solution. He developed embryonic stem cells that could produce mice that carried new genetic material.

The research greatly expanded knowledge about embryonic development as well as aging and disease. It led to a new technology — gene targeting. And this has already produced five hundred mouse models of human conditions.

Knockout mice are used for general research and for the development of new treatments. International efforts aim to make them available in the near future for all genes.

Mario Capecchi is a researcher at the University of Utah. He was born in Italy in nineteen thirty-seven. He was homeless and on his own for years as a young boy.

His mother had been sent to a Nazi German death camp. But she survived, and after she was freed she found him in a hospital. He was nine years old and being treated for severe malnutrition.

They came to the United States where he entered school for the first time. Later, he became an American citizen.

Oliver Smithies was born in Britain in nineteen twenty-five and also became an American citizen. He is a professor at the University of North Carolina. And, at age fifty, he learned to fly. He flies a motor glider and small airplanes.

Martin Evans was born in nineteen forty-one, also in Britain. He is director of the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University in Wales. He called winning the Nobel Prize “a boyhood dream come true.”

And that’s the VOA Special English Health report, written by Caty Weaver. Transcripts and MP3 files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Barbara Klein.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Children’s Health: New Polio Worries in Africa | US Committee Urges

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Today we have two reports, both about children. We start in Sudan. Health officials are launching a campaign to vaccinate eight million children after a case of polio was reported there.

A nurse prepares a polio vaccination for a baby in the Otash refugee camp in South Darfur

United Nations and Sudanese agencies will carry out the campaign this week and again in November. Sudan had been polio-free since two thousand five. The new case of wild polio virus was confirmed last month in South Darfur.

Health officials also announced last month that Nigeria has had almost seventy new cases of polio since two thousand five. Those cases, however, were caused by the polio vaccine itself.

There are two kinds of polio vaccine. The one given by injection contains killed virus, which cannot cause polio. The one given by mouth contains live but weakened virus. In very rare cases the virus can change and cause polio.

The way to stop the spread now is more vaccinations. But officials worry that people in northern Nigeria may, once again, fear the vaccine. In recent years, local leaders spread stories that Western nations had poisoned the vaccine with the virus that causes AIDS.

Now, an update to our story last month about popular medicines to treat coughs and colds in children. The United States Food and Drug Administration had told parents not to give them to children under age two unless a doctor says to use them.

The F.D.A. gave the advice as it announced a meeting of experts to discuss cold medicines for children. That advisory committee met last week — and voted that these drugs should not be given to children under the age of six.

Members said there is not enough evidence to show that these drugs work in children. They called for more research.

The committee also said that liquid medicines should all use the same measurement terms. This could reduce the risk of parents giving their children too much. In rare cases, deaths have been reported from overdoses.

The drug industry says its products are safe and effective for children. But it says parents need to be better educated about how to use them. A week before the meeting, the industry decided to end sales of cold products for children under two.

The F.D.A. does not have to follow the recommendations of its advisers. Even if the agency restricts use of the drugs, that would not necessarily lead to a ban.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. Our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English

Epilepsy: Mysterious and Sometimes Misunderstood

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Epilepsy is a disorder where bursts of electrical activity in the brain result in seizures. A seizure can involve part or all of the brain. It can be minor and a few seconds long or severe and last for several minutes.

Victims can shake uncontrollably and have brief periods where they do not wake up. Many people misunderstand epilepsy. They may see it as a mental disability or even fear it as a sign of evil.

The World Health Organization says more than fifty million people have epilepsy. At least half of all cases develop in children and teenagers.

The Epilepsy Foundation in the United States says ten percent of adults will have a seizure sometime during their life. In most cases the cause is unknown.

On July thirtieth, the chief justice of the United States, John Roberts, had a

seizure and fell near his summer home in Maine. A Supreme Court spokeswoman said neurological tests found no cause for concern. She said the fifty-two-year-old chief justice fully recovered from what doctors called a benign idiopathic seizure.

Benign and idiopathic mean there was no evidence of harm and no identifiable cause, like a growth or stroke.

But Mister Roberts had a similar event fourteen years ago. Experts say a person who has two or more unexplained seizures is considered to have epilepsy.

The Epilepsy Foundation says more than three million Americans, or one percent, are treated for the condition. Anti-seizure medicines are the most common treatment. But side effects can include sleepiness and difficulty thinking clearly.

Some doctors advise a special diet called a ketogenic diet to help control seizures. Experts warn, though, that this high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet requires close medical supervision and is not for everyone.

Doctors may also try to control epilepsy through brain operations.

To help a person during a seizure, stay calm and try to time how long it lasts. Clear the area of any objects that could injure the person and loosen anything around the neck that could restrict breathing.

Turn the person gently onto one side to keep airways open. Put something flat and soft under the person’s head. But do not try to put anything in the person’s mouth.

You may have heard it said that people can swallow their tongue during a seizure. Not true, says the Epilepsy Foundation. In fact, it says trying to hold the tongue down could damage the teeth or jaw.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.

دسته:آخـریـن مـطـالـب پـزشـکی, انگليسی English