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Branded Surgery Is Not Always The "Quick Fix" It Is Advertised To Be
Have you seen the commercial for in-office procedures that will make your face wrinkle-free or sculpt your stomach, with no downtime and no scars? Lifestyle Lift, Lunchtime Lift, Thread-Tox, and Smart-Lipo, are just a few of the brand-name surgical procedures being marketed to the public as a cosmetic quick fix with a clever name.
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What Is Psychotherapy? What Are The Benefits Of Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy consists of a series of techniques for treating mental health, emotional and some psychiatric disorders. Psychotherapy helps the patient understand what helps them feel positive or anxious, as well as accepting their strong and weak points. If people can identify their feelings and ways of thinking they become better at coping with difficult situations.
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Fishing Industry Contributing To Spread Of HIV Around Africa's Lake Victoria
The fishing industry and some cultural practices in communities living around Africa"s Lake Victoria are contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in the area, according to a panel of experts at a recent meeting in Kisumu, Kenya, The Citizen reports. According to the panel, cultural practices such as widow inheritance, commercial sex work for fish and the long-distance trucking industry have led to the spread of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS prevalence among women and people who live along the beaches of the lake is particularly high, the meeting participants noted.The four-day meeting was held by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission and involved members of the East African Community and other officials. Meeting delegates were taken to cross-border control posts along the Kenya-Uganda border to interact with people living with HIV/AIDS, commercial sex workers, long-distance truck drivers and district government officials. Doreen Othero, HIV/AIDS technical specialist at the LVBC Secretariat, said that the group "managed to bring together organizations working in HIV/AIDS along transport corridors to share information, improve coordination and build synergy among the various programs so as to have maximum impact on the corridors" most at risk populations."Jean Claude Nsengiyumva, EAC deputy secretary general in charge of productive and social sectors, said that the fight against HIV/AIDS will be successful through a coordinated and collaborative effort among all stakeholders. He said that EAC has introduced a four-year Regional Multisectorial HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan, ending in 2012, that aims to address HIV/AIDS in the region. The region also is undergoing efforts to create more collaboration between regional, international and multisectorial organizations that have projects for HIV/AIDS education, care, treatment and testing. Othero said there are more than four million HIV-positive people and more than 3.5 million orphans and vulnerable children in EAC partner states (The Citizen, 5/27).
Endocrinology

Why African Americans Are At Greater Risk Of Hypertension And Kidney Disease

Physician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center believe that a heightened level a certain growth factor in the blood may explain why blacks have a greater prevalence of hypertension and kidney disease compared to whites. Results from a new study are the first to show that an elevated level of a protein, called transforming growth factor b1 (TGF-b1), raises the risk of hypertension and renal disease in humans. African Americans constitute about 32 percent of all patients treated for kidney failure in the U.S. and are four times more likely to develop renal disease than whites, according to the National Institutes of Health"s U.S. Renal Data System. The researchers" findings, published in this month"s issue of the journal Kidney International, may someday lead to the development of a new class of anti-hypertensive and kidney disease drugs that target the TGF-b1 protein. "I believe we may now understand a great puzzle: why the black population has a greater prevalence of hypertension and kidney disease," says Dr. Manikkam Suthanthiran, first author of the study and attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Stanton Griffis Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Biochemistry and Professor of Medicine in Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. Results from the study revealed that the TGF-b1 protein was significantly higher in 186 black study participants compared with 147 white participants. After controlling for race, sex and age, TGF-b1 protein levels were highest in hypertensive blacks (46 ng/ml). Non-hypertensive blacks also had higher levels (42 ng/ml) compared to hypertensive whites (40 ng/ml) and non-hypertensive whites (39 ng/ml), demonstrating that even healthy black patients may be at higher risk for future hypertension and renal disease compared to healthy and hypertensive whites. "Many black patients may have a disadvantage from the start -- having a higher baseline level of TGF-b1," says Dr. Phyllis August, senior author and attending physician in the division of hypertension at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Ralph A. Baer Professor of Medical Research and professor of medicine atWeill Cornell Medical College. While the exact mechanisms of TGF-b1 require further study, the authors believe that in black patients, higher levels of the growth factor are correlated with lower renin activity - an enzyme that constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for end-stage kidney disease. The authors believe it may be possible that higher levels of TGF-b1 boost retention of sodium salt within the kidneys, leading to higher blood pressure in the kidney and also lower levels of renin. Greater levels of TGF-b1 in blacks were also positively associated with body mass index (BMI) -- indicator of body fatness compared to height -- and metabolic syndrome -- a group of abnormalities that is associated with atherosclerotic vascular disease and diabetes. "Future clinical studies must be done so we may fully understand the specific role of TGF-b1 in how the kidney handles sodium, blood pressure and kidney disease." Says Dr. August. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center


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