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Invitation for 65th Annual Convention of the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (PhilAAST) and 8th Asian Heads of Research Councils (ASIAHORCs) Joint Symposium
The Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (PhilAAST) is inviting participants to attend their upcoming 65th Annual Convention on 22-23 September 2016 in Manila, Philippines.
The said Convention will be held in conjunction with the 8th Asian Heads of Research Councils (ASIAHORCs) Joint Symposium to provide a platform for discussion and interaction among PhilAAST members and co-workers and science experts in Asia on the most recent findings and developments related to the impact of the changing environment on global health in order to promote and strengthen scientific and technological collaboration among Asian countries.
With the theme, “Impact of Changing Regional Environment on Global Health”, presentations will comprise topics on strengthening health resilience to climate change, increased focus on health disaster risk management, vector-borne diseases and climate change, environmental stressors in diseases and implications for human health during disasters, and promoting health while mitigating climate change.
Expected participants include PhilAAST members, ASIAHORCs delegates, educators, researchers in the academe and government, industry representatives, and other S&T practitioners.
For more information, you may download the copy of 65th Annual Convention of PhilAAST and 8th ASIAHORCs Joint Symposium brochure athttp://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/phocadownload/ASIAHORCS%20Brochure.pdf.
WHO warns vs e-cigarettes
THE WORLD Health Organization (WHO) has advised that the sale of electronic cigarettes be controlled or restricted by the government, citing lack of evidence the battery-operated devices were a “healthier alternative” to tobacco.
WHO country representative Dr. Gundo Weiler said the verdict was still out as to the “exact nature” of e-cigarettes which are designed to look, feel and taste like regular nicotine-laden cigarette sticks.
“But we don’t expect any positive effect of [these devices] decreasing smoking prevalence,” Weiler said in a press briefing on Monday during the “Smoke-Free Schools” campaign at Rizal High School in Pasig City.
“There’s still a debate going on on the scientific level about the effects of e-cigarettes but there is certainly concern they are not at all the solution to alternative smoking,” he said.
At the same event, Health Secretary Janette Garin said e-cigarettes were being aggressively marketed, circumventing tobacco control policies. She said the government should consider if these gadgets could be covered by the sin tax law.
“E-cigarettes can be given a classification under the sin tax law. The president can certify it as urgent and, once certified, it can be an amendment to the sin tax law, especially so if its effects on health is the same [as cigarettes],” Garin said.
But classifying e-cigarettes as dangerous could only be done if its ill effects were well-documented, she said.
“It is very difficult [to classify] at this point because of the absence of [published] evidence,” she added.
E-cigarettes use a liquid-filled cartridge that contains nicotine and flavors like fruits, mint, cola and vanilla, which are vaporized into a mist that is inhaled into the lungs.
Earlier, the WHO said there was a trend in other countries of people who used the battery-operated stick ending up smoking the real thing, thus the need to regulate its sale.
Excess blood triglycerides tied to fracture risk in middle aged women
Women around the age of menopause with elevated blood fats known as triglycerides may also have elevated risk of breaking a bone, a U.S. study suggests.
Researchers followed more than 2,000 pre-menopausal women with no history of bone fractures for nearly 15 years. By the end of that time, some women with high triglycerides were more than twice as likely as others to have experienced a fracture.
While the study doesn't prove that high triglycerides cause fractures, it "supports this possibility," said senior study author Dr. Jennifer Lee, a researcher at Stanford University and Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California.
"This study suggests that women entering the midlife should take action to lower elevated triglycerides," Lee added by email.
During menopause, as estrogen levels decline, levels of fats in the blood increase over time as part of the aging process. Fracture risk also increases, although it’s not clear if blood fats and bone strength are related, or how, Lee’s team writes in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
To explore this question, Lee and her colleagues analyzed data from a large, long-term study of women who were 42 to 52 years old when they were enrolled at seven U.S. sites between 1995 and 1997.
At the start of the study, half of the women were at least 46 years old and many were overweight. Three quarters of them had low to normal triglyceride levels.
Blood triglyceride concentrations of less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered normal, while levels from 150 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL are considered borderline high and anything above 199 is too high.
After reviewing data from the women’s annual medical exams over the next 13 years, the study team found that 147 women had what's known as nontraumatic fractures – broken bones, but not the result of a traumatic accident like a car crash. About a third of these injuries were fractures of the foot, while about 16 percent were broken ankles and 13 percent were broken wrists.
An increase of 50 mg/dL in a woman’s triglyceride levels during one of the annual exams was associated with a 31 percent increased risk of fractures two to five years later and an overall 11 percent increase in fracture risk.
Women who started out with triglycerides over 300 mg/dL before menopause were also two and a half times more likely to experience fractures by the end of the 13-year study than women who started with levels below 150 mg/dL.
Other factors may influence the association between elevated triglycerides and fractures, said Dr. Walter Willett, a nutrition and public health researcher at Harvard University who wasn't involved in the study.
"The findings should be interpreted cautiously because triglycerides are a sensitive marker of a bad metabolic state related to lower physical activity, high intake of unhealthy carbohydrates and unhealthy fats, and a prediabetic state," Willett said by email.
Still, an increase in triglycerides is a red flag that lifestyle changes may be needed, he added.
"Regular physical activity and healthy diets will lower triglycerides and have many health benefits, including lower risk of fracture," Willett said.
At the same time, women may avert fractures by taking steps to prevent falls and other accidents, noted Naila Khalil, a community health researcher at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, who wasn't involved in the study.
Women can prevent falls by doing exercises to strengthen balance and muscle tone, getting regular eye exams, removing loose rugs from rooms, placing furniture with easy paths to navigate, proper lighting, and supports or rails on stairs and in bathrooms to prevent tripping, Khalil said by email.
To lower the odds of fractures, women should get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, exercise several times a week, and have bone mineral density tests to assess if they should take medications to decrease bone loss, Khalil added.
source: Reuters Health
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-triglycerides-women-fractures-idUSKCN0Z82EP
Soy supplements, herbal remedies may reduce hot flashes
Soy isoflavones in foods or supplements, and some herbal remedies may help reduce menopause symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness, according to a review of 62 studies.
But not all complementary therapies have an effect.
“Hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness are very common symptoms of menopause, affecting up to 80 percent of menopausal women,” said senior author Dr. Taulant Muka of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. “Many women in Western countries try herbs or other products from plants to manage these symptoms,” he noted, but these “natural” products may not necessarily be useful or safe.
“Our results simply indicate that some plant-based therapies, such as soy and red clover, can be beneficial in reducing menopausal symptoms, but some others not (e.g. black cohosh and Chinese medicinal herbs),” Muka told Reuters Health by email.
The researchers extracted data from 62 randomized controlled trials of plant-based alternative therapies and their effects on hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness: 36 addressed phytoestrogens – estrogenlike molecules from plants such as soy or red clover, 16 tested black cohosh and 10 tested other medicinal herbs.
Together, the trials included more than 6,600 women ranging in age from 18 to 75 years old, and followed for between four weeks and two years.
Using phytoestrogens was associated with fewer hot flashes during the day and with less vaginal dryness, but did not influence night sweats.
Some studies tied black cohosh therapies to a lessening of overall menopause symptoms score but not specifically to fewer hot flashes or night sweats. Chinese medicinal herbs were not associated with a decrease in menopause symptoms, according to the results in JAMA.
In early postmenopause, hormone replacement is an effective therapy for menopausal symptoms, Muka said, but it may not be an option for women at increased risk of breast cancer.
Phytoestrogens like those found in soy can act like estrogen in the body, Muka said. “This may explain the aggregate beneficial effects on menopausal symptoms we found for phytoestrogens.”
The long-term efficacy and safety of these plant-based therapies is unclear, however, and “healthy lifestyle changes form the backbone for easing the discomfort related to menopausal symptoms and keeping you healthy in the long run,” he said.
You should discuss any natural or herbal products with your doctor before taking them, and ask about potential medication interactions, Muka added.
There is little evidence for long-term effectiveness – or risks – of plant based therapies, since most studies only last 12 to 16 weeks, he said.
