More than 700 participants including Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 02 headed by Regional Director Sancho A. Mabborang joined Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) as they celebrate their 34th Anniversary on March 17, 2016 at New World Makati Hotel.

With the theme "Going Global: Increasing International Partnerships in Research and Innovation for Health", PCHRD Executive Director Jaime C. Montoya  shared during his opening message what PCHRD has done for the year 2015 and gave an overview on what to expect for the coming years.

He mentioned that the said celebration will focus on the globalization for research and education, health and the growing interest for international collaborations.

In his message, DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said that the quest of DOST in self-realization and independence starts in the recognition on the key  role of scientists and engineers in making science work to attain sustainable national development.

“By relying more on our scientists and engineers and by empowering them, they have achieved significant breakthroughs in agriculture, industry, disaster preparedness and health… they have come up with many innovative solutions to our problems,” he added.

As he ended his speech, Secretary Montejo congratulated PCHRD as he thanked them and other Health Institutions and sectors of the society for the long standing partnership in addressing different health concerns.

On the other hand, Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin of Department of Health (DOH) through Assistant Secretary Maria Bernardina Flores asked PCHRD to carry on its path in health researches.

“I urge PCHRD to continue its course to strengthen health researches through the following tracks: mobilization of human resources for health, use of information and communication technology in health researches, making health researches accessible and providing opportunities for collaboration and partnership within and beyond our workers,” the Assistant Secretary said.

Dr. M.Jamal Deen, president of Academy of Science Royal Society of Canada, served as the keynote speaker during the event.

It was followed by the awarding ceremony where 2016 Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB)-Accredited Ethics Review Committees were awarded with certificates of recognition.

Moreover, a panel discussion on International Partnerships and Fairness in Research Collaboration: Learnings, Best Practices and the Way Forward took place. Dr. Manuel Dayrit, dean of Ateneo School of medicine and Public Health served as the moderator, Prof. Carel lJsselmuiden, executive director of Council on Health Research for Development as the speaker and 5 panelists namely: Dr. Lilibeth C. David, undersecretary of Department of Health; Ms. Karen Ann Hipol, Research and Innovation programme manager, UK Newton Fund; Dr. Carmelita Padilla, Chancellor, University of the Philippines Manila; Dr. Charles Yu, Vice Chancellor for Mission and Linkages, De La Salle University; and Dr. Anajav Sakuntabhai, head of Functional Genetics Laboratory, Institute Pasteur Paris have joined the discussion.

Afternoon session include (1) Dissemination of Key Findings: Moving Forward and Overcoming Challenges: Focus on the Non-Visible Faces 11/2013 Typhoon Yolanda Disaster in Leyte, (2) Dengue Forum (3) Meeting on Biomedical Devices (4) Orientation Forum on DOST Intellectual Property Policies (5) General Assembly: Philippine Association of Medical Journal Editors, (6) PCHRD Scholars’ Society.

On its second day, a consultation meeting on Research on Health and the Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction was conducted. By KC D. Sucuano/DOST R02 – PAI

To make the eHATID LGU project a reality in Region 02, Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Institute of the Philippine Culture in partnership with the Philippine Council for Health Research Development (DOST-PCHRD), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) R02 conducted an orientation, training and deployment seminar to 22 municipalities at Valley Hotel, Feb. 05, 2016.

The said project is under the eHealth and Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST), DOST-PCHRD and AdMU that provides health information system and decision-support to various LGUs in decision-making.

It has a so-called Electronic Medical Record (EMR) that produces up-to-date archives on health statistical data coming from the Department of Health (DOH) and Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

During the program, Engr. Sancho A. Mabborang, OIC Regional Director of DOST 02, emphasized in his opening message the importance of the participation of each Municipal Health Officers (MHOs) to make the project become successful.

“In order to realize this project in various municipalities here in Region 02, we need your full cooperation and a solid commitment to make this a reality,” he said.

Dr. Dennis B. Batangan, eHATID LGU Project Director, gave an overview of the said project and discussed the memorandum of understanding as well as the conformed agreement document.

Aside from having the updated health information, he said, one of the best features of the application is getting an access to it even without an internet connection.

“As long as you have the applications with you in your gadgets, [phones, tablets, and computers], you can still browse it without worries,” Dr. Batangan added.

The presentation was followed by the turnover of gadgets to MHOs led by Engr. Mabborang, Dr. Batangan and Ms. Claire . Bunagan, DOH-CHD Region 02 representative assisted by the Provincial Directors of PSTC Batanes – Ms. Nora T. Garcia, Mr. Marcelo G. Miguel – Isabela; Mr. Lucio G. Calimag – Quirino; Dr. Teresita A. Tabaog - Cagayan and Mr. Jonathan R. Nuestro  –  Nueva Vizcaya.

Two (2) eHATID tablets were given to the MHOs of each town which include: Uyugan, Batanes; Ilagan, Maconacon, Dinapigue, Palanan, Angngadanan, Roxas, and Cauayan in Isabela; Gonzaga, Sta. Ana, Calayan, Tuao, Gattaran and Baggao in Cagayan; Maddela, Diffun, Saguday, Cabarroguis, Nagtipunan, and Aglipay in Quirino; Sta. Fe, and Quezon in Nueva Vizcaya.

In the latter part of the program, the eHATID LGU team worked together in discussing and training the representatives on the proper usage of the gadgets.

If they happen to forget the instructions given to them in the seminar, the team made sure that they can be reached through their Facebook [https://m.facebook.com/ehatidlgu] and Email [This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.] accounts and a ready-to-watch instructional video on how to use the app can be found on Youtube. (KC Sucuano/PA-I)

As marijuana becomes more accessible to young and old alike in the U.S., researchers warn that long-term use of the drug may cause lasting harm to at least one type of brain function.

A new study based on following thousands of young adults into middle age finds that long-term marijuana use is linked to poorer performance on verbal memory tests, but other areas of brain function do not appear to be affected.

“We did not expect to find such a consistent association with verbal memory for chronic exposure to marijuana,” especially since the link held even when other factors like cigarette smoking, alcohol use and other behavioral factors associated with marijuana use were accounted for, said lead author Dr. Reto Auer of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Auer and colleagues analyzed data from a 25-year U.S. study of young adults, which included repeated measures of marijuana exposure over time and a standardized test of verbal memory, processing speed and executive function in year 25. Almost 3,500 participants completed the standardized tests.

At the beginning of the study period in the 1980s, participants were 18 to 30 years old and more than 80 percent reported past marijuana use. Just 12 percent continued to use marijuana into middle age, according to the results in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Researchers found that as past years of marijuana use increased, verbal memory scores decreased. In practical terms, the results meant that for every additional five years of exposure, 50 percent of marijuana users would remember one less word from a list of 15 tested words.

“Recreational marijuana users use it to get high, to benefit from the transient change it produces,” Auer told Reuters Health by email. “But this transient effect might have long term consequences on the way the brain processes information and could also have direct toxic effects on neurons.”

But, he said, it is unclear from this observational study if lower verbal memory is a cause or a consequence of marijuana use.

The study only included self-reported marijuana use and did not employ brain imaging to measure structural changes, the authors note.

“Unfortunately, as with all recreational drug exposures, it would not be feasible to perform a long term randomized controlled trial to verify causation,” Auer said. “We are left with trying to do the best we can in epidemiological studies and adjust for potential confounders to estimate the potential causal effect of marijuana on health outcomes.”

Several studies have found that cannabis users who have used daily over years, and especially those who have used daily for decades, perform worse on various cognitive tasks than their peers who have either not used cannabis or have used it less frequently, for shorter periods, then stopped, said Wayne Hall, of the University of Queensland, Australia, who coauthored a related commentary.

“People who used occasionally in their 20s and discontinue as most cannabis users do, are at low risk of developing any cognitive impairment,” Hall told Reuters Health by email.

“But cannabis is a drug, and like all drugs, it can harm users when used in particular ways,” Hall said. “This message needs to be communicated to all cannabis users and especially those in U.S. states where medical or recreational cannabis use by adults is now legal.”

The new results did not include information on how the marijuana was consumed, only on the number of days of exposure in the month before each exam, Auer said.

All marijuana users and the overall population interested in knowing the health consequences of marijuana should have access to balanced, high quality information from independent researchers, but no study has repeatedly measured brain structure and marijuana use over time, Auer said.

“There is a severe lack of well performed studies on the topic, especially considering the proportion of the population who have been exposed, or are exposed to marijuana,” he said.

source: Reuters Health
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cannabis-verbal-memory-idUSKCN0VA3BO

The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) in collaboration with the Gruppo Medica Inc. (GMI) and the Cagayan Valley Health Research and Development Consortium (CVHRDC) is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2016 DOST-PCHRD- Gruppo Medica Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis in Herbal Medicine.

This Award is given to provide motivation for students, with the technical guidance of their faculty adviser, to view undergraduate thesis as an excellent opportunity to contribute to national interest. The Award recognizes relevant and innovative research works on herbal medicine that can lead to practical and/or commercial applications.

The search is open to all undergraduate students of Colleges of Pharmacy, Chemistry, Nursing and Arts and Sciences who have completed their thesis projects on medicinal plants in the current school year. Nominations must be made by the students’ faculty adviser using the attached prescribed nomination form. Please take note that any alteration on the nomination form is not allowed. All nominees must submit the following requirements together with the nomination form: (1) one soft copy and hard copies of the thesis report, (2) plant authentication certification and (3) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) certification for researches involving animals and/or Ethical clearance from the Ethics Review Committee for researches involving human participants. Nomination with incomplete requirement will automatically be excluded from the list of official entries. A maximum of three (3) thesis projects are allowed per institution.

The Gruppo Medica Inc. will be giving a cash prize of P60,000.00 for the first prize or (P42,000 for the student, P12,000 for the mentor and P6,000 for the school), P40,000 for the second prize winner (P28,000 for the student, P8,000 for the mentor and P4,000 for the school) and P20,000 for the third prize winner (P14,000 for the student, P4,000 for the mentor and P2,000 for the school).

Deadline for submission of nomination to the consortium is on May 20, 2016. The nominees will be reviewed and short-listed by the consortium. The short-listed nominees will be submitted to PCHRD not later than May 27, 2016.

A copy of the guidelines including the nomination form can be downloaded at http://region2.healthresearch.ph/downloads section/Awards and Recognitions/2016 DOST-PCHRD- Gruppo Medica Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis in Herbal Medicine

For inquiries and submission of nomination forms, you may contact Ms. Clyde Beth B. Caraang, CVHRDC Staff at (078) 396-0546/304-8654, c/o DOST Regional Office No. 02, # 2 Dalan na Paccorofun, Corner Matunung St., Regional Government Center, Carig Sur, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.