 |
|
| HEALTH TRIBUNE | Wednesday,
May 14, 2003, Chandigarh, India |
|
Thalassaemia:
common hereditary disease among Punjabis HOMOEOPATHY & YOU INFO CAPSULE
|
|
|
Thalassaemia:
common hereditary disease among Punjabis Thalassaemia is a genetic disease of the haemoglobin. It results in a reduced haemoglobin content in red blood cells leading to severe anaemia from early childhood. Children suffering from this disease are sustained with frequent blood transfusions maintaining their haemoglobin at a functional level. With repeated blood transfusions, iron from the transfused blood gets deposited in the vital organs of the body, including the heart, liver, pancreas and other organs. Death usually occurs due to heart failure. Removal of iron by drugs usually extends the life span into the third decade. An alternative to this traditional management is bone marrow transplantation from an HLA-matched donor which, in patients without any iron overload or iron mediated organ damage, result in a disease-free survival of about 90-95 per cent cases. This genetic disease occurs due to a defect in the gene that controls normal haemoglobin synthesis. Every individual carries two sets of genes, one from each parent. When the gene from one set is defective it is called a carrier state (thalassaemia trait or thalassaemia minor). Since carriers have another gene from the other set which is normal, they do not suffer from the disease and are, therefore, considered normal in all aspects. However, when a child has a carrier mother and a carrier father, there is 25 per cent chance that he/she will get the defective gene from both parents (double dose). This child will thus suffer from a severe form of the disease, i.e. thalassaemia major. The problem of thalassaemias and related disorders like haemoglobin variants is global with a very high incidence in the Mediterranean area, the Middle-East and the Indian sub-continent extending upto South-East Asia. There are around 25-30 million people carrying the thalassaemia gene in India. The prevalence is high in the northern, western and northeastern parts of India. It is estimated that 10,000 to 12,000 children with severe disease are born annually in this country. Around 4 per cent Punjabi population carries the thalassaemia gene. The financial burden as well as the inconveniences the families of these patients have to suffer are massive. Without doubt it is a great social health problem. Several programmes with the aim of preventing thalassaemia are on in different countries where populations are at risk for the disease. All these programmes have been characterised by intensive public awareness campaigns, carrier detection, genetic counselling and diagnosis of the unborn fetus (prenatal diagnosis). Public education to increase the awareness about the disease is conducted through mass media. Lectures are arranged for the public in bigger organisations such as factories, schools and colleges. Family doctors, pediatricians, obstetricians, midwives and nurses have been trained in this new field of preventive genetics. Posters and information pamphlets have been made available at marriage registry offices, general practitioners and family welfare clinics. Community-based parents’ associations and NGOs have played an invaluable role as an influential group by increasing the financial support for public education and providing assistance to patients and families. In Cyprus, the church has made a substantial contribution by requiring marriage candidates to produce a certificate stating that thalassaemia carrier testing has been done. Carrier detection In preventive genetics a carrier detection procedure should be precise enough to avoid missing any couple at risk. Occasionally, a battery of tests may be necessary as several environmental or genetic factors may modify the test results. A thalassaemia carrier state can be easily identified with an appropriate blood test. A simple and cheap screening procedure of separating haemoglobins by agarose electrophoresis developed by the author is being widely used in the country. Who should get the test: The target people for screening are the parents who already have lost a child to this disease, couples intending marriage, preconception or early pregnancy. in high risk countries such as Cyprus and Sardinia screening of secondary school students has been introduced recently. Adequate facilities for screening and information about the risks involved strengthen the efficacy of the screening process. In Sardinia, approximately 90 per cent of the couples at risk could be predicted by screening only a small proportion (11 per cent) of the population at child bearing age. If anti-thalassaemia programmes have been successful in the high risk Mediterranean countries, it is first of all, due to the educational campaign that fully informed the large majority of adults about the disease at or before the stage of marriage. thus offering them the opportunity of making an informed decision about reproduction. The efficacy of the screening programme was magnified by the fact that the relatives of the carriers and patients were also screened. Since screening, counselling and prenatal diagnosis were introduced through social health service, they were completely free of charge. This obviously removed the potential economic access barriers to health facilities. Another very important prerequisite for success was the availability of adequate facilities to meet the demand for screening, counselling and prenatal diagnosis before the educational campaign. Nevertheless, the most important challenge is the organisation of such programmes in societies where thalassaemia is prevalent such as ours. The writer, a professor at
the PGI, Chandigarh, is the President of the Indian Society of
Haematology and Transfusion Medicine.
|
|
HOMOEOPATHY
& YOU Until recently this virus was a well-behaved one. The only damage it could do was confine one to bedrest for a couple of days with a runny nose and sneezing (this virus is responsible for 20 per cent of common cold). But now it is the new big bully. The SARS virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome) has changed itself from a non-harmful one (coronavirus) to a lethal one. What makes a virus do that? Well, it is their strange ability to change their structure, and a very small change at times can make them very lethal. "SARS may be here to stay", scientists say after finding that the virus is not mutating (changing its structure) as fast as expected. Often new infective agents lose their sting as change increases, producing a more benign form that does not have severe consequences. This seemed likely in the case of SARS, but studies published in Lancet Online suggest the expected change is not happening. Among the plethora of information on SARS given by newspapers and television channels everyday, what has not been discussed is an alternative approach for its treatment. Let us first explore the possibilities that we are left with. The first possibility is having a drug that can kill the virus; but unfortunately no effective drug has been discovered so far. In fact, the problem remains the same. As soon as any virus encounters a different atmosphere it changes its structure, also with no wall covering them. With their rapid multiplication, they are extremely difficult to kill with drugs. The second option is of developing a vaccine as a preventive cover. By the method of "Reverse Genetics", which is the latest method of developing a vaccine, according to experts, roughly a year’s time is needed before the vaccine can come into circulation. So, it does not solve the immediate crisis. Moreover, it can be developed only for an existing virus and also it leaves us with no guarantee that any other virus will not change itself like the corona virus. So, the vaccine may provide only a tentative cover. The third possibility seems to ease the problem a bit, considering the fact that the mortality rate because of this virus is about 8 per cent. This means that not all the affected people die. Patients generate their own antibodies. So the only possible course for treating SARS cases is to use something that enhances the body’s own virus-fighting abilities. Homoeopathy can be of some help in treating such virus attacks as it aims at using the body’s own defence mechanism. Considering their nature to change and multiply rapidly once they attack inside the body, treating a SARS-like virus infection is not easy with homoeopathic medicines too. But certainly homoeopathy has more to offer than what the conventional system does. Certain factors govern its effectiveness. The initial period of the disease is very crucial for homoeopathic treatment as the virus multiplies very fast. Its effectiveness would depend on the fact whether the disease has been handled with the right medicine in those crucial hours. In the later stages, homoeopathic medicines can only help in reducing the severity of the symptoms. Those looking towards homoeopathy for a preventive medicine would do well be to wait before homoeopathic experts are able to clinically prove the effectiveness of any medicine. Homoeopathic medicines cannot prove as magic wands as often claimed. But given a fair chance, these can do a good job in controlling SARS. The writer is a
Chandigarh-based homoeopath. Phone No 0172-721501, e-mail -
heilkraft@sancharnet.in
|
 |
INFO CAPSULE SARS survivors’ woes Hong Kong: A study of long-term effect of SARS on patients suggests that nearly 10 per cent of them appear to be suffering from permanent lung damage. Although most patients stricken by severe acute respiratory syndrome are believed to recover fully, this marks the first time researchers have found that some who survive may have to contend with permanent breathing problems. The Hong Kong doctors' revelation adds to the growing recognition that SARS is among the most dangerous lung infections, rivalling a scourge such as tuberculosis. The report, published in The Age, comes just days after the World Health Organisation doubled its estimate of the death rate from SARS to about 15 per cent overall, far higher than the mortality rates of most other respiratory illnesses. ANI Let mom sleep! she's tired Washington: It's no secret that women are chronically sleep-deprived and mothers, especially working ones, are at the top of that list. A survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation has found that three out of four American women between the age of 30 and 60 years don't get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night during the week. The average weeknight's sleep for women is only about six-and-a-half hours, according to a report in Health Scout. Women are also more likely to suffer from certain diseases that are associated with sleep disturbances, such as fibromyalgia and depression. Moms have additional difficulties. ANI Personality can change at any age Washington: Contrary to popular belief that personality traits are genetically programmed to stop changing by early adulthood, a new study has found that people can change their personality throughout life. There is considerable evidence against it, say the authors. In the study, "average levels of personality traits changed gradually but systematically throughout the lifespan, sometimes even more after age 30 than before." The study, has been published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. ANI Microscopic probe to detect tumours Washington: A nano-sized probe would soon make it possible to detect pre-cancerous and malignant tumours in the gastrointestinal system, thus helping early diagnosis and treatment of such diseases, claims a UC Irvine research team. The team has received a five-year, 1.4 million dollar National Institute of Health grant to develop a microscopic probe which would be inserted into a patient and then guided through the esophagus, stomach and colon to determine if tumours are growing on the wall of the intestine. The probe would be remotely controlled by a surgeon operating a device called an endoscope. ANI Child insomnia Washington: Although there are currently no medications labelled for use for sleep disturbances in children, a new study has found that about 75 per cent of pediatricians surveyed had recommended some type of medication to those with difficulties falling and staying asleep. Pediatric sleep disturbances are among the most common and challenging complaints, and a set of clinical experience-based guidelines needs to be developed, the study published in Pediatrics suggests. ANI Raisins as preservatives Washington: Raisins have a new role to play, keeping beef jerky tasty, nutritious and safe. Researchers at Oregon State University have determined that raisins are a great substitute for sodium nitrite, a preservative commonly used in beef jerky. Mark Daeschel, an OSU food scientist,
is a specialist in natural "antimicrobials" - natural
substances added to food that inhibits the growth of harmful
micro-organisms. Daeschel and colleagues have completed research,
indicating that ground up raisins work just as well as the
preservative sodium nitrite, typically used as a processed meat
preservative by the food industry. ANI |
