- S E G A L A_ M A C A M_ P E N Y A K I T -

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March 13, 2008         
Relief at hand for ageing eyesight
By Tracy Sua

A BREAKTHROUGH procedure that helps older Singaporeans improve their ageing eyesight - called the AcuFocus corneal treatment - has seen some significant success.

The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) said about 35 patients now have better near vision after the centre started clinical trials for the procedure a year ago.

So with such positive results, there are plans to get more patients to help with the trials.

The SNEC together with the Singapore Eye Research Institute are currently the only centres in Asia to offer the AcuFocus Corneal inlay treatment.

They are part of a worldwide multi-centre clinical trial of the procedure.

No thanks to Singapore's fast greying population, one of the country?s biggest challenges, experts have said, is tackling deteriorating eyesight or Presbyopia which reduces a person?s ability to focus on near objects.

This normally affects those over 40 years old.

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SNEC holding clinical tests to alleviate long-sightedness
By Chew Wui Lynn, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 March 2008 2004 hrs



SINGAPORE: The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) is helping American company, AcuFocus, with clinical trials to fight long-sightedness which is an inevitable part of the ageing process.

The solution to the problem is to insert a tiny dark brown implant in the outer layer of the eye. Only one eye will have the implant so that the other eye will still be able to see objects that are far away.

The implant uses a simple optical phenomenon known as the pinhole effect.

Dr Chan Wing Kwong, Senior Consultant, Head of Refractive Surgery, SNEC, said: "By putting a very small hole in front of the eye, it will sharpen the focus of objects.

"Some of us who have played around with pinhole cameras and pinhole glasses will find that even when you don't wear glasses and things look a bit blurry, your field of vision will sharpen when you put a pinhole in front."

The device is still awaiting US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval, which depends on the outcome of the clinical trials.

Nevertheless, the CEO of AcuFocus has already had two versions of the device implanted in his left eye.

Ed Peterson, CEO of AcuFocus, said: "They simply lifted the flap, took out one device and put in the upgraded device. So it's upgradeable, exchangeable and removable."

Koh Jun Luan is one of 35 people in Singapore to have undergone the surgery as part of the free clinical trials.

"The operation takes only five minutes and after that you can go home without any redness. You can go about doing your normal work. Right now, I can read the papers without glasses and I can read SMSes without glasses. I feel good," said Ms Koh.

The surgery is not commercially available yet, but interested parties may contact SNEC.


- CNA/so

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Vitamin D supplements cut risk of child diabetes

PARIS - TAKING vitamin D supplements in infancy may help a youngster ward off Type 1 diabetes, according to a review of the evidence released on Thursday in a specialist journal.

Doctors in Britain looked at five studies in which children were monitored from infancy to early childhood to see if vitamin D supplements made a difference to the risk of becoming diabetic.

The risk of developing the disease was reduced 29 per cent in children who took extra vitamin D as compared to those who had not.

Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, or cannot make proper use of the insulin it does produce, a condition called insulin resistance.

In Type 1 diabetes, so-called beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed in early childhood by the body's immune system.

The disease is most common among people of European descent, affecting around two million Europeans and North Americans, and for reasons that are unclear is becoming more widespread.

Type 2 diabetes, which is far more common, is linked mainly with an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. It is becoming epidemic in scale in many developed or fast-developing countries.

The new study, led by Christos Zipitis of St. Mary's Hospital for Women and Children in Manchester, northern England, is published by Archives of Disease in Childhood. -- AFP

SQ154

Pacemakers at danger from hackers

WASHINGTON, US - MEDICAL devices such as pacemakers are vulnerable to attacks by hackers, who could gain access to a patient's private details or reprogramme their device and put their health in jeopardy, a US study showed on Wednesday.

A research team led by computer scientists Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts and Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington, and cardiologist William Maisel of Harvard Medical School was able in lab tests to intercept signals sent from an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD).

'The device contained information like the patient's name, their therapy settings, their date of birth and some other information from their doctor,' Mr Fu said.'In addition, we were able to modify the settings on the device using an unauthorized machine we built. So, for instance, we could cause defibrillation shocks to not happen when they should and to happen when they shouldn't,' he said.

Today's ICDs typically receive wireless signals over a small distance, but technology is expanding the range of the devices - and creating greater potential for information to be intercepted.

The study stressed that there have been no reported cases of a patient with an ICD or pacemaker being targeted by hackers.

'The greater concern is about what's going to happen down the line as these devices become more sophisticated, as they embrace wireless technology and connect to the Internet, as they begin to hook up with other devices,' said Mr Fu.

'In the future, there may be a defibrillator that talks to a drug pump in your body,' he said.

'We want to make sure that the community understands how security and privacy affect more traditional goals of safety and effectiveness as new technologies are being integrated into medical devices.'

Mr Maisel said that a key aim of the study was 'to encourage the medical device industry to think more carefully about the security and privacy of patient information, particularly as wireless communication becomes more common.' 'Fortunately, there are some safeguards already in place, but device manufacturers can do better,' the cardiologist said in a statement.

Despite the security flaws shown up by the study, Mr Fu stressed that the pros of being fitted with a pacemaker or ICD far outweigh the security- and privacy-related cons.

'When a doctor tells a patient they need one of these devices to live a normal and healthy life, they're much better and much safer having the device than not having it,' he said.

He also said the likelihood of would-be assassins trying to get close to someone they know has a pacemaker or ICD to manipulate the device and kill the patient was very slim.

'That's a very creative idea but it's a little bit elaborate and it would be rather challenging to build a similar machine' to the one used in the study, he said.

In addition, the research team omitted details in their published paper 'that prevent the findings from being used for anything other than improving patient security and privacy.' 'Maybe the assassin scenario would make for a good spy novel, but there are much simpler ways to accomplish that sort of thing,' Mr Fu said.

The peer-reviewed report will be presented and published at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Symposium on Security and Privacy in Oakland, California in May.

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NTUC Childcare issues health alert following HK flu outbreak




SINGAPORE: There has been an increase in the number of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in the first ten weeks of this year.

According to the Health Ministry (MOH), 2,727 cases have been reported

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March 18, 2008         
MOH worries over people falling for doctors selling 'snake oil'
By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

THE Ministry of Health is warning patients against a host of unproven beauty treatments offered by doctors, from drug cocktails designed to dissolve fat to anti-ageing hormone injections.

'Doctors who sell snake-oil pose greater danger to the public than lay persons selling snake-oil because the public trusts doctors more, ' a spokesman said.

While the treatments - which include firing water in the colon and massages meant to zap cellulite - are not illegal, they are not supported by medical evidence, the spokesman said.

The warning comes as a growing number of doctors branch out into lucrative beauty treatments, some of which have been banned in other countries.

Almost six in 10 Singapore general practitioners now do aesthetic procedures, including those that are medically sound.

Specialists in fields such as anaesthesia, gynaecology and even renal medicine are also grabbing a share of the multimillion dollar market.

Some doctors make over a million dollars a year on the procedures.

The treatments have not been without controversy, though. The Singapore Medical Council is investigating six doctors, including a specialist, following complaints about their aesthetic work.

It is believed some performed the procedures the Health Ministry warned against.

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March 18, 2008         
Many chronic disease patients not going for recommended checks
By Lee Hui Chieh

ALLOWING patients with chronic diseases pay for treatment using Medisave was meant to help them stay the course.

But after the first year, just 19 per cent of diabetic patients went through all the recommended checks they were supposed to get. None of the stroke patients received all the required tests.

Patients with high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels fared better.

About 62 per cent of hypertensive patients and 77 per cent of patients with high cholesterol got all the necessary checks.

But the Health Ministry, which released a paper on this on Monday, said it is 'encouraged by the first year results.'

A ministry spokesman said that the aim of tracking the results was to enable doctors to monitor the level of care that their patients have received and identify areas for improvement.

'We see this as a learning experience and expect further improvements over time,' she added.

The paper looked at 35,221 patients who had been on the scheme for at least a year. Most of them were aged above 50, and had more than one condition.

The Health Ministry was not able to say why so many diabetic patients did not get all the recommended checks.

One possible reason could be that patients were complacent, or ignorant of the checks' importance, said Madam Halimah Yacob, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health.

Another possible reason could be that some GPs might not have been trained well in chronic disease care, said Madam Halimah.

Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, noted that the missed checks tended to be those that need specialised attention, such as the eye and foot checks for diabetics, and an assessment of stroke patients' risk for developing blood clots.

The programme to allow Medisave use for outpatient treatment began with diabetes in October 2006, and was expanded to cover high blood pressure, high cholesterol and stroke in January last year.

It had been started to encourage patients - especially the cash-strapped - to get regular treatment and avoid developing costlier complications such as heart attacks or kidney failure.

From April 1, asthma and a lung condition - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - will be included too.

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Ekstra! : 19 Mac 2008        

VITAMIN K ELAK MATA SEMBAP

ANDA mungkin biasa dan tahu akan manfaat vitamin A, B, C, tetapi bagaimana pula dengan vitamin K?

Vitamin ini mendapat namanya daripada bahasa Jerman dan Denmark, Koagulations. Ia diperlukan untuk mengubah suai beberapa jenis protein, terutama untuk menggumpalkan darah menjadi pekat.

Namun, ada satu penemuan baru mengenai vitamin ini. Menurut Akademi Dermatologis (Pakar Kulit) Amerika Syarikat, menyapu krim vitamin K di kulit bawah mata boleh mengelakkan mata menjadi sembap. Ini kerana vitamin K membantu mengelakkan kulit di bahagian itu kendur.

Tetapi, usah berlebihan menggunakannya. Sedikit saja sudah memadai. Vitamin K larut dalam lemak dan boleh tersimpan dalam hati dan tisu-tisu lemak yang akhirnya menyebabkan keracunan.

Sumber vitamin K yang baik ialah sayur brokoli dan bayam.

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March 20, 2008         
Ministry wants doctors to stop 'aesthetic' treatments
It will act against those who persist with unproven beauty treatments
By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

THE Health Ministry has decided to put a stop to doctors offering patients a range of controversiol, unproven beauty treatments.

Banning these treatments threatens to wipe out millions of dollars in business for countless doctors engaged in the lucrative 'aesthetic medicine' scene.

Dr Tan Chor Hiang, the ministry's head of regulations, told The Straits Times last night that they will be advised to 'stop these practices immediately'.

'Recalcitrant doctors will be referred to the Singapore Medical Council,' she warned. The profession's watchdog is already investigating the aesthetic medicine practices of six doctors, including a specialist.

The ministry has been concerned about the booming aesthetic medicine market, estimated to be worth $200 million a year.

Over 1,000 general practitioners (GPs) and specialists have taken to offering a wide range of unproven treatments - everything from fat-busting injections and skin treatments to remove flaws or 'whiten' the complexion, to applications of growth hormones or stem cells for a more youthful appearance.

'This is not medicine,' Dr Tan said. 'Such services should never be offered on the pretext that they are medical in nature and are medically beneficial.'

The ministry began cracking down on such practices from September last year, telling about 20 of the bigger operators to stop.

Prominent plastic surgeon Woffles Wu and anaesthetist Christine Cheng were among those targeted. They complied immediately.

Dr Cheng was unhappy to have been singled out, and asked why the ministry did not inform all doctors.

The ministry explained that it did not realise earlier how widespread aesthetic medicine had become.

'Doctors are also advertising these services more aggressively,' Dr Tan said.

An online check showed close to 30 clinics still promoting the treatments, including mesotherapy which involves multiple injections of drugs to dissolve fat. This treatment is not allowed in some countries.

Madam Halimah Yacob, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, welcomed the ministry's ban, saying people trust doctors to provide approved and safe procedures.

But she wanted more action to regulate such treatments 'or they may end up in unauthorised beauty salons which could be worse'.

Dr Tan said the ministry's main concern is 'doctors performing unsubstantiated procedures, being unethical and subjecting patients to unacceptable health risks'.

'Without having proper scientific evidence, it is not known whether these practices can cause harm in the medium or long term,' she said.

The ministry is in talks with the Academy of Medicine and the College of Family Physicians to draw up proper procedures and the minimum training doctors need before offering them.

'Once these standards are ready, they can be used for regulating the practice of such procedures,' she said.

[email protected]

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March 20, 2008         
Only 19% of diabetics got all checks despite Medisave help
And none of the stroke patients followed the advised after-care regime last year, says MOH
By Lee Hui Chieh

DESPITE new Medisave rules designed to help people with chronic ailments stick to their treatments, only a fraction of patients got all their checks last year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has revealed.

Just 19 per cent of diabetic patients had all the necessary tests done, while no stroke patients followed the recommended after-care regime, MOH said in a paper released on Monday.

It looked at 35,221 patients - mostly aged above 50 with more than one chronic disease - who used their compulsory medical savings to pay for treatment. Of these, only 28 per cent had undergone all the checks.

MOH loosened the Medisave purse strings in 2006 to allow people with four chronic conditions - diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and stroke - to use up to $300 a year from Medisave for treatment.

'The low compliance rate is a cause for concern,' said Madam Halimah Yacob, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health.

'It shows that people still look upon treatment as merely taking medicine, and not as a holistic programme which requires them to go through regular tests and observe things such as weight control or quitting smoking.'

Left unchecked, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure and heart disease, while stroke victims can suffer another attack.

The report card on high blood pressure and high cholesterol was better. About 62 per cent of hypertensive patients and 77 per cent of patients with high cholesterol got all the required checks.

The Health Ministry is 'encouraged by the first-year results', said its spokesman.'We see this as a learning experience and expect further improvements over time.'

The ministry could not say why so many diabetics did not get all the checks.

Madam Halimah linked the shortfall to patients' complacency and ignorance.

Some patients also find it troublesome to visit different clinics for tests on their eyes and feet, said general practitioner C.C. Lim.

Dr Lam Pin Min, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said some general practitioners might not be trained to perform the most common types of missed tests, like eye and foot checks.

Dr Wong Weng Hong, chief executive officer of Healthway Medical Group, whose 60 GP clinics have more than 600 patients on the programme, said the Government's data collection could be inaccurate and more patients may be going for tests than the numbers show.

He said most GPs get assistants to manually submit patients' test results by typing them via the Health Ministry's online portal, and this could result in some results being omitted.

A system that could automatically draw the required information from the GPs' databases and feed it into the ministry's database could be the solution, he said.

For diabetic Mohd Nasruddin Asmawi, sticking to treatment was never in doubt.

He paid $300 for a year-long treatment package with Raffles Medical Clinics after being diagnosed in 2006.

The 43-year-old technologist said: 'I told myself to be disciplined because I have three children to take care of and bills to pay.'

From next month, Medisave can also be used for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

[email protected]

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Faster method to identify if person has skin disorder caused by diseases
By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 March 2008 1909 hrs

SINGAPORE: There's now a faster and cheaper method to find out if a person has diabetes.

Developed by researchers at the National University of Singapore and the National University Hospital, The Wrinkle Test identifies a disorder in the sensors, on your skin. And this disorder is caused by several diseases, including diabetes.

A local anaesthetic is applied as cream on the fingers and if the skin does not wrinkle after some time, researchers believe the patient has small nerve fibre disorder, which is caused by diseases that includes diabetes.

A laboratory technologist will then compare the results against a scale of between zero and four.

Zero indicates there is no wrinkling and is a sign the constriction of blood vessels is being impaired. One and two indicates normal wrinkling and three and four is normal.

While doctors said many diseases can cause a disorder on the small nerve fibres on the patients

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Health Ministry cracks down on doctors performing unproven beauty treatments
By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 March 2008 2145 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is cracking down on doctors who perform unproven beauty treatments.

Doctors found to be carrying out procedures like fat-reducing injections may even lose their license.

Clinics advertising such services without scientific proof may be taken to court.

MOH has already warned 20 doctors to stop such practices.

Mesotherapy promises to burn your fats away with a few, quick jabs.

Despite results on some patients, the Health Ministry has said the method is not scientifically proven and has risks.

These include liver inflammation or in worse case scenarios, liver failure.

And mesotherapy is just one of many unproven beauty fixes which MOH said doctors must stop performing.

Others include applying stem cells to revive the skin or anti-ageing hormone and skin-whitening shots.

And some general practitioners or GPs are known to devote half of their practice to such treatments, with prolific ones earning up to S$100,000 a month.

Channel NewsAsia also understands that 30 liposuction machines have been sold to GPs in 2007.

The business is lucrative, worth some S$200 million a year and the latest checks by the Health Ministry are not likely to totally wipe out these clinics.

Dr JJ Chua, a plastic surgeon, said: "Most aesthetic GPs will not go back to cough and cold. There are many proven scientific treatments that they can do as well. There are many aesthetic doctors, they do lasers, light, fillers, botox which can still form a mainstay of their income. So they do not need to resort to unproven unwise therapy."

Consumers welcome the crackdown but some said the onus is still on the individual.

The Singapore Medical Council is already investigating the aesthetic medicine practices of six doctors including a specialist. - CNA/vm

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TB rate here high for First World; foreigners a third of cases
By Tan Hui Leng, TODAY | Posted: 21 March 2008 0736 hrs

SINGAPORE: It might seem like a disease out of place and time in a First World city, but surprisingly, tuberculosis (TB) is some 75 per cent more prevalent in Singapore than in most developed countries.

Last year, the Republic had 1,256 new TB cases. This worked out to 35.1 cases per 100,000 residents, slightly down from the previous year's 35.6 cases.

Even so, this incidence rate is high, compared to the fewer than 20 cases per 100,000 residents in most developed countries. And about a third, or 36 per cent, of new TB cases here in 2006 comprised foreigners, according to the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association (SATA).

The figures were released by SATA and the Ministry of Health (MOH) to mark World TB Day next Monday.

Among the foreigners with TB, three-quarters were work permit holders. The number of new TB cases among short-stay non-residents also increased by 41 cases to hit 391.

SATA's acting medical director Dr Tan Sai Tiang said foreigners who are detected with TB during their mandatory health screening in Singapore will be denied a work permit or social visit pass. Even so, some foreigners either contract TB in Singapore

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MOH to let professionals regulate aesthetic treatments
By Hoe Yeen Ni, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 23 March 2008 2134 hrs



SINGAPORE: The Health Ministry appears to have changed its stand on aesthetic treatments and what procedures can be performed.

It now says it will leave the regulation of the industry to professional bodies, while it turns its attention to the safety of patients instead.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said there is a lot of "grey area" in the industry and it is "not possible" for the Ministry to stop doctors from performing aesthetic treatments if there is a demand.

Mr Khaw clarified the MOH's position following media reports surrounding last week's crackdown on doctors who perform unproven procedures.

The MOH said that regulating the beauty industry is especially challenging as in many cases, scientific evidence is missing or inconclusive.

Furthermore, it added, taking a hard, regulatory approach will mean the prohibition of many procedures. This is not practical and it is not what MOH is advocating, stressed Mr Khaw.

The MOH's remarks came just a few days after it issued what amounted to a ban on certain procedures, such as fat-zapping mesotherapy, application of stem cells to revive the skin or the use of anti-ageing hormone and skin-whitening shots.

It said these have no scientific evidence and should not be practised at all, whether or not the operator has had training.

The MOH had also issued a stern warning that any doctor found doing these "unsubstantiated" procedures will be referred to the Singapore Medical Council for disciplinary review.

But now, that stand seems to have been changed.

"Because I'm not familiar with mesotherapy, I don't even know what it is. So let's leave it to the professions to sort it out," said Mr Khaw.

"The human urge to do this kind of things are plentiful. So who are we to say, stop it? We can't do that," he added.

But what the MOH will do is that it will regulate on high-risk, highly-invasive procedures.

Mr Khaw said his Ministry is working out guidelines which will stipulate who can perform what treatments.

He declined to indicate when the guidelines will be published.

The Academy of Medicine and the College of Family Physicians are also formulating principles to govern the ethical practice of all procedures.

But the question remains -- can doctors carry on in the meantime?

"Doctors are supposed to do what they think appropriate, taking into account possible benefits, and then possible risks. So that's a decision which doctors have to make all the time. Because if they fail to do that, they could be subject to investigation," said Mr Khaw.

Mr Khaw also said that consumers should know what they are getting into before taking the beauty plunge. - CNA/ir

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Many children's squints go uncorrected
By Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 March 2008 0000 hrs

SINGAPORE: In the West, squints in adults are caused by medical conditions such as strokes or brain tumours.

But in Singapore, many adults with squints have suffered from the eye condition since childhood.

56-year-old Koh Eng Tat was one of them. Mr Koh, who had surgery one month ago to correct the condition, has had an intermittent squint since childhood.

The squint gradually became worse as he grew older, and it caused double vision for the past 20 years.

Mr Koh said: "You can lose the confidence of yourself especially when you see things double; when you go to meetings, you can't actually focus on one image of the person."

Double vision is common in adults with squints but in children it can be more severe. It can result in a lazy eye, which means the eye does not develop properly and it cannot see. It also means no 3D vision.

At six months old, a baby's eyes should be aligned when they are looking at an object.

Pseudo squints, which are common in Chinese babies, are not a real squint but an illusion caused by a skin fold near the nose bridge.

As the nose sharpens, the eye looks normal, and this has led to the common misconception that children can outgrow squints.

Dr Leo Seo Wei, consultant in charge at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Eye Alignment Clinic & Children's Eye Centre, said: "I am treating a lot of adults who have untreated childhood squints or partially treated childhood squints. A lot of parents do have the misconception that they will outgrow the squints, so they don't seek early treatment."

Squints in children can be caused by long-sightedness or a birth defect. Intermittent squints, which happen when a child is tired, are also common.

About one in 25 Singaporeans has a squint. It occurs when the brain and muscles in the eye don't work together properly.

Glasses can solve the problem in some cases but surgery on the muscles can also be required. Many patients are unaware of the treatments or afraid to go under the knife.

Dr Leo said: "Some of the patients I talk to, they initially thought that to really realign the eye, you have to take the whole eyeball out, which is not true. It's actually quite simple surgery, you're operating around the eye, not even inside the eye."

For Mr Koh, he finally opted for surgery after attending an eye screening event at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

He was surprised it was a day surgery and needed no patching afterwards.

Losing his double vision has been the biggest benefit. He said: "It's a certain thing that is very difficult to describe, but I can tell you that it's very marvellous."

Older patients like Maiaya Haron have also benefited from the surgery. She had her childhood squint corrected last year at the age of 85. - CNA/ir

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Singapura : 24 Mac 2008        
         
MELAYU PALING BANYAK HIDAPI BATUK KERING

Oleh
Nadzri Eunos

JUMLAH pesakit batuk kering, atau tuberculosis (TB), Melayu terus lebih tinggi daripada kaum lain, meskipun jumlah keseluruhan pesakit itu jatuh ke paras terendah dalam sedekad tahun lalu.

Perangkaan terbaru Kementerian Kesihatan (MOH) menunjukkan 1,256 kes TB dikesan tahun lalu, iaitu 35.1 kes bagi setiap 100,000 penduduk, berbanding 1,712 kes, pada 1997.

MOH dalam satu kenyataan baru-baru ini berkata kes TB berkurang hasil Program Penghapusan Batuk Kering Singapura yang diperkenal pada 1997.

Meskipun MOH tidak mendedahkan jumlah pesakit mengikut kaum, Konsultan Kanan, Unit Kawalan TB dan Jabatan Perubatan Pernafasan Hospital Tan Tock Seng (TTSH), Dr Cynthia Chee, berkata jumlah pesakit Melayu tetap terbanyak.

Perangkaan bagi 2006 menunjukkan pesakit TB Melayu membentuk sekitar 50.4 pesakit bagi setiap 100,000 penduduk, lebih tinggi daripada pesakit Cina (33 peratus), India (23.8 peratus) dan kaum lain (44.4 peratus).

Dr Chee percaya antara sebab utama ialah ramai pesakit TB Melayu kesempitan kewangan.

'Oleh itu, mereka sering lewat mendapatkan rawatan kerana kesuntukan masa atau masalah kewangan. Bagi yang menikuti program rawatan, ramai gagal melengkapinya.

'Ada pula serba salah kerana takut dibuang kerja sekiranya majikan mereka dimaklumkan dek stigma sosiol yang sering dikaitkan dengan penyakit itu.

'Jelas, sokongan semua pihak baik keluarga mahu pun majikan amat penting dalam rawatan seseorang pesakit,' kata Dr Chee.

Ia perlu memandangkan program rawatan TB mengambil masa enam hingga sembilan bulan.

'Pesakit perlu ke poliklinik untuk mengambil ubat. Ramai berhenti selepas hanya beberapa bulan kerana menyangka mereka sudah sembuh. Tetapi ia mengundang bahaya kerana bakteria TB akan menjadi lebih liat untuk dihapuskan.' ukar Dr Chee lagi.

Kebanyakan pesakit TB Melayu adalah lelaki berusia 40-an tahun dan pekerja kolar biru.

Sempena Hari TB Sedunia, yang bertema Saya Akan Hapuskan TB, hari ini, TTSH akan mengadakan pameran di atrium bangunan utamanya untuk meningkatkan kesedaran umum mengenai penyakit itu.

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March 25, 2008         
Better eyesight for kids? Let them go out and play


HEALTHY FUN: More than 4,000 children aged four to six are attending the outdoor activities organised by the Health Promotion Board during the Eye Care Week. The aim is to promote good vision among children. -- ST PHOTO: ALAN LIM

STUDIES have shown that children who spend time outdoors have better eyesight than their computer-obsessed counterparts.

With that in mind, the government-run Health Promotion Board (HPB) has launched a new programme designed to detach children from video games and the television.

During this year's Eye Care Week, which began yesterday, HPB is organising a slew of outdoor activities for about 4,000 children aged four to six.

Held next to the Singapore General Hospital, the activities are aimed at promoting good vision among children.

Preschoolers planted sunflower seeds in mini-flower pots, each bearing an eye-care message. They also played games that highlighted the outdoors as a fun alternative to computer games and television.

'We feel that organising games and activities will make it more interesting for the children,' said MrsCheong-Lim Lee Yee, deputy director of the preschool and primary school outreach department at the HPB.

Six-year-old Rachel Leow from kindergarten PCF Punggol South was happy to take part in the activities with her classmates.

When asked what she learnt,

she said: 'We cannot play too much Game Boy or sit too close to the television.'

Data from studies in 2001 and 2004 found Chinese children in Singapore who spent much of their spare time indoors were more than four times more likely to develop myopia than kids from Sydney who went outside regularly.

JESSICA JAGANATHAN

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Ekstra! : 26 Mac 2008        
         
RINGKAS

KAHWIN MANTAPKAN TEKANAN DARAH

KAHWINLAH kerana itu akan membuat tekanan darah anda sentiasa baik.

Tetapi di sudut yang lain, jika perkahwinan anda kacau-bilau dan anda tertekan, tekanan darah anda boleh menjadi lebih buruk daripada orang yang tidak pernah berkahwin.

Demikian menurut satu kajian baru yang melibatkan 204 pasangan yang telah berumah tangga dan 99 orang bujang.

Pengkaji, Dr Julianna Holt-Lunstad, berkata, hasil kajian tersebut menghairankan kerana kajian-kajian awal menunjukkan orang yang sudah berkahwin lebih sihat daripada orang bujang.

'Oleh yang demikian, kajian lanjut perlu dilakukan untuk melihat apakah maksud dapatan ini untuk kesihatan jangka panjang pasangan,' kata Dr Holt-Lunstad, penolong profesor psikologi di Universiti Brigham Young di Utah, Amerika Syarikat. -- AP.

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March 26, 2008         
Pre-schools, childcare centres on alert for HFMD outbreak
By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent


A person with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) usually has mouth ulcers and rashes on his palms, soles or buttocks. -- PHOTO: KKH

CHILDCARE centres and kindergartens are on alert for a Hand, Foot and Mouth (HFMD) outbreak.

This includes checking each child as he arrives for tell tale signs like mouth ulcers or little red blisters, and taking their temperatures two to three times a day.

Parents of a child suspected to have the disease will have to take the pupil home, and he can only return after he has been certified infection-free by a doctor.

Although clusters have been reported at some childcare centers, pre-school centres and primary schools, the Ministry of Health said none has been asked to close its doors.

The disease, which is transmitted through bodily fluids like saliva, is endemic in Singapore and outbreaks occur regularly. It affects mostly very young children, although adults can catch the virus.

It causes fever, sore throat, sores and ulcers in the mouth, and rashes on the palms, soles and buttocks. There is no medcine or vaccine for the disease. It is usually a mild disease, but complications can occur, and very rarely, death.

The enterovirus, which causes the disease, has been particularly active this year, infecting 50 per cent more people than in 2007. So far, 3,721 people have caught the virus this year, up from 2,480 for the same period last year.

The ministry's latest weekly bulletin reported that 585 people came down with the virus last week, up from 409 the previous week.

The increase coincides with the re-opening of school after the week-long March break.

The last time the weekly infection was this high was during the seven-week outbreak in May and June last year.

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March 27, 2008         
Big belly in middle age triples risk of dementia
CHICAGO - HAVING a large belly in middle age nearly triples the risk of developing dementia, a study released on Wednesday found.

'Considering that 50 per cent of adults in this country have abdominal obesity, this is a disturbing finding,' said study author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California.

Being overweight in midlife and beyond has long been linked to increased risk for disease such as stroke, diabetes and heart disease.

This is the first study to link excess fat to dementia and, interestingly, excess abdominal fat increased the risk even among those who were of normal weight overall.

Researchers measured the abdominal fat of 6,583 people age 40 to 45 in northern California and some 36 years later 16 per cent had developed dementia, the study published in the journal Neurology found.

Those who were overweight or obese but did not have a pot belly had an 80 per cent increase in the risk of dementia compared to people with a normal body weight and abdominal fat level.

The risk increase jumped to 230 per cent among overweight people with a large belly and 360 per cent among the obese with large abdomens.

'Where one carries the weight - especially in midlife - appears to be an important predictor for dementia risk,' Mr Whitmer said.

While more research is needed to understand why this link exists, it is possible that the abdominal obesity is part of a complex set of health-related behaviors that increase the risk of dementia.

'Autopsies have shown that changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease may start in young to middle adulthood, and another study showed that high abdominal fat in elderly adults was tied to greater brain atrophy,' she said.

'These findings imply that the dangerous effects of abdominal obesity on the brain may start long before the signs of dementia appear.' -- AFP