Chioma Umeha

Study links high-fat diet to slow developing brain By: Chioma Umeha A small new animal study out of Spain, has shown that adolescents who consume a high-fat diet risk long-lasting effects on learning and memory. In research presented at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, recently, scientists out of CEU-San Pablo University in Madrid, found that adolescent mice fed a high-fat diet displayed significantly impaired spatial memory compared to a control group that consumed the same amount of calories but less fat, as well as a group of adult mice put on the same diet. Research authors speculate that the brain’s memory centres are more susceptible to the effects of a high-fat diet during adolescence, given the amount of hormonal changes at this time.  For the study, scientists put 15 male adolescent mice on a high-fat diet over an eight-week period, in which 45 per cent of calories came from saturated fat. The control group of 15 mice was put on a conve

How NAFDAC sealed six illegal food production facilities By: Chioma Umeha Last week’s crack down of six organized illegal food production facilities at the Cemetery or Eziukwu Market in Aba, Abia State, and arrest of 14 persons by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) sends a warning signal to job seekers, landlords or property owners. This latest breakthrough by NAFDAC led to the closure six organized illegal food production facilities and arrest of 14 persons, mainly young persons, who were working there, where different brands of food products-among which were popular brands of Custard Powder were being counterfeited. The incident shows that parents and guardians should be wary of where their wards work, just as landlords are to be cautious of persons and companies they let the properties to as well as the kind of business done in their premises.  The Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, has already assured that his agency was goin

Cerebral palsy is not infectious – Gbadebo By: Chioma Umeha Mrs. Alaba Gbadebo, is Co- founder, Benola – a cerebral palsy initiative, and the wife of Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Femi Gbadebo (Rtd), OFR, founder and Chief Executive Officer, of the initiative.  Mrs. Gbadebo, is mother of 17-year-old boy, Olaoluwa, who is living with cerebral palsy. Recently, when Benola marked the 17th birthday of Olaoluwa, She shared her experience with some journalists concerning cerebral palsy and its management. CHIOMA UMEHA (Health Editor) was there. EXCERPTS:  Mrs Alaba Gbadebo Co-founder, Benola Many describe cerebral palsy as a deadly disorder, describe how it manifests based on your experience?  Cerebral Palsy is the most common childhood physical disability. It is a permanent physical condition that affects the movement. It describes a group of disorders of the development of the movement and posture, causing activity limitation and that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances

Food additives that cause diseases By: Chioma Umeha Weight management foods like yogurts, soft drinks, and gum can contain some wacky ingredients that many dieters wouldn’t ever consider putting in their body, regardless of how much weight it could help them lose. Health experts have listed of food additives people may be eating that have potential health risks. Of the 10 food additives on the list, nine show possible cancer connections, including tumours, lymphomas, and leukaemia, with some indicating potential links to diabetes and heart disease. Aspartame: Aspartame is a commonly known sugar substitute that has caused controversy since its widespread use began in the early 1970s.  The sweetener is used in place of sugar in gums, soft drinks, and some desserts to help cut calories. Studies have suggested that aspartame may be more harmful than it is beneficial. Aspartame has been linked to brain tumours, lymphomas, and breast cancer, but aspartame isn’t the only chemical c

Adequate health-care requires synergy among providers – Expert By: Chioma Umeha H ealthcare providers in the country have been urged to sheath their swords and refrain from in-house fighting and embrace collaboration as this will help promote team spirit which will forge the health sector forward. Making the call was Olumide Akintayo, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), during the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria at the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria’s (APBN) board meeting held on Tuesday, at Pharmacy House, Anthony Village in Lagos. Condemning the in-house fighting within various healthcare providers in the country and called for synergy among them, Akintayo insisted that this will promote adequate health-care delivery in the country. Akintayo spoke during the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria’s board meeting held on Tuesday, at Pharmacy House, Anthony Village, Lagos. His words: “We note that th

Will new WHO guidelines reduce HIV-related illness burden? By: Chioma Umeha Over a decade ago, World Bank (WB) health specialists some countries, that anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment, the only lifesaver for people living with HIV, should not be its priority because it would exhaust the country’s health budget. One of such countries is India. However, WHO on Sunday, after releasing its new guidelines, at the International AIDS Society meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said immediate treatment of the nine million persons will halt spread of the disease. According to the new guidelines the total global spending on AIDS which will rise by 10 per cent is put at $26.4 billion yearly up from the $24 billion it used to be.  The world health body directed that young children and certain other people with the AIDS virus should be started on medicines as soon as they are diagnosed, in new guidelines that also recommend earlier treatment for adults.  It further noted that the advice

No HIV after stem-cell transplants – Researchers By: Chioma Umeha T wo HIV -positive patients show no trace of virus after receiving chemotherapy and stem-cell transplants as treatment for lymphoma, according to new research. These patients have become the second and third known cases of a “sterilizing cure,” in which medical treatment removes all traces of HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — from the body. They have remained virus-free even though doctors’ months ago took them off their HIV-targeted medications. “We have been unable to detect virus in either the blood cells or the plasma of these patients,” said lead researcher Dr. Timothy Henrich, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “We also biopsied gut tissue from one of our patients, and we were unable to detect HIV in the cells of the gut.  Essentially, we do not have any evidence of viral rebound.” The findings are scheduled for presentation on Wednesday at the International AIDS Soc