Posts in category: Uncategorized

Millions of people, including athletes who play contact sports, members of the military and victims of domestic violence, are exposed to repetitive head impacts (RHI), which is the primary risk factor for developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Symptoms of CTE often manifest years to decades after exposure to RHI and very little is known about what happens in the brain in the interim.

Tens of thousands of junior doctors went on strike across England on Monday to demand better pay, kicking off three days of widespread disruption at the U.K.’s state-funded hospitals and health clinics.

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Monday that it had reached a deal to buy biotech firm Seagen, specializing in innovative cancer treatment, for $43 billion.

Rett syndrome is a devastating developmental disorder, principally occurring in girls, caused by mutations in the gene MECP2 that leads to severe cognitive, motor and other symptoms. That’s why the March 12 approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the first-ever treatment for the disorder, a drug called Trofinetide based on the natural protein IGF-1, brings new hope to patients and their families.

New research in the March 2023 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network highlights how the lack of genomic research for people with African ancestry, particularly those from the Sub-Saharan region, is hampering efforts to reduce disparities for people with cancer. In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers evaluated molecular genetic results for 113 Black South African men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer to find evidence for increased and potentially unique genetic testing recommendations.

By NATION REPORTER
FINANCE and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has said Government has released K10.9 billion in February for budget execution.
Dr Musokotwane said government would continue to build on the gains made in financial governance and ensure that the utilisation of public resources effectively contributes to economic transformation and improvement of the well-being of citizens.

Dr Musokotwane called on public institutions under the Ministry to maintain smooth engagement with stakeholders, and communicate the milestones achieved in programme implementation, on a quarterly basis, to the public. As previously stated by the Minister, public institutions should ensure that funds released by the Treasury are utilised on budgeted programmes – in a timely, efficient and effective manner.
“We now take this opportunity to brief the nation that in February 2023, the Government released K10.9 billion to finance public service delivery. Of this amount, K3.6 billion was released for the public service wage bill whilst K3.5 billion was spent on debt service (domestic and external) and other liabilities,” he said.
He said releases to transfers, subsidies and social benefits amounted to K1.5 billion and in addition, K1.7 billion was released for implementation of various Government programmes and general operations, while K573.5 million was spent on capital expenditure such as road infrastructure.
Dr Musokotwane said Government released a total of K1.5 billion towards transfers and subsidies.
He said some key expenditure items included K330.8 million for the operations of grant aided institutions under several Government ministries, and for public hospitals, countrywide, K235.6 million for the Public Service Pension Fund grant and financing gap.
Dr Musokotwane said K220.8 million for Youth and Women Empowerment Funds under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), while K209.9 million for the Social Cash Transfer Programme, countrywide.
He said K120.1 million for operation of public universities, K111.6 million to the Local Government Equalisation Fund and K108 million for the Food Security Pack Programme.
Dr Musokotwane said the Treasury released K573.5 million towards road infrastructure to ensure that emergency road works were done so that as many roads as possible, remained in a usable state during the rainy season.
He said K1.7 billion was released by the Treasury to facilitate service delivery under various government institutions. Notable expenditure items under this category.
He said the Government also spent K3.6 billion on costs relating to the wage bill for various public service workers.

Vitamin D plays an integral role in regulating immune function, and Penn State researchers have identified immune cells in mice that can be differentiated by whether or not they have vitamin D receptors—a finding that could lead to a better understanding of the link between vitamin D status and autoimmune diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

In reviewing data from previous studies, a team lead by researchers at the University of Chicago and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) found that individuals who had fewer than six hours of sleep per night in the days surrounding vaccination had a blunted antibody response. That indicates efforts to promote heathy sleep duration ahead of an immunization could be an easy way to improve vaccine effectiveness. The study was published March 13 in Current Biology.

While drugs are on the market to slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, there are still no cures. But researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School are looking for new pathways for slowing neuronal dysfunction and treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal motor neuron disease. The team found that proteins involved in the innate immune system could be at the root of the disease.

Multiple myeloma is a relatively uncommon form of blood cancer that affects less than 1% of the U.S. population, according the American Cancer Society.