Latest news with #WHO-affiliated
Saba Yemen
30-06-2025
- Health
- Saba Yemen
WHO warns of loneliness linked to smartphone Use
Geneva - Saba: The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the consequences of smartphone and social media use, highlighting their impact on individuals' lives and their contribution to loneliness. A WHO-affiliated committee stated on Monday that one in six people worldwide is negatively affected by loneliness, which—alongside social isolation—can lead to physical illness, contributing to 871,000 global deaths annually. In a report, the WHO explained that loneliness increases the risk of stroke, heart attacks, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and suicide. It noted that adolescents who feel lonely are 22% more likely to achieve lower grades compared to their peers, while adults facing loneliness struggle with finding or maintaining jobs. The report concluded that one in three older adults and one in four adults overall suffer from social isolation. Vivek Murthy, co-chair of the WHO committee, described loneliness as a "painful, subjective feeling experienced by many," while social isolation is an objective condition marked by a lack of relationships and interactions. He emphasized that humans have communicated for thousands of years not only through words but also through facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and silence. Causes of loneliness include illness, poor education quality, low income, lack of social opportunities, living alone, and digital technology use. The impact of loneliness extends beyond individuals to society, with billions spent on healthcare systems and job losses adding to the economic burden. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Extremely rare tumour removed from 12-year-old's brain in Vadodara
Vadodara: In a medical breakthrough that may be the first of its kind globally, doctors at Vadodara's SSG Hospital and Baroda Medical College successfully removed an exceptionally rare tumour — angiomyxofibromatous — from the brain of a 12-year-old girl. What makes this case extraordinary is that such a tumour has never before been reported in the brain, and is so rare that it isn't even included in the current World Health Organization (WHO) classification of nervous system tumours. Worldwide, angiomyxofibromatous tumours are known to occur in the genital region of adult females, making this diagnosis in the posterior fossa (a small space at the back of the skull and houses some critical structures of the central nervous system) unprecedented. Dr Parth Modi, from the Department of Neurosurgery at SSG Hospital, said the girl presented last year with persistent headaches, dizziness and vomiting, but had no prior health issues. "Her physical examination didn't reveal any neurological deficits. However, MRI and CT scans showed a 5 cm tumour in the posterior fossa region," he explained. Given the tumour's critical location, the surgical team had to proceed with extreme caution. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "This was a high-risk procedure due to the potential for bleeding," Dr Modi said. The surgery — sub-occipital craniotomy and tumour excision via the telovelar approach — was carried out by Dr Modi, Dr Amey Patankar, Dr Ankit Shah and Dr Vinay Rohra. Remarkably, the girl was discharged within a week of the surgery. However, the mystery deepened post-surgery when the biopsy initially yielded inconclusive results. The sample was then sent to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru — a WHO-affiliated premier institute — where the tumour was finally identified as angiomyxofibromatous. "Given the unprecedented nature of this case—being the first reported instance of such a tumour in the brain of a child — we decided to formally document it," said Dr Modi. The case was reviewed by renowned neurosurgeons from Japan and South Korea, and was recently published in the Asian Journal of Neurosurgery. While angiomyxofibromatous tumours are typically benign, the exact behaviour of this tumour in the brain remains unknown. "We're closely monitoring her for any signs of recurrence," Dr Modi added. For now, the news is hopeful. The girl has resumed school and is once again playing with her friends. BOX Angiomyxofibromatous tumour: Angiomyxofibromatous tumours are soft tissue tumours that have, until now, been reported only in the genital region of adult females. Although typically benign, their behaviour within the brain remains unknown due to the rarity of such occurrences. Vadodara: In a medical breakthrough that may be the first of its kind globally, doctors at Vadodara's SSG Hospital and Baroda Medical College successfully removed an exceptionally rare tumour — angiomyxofibromatous — from the brain of a 12-year-old girl. What makes this case extraordinary is that such a tumour has never before been reported in the brain, and is so rare that it isn't even included in the current World Health Organization (WHO) classification of nervous system tumours. Worldwide, angiomyxofibromatous tumours are known to occur in the genital region of adult females, making this diagnosis in the posterior fossa (a small space at the back of the skull and houses some critical structures of the central nervous system) unprecedented. Dr Parth Modi, from the Department of Neurosurgery at SSG Hospital, said the girl presented last year with persistent headaches, dizziness and vomiting, but had no prior health issues. "Her physical examination didn't reveal any neurological deficits. However, MRI and CT scans showed a 5 cm tumour in the posterior fossa region," he explained. Given the tumour's critical location, the surgical team had to proceed with extreme caution. "This was a high-risk procedure due to the potential for bleeding," Dr Modi said. The surgery — sub-occipital craniotomy and tumour excision via the telovelar approach — was carried out by Dr Modi, Dr Amey Patankar, Dr Ankit Shah and Dr Vinay Rohra. Remarkably, the girl was discharged within a week of the surgery. However, the mystery deepened post-surgery when the biopsy initially yielded inconclusive results. The sample was then sent to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru — a WHO-affiliated premier institute — where the tumour was finally identified as angiomyxofibromatous. "Given the unprecedented nature of this case—being the first reported instance of such a tumour in the brain of a child — we decided to formally document it," said Dr Modi. The case was reviewed by renowned neurosurgeons from Japan and South Korea, and was recently published in the Asian Journal of Neurosurgery. While angiomyxofibromatous tumours are typically benign, the exact behaviour of this tumour in the brain remains unknown. "We're closely monitoring her for any signs of recurrence," Dr Modi added. For now, the news is hopeful. The girl has resumed school and is once again playing with her friends. BOX Angiomyxofibromatous tumour: Angiomyxofibromatous tumours are soft tissue tumours that have, until now, been reported only in the genital region of adult females. Although typically benign, their behaviour within the brain remains unknown due to the rarity of such occurrences.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CDC Staff Prohibited From Co-Authoring Papers With World Health Organization Personnel
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been prohibited from co-authoring publications with World Health Organization staff, dealing a blow to global research efforts and continuing the Trump administration's aggressive attack on government-funded science. 'CDC staff should not be co-authors on manuscripts/abstracts with WHO staff,' an interim guidance document dated Thursday and obtained by HuffPost says, adding that CDC staff should also not author publications related to work 'funded by WHO.' Depending on whether CDC staff are the lead authors of a given publication affected by the guidance, they are instructed to either pause all action on the publication or recuse themselves as authors if they cannot pause the publication process. The guidance also says that manuscripts that do not comply with Trump's executive orders and that were submitted prior to Jan. 20 — the date of Trump's inauguration, and when he moved to withdraw the United States from the WHO — should be withdrawn, or CDC staff should recuse themselves as authors. 'To not only stop all future work but also make people remove their names from papers already in production is full-on Orwellian,' one person familiar with the document told HuffPost. 'It's also not even just for work that WHO funds. If anyone in the list of 20 authors on a paper is WHO-affiliated, you have to get out.' The interim guidance document was shared with staff Thursday in the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, or NCIRD, and specifically its Influenza Division — but it was worded broadly, referring to CDC staff in general in its body text. It's not clear how many other CDC divisions received the memo. The influenza division is charged with detecting, preventing and controlling both seasonal and pandemic influenza, both in the United States and around the world. Its scientists study vaccines, detection and pandemic preparedness, and they sequence the genomes of thousands of viruses per year, according to the division's website. The memo follows a troubling pattern of attacks on science from the Trump administration. A meeting on Wednesday of a key independent FDA panel focused on this year's flu vaccines was recently abruptly canceled without explanation, for example, prompting frustration and panic. 'I am concerned as it will make it much more difficult for manufacturers to produce an updated influenza vaccine for the 2025-2026 flu season,' one member of the panel, Dr. Anna Durbin of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told HuffPost. 'It is not clear who made the decision to cancel the meeting or why the meeting was canceled.' The 2024-2025 flu season has been the worst in 15 years. The Thursday memo followed an earlier instruction that CDC staff should cut off all communication with the World Health Organization, which was reported by CBS News. The Associated Press similarly reported that CDC staff were to stop all work with WHO staff. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization, which is a specialized United Nations agency focused on studying, detecting and responding to infectious disease and other public health concerns. Among other things, Trump's executive order directed White House budget officials and the State Department to 'recall and reassign United States Government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO.' But it's not just the WHO — across the Trump administration, government scientists face mass layoffs, the erasure of years of data, and the cancellation of important publications and scientific meetings. Meanwhile, a dangerous bird flu outbreak is spreading among livestock and pets, and a measles outbreak is spreading across Texas. After a child died of measles in Texas Wednesday — the first U.S. death attributed to the viral infection in a decade — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. minimized and downplayed the news, telling reporters, 'We have measles outbreaks every year.' The health secretary, who is not a doctor, is 'full of shit,' Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) told HuffPost. Schrier is a pediatrician. Pediatrician In Congress Blames RFK Jr. For Child's Death From Measles RFK Jr. Dismisses Measles Outbreak As 'Not Unusual' After Child's Death FDA Cancels Meeting With Vaccine Experts, Raising Manufacturing Concerns 'Flu A' Is Surging Right Now. Here's What Alarms Doctors The Most.
