Howdy All

Today is my new day, I revisit blood transfusion department of UMMC to make blood donation. From the record, I found that it has been more than three years that I did not do the blood donation. It is important for me since it is good for my health. In fact, I’ve been asked to do as frequent as allowed (every 3 months) so that myself will always have a fresh blood.

From my previous experience, when I followed the schedule properly, I can gain weight actually. Maybe it is due to the fact that I have fresh blood.

After three years not going there, many things has changed. They are now using an electronic device to measure the amount of blood collected and the machine will stop automatically once it reach the needed amount. So they can easily attend many people but this morning seems not many people going there.

If you are free and qualify to be a donor, I encourage you to be a donor to help others. You can do it on Saturday also. Last time, there is a staff that always make an order for my drinks. Even I’ve ordered just a plain water she will ask her colleague to make cappuccino for me. Yes, you can ask for drinks like cappuccino or espresso after you have donated your blood and have some light foods.

This is a recently released news from Ministry of Health, Malaysia about the products approved by them. It is reported that there are two traditional products contain with Sibutramine and Ephedrine, a scheduled poison, which can only be supplied by pharmacy with doctor’s prescription. The two products named as “Bionex” and “Ju Purt Jen Chin Yen” (Cap Fuu Cheng). Please read the full news below taken from Utusan Online

Kementerian Kesihatan haramkan dua produk tradisional

04/03/2008 1:07pm

KUALA LUMPUR 4 Mac – Kementerian Kesihatan hari ini meminta orang ramai mengelak daripada membeli atau mengguna dua produk tradisional yang mengandungi Sibutramine dan Ephederine.

Pegawai Perhubungan Awam kementerian itu, Mohd. Sabri Abdullah berkata, produk itu ialah “Bionex” dan “Ju Purt Jen Chin Yen” (Cap Fuu Cheng) berikutan pengesanan racun berjadual yang terkandung di dalamnya.

“Pihak Berkuasa Kawalan Dadah (PBKD) di dalam mesyuaratnya yang ke-201 telah membatalkan pendaftaran kedua-dua produk ini kerana ia mengandungi racun berjadual yang boleh memberi risiko kepada kesihatan pengguna,” katanya dalam kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Mohd. Sabri berkata ubat yang mengandungi Sibutramine dan Ephederine hanya boleh di bekal oleh doktor atau diperoleh dari farmasi dengan preskripsi doktor kerana penggunaan tanpa pengawasan doktor tidak selamat.

Penggunaam ubat yang mengandungi Sibutramine tanpa pengawasan doktor boleh menyebabkan advers serius seperti tekanan darah dan kesan kardiovoskular yang lain.

- Bernama

Korang biasa minum air pati ikan haruan? Aku sekadar pernah, bukan biasa sebab bukan jadi minuman yang kerap diminum. Apa pun, aku mula mengenali air pati ikan haruan bila aku menjalani pembedahan kecil di bahagian tepi kening aku. Memandangkan orang tua-tua memang kata ikan haruan elok dimakan bila kita buat operation, so aku pun carik la pati ikan haruan, mudah, tinggal nak minum.

Masa tu aku cari di kedai ubat cina di Taman Universiti Indah, Seri Kembangan. Tokei kedai tu cadangkan supaya beli pati ikan haruan yang ada ditambah ginseng. Alasan utama pati ikan haruan sahaja agak hanyir, bila ada ginseng ni, bau hanyir hilang. So aku beli yang itu dan memang betul, tak meloyakan untuk diminum.

Cuma pada masa sekarang ni yang menjadi masalah ialah memastikan bahawa produk itu adalah halal untuk orang Islam mengambilnya memandangkan terdapat pelbagai masalah penipuan dan penyalahgunaan logo halal.

Masa mencari-cari apa yg sesuai untuk wife aku, aku pergi ke satu kedai ubat cina di Jalan Meru, Klang. Ada satu produk pati ikan haruan dengan ginseng, dikeluarkan sebuah syarikat Cina di Melaka dan ada logo halal. Aku pun cuba SMS barcode halal dia tapi result yang dapat ialah “Tiada Dalam Senarai”. Alamak! Akhirnya aku tawakal je beli buat masa tu. Kebetulan dia jual pada harga istimewa - harga sekotak RM36.00 tapi kali ni beli dengan harga RM36.00 dapat dua kotak! Macam “Buy One Free One”. Di tempat lain aku cuba tanya harga, dia jual sekotak RM28.00 sekotak. Kira mahal tu walau nampak lebih murah dpd harga ditulis kat kotak.

Akhirnya untuk kepastian, aku cek kat website JAKIM dan keputusannya produk tu memang disahkan Halal oleh JAKIM. Nak tgk result di JAKIM, gi http://www.halaljakim.gov.my/directory/halaldir_syk.php?type=A then taip perkataan besfomec kat ruang maklumat, tekan Enter. Nak tgk website company ni, gi ke http://www.besfomec.com dan ni aku letak gambar produk tu sekali untuk pengetahuan org lain.

Is this true? Well… I’m not from medical field but I think I should share anything that sounds important. If it is not true, please post your comment. This article is sent to me by one of my colleague.

SUBJECT : DRINKING COLD WATER AFTER MEAL

Drinking Cold water after meal = Cancer!

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.

It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold
water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will
slow down the digestion.

Once this “sludge” reacts with the acid, it will break down and be
absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the
intestine.

Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to
drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
 

A serious note about heart attacks

HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE (THIS IS NOT A JOKE!)

Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.  You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.

60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let’s be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life.
 
 
Read this…It could save your life!!

Let’s say it’s 6.15pm and you’re driving home. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest to your home.
 
Unfortunately you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE

Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.

However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, deep and
prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
 
Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives!!

PLEASE BE A “TRUE” FRIEND AND SEND THIS ARTICLE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS YOU CARE ABOUT.

What is Thalassemia?
Thalassemia (American English) (or thalassaemia in British English), also know as “Cooley’s anemia”, is an inherited disease of the red blood cells, classified as a hemoglobinopathy. The genetic defect results in synthesis of an abnormal hemoglobin molecule. The blood cells are vulnerable to mechanical injury and die easily. To survive, many people with thalassemia need blood transfusions at regular intervals.

The disease’s geographical association with the Mediterranean sea was responsible for its naming: Thalassa is Greek for the sea, Haima is Greek for blood. Thalassemia occurs in all populations and ethnic groups, however the prevalence differs among different populations.

The thalassemias are classified according to which chain of the globin molecule is affected: in α thalassemia, the production of α globin is deficient, while in β thalassemia the production of β globin is defective. Thalassemia produces a deficiency of α or β globin, unlike sickle-cell disease which produces a specific mutant form of β globin.

Alpha (α) thalassemias

The alpha thalassemias involve the genes HBA1 and HBA2, inherited in an autosomal co-dominant fashion. It is also connected to the deletion of the 16p chromosome. α thalassemias result in excess β chain production in adults and excess γ chains in newborns. The excess β chains form unstable tetramers that have abnormal oxygen dissociation curves.There are four genetic loci for α globin. The more of these loci that are deleted or affected by mutation, the more severe will be the manifestations of the disease:

• If all four loci are affected, the fetus cannot live once outside the uterus: most such infants are dead at birth with hydrops fetalis, and those who are born alive die shortly after birth. They are edematous and have little circulating hemoglobin, and the hemoglobin that is present is all tetrameric γ chains (hemoglobin Barts). Usually, this involves homozygous inheritance of an alpha thalassemia trait, type 1.
• If three loci are affected, Hemoglobin H disease results. Two unstable hemoglobins are present in the blood, both hemoglobin Barts (tetrameric γ chains) and hemoglobin H (tetrameric β chains). There is a microcytic hypochromic anemia with target cells and Heinz bodies (precipitated Hb H) on the peripheral blood smear. The disease may first be noticed in childhood or in early adult life, when the anemia and splenomegaly are noted. This is usually due to compound heterozygous inheritance of alpha thalassemia type 1 and type 2 traits.
• If two of the four α loci are affected, alpha thalassemia trait, type 1 results. Two α loci permit nearly normal erythropoiesis, though there is a mild microcytic hypochromic anemia. There is a high prevalence (about 30%) of deletion of one of the two α loci on chromosomes of people of recent African origin, and so the inheritance of two such chromosomes is not uncommon. The disease in this form can be mistaken for iron deficiency anemia and treated inappropriately with iron. Two modes of alpha thalassemia trait, type 1 has been noted. One involves cis deletion of two alpha loci on the same chromosome; another involves trans deletion of allelelic genes on homologous chromosomes (no. 16).
• If one of the four α loci is affected, alpha minor or alpha+ thalassemia trait or alpha thalassemia trait, type 2 results and there is minimal effect. Three α-globin loci are enough to permit normal hemoglobin production, and there is no anemia or hypochromia in these people. They have been called α thalassemia carriers.

Beta (β) thalassemias

Beta thalassemia is due to mutations in the HBB gene on chromosome 11 (OMIM 141900), also inherited in an autosomal co-dominant fashion. In β thalassemia, excess α chains are produced, but these do not form tetramers: rather, they bind to the red blood cell membranes producing membrane damage, and at high concentrations have the tendency to form toxic aggregates. The severity of the damage depends on the nature of the mutation. Some mutations (β^o) prevent any formation of β chains; others (β⁺) allow some β chain formation to occur. Recently, increasing reports suggest that upto 5% of patients with beta-thalassemias produce fetal hemoglobin (HbF), and use of hydroxyurea also has a tendency to increase the production of HbF, by as yet unexplained mechanisms.Any given individual has two β globin alleles:

• If both have thalassemia mutations, a severe microcytic, hypochromic anemia called β thalassemia major or Cooley’s anemia results. Untreated, this results in death before age twenty: treatment consists of periodic blood transfusion; splenectomy if splenomegaly is present, and treatment of transfusion-caused iron overload. Cure is possible by bone marrow transplantation.
• If only one β globin allele bears a mutation, β thalassemia minor results (sometimes referred to as β thalassemia trait). This is a mild anemia with microcytosis. Symptoms include weakness and fatigue - in most cases β thalassemia minor may be asymptomatic and many people may be unaware they have this disorder. Detection usually involves counting the mean corpuscular volume (size of red blood cells) and noticing a slightly decreased mean volume than normal.
• Thalassemia intermedia is a condition intermediate between the major and minor forms. Sufferers can often manage a normal life but may need occasional transfusions e.g. at times of illness or pregnancy. This really depends on the severity of their anemia.

The actual genetic cause of β thalassemias are actually very diverse and a number of different mutations can cause reduced or absent β globin synthesis. Usually, superscripts 0 and + are added to β to indicate complete absence, and deficient synthesis of β globins respectively.

Mainly there are two forms of genetic defects which produce β thalaseemias:

• Nondeletion forms: These defects generally involve a single base substitution or small deletion or inserts near or upstream of the β globin gene. Most commonly, mutations occur in the promotor regions preceding the beta-globin genes. Less often, abnormal splice variants are believed to contribute to the disease.
• Deletion forms: Deletions of different sizes involving the β globin gene produce different syndromes such as (β^o) or hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin syndromes.

Treatment and complications

Anyone with thalassemia should consult a properly qualified hematologist.

Thalassemias may co-exist with other deficiencies such as folic acid (or folate, a B-complex vitamin) and iron deficiency (only in Thalassemia Minor).

Thalassemia Major and Intermedia

Thalassemia Major patients receive frequent blood transfusions that lead to iron overload. Iron chelation treatment is necessary to prevent iron overload damage to the internal organs in patients with Thalassemia Major. Because of recent advances in iron chelation treatments, patients with Thalassemia Major can live long lives if they have access to proper treatment. Popular chelators include deferoxamine and deferiprone. Of the two, deferoxamine is preferred; it is associated with fewer side-effects.

The most common complaint by patients is that it is difficult to comply with the intravenous chelation treatments because they are painful and inconvenient. The oral chelator deferasirox (marketed as Exjade) was recently approved for use in some countries and may offer some hope with compliance.

Untreated thalassemia Major eventually leads to death usually by heart failure, therefore birth screening is very important.

In recent years, bone marrow transplant has shown promise with some patients of thalassemia major. Successful transplant can eliminate the patients dependencies in transfusions.

All Thalassemia patients are prone to health complications that involve the spleen (which is often enlarged and frequently removed) and gall stones. These complications are mostly prevalent to thalassemia Major and Intermedia patients.

Thalassemia Intermedia patients vary a lot in their treatment needs depending on the severity of their anemia.

Thalassemia Minor

Contrary to popular belief, Thalassemia Minor patients should not avoid iron-rich foods by default. A serum ferritin test can determine what their iron levels are and guide them to further treatment if necessary. Thalassemia Minor, although not life threatening on its own, can affect quality of life due to the effects of a mild to moderate anemia. Studies have shown that thalassemia Minor often coexists with other diseases such as asthma, and even bipolar disorder.

Thalassemia prevention and management

α and β thalassemia are often inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion although this is not always the case. Reports of dominantly inherited α and β thalassemias have been reported the first of which was in an Irish family who had a two deletions of 4 and 11 bp in exon 3 interrupted by an insertion of 5 bp in the β-globin gene. For the autosomal recessive forms of the disease both parents must be carriers in order for a child to be affected. If both parents carry a hemoglobinopathy trait, there is a 25% chance with each pregnancy for an affected child. Genetic counseling and genetic testing is recommended for families that carry a thalassemia trait.

There are an estimated 60-80 million people in the world who carry the beta thalassemia trait alone. This is a very rough estimate and the actual number of thalassemia Major patients is unknown due to the prevalence of thalassemia in less developed countries in the Middle East and Asia. Countries such as India, Pakistan and Iran are seeing a large increase of thalassemia patients due to lack of genetic counseling and screening. There is growing concern that thalassemia may become a very serious problem in the next 50 years, one that will burden the world’s blood bank supplies and the health system in general. There are an estimated 1,000 people living with Thalassemia Major in the United States and an unknown number of carriers. Because of the rarity of the disease in countries with little knowledge of thalassemia, access to proper treatment and diagnosis can be difficult.

As with other genetically acquired disorders, aggressive birth screening and genetic counseling is recommended for prevention of a world crisis.

A screening policy exists on both sides of the island of Cyprus to reduce the incidence of thalassemia, which since the program’s implementation in the 1970s (which also includes pre-natal screening and abortion) has reduced the number of children born with the hereditary blood disease from 1 out of every 158 births to almost zero.