A top official of the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday warned that more young people are dying of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Eastern Mediterranean region than in any other region across the world.
Dr. Ala Alwan, chief of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, said: "Up to 50 percent of those who die from NCDs, die below the age of 60 in some countries of this region, compared to less than 10 percent in the Europe."
Referring to the prevalence of NCDs in 23 countries of the region including Saudi Arabia, Alwan said that NCDs account for over 50 percent of annual deaths and 60 percent of the disease burden in the region. The WHO regional chief spoke to Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Alwan, who is participating in the international conference on healthy lifestyles and NCDs, will chair the concluding session with Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah today to release the Riyadh Declaration on NCDs. Read More
An international conference on healthy life style and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) recommended a ban on shisha cafes in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.
The concluding session of the conference, chaired by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, was of the view that shisha was the worst form of intoxication and youngsters were using it more and more at cafes and restaurants.
Al-Rabeeah read out the Riyadh declaration containing 10 recommendations to combat NCDs on a regional level and called for a "ban all shisha cafes."
He said all shisha cafes currently in residential areas, including those near schools or health facilities, should be moved out.
At the concluding session the declaration was adopted to combat these mostly lifestyle and diet-related illnesses. It stressed the need to increase taxes on a range of items with negative health effects, especially tobacco products. Read More
UK researchers say they have taken a huge step forward in treating deafness after stem cells were used to restore hearing in animals for the first time.
Hearing partially improved when nerves in the ear, which pass sounds into the brain, were rebuilt in gerbils - a UK study in the journal Nature reports.
Getting the same improvement in people would be a shift from being unable to hear traffic to hearing a conversation.
However, treating humans is still a distant prospect.
If you want to listen to the radio or have a chat with a friend your ear has to convert sound waves in the air into electrical signals which the brain will understand. Read More
Saudi conjoined twins Reem and Rana were successfully separated at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs in the Saudi capital, yesterday.
The 13-hour surgery was carried out by a multidisciplinary team headed by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. The surgical team comprised 28 members covering anesthesia, pediatric, urology, orthopedics, plastic surgery and nursing.
Health Minister Al-Rabeeah, along with other surgeons, ferried the twins from general ward to the operation theater at 7:45 a.m. The twins were successfully anesthetized at 9:15 a.m. and surgery started at 10:15 a.m.
At 3:15 pm., the twins were successfully separated and placed on different tables. Then the surgeons started closing the wounds.
The surgery was carried out in 11 phases. Read More
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has congratulated the medical team that successfully separated conjoined twins Rana and Reem.
"You have carried out a good deed in the service of humanity and so you deserve our profound gratitude," the king said in a message sent to Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah who led the medical team that operated on the twins.
In a press conference following the operation at the National Guard's King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh, Dr. Al-Rabeeah thanked the king and Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Salman, minister of defense, and to the Saudi people for their appreciation of the achievement. Read MoreIn a two-year study, the Aubagio reduced yearly relapses by nearly a third compared to placebo. It also slowed the progression of the disease.
The FDA has approved Aubagio (teriflunomide), a new drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The once-a-day tablet will be prescribed to adults with relapsing forms of the chronic, incurable disease.
"We are greatly encouraged to see a new oral therapeutic option become available to people living with MS," said Timothy Coetzee, PhD, chief research officer at the National MS Society, in a news release issued by the drug's developer, Genzyme.
MS is the most common disabling neurological disease among young adults, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. About 400,000 people in the U.S. have MS. As many as two-thirds of them are women. The disease is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. Read MoreNew Hospital Projects to Boost Health Services in Jazan
JEDDAH: New hospital projects with a total of 3,500 beds would improve health care services in the Jazan province, said Dr. Hamad Al-Aksham, health director for the province. At present there were a total of 1,500 hospital beds in Jazan, he added.
"A specialist hospital has been completed, which would provide a number of therapeutic services to treat cardiovascular diseases, genetic problems and complicated surgeries. Another Specialist center would be opened soon for the treatment of tumors, cancers and heart surgery. A women and maternity hospital would also be opened so that the region could handle all health situations," he said.
He added that the health department of Jazan was facing a lack of sufficient infrastructure facilities which was hindering the completion of some projects. He pointed out that cardiac problems and genetic diseases were the most recently referred cases outside the region.
Referring to the development of primary health care, he said that 105 of 161 existing clinics had been modified in accordance with the standards of modern health services. Read More
