mental illnesses their causes and stigma part 1

Mental illness is considered an incurable curse. People fear and reject people with mental illness. They often resort to witchcraft,traditional healers and religious exorcism to remove the curses or supernatural forces behind the illness.
People’s beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness set the stage for how they interact with, provide opportunities for, and help support a person with mental illness. Attitudes and beliefs about mental illness are shaped by personal knowledge, knowing and interacting with someone living with mental illness, cultural stereotypes, and other factors.
When people understand the causes of mental illness,stigma and other related discriminating belief can be reduced.
These are common questions raised by people with co-occurring disorders and their family members.
What causes mental illnesses (psychiatric disorders)?
Why do some people develop a psychiatric disorder but others don't?
What affects the course of the disorder?
The stress-vulnerability model provides answers to these questions. This model can help in understanding the causes of psychiatric disorders, how psychiatric disorders and addiction can influence each other, and how co-occurring disorders can be managed and treated together.
In this model, two main factors are involved. "Vulnerability" refers to our basic susceptibility to mental health disorders. This is determined by our genetic makeup and our early life experiences. It is affected by our use of medications and our likelihood of using alcohol or drugs. "Stress" refers to the challenges faced in our lives. It is affected by our coping skills, social support, and involvement in meaningful activities.
We are all predisposed to mental illnesses,no one is spared. It depend on the interaction of the following factors
Biological Vulnerability
To be vulnerable it means that we are likely to be affected. Mental illnesses like other diseases like asthma run in families and make us vulnerable. Not only family history but also early life events like trauma,adverse life events sets us up for it.
Some people are biologically vulnerable to certain psychiatric disorders: bipolar disorder, major depression(sonona in kiswahili), schizophrenia, or anxiety disorders (panic, post-traumatic stress), for example. This vulnerability is determined early in life by a combination of factors, including genetics(disease run in families-inherited), prenatal nutrition,infections(influenza) and stress, birth complications, and early experiences in childhood (such as abuse or the loss of a parent).
This is why some families are more likely to have members with a particular psychiatric disorder.Although vulnerability to psychiatric disorders is primarily biological in nature, people can take steps to reduce their vulnerability, including taking medication and not using alcohol or drugs. It's also worth noting that the greater a person's vulnerability to a particular disorder, the earlier it is likely to develop, and the more severe it may become.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!! FOR MUHAS STUDENTS

The android application which goes by the name SERENGETI is now ready. Serengeti make your life easier then before by providing you with news feeds from different sources especially information as soon as they are posted from university community webs,blog,fb pages like MUHAS websites,MUHASSO facebook page, MUHASSO blog and more other websites,you don't need to search the information but the information will search you.
The application contain the followings

1. INFORMATIONS

• MUHASSO facebook page
• MUHAS websites
• Jamii forums 

   2 .BLOGS

• MUHASSO blog
• Michuzi blog
• Missiepopular
• medstuinfo

   3 .ENTERTAINMENT

• IMDb for movies
• Bongo5
• Bongocinemas

   4 .YOUTUBE

• MkasiEATV
• WemasepetuOfficial

   5 . SPORTS

• Goal.com
• Livescores

These are just webs n blogs to start with,the app will be modified and updated with time depending on the needs of pepole.This version is special for MUHAS students.
SPECS:

• 3.7MB
• HD DISPLAY
• SETTING MENU
• 2 DIFFERENT THEMES
• POWER 9CHARGE)FRIENDLY

SCREEN SHOTS.

DOWNLOAD SERENGETI HERE

PONA KWA IMANI YAKO ILA USIDANGANYIKE

PONA KWA IMANI YAKO ILA USIDANGANYIKE
Joseph Julius(MD, MUHAS)

“Ona!imani yako imekuponya”,ndivyo yesu alivyomwambia kipofu mmoja huko yeriko baada ya kupona upofu. Hapa alikua sawa kabisa,imani inaponya kweli. Kinachonisikitisha na kunisumbua mimi kama mwanafunzi wa tiba ya kisayansi na ya kisasa ya wanadamu ni jinsi gani uwezo huu wa imani kuponya ulivyovamiwa na waganga wa jadi pamoja na viongozi wa dini,ambao sintosita kuwaita matapeli.

Ndio maana Kwenye mashahiri ya chekacheka T.mvungi hakusita kuuburuza wino karatasini kwamba:
                      
                         Kimbilio la wanyonge,limejigeuza chatu,
                         Chatu mmeza matonge,asieogopa watu,
                         Dawa uchonge singe,chatu afanywe si kitu,
                         Akishaoza samaki,busara ni kumtupa.

Naam,na tuzichonge singe zetu basi,kwangu mimi singe ni elimu,tufahamu nini maana ya kupona kwa imani ili kuepusha kutapeliwa basi huko mbele na labda kuokoa maisha ambayo huenda yangeokolewa kwa njia nyingine ila sio lazima iwe hii ya imani.

Kwanza kabisa tutambue kuwa miili ya wanyama ina mbinu asilia za kuepukana na kujitibu magonjwa,hii nitaiita kinga asilia dhidi ya magonjwa. Tunatapika tukila vitu vibaya ili kusafisha mfumo wa chakula wa juu,tunaharisha kusafisha mfumo wa chakula wa chini,jotoridi letu la mwili likipanda(homa) ,miili yetu inapambana vizuri zaidi na maambukizi. Mbinu zote hizo pia zinaweza kumgharimu mnyama hata maisha yake pia. Sote tunajua athari za kuhara au kutapika kupita kiasi au kwa muda mrefu. Kwa hiyo sasa, miili ya wanyama ipo makini sana katika kuruhusu mbinu hizo zifanye kazi.

Wengi tunafaham pia kuwa kama tukipata tetekuwanga mara moja maishani basi hatutopata tena na pia hata malaria inapunguza kutusumbua kadiri tunavyozidi kuwa wakubwa ukilinganisha na utotoni.
Hapa kinachotokea ni kwamba: vimelea vya maambukizi vikishaingia kwenye miili yetu,miili yetu inavitambua na kutengeneza vitu mfano wa askari ambao watapambana navyo kama vitakuja kuvamia tena.

Kama vimelea hivyo vitarudi na sura ileile basi vitatambuliwa na kuchukuliwa hatua za haraka na hatutapata ule ugonjwa. Vimelea navyo vijanja lakini,huwa vinarudi vimebadilisha sura kitu ambacho kinaulazimu mwili kutengeneza askari wengine watakaoweza kuvitambua tena. Kwa hiyo usipende kwenda maabara kupima malaria ukaambiwa “una ringi mbili za malaria” nawe ukaenda kubugia dawa,ni kawaida kuwa na hivyo vimelea kwenye damu kama unaishi haya maeneo yenye maambukizi mazito,lakini haimaanishi unaumwa;sanasana utapelekea mwili wako kuwa sugu kwa dawa hizo na siku ukiumwa kweli ikawa shida kukutibu.

Nilichokieleza hapo juu ndio sababu za magonjwa hasa ya watoto huwa yanapona bila hata kuwafikisha hospitali japo jamii inaamua kuweka imani zake,kwa mfano wanasema watoto huwa wanalilia majina ya mababu/mabibi/mizimu na ukiwabadilishia wanaacha kulia. Wanaongeza kuwa ukikosea jina wataendelea kulia tu na inabidi ubadilishe ili uone,wanaongeza tena kuwa kama mtakosea jina basi kitoto kitalia mpaka kufa. Hapo wamekosea; kipindi kitoto kikiacha kulia basi kinga asilia imefanya kazi na kama ndio walikua wamebadilisha jina basi matukio mawili yameenda pamoja ila moja(la jina) halina matokeo,na kama itashindwa basi kitoto kitahangaika mpaka kufa na watatafasili kimekataa jina.

Turudi basi kwenye imani kuponya; ili kukufungua macho acha nikuelezee kuhusu “placebo effect” kwanza; kwenye kamusi yangu ya TUKI(eng-swah) neno placebo limetafsiriwa kama kipozauongo:dawa ya kutuliza/kupoza,ila kama tutakavyokuja kuona hapo baadae hii sio dawa.
Wataalam wa tiba wakiwa wanataka kujua kama dawa au mbinu Fulani ya tiba inatibu kweli huwa wanatumia kipoza uongo kwa upande mmoja na dawa au mbinu inayochunguzwa kwa upande mwingine,kipozauongo hicho hufanana sana na ile dawa ila tu inaondolewa kiambato muhimu ambacho ndicho kinasemekana kuponya.

Mfano tunataka kuchunguza kama dawa fulani iliyotengenezwa kwa ajili ya kutibu malaria kama kweli inatibu malaria,tutachukua wagonjwa waliothibitishwa kuwa na malaria na tutawagawa katika makundi mawili bila wao kujua,tuseme wapo elfu moja kila kundi. Alafu tutachukua ile dawa inayosemekana inatibu malaria kutokana na kuwa na kiambata Fulani kiitwacho X labda,alafu tutatengeneza kidonge kingine kama hiyo dawa na tutaiondolea kiambata X ila itafanana kabisa na ile dawa ya kweli kwa vitu vingine vyote(hii ndio kipozauongo)

Baada ya hapo tutaligawia kundi moja la wagonjwa dawa inayojaribiwa na jingine kipozauongo katika kipimo na masharti sawa. Baadae tutakuja kuchunguza idadi ya wagonjwa waliopona kutoka katika kila kundi. Kila kundi litakua na wagonjwa waliopona na ambao hawajapona. Ili dawa/mbinu ile inayojaribiwa ionekane kuwa ni kweli inaponya,namba ya waliopona lazima ivuke kiwango flani cha kitwakwimu,kwa mfano wale waliopewa dawa wanaweza kupona kwa 99.9% na lile kundi lililopewa kipozauongo wakapona 1%.
Je hawa waliopona bila kupewa dawa wameponaje?imani yao imewaponya,kuna uhusiano kati ya saikolojia na fiziolojia ya mwili.
Wenzangu na mimi wanaosoma/wanaofanya tiba watakubaliana na mimi kuwa kuna umuhimu wa kutengeneza ukaribu kati yako na mgonjwa,kuwa sehemu ya kinachomsumbua,jinsi ya kujionesha mbele yake,na mengine. (Angalia hapa pia)

Nakumbuka tukiwa wodi ya wazazi,ukiwasogelea wajawazito walio karibu kujifungua ukawa unawapa moyo kwa kuwashika mkono na kuwaaminisha kuwa haitakuwa shida wanaonekana kupunguza kuhangaika na wanatulia kama maumivu yamepungua.

Baba wa udaktari Hippocrates aliwahi kusema ”watu wanadhani kifafa kimeshushwa toka mbinguni,kwa sababu tu hawakielewi. Ila kama wangeita kila kitu wasichokielewa kuwa kimeshushwa,basi vitu vilivyoshushwa visingekuwa na mwisho”. Kupona kwa imani kunatokea kwa uwezekano mdogo sana ukilinganisha na tiba zilizowahi kufanyiwa utafiti kisayansi na zinazotolewa na watu waliotumia miaka mitano au zaidi wakijifunza sababu za magonjwa,jinsi magonjwa yanavyoathiri mifumo wa mwili,vipimo vya kuhakiki na hatimaye tiba,kuzuia na ushauri.

Inasemekana miaka mia hamsini iliyopita bikira la Maria alimtokea mtakatifu Bernadete Soubirous huko Lourdes,Ufaransa mara kumi na tatu na tangu hapo watu huenda kuhiji huko. Tovuti ya www.catholicnews .com imendika kwamba zaidi ya watu milioni sita huenda kuhiji huko kila mwaka wakiomba kuponywa na msamaha. Ila watu sitini na saba tu ndio waliorekodiwa kuwahi kupona kati ya hayo mamilioni,hii ni kipozauongo. Yale tunayoyaona kwenye runinga kuwa makundi makubwa ya watu yanapona palepale baada ya kuombewa,tena magonjwa makubwa kabisa kama saratani na UKIMWI ni ghilba tu ya kutaka kuvuta wateja wengi zaidi. Nakumbuka kichekesho cha mtu aliekuwa kipofu toka amezaliwa ila baada ya kuombewa na kuona aliweza kuzitambua rangi za simba na yanga.

Ni vyema basi tukipata magonjwa kuanzia kwanza kwenye tiba hii ya kisasa,tiba ya kisayansi,tiba ya magharibi kama inapatikana kabla ya kwenda huko kwingine kwa sababu kama tulivyoona kuna uwezekano mdogo sana wa kipozauongo kukuponya(japo inawezekana). Waganga wa kienyeji wao hutoa hata dawa za kunywa ambazo hazijafanyiwa utafiti na hivyo madhara yake hawayajui,hizi huweza kusababisha matatizo ya figo. Ila nisiwaonee waganga wa kienyeji tu,siku hizi hata viongozi wa dini nao wanatoa vitu vya kumeza kama dawa walizooneshwa na mungu wao,nikitaja neno Roliondo sihitaji kuelezea zaidi kilichotokea. Umaskini wetu unafanya iwe ngumu kuipata tiba hii ya kisasa ila hilo halimaanishi siyo ya kweli.kwa mfano kuna magonjwa ambayo ili wapate tiba yake ni lazima upigwe picha ya MRI labda,hizi zipo chache na wengi wetu hatuwezi kulipia ndio maana lazima tupiganie kupata maendeleo ili tuishi maisha yenye ubora.

0766817574
Josejulius1990@gmail.com

NOTICIFICATION!!

This blog is under modification........unusual activities can happen!We are trying to make this as faster as we can!!

NGONO,DUNIA YA LEO NA JAMII

NGONO,DUNIA YA LEO NA JAMII

Joseph Julius MD(MUHAS)

Habarini za leo ndugu wasomaji! Kwanza nitangulize heshima zangu za dhati kwa ndugu Paschal Ndaro kwa ubunifu alio nao wa kutumia maendeleo ya teknohama kusababisha sisi kuweza kuelimishana, kubadilishana ufahamu na kuburudishana kama ilivyo hapa.

Pia niongeze kuwa kama mtu ana chochote cha kuchangia basi ni vyema tukachangia hapa hapa kwenye blogi ili kuwapanua zaidi wanaosoma. Binafsi napenda kuandika kwa lugha yetu mama ili kuwafikia wengi na pia nina wazo la kuongeza misamiati kwenye lugha yetu hii,ila kama mahitaji ya utafsiri yatajitokeza basi sintokuwa na budi kufanya hivyo.

Leo nitagusia swala nyeti sana kwenye maadili ya mwanadam; nitachambua swala la ngono katika uhusiano na maendeleo ya dunia ya leo na jamii yetu. Kabla ya yote na tutambue tofauti yetu sisi wanadam na wanyama wengine(sisi nao ni wanyama pia). Vinasaba vya binadam vinafana na vile vya sokwe kwa zaidi ya 98% na vile vya mmea wa nyanya kwa 60%,pia vipande vidogo kabisa(atomu) vinavyotuunda vinapatikana kwenye mawe,mchanga,maji na hata nyota. Kinachotutofautisha na mengine hayo yote ni tamaduni,zinazotokana na ubongo wetu kuwa mkubwa ukilinganisha na viumbe wengine.

Kila tamaduni huwa zinaweka sheria zake kuhusu swala la ngono ambazo huwa zinahusishwa na ndoa kwa upande mmoja na makatazo au ruhusa katika vipindi mbalimbali kwa upande mwingine. Binafsi nimekuzwa katika familia ya kikristu na nilifundishwa kufuata maelekezo kutoka kwenye kitabu cha biblia kwenye mambo mengi ninayofanya,hasa maadili,ninaamini pia hata wewe huwa unatumia/umewahi kutumia mafundisho ya dini yako kukuongoza katika maadili.

Kutoka 20:14 imeandika “usizini”,20:17 ikakataza hata usimtamani mke wa jirani yako,wakati katika Mathayo 5:28 Yesu anasema “lakini mimi nawaambieni,atakaemtazama mwanamke kwa kumtamani,amekwishazini naye moyoni mwake”.Kanisa katoliki likaenda mbali mpaka kuwachagulia watu jinsi ya kufanya tendo hili kwa kuweka ‘staili ya kimisionari’ ambayo ndio inakubalika. Hii sio makala ya kidini ila najaribu kuonesha vyanzo vyetu vya kujifunzia vilivyolipa uzito swala hili. Niliwahi kujifunza pia kuwa vitabu vyetu vya dini vimeandikwa katika lugha ya picha na pia viliandikwa wakati tofauti na sasa,kwa hiyo tunaweza kusoma kitu ila tukakitafsiri vingine kutokana na muda tunaoishi(mfano swala la kumiliki watumwa,wachungaji wa kike,dunia kuzunguka jua na sio kama ilivyoandikwa,n.k).

Ngono inachukua picha gani kwenye jamii katika dunia ya leo? Sio miaka mingi iliyopita ilikua ni kukosa maadili kama utaliongelea swala la ngono(hata sasa miongoni mwetu) mbele ya watu,lilionekana ni jambo nyeti linalohitaji usiri(nikiwa mdogo nilikua nikiona ng’ombe wetu wanapanda niliambiwa wanacheza). Huko Marekani pia hali ilikua hivyo mpaka miaka ya 1940 na 1950 ambapo Alfred C.Kinsey alipofanya utafiti wa kisayansi kuhusu ngono na vitendo vinavyohusiana na ngono kwa wanadam. Kwa mara ya kwanza wamarekani walijifunza kua: zaidi ya 90% ya vijana wao wamewahi kupiga punyeto,10% walikua ni mashoga, wasichana nao huwa wanafika kileleni,na pia wasagaji wana ufanisi mkubwa wa kuwafikisha kileleni wasichana zaidi ya wavulana wanavyoweza. Kinsley alilaumiwa sana kwa kukosa maadili lakini utafiti wake ulisaidia watu kujitambua zaidi na kuboresha maisha yao ya mapenzi.

Hatutakiwi kabisa kulionea aibu swala la ngono. Utafiti uliofanywa hivi karibuni na idara ya magonjwa ya akili katika chuo kikuu cha afya na sayansi shirikishi (MUHAS) ulionesha kua 10% ya watoto kati ya umri wa miaka 12 hadi 14 wamewahi kufanya ngono,na miongoni mwao 68% hawakutumia mpira. Tukinyamaza,hawa watoto watapata madhara kwa kua hawajui nini kipo mbele yao.

Tukisikia kuwaka tamaa za ngono wala tusisikitike maana sayansi inatueleza kua sababu zake ni nzuri tu,sawa na zile sababu za kusikia njaa au kiu au maumivu. Asilia inatutengeneza kuhakikisha tunapeleka nakala ya vinasaba vyetu kwenye vizazi vijavyo kupitia kuzaliana,na tutafanya hivyo tukiwa tumekwishapevuka;na tukishapevuka asilia haina tena kazi na sisi na inatuacha tuzeeke mpaka tufe,yenyewe haijali. Tumetengenezwa na kemikali(homoni) ambazo zikitoka sisi sio wa kuamua tena ila ni kutamani tu,kemikali hizi zipo kwa wingi kwa wanaume zaidi ya wanawake na ndio maana wanaume wanatamani zaidi. Tofauti yetu wanadam na wanyama wengine ni kua sio lazima tufuate asilia inachotaka,ndio maana kuna maseja na sio kila tukijisikia kutamani tunafanya,tuna mipango.

Ule wakati wa kuwaona watu wanaofanya ngono kama wanakosea sana mi naona umepita,lakini pia ngono isitumike kama chanzo cha ukandamizaji na uonevu au kutaka kujipatia vitu kama mrejesho,heshima iwepo. Ule wakati wa watu kusubiri mpaka ndoa nao umepita maana kitendo ni kilekile. Ule wakati wa kuoneana aibu kuzungumzia maswala ya muhimu kama ngono kwenye jamii zetu nao umepita kwa maana leo kuna magonjwa ya zinaa na kupanga uzazi,lazima tuyaelewe. Na tuache kuweka matabaka ya kimaadili kwa kuwaona watu wengine wasafi na kuwasema wengine hawajatulia kisa tu wanashiriki tendo kabla hawajaoana,swala hili ni binafsi (labda hao wasafi wanaridhika na punyeto,ambayo sio mbaya japo watu hawapendi kujulikana kua huwa wanafanya),na mwisho watu wawili waliokubaliana mambo yao sisi inatuhusu nini na hawatuumizi lolote?sisi ni mapolisi wa maadili?tupanue wigo wa kuyaangalia maadili kwa kuelewa vitu kwa undani wake.

Burning Incense Is Psychoactive: New Class Of Antidepressants Might Be Right Under Our Noses

Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses.

"In spite of information stemming from ancient texts, constituents of Bosweilla had not been investigated for psychoactivity," said Raphael Mechoulam, one of the research study's co-authors. "We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning."
To determine incense's psychoactive effects, the    researchers administered incensole acetate to mice. 

They found that the compound significantly affected areas in brain areas known to be involved in emotions as well as in nerve circuits that are affected by current anxiety and depression drugs. Specifically, incensole acetate activated a protein called TRPV3, which is present in mammalian brains and also known to play a role in the perception of warmth of the skin. When mice bred without this protein were exposed to incensole acetate, the compound had no effect on their brains.
"Perhaps Marx wasn't too wrong when he called religion the opium of the people: morphine comes from poppies, cannabinoids from marijuana, and LSD from mushrooms; each of these has been used in one or another religious ceremony." said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Studies of how those psychoactive drugs work have helped us understand modern neurobiology. The discovery of how incensole acetate, purified from frankincense, works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion--burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!"
According to the National Institutes of Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15--44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults. A less severe form of depression, dysthymic disorder, affects approximately 3.3 million American adults. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million American adults, and frequently co-occur with depressive disorders.

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Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Incensole acetate, an incense component, elicits psychoactivity by activating TRPV3 channels in the brain. Arieh Moussaieff, Neta Rimmerman, Tatiana Bregman, Alex Straiker, Christian C. Felder, Shai Shoham, Yoel Kashman, Susan M. Huang, Hyosang Lee, Esther Shohami, Ken Mackie, Michael J. Caterina, J. Michael Walker, Ester Fride, and Raphael Mechoulam. Published online before print May 20, 2008 as doi: 10.1096/fj.07-101865. [link]

Scientists discover how to 'switch off' autoimmune diseases

Scientists have made an important breakthrough in the fight against debilitating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis by revealing how to stop cells attacking healthy body tissue.

Date:

September 3, 2014

Source:

University of Bristol

Summary:

Scientists have made an important breakthrough in the fight against debilitating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis by revealing how to stop cells attacking healthy body tissue. Rather than the body's immune system destroying its own tissue by mistake, researchers have discovered how cells convert from being aggressive to actually protecting against disease.

Rather than the body's immune system destroying its own tissue by mistake, researchers at the University of Bristol have discovered how cells convert from being aggressive to actually protecting against disease.
The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published in Nature Communications.

It's hoped this latest insight will lead to the widespread use of antigen-specific immunotherapy as a treatment for many autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS), type 1 diabetes, Graves' disease and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
MS alone affects around 100,000 people in the UK and 2.5 million people worldwide.

Scientists were able to selectively target the cells that cause autoimmune disease by dampening down their aggression against the body's own tissues while converting them into cells capable of protecting against disease.
This type of conversion has been previously applied to allergies, known as 'allergic desensitisation', but its application to autoimmune diseases has only been appreciated recently.

The Bristol group has now revealed how the administration of fragments of the proteins that are normally the target for attack leads to correction of the autoimmune response.

Most importantly, their work reveals that effective treatment is achieved by gradually increasing the dose of antigenic fragment injected.
In order to figure out how this type of immunotherapy works, the scientists delved inside the immune cells themselves to see which genes and proteins were turned on or off by the treatment.

They found changes in gene expression that help explain how effective treatment leads to conversion of aggressor into protector cells. The outcome is to reinstate self-tolerance whereby an individual's immune system ignores its own tissues while remaining fully armed to protect against infection.
By specifically targeting the cells at fault, this immunotherapeutic approach avoids the need for the immune suppressive drugs associated with unacceptable side effects such as infections, development of tumours and disruption of natural regulatory mechanisms.

Professor David Wraith, who led the research, said: "Insight into the molecular basis of antigen-specific immunotherapy opens up exciting new opportunities to enhance the selectivity of the approach while providing valuable markers with which to measure effective treatment. These findings have important implications for the many patients suffering from autoimmune conditions that are currently difficult to treat."
This treatment approach, which could improve the lives of millions of people worldwide, is currently undergoing clinical development through biotechnology company Apitope, a spin-out from the University of Bristol.

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Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Bristol. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. 
Also sciencedaily.com

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Journal Reference:

1. Bronwen R. Burton, Graham J. Britton, Hai Fang, Johan Verhagen, Ben Smithers, Catherine A. Sabatos-Peyton, Laura J. Carney, Julian Gough, Stephan Strobel, David C. Wraith. Sequential transcriptional changes dictate safe and effective antigen-specific immunotherapy. Nature Communications, 2014; 5: 4741 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5741

Can Medical Marijuana reduce Opioid Overdose Mortality?

Can Medical Marijuana reduce Opioid Overdose Mortality?

  
 Reginald R Gervas, MD4.(MUHAS)

About one in every three individuals will experience chronic pain in their lifetime, and opioids are known to be an effective means to treat this condition.

The world (especially the developed countries) is faced with an increased bout in drug abuse and overdose deaths involving prescription opioid pain relievers such as morphine.
In USA, unintentional death from drug overdose have been increasing steeply from 1990s and they are the second leading cause of accidental deaths. The increase in death is caused by increase in opioids in managing chronic pain.

Due to urgency of this matter, there should be an alternative way in managing chronic pain rather than using opioids. Medical marijuana is one of good remedy in managing chronic pain. In states that have legalised medical marijuana, opioid overdose mortality has fallen impressively.

A study done by In an effort to examine the correlation between the presence of state medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality, Marcus A. Bachhuber, MD et al performed a time-series analysis of medical cannabis laws and state-level death certificate data from 1999 to 2010 in all 50 states.

From the analysis, it has been shown that compared with states without medical cannabis laws, states with laws had a 24.8% lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate (P=0.003). In each year after implementation, these laws correlated with a lower rate of overdose mortality that generally strengthened over time (Table 1).

Years after medical cannabis law implementation	Change in overdose mortality
Year 1	-19.9%
Year 2	-25.2%
Year 3	−23.6%
Year 4	-20.2%
Year 5	−33.7%
Year 6	-33.3%

“Medical cannabis laws are associated with significantly lower state-level opioid overdose mortality rates. Further investigation is required to determine how medical cannabis laws may interact with policies aimed at preventing opioid analgesic overdose.” Wrote the researchers.

1. Schneider JP, Matthews M, Jamison RN (24 Oct 2010). "Abuse-deterrent and tamper-resistant opioid formulations: what is their role in addressing prescription opioid abuse?". CNS Drugs 10 (80): 805–810 
2.  Okie S (November 2010). "A flood of opioids, a rising tide of deaths". N. Engl. J. Med. 363 (21): 1981–5. 
3.  Bachhuber M (august 2014). “Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010”. JAMA Intern Med

USAFIRI SIO ISHU

Natumaini umeshasikia majina kama usafiri,nyuma,kujazia,mnye,mkia na mengine mengi yakisifia makalio kwa wanawake.

Binafsi nimezoea kuona kua wanawake wana makalio makubwa zaidi ya wanaume na nimekua nikiamini ndio kawaida,hata tukiona mwanaume ana makalio makubwa huwa kama tunashangaa na kwake huwa ni kero, utafiti uliofanyika hivi karibuni huko ujerumani na Preininger B. et al katika pepa yao "The sex specificity of hip-joint muscles offers an explanation for better results in men after total hip arthroplasty" unaonesha kua wanaume ndio wana "ujazo mkubwa wa misuli ya makalio" kuliko wanawake.

Hii inaendana kabisa na ukweli kuwa wanaume huwa wana misuli mikubwa kuliko wanawake.

Je, kile tunachokiona kwa wanawake ni nini sasa? Hayo ni mafuta.

Katika kitabu kinachoitwa Text book of medical physiology kilichoandikwa na Arthur C.Guyton kinaeleza kuwa kuongezeka kwa kiasi cha mafuta mwilini kunapunguza usisimuliwaji wa seli na sukari kwenye damu,swala ambalo linapelekea kisukari,

sio tu hivyo,mafuta mengi mwilini huusishwa na magonjwa kama shinikizo la dam na saratani.Kuna haja ya kubadili mtazamo sasa, naamini hii inawezekana maana historia inatuambia mwanamke mzuri katika roma ya mwanzo alikua ni mwanamke mnene,ila leo huko magharibi mwanamke mnene ni kero. Wanaume wabadili tabia na wasiyaone makalio makubwa sana kama mazuri sana.

simaanishi wasiyaone makalio kama uzuri wa mwanamke hapana,makalio yanawafanya wanawake waonekane wazuri ila yasiwe malaini yenye mafuta mengi.

Wanawake wafanye mazoezi ili wapunguze mafuta na wakuze misuli ya makalio,hapo yatakua mazuri zaidi yenye kuvutia.

By Joseph Julius Masalu ( MD4,MUHAS)

Latest Invention: Liquid Condom Blocks HIV, Herpes, Papilloma VirusesLatest Invention:

 Latest Invention: Liquid Condom Blocks HIV, Herpes, Papilloma VirusesLatest Invention

Researchers managed to come up with the latest invention in medicine called vaginal liquid condom that has the ability to block semen and anything that is contained in it, including viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus.
The condom is liquid gel before coming into contact with semen. When it catches semen the vaginal condom becomes solid. The gel plays two important roles: it is a protectant and a contraceptive. This is because it traps particles wider than 50nm, such as sperm, HIV, herpes virus, papilloma virus, which can lead to cervical cancer, and more.

Scientists who worked on this latest invention include Patrik Kiser and his colleagues from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Their goal was to protect women in countries with a high level of HIV-positive people by offering them a rather inexpensive way of contraception and protection when their partners do not wear a condom.
"We did it to develop technologies that can enable women to protect themselves against HIV without the approval of their partner," says Kiser. The team of scientists managed to test their latest invention only in laboratory. They stained HIV particles using a fluorescent dye to demonstrate that the gel turned solid when it came in contact with semen and blocked the virus, reports New Scientist. More information on diseases and reseaches can be found here at www.InfoNIAC.com, check the links at the bottom of the article.
According to Kiser, the clinical trials of the gel will mostly likely continue for another five years. Until the drug hits the drug stores, the scientist looks forward to impregnate the invention with an anti-HIV drug that would kill the captured HIV virus before a woman washes the gel out of the vagina.

From  www.infoniac.com

Ebola outbreak: WHO warns that virus could infect 20,000

Bruce Aylward, a top WHO official, said the number of cases could be much higher than reported

 

The World Health Organization says the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa could infect more than 20,000 people before it is brought under control.

The UN agency said the number of cases could already be four times higher than the 3,000 currently registered.
It also called on airlines to resume "vital" flights across the region, saying travel bans were threatening efforts to beat the epidemic.
So far, 1,552 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria have died.
Unprecedented scale Announcing a WHO action plan to deal with the outbreak, Bruce Aylward said "the actual number of cases may be 2-4 fold higher than that currently reported" in some areas.
The WHO assistant director-general said the possibility of 20,000 cases "is a scale that I think has not ever been anticipated in terms of an Ebola outbreak".
"That's not saying we expect 20,000... but we have got to have a system in place that we can deal with robust numbers," he added.
The WHO plan calls for $489 million (£295m) to be spent over the next nine months and requires 750 international workers and 12,000 national workers across West Africa.

On Thursday, Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola death outside Lagos, with an infected doctor in the oil hub of Port Harcourt dying from the disease.
Operations have not yet been affected in Africa's biggest oil producer, but a spokesman for Shell's Nigerian subsidiary said they were "monitoring the Ebola outbreak very closely".
Health ministers from across West Africa are meeting in Ghana at an extraordinary meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to discuss how to prevent the virus from spreading further.
Officials at the Ecowas session backed the WHO's call for flight bans to be ended and called for states to reopen their borders to make it easier for health workers to access affected areas.

Earlier Mr Aylward insisted bans on travel and trade would not stop the spread of Ebola, saying they were "more likely to compromise the ability to respond".
Despite rumours to the contrary, the virus is not airborne and is spread by humans coming into contact with bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, from those infected with virus.
The BBC's West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says medical agencies are struggling to cope with an increasing number of cases and growing hostility from communities in certain affected areas.
Efforts to prevent the virus spreading are unlikely to see any results given that most treatment centres are already operating at full capacity, our correspondent adds.
Meanwhile, British medical charity Wellcome Trust and pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said safety trials on an experimental Ebola vaccine are being fast-tracked.
GSK says it plans to build up a stockpile of up to 10,000 doses for emergency deployment if results from the trials, which could begin as soon as next month, are good.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

What you need to know about ebola

Ebola virus disease

This information was taken from WHO 

---

Key facts

• Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
• EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.
• EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
• The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
• Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
• Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.

---

Ebola first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.
Genus Ebolavirus is 1 of 3 members of the Filoviridae family (filovirus), along with genus Marburgvirus and genus Cuevavirus. Genus Ebolavirus comprises 5 distinct species:

• Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV)
• Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV)
• Reston ebolavirus (RESTV)
• Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV)
• Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV).

BDBV, EBOV, and SUDV have been associated with large EVD outbreaks in Africa, whereas RESTV and TAFV have not. The RESTV species, found in Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, can infect humans, but no illness or death in humans from this species has been reported to date.

Transmission

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.
Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery from illness.
Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practiced.
Among workers in contact with monkeys or pigs infected with Reston ebolavirus, several infections have been documented in people who were clinically asymptomatic. Thus, RESTV appears less capable of causing disease in humans than other Ebola species.
However, the only available evidence available comes from healthy adult males. It would be premature to extrapolate the health effects of the virus to all population groups, such as immuno-compromised persons, persons with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women and children. More studies of RESTV are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the pathogenicity and virulence of this virus in humans.

Signs and symptoms

EVD is a severe acute viral illness often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings include low white blood cell and platelet counts and elevated liver enzymes.
People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. Ebola virus was isolated from semen 61 days after onset of illness in a man who was infected in a laboratory.
The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is 2 to 21 days.

Diagnosis

Other diseases that should be ruled out before a diagnosis of EVD can be made include: malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, leptospirosis, plague, rickettsiosis, relapsing fever, meningitis, hepatitis and other viral haemorrhagic fevers.
Ebola virus infections can be diagnosed definitively in a laboratory through several types of tests:

• antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
• antigen detection tests
• serum neutralization test
• reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay
• electron microscopy
• virus isolation by cell culture.

Samples from patients are an extreme biohazard risk; testing should be conducted under maximum biological containment conditions.

Vaccine and treatment

No licensed vaccine for EVD is available. Several vaccines are being tested, but none are available for clinical use.
Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. Patients are frequently dehydrated and require oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids.
No specific treatment is available. New drug therapies are being evaluated.

Natural host of Ebola virus

In Africa, fruit bats, particularly species of the genera Hypsignathus monstrosus, Epomops franqueti and Myonycteris torquata, are considered possible natural hosts for Ebola virus. As a result, the geographic distribution of Ebolaviruses may overlap with the range of the fruit bats.

Ebola virus in animals

Although non-human primates have been a source of infection for humans, they are not thought to be the reservoir but rather an accidental host like human beings. Since 1994, Ebola outbreaks from the EBOV and TAFV species have been observed in chimpanzees and gorillas.
RESTV has caused severe EVD outbreaks in macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) farmed in Philippines and detected in monkeys imported into the USA in 1989, 1990 and 1996, and in monkeys imported to Italy from Philippines in 1992.
Since 2008, RESTV viruses have been detected during several outbreaks of a deadly disease in pigs in People’s Republic of China and Philippines. Asymptomatic infection in pigs has been reported and experimental inoculations have shown that RESTV cannot cause disease in pigs.

Prevention and control

Controlling Reston ebolavirus in domestic animals

No animal vaccine against RESTV is available. Routine cleaning and disinfection of pig or monkey farms (with sodium hypochlorite or other detergents) should be effective in inactivating the virus.
If an outbreak is suspected, the premises should be quarantined immediately. Culling of infected animals, with close supervision of burial or incineration of carcasses, may be necessary to reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission. Restricting or banning the movement of animals from infected farms to other areas can reduce the spread of the disease.
As RESTV outbreaks in pigs and monkeys have preceded human infections, the establishment of an active animal health surveillance system to detect new cases is essential in providing early warning for veterinary and human public health authorities.

Reducing the risk of Ebola infection in people

In the absence of effective treatment and a human vaccine, raising awareness of the risk factors for Ebola infection and the protective measures individuals can take is the only way to reduce human infection and death.
In Africa, during EVD outbreaks, educational public health messages for risk reduction should focus on several factors:

• Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission from contact with infected fruit bats or monkeys/apes and the consumption of their raw meat. Animals should be handled with gloves and other appropriate protective clothing. Animal products (blood and meat) should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.
• Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community arising from direct or close contact with infected patients, particularly with their bodily fluids. Close physical contact with Ebola patients should be avoided. Gloves and appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn when taking care of ill patients at home. Regular hand washing is required after visiting patients in hospital, as well as after taking care of patients at home.
• Communities affected by Ebola should inform the population about the nature of the disease and about outbreak containment measures, including burial of the dead. People who have died from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried.

Pig farms in Africa can play a role in the amplification of infection because of the presence of fruit bats on these farms. Appropriate biosecurity measures should be in place to limit transmission. For RESTV, educational public health messages should focus on reducing the risk of pig-to-human transmission as a result of unsafe animal husbandry and slaughtering practices, and unsafe consumption of fresh blood, raw milk or animal tissue. Gloves and other appropriate protective clothing should be worn when handling sick animals or their tissues and when slaughtering animals. In regions where RESTV has been reported in pigs, all animal products (blood, meat and milk) should be thoroughly cooked before eating.

Controlling infection in health-care settings

Human-to-human transmission of the Ebola virus is primarily associated with direct or indirect contact with blood and body fluids. Transmission to health-care workers has been reported when appropriate infection control measures have not been observed.
It is not always possible to identify patients with EBV early because initial symptoms may be non-specific. For this reason, it is important that health-care workers apply standard precautions consistently with all patients – regardless of their diagnosis – in all work practices at all times. These include basic hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment (according to the risk of splashes or other contact with infected materials), safe injection practices and safe burial practices.
Health-care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus should apply, in addition to standard precautions, other infection control measures to avoid any exposure to the patient’s blood and body fluids and direct unprotected contact with the possibly contaminated environment. When in close contact (within 1 metre) of patients with EBV, health-care workers should wear face protection (a face shield or a medical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown, and gloves (sterile gloves for some procedures).
Laboratory workers are also at risk. Samples taken from suspected human and animal Ebola cases for diagnosis should be handled by trained staff and processed in suitably equipped laboratories.

WHO response

WHO provides expertise and documentation to support disease investigation and control.
Recommendations for infection control while providing care to patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola haemorrhagic fever are provided in: Interim infection control recommendations for care of patients with suspected or confirmed Filovirus (Ebola, Marburg) haemorrhagic fever, March 2008. This document is currently being updated.
WHO has created an aide–memoire on standard precautions in health care (currently being updated). Standard precautions are meant to reduce the risk of transmission of bloodborne and other pathogens. If universally applied, the precautions would help prevent most transmission through exposure to blood and body fluids.
Standard precautions are recommended in the care and treatment of all patients regardless of their perceived or confirmed infectious status. They include the basic level of infection control—hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment to avoid direct contact with blood and body fluids, prevention of needle stick and injuries from other sharp instruments, and a set of environmental controls.

Table: Chronology of previous Ebola virus disease outbreaks

Year	Country	Ebolavirus species	Cases	Deaths	Case fatality
2012	Democratic Republic of Congo	Bundibugyo	57	29	51%
2012	Uganda	Sudan	7	4	57%
2012	Uganda	Sudan	24	17	71%
2011	Uganda	Sudan	1	1	100%
2008	Democratic Republic of Congo	Zaire	32	14	44%
2007	Uganda	Bundibugyo	149	37	25%
2007	Democratic Republic of Congo	Zaire	264	187	71%
2005	Congo	Zaire	12	10	83%
2004	Sudan	Sudan	17	7	41%
2003 (Nov-Dec)	Congo	Zaire	35	29	83%
2003 (Jan-Apr)	Congo	Zaire	143	128	90%
2001-2002	Congo	Zaire	59	44	75%
2001-2002	Gabon	Zaire	65	53	82%
2000	Uganda	Sudan	425	224	53%
1996	South Africa (ex-Gabon)	Zaire	1	1	100%
1996 (Jul-Dec)	Gabon	Zaire	60	45	75%
1996 (Jan-Apr)	Gabon	Zaire	31	21	68%
1995	Democratic Republic of Congo	Zaire	315	254	81%
1994	Cote d'Ivoire	Taï Forest	1	0	0%
1994	Gabon	Zaire	52	31	60%
1979	Sudan	Sudan	34	22	65%
1977	Democratic Republic of Congo	Zaire	1	1	100%
1976	Sudan	Sudan	284	151	53%
1976	Democratic Republic of Congo	Zaire	318	280	88%

The pathogical beauty

Many people at one point in their life especially girls wishes to have a one of the facial beauty signs e.g dark hair and blue eyes,split between the teeth,dimples in the chicks,mole above the lip etc.
Today we are going to see only two of the beauty signs that are dimples and moles

DIMPLES

A dimple (also known as a gelasin) is a small natural indentation in the flesh on a part of the human body, most notably in the cheek or on the chin.

When asked the question;
Do you think girls with cheek dimples are beautiful?Some of the answers were:

1. Yes, dimples are totally adorable! 
2. I have cheek dimples and every one says im pretty or beautiful on a daily  basis or however you spell it. i look look my icon thing but anyways they are fine. also guys usually find them so adorable. 
3. yes , whenever i see a lady with dimples, it feels so special and they are lucky, i have never dated one so i cant tell you how sweet they are, some times they all that gliters is not gold

 Dimples are considered mark of beauty and loveliness. The truth is that dimples are actually genetic defects that are caused by facial muscle deformity.
Dimples may be caused by variations in the structure of the facial muscle known as zygomaticus major.
They may be genetically inherited and have been called a simple dominant trait.

One literature says:
"Cheek dimples may be inherited as an irregular dominant. Wiedemann (1990) described a unilateral cheek dimple in a 5-year-old girl whose mother had a similar dimple when she was a child, also in her left cheek, and only when she smiled. The cheek dimple disappeared completely by age 13 in the mother. Wiedemann (1990) also mentioned bilateral cheek dimples in a 14-year-old boy; his mother had bilateral dimples which disappeared by adulthood. In another family, a brother and sister, their father, 3 paternal uncles, as well as their paternal grandfather and great-grandfather, had dimples of both cheeks. In this family, the dimples were always present at birth and did not become less marked with increasing age."

 It must be interesting to note that dimples are inherited facial traits that are passed from one generation to the next. Dimples often occur on both the cheeks. A single dimple on one cheek is a rare phenomenon.

Transfer of dimples from parents to children occurs due to just one gene. The dimple creating genes   are present in the sex cells prior to the process of reproduction. Each parent provides one of these genes to the child.  So, if both the parents have dimples, the children have 50-100% chances of inheriting dimple genes.

If, however, only one parent has dimple genes, the chances of the children inheriting the genes are 50%. If neither of the parents has the dimple genes, their children will not have dimples.

MOLE
 A beauty mark or beauty spot is a euphemism for a type of dark facial mole, so named because such birthmarks are sometimes considered an attractive feature.
"In the twentieth century Marilyn Monroe's beauty mark generated a new vogue.Fashion model Cindy Crawford's prominent mole helped revive the fashion"

Medically, such "beauty marks" are generally melanocytic nevus, more specifically the compound variant. They are at exceptionally high risk of developing melanoma.Moles of this type may also be located elsewhere on the body, and may also be considered beauty marks if located on the face, shoulder, neck or breast.


The presence of a mole doesn’t indicate cancer, but there is a link between an increased number of moles and cancer risk. It’s important to not disregard your moles and not practise care in the sun, and always check your moles for any changes in size, colour, and shape.
The size of moles
Moles are generally small brown spots on areas of the body that have mostly been exposed to the sun. If a mole appears that is noticeably larger than your other moles, it’s vital to get it checked out by your doctor.
The colour of moles
Moles range in colour from pinkish to light-brown and even dark brown. It’s not enough to try to diagnose malignancy based on the appearance of one colour. However, if the colour of one mole is inconsistent and there are patches of varying colour, it’s something you’ll want to show your doctor. Colours that you should look out for are very dark brown to black, and even blue; or if the mole is red or white.
New moles
Moles appear on children and teenagers up to the age of about 20. If you see a new mole appear suddenly, get an opinion from your dermatologist or doctor
People who need to pay close attention to the appearance of their moles are fair-skinned people who burn easily in the sun. Also, know your family history and if you have relatives who’ve had melanoma or other forms of cancer, go get yourself checked by your doctor.

Unlike dimples moles can kill you!!

REFERENCES

Wiedemann, H.-R. Cheek dimples. (Letter) Am. J. Med. Genet. 36: 376 only, 1990.

Can mobile phones cause cancer?

There have been informations going around suggesting heavy mobile phone use is ‘likely’ to cause cancer,these informations are misleading, and don’t reflect what the evidence really shows.
With a lot of the evidence around mobile phones and cancer before. Overall, this evidence shows that mobiles are unlikely to cause brain tumours (nor any other type of cancer).
It is important that additional research be conducted into the long‐
term, heavy use of mobile phones.

Source of Radiation

When talking on a cell phone, a transmitter takes the sound of your voice and encodes it onto a continuous sine wave. A sine wave is just a type of continuously varying wave that radiates out from the antenna and fluctuates evenly through space. Sine waves are measured in terms of frequency, which is the number of times a wave oscillates up and down per second. Once the encoded sound has been placed on the sine wave, the transmitter sends the signal to the antenna, which then sends the signal out.

Cell phones have low-power transmitters in them. Most car phones have a transmitter power of 3 watts. A handheld cell phone operates on about 0.75 to 1 watt of power. The position of a transmitter inside a phone varies depending on the manufacturer, but it is usually in close proximity to the phone's antenna. The radio waves that send the encoded signal are made up of electromagnetic radiation propagated by the antenna. The function of an antenna in any radio transmitter is to launch the radio waves into space; in the case of cell phones, these waves are picked up by a receiver in the cell-phone tower.

Electromagnetic radiation is made up of waves of electric and magnetic energy moving at the speed of light. All electromagnetic energy falls somewhere on the electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges from extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation to X-rays and gamma rays.

Potential Health Risks

In the late 1970s, concerns were raised that magnetic fields from power lines were causing leukemia in children. Subsequent epidemiological studies found no connection between cancer and power lines. A more recent health scare related to everyday technology is the potential for radiation damage caused by cell phones. Studies on the issue continue to contradict one another.

 All cell phones emit some amount of electromagnetic radiation. Given the close proximity of the phone to the head, it is possible for the radiation to cause some sort of harm to the 118 million cell-phone users in the United States,Currently

59%of the Tanzanians are subscribed as users of mobile phones.More

What is being debated in the scientific and political arenas is just how much radiation is considered unsafe, and if there are any potential long-term effects of cell-phone radiation exposure.

There are two types of electromagnetic radiation:

• Ionizing radiation - This type of radiation contains enough electromagnetic energy to strip atoms and molecules from the tissue and alter chemical reactions in the body. Gamma rays and X-rays are two forms of ionizing radiation. We know they cause damage, which is why we wear a lead vest when X-rays are taken of our bodies.
• Non-ionizing radiation - Non-ionizing radiation is typically safe. It causes some heating effect, but usually not enough to cause any type of long-term damage to tissue. Radio-frequency energy, visible light and microwave radiation are considered non-ionizing.

In 2011 the International Agency of Research on Cancer under WHO made their report
 Lyon, France, May 31, 2011 ‐‐ The WHO/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based  on  an  increased  risk  for  glioma,  a  malignant  type  of  brain  cancer 1 ,  associated  with wireless phone use.

Background

Over  the  last  few  years,  there  has  been  mounting  concern  about  the  possibility  of  adverse
health effects resulting from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, such as those
emitted  by  wireless  communication  devices.  The  number  of  mobile  phone  subscriptions  is
estimated at 5 billion globally.

From May 24–31 2011, a Working Group of 31 scientists from 14 countries has been meeting
at  IARC  in  Lyon,  France,  to  assess  the  potential  carcinogenic  hazards  from  exposure  to
radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. These assessments will be published as Volume 102 of the IARC Monographs, which will be the fifth volume in this series to focus on physical agents, after  Volume  55  (Solar  Radiation),  Volume  75  and  Volume  78  on  ionizing  radiation  (X‐rays, gamma‐rays,  neutrons,  radio‐nuclides),  and  Volume  80  on  non‐ionizing  radiation  (extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields).

The  IARC  Monograph  Working  Group  discussed  the  possibility  that  these  exposures  might induce long‐term health effects, in particular an increased risk for cancer. This has relevance for public  health,  particularly  for  users  of  mobile  phones,  as  the  number  of  users  is  large  and growing, particularly among young adults and children.

The  IARC  Monograph  Working  Group  discussed  and  evaluated  the  available  literature  on  the following exposure categories involving radiofrequency electromagnetic fields:  3⁄4 occupational exposures to radar and to microwaves; 3⁄4 environmental exposures associated with transmission of signals for radio, television and wireless telecommunication; and  3⁄4 personal exposures associated with the use of wireless telephones.

International  experts  shared  the  complex  task  of  tackling  the  exposure  data,  the  studies  of cancer  in  humans,  the  studies  of  cancer  in  experimental  animals,  and  the  mechanistic  and other relevant data.

1237 913 new cases of brain cancers (all types combined) occurred around the world in 2008 (gliomas represent 2/3 of these). Source: Globocan 2008Page 2
IARC CLASSIFIES RADIOFREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AS
POSSIBLY CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS

Results 

The  evidence  was  reviewed  critically,  and  overall  evaluated  as  being  limited 2   among  users  of
wireless telephones for glioma and acoustic neuroma, and inadequate 3  to draw conclusions for
other  types  of  cancers.  The  evidence  from  the  occupational  and  environmental  exposures
mentioned above was similarly judged inadequate. The Working Group did not quantitate the risk; however, one study of past cell phone use (up to the year 2004), showed a 40% increased risk  for  gliomas  in  the highest  category  of  heavy  users  (reported  average:  30  minutes  per  day over a 10‐year period).
 
Conclusions 
Dr  Jonathan  Samet  (University  of  Southern  California,  USA),  overall  Chairman  of  the  Working Group,  indicated  that  "the  evidence,  while  still  accumulating,  is  strong  enough  to  support  a conclusion and the 2B classification. The conclusion means that there could be some risk, and
therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk."

"Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings," said IARC
Director Christopher Wild, "it is important that additional research be conducted into the long‐term, heavy use of mobile phones. Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands‐free devices or texting. "

The Working Group considered hundreds of scientific articles; the complete list will be published in  the  Monograph.  It  is  noteworthy  to  mention  that  several  recent  in‐press  scientific  articles 4  resulting from the Interphone study were made available to the working group shortly before it was due to convene, reflecting their acceptance for publication at that time, and were included in the evaluation.

A  concise  report  summarizing  the  main  conclusions  of  the  IARC  Working  Group  and  the evaluations  of  the  carcinogenic  hazard  from  radiofrequency  electromagnetic  fields  (including the use of mobile telephones) will be published in The Lancet Oncology in its July 1 issue, and in a few days online.
2
'Limited evidence of carcinogenicity': A positive association has been observed between exposure to the agent
and cancer for which a causal interpretation is considered by the Working Group to be credible, but chance, bias or
confounding could not be ruled out with reasonable confidence.

3
 'Inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity': The available studies are of insufficient quality, consistency or statistical
power  to  permit  a  conclusion  regarding  the  presence  or  absence  of  a  causal  association  between  exposure  and
cancer, or no data on cancer in humans are available.

4
  a.  'Acoustic  neuroma  risk  in  relation  to  mobile  telephone  use:  results  of  the  INTERPHONE  international  case‐
control study' (the Interphone Study Group, in Cancer Epidemiology, in press)
b.  'Estimation  of  RF  energy  absorbed  in  the  brain  from  mobile  phones  in  the  Interphone  study'  (Cardis  et  al.,
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in press)
c.  'Risk  of  brain  tumours  in  relation  to  estimated  RF  dose  from  mobile  phones  –  results  from  five  Interphone
countries' (Cardis et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in press)
d. 'Location of Gliomas in Relation to Mobile Telephone Use: A Case‐Case and Case‐Specular Analysis' (American
Journal of Epidemiology, May 24, 2011. [Epub ahead of print].

The problem of infertility in Africa

The problem of infertility in Africa

This article is from www.humanlifereview.com

Infertility causes great worry and sorrow for many couples in Africa, especially for the women. Medical evidence shows that men and women usually have the same rates of infertility.¹ Yet African tradition views infertility as always the woman’s fault.
In Africa it is taboo to discuss male infertility; that is something “to be concealed at all costs.” In Zimbabwe, for instance, “Covering up for men is usually done through a traditional practice called chiramu which involves the clandestine bringing-in of the husband’s close relative (usually a brother) to impregnate the wife.”² If that meeting is not successful, then it is concluded that the wife is to blame³ and should be sent back to her parents.
The assumption that the wife is at fault may also lead to polygamy. As one African woman wrote: “To appease a childless husband, and desperate to save their daughter’s marriage, the parents of the infertile woman sometimes purchase him a second wife. If they can’t afford to do so, they offer a younger sister or niece as a second wife. Some of my relatives have done that. But I shuddered at the thought of sharing a husband with any of my younger sisters.”⁴
The wife is obliged to protect the dignity of her husband. Yet nobody protects her, not even her own family. In my opinion, this is deceptive and destructive for all the parties involved.

Types and Causes of Infertility

Primary infertility is the state of couples who cannot have babies at all. This is usually measured by failure to achieve pregnancy after two years of trying. A 2008 study found a 2.7 percent primary infertility rate among women in an urban area of Tanzania. The authors said this “is in the range found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.”⁵ Secondary infertility describes couples who have had one child but are unable to have more. This condition is very common in Africa, according to a 2011 report from the World Health Organization (WHO):

Women in the developing world, particularly Africa, suffer from high rates of secondary infertility. Countries in northern Africa, Southern Asia, and Latin America all report a high prevalence of secondary infertility ranging from 15% to greater than 25%, but in the so-called “infertility belt” of Sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of couples with secondary infertility exceeds 30% in some countries, and in Zimbabwe, it has been reported that almost 2 out of 3 women over the age of 25 are infertile.⁶

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are the main cause of infertility in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Gabon, it is reported that 32 percent of women are infertile, almost entirely as a result of blocked fallopian tubes caused by STIs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia.⁷ Poverty and substandard medical care often aggravate this problem. As one report noted, “in Africa most of the sexually transmitted diseases which can cause infertility could be prevented or cured but are not because health services are not adequate, accessible, or affordable.”⁸ A study in Zimbabwe, for example, found that tubal blockages were the main cause of infertility in both men and women—“the result of delayed or inadequate treatment of reproductive tract infections (RTIs).”⁹ Another aggravating factor is early-age sexual intercourse. In some regions of Africa, girls often marry early, sometimes even before puberty. Elsewhere, because of poverty, many girls accept gifts—often financial—from older men to “play sex.” This places the girls at high risk for STIs and other reproductive problems.¹⁰ Also, the African practice of female circumcision may lead to infertility by causing infections, pelvic inflammation, and inelastic scar tissue.¹¹
Inadequate semen is another major cause of infertility.¹² Other causes include hormonal dysfunction, endometriosis, and polycystic ovarian disease.¹³ Sexual dysfunction is another factor; it is often caused by psycho-social pressure from those around an infertile couple.¹⁴ The aging process, of course, also affects fertility. As one expert noted, “Female fertility has a ‘best-before date’ of 35, and for men, it is probably before age 45-50.”¹⁵
A 2011 study in Nigeria found that infertile women were significantly more likely than other women to have had abortions.¹⁶ The abortion problem is acute in Africa, where abortions usually are done in poorly equipped health centers by unqualified personnel.¹⁷ A 2012 study, reporting an infertility decline during one period, noted: “Post-abortion complications are also an important factor contributing to infertility. The risk is higher for unsafe practices than for safe abortion procedures” (thus implying there is some risk even in “safe” abortions). “Decline in unsafe abortion rates in Sub-Saharan Africa between 1995 and 2003,” it said, “may have contributed to declines in infertility rates.”¹⁸

Consequences of Infertility for Women

A married African woman who has no child is living on borrowed time. The first threat in most cases is outright divorce, non-negotiable. She is someone because she is married, but she will be nobody outside marriage. A woman acquires an identity through marriage and, most importantly, when marriage is fertile. If not, she may be returned by the husband to her parents at any moment, in disgrace and shame. The husband considers himself wronged and deceived, as if the woman and her parents should have known beforehand that she could not bear children.¹⁹ To me, this is sheer insanity. Often, nobody takes the time to examine the couple in order to find the source of infertility.
There is also psychological distress and trauma for the woman, due to insults from spouse, relatives, and neighbors. If the husband takes a second wife, the first wife may then have trauma from living in a polygamous and abusive marriage. She may leave the situation if she has the courage to do so. A study in Rwanda found negative consequences for men as well. The authors wrote that, “although women carry the largest burden of suffering, the negative repercussions of infertility for men, especially at the level of the community, are considerable.”²⁰
A Harvard Mental Health Letter report noted that family and friends “may inadvertently cause pain by offering well-meaning but misguided opinions and advice.”²¹ This problem is even worse in Africa, where the extended family system is practiced and valued. Though this system may be beneficial in other ways, it often aggravates the infertility problem. Childlessness, which should be a private matter, becomes an issue for open inquiry from relatives, friends, and neighbors. Such pressure can place intense stress on the woman.²²
For women in mainstream Christian churches, infertility may lead to loss of their faith and resort to traditional healers or faith-based healers. Many turn to Pentecostal churches, which Africans often call “mushroom churches” because they spread so rapidly.²³ The theme of infertility is the number-one topic during sermons and rituals in these religious settings. They make couples believe that their infertility problem is spiritual, rather than medical. And in Zimbabwe, according to one study, “traditional beliefs linking infertility to witchcraft are rife.”²⁴

Media Influence

African media, especially the Nigerian film industry called Nollywood, emphasize the theme of infertility in films such as Blind Choice, Desperate Soul, Immoral Act, Soul After Soul, The Pastor’s Daughter, and The Power of Her Majesty.²⁵ I recall seeing a Ghanaian movie on this theme that really moved me to tears. It was about a young girl who, married to a wealthy man, was unable to have a child. Her parents, in order to save their daughter from the shame of childlessness—and, above all, in order not to lose their wealthy in-law—decided to give a younger daughter to the man. After that daughter had a baby, she and the man started working against the real wife—her big sister. The situation became so precarious that the older sister died out of frustration. She died practically in silence because she was unable to talk about her troubles with anybody, even her own parents. It was taken for granted that her younger sister was sent to save her marriage—so why should she complain? After her death, the younger sister took over the matrimonial home. Things went on well for a short time, but then the man started treating the younger woman the same way he had treated her sister. Eventually, she, too, died, leaving her small baby. The man remarried, and the new wife maltreated the child, who disappeared from his father’s house and was never seen again. So the grandparents lost their two daughters and a grandson in the name of covering up a daughter’s infertility. In their senseless act of covering up one problem, they created ones that were far worse.
As in the movies, so it is with African music, especially gospel music. Any music that does not say something about the solution to childlessness and ways to prosperity will hardly sell. The fertility dilemma is also a common theme in African novels and plays. According to Okonjo Ogunyemi, “childlessness is considered tragic, providing an irresistible attraction to writers.” She listed some classic Nigerian writings that feature infertility as their central theme: Song of a Goat, Behind the Cloud, The Dilemma of a Ghost, Anowa, Efuru, Idu, Many Things Begin for Change, The Joy of Motherhood, Chance or Destiny, and Garden House.²⁶

Actions To Be Taken

The first step is to end the “demonization”of infertile women in Africa and other parts of the world. This process should be for all. Let governments, churches, private groups, and others promote the dignity and rights of women. This can be done in workshops, seminars, and conferences. Some African women already have taken steps to improve the situation of women who face infertility. In Zimbabwe, for example, Betty Chishava and two other women started a support group for infertile women. Using words that mean “our own gift,” they called it the Chipo Chedu Society. Also in Zimbabwe, the Women’s Action Group (WAG), the country’s largest women’s organization, has run theater workshops and produced a booklet in the country’s two main languages to try and demystify the traditional beliefs that are associated with infertility and to urge that those who are infertile be accepted into society.”²⁷
The education of girls and women is very important. It helps increase an individual’s positive self-concept—the perception of one’s character, body image, abilities, emotions, qualities, and relationships with others.²⁸ In a culture where women are marginalized, their empowerment through education is crucial. And they should learn how to prevent infertility, or to cope with it, if they find themselves in that situation at any stage in their lives. Part of prevention is to revisit and rethink the tradition of female circumcision, which can lead to infertility and many other health problems. Another part is to discourage sexual activity at an early age—and promiscuous sexual activity at any age. Those practices encourage the spread of the STIs that often lead to infertility. Giving girls a sound moral upbringing helps prevent such practices. So does sending them to school and keeping them there until they complete their education.
When a couple is unable to conceive, it is important to find and treat the underlying cause(s), whether medical or psychosocial or both. Since popular media already pay much attention to infertility, perhaps they could be persuaded to include medical facts in their coverage. For example, they could make men more aware of male infertility and possible remedies for it. Good counseling can also help both men and women. Social and cultural expectations in Africa often limit the extent to which infertile couples talk about their sexual problems.²⁹ As two authorities noted, counseling “will help couples open up to each other and their doctor about their burden and obtain assistance, including information and education.”³⁰
There are now many remedies for infertility. In a case of low fertility, rather than none at all, timing intercourse for the fertile cycle may result in pregnancy. When a tubal blockage prevents conception, surgery may restore fertility. Some newer treatments for infertility, though, are extremely expensive and really beyond the reach of Africa’s many poor people. Some also pose serious ethical problems for both Christian and Muslim couples. Use of bought or donated eggs or sperm, for example, is sometimes called “high-tech adultery.”³¹ The in vitro fertilization and implantation of embryos often results in multiple pregnancies and the offer of “reduction” when a couple does not want twins or triplets. “Reduction” means killing one or more of the unborn children, usually by lethal injection to the heart.³²

The Adoption Alternative

Couples should seek medical solutions that are ethical. When those solutions fail, they should consider adoption. Many couples in Nigeria do seek adoption through my religious order, the Holy Family Sisters of the Needy. Our work was started as a response to great tragedy. After the Nigerian civil war (the Biafra War) of 1967-1970, there were many pregnant girls and women who had been raped and abandoned by soldiers on the streets. Their war-torn families could not take care of them, and many of the women died in attempts to abort their babies with local herbs. In order to save the lives of both women and babies, Rev. Father Denis Ononuju, CSSP, a Nigerian priest, started giving them shelter in his parish. With the help of his parishioners, he was able to take care of them, and the women were able to give birth to their babies. Father Denis was also involved in an adoption program that helped keep Catholic childless families together.
As the pro-life work grew, many lives were saved, and many childless families were able to adopt children. Father Denis thought of beginning a religious order of women who would dedicate their lives to this noble work. In 1983 he started the Holy Family Sisters of the Needy (HFSN). Today the Sisters run centers and homes for teenaged pregnant girls both in Nigeria and abroad. We encourage and help girls to put their babies up for adoption after birth if they wish. We also help childless couples to adopt the babies.
This is, however, one of the hardest options for infertile couples in Africa. Although attitudes are gradually changing, adoption is not generally an accepted practice there. One study in a Nigerian hospital found that 78 percent of infertile women would not consider adoption as a solution.³³ This is a problem not only in Africa, but also in the developed countries. For instance, the already-cited report in the Harvard Mental Health Letter said infertile patients in the United States find “great difficulty” in making “the transition from wanting biological children to accepting that they will have to pursue adoption or come to terms with being childless.”³⁴ This is why the work of the HFSN Sisters is very important in Nigeria and abroad.
When I was working in Nigeria, one couple came to me with a recommendation letter from their pastor (the first thing required for adoption) and their application. After going through the papers, I told them that I would open a file for them and contact them when we had a baby ready for adoption. They asked me how soon that might be, and I said that I couldn’t tell because there were other applications before theirs. The lady started crying and telling me what she and her husband had gone through at the hands of his relatives and friends. They were urging him to divorce her and marry another woman who could give him children. She begged that we sisters help stop that by giving her a baby as soon as possible. Noticing her big tummy, I said to her, “But you look pregnant.” She said no, although everybody thought that. She went on to tell me that she had a fibroid tumor and wanted to schedule surgery to remove it around the time that we would have a baby available for adoption. Receiving the baby and having the surgery the same day or thereabout, she reasoned, would make people think she had the baby naturally. Today, with a baby girl from our center, their relatives and friends are happy with them and they are delighted with their child. So our baby girl has a happy home.
Once a wealthy couple came to us for help, explaining that they wanted to adopt a baby boy and to keep the adoption secret. The man said he was a prince, the ruler of his village. He and his wife had a daughter, about ten years old, but his wife was unable to have more children. Without a son, he would cease to be a prince. But if he had a son and people knew that the boy was not his biological child, then the so-called “illegitimate” son could not be a prince and would never inherit his father’s kingdom. The husband said his only other option was to divorce his wife and marry another woman who could have a son who would inherit his palace and leadership role.
I explained that, for whatever reason, we seldom had boy babies and that others were ahead of them on the adoption list. The woman started crying and begging, and the man was fighting back tears. His wife, like the lady mentioned above, had a big tummy. When I asked her about that, she said that for months she had been wearing small pillows so that, when she received a baby through adoption, no one would know it was not her birth child. Speechless, I wondered how a woman could go through this for months. Later, though, they were able to adopt a baby boy from our center.
It is unfortunate that some couples feel they must hide an adoption because of social customs and pressures. I hope that attitudes toward adoption will change, so that people will be open about it. In this case, though, the couple is happy, and our poor baby boy is now a prince.





NOTES
1. J. Liebmann-Smith, In Pursuit of Pregnancy: How Couples Discover, Cope With, and Resolve their Fertility Problems (New York: New Market Press, 1987), 5; and A. Santona and G. C. Zavattini, “Partnering and Parenting Expectations in Adoptive Couples,” Sexual and Relationship Therapy 20 (2005), 309-22, 309.
2. Sue N. Matetakufa, “Our Own Gift,” New Internationalist, no. 303 (1998), http://www.newint.org/features/1998/07/05/infertility/
3. Dora R. Mbuwayesango, “Childlessness and Woman-to-Woman Relationships in Genesis and in African Patriarchal Society: Sara and Hagar from a Zimbabwean Woman’s Perspective (Gen 16:1-16; 21:8-21)” Semeia (1997), 29-37.
4. Quoted in Mark Mathabane, African Women: Three Generations (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994), 13.
5. Marida Hollos and Ulla Larsen, “Motherhood in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Social Consequences of Infertility in an Urban Population in Northern Tanzania,” Culture, Health & Sexuality 10, no. 2 (2008), 159-73, 170.
6. World Health Organization, Incidence and Prevalence Data, “628.9 Infertility of Unspecified Origin (General Comments),” Capitola, First Quarter (2011), 1-22, 2.
7. Ibid.
8. Margaret Jean Hay and Sharon Stichter, ed., African Women South of the Sahara (New York: Longman Scientific & Technical, 1995), 247.
9. Matetakufa (online).
10. B. O. Ogunbanjo, “Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Nigeria: A Review of the Present Situation,” West African Journal of Medicine 8 (1989), 42-49, 42; E. O. Orji and S. O. Ogunniyi, “Sexual Behaviour of Infertile Nigerian Women,” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 21, no. 3 (2001), 303-05, 304; Chris Magnusson and Kari Trost, “Girls Experiencing Sexual Intercourse Early: Could It Play a Part in Reproductive Health in Middle Adulthood?” Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology 27, no. 4 (2006), 237-44, 240; Musie Ghebremichael et al. “Association of Age at First Sex with HIV-2, HSV-2, and Other Sexual Transmitted Infections among Women in Northern Tanzania,” Sexually Transmitted Diseases 36, no. 9 (2009), 570-76, 570; and Corben de Romero and Sare and Sunanda Ray, “Reproductive Health and New Technologies in Africa: Horizon Scanning for New Technologies,” African Journal of Reproductive Health 11, no. 1 (2007), 7-13, 9.
11. Janice Boddy, Civilizing Women: British Crusades in Colonial Sudan (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007), 228.
12. World Health Organization (n. 6), 14.
13. Thomas Hilgers, “Infertility Treatments, in accord with Church Teaching” (2004), www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6073.
14. On types of dysfunction, see B. M. Audu, “Sexual Dysfunction among Infertile Nigerian Women,” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 22, no. 6 (2002), 655-57, 655.
15. Juan Balasch, “Ageing and Infertility: An Overview,” Gynecological Endocrinology 26, no. 12 (2010), 855-60, 855.
16. Joyce O. Omoaregba et al., “Psychosocial Characteristics of Female Infertility in a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria,” Annuals of African Medicine 10 (2011), 19-24, 23.
17. H. A. Umdagas et al., “Prevalence of Uterine Synechiae among Infertile Females in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital,” Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 16, no. 4 (2006), 351-52, 351.
18. Maya N. Mascarenhas et al., “National, Regional, and Global Trends in Infertility Prevalence Since 1990: A Systematic Analysis of 277 Health Surveys,” PloS Medicine 9, no. 12 (2012), www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001356.
19. Mathabane, 12-13.
20. N. Dhont et al., “‘Mama and Papa Nothing’: Living with Infertility among an Urban Population in Kigali, Rwanda,” Human Reproduction 26, no. 3 (2011), 623-29, 624.
21. Harvard Medical School, “The Psychological Impact of Infertility and its Treatment,” Harvard Mental Health Letter 25, no. 11 (2009), 2.
22. Omoaregba et al., 23.
23. Ibid., 20.
24. Mathabane, 13.
25. “Nollywood Forever Movie Reviews,” nollywoodforever.com, accessed 9 Feb. 2013.
26. Chickwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi, African Wo/Man Palava: The Nigerian Novel by Women (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), 31-32.
27. Matetakufa (online).
28. Mary John Bosco Amakwe, Factors Influencing the Mobility of Women to Leadership and Management Positions in Media Industry in Nigeria (Rome: Gregorian University Press, 2006), 93-94.
29. Audu, 655.
30. A. C. Umezulike and E. R. Efetie, “The Psychological Trauma of Infertility in Nigeria,” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 84 (2004), 178-80.
31. James L. Fletcher, Jr., book review in Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine 2, no. 3 (1988), 23-28, 24.
32. Carol Turkington and Michael M. Alper, Understanding Fertility and Infertility (New York: Checkmark Books/Facts on File, 2003), 53-55.
33. Omoaregba, 21.
34. Harvard Medical School, 2 (see note 21).