He said more should be done to efficiently manage stroke cases and save many from dying from the disease.

The referral facility, in 2017, saw in excess of 800 cases.

Dr. Sarfo, speaking at a public education forum held to mark this year’s world stroke day, indicated that, 40 per cent of patients in the country end up dying, with another 30 per cent returning home with paralysis.

[contextly_sidebar id=”uCnDMlZtTqthGVrMyZLjUaGECmSe0Nc0″]“Recognizing the risk factors of stroke” was the theme chosen for this year’s event.

Dr. Sarfo complained about unavailability of drugs, the lack of vital equipment, and the absence of well-structured health systems to manage the disease.

These, he said, were to blame for the unacceptably high number of people dying from stroke.

He called for the establishment of stroke units and rehabilitation centres across the nation to give the needed care to patients.

Dr. Sarfo also spoke of the need to sensitize people, especially those in their productive age, to be mindful of factors that could lead to the disease.

He mentioned some of these as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stress, lack of physical exercises, smoking and excessive alcohol intake.

They should additionally go for regular check-ups and adopt healthy lifestyles to save themselves from getting stroke.

“Stroke is not caused by witchcraft, it can be prevented by educating people on the risk factors to protect them and prevent death and disability.”

Mrs. Gladys Ghansah, Principal Nursing Officer, appealed for strong support by way of the supply of equipment and space to properly handle stroke cases.

She announced that 233 out of the 369 patients admitted at the hospital between year 2014 and 2015, did not survive.

Earlier, the facility in partnership with Ernest Chemist, Menri Pharmacy, Medilab and Leo Medical and Beauty Supplies, organized free health screening for the public – to identify those with the risk factors, offer advice and treatment.

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Source: GNA

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Scientists found a single dose of the protein Hi1a worked on lab rats.

They said it showed “great promise as a future stroke treatment” but had not yet been tested in human trials.

The Stroke Association said the research was at its early stages but it would “welcome any treatment that has the potential to reduce the damage caused by stroke”.

The researchers, from the University of Queensland and Monash University, travelled to Fraser Island in Australia to hunt for and capture three potentially deadly Australian funnel web spiders.

“We regularly collect spiders from Fraser Island off the south coast of Queensland,” explained lead researcher Prof Glenn King.

“The reason for this is that funnel-web spiders dig burrows that can be as deep as 20-30 cm. Thus, digging them up from hard clay soils is very difficult. Fraser Island is a sand island which makes it easy for us to extract the spiders from their burrows.”

The team then took the spiders back to their laboratory “for milking”.

This involved coaxing the spider to release its venom, which could then be sucked up using pipettes.

Next the scientists dissected the venom gland of the spiders and honed in on a protein in the venom to recreate a version of it in their lab.

They then injected this Hi1a into the lab rats.

A stroke is a brain attack that happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off or there is bleeding on the brain

• Every two seconds, someone in the world will have a stroke
• Almost 17 million people who had never had a stroke before had one in 2010
• Stroke is the second most common cause of death, causing about 6.7 million deaths each year, one every five seconds
• Almost one in every eight deaths is caused by stroke
• The burden of stroke-related illness, disability and early death is set to double within the next 15 years

Source: Stroke Association

They found that the protein blocked acid-sensing ion channels in the brain – something the researchers say are key drivers of brain damage after stroke.

Prof King said the protein showed “great promise as a future stroke treatment”.

“We believe that we have, for the first time, found a way to minimise the effects of brain damage after a stroke.

“Hi1a even provides some protection to the core brain region most affected by oxygen deprivation, which is generally considered unrecoverable due to the rapid cell death caused by stroke.”

The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Why look to spider venom in the first place? Prof King explains:

“My lab is interested in developing drugs for human nervous system disorders. Many of these disorders involve either dysfunctional ion channels (e.g. epilepsy) or over-active ion channels (chronic pain and stroke).

Thus, we are typically looking for molecules that modulate the activity of ion channels. The venoms of small venomous invertebrates such as spiders, centipedes and scorpions have evolved to target the nervous system of insects, and consequently they are absolutely full of ion channel modulators.

Because the human nervous system is more complex and wired differently to insects, ion channel modulators that kill or paralyse insects can actually be beneficial to humans. Thus, looking in venoms for ion channel drugs is not as weird as it seems.”

Dr Kate Holmes, deputy director for Research at the Stroke Association, said: “We do not have an accurate picture of what happens in human brains from this research, therefore, it is currently unknown if this could be a successful treatment option for humans in the future.

“We welcome any treatment that has the potential to reduce the damage caused by stroke, particularly if this can benefit people who are unable to arrive at hospital quickly.

“Current treatments must be given in half this time period, and it is too early for us to know if this research can offer an alternative for stroke patients.

“We urge for stroke to be treated as an emergency – the sooner a person can get to hospital after a stroke, the sooner the right treatment can be received, which can improve survival and help recovery.”

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Source: BBC

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PY has expressed his appreciation to the producers of the One Show and the entire team of Viasat1 for his time spent with them, he is set to work with Viasat1 on future projects.

PY, co-founder of Bless the Mic, Miss Universe Ghana, and the presenter of PY Say’s podcast show is currently working on other projects which shall be launched before the end of 2014.

PY is keen to advocate change and truly inspire his audience with his works, which his fans will see and be part of in the coming months.

“I am hungry to do more, there is more to be done and for me this is just the beginning. I have found myself being a role model for many young – middle aged men and aspiring artists in the music industry, which I shall use to my strength for my next phase.”

Fans, brands, press and advocate, a new PY shall be coming soon watch this space!

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Source: Ameyawdebrah.com

The post What next for PY Addo Boateng after The One Show exit? appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.