A major surge of Saharan Dust has moved across the Windward Islands, significantly reducing air quality and visibility across the region

View the full post Saharan Dust brings unhealthy air quality on NOW Grenada.

Santo Domingo.- In a positive development, the Dominican Republic has experienced a significant decline in new COVID-19 cases over the past seven days. The reported number of new cases stands at 666, compared to 1,340 in the previous week, marking a noteworthy reduction of more than half. This encouraging trend was highlighted in the latest bulletin released by the Ministry of Public Health.

As of the latest update, there are currently 566 active COVID-19 cases in the country. Notably, no COVID-19 beds are currently occupied, and there is no requirement for ventilators.

The Dominican Republic conducted a total of 10,575 tests to detect the virus over the past week, resulting in a weekly positivity rate of 16.75%. The positivity rate over the last four weeks is reported at 14.96%, reflecting a sustained decrease in the spread of the virus.

Breaking down the geographical distribution of new cases, Santiago leads with 228 reported cases, followed by the National District with 75 cases, Espaillat with 69 cases, Santo Domingo with 46 cases, and Duarte with 45 cases.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the Dominican Republic has confirmed a total of 675,274 cases of COVID-19. Importantly, the country has reported no new COVID-19-related deaths since August 2022, emphasizing the success of ongoing public health measures and vaccination efforts. The Ministry of Public Health continues to monitor and report on the evolving situation, providing essential information to the public.

The last time there was a suspension of visitation at the Mt Gay Hospital was during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic

View the full post No explanation for suspending visitation at Mt Gay Hospital on NOW Grenada.

Posted: Wednesday, January 31, 2024. 9:50 am CST.

By Zoila Palma Gonzalez: The Ministry of Health and Wellness is reminding the public that the Seasonal Flu vaccine is available at all public clinics countrywide.

The vaccine is available for everyone from 6 months of age to those at age 65.

Get vaccinated today.

Protect yourself and your family.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is recommending that people in Guyana wear dust masks due to a high concentration of Sahara dust in parts of Guyana. Air quality monitoring stations list air quality in parts of Georgetown, East Bank Demerara and East Berbice as “unhealthy”. “The public is advised to limit their time spent outdoors ...

View the full post Grenada headquarters Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation on NOW Grenada.

“The decision to relocate the CFPA secretariat to Grenada is the outcome of over a decade of organisational review”

View the full post Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation relocates to Grenada on NOW Grenada.

For a growing number of people, "medical tourism" can be dangerous — even fatal.

Twenty-nine U.S. citizens have died after they had cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic between 2009 and 2018, according to a Jan. 25 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

More alarming is that the deaths have spiked in recent years. Between 2009 and 2018, there were an average of 4.1 deaths per year. Between 2019 and 2022, that average rose to 13 per year — peaking at 17 deaths in 2020.

ASK A DOC: ‘WHAT SHOULD I DO, OR NOT DO, PRIOR TO SURGERY?’

The deaths were linked to "fat or venous thromboembolism," which is when a blood clot forms in a vein, the CDC reported.

Most of the patients had risk factors for the condition, such as obesity, diabetes, tobacco use and multiple surgical procedures being performed at once.

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic has recorded cosmetic surgery-associated deaths among U.S. citizens since 2009. 

The embassy contacted the CDC upon noticing the uptick in deaths — which sparked an investigation.

All but one of the deaths involved women, the report stated. The average age of the patients at the time of death was 40.

TOP PLASTIC SURGERIES: THESE WERE THE MOST IN-DEMAND PROCEDURES IN 2022

For the 24 deaths that occurred between 2019 and 2020, liposuction was performed on all of the patients, usually along with other procedures, including gluteal fat transfer, abdominoplasty and breast augmentation.

Fat embolism was the cause of death in 55% of the cases and pulmonary venous thromboembolism was the determining cause in 35% of the cases, the report said.

Josef Hadeed, M.D., chair of the Patient Safety Committee for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), who was not involved in the CDC investigation, noted that the CDC’s report highlights the dangers associated with destination procedures.

"Too often, patients will travel to other countries as the procedures are cheaper there," Hadeed, who is also a plastic surgeon with practices in Beverly Hills, California, and Miami, Florida, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

"However, there are a lot of risks associated with traveling to other countries for cosmetic procedures."

He added, "All surgery carries risk, but there are excessive deaths outlined in the report, most of which were presumably avoidable."

When it comes to the price of surgery, Hadeed advised patients that "you get what you pay for. Just because something is cheaper doesn't mean it is better for you."

He also said, "The most important issue in plastic surgery is patient safety."

Jonathan Kaplan, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon who practices at Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery in San Francisco, who was also not involved in the report, said the CDC’s latest findings are "sad but true."

"There are risks with any surgery, but in the U.S., you have a better sense of whether doctors are board-certified in the specialty they’re practicing in," he told Fox News Digital in an email.

"There is also the added risk of going to a facility in a foreign country that has no quality assurance or safety protocols as required by law in the U.S.," Kaplan added.

International travel automatically puts patients at a higher risk for thromboembolic events, where they can develop potentially fatal blood clots, Hadeed said.

Another consideration is that those having surgery outside the U.S. won’t be able to get any assistance from the doctor if any complications arise, Kaplan warned.

BBL NOT ALWAYS A-OK: WHY THE BRAZILIAN BUTT LIFT IS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST PLASTIC SURGERIES EVER

"Then you’ll have to find a doctor locally who will charge you an exorbitant amount to fix the problem and you’ll end up spending more than what you saved initially," he said.

While all surgeries carry some element of risk, the "Brazilian Butt Lift" (BBL) has been associated with the highest risk of death in plastic surgery, which is corroborated by the report, noted Hadeed. 

"While I cannot specifically comment on what led to the deaths in the Dominican Republic, I can say that using an ultrasound is essential while performing a Brazilian Butt Lift," he told Fox News Digital. 

When the fat is injected into one of the blood vessels within the gluteal muscle, it can enter the bloodstream and make its way to the blood vessels of the lungs, blocking off circulation and leading to immediate death — which constitutes a fat embolism, the doctor said.

ASK A DOC: 'WHAT SHOULD I KNOW BEFORE GETTING A BREAST LIFT?'

This can be prevented by using an ultrasound, he noted, which allows the plastic surgeon to visualize the gluteal muscle and ensure that the fat is placed above, and not within, the muscle. 

"This has already become state law in Florida as of 2023," said Hadeed.

While Hadeed said it’s "better" to look for plastic surgeons within the U.S., if patients do decide to travel outside the country, they should carefully research a provider.

It is critical to find a plastic surgeon who is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Hadeed emphasized. 

The surgeon — as well as the entire surgical team, including the anesthesiologists, nurses and surgical techs — should be adequately trained in the specific procedures, the doctor added.

"It is equally important to ensure that the facility in which the procedure is being performed is fully accredited to the same standards that are found in the United States and has the proper safety measures in place," said Hadeed.

"Also remember that longer flights increase the risk of venous thromboembolism, and it is advised to wait several days after travel before undergoing a surgical procedure, which can add to the cost of the travel when you factor in additional days of staying in a hotel," he pointed out.

When asked for his advice on international surgery, Kaplan said simply, "Don’t do it."

"The money you save is not worth it if you have a complication, which is a very real possibility," he said. 

"And remember, complications don’t have to be major — they can be minor, but still a nuisance if you don’t have a doctor locally to take care of it," he went on. "And even the smallest complication will be much more expensive to take care of in the U.S. if your original surgery was outside the country."

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For those who are considering having an elective surgical procedure outside the U.S., the CDC recommends discussing the risks with a doctor here first.

The agency also emphasized the importance of surgeons conducting proper preoperative exams and only performing one procedure for each operation.

The study did have some limitations, the CDC acknowledged.

"No reliable statistics on the number of U.S. citizens who receive cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic each year are available, precluding calculation of the risk for perioperative death," the report stated.

Also, the data only included deaths that were reported to the U.S. Embassy — which means the actual number could be higher.

The mortality count also does not include deaths resulting from post-surgical infections, the CDC noted.

Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC requesting comment on the report.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) impacts 1.6 million people in the U.S. — and a new artificial intelligence-generated drug could help alleviate symptoms.

Insilico Medicine, an AI-driven biotech company based in Hong Kong and in New York City, recently announced that its new AI-designed IBD drug — ISM5411 — has entered Phase I clinical trials.

This is Insilico’s fifth AI-designed drug to enter the pipeline. 

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

If approved, it would be the first medication to treat IBD by blocking prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD), a protein that regulates the body’s gut barrier protection genes, according to Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine.

"ISM5411 is a potentially first-in-class candidate for the treatment of IBD – this means that it is designed to treat the disease in an entirely new way," Zhavoronkov told Fox News Digital in an interview.

IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, causes debilitating symptoms that include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and rectal bleeding, according to Mayo Clinic.

"This condition is on the rise across the industrialized world, but currently there are no cures and few treatments," said Zhavoronkov.

NEW AI-GENERATED COVID DRUG ENTERS PHASE I CLINICAL TRIALS: ‘EFFECTIVE AGAINST ALL VARIANTS’

Many current drugs for IBD are anti-inflammatory and rely on immunosuppression to work.

"This carries its own set of risks, as suppressing the immune system can give rise to chronic infection and tumor diseases," Zhavoronkov said.

Other biologic drugs for IBD are administered by IV or self-injection. 

"We knew there was a significant need in this space, and we wanted to find a new way to treat IBD that focused on healing and rebuilding the intestinal lining to lead to long-term improvement of the condition rather than just treating the symptoms," said Zhavoronkov.

IBD patients produce significantly more of the PDH protein than those without the condition. 

Insilico’s research and development team used Chemistry42, the company’s generative AI chemistry engine, to design a molecule to block the PDH and produce genes that protect the gut barrier. 

FIRST AI-GENERATED DRUG ENTERS HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS, TARGETING CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE PATIENTS

"You can think of Chemistry42 as a ChatGPT for new molecules," said Zhavoronkov. 

"But instead of providing text commands and having an AI model generate a new essay or poem based on existing data, our platform draws from biological and chemical data to design an entirely new molecule using our instructions."

"Our AI platform designed a number of possible molecules to meet our criteria, and ranked them, and our R&D team synthesized and tested a number of these before selecting ISM5411 as the most promising candidate," said Zhavoronkov.

An oral medication, ISM5411, is described as "intestinal restrictive," which means it only works on the gut without impacting other parts of the body, he noted.

"Very importantly, it promotes mucosal repair," said Zhavoronkov. 

"In other words, we designed this drug to help restore the normal functioning of the gut."

Previous research has shown that mucosal repair is effective in reducing hospitalization and improving long-term prognosis for IBD patients. 

Insilico’s IBD drug has officially begun trials in 76 healthy volunteers in Australia to evaluate its safety and tolerability in gradually increasing doses, Zhavoronkov said.

After completing the Phase 1a trial, Insilico plans to launch an international multi-center clinical trial in the U.S., China and other locations, with three treatment groups and one placebo group. 

"Our clinical team is working hard to design and execute the clinical trials in order to develop it further so we can begin helping patients in need," said Zhavoronkov.

"As we continue to advance this drug, we also look forward to connecting with companies with relevant experience and resources who are interested in co-developing this asset with our team."

STUDENTS USE AI TECHNOLOGY TO FIND NEW BRAIN TUMOR THERAPY TARGETS — WITH A GOAL OF FIGHTING DISEASE FASTER

ISM5411 is one of more than 30 drugs that have been designed by Insilico’s AI platform, including many for cancer — as well as fibrosis, central nervous system diseases and COVID-19. 

The company’s lead drug, the first AI-discovered and AI-generated drug to reach Phase II trials with patients, is for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung condition with an extremely poor prognosis.

Dr. Supriya Rao, a Massachusetts-based gastroenterologist, was not involved in Insilico's drug development but offered her input on ISM5411.

"I think it’s very promising," Rao told Fox News Digital. "Obviously, there will be hurdles to jump through, and data is very novel at this stage of development."

"Longer-term safety and efficacy would be concerns, but we’ve only just begun to embark on a journey of AI and health care," she added.

All treatments have their pros and cons, Rao noted, particularly with "very individualized diseases" like IBD.

BE WELL: IMPROVE YOUR GUT HEALTH WITH 5 TOP TIPS FROM A NUTRITIONAL THERAPIST

"Could this speed up the recovery process and offer a more targeted treatment plan with minimal side effects? The possibility is exciting," she said. "Our goal as health care professionals is always to achieve better patient outcomes."

AI expert and emergency medicine physician Dr. Harvey Castro from Dallas, Texas, who was also not involved in the development of ISM5411, noted that while promising, these types of AI-generated drugs can carry inherent risks. 

"The primary concern is the uncertainty surrounding their long-term effects, as AI-designed drugs are a relatively new medical frontier," Castro told Fox News Digital. 

"There's also the challenge of ensuring that the AI algorithms are trained on comprehensive and unbiased data sets, as misinterpretations or gaps in data could lead to ineffective or harmful drugs."

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Castro noted that existing regulatory frameworks may not adequately address the nuances of AI-driven drug development.

"Public awareness is key," he said. 

"As these drugs move from research labs to clinical settings, the public needs to understand the potential and the limitations," Castro went on.

"Educating patients and health care providers about how AI-generated drugs are developed and their potential impact on treatment paradigms is vital."

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.

Barbadians now have access to testing for genetic eye diseases, as it is readily available on the island for the first time.

Dr Charles Pierce is the pioneer behind bringing the testing to the island, after realising the need for more accurate diagnosis in eye diseases among the population.

“There has always been this gap in terms of diagnosis of inherited eye disease. Sometimes you can say “this looks like something, but we’ve never had a genetic confirmation. That is something I want to move forward,” Pierce said.

Pierce has more than 15 years’ experience in the field, having worked in Barbados and the United Kingdom (UK).

Having studied Ophthalmology in the UK, zoning in on diseases affecting the back of the eye, his curiosity was piqued as to what genes are responsible for causing inherited diseases in the Caribbean. There has not been a test on the island, to allow families to know their status as it relates to inherited diseases.

“We are moving into an era of personalized medicine where we can look forward to treat inherited  eye diseases but only if we know the genetic cause. Without this information,  we’re never going to have treatments tailored for people in the Caribbean,” Pierce said.

“In a lot of countries, diagnosis is based on testing patients to identify the gene causing the problem. I wanted to bring that to Barbados.”

Testing for genetic eye diseases in Barbados will allow for a more accurate understanding of the genetic abnormalities and how prevalent they are across the island. Through a simple swab of the mouth, the saliva collected can be analysed for testing.

“The hope is that more people will be able to get a definitive diagnosis. We can hopefully build a library of the different genetic abnormalities that are in our population,  leading  to more research and insight to treatments in the future,” Pierce said.

Persons with an inherited eye disease can experience night blindness and changes to central vision. Currently, patients with low vision manage their disease through habit changes such as wearing of shades, magnification and enlargement of fonts on smart devices.

(PR)

The post Barbados to benefit from new testing for genetic eye diseases appeared first on Barbados Today.