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FrançaisLipoprotein (a)
This is a third type of cholesterol that is not usually listed in the routine laboratory of a health test. It is synthesized in the liver and is believed to play a role in blood clotting and clotting. High values increase the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke (CVA). High value when greater than 50 mg/dl and very high if higher than 180 mg/dl. One in five people would inherit high values of Lp (a). It should be asked even once in life and having high values serves to raise awareness and maximize the collection. It is not modified by diet or weight loss. There are drugs on trial and when one is obtained that is effective and safe it is likely that the treatment is proposed for patients with more than 90 or 100 mg/dl.
Nasal swabs for Covid-19
There are three types of nasal swabs:
1) nasopharyngeal (the deepest)
2) corneal (mean depth)
3) anterior narins (the least profound)
Experts agree that the deepest swab (1) is the most accurate, with an accuracy of 98%. The vast majority tolerate thepractice but some people complain of pain (introducing the swab at the wrong angle) or the maneuver produces some aversion.
ACUTE PANCREATITIS IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19
A study of approximately 48,000 patients in hospitals in New York, USA (Northwell Northwell Health System) showed a low prevalence of acute pancreatitis, independent of the diagnosis of COVID-19.
In patients with COVID-19 and acute pancreatitis, the etiology of pancreatitis in general was not identifiable, so that SARS-CoV-2 could be the etiologic agent.
(Trindade AJ, Gastroenterology 1-1)
Medical Cannabis: myths and scientific evidence
The indiscriminate use of cannabis oil by patients is increasingly evident. Cannaboids are pain relievers that can be used in both acute and chronic pain, from moderate to severe and by different routes, including inhalation, although there are no clinical studies to obtain conclusions and the processes that guarantee quality are not standardized.
The Committee of Experts of the World Health Organization on Drug Dependence at its meeting (2017) concluded that cannabidiol, in its pure form, would not be harmful and there would be no risk of abuse.
The Expert Committee on drug dependence (2018) recommended that cannabis and cannabis oil be removed from list IV, the most strictly controlled category in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic.
Administración: smoked, vaporized, oral, intranasal, rectal and topical.
While clinical research protocols in both paediatrics and adults are being carried out in several hospitals around the world, there is strong pressure from certain sectors to expand therapeutic use. The current problem is that there is a lot of “artisanal and homemade production”. The available scientific evidence is insufficient, however, many patients with different pathologies that cause seizures or chronic pain show improvement with their use.
1) https://www.who.int/features/qa/cannabidiol/es/
2) https://www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/en/.
New antibiotics needed against drug-resistant infections
In a press release issued by the World Health Organization (17 January 2020), reports that new medicines are needed to treat multidrug-resistant infections, according to the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros A. Ghebreyesus and the Sub- Director General for Antibiotic Resistance of the WHO Hanan Balkhy. Research and development of new antibiotics are driven mainly by small or medium-sized enterprises, large pharmaceutical companies are left out. Very few antibiotics are under development. The WHO has identified priority pathogens. New drugs needed for sustainable access and responsible use
