PHA contest winners bared
Nine high-school seniors from various schools nationwide won prizes in the Philippine Heart Association's national essay-writing, oratorical, and on-the-spot painting contests held in celebration of Heart Month 2008 in February.
Winners in the essay contest were Sachiko Estreller of University of Baguio Science High School (representing
PHA Northern Luzon chapter), first prize; Ma. Pacita Chelsea Cruz of St. Joseph's College Quezon City (National Capital Region chapter), second prize; and Neechole Camille Cagurangan of De La Salle Canlubang (Southern Tagalog chapter), third prize.
In the oratorical contest, the winners were Pius Totanes Sto. Domingo, Ateneo De Davao High School (Davao-Southern Mindanao chapter), first prize; Jayson So, University of Baguio Science High School (Northern Luzon chapter), second prize; and Jade Marie Sison, School of the Holy Spirit (ncr chapter), third prize.
The first prize in the painting contest went to Holijah Uy of Chiang Kai Shek College (representing
PHA ncr chapter), second prize to Aldrich Kyne So of Stella Maris Academy of Davao (Davao-Southern Mindanao chapter), and third prize to Gabriel Paulo Benito of De La Salle Canlubang (Southern Tagalog chapter).
The winners received PhPP30,000 and a plaque for first prize, PhP20,000 and plaque for second prize, and PhP10,000 and plaque for third prize. Their schools also received plaques of recognition.
The contests had as theme The Heart of the Youth is the Heart of the Nation to help generate awareness about the growing problem of hypertension and heart diseases and how to prevent them among students and the young population. They form part of the
PHA's healthy-lifestyle advocacy, a nationwide campaign to encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles-proper diet, exercise, and avoidance of smoking and alcohol-to help stem the tide of cardiovascular and related diseases.
"This year, we thought of touching on the core of the youth's heart with the first nationwide literary, oratorical, and on-the-spot painting contests among high school students," said Dr. Ma. Belen Carisma,
PHA vice president and Heart Month 2008 chair. She hailed the success of the contest and praised the participants, saying, "if we did succeed in touching the youth's hearts, it is because we ourselves were moved and amazed at the wealth of talent overwhelmingly shown by the young in the arts."
The judges included Prof. Naida Rivera, head of the University of the Philippines Diliman department of English and comparative literature; Conrado Generoso, Medical Observer editor in chief and National Press Club director; and Bert Manlapit, Unilab vice president for corporate affairs for essay writing; Prof. Belen Calingacion, head of the UP Diliman department of speech communication and theater arts; lawyer Ma. Cecilia Oņate, a former national champion of Toastmasters Philippines; and Dr. Eugene Ramos, director of The Medical City Cardiovascular Center for the oratorical contest; and Soler, son of National Artist Mauro Malang Santos, Dr. William Chua, a prominent cardiologist and painter; and TheraPHArma general manager John Dumpit for the painting contest.
M
Lupus Week celebrated
The Philippines celebrated Lupus Advocacy Week on February 2 to 8 for the first time after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had officially signed Proclamation 1435, which declares the first week of every February as such.
Systemic lupus erythematosus, more commonly called lupus, is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, and virtually any organ of the body. Lupus, which strikes nine times as many women as men, is a leading cause of kidney disease, stroke, and premature cardiovascular disease in women of childbearing age. It may occur at any age but lupus appears most often in people between the ages of 10 and 50 years and is also more common among Latinos, Native Americans, African Americans, and Asians, including Filipinos.
The weeklong celebration kicked off with a grand launch, where hundreds of lupus advocates came together at the SM Mall of Asia. Secretary of Health Francisco Duque iii served as guest of honor. Resounding with hope, the program carried the theme " Soaring Butterflies by the Bay" and featured the Philippine Montessori Center Instrumental Ensemble and highly talented people living with lupus. Other activities related to the Lupus Week celebration were simultaneously held in different parts of the country.
Lupus advocates say that this is a time of great hope and opportunity for people living with the disease. Lupus patients, their caring families, friends, supporters, health professionals including doctors, and lupus researchers join hands in promoting more awareness and finding more solutions to lupus.
For more information, visit lupus.ph and luisaproject.org.
M
PHA to survey physician practices
To help address unmet needs in the management of hypertension among Filipinos, the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), in partnership with Novartis Healthcare Philippines, will undertake a survey dubbed "Physician-related factors determining optimal blood pressure control among hypertensive Filipinos in Metro Manila."
The survey aims to identify and evaluate physician-related factors that affect hypertension treatment and control. "This will be a pilot study and hopefully this will progress to become a nationwide survey," said Dr. Emma Trinidad, chair of the
PHA council on hypertension.
The alarming prevalence of uncontrolled high blood pressure among Filipinos prompted
PHA and Novartis to work on this study. A nationwide survey conducted by the
PHA in 2007 found that of the 10.5 million Filipinos with hypertension, 25 percent were not aware of their condition, only 20 percent had their blood pressure controlled while 80 percent remained uncontrolled.
PHA director Dr. Eugene Reyes explained that the pilot study aims specifically to describe and compare the health practices of doctors, determine the significant health practices of doctors that could affect blood-pressure control, and determine whether their approach to blood-pressure control is in accordance with local guidelines and those stipulated by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Joint National Committee vii and the World Health Organization.
"Through this collaborative effort with
PHA, we hope [to] help doctors improve the identification and control of high blood pressure in this country and ultimately stop the rising prevalence of this silent killer among Filipinos," said Peter Goldschmidt, president and chief executive of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.
"Besides aiming to improve control of hypertension in the country, we also hope that this
PHA-initiated study will also become an important source of much-needed local data since most of the epidemiological data currently being used by Filipino doctors are based on US or European surveys and studies," added Dr. Francis Domingo, chief scientific officer for Novartis Healthcare Philippines.
M Gayleen Caballero
PCR pays tribute to past prexies
In celebration of its 60th year of founding, the Philippine College of Radiology (PCR) paid tribute to its past presidents led by the so-called "Magnificent 7" composed of Drs. Paterno Chikiamco (1948, founding president), Paulino Garcia (1949), Ramon Paterno (1950), Daniel Ledesma (1951), Hilario Zialcita (1953), Carlos Vergel De Dios (1953), and Carlos Marquez (1954-1955).
Founded in 1948, the
PCR has had 43 presidents, including current president Dr. Lino Santiago Pabillo.
Speaking during the ceremonies, Pabillo cited the legacy that each of the past presidents left, but stressed that much still needs to be done and there remain threats and challenges that the
PCR must confront. He cited among these challenges the rapid advances in technologies and radiological applications, the encroachment of other specialties into radiology practice, and the practice of radiology by noncertified radiologists.
He stressed the need to continuously review and upgrade the radiology-residency program to keep it relevant and appropriate, and to enhance continuing medical education in the field. "A properly trained and updated radiologist would be able to compete head to head with any other specialists even if other specialists would try to encroach into our practice," he said.
He asked the association to help its members, especially the younger ones, realize their potentials to the maximum. "We must not consider fellow radiologists, especially the younger ones as competitors [who will] displace or replace us, but as cooperators for us to improve ourselves and improve the care of patients," he said.
He also called for more local research on the specialty. "Research is one area that we are currently weak in. We should work to develop a new mindset for our members to make research second nature," he said.
Lastly, he encouraged the members to exert more effort in making the public aware of their existence. "One of the reasons the other specialists are able to encroach into our practice is the public is not aware of our existence and therefore is not aware of the advantage of coming to us for our professional skills," he said.
M Mabelle Aban
PSH, PLAS try to resolve controversies
At the 13th joint annual convention of the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH) and Philippine Lipid and Atherosclerosis Society (PLAS) in February, physicians trained their eyes on Resolving Controversies in Hypertension, Atherosclerosis, and Dyslipidemia, as they sifted through mountains of new data in an area of medicine that has as many debatable issues as there are treatments.
While the mindset of the average physician is generally characterized by cautious attitude toward new information, there is no question that new data bear impact on many other areas in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, said Dr. Rafael Castillo,
PSH president.
"The deluge of these paradigm-shifting data is such that it does not afford the ordinary physician enough time to assimilate previous data and translate them effectively into clinical practice," he pointed out.
Among the areas that draw a lot of questions involve targets for blood-pressure, cholesterol, and blood-glucose lowering-and which drug or drug combinations to use-which Dr. Matthew Weir, director of the division of nephrology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, tried to address with his talk on unmet needs in hypertension in the first plenary session.
Weir said that there are advantages to lowering blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg as suggested by epidemiologic evidence. But he said, "we do not have enough clinical trials" to ascertain whether or not this should apply to all patients. "What appears to be true from most studies is that patients should have their blood pressure reduced to 140/90 mm Hg and preferably below 130/80 if there is any evidence of cardiovascular or renal disease, diabetes, or microalbuminuria," he pointed out.
In most instances, there is a great challenge in reducing blood pressure below 130/80. Aside from
pharmacologic therapy, lifestyle modification-including proper diet and regular exercise, have been recognized to be a vital part of treatment.
Now, is renin-angiosystem (RAS) blockade necessary in blood pressure lowering regimen? "One should appreciate that the studies that show the most clear advantage of ras blockade are those where many patients have either heart disease or kidney disease," Weir said. He noted that studies that only based its difference in outcome on regression of left ventricular hypertrophy, congestive heart failure, development of type 2 diabetes, and reduction in albuminuria do not offer much clear evidence proving the advantage of
RAS blockade. However, he affirmed that "there is more important evidence that
RAS blockade should be part of most regimens."
Controlling the renin system was said to aid in organ protection vis-ā-vis just using angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. "Studies have already shown that dual-renin-system suppression with aliskiren (renin inhibitor) in combination with valsartan provides greater BP lowering efficacy than either monotherapy, establishing a rationale for assessing the organ protective effects of this combination," he said.
M
Philippine Thyroid Council launched
The World Health Organization estimates that there are currently six million people worldwide suffering from goiter. The 2007 State of the World's Children conference estimates that half of all infants born every year are unprotected from goiter. In the Philippines, about 888,000 newborns are unprotected from iodine-deficiency disorders (IDD). Even with the Universal Salt Iodization Advocacy, there are still 36 countries with less than 50 percent of their households adequately consuming iodized salt.
To contribute to the global fight against goiter, the Department of Health and the Philippine Thyroid Association, together with other concerned organizations and individuals, commemorated the second Goiter Awareness Week in January.
With iodine fortification as a strategy, and in recognition of the role of iodine in brain development, this year's Goiter Awareness Week commemoration adopted as its theme, Iodine
sa Asin, Goiter Sugpuin, Isip Patalinuhin.
Assistant health secretary Elmer Punzalan admitted that much remains to be done, even if there have been dramatic improvements in the iodine status of our population. "There is still a need to intensively inform the public about idd, campaign on the use of iodized salt if we want to sustain the gains from the past and present," he said.
To strengthen the campaign against
IDD, the Philippine Thyroid Council was launched at the start of the weeklong commemoration. The Council is composed of representatives from the government (DOH, Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Education, and local government units), 11 medical societies, allied health professionals, and nongovernment organizations. They all signed a memorandum of understanding, which marks the start of the anti-IDD activities that will be held during the year.
The Council aims to increase the awareness on the causes and consequences of goiter and
IDD; to recommend measures that will help improve access to appropriate diagnostic and treatment procedures; and to work toward increasing resources for education and research on prevention and management.
M Mabelle Aban
Stop pneumonia, Dr. Bravo urges
The urgency in addressing the problem caused by pneumococcal diseases-pneumonia and bacterial meningitis, among them-cannot be overemphasized. Pneumonia, according to Dr. Lulu Bravo, executive director of the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health, is the most common childhood illness, and accounts for 20 percent of the 10 million annual child deaths worldwide.
Speaking at the annual convention of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines in February, Bravo said that with three million cases every year, the Philippines ranks among the top 10 countries with high pneumonia incidence.
Children under five are among the victims of pneumonia, whether of bacterial or viral etiology. But the more common etiologic agents are Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. In several local hospital-based studies, S. pneumoniae was identified as the culprit in 2.6 to 43 percent of pneumonia cases in children under five and H. influenzae in 3.4 to 41 percent. Meanwhile, a small study at the Philippine General Hospital showed that S. pneumoniae accounted for 23.5 percent of deaths from bacterial meningitis over a five-year period.
Figures from the World Health Organization's Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group show a similar trend worldwide, with S. pneumoniae being consistently identified in 30 to 50 percent of pneumonia cases and H. influenza type B in 10 to 30 percent. Staphylococcus aureus and Klibsiella pneumoniae also figure in several studies.
Bravo said cases of bacterial and viral coinfection are also increasing, the most common viral agents being respiratory syncytial, parainfluenza, and influenza viruses.
Bravo said controlling the incidence of pneumococcal diseases require a two-pronged approach anchored on constant surveillance and widespread vaccination. She said surveillance is important for three reasons: to observe trends in pneumococcal disease (including disease burden and serotype data), detect changes in antimicrobial resistance, and monitor the impact of vaccination.
Aside from preventing children from infections and saving lives, vaccination also helps lower resistance of pathogens to existing antimicrobials. Through vaccination, there is reduction of invasive pneumococcal infections, antibiotic use and selective pressure, in serotypes with high frequency of resistance, nasopharyngeal carriage, and transmission of resistant strain or clones, she explained.
Bravo said that the who no less recommends the inclusion of the pneumococcal vaccine in national immunization programs, its efficacy having been shown in various studies.
In the case of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (pcv7), for instance, studies showed that the incidence of both invasive and noninvasive pneumococcal diseases dropped significantly following its introduction.
Depending on the dosing schedule, pcv7, achieves effectiveness of 73 to 100 percent.
M Mabelle Aban
Metabolic-syndrome maze clarified
It was initially tagged by Prof. Gerard Raven in 1988 as "Syndrome X," to represent the unknown. Although its name and definitions have hitherto evolved, and despite research advances, a lot of gray areas still exists. At the first Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (PSEM) congress on prediabetes and the metabolic syndrome on March 26, Dr. Ruby Go presented and evaluated its existing definitions and clinical implications.
 |
The World Health Organization (who, 1998); the US National Hearth, Lung, and Blood Institute's Adult Treatment Panel iii (2001), American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE, 2003) and International Diabetes Foundation (IDF, 2005) have all offered varying definitions. "The main components-blood pressure, lipids, obesity, and glucose-are present in all of these definitions. They only differ in their cut-off points," said Go. Although some components are similar, certain additions are present like microalbuminuria (WHO) and insulin resistance, acanthosis negricans, hyperuricemia (AACE).
"When we talk about metabolic syndrome, we talk about clustering of multiple risk factors or cardiovascular risk factors. And the most important ones-atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, elevated plasma glucose-over the last decade, have included any clinicial entity that is related to a poor inflammatory state or prothrombotic state," Go explained.
She added that the existence of many definitions imply confusion among experts. To give more light to the issue, Go summarized the joint statement of the American Diabetes Association and European Association for the Study of Diabetes in 2005: "If the metabolic syndrome is a multicomponent risk factor for
CVD (cardiovascular disease), the component which may be more or less strongly linked with insulin resistance, neither
ATP III nor the who definitions consider the many other CVD risk factors we know-age, physical activity, and history of
CVD event."
"The attempt to define metabolic syndrome as a result of a single unifying pathological process is problematic, although insulin resistance is clearly an important factor of this syndrome. Many other as yet unidentified factors are also important," she pointed out.
The inclusion of components that are weakly related to insulin resistance, like blood pressure, and the exclusion of those that are closely related to risk factors like C-reactive protein and adiponectin were also observed by Go. She added that it remains to be seen whether treating insulin resistance would be relevant in the prevention of
CVD in metabolic-syndrome patients. M Mabelle Aban
|
