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Day: August 15, 2018

Aug152018 by PharmaTimes102 Comments
Triple Pill Treatment May Effectively Lower Blood Pressure –Study

Triple Pill Treatment May Effectively Lower Blood Pressure –Study

NEWS
A new low dose three-in-one pill to treat hypertension could transform the way high blood pressure is treated around the world, according to a study published in JAMA, a journal of the American Medical Association. A trial led by the George Institute for Global Health revealed that 70 per cent of patients reached blood pressure targets with the ‘Triple Pill,’ compared to just over half receiving normal care. “It’s estimated more than one billion people globally suffer from high blood pressure with the vast majority having poorly controlled blood pressure. “Our results could help millions of people globally reduce their blood pressure and reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke,” said Ruth Webster with the George Institute for Global Health. The Triple Pill, consisted of the blood p
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes251 Comments
NAFDAC Sanctions 142 Premises Over Counterfeits, Adulterated Products In Sokoto

NAFDAC Sanctions 142 Premises Over Counterfeits, Adulterated Products In Sokoto

NEWS
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Sokoto State Office, has sanctioned 146 business premises and production industries for various offences including sale of counterfeits and adulterated products. The State Coordinator, NAFDAC, Mr Hamis Yahaya, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Sokoto. He explained that 29 of the culprits were bakeries using banned bromide substance and others were producers of sachet water, medicine stores and shops. Yahaya said the state office partnered with other law enforcement agencies on code compliance of products, routines inspections and surveillance raids, noting that NAFDAC conducts sensitisation campaigns at public places and schools in metropolis and local governmen...
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes46 Comments
Abuja Doctors Threaten to Embark on Strike

Abuja Doctors Threaten to Embark on Strike

NEWS
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Abuja chapter, says it will commence an indefinite strike on August 25. The union made this known in a statement jointly signed by its president, Michael Olarewaju and secretary, Roland Aigbovo, on Wednesday in Abuja. It said the impending strike follows the failure of FCT Administration to repay “obnoxious” tax deduction from July salaries of staff, among other demands. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the association had earlier condemned the tax deduction of N78, 000 from each of its members’ July salaries. It said the current deduction was against the initial N36, 000 deductions imposed on the doctors. The union noted that it had on Aug. 1, 2018 issued a-21day ultimatum effective from Aug. 3 to FCT administration, calling on
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes224 Comments
Suspected Kidnapper Who Took Tramadol Dies in Police Custody

Suspected Kidnapper Who Took Tramadol Dies in Police Custody

NEWS
The suspect who took tramadol and became unconscious during a kidnapping operation about 10 days ago has died in police custody. The suspect, whose identity had yet to be established, was arrested by men of the Ondo State Police Command, after sleeping off on the premises of the victim due to the effect of the tramadol. The man did not wake up till he passed away on Monday. The suspect and three other members of his gang were said to have attempted to kidnap a pharmacy owner in Owo town in Ondo State. However, the operation was not successful as the victim managed to escape. According to the police, the victim raised the alarm and escaped through the back door of his shop. The police explained that after failing to kidnap the victim, the deceased had tried to escape on a motorcycle b...
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes165 Comments
Minister Advocates Review of Pharmacy Curriculum

Minister Advocates Review of Pharmacy Curriculum

NEWS
To reduce drug import, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has called for a review of the curriculum on pharmacy, to ensure that pharmacists are trained to manufacture drugs. Speaking at the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists in Academia (NAPA) conference yesterday in Abuja, the minister, who urged the association to take advantage of the Presidential Executive Order 5 and go into drug production, expressed concern over the high volume of drug import in the country. Onu noted that the nation’s economy must be knowledge and innovation-driven, adding that “once the country starts producing what it needs, jobs will be created to improve the economy.” According to him, government, through the executive order, wants to ensure that everything imported in large quantity is
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes209 Comments
Marketing Your Pharmacy on Social Media: What You Should Know

Marketing Your Pharmacy on Social Media: What You Should Know

NEWS
Social media can play a vital role in any business including pharmacies. The benefits that a pharmacy can accrue by using the social media are quite a lot. First of all, social media puts your business out there for a lot of people to see especially young people. Now, you might say that “This is Nigeria” where people can walk down the street and look for pharmacy signboards, but you should not forget that this is the new age, where everything is going digital. Let’s take an example, the just concluded ACPN conference and the elections. Both candidates for the position of National Chairman showed the power of the social media. The campaign was fierce and interesting, not because they had posters everywhere, but because they were able to engage their target audience in the convenience of th
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimesNo Comments
Pharmaceutical Research and Biotechnology Embracing Artificial Intelligence

Pharmaceutical Research and Biotechnology Embracing Artificial Intelligence

NEWS
In an extremely competitive business climate dominated by an equally highly demanding economic and technological indicator, it behoves pharmaceutical and biotech establishments to constantly bring something new to their R and D programmes in order to stay ahead of the competition. New trends and concepts can emanate from anywhere and at different times - such as laboratories in the universities, new private establishments, and contract research organisations (CROs). In 2018 and beyond, the trend in research studies are beginning to take a dimension so different from what we had last year. In 2017 a number of important trends characterised the shape of biopharmaceutical industry such as: an advancement of various aspects of gene editing technologies (mainly, CRISPR/Cas9); an interesting e...
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimesNo Comments
Pneumonia: Now That the Rains Are Here

Pneumonia: Now That the Rains Are Here

Children's Health, NEWS
Pneumonia is a respiratory disease characterised by inflammation of the lung parenchyma (excluding the bronchi) with congestion caused by germs or irritants. Thus it is a general term for lung infections that can be caused by a variety of germs (viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites). It is a very common disease affecting children but not much attention has been devoted to it in comparison to other ailments, experts believe. Research shows that pneumonia is the second cause of death in children less than 5 years worldwide, and more than 80% of such deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over and over again, pneumonia begins after an upper respiratory tract infection (an infection of the nose and throat), with symptoms starting after 2 or 3 days of a cold or sore throat; it then moves to t...
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes233 Comments
Boxers May Be Better Than Briefs For Men’s Fertility—Study

Boxers May Be Better Than Briefs For Men’s Fertility—Study

Men's Health, NEWS
Choosing between boxers and briefs is an age-old debate. But a new study might just give a point to those who prefer the looser garment. A study published on the Oxford University Press’ academic website found that men who wore boxers had a higher sperm count than men who wore briefs. The study included 656 male partners from couples seeking treatment for infertility. The men self-reported whether they wore boxers or briefs more frequently in the previous three months. Semen samples were collected and analyzed to look for differences in sperm concentration, sperm count, motility and sperm morphology. Men who reported wearing boxers more frequently had a higher sperm concentration, higher sperm count and higher motile count, according to the study. “High scrotal temperatures have been as
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes42 Comments
Scientists Recommend Eating Of Crickets To Stay Healthy

Scientists Recommend Eating Of Crickets To Stay Healthy

Food And Nutrition, NEWS
A new clinical trial showed that consuming crickets can help support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and that eating crickets is not only safe at high doses but may also reduce inflammation in the body. The clinical trial, which was carried out in the University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States, documented for the first time the health effects of eating insects. The co-corresponding author of the study, Prof. Tiffany Weir, of the Colorado State University, USA, said, “This study was important because insects represent a novel component in western diets and their health effects in human populations haven’t really been studied. “With what we now know about the gut microbiota and its relationship to human health, it is important to establish how a novel food might affect gut micro
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimesNo Comments
Fed Govt Seeks More Awareness On Fistula Elimination

Fed Govt Seeks More Awareness On Fistula Elimination

NEWS
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole has called for more awareness on the elimination of obstetric fistula to reduce maternal mortality. Adewole said this at the High Level Awareness Seminar on Fistula in Abuja. The minister said obstetric fistula is childbirth injury, which causes both physical and social harm in women. Women, who experience obstetric fistula suffer incontinence, shame, and social segregation and health problems. He said: “The development of obstetric fistula is directly linked to one of the major causes of maternal mortality: obstructed labour. It is estimated that more than two million young women live with untreated obstetric fistula in Asia and Sub- Saharan Africa “In Nigeria the most common cause of obstetric fistula is prolonged obstructed labour due to limite
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimesNo Comments
Nigerian Households Spends N11billion On Breastmilk Substitutes Annually

Nigerian Households Spends N11billion On Breastmilk Substitutes Annually

Children's Health, NEWS, Women's health
Bauchi- It has been observed that Nigerian households spend over $38 million equivalent to 11 billion naira on breastmilk substitutes annually, costing workers up to 34% of their minimum wage earning to pay economy brand infant formula for the first two years . This was an outcome of a two days media dialogue for world breastfeeding month, with theme,” Breastfeeding, foundation for life” organized by the Jigawa Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with UNICEF, Bauchi Field office with funding from the UK Aid and supported by Department for international development, DFID, held at the central hotel in Kano state. The meeting was facilitated by the UNICEF Communication Officer Bauchi office,Mr Samuel Kaalu, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Philomena Irene and Executive Secre
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes179 Comments
Researchers Warn Against Excessive Exercise

Researchers Warn Against Excessive Exercise

NEWS
A new study conducted in the United States of America has suggested that regular physical activity lasting 45 minutes, three to five times weekly, can reduce poor mental health, but doing more than that may not always be beneficial. In the study published in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal, a total of 1.2 million people reported their activity levels for a month and rated their mental wellbeing. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, the study found that people who exercised had 1.5 fewer ‘bad days’ a month than non-exercisers. The researchers noted that all types of activities were found to improve mental health, no matter people’s age or gender, including doing the housework and looking after the children. They, however, could not confirm that physical activity was the caus
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimesNo Comments
Cardiovascular Disorders Are Caused By Excess Fat — Don

Cardiovascular Disorders Are Caused By Excess Fat — Don

NEWS
The Dean of the School of Health Technology at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo state, Prof. Evangeline Oparaocha, has said that cardiovascular disorders are caused by excess fat in the body. Oparaocha said this during the opening ceremony of the 3rd International Congress on Health Science and Technology, held on the main campus of the univesity on Monday, themed, ‘Innovative Technologies for Disease Prevention and Wellness Promotion.” Warning that the Nigeria of every citizen’s dream would be a fluke in the absence of conscious efforts by experts and scholars to address current issues of disease prevention and wellness promotion, she said, “The spread of diseases along the whole spectrum of life, with devastating effect, has become so endemic to the extent of becoming
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Aug152018 by PharmaTimes174 Comments
Cholera Outbreak Claims 28 Lives In Kano

Cholera Outbreak Claims 28 Lives In Kano

NEWS
Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru Gesto, on Tuesday confirmed that the state has so far recorded 28 deaths between January and July this year. Gesto noted that 400 cases of acute watery diarrhoea had been recorded, while 50 cases of cholera across 33 local government areas of the state were also confirmed. Briefing newsmen in Kano yesterday on the flag-off of the first round of 2018 Maternal New Born and Child Health Week, the commissioner said the state government, through the ministry, had instituted several control measures to combat the outbreak, currently ravaging 17 states of the federation. “As you might be aware, the country is currently experiencing increased incidence of acute watery diarrhea and an ongoing cholera outbreak in 17 states. “The sum of N32 Million h
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