News & Updates.

Double hand transplant recipient wants to feel grandkids’ faces

Posted on: October 16th, 2011 by Demka Sakti

After Richard Mangino lost his arms below the elbows and legs below the knees from sepsis in 2002, prostheses enabled him to continue to follow his passion for painting and drawing.

But the 65-year-old Massachusetts man longed to be able to feel his grandchildren’s faces and stroke their hair, pleasures not even the most sophisticated artificial limbs could afford.

Inspired by his family, Mangino last week became the fourth person in the United States to receive a double hand transplant, according to his doctors at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Read the full article at msnbc.com

Free Vaccines, Better Health Centers in Jakarta

Posted on: October 15th, 2011 by Demka Sakti

In a bid to boost health care for its residents, Jakarta will soon boast free childhood disease vaccinations and an increased number of inpatient beds at community health centers. 

Vaccinations for two of the most dangerous childhood communicable diseases, polio and measles, will be provided free of charge to around 460,000 children under 5. 

Read the full story at thejakartaglobe.com

iPad Bantu Anak dengan Gangguan Penglihatan

Posted on: October 8th, 2011 by Demka Sakti

iPad, produk fenomenal keluaran Apple, ternyata berpotensi menjadi alat untuk meningkatkan kemampuan komunikasi dan penglihatan anak yang menderita gangguan penglihatan berat. Para ahli bahkan menyebut komputer tablet ciptaan almarhum Steve Jobs ini bisa menjadi alat “terapi pengubah hidup”.

Gangguan selaput penglihatan merupakan kelainan saraf berat yang disebabkan oleh kerusakan otak sehingga anak tidak mampu menginterpretasikan informasi visual.

Muriel Saunders, peneliti dari Universitas Kansas Life Span Institute, melakukan riset tentang bagaimana anak merespon tombol-tombol adaptif, sebuah perangkat yang dipakai untuk mengajar anak berkebutuhan khusus dan berkaitan dengan kemampuan pengembangan bahasa awal, menggunakan iPad.

“Kami memberi 15 anak usia tiga sampai empat tahun yang menderita kerusakan selaput penglihatan untuk bermain dengan iPad. Hasilnya sungguh mengejutkan. Mereka tidak hanya melihat langsung pada orang dan objek tetapi juga fokus pada sinar dari iPad dan berinteraksi dengan objek di layar,” kata Saunders.

 

Baca selengkapnya di kompas.com.

Post-baby weight gain raises diabetes risk in next pregnancy

Posted on: October 6th, 2011 by Demka Sakti

Women who gain weight after giving birth for the first time dramatically increase their risk of developing pregnancy-related diabetes during their second pregnancy, a new study suggests.

Compared with women of similar height who maintain their weight, a 5-foot-4 woman who gains roughly 12 to 17 pounds after giving birth more than doubles her odds of developing diabetes during her second pregnancy, the study found. If she gains 18 pounds or more, she more than triples her odds.

(The study used body mass index, a ratio of height to weight, so problematic weight gain will vary according to a woman’s height.)

Diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, is influenced by hormonal changes and normal weight gain and usually goes away after the baby is born.

It can lead to birth complications, however, and it also increases a woman’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. In addition, it makes the baby more prone to diabetes and obesity as he grows up.

Read the complete article at CNN.com.

Mengapa Pria Rentan Diabetes?

Posted on: October 5th, 2011 by Demka Sakti

Dibandingkan dengan kaum perempuan, para pria diketahui lebih rentan menderita diabetes melitus. Para ilmuwan berhasil menemukan jawabannya, antara lain karena secara biologi pria memang beresiko tinggi.

Diabetes tipe 2 terjadi karena terlalu banyak glukosa dalam darah akibat kemampuan tubuh untuk mengatur kadar gula di beberapa organ terganggu. Kondisi ini berkaitan dengan kelebihan lemak di beberapa organ tubuh seperti liver dan otot.

Baca sepenuhnya di kompas.com.

Baby Born With Heart on the Outside Stable After Surgery

Posted on: October 4th, 2011 by Demka Sakti

A month-old baby born with her heart on the outside of her body is in stable condition after undergoing a second surgery to correct the condition.

Siti Arrahma, who was born in September, suffers from Ectopis cordis, a rare congenital birth defect in which the fetus’s heart is formed outside its body while in the mother’s womb.

“The condition of baby S.A. is stable after the second surgery, all parts of her heart could be put back into the thoracic cavity and it has been covered with synthetic material,” Rudi Firmansyah, a doctor at Harapan Kita Children and Women Hospital, said on Monday.

Read more about it on thejakartaglobe.com.

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