Wednesday, March 31, 2010

More write wills younger

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IT USED to be that only the sick and the old wrote wills.

But now, the practice of crafting a formal document specifying the individuals who will receive one's property upon his death is catching on among the younger set, even those yet to hit their 30th birthday. This stems from people in their 20s and 30s pursuing active lifestyles and often travelling to places where epidemics and terrorism are real threats.

They are also getting richer younger, often through investments, and thus want to be sure their assets go to those they love or who need looking after.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Chemicals exposure-cancer link

chemical_analysis

PARIS - WORKPLACE exposure to synthetic fibres and certain oil byproducts before her mid-30s triples a woman's risk of breast cancer after menopause, a study among Canadian patients said on Thursday.

France Labreche of the National Institute of Public Health in Montreal led an investigation into the health records of 1,169 women aged 50 to 75. Just under half had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 and 1997, after having undergone menopause. The other 613 women were diagnosed during the same period with other forms of cancer and acted as a comparison.

A squad of chemists and industrial hygienists probed the extent to which all the women had been exposed to about 300 different substances throughout their working life. After filtering out other known causes of breast cancer, they found a strong link between higher rates of risk and exposure to several common synthetic materials, found in textile factories and other industrial settings.

Compared to the non-breast cancer group, the risk peaked before the age of 36, when still-active cells in breast tissue are thought to be more sensitive to harmful chemicals. Women occupationally exposed to acrylic fibres ran a seven-fold risk of breast cancer, while exposure to nylon fibres nearly doubled the risk.

Among breast cancer patients, those whose tumours responded well to oestrogen treatment, but not progesterone treatment, were more than twice as likely to have breast cancer for every decade they were exposed to so-called monaromatic hydrocarbons - a byproduct of crude oil - and to acrylic or rayon fibres. Oestrogen and progesterone are both naturally-occurring hormones used in breast cancer treatment. Exposure before the age of 36 to another class of hydrocarbons found in petroleum products tripled the risk for women whose tumours responded to both types of hormone treatment.

The authors concede that the results are not conclusive, but point out that they are consistent with the theory that breast tissue is more susceptible to chemical toxins in women under 40. They also note the rising rate of breast cancer in rich countries, which could also be due to earlier and better diagnosis and increased rates of alcohol consumption. -- AFP

Creative WWF Ad

WWF-Lungs-o

[Click on image to enlarge]

More unsafe food

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BLAME it on a growing demand for new, exotic foods and free trade agreements opening up a way for them to come in. More importers here are getting caught for bringing in unsafe food products.

These processed foods range from tea leaves with colouring to flour that has been excessively bleached, to cordials with too much preservatives. The more extreme examples include melamine-tainted milk and salmonella-laced peanut butter.

The number of cases of food-safety breaches shot up by a quarter, from 176 in 2007 to 219 last year.

Importers are allowed to bring in only licensed products which comply with the Singapore Food Regulations Act. When the stocks arrive, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) tests random samples for contaminants.

There are several ways unsafe food items slip through the cracks:

Importers are let down by unreliable overseas suppliers;

Importers are unclear about the regulations imposed on certain foods; and

They are slipshod with their own checks.

Importer Auric Pacific Marketing, which brings in wine and condiments, gets about one product rejected by AVA each year.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Minogue leads battle

 mn

AUSTRALIAN star Kylie Minogue is fronting a breast cancer charity campaign for the first time following her own successful battle with the disease.

Together with actress Sienna Miller and model Claudia Schiffer, Minogue posed for pictures wrapped in a silk sheet emblazoned with the distinctive target logo of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC).

The photos were taken by photographer Mario Testino. The images will be used in a media campaign which will run in the United Kingdom until mid-May.

FTBC is a fund-raising campaign from UK charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer. It has raised more than £10.5 million ($22 million) for Breakthrough Breast Cancer since its UK launch in 1996.

This year, they're working with retailers including M&S, Warehouse, Topshop, Coast, Laura Ashley, my-wardrobe.com, Superdry and Melissa Odabash, which have each chosen items to be sold for the cause. No less than 30 per cent of the price of each item will go directly to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Minogue, Schiffer and Miller are urging women everywhere to "wear your support" for FTBC and the women diagnosed with the disease by buying items from this year's range.

Minogue, now 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 during her Showgirl world tour. She was later given the all clear following chemotherapy and radiotherapy and was able to resume the tour in November 2006. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

http://www.fashiontargetsbreastcancer.org.uk

Health care funding's balancing act

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SINGAPORE - Asian governments need to find the right balance of public and private sector funding for health care financing to avoid the mistakes of the American and European systems.

So said several experts at the presentation of an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report yesterday that found Asia's health care systems not keeping pace with the region's rapidly expanding economy.

The challenges are many: Heart disease is a major cause of death in the 11 countries the report covered, and the threat of infectious diseases remain. The report also found that a large percentage of health care is funded by private payments, leading to great disparity in access to treatment in countries such as India and Vietnam.

Health care systems will also need to change quickly to deal with rapidly ageing populations, said Mr Charles Goddard, EIU's Asia-Pacific editorial director.

And while some countries want to follow Singapore's health care funding model, the question is how transferable the model to bigger countries with a varied geographical landscape is, said Associate Professor Phua Kai-Hong.

The health policy and management don from the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said there is no single model for the public-private split of health care funding and provision. Depending solely on insurance will not work. Insurance should cover only catastrophic illnesses, and personal savings should be encouraged.

"Unfortunately many governments look upon insurance to solve all their problems. So, they cover everything under the sun and there's not enough," he said.

Asian countries should also do more in disease prevention in order to "bend the cost curve" and deliver sustainability - an area the United States and Europe have "failed miserably" in, said Mr Arthur Higgins, chairman of pharmaceutical company Bayer Healthcare's executive committee.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan will give the opening keynote address at the EIU's Healthcare in Asia conference today.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Simple slip-ups

rain

SINGAPORE - It can be as simple as switching on windscreen wipers when the drizzle starts. But some drivers forget to do that even when it rains, according to the Automobile Association (AA) of Singapore.

And when it pours, as it does between October and January, traffic accidents can rise by up to 50 per cent, said a lawyer who specialises in accident cases. However, Mr Sarindar Singh, 63, who has more than 30 years' experience, stressed that weather was only one reason for the spike.

February was the driest month in Singapore's history but the rains are back and now crashes hold up traffic on a wet day. Last week, three accidents took place within a one-km stretch of road near Changi Airport.

Mr Singh handles more cases involving traffic accidents during the rainy season. "Here, drivers ... tailgate you. If you put your foot down on the brake, there's bound to be an accident," he said.

Other causes of accidents include speeding, impatience and insufficient attention to road conditions.

An AA spokesperson said headlights should not be high beam when it rains. It may "cause unwanted glare and make it harder for you to see clearly", she said.

With the gradual onset of inter-monsoon conditions in the next fortnight, afternoon showers with thunder are expected on some days, according to a National Environment Agency spokesman.

The Traffic Police advise motorists to move to a safe spot and stop at the side of the road with their hazard lights turned on if they cannot see clearly.

A distributor of sports cars, Mr Stephen Sng, CEO of Automobil Manufactur, said drivers of such cars get into accidents on wet roads because they are inexperienced. He imports cars like the $2 million Pagani Zonda from Italy, which has a maximum speed of 345kmh, and the $348,000 Mitsuoka from Japan, which can hit 280kmh.

When the road is wet, a thin film of water causes a car to lose some contact with the road, which can cause it to aquaplane and skid out of control. "There's no grip. The car is still moving straight but it is floating. So drivers should just slow down even though they're driving sports cars," he added.

Even going over puddles of water can affect a car's brakes when water enters the brake drum behind the rear wheel, said a driving instructor with 25 years' experience. Drivers could brake intermittently to remove water to ensure the brakes continue to work properly, said Mr Jonah Phua, 56.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Man bashed for saying 'cool'

 

~When Cool is NOT Cool…..

SM131~Mom-Says-I-m-Cool-Posters

A MISUNDERSTANDING over the word 'cool' has left a 36-year-old fighting for his life in the intensive care unit of Changi General Hospital.

His injuries are so bad, that he has been unconscious since he was beaten up on Sunday morning. Doctors have removed his damaged gall bladder and also operated on his pancreas which was ruptured.

Safety officer Mr Nico Ramon arrived at a party, organised by his older uncle at a chalet in Changi, just after midnight on Sunday. As he did not know anyone there aside from his uncle, aunt and two cousins, he was taken on a round of introductions to the group of about 10 youths known to his uncle.

It was during one introduction that he replied: 'That's cool, man. It's nice to meet you.' But someone else at the party misheard the word 'cool' as an expletive and a confrontation took place, said Mr Ramon's younger brother Mr Joshua Kannan, 34, yesterday.

Shortly after the incident, Mr Ramon called Mr Kannan, who was at his brother's Henderson Road flat, telling him that there had been a misunderstanding but the issue had been 'resolved'.

But Mr Kannan, who called to check on him, heard a commotion in the background before his brother let out a shriek and the line went dead.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Dad seeks $2m for son

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AFTER a traffic accident here left his son wheelchair-bound, Japanese executive Hiroyasu Kuroki took him home and spent some $479,000 rebuilding their house to accommodate the teen's disability.

The two-storey house in Kanagawa prefecture, about two hours from Tokyo by train, was torn down and rebuilt to give Mr Kuroki's disabled son mobility at home.

Measures included installing a lift to replace the staircase, and bigger toilets and shower facilities because he needed more space to move around.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

The choice is yours

cpf

SINGAPORE - Should the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) be stopped so that members will not risk losing their retirement nest egg? Yes, said a resident who claimed that he had lost some $350,000 in his CPF account after investing in shares.

The Lengkong Tiga resident, who identified himself as Mr Goh, said during the ministerial dialogue yesterday that he only got back $35,000 eventually but did not say if these were the gains from the investments or the amount he could withdraw from his Ordinary Account (OA) on top of the Minimum Sum.

He also did not say how he lost the sum and whether the investments spanned a few years. MediaCorp understands that members can only invest up to 35 per cent of the money in their OA in shares.

Mr Goh said he had suggested to the CPF Board to stop allowing members to invest in shares, but staff had replied that it was his personal choice to make the investments.

Second Minister for Finance Lim Hwee Hua said she agreed with the CPF Board's stance, adding that there had been "a lot of demand" for the Government to allow members to invest their CPF money before the CPFIS was introduced.

"I'll convey your feedback to the CPF Board but I'm not quite sure the rest will agree that we should stop the scheme," she said. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said that by the same logic of stopping the CPFIS, then "we should not have a casino".

"You are right, when the temptation is there, people think they can make money out of it," he said, adding that he has never sunk his own CPF monies in equities because of the higher-than-bank interest the CPF scheme pays minus the risks.

Still, there had been pressure from those who wanted higher returns on their savings, so "we did open up CPF to investments because it's your money, you decide what to do. Unfortunately, most people lost money because they are not savvy investors."

Banning the scheme, however was not the solution. "You got to exercise your own choice," he said. The latest performance numbers of funds under the CPFIS released earlier this month pointed to a solid year.

According to Lipper, the funds tracking company under the CPF Board's guidelines, the average return of CPFIS-included funds, unit trusts and investment-linked insurance products rose 38.62 per cent last year compared with the same period a year ago.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

 

~ This is quite a strange request, since we’re allowed the choice not to invest the CPF monies, if we decide to invest, of course we have to be prepared to bare the risks!

Parkway Novena taps foreign hospital staff

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Hoping to tap a foreign pool of nurses and allied health professionals to staff its upcoming hospital and specialist centre in Novena is Parkway Holdings.

This, the health care provider can do through its new shareholder, Indian hospital chain Fortis Healthcare, said Parkway chief executive-designate Dr Tan See Leng.

"We hope to have access to their resources in terms of allied healthcare as well as nursing to support the opening (of the Novena hospital)," he said on Friday at a press briefing to announce that all 100 medical suites released in Parkway Novena hospital had been booked.

"What we can look at is a better understanding of (Fortis') training colleges, in terms of how they can supplement ours, how they can truncate and shorten the learning curve for us."

When operational in the second quarter of 2012, Parkway Novena expects to have 700 to 800 staff including 150 doctors. When fully operational, staff strength could go up to 1,300. The complex will house a 333-bed hospital and 259 medical suites catering primarily to specialists in neurology, heart and vascular medicine, orthopaedics and general surgery. It will be the first hospital with fully single-bed patient rooms.

Many of the specialists who have booked the 100 units in Parkway Novena's Phase One launch - with estimated sales exceeding $200 million - are now leasing spaces out of Lucky Plaza, Camden Medical Centre and Paragon, Dr Tan said.

The bulk of the remaining medical suites will be launched in a few days.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

A hospital where your heart rate will not go up

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SINGAPORE - As he guided Yishun residents around the outpatient clinics of the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), chief executive Liak Teng Lit spelled out his guarantee to them.

"When you come to this hospital, your blood pressure and heart rate won't go up," he said.

The pieces are falling into place for KTPH, which opens its 11 Outpatient Specialist Clinics today. At its Open House yesterday, some of the details that go into providing seamless patient care were revealed.

For instance, the Diabetes and Geriatric Medicine clinics are next to the Ophthalmology clinic, as many elderly and diabetic patients also have eye problems.

Various healthcare professionals like podiatrists, dieticians and endocrinologists are housed in the Diabetes clinic to attend to the multiple conditions that come with the disease.

To create a soothing ambience, fruit trees and plants - including durian - are being grown in different parts of the hospital.

"The facilities are good. I learnt about the services available," said Yishun Street 72 resident Mdm Wee Lye Hua, 58, who had an ear screening done for $2 during her tour.

About 200 patients are expected at the outpatient clinics today - well within the average of 1,000 patients seen at Alexandra Hospital currently, said Mr Liak.

The 550-bed KTPH will open its inpatient wards and the emergency department from July.

The past fortnight, staff have been stress-testing the new system by simulating heart attacks and flushing all toilets at the same time, for instance.

The hospital has also hired 200 staff over and above its headcount of 2,300. This over-recruitment is because some existing staff may find the commute to Yishun "too much of a problem", said Mr Liak.

There has also been interest from doctors and nurses from other hospitals who live near Yishun.

KTPH is also energy efficient and is expected to consume 27 per cent less energy than other hospitals of comparable size - thanks to fewer air-conditioned areas, and solar panels the size of an Olympic-sized pool that will provide 3 per cent of its energy needs.

But patients in the non-airconditioned B2 and C Class wards will still enjoy good airflow, said Mr Liak.

The building's design was put through a wind tunnel to "make sure there's always a constant breeze", and the rooftop garden will reduce heatload.

Speaking to reporters after his tour, Nee Soon Central Member of Parliament Ong Ah Heng said that about 20 households had moved out due to the construction noise. "They were not resentful, but they just could not get used to the noise. Some of them had young children and babies," he said.

Residents' feedback has been good.

"They don't feel like they're coming to a hospital. They feel very comfortable," said Mr Ong.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Resistance develops fast for H1N1

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WASHINGTON - THE H1N1 swine flu virus can develop resistance quickly to antivirals used to treat it, US doctors reported on Friday.

Government researchers reported on the cases of two people with compromised immune systems who developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy.

Bacteria quickly develop resistance to antibiotics, which must be used carefully. Viruses can do the same and doctors worried about resistance had recommended against using antivirals for flu except in patients who really needed them.

'While the emergence of drug-resistant influenza virus is not in itself surprising, these cases demonstrate that resistant strains can emerge after only a brief period of drug therapy,' said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

'We have a limited number of drugs available for treating influenza and these findings provide additional urgency to efforts to develop antivirals that attack influenza virus in novel ways,' he said in a statement.

Swine flu emerged a year ago in the United States and Mexico and spread around the world in just six weeks, killing thousands of people. It hit children and young adults especially hard. Older antiviral drugs did not work against it - they do not work against seasonal flu, either - but Roche AG's Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, did. It was not widely used, however. -- REUTERS

Breast cancer overtreated?

overtreated

BARCELONA - ARE doctors overtreating breast cancer? At a breast cancer conference on Friday in Barcelona, experts discussed how to implement mammogram screening programmes across Europe, balancing fighting cancer with the goal of targeting only those women who need to be screened.

For years, officials have promoted breast cancer screening as the best way to spot the disease and save lives. Yet mammograms are far from perfect and come with an unwelcome side effect: false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women's odds of survival.

The mammogram issue ignited a fierce debate in the United States last year when an influential government panel recommended scaling back screening programs to begin at age 50 instead of 40 - guidelines close to many in Europe.

In most women, tumors are slow-growing, and that likelihood increases with age. So there is little risk by extending the time between mammograms, some researchers say. Even for the minority of women with aggressive, tumors, annual screening seems to make little difference in survival odds.

US researchers last year estimated five lives saved per thousand women screened.

'The over-diagnosis problem has been downplayed because people really want to believe screening works,' said Karsten Jorgensen of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen, who has published several papers on the issue. 'There is a lot of overtreatment happening, and it is time to re-evaluate whether the benefits really outweigh the harms.' Yet others say doctors must work with the tests they have. -- AP

11 clinics to open at Yishun hospital

 

THE 11 specialist outpatient clinics at the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) in Yishun open on Monday, even as work on the rest of the hospital continues.

The clinics, which range from cardiology and orthopaedic surgery to dentistry, will be manned by 40 doctors, 40 nurses and 20 dental assistants between 8am and 5.30pm.

Supporting services such as laboratories, pharmacy and day surgery suites will also open then.

Already, more than 200 patients have appointments that day, either Yishun residents referred there by their doctors or patients of the first lot of doctors who have moved over from Alexandra Hospital (AH).

With these patients going there, some load will probably be taken off the specialist clinics at other public hospitals, so overall waiting times may well go down.

KTPH, the first public hospital to open here in more than a decade, expects to be fully operational by September.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Dengue alert

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SINGAPORE is on alert for a possible spike in cases of dengue fever, especially for people coming down with a less common type of the virus.

The current warm spell, brought on by the El Nino weather phenomenon, is partly to blame, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.

Though mosquitoes need stagnant water to breed, it is dry weather that not only accelerates breeding, but also makes the insects infective faster.

While there is no reason for alarm, the authority is on alert because there is evidence that Dengue Type 1, 3 and 4 may be becoming more rampant, said the head of operations at NEA's environmental health department, Mr Tai Ji Choong.

Random blood samples taken from those who caught the disease this year showed that cases of the less common viruses have surfaced in parts of Woodlands, as well as in Serangoon Road and Serangoon North.

In the last few years, Type 2 has been the more common dengue strain in Singapore, said Mr Tai.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Hopper's cancer is terminal

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LOS ANGELES - FAMED US actor Dennis Hopper, who starred in such cinematic classics as Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now, is dying of cancer, his lawyer said in court documents out on Thursday.

Attorney Joseph Mannis said that Hopper was too weak to be questioned by his wife's attorney in a bitter ongoing divorce settlement, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday and obtained by KTLA television on Thursday.

However Hopper, 73, will still attend a ceremony in his honour for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The court filing said his physician David Agus found that Hopper weighs less than 100 pounds (45 kg) as he battles prostate cancer.

The star of 1969's iconic 'Easy Rider' had been undergoing treatment at the University of Southern California, and cancelled public appearances late last year when his condition was announced.

Hopper has appeared in several classic films during a career spanning more than half a century. A notable early role came in the James Dean hit Rebel Without a Cause in 1955, later appearing in the 1979's Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now and director David Lynch's cult mystery movie Blue Velvet (1986). -- AFP

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Lesser deaths at busy hospitals

Hospitals

BOSTON - WANT to survive a heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia? Go to a busy hospital.

Researchers reported on Wednesday that patients suffering from the three common health problems were less likely to die when treated in hospitals that frequently handle those illnesses.

Pneumonia patients treated at larger-volume hospitals were 5 per cent less likely to die in the first month than patients treated at hospitals that handled few cases. The death rate for heart failure was 9 per cent lower for busy hospitals and 11 per cent lower for heart attacks.

Dr. Joseph Ross of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and colleagues studied Medicare claim data from 2004 through 2006 for their study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They found that once a hospital annually treated 610 patients for a heart attack, 500 for heart failure or 210 for pneumonia, patients had the lowest risk of dying, at least during the first 30 days.

Teaching hospitals generally needed fewer patients to attain a lower risk of death, they discovered. 'There are small-volume hospitals that are doing well, and large volume hospitals that aren't,' Dr. Ross said in a telephone interview. But in general, hospitals that treat the fewest patients were the riskiest.

'Clearly our small-volume hospitals need to be lifted up a bit,' Dr. Ross said. One solution may be to help them do things the way larger-volume facilities do, so their success rates will improve. Previous studies have shown that patients who receive surgery or other procedures do better if they are treated by doctors with the most experience. -- REUTERS

Teen missing, feared drowned

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A TEENAGER is missing and feared drowned after he slipped and fell into a canal at Potong Pasir Avenue 3 yesterday.

Mr Al-Hasif Hamid, 19, is believed to have been attempting to retrieve a soccer ball that had fallen into the canal.

But he lost his footing on the ground, made slippery from a rain storm, and fell into the water.

The police received a call at 5pm yesterday that a person had fallen into a canal.

Friends of the teenager told The Straits Times that he had been playing street soccer at a nearby street soccer court before the accident.

Muhammad Ammeraz, 16, who played street soccer with Mr Al-Hasif regularly, told The Straits Times that his friend did not know how to swim.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Injured cyclist dies

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ONE of two cyclists knocked down in Clementi on Sunday night by a suspected drink-driver died in hospital yesterday from head injuries.

Freelance writer Benjamin Mok Chee Kong, 35, never regained consciousness after the accident.

The 62-year-old suspect, a general practitioner, could be facing more trouble as he is under investigation for a hit-and-run offence.

The Straits Times understands that he had left the scene after the accident, and returned later. He was arrested and is currently out on bail.

Mr Mok and his friend, Mr Bertram Leong Poh Meng, 22, a chef, had been out on a routine cycling trip on Sunday night.

The two of them were initially in a group of six, but were with just one other friend when cycling along Clementi Road. They were headed towards Upper Bukit Timah Road for supper when the accident happened.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Family first, then insurance

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Most Singaporeans will first consider another adult member of the household to help with expenses if the breadwinner should die or become unable to work. Insurance would then be the second preferred option, while getting support from other relatives is a distant third, according to a NUS Business School survey.

In times of need, less than one in 10 Singaporeans will consider sending at least one of their school-going children out to work. These figures are considerably lower than those for other places such as Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Half of the Singaporeans surveyed would also adopt to continue the family line, depending on circumstances.

Eight thousand adults in eight Asian countries were polled.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Battle of bulge just got tougher

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CHICAGO - WOMEN need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the creep of extra pounds that comes with aging, US researchers said on Tuesday.

The weekly total of 420 minutes is nearly triple the 150 minutes of moderate daily exercise currently recommended by US health officials and illustrates the challenge American women face in maintaining a healthy weight.

Winning that war will require individuals to make changes in their daily routines - like walking or biking to work - but it may also take a shift in policy to make it easier for people in fit exercise into their lives, researchers said.

Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, and adding about US$150 billion (S$210 billion) a year to US healthcare costs. 'From a public health perspective, it would be better to prevent the weight gain in the first place,' said I-Min Lee of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Lee said there is ample research on people who are already overweight, but little on how to prevent weight gain as people grow older.

Current US exercise recommendations differ, with 2008 guidelines recommending 150 minutes of moderate exercise - brisk walking, gardening, ballroom dancing - as a way to improve overall health, and a 2002 report by the Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Sciences, recommending an hour a day. If people exercise vigorously, by running or cycling hard, for instance, less time is needed to get the same benefits. -- REUTERS

Food for thought

Food For Thought Logo Reversed

AT MEALTIMES, you may make a conscious effort to go for waist-friendly and heart-healthy foods. But did you know that your dietary decisions can also influence how your brain works?

Like the body, a nutritious diet can do wonders for the brain by enhancing brain power and improving memory, said Ms Shweta Sharma, a nutritionist in private practice. Ms Sharma spoke on the topic last week at an event organised by the Women's Initiative for Ageing Successfully (Wings).

In particular, breakfast (see box for nutritious breakfast suggestions) is the most important meal of the day, said Ms Sharma. It helps rev up the brain first thing in the morning.

"After a full night of fasting, our brain needs a fresh supply of glucose - the basic brain fuel - to start functioning properly. A healthy breakfast ensures that the brain gets this kick-start every morning, resulting in better concentration and memory during the day," she explained.

The best bet for proper brain function is a well-balanced diet, said Ms Sharma. But there are certain nutrients which can specifically help keep your mental health in tip-top condition.

Brain fuel

Instead of refined carbohydrates such as white rice and bread, opt for complex carbs from whole grains and unrefined cereals, advised Ms Sharma. They ensure a slow and steady release of energy for the brain.

And because much of the brain's cell structure is composed of fats, she added, it is good to include a good dose of it in your diet. But this is not to say you should pack your diet with fried foods that contain bad fats, or trans and saturated fats.

Opt for healthy fat - unsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6, which may be able to reduce incidence of dementia, said Dr Reshma A Merchant, head of General Medicine and geriatrician at National University Hospital. They can be found in fish oils, flaxseed oil, nuts, soy, corn oil and sunflower oil.

And as folate and vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with memory decline, be sure to include these nutrients into your meals, added Dr Reshma. Folate are found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, beans, peas and fruits (such as citrus varieties), while vitamin B12 can be found in shellfish, eggs and fish.

Ms Sharma said that foods laden with antioxidants - grape juice, berries, walnuts, strawberries and tea - can help to reduce oxidation and inflammation in brain, thus improving communication between neurons and enhance brain activity.

Use it or lose it

According to Dr Reshma, the brain has the ability to continuously "remodel" itself, even in old age. "The brain is capable of producing new neurons (connections within the brain cells) well into old age, but probably at a slower pace."

However, she added that a brain-healthy diet alone is insufficient.

"There are many other things that will boost the neuronal connection in the brain, such as physical activity, build up of problem-solving skills and education," she said. "Older people who participate in complex mental activities showed diminished cognitive decline and lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease."

Active learning includes reading, writing, attending workshops, taking up classes to learn computing skills or programming, playing mahjong and puzzles.

A wholesome breakfast

An ideal breakfast that can rev up your mental prowess should include light but nutritious foods that are high in protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and have the right carbohydrates. Nutritionist Shweta Sharma suggests the following:

Wholegrain cereal with low-fat milk or yogurt. Add fresh fruits and nuts to power your brain and body with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Wholegrain toast with low-fat cheese or cheese spread. Add sliced tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce leaves to make your breakfast nutrient dense.

Wholegrain toast with cooked beans. Make the breakfast wholesome with a glass of 100-per-cent fruit juice or fresh fruits.

Wholegrain toast with low fat meats is also a healthy breakfast option. Choose from tuna or salmon with a low-fat spread on the toast.

Choose wholegrain flour when making pancakes for breakfast, and avoid sugar-rich jams or spreads on these pancakes. Add fresh fruit and milk to the meal.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Young and tired

2700073515_4b275e0bc8 [picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shesjack/2700073515/]

Query from Mrs KT Lim

My 12-year-old daughter has a fatigue issue. She feels lethargic all the time and requires more than 10 hours, at times 14 hours, of rest. She is not overweight and does not snore when she sleeps, so I have ruled out poor-quality sleep. When she was less than eight months old, she rolled and fell from the bed. Most girls her age have reached, or are reaching, puberty, but she has yet to experience any changes. I wonder if these factors are causing her to be tired all the time. Or, could she be suffering from some underlying medical problems?

Reply by Dr Chan Poh Chong

Head and Senior Consultant, Division of Ambulatory and Adolescent Paediatrics, University Children's Medical Institute, National University Hospital

The fall she had when she was eight months old is unlikely to have caused her current symptoms. And a proportion of young girls start puberty only when they are 12 to 14 years of age. Obesity and poor-quality sleep caused by an obstructed airway can also contribute to lethargy and tiredness, but in her case, it is less likely.

Other causes of prolonged fatigue and tiredness could be anaemia, either from blood loss or decreased production, or poor dietary intake; infections - some, such as dengue, can cause prolonged lethargy and tiredness; hormonal problems, such as hypothyroidism or diabetes mellitus; chronic illnesses, such as kidney or liver diseases; lack of exercise or excessive physical exertion.

Stresses in balancing school work, CCAs and social/recreational activities could also lead to anxiety, depression, withdrawal from social contact and, consequently, chronic fatigue.

Sometimes, there may be no underlying cause found after extensive investigations, and a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, which could inflict a child for a prolonged period of time, may be offered.

Consult a doctor to ensure that any underlying medical problem is excluded and appropriate lifestyle changes instituted to get the child back to her normal, healthy state. Think a balanced diet with sufficient fruits and vegetables, regular and appropriate exercises, and a conducive school and home environment for mental and social well-being.

The information provided above is for your general knowledge only. You should seek medical advice or treatment for your condition. Email questions to health@newstoday.com.sg.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Temasek bullish on mining

mining

SINGAPORE sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings wants to increase its exposure to mining in Mongolia and is also looking for opportunities to invest in the mining sector in Africa.

'We made investments in Mongolia and we are fairly bullish about Mongolia,' said Mr Nagi Hamiyeh, managing director of investments at Temasek, on the sidelines of a mining conference in Singapore on Tuesday.

'We believe that Mongolia is starting its journey in the mining space so that would be one of the many countries that we would look at.' Mongolia is treading cautiously as it taps its huge mineral wealth.

Temasek was one of the cornerstone investors for the $439 million Hong Kong IPO of Mongolia-focused miner SouthGobi Energy Resources in January. It also holds a stake worth $150 million in Lung Ming, which owns and operates the Eruu Gol iron ore mine in Mongolia, according to its latest annual report.

But Temasek has not been as aggressive as sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC), which has invested billions of dollars in resources deals in Indonesia, Singapore and Mongolia.

Temasek CEO Ho Ching said last year that the state investor was interested in resources as an asset class. Energy and resources made up just 5 per cent of Temasek's portfolio, as of March 2009. It managed $122 billion in total as of end-July. -- THOMSON REUTERS

S'pore inflation rises in Feb

solicitor_inflation

SINGAPORE'S inflation rose for a second month in February due to higher food and transport costs.

The consumer price index rose 1 per cent from a year earlier, and was up by 0.6 per cent from January on a seasonally adjusted basis, said the Department of Statistics on Tuesday.

Food prices rose by 0.7 per cent in February due to dearer prepared meals, fresh seafood and chilled pork during the Chinese New Year period, while communication cost rose 2.2 per cent mainly from higher internet subscription fees.

Excluding accommodation costs, the CPI went up by 0.5 per cent last month.

Compared to a year ago, inflation was up by 1 per cent, reflecting higher costs of transport, food and education.

Transport cost surged by 7.6 per cent from a year ago because of higher car and petrol prices, while food prices crept up by 1.2 per cent.

Singapore last month lowered its inflation forecast for this year to 2-3 per cent from the previous 2.5 to 3.5 per cent due to a rebasing of the consumer price index.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Singer hurt in freak accident

2005-marina-xavier

LOCAL jazz singer Marina Xavier's right leg was crushed by a taxi in a freak accident which occurred last Saturday as she was alighting from the cab, The New Paper reported on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old veteran singer had taken a Comfort taxi to St James Power Station's Bellini Room where she performs every Saturday at 10 pm.

About 10 minutes before Ms Xavier was due to go on stage, the singer found herself lying on the road, with her right leg crushed by one of the taxi's tyres.

She told TNP that after running over her leg, the taxi reversed and ran over the same part of her leg again.

She was rushed to Singapore General Hospital and checks showed two badly fractured bones in her lower right leg.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Eyes: Windows to one's health

random-kid-eyes

SINGAPORE - The eye says a lot about the body. For example, damaged blood vessels in the retina can warn of damage in the brain, heart or kidneys.

In a few months, four polyclinics will use a retina imaging service - taking a picture of patients' eyes - to screen for conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and heart diseases.

The three are in Outram, Bukit Merah and Clementi, while the fourth will be made known later.

Cholesterol and diabetes levels have traditionally been key indicators of cardiovascular diseases. But these methods fail to detect half the patients who are at high-risk.

This is set to change, however, with the pilot project which will focus on glaucoma.

Glaucoma is one of the more important diseases to be picked up, as 90 per cent of the people who have it are not aware of it, said Professor Wong Tien Yin, director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute.

The imaging technology has shown that it is able to pick up glaucoma between 80 and 90 per cent of the time, he said. In future, there will also be more "accurate information" so that doctors can decide whether surgery should be done.

The information will also be useful for patients who can decide what they should do.

An initial 3,000 patients will be selected for the retina imaging service when they go for their normal health screening.

Their eye images will be sent to the new Singapore Advanced Imaging Laboratory for Ocular Research (Sailor) for analysis.

The preliminary screening will catch those who are at high-risk, but have not yet been detected, said Prof Wong, who is also Sailor's co-director.

The retinal image at the polyclinics will cost between $6 and $15 compared to "hundreds" at a specialist. The advantage of the service is that it is low cost, uses readily-available technology and can serve as a "first round" of detection for those who might need further tests or specialist care, said Prof Wong.

There are also plans to tie up with healthcare clusters and to take this model abroad although a cost-effective study has to be done before the programme is expanded.

More than 3 per cent of the population aged 40 and above are diagnosed with glaucoma, a group of disorders which have in common an increase in the pressure inside the eye. Too high a pressure damages the optic nerve, and blindness can occur in severe cases.

While no estimates are available for Singapore, Prof Wong said such early detection and prevention is estimated to save some US$600 million ($839 million) for the United States annually.

Sailor, which cost more than $5 million to set up, was launched yesterday at the second Asia-Pacific Ocular Imaging Symposium yesterday.

It is a collaboration between A*Star's Institute for Infocomm Research and the Singapore Eye Research Institute, and is the third centre for eye research in the Fusionopolis-Biopolis science hub.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Workplace fatalities rose 4.5% last year

work_jobs

SINGAPORE - They saw zero fatalities in 2008, but last year, these few sectors accounted for 10 out of the 70 workplace deaths.

There were two deaths in the hotels and restaurants sector: An electrocution incident, and a slip-and-trip case that reflected the sometimes poor housekeeping in the sector which makes for wet kitchen floors.

The other deaths after a fatality-free year were in landscape care and maintenance, administrative and support services, and architectural and engineering activities - which had the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council issuing a reminder that attention must also be paid to safety in industries not known to be high-risk.

According to the latest WSH report, the number of workplace fatalities last year rose by 4.5 per cent, the first increase since 2005.

Overall, the construction and marine sectors accounted for the bulk (63 per cent) of deaths last year. In construction, this had accompanied a surge in employment due to the building boom.

In all, 664,000 man-days were lost last year due to serious accidents, up from 643,000 the previous year.

Falls from height was the top incident type. Twenty-four people lost their lives last year as a result, up from 19 the year before.

The second most common type of accident was being struck by falling objects, which cost 21 lives. Crane-related mishaps accounted for 10 deaths last year, double that of the year before.

On the brighter side, the number of work injuries declined by 2.1 per cent, while 2009 saw the lowest number of occupational diseases confirmed since 2004. The latter fell by 45 per cent, which the WSH Council and Manpower Ministry attributed to the drop in noise-induced deafness cases.

To address workplace safety lapses, the ministry will step up enforcement on especial areas of concern, such as falls from heights.

The WSH Council said Singapore was on track to reduce the workplace fatality rate to below 1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Monday, March 22, 2010

Less-known germ a bigger threat

C-DIFF-682_492639a

ATLANTA - A NEW study finds that as one superbug seems to be fading as a threat in hospitals, another is on the rise.

A study of 28 hospitals in the Southeast found that a dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection called MRSA is often seen as the biggest germ threat to patients in hospitals and other health care facilities.

But infections from Clostridium difficile - known as C-diff - are surpassing MRSA infections. The rate of hospital-acquired C-diff infections was 25 per cent higher than MRSA infections.

C-diff is resistant to some antibiotics. It's found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis.

Deaths from C-diff traditionally were rare, but a more dangerous form has emerged in the past ten years. -- REUTERS

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Yang Lina dies of cancer

yanglina

FORMER MediaCorp actress Yang Lina, who played steely women and bad girls in dramas such as Samsui Women, died of uterine cancer last Saturday night, said Shin Min Daily News. She was 47.

She died in the home of her younger sister, actress Yang Libing, the report said. The cause of death was confirmed by her husband. She was diagnosed with cancer about three years ago, but kept it from her friends in showbusiness, said the newspaper.

A former bank employee, she became an actress in 1984 with the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, after she and her sister went to its acting class, said Lianhe Wanbao.

She became well known in dramas such as Samsui Women and Neighbours in 1986.

She married a make-up artist in 1992 and took two breaks from acting, to give birth to two daughters. In 2004, she set up a hair salon with her sister.

In her last role, she played a rich, neglected woman dying of Aids in Perfect Cut 2. She is survived by her husband and two daughters, aged 18 and 13.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Local actress Yang Lina, 47, passed away on Saturday night in her sister's home after battling uterine cancer for the past three to four years. The news came as a surprise for many fellow colleagues and friends who have always known her as a \"healthy and robust\" lady.

Yang is survived by her husband, Chau Kim Wa (also known as 'Wa Ge') who is a makeup artist in MediaCorp, and two young daughters aged 18 and 13 years old.

According to news reports, Yang previously underwent a couple of surgeries for her cancer but her condition did not improve. Despite that, she has always maintained an optimistic outlook on life.

A former bank employee, she first joined showbiz when she was 21 years old in 1984 with her actress-sister, Yang Libing, after the pair attended acting classes together. She got married in 1992 and decided to retire from showbiz. Yang made a comeback in 1995 after giving birth to her first daughter and left again when she was pregnant with her second child.

A familiar face to television viewers, she is most remembered for the 1986 period drama series, Samsui Woman, and was last seen in the Ch U production, Perfect Cut 2, where she took on the role of an AIDS patient.

During the filming of Perfect Cut 2, it was reported that Yang requested for the production team to finish five days worth of filming in three as she was worried that she might have to be admitted into the hospital.

[SOURCE: http://sg.news.yahoo.com]

 

~Sincere Condolences to her Friends and Family.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Pioneering stem cell surgery

stem-cell-harvest

LONDON - BRITISH and Italian doctors have carried out groundbreaking surgery to rebuild the windpipe of a 10-year-old British boy using stem cells developed within his own body, they said.

In an operation on Monday lasting nearly nine hours, doctors at a London hospital implanted the boy with a donor trachea, or windpipe, that had been stripped of its cells and injected with his own.

Over the next month, doctors expect the boy's bone marrow stem cells to begin transforming themselves within his body into tracheal cells - a process that, if successful, could lead to a revolution in regenerative medicine.

The new organ should not be rejected by the boy's immune system, a risk in traditional transplants, because the cells are derived from his own tissue.

'This procedure is different in a number of ways, and we believe it's a real milestone,' said Professor Martin Birchall, head of translational regenerative medicine at University College London.

'It is the first time a child has received stem cell organ treatment, and it's the longest airway that has ever been replaced.' More clinical trials were needed to demonstrate that the process worked, he said, but if it did, it could lead to other organs such as the larynx or oesophagus being transplanted in hospitals around the world. -- AFP

Independent board to look into clinical trials

medical_report

SINGAPORE - Injecting stem cells under the skin to make a person look younger, or using platelet-rich plasma to treat acne scars - could such procedures soon become accepted aesthetic treatments?

These experimental therapies are some of the clinical trials a new independent review board is looking into.

Set up by the Society of Aesthetic Medicine (Singapore) (SAM), the Create Independent Review Board is the first independent review board, not based in an institution, in South-east Asia.

It targets the independent private practitioner, who now either goes to a hospital's review board or direct to a relevant authority, such the Ministry of Health or Health Sciences Authority, for regulatory approval to conduct a clinical trial.

In such cases, the HSA could sometimes end up referring the doctor back to a review board, said Dr Tan Kok Leong, SAM's honorary treasurer.

By SAM's estimates, doctors will have to pay around $5,000 to the independent board to cover its cost, compared to the estimated $15,000 price tag at other review panels.

But like the other review boards, if this new group approves a trial, the application will then be submitted to a regulatory body. The board will also review the trial at every stage, and if there is strong evidence the therapy works, it will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Honorary secretary of SAM David Loh said the board will help "sieve out the less suitable" trials and "at every stage of the clinical trial, there's an independent oversight, there's reassurance, there are multi-layers of safeguards and scrutiny".

"We want to be at the forefront (of the aesthetics field), but also want to be safe," he added.

Formed about a year ago, the board will have its official launch on Sunday. Currently, it has 12 members. At least five of these members will be selected to discuss a clinical trial. Two of the five also have to be non-doctors with at least a tertiary education, for instance a lawyer or accountant.

So far, two clinical trials have been approved by the board, including the world's first trial using platelet-rich plasma to treat wrinkles and acne scars. This was approved by HSA in January. Another three clinical trials are currently being reviewed by the board.

For now, the board will only review applications from SAM members but it hopes to expand the service to all other practitioners in future.

However, it remains to be seen if this will encourage more clinical trials among doctors.

Dr Yeak Hwee Lee from Singapore Aesthetic Centre felt the $5,000 fee may still be too expensive for some doctors, while Dr Benjamin Yim, a general practitioner with an interest in aesthetics, said it was "not practical" for him as a solo practitioner since he does not have the resources to conduct clinical trials.

However, Dr Yim does see the value of such trials in substantiating aesthetic treatments with "soft evidence".

"With the objective of it (the clinical trial) being done in a professional and safe way, I think it's good," he said.

In 2008, guidelines on aesthetic practices came into effect. Seven treatments, including mesotherapy and carboxytherapy, were deemed to have low levels of evidence and were allowed only as clinical trials or a series of before-and-after studies. Doctors intending to perform other aesthetic treatments that have not been classified as well-established and acceptable by MOH will also have to gain regulatory approval.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

New medical centre at NUH

National_University_Hospital,_Nov_06

COME 2013, patients visiting specialist outpatient clinics at the National University Hospital (NUH) will enjoy greater convenience.

They can access the NUH Medical Centre by stopping at the Kent Ridge MRT station, part of the Circle Line which will be completed by next year.

Currently, patients have to take a shuttle bus from Dover MRT station to the NUH Main Building or the Kent Ridge Wing.

At the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Friday, Chief Executive Officer of NUH, Mr Joe Sim, told The Straits Times: 'The medical centre will be connected to other buildings within the NUH complex by covered walkways, and patients will be able to find their way around intuitively and easily.'

'Unlike the existing building which is spread horizontally, the centre has been designed such that the majority of patients will not have to make more than three turns to get to their clinics or patient care areas,' he added.

The new NUH Medical Centre is a 20-storey building with a total floor area of 72,000 square metres. It is slated for completion in two phases and will be fully operational by mid- 2013.

 

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Drug-resistant TB a threat

tuberculosis-cough

GENEVA - THE World Health Organisation warned on Thursday that lethal multidrug resistant tuberculosis is becoming a serious threat to global health with just a small proportion of cases diagnosed.

In its latest report on the hard-to-treat multidrug resistant forms of TB, the WHO said it had documented the highest proportion of such cases of tuberculosis ever at about five per cent.

It estimated that 440,000 people worldwide had multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2008 and that a third of them died, out of 9.4 million new cases of tuberculosis each year.

Almost half the drug resistant cases were estimated to have occurred in China and India. One-quarter of all TB patients in northwestern Russia were found to have the multidrug resistant form, a proportion never seen before, according to the report.

'We confirm in that report that MDR-TB is really a serious threat to global health,' said co-author Matteo Zignol. 'We estimated approximately half a million cases every year. And only a small proportion of them, seven per cent, get a diagnoses and treatment,' he added.

Experience with systematic testing for multidrug resistant strains in two Russia regions, Tomsk and Orel, had however shown that a rapid increase could be reversed, the UN health agency said. But 58 countries have reported the lethal and worst form of the disease - extensively drug resistant XDR-TB. 'XDR-TB is virtually untreatable. In the best hands, the cure rate is above 60 per cent. In the vast majority of cases, there is nothing to offer,' co-author Ernesto Jaramillo told journalists. -- AFP

Hospital with big plans

eastshore

EAST Shore Hospital, renamed Parkway East yesterday, is planning to double its capacity by building a new, five-storey annexe that will house more than 100 beds.

The extension will bring the number of beds in the hospital to 220, up from 118 now, and should be ready in a few years' time.

The new beds will be spread equally among maternity, surgical and medical treatment wards.

But even before approval for the extension is given, the hospital is already looking around for space to expand further.

Parkway East's chief executive officer, Dr Michael Tan, has begun a search for space adjoining or near the hospital at Joo Chiat Place for further growth, as he expects the new annexe to hit capacity within four years of its opening.

Parkway East, the oldest of Parkway Holdings' three hospitals here, has long been regarded as the poor cousin to the Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth hospitals, both of which are located downtown.

 

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Tighter rules for boards

tighter-credit-crunch

LOCAL banks and insurers may have to appoint more independent and knowledgeable directors to their boards under more stringent regulations.

Directors may also face an annual review of their skills and a time quota to ensure they spend enough time on the job.

A series of proposals put forward by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday is in line with similar moves by regulators around the globe in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The MAS proposals aim, for instance, to tighten the rules applying to independent directors. These directors are meant to be at arm's length to the company on whose board they serve - and to challenge decisions where appropriate.

Under the proposals, a director will no longer be considered independent if he has served nine years straight on a board.

That means that in order to be deemed 'independent', a director must satisfy four criteria instead of the current three.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

CPF Changes 2010

cpf

Singapore Budget 2010 - CPF Changes

Quick summary of the CPF changes announced during Budget Debate 2010:

- Members will be automatically included in CPF LIFE if they have $60,000 in their Retirement Account at age 65 from 2023

- The first $40,000 of a member's Special Account savings cannot be invested from 1 July 2010

- From July 2010, members can apply to increase their CPF monthly income under the Minimum Sum Scheme, if their adjusted payouts can last at least 20 years from the Draw Down Age, or at least another 5 years from the time of application, whichever ends later

- Members can transfer their CPF monies upon demise to their nominees' CPF Accounts when the CPF Nomination Scheme is refined in January 2011

- Parents would be able to nominate their disabled children to receive monthly disbursements from the parents’ CPF savings after the parents have passed on, under the new Special Needs Savings Scheme (details will be announced later)

- The Workfare Income Supplement Scheme (WIS) is being enhanced for work done from 1 January 2010. The key enhancements are that the WIS qualifying average monthly income will be increased to $1,700, up from $1,500 previously; and the maximum WIS payment will be increased from $2,400 to $2,800 a year

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Insurance relief for motorists

phpfvjwTg

DRIVERS, expect a reprieve from escalating motor insurance premiums this year.

Motor insurance companies, now in a healthier state following consecutive years of rising premiums, are likely to impose only marginal increases, the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) said yesterday when it released its performance figures for last year.

It said industry losses narrowed sharply to $44.5 million last year from $214 million the year before, partly as a result of steep premium hikes last year.

The hike pushed the amount of premiums collected across the billion-dollar mark for the first time: Insurers collected $1.08 billion from a record 925,518 vehicles on the road.

GIA president Derek Teo said pre-miums had to be raised for the industry to address 'the loss situation' of the last few years. 'We've now reached a stabilised level, but we're not totally out of the woods,' he added.

He said if premiums were to rise, the increase would 'not be as significant as before'.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Why Drugs Don't Help Diabetes Patients' Hearts

pills

Doctors at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta on Sunday got some surprising news on their first day of sessions.

Researchers presented three studies revealing that some of the most widely prescribed medications to reduce the risk of heart disease in Type 2 diabetes patients appeared not to provide much benefit at all.

People with diabetes are twice as likely as nondiabetics to suffer a heart attack — most diabetes patients die of heart disease — and for years, physicians have used aggressive drug treatments to lower that risk. To that end, the goal has commonly been to lower blood sugar or control blood-sugar spikes after eating, lower triglycerides and reduce blood pressure in diabetes patients to levels closer to those of healthy, nondiabetic individuals. By using medication to treat these factors, which are linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke in other patients, doctors assumed they would also be reducing the risk in people with diabetes.

Now, in the aftermath of reports concluding that these targets do not cut the risk of heart disease in diabetes patients, and in some cases may even do harm, researchers are struggling to make sense of the seemingly counterintuitive data, and physicians are trying to figure out how to incorporate the findings into their practice.

Already, researchers anticipate that more careful analyses of the trial data over the coming months and years may lead to more nuanced conclusions; it may turn out, for instance, that certain subgroups of patients like younger, newly diagnosed diabetics actually benefit from the medications, even while the larger population of diabetes patients do not.

 

FULL STORY:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1972325,00.html

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

More women die from heart disease

Heart

ATLANTA (Georgia) - WOMEN die more often than men from heart disease because they are not systematically given the same treatment and tests, according to a French study unveiled here on Tuesday.

The study, carried out on 3,000 women in the French region of Franche-Comte in 2006 and 2007, found that those hospitalised after suffering a cardiac attack were less frequently given an angiograph to study the heart's vessels.

The technique involves dilating a coronary artery, and often a small stent is then inserted to keep the artery open.

But this is not carried out as frequently on women heart patients, meaning they had twice the risk of dying than their male counterparts in the 30 days after suffering a heart attack.

'This suggests that we could reduce mortality in female patients by using more invasive procedures,' said Dr Francois Schiele, head of cardiology at the University Hospital of Besancon, speaking on the sidelines of an annual conference of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.

'When there are no clear contradictions, women should be treated with all recommended strategies, including invasive strategies. The main question we tried to answer with this study was whether the difference in mortality between women and men after a heart attack is explained by differences in management.' -- AFP

Bad news for skinny smokers

skinny-smoker

SKINNY smokers, beware. Thinner smokers have a higher risk of lung cancer than their fatter counterparts, researchers found in a survey here.

And compared with slender non-smokers, slim people who light up are 11 times more likely to contract the disease.

But the study's lead author, National University of Singapore epidemiologist Koh Woon Puay, emphasised that those who smoke are still more likely to contract lung cancer overall than those who do not. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men here, and the third most common in women.

The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer in January, was part of the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which surveyed 63,257 middle- aged and elderly Chinese Singaporeans from 1993 onwards. It examined the relationship between smokers' body mass index (BMI) - a measure of obesity - and their chances of lung cancer. Normally, a higher BMI is a red flag for many diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and colorectal cancer, Dr Koh explained.

But when it comes to puffing on cigarettes, the reverse is true. Pack-a-day smokers with a BMI of at least 28 were six times as likely to get lung cancer as equally heavy people who had never lit up.

But thinner pack-a-day smokers, who had a BMI of less than 20, were 11 times as likely to get the disease as non-smokers of a similar weight and BMI.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]