Monthly Archives: May 2022

Mariam Nantaba is living with HIV.She's been using bee venom as a therapy for a year and claims it has significantly improved her health.

" It has helped me alot especially in boosting my immunity, the CD4 count on my viral load is up which wasn't the case before and my skin also looks good"

Bee venom is a clear colorless liquid produced by a sting barb from a bee. Simon Turner , proprietor ofMalaika Honey says the the venom is collected using an electrified trap.

"We basically have a machine with an activation board, we send low electric current through the wires and what happens when the bees hit the wires they get a little shock... and sting through to the glass...and the sting releases the poison onto the glass.

Beekeepers make some very bold claims about what a mixture of venom and selected plant extracts can treat.

"It helps us with those aging issues, if there are cancer cells forming out in the body without your knowledge those cancer cells will die, if you have poor appetite, it increases your appetite, it induces sleep, pain killer and it improves your skin looks." explains venom collectorTadeo Balisanga

But there is little scientific proof to back up any of these claims and little in the way of traditional evidence based research about the long term benefits of bee venom therapies.

Accordig to Patrick Tumussiime, Uganda's Commissioner at the National Disease Control, " this thing is not standardised and each one is doing it differently, supposing somebody is tempted to think let me put in more venom so that it works better...we don't know the effects it can cause."

Bee venom extract is used around the world to help those with severe allergies to bee and wasp stings.Tiny, but increasing amounts are injected to help patients become desensitised to stings that could otherwise kill them.

Despite the warnings about it's wider use, bee venom treatments are growing in popularity in Uganda.

Atuhaire Scondina is using it to manage pain and mobility issues.

"This honey product has helped me so much because my fingers were paralyzed and I my knees could support well to walk but since I started taking the bee venom I can now do my tailoring work which was previously difficult"

And to meet the growing demand, bee keepers as Adolf Bagonza says they are stepping up production.

"We produce two hundred grams of venom per month and we market it locally by mixing it in honey and eating it orally."

But doctors are warning consumers of bee venom against self medication.

"When using bee venom the caution should be put on the amount that you are taking in, Ideally I would advise you to consult with a medic or someone professional about it to advise you how much you should take in for the condition that you want to treat" ,Jackie Nanyonjo - Doctor

Despite the lack of proof,people like Nantaba are convinced that bee venom therapy remains an important part of their treatment, for years to come.

The rest is here:

Uganda: bee venom therapy as an alternative medicine - Africanews English

At Bagerhat district healthcare complex, patients began to arrive for doctor's appointments, staff were ready with their entry books and so were doctors at their wooden desks to see patients, just like any other day.

But there was something different about a day in March this year. Among the approximately 250-300 patients, 50-60 of them wanted to meet Dr Monalisa Mushtereen, the ayurvedic medical officer of the healthcare complex.

"There is a saying that the doctor's words and empathy can cure a patient more effectively than medicines. In ayurveda and unani medicine practices, we emphasise on touch and sensory organs besides medicine, food habits and lifestyle.

"The way I talk to my patients, console them maybe that's the reason the patients want to meet me," Monalisa said.

Monalisa was in Bagerhat for one month and in that month she "had a number of regular patients." She is now practising at the government ayurvedic and unani medical college hospital (GAUMCH) at Mirpur in the capital Dhaka.

Like Dr Monalisa Mushtareen, there are more than 400 alternative medicine practitioners (ayurveda, unani, homoeopathy) working in government hospitals and health clinics under the alternative medical care system of Bangladesh government.

And according to Bangladesh Board of Unani and Ayurvedic Systems of Medicine, currently there are more than 12,000 ayurvedic and unani doctors in the country.

A pandemic effect

The pandemic seemed to have triggered a surge in popularity of natural medicine among people. In a nutshell, naturopathy or alternative and traditional medicine is gaining popularity in Bangladesh. But why is that, especially when the pharmaceutical industry is doing really well?

According to the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, in the 2018-19 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported medicines to a total of 147 countries, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kenya and Slovenia. And the industry can meet 98 percent of its domestic needs.

When asked this question, Professor Dr Shwapan Kumar Dutta, the principal of the government unani and ayurvedic medical college, said, "In 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had announced 'traditional medicine strategy 2014-2023' and the organisation has been working to implement the strategy among its member states.

"The Bangladesh government is also really supportive towards this practice. In 2015, the government hadannounced alternative medical care where ayurvedic and unani medical practitioners are appointed in public hospitals and health clinics."

Dr Monalisa mentioned the 2014 election manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League, where it was stated that infrastructural, institutional and technological facilities shall be increased to improve the standard of education on indigenous medicines including unani, ayurveda and homoeopathy.

"And the popularity grew even more during the Covid-19 pandemic," Dr Dutta said. When no conventional medicines were working, people were dying and the ones alive had to develop immunity through healthy habits rather than depending on supplements or medicine, naturopathy got popular.

Dr Hashi, ayurvedic doctor at the Bera Upazilla health complex of Pabna shared her experience. She said, "At the beginning people here didn't know about me. The conventional doctors also neglected me as if I was some kind of quack.

"The patients were sent to my chamber just like any other doctor would get a batch of patients. But with time, they came to know me better. Now the patients want to make appointments with me."

Although the board of unani and ayurvedicsystems of medicine claims that currently 25 percent of the patients in the government hospital are taking alternative medicine service, there is not enough data to support this statistic. But still, it is evident that people are more open to this.

But does that mean naturopathy is a substitute to the conventional western medical treatments? Are we supposed to rely on natural medicine if being diagnosed with cancer?

Alternative or traditional medicine is not a substitute for modern medicine or allopathy

Dr Monalisa explained how in the naturopathy or traditional medical care, treatment is given to patients with chronic diseases like digestive problems, pain management, cardiac health, reproductive health, beauty and skin solutions, obesity management, and to some extent, psychological ailment. Treatment may include multiple medical systems such as ayurvedic, yoga, unani, homoeopathy, acupuncture, etc.

She said, "We never suggest any critical patient to take natural medicines and even if these patients come to us, we immediately refer them to conventional western medicine and doctors."

According to John Hopkins medicines, ayurveda treatment starts with an internal purification process, followed by a special diet, herbal remedies, massage therapy, yoga, and meditation.

Agreeing with the fact, Dr Monalisa said, "That's why it's a lengthy process and more of a lifestyle. For better health and life, you may depend on natural remedies rather than taking medicines for every trivial discomfort headache, stomach pain or fever. But when you have a serious disease, you must meet specialists and doctors."

Natural medicines are not supposed to have artificial or synthetic chemicals in the formula

The day I met Dr Monalisa at the hospital, she was instructing a mother of a one-year-old on what kind of food to feed the baby and how. Coincidentally, the previous day, I had just finished reading 'Ichamati', a classic novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, where Ramkanai, the village Kobiraj or physician, stirred me the most.

I was amazed how he made traditional ayurvedic medicine using Indian laburnum or golden shower tree, ghee, honey and other components.

As I entered the medical college that day, I was expecting someone would be extracting flowers or seeds from the herbal and medicinal plant's garden in front of the college, preparing herbal and natural medicine.

"It doesn't work like that," Monalisa suppressed a smile and said. "Alternative or complementary medicine is standardised now. We have modern classrooms with proper diagrams and medical equipment, we study biochemistry and pharmacology and work in labs. You won't find mythological sages here."

And not just traditional ayurvedic, unani or homoeopathy, the ethnic communities in the hill tracts areas of the country have their own local medicinal plants and treatment. According to Bangladesh national herbarium's plant database, there are more than 700 medicinal plants that are used in these areas.

"It is true that natural medicine uses ingredients found in nature. We study their chemical components in the lab and prepare medicine with it. But we don't use synthetic chemicals in the medicines because that is illegal." Dr Dutta said.

But many fraudulent, unregistered brands are continuing this malpractice. Dr Dutta suggests the patients to check every medicine before taking. Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) website has a list of companies and medicines. According to that list currently 204 ayurvedic, 285 unani medicine companies are making more than 7,000 medicines.

"You can easily check if the medicine is registered or not. Don't just fall for any advertisement, but consult a professional practitioner".

The patients are mainely converts, from modern to traditional medicine

For the last four days, Shwapna Akhter has been on bed no-4 on the first floor of the Government Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College Hospital. This young mother of a six-month-old came to Dhaka from Khulna last week.

She has been suffering from a problem in one of her joints and also vaginal discharge. "For the last six months, I have consulted a number of 'allopathy doctors' and had an enormous number of medicines. But nothing seems to work on me. And then someone in my village suggested I try natural medicine and treatment. That's why I am here."

Although she complained, "The doctors and nurses are irregular and you will not find a doctor when you need one. Most of the time the nurses are outside busy with their phones or gossiping and if you ask for something they misbehave." But still the treatment here is cheap and she thinks the medicines are working on her.

Professor Dr Masuda Begum, the dean of medicine department of BSMMU said, "It was in nature where humans have found these remedies. So we cannot neglect these medicinal studies. But that being said we also have to understand that we, the modern people, have much more complex diseases now. So we cannot rely on traditional medicine only."

She suggests consulting doctors before taking any medicine whether it is traditional or modern.

Agreeing with her, Dr Dutta also said, "Some of the products used in ayurvedic medicine contain herbs, metals, minerals, or other materials that may be harmful if used improperly or without the direction of a trained practitioner."

While Ayurveda can have positive effects when used as a complementary therapy in combination with standard, conventional medical care,it should not replace standard, conventional medical care, especially when treating serious conditions.

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Alternative medical care still has its place. Here is why - The Business Standard

Instead, often the main hurdles, as the Forbes family observed, are whether the drug company has an expanded-access program for a specific drug and, if it does, whether it approves the request. There is no requirement for companies to report how many requests they accept, though some larger drug companies make this information public.

Perhaps more important, its unknown to what extent families media campaigns affect these decisions. This is what troubles Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York Universitys Grossman School of Medicine. If you have resources, then you hire PR people, you build your own website, and you have a pretty good chance of guilting or shaming the company into providing something to you, he told me. I understand why people do it, but its hardly an equitable system.

Dr. Caplan has pioneered a possible solution. Working with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a part of Johnson & Johnson, he heads an advisory committee of physicians, ethicists and community members who evaluate these requests and then develop a recommendation for the drug company. Much like the U.S. system for organ allocation, which Dr. Caplan also helped develop, this committee aims to ensure a fair allocation of a limited resource. Drug companies should not be swayed to say yes by the most sympathetic photos or pushed to say no because of a concern that a negative outcome could affect consumer confidence in a drug. Instead, the committee applies consistent criteria to each anonymous potential recipient and renders a decision based on medical factors rather than the pathos of a personal story, wealth or media prominence.

This is a start, particularly when coupled with better tracking of outcomes and improved education for clinicians about how to enroll their patients in clinical trials and navigate expanded access if those trials arent a possibility. A lawyer by training, Ms. Forbes did most of this navigation and advocacy on her own, but there are many families for whom that would not be possible. And when clinicians time is a limited resource, how much of this process can they realistically take on for a drug not yet proved to work?

That is the question behind so much of this conversation. How far do we go when the alternative is death? And what is sacrificed in the process? Youre holding out hope that you might be that rare one, that if you can just stay alive long enough for the next drug, that might change things, Ms. Forbes told me, reflecting on those final weeks.

Even though her husband never did receive the expanded-access drug, she does not regret that they devoted so much of their remaining time and effort to pursuing it. They believed that this medication would work, she said, but they were also able to consider a reality in which Mr. Forbes did not live to see it.

Despite how it all ended, it was good for Michael to feel positive and hopeful, she said. It was very good for me, because there was no stone unturned. That is not the type of victory they wanted, but it is something.

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Opinion | When Hope Hinges on an Unapproved Drug - The New York Times

The singer Donald McCluskey published a letter in which he revealed that he has Parkinson. His writing is moving and describes how the disease began to flare up recently. Its galloping, folks. When I start to shake I have a hard time stopping, she wrote in the text that she shared on Facebook.

The interpreter of Las Olas y el Vieto assured that he presents battle day by day and is even carrying out alternative therapies that give him relief: I want to defeat it, but I notice that despite my resistance, evil does not give in and does not give up. Thanks to God, to the Virgin, to Jesus and to science, there is a medicine that calms, calms, soothes, diminishes and even makes tremors completely disappear as long as certain conditions are observed.

I also read: They assure that Parkinsons disease could be detected through the voice

One of the issues he highlighted is how his love for music helps you cope and the tremors stop briefly: Being seated in peace, happy, playing the guitar and singing, either on a stool on a stage, or in an armchair at home, in kind, friendly environments (devoid of stress, anger, sadness and/or anguish), It gives me great joy.

Instead, the discomfort begins when you try to make any movement. There the tensions are heightened and they are transferred to the whole body. To move from one place to another, I have to do it holding on to whatever I find at hand, and with extreme slowness I take one small step after the other, until I get to where I set out to go without setbacks and without falling, although taking seriously into account, the danger that moving means, he said.

On the other hand, he recalled the moment in which the first symptoms appeared: The pandemic came, the isolation, the sedentary lifestyle, the unexpected sadness that the death of my younger sister Patricia caused me, which triggered the manifestation of this that I have inside, since who knows when.

Donald McCluskey He not only referred to the tremors, but also pointed out other symptoms linked to Parkinsons, such as stiffness and slowness in his movements. And he specified: Painful contractures in the back, especially at the level of the dorsal vertebrae. But here I am, friends. And Im still alive and kicking.

Besides, the artist valued how the testimonies of Stephen Bullrich y Xavier Lombard they helped him make public how he goes through the disease: It was their brave statements, recounting their fight against the neurological disease that each one of them was lucky to suffer. And from sharing with you what I have to live every day, the load became lighter, less heavy, he said.

At the close of this letter, the interpreter of Sucundum, sucundum and Chequendengue, checkendengue was very optimistic about the possibility of continuing to appear in public with his greatest hits.

Sandro sang until the last of his days, and I heartily applaud his brave and generous gesture. I know, friends, that as long as I have a thin voice to sing, and flexibility in my fingers to play the guitar, I will continue in the arena and nothing and no one can prevent or avoid it, at least that is what I intend to do, he explained.

And he completed: To the happy Parkinson, I will not allow him to steal my soul. Of course not! You can mess with my body, but not with my spirit and my lifewhich is only in the hands of the blessed God.

Continued here:

Donald revealed that he has Parkinson's with a moving letter: "It's not going to steal my soul" - Zyri

Nasal spray vaccines accomplish just that. A technique known as thin-film freeze-drying, or T.F.F.D., allows scientists to transform liquid vaccines into powders. Trehalose, a derivative of sucrose, or table sugar, is often added, which prevents the formation of toxic structures by creating organic glass orbs around proteins, maintaining the biological activities that elicit the immune response. In T.F.F.D., liquid vaccines are dropped on an ultracool surface, causing materials to freeze. Pressure is then reduced and low heat is applied so that the frozen water changes directly from solid to gas. The result? Powdered vaccines that revive with a quick spray in the nose.

Medical research is currently well underway, spearheaded by Seongkyu Yoon, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, who was recently granted $930,000 for the development of freeze-dried mRNA vaccines suitable for large-scale production. He explains that the T.F.F.D. process makes vaccines more stable and able to extend their shelf life, as well as make them easier to transport, store and use. This eliminates the need for cold-chain systems, and perhaps even medical workers, which, together, account for 72 percent of worldwide transportation costs, the equivalent of more than $1.2 billion. With lowered costs, vaccines can reach developing countries that were previously unable to afford the massive costs of outreach and transportation.

Intranasal vaccines have also proven more effective than traditional injections against pulmonary diseases like Influenza B and Covid-19. As Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine, explained in an interview, the beauty of the local mucosal vaccine is that not only does it provide protection acutely, but also its a long-lasting immunity. More important, dry vaccines create the potential for a pain-free alternative, which, as Dr. Iwasaki goes on to add, will likely increase the number of people who want to vaccinate themselves, especially for the 20 percent of the worlds population afraid to take the needle.

With over a dozen nasal vaccines in development worldwide, some now in Phase 3 trials, vaccines can finally be made available to all countries, not just a select few. Their superior efficacy and low transportation and outreach costs offer great potential in controlling the pandemic, especially as new, more lethal variants emerge. These pain-free nasal vaccines could help us get back to pre-Covid normal.

Works Cited

AboulFotouh, Khaled, et al. Next-Generation Covid-19 Vaccines Should Take Efficiency of Distribution into Consideration. AAPS PharmSciTech, 9 April 2021.

Cicco, Nancy. UMass Lowell Is Working to Freeze-Dry Covid Vaccines. UMass Lowell, 20 Jan. 2022.

Forman, Robert. Nasal Vaccination May Protect Against Respiratory Viruses Better Than Injected Vaccines. Yale School of Medicine, 21 Dec. 2021.

Griffiths, Ulla. Costs of Delivering Covid-19 Vaccine in 92 AMC Countries. World Health Organization, 8 Feb. 2021.

Love, Ashley S., and Robert J. Love. Considering Needle Phobia Among Adult Patients During Mass Covid-19 Vaccinations. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 3 April 2021.

Mandavilli, Apoorva. The Covid Vaccine We Need Now May Not Be a Shot. The New York Times, 2 Feb. 2022.

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Dry Nasal Covid-19 Vaccines: A Pain- and Needle-Free Alternative - The New York Times

Charlotte, NC QC Kinetix (Waverly) has opened an office in Charlotte, NC, to offer alternative medicine and treatment solutions to residents suffering from acute and chronic pain. The clinic uses regenerative medicine and natural treatment therapies to address joint pain and related conditions while improving patients quality of life. Since opening their pain clinic in the area, theyve attended to many residents who have given positive reviews about the treatment solutions offered.

With QC Kinetix (Waverly), its all about improving each patients quality of life. The treatment providers understand that pain can have devastating effects on humans and their quality of life. They, therefore, provide personalized care and natural treatment remedies that alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and overall boost the patients quality of life. Through regenerative medicine, patients wont have to worry about heavy dependence on medicines that only address the symptoms but not the root cause of the problem. The minimally invasive therapies the clinic uses also save patients from the risks and complications associated with surgeries.

By choosing their Charlotte regenerative medicine, more community members have been able to save money on surgeries while cutting treatment downtime to zero. They can also enjoy unique and personalized treatment plans that suit their needs perfectly.

Joint pain can have many causes. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common cause is arthritis, affecting approximately 24% of American adults. For others, infection, injury, and degenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia can be the cause. People living with joint pain and inflammation due to arthritis may not always know where to get relief. Many opt for surgery or pain medications as a treatment solution. At QC Kinetix, we offer an alternative; our regenerative medicine treatments relieve the pain and inflammation of arthritis without surgery, said Scott Hoots for the pain control clinic.

The clinic is open to patients who suffer from all types of joint-related pain or discomforts, including neck pain, low back pain, knee pain, wrist and ankle pain, elbow pain, shoulder pain, etc. The treatment providers offer personalized treatments based on a thorough evaluation of the patient and their current health status. Patients can rest assured that theyll get dynamic treatment plans that are tailored to scale their progress.

The treatment providers at QC Kinetix (Waverly) focus on dealing with the painful symptoms first and then work their way to addressing the underlying problems for long-term results. Visit them at 11835 Southmore Drive, Suite 202, Charlotte, NC, 28277, United States, or call (704) 360-3057 to schedule an appointment. Learn more about the clinic and its services by visiting its website.

Media Contact

Company NameQC Kinetix (Waverly)Contact NameMarc DifronzoPhone(704) 360-3057Address11835 Southmore Drive, Suite 202CityCharlotteStateNCPostal Code28277CountryUnited StatesWebsitehttps://qckinetix.com/charlotte/waverly/

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QC Kinetix (Waverly) Uses Regenerative Medicine in Charlotte To Improve Patient's Health and Quality of Life - Digital Journal