Dr. Mattias Larsson — Photo courtesy of Family Medical Practice Hanoi Viet Nam News By Dr. Mattias Larsson* Do you shiver in the cold? If you do then you handle it better than some people. Without our protective mechanisms, the body’s core temperature can quickly drop and there is a risk of frostbite. At the same time, a body that is cooled down copes better without oxygen, something which researchers can utilise to save lives. We are now entering the cold season. Researchers have started to use the fact that when the temperature of our bodies goes slightly down we need less oxygen to treat newborn babies that suffer from asphyxia or lack of oxygen at the moment of birth, helping the plasticity/restoring mechanisms of these children’s brains. Cold can damage us in two ways; either through localised frostbite on a body part, or through hypothermia, where the core temperature of the body sinks. The body’s main defence against cooling is shivering, … [Read more...] about Treating brain damage the cool way
5 cardiac diseases
Protecting yourself from air pollution
Dr. Delphine Natali.— Hanoi French Hospital Viet Nam News ByDr. Delphine Natali* Air pollution is a growing problem in Hà Nội. According to GreenID, during the first trimester of 2018, the average level of air pollution was four times higher than the acceptable levels defined by the WHO. Find out what air pollution is, how it affects your health and how you can protect yourself. What is air pollution? Air is invisible but vital for animals and humans to breathe and plants to grow. Air is a mixture of gases and consists of mainly nitrogen (N2) with 78 per cent and oxygen (O2) with 21 per cent. Air also contains water vapor. Sources of air pollution can be natural (for example, volcanic activity) or due to human activity (such as industry, road traffic, agriculture and residential emission.). There are numerous air pollutants. The most dangerous are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxyde (CO) and … [Read more...] about Protecting yourself from air pollution
Vietnam’s most modern children’s hospital inaugurated
City Children’s Hospital (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The City Children’s Hospital – the most modern of its kind in Vietnam – was officially inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh City on June 1 after four years of construction. With an investment of 4.5 trillion VND (197.5 million USD) from the State budget, the hospital contains eight floors and one basement, with 1,000 beds. Located at 15 Vo Tran Chi street, Binh Chanh district, it aims to become a modern pediatric hospital with medically complex subspecialties achieving national and regional standards. This brand-new hospital has a variety of subspecialties in pediatrics. Some of its key subspecialties are neonatal care, organ transplant, cardiac surgery, and oncology. It is the first children’s hospital in Vietnam having all three components of cancer treatment: chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. Nguyen Thi Thu, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee, affirmed that along with … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s most modern children’s hospital inaugurated
Center on umbilical cord blood stem cells set up
The duration for storage of stem cells and those from umbilical cord blood is up to 18 years. Photo: zing.vn The stored stem cells will be used to treat some 80 condition types, especially some progressive and incurable illnesses, including blood cancer, cardiac diseases, and autism. According to NHOG Director Vu Ba Quyet, many patients have had to go overseas for treatment under the stem cell therapy at a very high cost. Therefore, Doctor Quyet suggested that parents should store their children’s umbilical cord blood stem cells in case they need it for future medical treatments. Assoc. Prof., Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoi, the center’s director, said that to take the minimum necessary number of umbilical cord blood stem cells, the newborn must be at the 36th week of the pregnancy at least and weigh about 2.5 kg. It costs parents nearly VND 25 million to have their children’s stem cells stored at the center in the first year. The storage of the stem cells will cost VND … [Read more...] about Center on umbilical cord blood stem cells set up