A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Women hurt more than men - study
A NEW study has cast doubt on the notion that women can tolerate pain better than men. The study of more than 11,000 patients found that, if anything, women appear to experience pain more intensely than men. Reporting their findings in the Journal of Pain online, the Stanford University research team found that for 21 of 22 ailments, women reported higher levels of pain than men.
“We saw higher pain scores for female patients practically across the board,” said Atul Butte of the research team.
Drug companies pledge to fight tropical diseases
THIRTEEN MAJOR pharmaceutical companies have joined forces with governments and health organisations to donate drugs and scientific know-how to help control or wipe out 10 neglected tropical diseases by 2020.
Drug manufacturers in the past have been criticised for not doing enough to fight diseases in developing countries as they concentrate instead on conditions more prevalent in rich nations, such as high cholesterol. But in the largest co-ordinated effort yet to fight diseases such as Guinea worm disease, leprosy and sleeping sickness, the group promised to give away 14 billion doses of medicines by the end of this decade. They will also share expertise and drug discovery work to invent new medicines for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that as yet have no treatments.
In a project expected to affect the lives of a billion people worldwide, the partnership pledged more than $785 million (€598 million) to support NTD research and development (RD) and strengthen drug distribution and treatment programmes.
World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Margaret Chan, who announced the deal in London, said it “changes the face” of NTDs – illnesses that needlessly disable, blind and kill millions of the world’s poorest people.
“These ancient diseases are now being brought to their knees with stunning speed,” she said. “I am confident almost all of these diseases can be eliminated or controlled by the end of this decade.”
Thirteen firms are committed to the programme being led by the US, Britain and United Arab Emirates governments, the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank.
Testicular zap could be new male contraceptive
ZAPPING TESTICLES with ultrasound can reduce sperm counts and might be used in the future as an inexpensive, reliable and reversible male contraceptive, according to US researchers.
Scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, who conducted experiments on male rats, issued their findings on Saturday in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. They said they were convinced that the method, if studied further, could be used on humans.
The team led by Dr James Tsuruta found that by rotating high frequency (3MHz) ultrasound around the testicles, they were able to cause depletion of germ cells throughout the testes, the report said. The best results were seen using two ultrasound sessions of 15 minutes, two days apart.
Saline was used to provide conductivity between the ultrasound transducer and the skin, and the testes were warmed to 37 degrees, the study noted. The procedure reduced the sperm count to zero, the researchers said. Fertile men in normal conditions have more than 39 million sperm when they ejaculate.
The World Health Organisation has defined low sperm concentration as less than 15 million sperm per millilitre. “Unlike humans, rats remain fertile even with extremely low sperm counts,” Dr Tsuruta said. “However, our non-invasive ultrasound treatment reduced sperm reserves in rats far below levels normally seen in fertile men.”
He said further studies would be required to determine how long the contraceptive effect lasts and if it is safe to use multiple times.