|
| Andhra Pradesh ~ India ~ International ~ City ~ Entertainment ~ Business ~ Bullion ~ Forex ~ Sports ~ Technology ~ Health ~ Features |
| Lung Cancer ~ Lung Cancer ~ Breast Cancer ~ Heart attack ~ All Health Topics |
|
Home
/ Health News / 2007 / November 2007 / November 23, 2007 Call for more research into deafness |
Structure of key breast cancer target enzyme unraveled
A researcher at Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute has moved a step closer to a cure, and possibly the prevention, of the most common type of breast cancer. ANI
Smoking claimed 673,000 Chinese lives in 2005
A multinational research team, led by scientists at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, has lent more force to the suggestion that smoking is a significant risk factor for mortality and disease. ANI
Genetic mutations can predict childhood leukaemia relapse
A collaborative study by American researchers has revealed that changes in a gene called IKAROS can help predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). ANI
An editorial in the Lancet is calling for more research into deafness.
London, Nov 23 : An editorial in the Lancet is calling for more research into deafness.
Funding for deafness in the UK is around only one thousandth of the estimated lost productivity from hearing impairment, which is around 13.5 billion pounds.
The Editorial states that a reason why there is so little research is because the onset of it is gradual.
"Because hearing loss is commonly of gradual onset, more prevalent with age, often results in stigma, and makes people prone to isolation, estimates of burden are difficult to obtain and usually conservative. Results from a recently published UK study showed that 12% of adults aged 55-74 years had substantially impaired hearing, which on average had been present for a decade. Yet only 3% used a hearing aid, suggesting widespread unmet need," The Lancet quoted the editorial, as stating.
It continued: "Hearing aids can help relieve symptoms, but further interventions are needed to prevent, delay, or reverse hearing damage...Although the many determinants of hearing make research complex, successful strategies would have not only a large and lucrative market, but also great social value."
According to WHO estimates, 278 million people worldwide have a disabling hearing impairment. This could increase to 700 million by 2015 and 900 million by 2025.
Though presbycusis, the most prevalent form of hearing-loss, is age-related, hearing impairment is not confined to old age.
ANI
