Dashboard

E-Commentary


Sponsored
joined 12 years, 1 month ago

Raina Zarb Adami

Aesthetic Surgeon

After qualifying as a doctor from the University of Malta in 2004 and completing her housemanship on the island, Dr. Raina Zarb Adami then moved to Sydney, where she gained post-graduate experience in general and plastic surgery. She became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2008.

Dr. Zarb Adami’s approach to non-invasive facial rejuvenation and sculpting is unrivalled. She brings passion for quality to a cosmetic practice where integrity, intelligence and striving for perfection flourish. Her artistic eye complements a thorough scientific and surgical expertise.

She is an advanced practitioner based in London with an integrated approach using Botox (Botulinum Toxin), dermal fillers for treatments like lip enhancement and non-surgical rhinoplasty, skin care, chemical peels and Dermaroller microneedling techniques for facial rejuvenation and enhancement.

Her background in plastic surgery allows Dr. Zarb Adami to provide mole removal, scar treatment and split earlobe repair, offering optimal cosmetic outcomes.

Dr. Zarb Adami continues to attend and present at numerous conferences and workshops in aesthetic medicine and plastic surgery, both nationally and internationally. She has been awarded The Professions Woman of the Future in The Woman of the Future Awards 2010 and the Rising Star Award at the Aesthetic Awards UK 2011-2012.

She has successfully trained many practitioners in cosmetic procedures, and is a certified lecturer on the subject through The Academy of Aesthetic Excellence based in London. Dr Zarb Adami has dedicated time to volunteering with an Australian plastic surgery team operating on victims of burn injuries in Nepal. She also regularly participates in various other international voluntary work projects.

She is currently undertaking a research project as a PhD with the charity organisation RAFT (Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust) to develop an artificial skin – the Smart Matrix – to treat patients suffering from burns and other chronic and complex wounds.


view this profile
joined 12 years, 1 month ago

Niroshan Sivathasan

Cosmetic Surgeon

Niroshan Sivathasan completed his bachelor’s and medical degrees at the age of 23 from King’s College London and University College London, respectively.

His postgraduate qualifications in surgery and aesthetic medicine were also gained in London. He has published over 30 articles, and is a reviewer and editorial committee-member for various medical journals.

He has a particular interest in cosmesis, and is undertaking an international fellowship in cosmetic surgery.


view this profile
 
Public smoking bans and eating fibre significantly reduces people attending hospitals for asthma. These are the conclusions of two 2014 studies: one reported in the Lancet and the other in Nature Medicine.  
 
Asthma
Asthma is the inflammation of the air passages in the lungs. It occurs when the immune system mistakes harmless triggers, such as dust mites as threats, which cause the airways to become inflamed, leading to symptoms such as wheezing and breathlessness.
 
Worldwide the economic costs associated with asthma exceed that of TB and HIV/AIDS together.
 
Prevalence
"Asthma affects about 300 million worldwide. The prevalence of the condition has increased following changes to a modern, urban lifestyle. Each year asthma kills about 255,000 people and deaths are related to the lack of proper treatment", says Dr. Murali Mohan, Senior Consultant Pulmonologist, Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Bangalore, India.
 
Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of asthma has increased in all countries in parallel with that of allergy. With the projected increase in the proportion of the world's population living in urban areas, there is likely to be a significant increase in the number of people with asthma. By 2025, it's projected that there will be an additional 100 million people with asthma. 
Mortality & morbidity
Asthma mortality rates vary and don't parallel prevalence, but are high in countries where access to essential drugs is low.

Another measure of asthma severity is hospitalization rates. For most low and middle-income countries, such data is unavailable. Notwithstanding, in countries where asthma management plans have been implemented, hospitalization rates have decreased.

Childhood asthma is an increasing challenge and accounts for many lost school days and may deprive the affected children of both academic achievement and social interaction. This is particularly the case in underserved populations such as India where there are an estimated 15 to 20 million asthmatics.
 
Smoking and asthma
The Lancet published the first systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of smoke-free legislation on asthma. The study examined 250,000-hospital attendances for asthma attacks in the US and Europe between 2008 and 2013. Conclusions show that the rates of hospital attendance for asthma were reduced by 10% within a year of smoke-free laws coming into effect.
Comprehensive smoke-free laws only cover 16% of the world's population, and 40% of children worldwide are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke.
 
Studies tend to focus on the impact of smoking on adults, but more than 25% of all deaths and over 50% of all healthy years of life lost are due to children being exposed to second-hand smoke.
 
Processed food
Research, undertaken by scientists from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and reported in Nature, examines the role that different types of dietary fibre play in the gut and its effect on asthma. Findings show that a high-fibre diet reduces asthma.
 
In recent years, the incidence of asthma has been well documented. Coincident with this have been changes in diet, including reduced consumption of fibre.

The Swiss researchers argue that high and low fibre diets alter the types of bacteria living in the gut. Bacteria, which can munch on soluble fibre flourish on a high-fibre diet, and in turn, produce more short-chain fatty acids, which act as signals to the immune system and result in the lungs being more resistant to irritation.

The opposite happens in low-fibre diets and the mice become more vulnerable to asthma.

The Swiss scientists conclude that a dietary shift away from fibre in favour of processed foods raise levels of asthma.

Takeaway
Albert Einstein said that, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet".  Were Einstein alive today, he would have added, "and a ban on smoking".
view in full page