Emerging viral diseases of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.
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Over the past 6 years, a number of zoonotic and vectorborne viral diseases have emerged in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Vectorborne disease agents discussed in this article include Japanese encephalitis, Barmah Forest, Ross River, and Chikungunya viruses. However, most emerging viruses have been zoonotic, with fruit bats, including flying fox species as the probable wildlife hosts, and these will be discussed as well. The first of these disease agents to emerge was Hendra virus, formerly called equine morbillivirus. This was followed by outbreaks caused by a rabies-related virus, Australian bat lyssavirus, and a virus associated with porcine stillbirths and malformations, Menangle virus. Nipah virus caused an outbreak of fatal pneumonia in pigs and encephalitis in humans in the Malay Peninsula. Most recently, Tioman virus has been isolated from flying foxes, but it has not yet been associated with animal or human disease. Of nonzoonotic viruses, the most important regionally have been enterovirus 71 and HIV. (+info)
Factors related to biomedical research productivity in Asian countries.
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By and large, biomedical research is not a priority sector in Asian countries due to many factors. Lack of resources and trained manpower are certainly among these factors. We investigated the factors related to biomedical research productivity in Asian countries based on Medline data. The number of biomedical articles published in the indexed journals from each country of Asia and Oceania during 1990-1998 was used as a surrogate of total biomedical research productivity. Multiple regression analysis revealed that low gross national product per capita (p<0.013), insufficient number of physicians (p<0.047), and inadequate public spending on the health sector (p<0.049) were responsible for the meager number of biomedical publications in Asian countries. (+info)
Cardiovascular risk in the Asia-Pacific region from a nutrition and metabolic point of view: vitamin deficiencies.
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In the past, recommended vitamin or micronutrient intakes have often been based on levels that were adequate to prevent clinical deficiencies from developing. Once these levels were reached, clinicians and nutrition scientists generally attributed little value to higher vitamin intake from supplements or food sources. Evidence has continued to mount showing that the intake and serum concentration of certain vitamins above those necessary to prevent clinical deficiencies, might importantly influence health status. This paper discusses the association of anti-oxidant vitamins and cardiovascular disease, and the association of low intake or serum concentrations of folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, and elevated serum homocysteine, resulting in an increase in vascular disease risk. (+info)
Cardiovascular risk in the Asia-Pacific region from a nutrition and metabolic point of view: lipid.
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Hypercholesterolemia. especially low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is well-known as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. The prevalence of hyperlipidemia in the Asia-Pacific regions, although not as high as in the North American and European regions, in adults and children varied from country to country. The 'Cardiovascular Risk Factor of Chiang Mai children (CARFACC)' study has shown the small 'n' and capital 'N' phenomenons, where in some individuals, blood lipid levels were tracked from childhood to adulthood. The new concept of programming by early nutrition on later adult health has now been accepted. The prevention of dyslipidemia during childhood should receive more attention. (+info)
Candidate foods in the Asia-Pacific region for cardiovascular protection: relevance of grains and grain-based foods to coronary heart disease.
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This review elucidates the importance of healthy dietary and lifestyle habits to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Given published evidence of the poor compliance, increased cost, and decreased benefit/risk ratios of medical therapies, individuals (and populations) are encouraged to adopt healthy life habits. The three most atherogenic dietary risk factors are saturated fat, cholesterol and obesity. Dietary patterns associated with the consumption of grains and grain-based foods predict risk of CHD independently of other life habits. Epidemiological and intervention studies elucidating the strong protective associations of grains, cereal fibers and anti-oxidant vitamins on CHD are reviewed. In summary, the consumption of grains and grain-based cereals is repeatedly associated with the ingestion of many nutrients, e.g., dietary fiber and anti-oxidants, that alter energy balance and nutrient intakes to positively affect cardiovascular health, especially when combined with healthy life habits, (+info)
Candidate foods in the asia-pacific region for cardiovascular protection: nuts, soy, lentils and tempe.
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Cross-cultural and intervention studies increasingly point the way to seeds like nuts, soy and lentils, and products of them like tempe being cardioprotective. Soy and its products (like tofu, tempe, soy drinks and soy desserts) are historically and currently some of the most important foods in the Asian region where diets remain predominantly plant-based. The mechanisms by which these seeds may protect populations against cardiovascular disease are several. They include the minimisation of classical risk factors like positive energy balance leading to obesity, hypertension. dyslipidemia and insulin resistance with hyperglycaemia. However, in addition, they provide compounds like n-3 fatty acids, isoflavones and arginine which are only now recognised for their ability to optimise other pathways which connect lifestyle to cardiovascular disease--like oxidant status, vascular reactivity and myocardial electrical stability and proneness to dysrhythmia. Thus, once an Asian food culture changes on its emphasis on these plant foods, it may place its consumers at cardiovascular risk. (+info)
Candidate foods in the Asia-Pacific region for cardiovascular protection: fish, fruit and vegetables.
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Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological studies indicate fish eaters are less likely to die prematurely compared with non-fish eaters. The protective properties in fish are likely to be related to its concentration of omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, selenium, vitamin D, taurine and coenzyme Q10. A high consumption of fruits and vegetables has been shown to protect against stroke and coronary heart disease. The presence of vitamins and minerals, as well as the complex array of non-nutrient compounds, found in fruits and vegetables would play an important role in this protection. (+info)
Candidate foods in the Asia-Pacific region for cardiovascular protection: Oriental tea.
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Chinese tea and the major health effects include: antimicrobial, anti-ultraviolet radiation, anticancer, lowering blood lipid and glucose, and protecting against coronary heart diseases. In contrast to the extensive studies on the protective effects of tea on cancer, fewer studies on the health effects of tea on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have been published. This paper summarises the research results on the possible protective effects of tea on CVD available in China. The results from animal studies clearly demonstrated that tea pigments are effective in lowering blood lipid levels and preventing plaque formation in the aorta. However, the evidence of tea pigments in protecting ischemia heart disease (IHD) in humans is less convincing. One large well-designed ecological study reported an inverse correlation between tea drinking and IHD mortality; but the inverse correlation disappeared after controlling possible confounding factors. However, the effects in improving blood lipid levels and rheology biomarkers in hyperlipidemia subjects or CVD patients by tea pigments seem promising. However, these studies were not well-designed, controlled randomized clinical trials. This made the assessment difficult and inconclusive. (+info)