CFS News

3 key technologies in healthcare that will simplify a doctor’s life

September 28, 2018 0

Technology is a big deal today. It has crawled its way into many professions hitherto unimagined, such as law – a profession where humans have […]

Why the involvement of youths is crucial to solving Healthcare - Find more information about tongkat ali natural testosterone booster

July 25, 2018 0

Youth are the fundamental pillars of any economy. No matter the advances and disruptions caused by technology, human skill, perseverance and determination are irreplaceable. And […]

Was Obamacare good or bad? We present an unbiased analysis.

June 25, 2018 0

Now that we are living in Trump’s America and seeing with our own eyes institutional reforms taking place around us, we feel like it is […]

Why the government remains crucial when it comes to healthcare

May 25, 2018 0

Healthcare is a layered issue. It affects billions of people around the world, and is a national issue where accountability is key. The role of […]

Ramos: I’ve already won the title more behind

November 7, 2018November 28, 2018

Barca can play the Clasico without Messi, Real but not without Ronaldo. With 5:1 Barcelona shoots the arch rivals into the no man’s land (9th place) of the La Liga – and Julen Lopetegui finally out?

Real still has a meager 14 points on their account. Barcelona (21) lead La Liga ahead of Atlético Madrid (19) and Espanyol Barcelona (18).

After five league matches in a row without a win, the media now think that Lopetegui’s kick-out from Madrid is just a matter of time. According to “Marca“, Antonio Conte is already the successor. The decision is to be made on Monday.

“We stand behind the coach until the bitter end. But the decisions will be made at the top,” said Real captain Sergio Ramos, referring to the club’s executive floor. You don’t throw in the towel yet. “I’ve already won league titles where we’re already ten points behind,” Ramos said. The point now is to “get your head up“. The criticised Lopetegui wants to fight: “I still have the strength to go on. The season is still long and I feel strong.”

Midfielder Casemiro also defends his coach energetically with clear words. When asked by a TV journalist whether the 52-year-old would have to take his hat, the Brazilian international said on the pitch: “It’s not the coach’s fault. We’re playing very badly, we haven’t had any luck for weeks“.

That’s how the game went
Leader Barcelona makes it clear from the first second who is the boss at Camp Nou.

11th minute: Picture-book attack by Barca. Coutinho completed on presentation of Jordi Alba without problems – 1-0 Barcelona. The Brazilian dedicates the goal to his pregnant wife.

National goalkeeper ter Stegen must intervene for the first time after 13 minutes. However, a long-range shot from Bale does not really challenge the former Gladbach goalkeeper.

Far shots are Real’s only means against the leader of the standings, who is raising his usual Tiki-Taka.

30th minute: Video proof 911 for Barca. Suarez ice cold. The Uru-Knipser also has baby cheers. He already has the baby.

Real desolate! Kroos weak.

Barca is too frivolous with his chances, misses it to raise the result before the break to 3:0 or 4:0.

Will Classico be the last game for Real coach Lopetegui? The former Spanish national coach (dismissed a few days before the World Cup for his commitment to Real) is shaky. Allegedly, the royals have already made contact with José Mourinho (55).

50th minute: Joker Vasquez sends Isco on his journey, whose input puts left-back Marcelo in the goal via detours. Only 1:2 – is it going to be exciting again?

It will be breathtaking!

Modric (56th minute) hits the post, Pique (57th) saves in highest emergency from the single-headed Ramos. On the other side, Suarez (61.) also only hits the post with a side puller.

Finally we have a Clasico! Chances in the minute cycle. Until Suarez strikes twice.

75th minute: Header torpedo from Suarez! The Uru weights the ball from 13 meters against the direction of Courtois in the corner. Rumms! 83rd minute: the ball
83. minute: The triple Suarez. Ramos fails at the acceptance of the ball, Sergi Roberto splashes in between, serves Suarez, who overcomes Courtois with a magnifier. Bitterly bitter for Real!
87th minute: Joker Vidal makes humiliation perfect for Real. The ex-Munich hits head-on at 5:1.

Barca slaughters Real!

The 5:1 is definitely one or two goals too high. To top it all off, Real also injures goal scorer Marcelo (Wade). Bucky Bingo welcomes their players with their welcome bonus promotions!

Will a good 30 minutes be enough for Lopetegui to save his job?

During the week, Real will go to amateur club Melilla in the cup, then Valladolid in the league (6th place) and Pilsen in the Champions League. Actually three solvable tasks for Lopetegui to get the curve or an ideal debut for a new coach…

“He wins the game for us!” Special praise for Sanches

November 7, 2018November 28, 2018

Thiago Alcantara was the celebrated man. After a good hour he saved FC Bayern in Mainz with his goal. The teammates hurried to the Spaniard after he had netted a 2-1 winning goal, embraced and celebrated him – only Joshua Kimmich did not. The backfielder first fell around the neck of another Bayern pro, without whom the winning goal would not have been scored: Renato Sanches.

“The second goal, that’s his ball win. The will he had to win this ball at all costs, that’s how he wins the game for us,” Kimmich is quoted after the Sport1 game: “Not alone, that’s also clear, because Lewy still played it in and Thiago made it. But those are situations that are extremely important. It’s not always the scorer who decides the game.”

Joshua Kimmich Honours

Club

Bayern Munich

Bundesliga: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
DFB-Pokal: 2015–16
DFL-Supercup: 2016, 2017, 2018

International

Germany

UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2014
FIFA Confederations Cup: 2017

Individual

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016
UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2016
Germany national team Player of the Year: 2017
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2017–18
FIFA FIFPro World XI 3rd team: 2018

What happened?

Thomas Müller wants to serve the starting Robert Lewandowski with a long ball from the right wing shortly behind the centre line. But the imprecise, half-height ball is intercepted by Moussa Niakhate. The Mainz defender wants to initiate the counterattack immediately, Sanches smells the roast, anticipates correctly, runs cleverly into the password path, captures the ball back and brings it to Lewandowski.

The striker pulls right into the penalty area, crosses at the right moment and the Thiago, who has moved up with him, straightens from about six meters to 2:1. The Bavarians had the lead and the control back in the game and brought the victory dull but in the end safely over time.

Sanches, who came into the game just a few minutes before his decisive action for the twisted Leon Goretzka, was one of them. The 21-year-old Portuguese provided midfield stability in the final stages.

Even though he recently took his seats on the bench more often after his gala appearances at the beginning of the season, Sanches confirms his positive development under Kovac and finally seems to have arrived at FC Bayern. Pots of Luck Casino are a new and innovative option when it comes to online casino options.

This is not hidden from his fellow players either. Kimmich continues: “I take my hat off to you when you come here alone at the age of 18. He also had a certain backpack on. In his first time he didn’t do so easily, but then he comes back and says quite clearly that he wants to assert himself and play here. That’s remarkable how he does it mentally. He had to put up with a lot, too.“

Watzke: Bavaria is “a little more difficult at the moment”

November 7, 2018November 28, 2018

Borussia Dortmund is currently the Bundesliga leader, the Bavarians are two points behind. After the Dortmund team beat Hertha BSC 2:2, BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke (59) was a guest at the “Aktuellen Sportstudio” on Saturday evening. In the “ZDF” show, the 56-year-old talked about the championship chances of the Dortmund team: “I don’t have the impression that they (the Bavarians, editor’s note) are weakening. They have now won away three times in a row. When Bayern Munich plays a top season, you don’t stand a chance,” Watzke explains, adding: “But you already have the feeling that it’s a little more difficult at the moment.”

Watzke praises the level of the league. “Maybe a lot of teams are stronger this year, too. I think that we are stronger than last year and I also have the impression that teams like Werder Bremen and Hertha BSC Berlin have developed,” says Watzke.

Dortmund is at the top after nine match days. The team of coach Lucien Favre could cheer six victories in the league so far and has not lost a game yet. Also in the Champions League it looks very good with three successes so far. The team seems to have found each other. Watzke does not fear a slump, as he did last season under Peter Bosz. At that time, the Dortmund team crashed to eighth place in the Bundesliga after a good start.

Lucien Favre Honours

Player

1985: Swiss champion with Servette

Manager

1994: Promotion to Nationalliga B (Echallens)
1999: Promotion to Nationalliga A (Yverdon Sport)
2001: Swiss Cup winner (Servette)
2005: Swiss Cup winner (Zürich)
2006 and 2007: Swiss Super League winner (Zürich)
2006 and 2007: Manager of the year (Switzerland)
2011: Sport1 television channel manager of the year (Germany)
2012: VDV players’ union manager of the 2011/2012 season (Germany)
2013: Kicker sports magazine player poll manager of the first half of the 2013/2014 season (Germany)
2015: Kicker sports magazine player poll manager of the 2014/2015 season (Germany)

“Last year cannot be compared to this one. That was another phase. The team is more stable, also because we are more stable in the centre. With Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney, we have players who have been clarified and can set the pace.”

Paco Alcacer is another newcomer who has made a significant contribution to the upswing. The 25-year-old centre forward is on loan from FC Barcelona until the end of the season. Alcacer has already scored eight goals in five competitive games. Watzke says in the “Sportstudio” that BVB have not yet drawn the purchase option, “but there’s not much to be said against us drawing it either. We have it in our hands ourselves. It won’t take until June.”

Meanwhile, Watzke did not want to comment further on the much-discussed press conference of the bosses of FC Bayern Munich: “I only saw a few excerpts. I won’t evaluate that either,” Watzke continues: “I was on the plane, and when I landed, I had 150 SMS on my mobile phone. I thought something serious had happened.”

Hoeneß and Rummenigge had complained at the press conference about the proportionality and tone of the reporting on the Bavarian crisis and thus set a discussion in motion. “I have the impression that this PK has somehow developed a dynamic that was not initially intended,” said Watzke. CampeonBet is very generous in giving out great offers.

“We all have to live with the fact that we have to put up with criticism, especially if it is justified. But the gaps between criticisms have become shorter today. There has also been a disinhibition. It is becoming more and more aggressive, especially in the social networks. There it goes today already more to the thing.”

4 newly approved drugs that help in the treatment of serious diseases

October 30, 2018July 27, 2018

We still have a long way to go in eradicating diseases that have been plaguing us for the past century. Cancer is one name that springs to mind. We have spent decades fighting this monster, and to limited avail. It continues to devour lives at an alarming pace.

Cancer is not the only one though. We also have Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and many more, that have stumped us for a while. While we have learnt to slow down the progression of these diseases and take reasonable precautionary measures, we have not succeeded in eradicating them.

That is why new drug innovations are so vital in today’s world. As the leading innovator in the world, the United States has a lot of responsibility to bear on this front. In this post, we look at 2018’s newly approved drugs by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Crysvita

Crysvita is a new drug developed by the company Ultragenyx for the treatment of a rare genetic disease called X-linked hypophosphatemia. It is a bone disease caused by a growth inhibiting hormone that affects children as young as 1 year old. The drug aims to counteract the effect of this hormone and stimulate growth.

Trogarzo

Trogarzo is a drug against a type of HIV-1 infection that is normally resistant to drugs, developed by the pharmaceutical company TaiMed Biologics Inc. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a dreaded disease. It has stalled the development of many economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is perhaps the biggest worry to human beings. Trogarzo is intended for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

Nivestym

Nivestym is pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s latest innovation. The drug is mainly intended to be used in chemotherapy for myeloid leukemia, although it can also be used for fighting against neutropenia. The drug has to be administrated carefully, and it is worth remembering that any drug in the fight against cancer is manufactured to be extremely effective and strong, and will have side-effects. Make sure you are fully aware of these.

Braftovi

Braftovi is a capsule-form drug that is used in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Manufactured by Array Biopharma Inc., this has been one of the breakthrough innovations of 2018. Melanoma, especially in its late stages, is a dreary proposition. As mentioned before with Nivestym, ensure you fully know the side effects of this one.

We can’t stress enough the need for full research before consuming any of these drugs. We know that these are only consumed in the worst of times and you have a prescription, but self-research is equally important.

3 key technologies in healthcare that will simplify a doctor’s life

September 28, 2018July 27, 2018

Technology is a big deal today. It has crawled its way into many professions hitherto unimagined, such as law – a profession where humans have always been essential and irreplaceable. At its current pace, it is impossible to predict what it cannot do.

Technology is increasing disrupting healthcare and medicine as well. With things such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, clinics and hospitals are increasing adopting technologies to increase the quality of patient care. And as this is happening, it is important for doctors to be aware of the effectiveness of these technologies.

Doctors are the key cog in the healthcare space. In a profession where time is often found lacking, doctors have had to make hard choices in the past about prioritizing patients. This can lead to undesirable consequences for a select few patients, but you cannot blame anyone for that. However, the very presence of technology in medicine today is to ensure efficiency. Let us look at the key trends as of today that doctors should be aware of.

Big Data

Healthcare providers store large volumes of data on a daily basis. Often, the extraction of such data can lead to delays and inefficiencies. If you visit your local doctor to treat a vicious stomach bug and he needs 10 minutes to extract your patient record, which is not unusual, it can be dangerous. With the advent of big data and faster data processing, expect to see higher efficiencies in your local clinic.

Virtual Reality

Overcapacity. An issue that plagues many clinics and hospitals. Onboarding and waiting times when you book an appointment can sometimes be excruciatingly long. This is simply an issue of demand and supply. The emergence of VR has helped in some ways. Today, it is being used in rehabilitations, pain relief through distraction and even surgical procedures. It doesn’t replace the doctor, but substitutes the doctor for certain mundane tasks, thus freeing up time for the doctor to focus on more important tasks.

Internet of Things

Diagnosis is an important function for a doctor. While most clinics and hospitals have established structures wherein the diagnosis is conducted as much as possible before a lead doctor gets involved in a case, it is still time consuming. With IoT so much present in healthcare today, we have apps that measure health, performance, diet intake and so on. Using such data would be useful in saving up a lot of time.

France as a leading medical innovator and the risks in clinical trials

August 27, 2018July 27, 2018

Looking outside the United States, there are a few other nations leading innovations and breaking grounds in medical innovation. One of them is France. As one of the world’s leading economies and a nation with a relatively high life expectance of 82 years, France has pretty much done things right for a while now.

It is general knowledge that Europe is the second large pharmaceutical market after the United States. Within Europe, the leading innovators in medicine are Switzerland, United Kingdom and France. Among the three, France is the very personification of liberalism. After all, they are the ones who gave us socialism and liberalism.

Healthcare in France is either free or heavily subsidized for a vast majority of the population. You may think, how can that be even sustainable. Well, have you ever had a glance at tax rates in Europe? Income tax rates in many European nations go up as much as 60%. However, only the ultra-rich normally fall under such tax slabs.

Now that Emmanuel Macron, a self-confessed far-left candidate is in charge of the nation, one can assume healthcare to be further liberalized. However, in addition to liberalization, France’s higher life expectance is also partly due to a high level of innovations and research in the field of medicine.

One thing to keep in mind is that research in medicine often involves lot of risks and setbacks. Medicinal testing involves clinical trials, the morality of which is always being questioned. It is not unexpected to have collateral damage during the rollout of a new drug, for example.

This happened in France recently. In January 2016, a clinical trial of a drug in France led to catastrophic consequences. One person was killed and five others hospitalized. The compound, known as BIA 10-2474, was intended to be used in the fight against neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s. Neurological diseases have always been a complex fight to wage.

Parkinson’s has stumped humanity for ages. A disease that affected 6 million people in 2015, it is something that is dreaded by people as they approach a certain age. The BIA 10-2474 was heralded as a breakthrough in the fight against neurological disorders, before the unfortunate incident happened.

The reason stated by the company that manufactured the compound was that the effects weren’t known before conducting the trials. More studies could have been done prior to clinical trials. While it is completely irresponsible from the part of the manufacturer, we have to understand that people can do only so much to limit collateral damage. At the end of the day, anything new has risks involved.

Why the involvement of youths is crucial to solving Healthcare

July 25, 2018July 27, 2018

Youth are the fundamental pillars of any economy. No matter the advances and disruptions caused by technology, human skill, perseverance and determination are irreplaceable. And the next generation of the workforce need to take responsibility.

Youths have been essential to many great movements in the United States. When Martin Luther King Jr. marched on the streets of Selma, Alabama, to protest the vicious racism that was resurging in the Deep South, he marched with an army of youths. Youths full of bravery and fearlessness. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Even today students and youth activists are campaigning actively for change. In Trump’s America, there have been many controversial issues. The famous ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement is something that is purely led by youths. In fact, the involvement of youths in politics is refreshing.

Youths were at it again during the Vietnam War protests in the 1960’s and the Tiananmen square democratic rally in the 1980’s. Look all around the globe, and youths are no longer the silent spectators they once were. And we need them today, much more than ever.

We know that the issues facing our country are much more than ever. We have regressed when it comes racial equality, gender rights, income gap, international relations and many more issues. Traditionally considered a champion of human rights and a firm believer in individual potential, the United States has faced recent backlash over the deterioration of many of these so-called American values.

Now we face another major issue – Healthcare. With the repeal of Obamacare, close to 20 million people risk losing their insurance. Regardless of the usefulness of Obamacare and the difference in opinion around it, people losing insurance is no joke. Unless there is a sound alternative from the Republicans, which seems increasingly unlikely, we could be witnessing a catastrophe in the unfolding.

It is now that the role of youths is more important than ever. Healthcare is a basic human right. No man or woman must have to pay over the moon to access basic prescription drugs. No one must have to be asked to spend $5,000 for a pregnancy checkup or diagnosis of a pre-condition. Imagine if the 80% of diabetes population who have prediabetes can be diagnosed and treated in time!

Let us march peacefully and assume our democratic right to protest peacefully for a cause. If we let things continue the way they have been, it could be too late to do anything.

A call to action to the US Government to fix the drug price issue

July 10, 2018July 27, 2018

Recently there has been an uproar over drug prices in the United States. Many of you must have heard of Martin Shkreli, the infamous American businessman and CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals who was responsible for a 56-time price hike on the drug Retrophin. In an instant, he became the most hated person in the country.

That, however, wasn’t an exception. Post the financial crisis, our country has had a recurring problem with increasing drug prices. Biotech has been one sector that has rebounded sharp and fast since the GFC. Today, drug prices in the US are the highest in the world. But why is it so? Well, you may be surprised to hear that it is simply just market forces.

Unlike other countries, the US government plays no role in prescription drug prices. This means that after FDA approvals, drugs are rolled to the market without any government oversight. This means that they are simply subject to market forces. And when it comes to pharmaceuticals, demand is always higher than supply, meaning that prices go up.

There are other nations as well where prices in general are high and unaffordable, such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. However, due to strict intervention by Governments, prices are controlled and made affordable. The United States, being the ultimate example of pure Capitalism, remains different, undesirably so.

Politicians have come out and called out pharmaceutical companies for their unfair pricing. Even recent politicians such as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have slammed the industry. Imagine, cancer drugs in this country cost $10,000 monthly! That is blasphemous! It requires a bottoms-up effort from government and strict laws to control this spiraling hike.

There is an argument from pharmaceutical companies that the high prices are required to conduct further research and innovation. They say that cost of development is quite high. Qualitatively, it is true considering the United States is the world’s largest spender, by an immense distance, on drug innovation and research.

Quantitatively however, the numbers don’t add up. Profit margins in this industry are excessively high, and cost of development isn’t anywhere close. Even so, pushing the prices higher and making it affordable only to the wealthy doesn’t do these companies any good. What is point of pushing a new drug to the market if now one can afford it!

We are a supporter of capitalism, but we feel like the government needs to do more in this domain. The United States deliberately stays away from most industries to let the market dictate prices. While this is a sound ideology, pharmaceuticals is not your typical industry. It affects lives.

Was Obamacare good or bad? We present an unbiased analysis.

June 25, 2018July 27, 2018

Now that we are living in Trump’s America and seeing with our own eyes institutional reforms taking place around us, we feel like it is a good time to assess the legacy of Obamacare. While we didn’t have it for that long, there have been many heated debates about the effectiveness of Obamacare. It does look appealing from the outside, but how effective is it really?

Liberals and liberal supporters often talk about the fact the Obamacare is required if the poor need to get affordable healthcare. In world dominated by pharmaceutical giants and with rising drug and insurance prices, the common man needs an outlet. And Obamacare was meant to be that. However, with economists and the intelligentsia questioning the sustainability of the plan, we wanted to take a look at it ourselves.

At its essence, Obamacare wanted to ensure that the 40 million odd people who didn’t have any insurance coverage were able to sustain themselves. While it is beyond this post to get in too much detail on the plan, it aimed to provide subsidies (tax credits) or extend Medicaid coverage to more people. Prior to that, Medicaid was limited only to senior citizens and people below the poverty line.

The main controversy was that the government was forcing people to spend on insurance. It was seen by some as an infringement on individual freedom to decide. What they failed to recognize is that spending on heavily discounted policies would eventually lower gross medical spending and bring down costs for everyone. Pretty much basic economics.

A key tenet of the plan was that companies were forced to pay health insurance for employees. Considering America’s low unemployment rates, the idea was to use this as a way to benefit everyone. Companies that didn’t have employee health insurance plans were subject to heavy taxes. This forced their hand, in a way.

On the other hand, the criticism that was aimed at Obamacare focused on two aspects – higher cost for businesses and intrusion on personal affairs. Businesses would incur higher costs due to the added insurance expenses, which in turn could stop them from adding jobs, and the Government intruding on people’s decision making was undemocratic.

In our opinion, we agree that Obamacare isn’t perfect. In fact, no policy can be perfect. All of them will have some intended and some unintended consequences. However, it is fair to say that the pros tend to outweigh the cons, not just in terms of quantity but in terms of overall social and economic impact to Government and the people. So, from our view, Obamacare is a win.

A brief look into the dangerous effects of Diabetes in the US

June 10, 2018July 27, 2018

Everyone in the United States is aware of one existential threat that exists today – Diabetes. The disease has ‘eaten’ (pun intended) the lives of many and continues to do so at an alarming pace. While it is hereditary in some cases, it is definitely brought about by man made causes in the others.

Worryingly enough, as per the latest CDC report, more than a 100 million Americans suffer from Diabetes today. That is almost a third of the population! Although, about 80% of that is prediabetes, which can become type II diabetes if not treated within the next few years.

Diabetes affects people of all colors and ages. It doesn’t discriminate its victims., although African Americans and Hispanics have a proportionately higher risk of being affected. Diabetes, in turn, is classified into type I and type II diabetes. Type I is caused by genetic and environmental factors, whereas type II is purely a result of diet and weight control.

We have always had a problem in the United States with the prevalence and easy accessibility of food loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fats. Food items such as hamburgers, pizza, soft drinks and other processed meat often triggers obesity. Unfortunately, this is the type of food that is available on the cheap.

Perhaps, that is the reason why obesity is most prevalent in the Southern states, where there is a higher percentage of people living in poverty. It will take a concerted effort from both governments, corporations and people themselves to solve this issue. There is a cheaper alternative to such food that involves vegetables, fruits and non-fried meat.

We also ask America’s sweethearts such as McDonalds, Burger King and Coca-Cola to join this fight against obesity and put aside shallow considerations about profits aside. After all, they will not have clients left if obesity continues to devour lives at this rate.