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01 / 05
For Some Patients, the “Inner Voice” May Soon Be Audible

New York Times | Noncommunicable Disease

For Some Patients, the “Inner Voice” May Soon Be Audible

“For decades, neuroengineers have dreamed of helping people who have been cut off from the world of language.

A disease like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., weakens the muscles in the airway. A stroke can kill neurons that normally relay commands for speaking. Perhaps, by implanting electrodes, scientists could instead record the brain’s electric activity and translate that into spoken words.

Now a team of researchers has made an important advance toward that goal. Previously they succeeded in decoding the signals produced when people tried to speak. In the new study, published on Thursday in the journal Cell, their computer often made correct guesses when the subjects simply imagined saying words.”

From New York Times.

The New England Journal of Medicine | Noncommunicable Disease

Hospital-Acquired Infections Continue Decline Across US

“Prevalence surveys in U.S. hospitals showed that on any given day, 1 of 25 patients had a health care–associated infection in 2011, as compared with 1 of 31 patients in 2015. We repeated the survey in 2023 to assess changes in the prevalence of such infections…

The prevalence of health care–associated infections was lower in 2023 than in 2015, with 1 of 38 patients on any given day having such an infection; however, the burden of health care–associated infections in U.S. hospitals continued to be high.”

From The New England Journal of Medicine.

World Health Organization | Communicable Disease

El Salvador Eliminates Trachoma as a Public Health Problem

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated El Salvador as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness…

Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem is defined as: (i) a prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) “unknown to the health system” of < 0.2% in ≥15-year-olds; and (ii) a prevalence of trachomatous inflammation – follicular (TF) in children aged 1–9 years of < 5%, in each formerly endemic district; plus (iii) the existence of a system to identify and manage incident cases of TT.

Other countries validated by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem are: Algeria, Australia, Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.

El Salvador is the first country in Central America and the second in the Americas to achieve this milestone.”

From World Health Organization.

Nigerian Tribune | Communicable Disease

Nigeria Nears Trachoma Elimination

“Nigeria is close to eliminating trachoma as a public health problem, with only 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) left to achieve elimination, the Director of the National Trachoma Programme at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nicholas Olobio, has said.

Olobio disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during a learning event organised by Sightsavers to review progress under the AcceleraTE Trachoma Elimination Programme, which has supported Nigeria’s trachoma response since 2018.

He said Nigeria had made significant progress towards eliminating the blinding disease, revealing that mass drug administration (MDA) had been stopped in 116 LGAs, representing about 87 per cent of the country’s elimination target.”

From Nigerian Tribune.

UCL | Noncommunicable Disease

Trial Shows Safer Antibiotic Option for Staph Blood Infection

“The SNAP trial, funded in the UK by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) found that a little used antibiotic, cefazolin, is as effective as and safer than the current UK standard therapy, flucloxacillin, for treating life-threatening staph blood infections. More than half of staph blood infections lead to sepsis and 15% to 25% of those who get these infections die within three months.

The researchers also found that a commonly used antibiotic, penicillin, can be used when the staph is treatable with this in the laboratory. And that similarly this is probably as effective as flucloxacillin, and safer.

The findings from the SNAP trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and The Lancet, challenge the long-held assumption that flucloxacillin should remain the default treatment and provide important new evidence to guide treatment strategy.”

From UCL.