Tag - medicine

 
 

MEDICINE

Surgeons perform the world’s first genetically modified pig kidney transplant into a living human at Massachusetts General Hospital in March.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2024
Hurdles remain in Japan for transplants of pig organs into humans
Among the issues are the risk of previously unknown infectious diseases, animal welfare and the need to protect recipients from discrimination.
Casey Harrell, who is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and observers react as a brain-computer interface system developed by University of California, Davis, works on the first attempt.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 16, 2024
Brain tech breakthrough restores ALS patient’s ability to speak
The brain-computer interface developed by University of California, Davis, is aimed at restoring movement, but its improvement of speech underscores its broader promise.
Health minister Keizo Takemi fields questions from reporters in March after a Cabinet meeting to deal with health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024
Health Minister Keizo Takemi on how to improve Japan's health care system
Digitalization, hiring high-skilled foreign workers and increasing wages are among the steps that Japan could take.
In the past 11 months, health minister Keizo Takemi has been charting his own path, seeking to make Japan's health care policies more global and digitalized.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024
Global mindset crucial for reform of Japan's health care, minister says
International strategies and domestic health care reform are inextricably linked, says health minister Keizo Takemi.
A ward for heatstroke patients at a hospital in Chennai, India, in May. The country experienced a severe heat wave over the spring and summer, raising concerns about the long-term impact of climate change-induced extreme heat on human health.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024
Climate change: A health emergency in the making
Global warming's impact on health is an increasingly urgent issue — just look at excess deaths caused by extreme heat. But are health care systems well-equipped enough?
In recent years, the number of ambulance dispatches has been on the rise, amid concerns that those who need urgent care may not be receiving it.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 7, 2024
Japan municipalities take tougher stance on nonurgent ambulance calls
The proliferation of nonurgent calls and related requests for ambulances have been giving local municipalities a headache.
An ultrasonographic checkup to detect Little League elbow (top). The image on the bottom left shows a healthy elbow while an arrow on the bottom right image shows damage.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 6, 2024
Japanese team develops AI program to detect Little League elbow
The researchers aim to develop diagnostic equipment using an AI program for practical use in about a year.
The Mefeego pill pack
JAPAN / Society
Aug 5, 2024
Japan's health ministry considers wider availability for abortion pill
Currently, the medication can only be administered in hospitals with inpatient capabilities.
The dark side of artificial intelligence is that it could make deadly and low-cost bioweapons more accessible to nonstate actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024
AI may save us, or may construct viruses to kill us
One reason biological weapons haven’t been much used is that they can boomerang. If Russia released a virus in Ukraine, it could spread to Russia.
A health ministry panel has approved Eli Lilly's donanemab drug for Alzheimer's patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2024
Japan's health ministry set to approve second Alzheimer's drug
Donanemab, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, has been backed by a ministry panel.
Takeshita street in Tokyo's Harajuku shopping district on Wednesday, when temperatures reached 35.6 degrees Celsius.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 1, 2024
New 'most severe' category added to Japan’s heatstroke guidelines
The move is meant to stress the need for urgent medical attention in severe cases as the number of heatstroke cases soars amid record-high temperatures.
Though some in the country rejected their wartime associations, the Japanese government made the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem official 25 years ago.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Aug 1, 2024
Japan Times 1999: Flag, anthem now official
After some controversy, the Hinomaru flag was made official alongside the country's national anthem, "Kimigayo."
As of March 2023, there were 86 medicines that had been approved in Europe or the United States but remained unavailable in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 30, 2024
Japan unveils plan to improve access to foreign drugs
The road map to address what is known as "drug loss" envisions that development of in-demand medicines will start by April 2026.
Genetic profiling performed in more than 8,000 patients with Parkinson's disease showed 13% had a genetic form of the progressive brain disorder.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 30, 2024
Genetic testing suggested for Parkinson's patients after gene mutation study
Genetic profiling performed in more than 8,000 patients with Parkinson's disease showed 13% had a genetic form of the progressive brain disorder.
Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) virions (spherical in appearance) bud from a cultured human lymphocytes in this scanning electron microscopic image obtained from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2019.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024
Cured HIV patients 'living proof' of hope in fight against virus
Only seven people are considered to have been effectively cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant.
A scientist looks at scans at the Memory Center at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital in Geneva on June 6, 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024
A blood test accurately diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the time, study finds
A team of researchers reported that a blood test was significantly more accurate than doctors’ interpretation of cognitive tests and CT scans in signaling Alzheimer's.
Leqembi, which was developed by U.S. multinational Biogen and Japanese-based Eisai, is the brand name of an active substance called lecanemab, which is used to treat adults with mild memory and cognitive problems resulting from the early stages of the common type of dementia.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 27, 2024
European medicines watchdog rejects Eisai's new Alzheimer's drug
The watchdog said the risks of side effects, including potential brain bleeding, outweighed the benefits.
Amazon has launched an online service enabling customers in Japan to purchase prescription medications without having to visit physical pharmacies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 24, 2024
Amazon Pharmacy goes live in Japan
Through the new service, Japanese consumers will be able to obtain medications without having to visit physical pharmacies.
People hold umbrellas while watching baseball to deal with the heat in the city of Shizuoka on July 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024
As risk of heatstroke rises in Japan, so does that of COVID-19
Patients examined for suspected heatstroke have been diagnosed with COVID-19 instead, as symptoms can be similar.
Takahiro Ueda, a doctor who treated the Kyoto Animation arson suspect Shinji Aoba, is interviewed in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2024
Saving Kyoto Animation arson suspect was 'meaningful,' says doctor
Takahiro Ueda said it was significant that Shinji Aoba was able to receive a court ruling.

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