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Voici une traduction pour le texte du contrôle du 13 décembre :

It’s bad news for tall people.  According to scientists from the University of Lund in Sweden, tall people have a higher risk of getting blood clots.  In a study carried out on more than two million brothers and sisters, they observed a lower risk for clotting in men and women smaller than 160cm and 155cm respectively.  The overall risk was reduced by 60 percent compared to subjects taller than 185cm.  The authors stated that “height is an independent indicator of venous thromboembolism.”

A blood clot can partially or totally block a major vein in the legs or thighs and cause phlebitis.  Superficial phlebitis (when the circulation is blocked in a small vein, leading to pain and discomfort) is not serious in itself, but is a risk factor for deep phlebitis, and the latter is an emergency because the clot which is blocking the blood flow in a deep or large calibre vein can break loose and migrate into the circulation and cause a pulmonary embolism (when the clot lodges itself in the pulmonary artery), and this is a serious and potentially fatal accident.  Among the warning signs in cases of phlebitis are: a red, warm, or hard vein, or one whose relief makes it clearly visible on the surface.  It is also painful or sensitive to touch.

1. How much weight should people lose to defeat type 2 diabetes?  15kg
2. At what time does dim-light melatonin onset generally begin?   8 pm
3. What is becoming more common in the over 50s?  HIV infection
4. How many countries in Europe have “eliminated” measles? 33
5. Researchers in Spain linked atherosclerosis with what?  Skipping breakfast
6. What has been linked to substance abuse in teenagers?  Vegetarian diet in pregnancy
7. What percentage of children in the UK are thought to be obese?  10%
8. According to one study how should pregnant women not sleep?  On their back
9. Psilocybin helped 19 patients with what?  Depression
10. Who should you call in the UK if you are thinking about self-harming?  The Samaritans
11. Mushrooms make you feel fuller than what according to a US study?  Minced beef
12. The Daily Mail said there are how many ‘breast cancer genes’?  180
13. Loughorough university researchers believe that what might lower the risk of dementia?  Marriage
14. How do US researchers aim to evaluate the risk of dementia?  Blood test in Middle age
15. Night-time eating might lead to what?  Heart disease
16. What type of wounds heal faster?  Daytime
17. The BBC reported that Scottish researchers have found that what is bad for children?    Grandparents
18. What might prevent rheumatoid arthritis?  Vit D
19. How many cups of coffee per day can bring health benefits?  3-4
20. What childhood disease has returned to the UK?    Scarlet Fever

Energy drinks could weaken the heart

Energy drinks have been around for a few decades, but have really taken off in recent years.  As their name suggests they give a boost of energy, usually due to several psychoactive substances they contain which improve attention and concentration and reduce the feeling of tiredness.  They are not the same thing as sports energy drinks which contain nutritional substances vital for sports performance.

For a while now, public health authorities have been concerned about the effects of excessive consumption of some of the substances in energy drinks, including caffeine and taurine which, in high doses, might lead to heart problems or anxiety.

One by one, institutions are condemning the dangers of excessive consumption of this sort of drink, in particular when they are consumed with alcohol.  Now a team from Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn have presented their work at the annual congress of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in which they demonstrate the effects of a single drink on the heart.

Lower contractile function after one energy drink

“Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated a link between the consumption of energy drinks and heart problems,” said Jonas Dörner, director of the study.  “But none has shown the effects they have on heart function.”  So he and his team undertook this job.  Thanks to MRI the scientists were able to observe cardiac function in 15 healthy participants aged 27 ½ on average.  They took images of the heart before and one hour after absorption of an energy drink containing 400mg/100ml of taurine, and 32mg/100ml of caffeine.

When they looked at the images of the heart, the study’s authors observed increased cardiac tension in the left ventricle after consumption of the energy drink.  This part of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and sends it into the aorta which then distributes it to the rest of the body.  However, the researchers did not note any difference in heart rate, blood pressure, nor in the rate of blood pumped by the left ventricle.  In contrast, the heart showed lower contractile function after consumption of the beverage.

“Additional studies are now needed to understand the mechanism and to determine how long it lasts,” the researcher said.  “We also want to evaluate the effect of regular consumption of these energy drinks on heart function.” For the present, the study’s authors recommend that children and the frail abstain from consuming such products.

Diabetes and endocrine disruptors: beware of chemical pollutants

Many studies have pointed to the role that some chemical products, like bisphenol A (BPA), dioxins and phthalates, play in the rapid increase in the number of people with diabetes.

It all began with diethylstilbestrol, a drug given to pregnant women up until the middle of the seventies, which caused malformations and cancer in some children.  Less well-known is the fact that people exposed in their mothers’ wombs also developed diabetes as adults twice more than average.

Since the worldwide type 2 diabetes epidemic seems difficult to explain by genetics, which have not evolved quickly enough, or by changes in lifestyle (physical inactivity, unbalanced diet) it raised suspicion.  To find out more, researchers carried out laboratory experiments.

They observed that by when they gave very small doses of diethylstilbestrol or BPA of pregnant rats or mice, their offspring became obese then diabetic.  The same thing happened with pesticides like DDT, dioxins or some phthalates, the molecules which are found in plastics.  What these products have in common is that they affect the way hormones work (which is why they are called endocrine disruptors), but they also interfere with the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.

As far as humans are concerned, other studies have increased our suspicions.  First of all there are the consequences of accidental exposure, such as the explosion of a factory in Seveso in Italy in 1976 which produced a giant cloud of dioxins: girls who were contaminated had diabetes three times more frequently than the rest of the population when they were adults.

But the most tangible results come from longitudinal studies from the USA, Canada or Scandinavia, where those most exposed to endocrine disruptors in the past were also those who had most often ended up with metabolic disorders and diabetes.

Beware of these chemical pollutants.  It cannot be denied that they have “obesogenic” or “diabetogenic” properties.  Discussions are being held at European level to limit their use and people’s exposure to them.

Meanwhile, pregnant women at least should take precautions: avoid tins and cans, which are all lined with BPA, as are containers and plastic films in microwave ovens, choose organic food whenever possible, don’t repaint the nursery, and avoid handling pesticides during pregnancy.

WHO to test antimalarial vaccine in Africa

Mosquirix, which will be tested between 2018 and 2020 does not provide full protection against the plasmodium parasite, but it reduces the number of episodes of malaria.

Kenya, Ghana and Malawi are the three African countries chosen by the World Health Organization to test the antimalarial vaccine called Mosquirix, a UN special agency announced on Monday April 24^th.

The WHO aims to vaccinate at least 360 000 children between 2018 and 2020.  Africa is by far the continent with the highest incidence of malaria, representing 92% of the 429 000 deaths from this mosquito-borne disease throughout the world in 2015, according to WHO figures.  Children under 5 make up two-thirds of these deaths.

Developed by a partnership between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the NGO Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative, the vaccine, which is the most advanced against Malaria remains of limited effectiveness.  When combined with diagnostic methods, treatment and tried-and-tested preventive measures, such as mosquito nets treated with mosquito repellents, “the vaccine could save tens of thousands of lives in Africa” in the opinion of Matshidiso Moeti, WHO director for Africa.

Reduce episodes by 40%

In particular, the pilot project should allow them to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine “in a context of day-to-day use” as well as any possible logistical hurdles, according to Mrs Moeti.  It will be a question of raising the awareness of parents about a new program of vaccinations which differs from the traditional child vaccination program (DTP, measles etc.)  Four doses of the vaccine need to be administered when the child is aged 5 months, 6 months, 7 months and two years old.

Mosquirix, which was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in July 2015, does not completely prevent infection by the Plasmodium parasite which causes the disease.  It reduces the number of malaria episodes by 40% over a period of at least four and a half years, according to studies carried out on 15000 people between 2009 and 2014.

The program is part of the efforts introduced since the 1990s to eradicate malaria. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of deaths from this disease fell by 62%.  The WHO hopes to have eliminated the disease by 2040.

Next week (March 29) you will view a pilot episode of a series, and you will have to write a review of what you have seen.

In order to get an idea of how to approach this task, here are a few links to reviews from newspapers and internet sites :

Beyond (Variety.com)

Preacher (Forbes.com)

Travelers (nerdbastards.com)

Westworld (harpersbazaar.com)

Other examples can be found on this page

Voici une proposition de traduction :

Augmented reality; coming soon to a theatre near you

“In ten years’ time we will wonder how we were able to operate without 3D imaging and augmented reality,” said Patrick Pessaux, a surgeon at the university teaching hospital of Strasbourg.

For the surgeon, the advantage of these emerging techniques is two-fold.  Firstly, the day before the operation doctors will be able to explain the details of the intervention to the patient using a tablet computer.  “This educational and entertaining approach tends to reassure them” the specialist stated.

Secondly, 3D visualization of an anomaly beforehand allows the surgeon to define his movements and aim directly thus lowering the risk of side effects.  “When we aim for the gallbladder, in 0.5% of cases the bile duct, which leads from the liver to the intestine, is impacted, causing injury.  Augmented reality allows us to visualize this duct which is hidden beneath fat, and thereby avoid it.”

A clinical trial on gall bladder removals (100 000 operations each year in France) in 60 patients has just concluded in Strasbourg.  The data are being analyzed.  “It is a world first.  We are going to identify in how many of the sixty patients augmented reality enabled us to find the right structure”, Patrick Pessoux explained.

Even if augmented reality provides more accurate diagnosis, helps to prepare operations, and informs patients, it hasn’t yet arrived in operating theaters.  At present, navigation allows surgical guidance during an operation. We will still have to wait for a few years for these innovations, which are currently in research and development, to finally enter the operating room.

Is 100 days without meat good for our health?

Aline Perraudin, editor of “Santé Magazine” and author of “100 days without meat” set herself the challenge of eating no meat for 100 days.  Even though the journalist made the choice for ethical reasons, because she could no longer stand the scandals over animal slaughter for example, is it possible that this decision was good for her health?

“Many studies have compared the health of vegetarians and meat-eaters,” GP Dr Martine Perez told Europe 1.  “The results show that vegetarians generally have fewer cancers.”  But these conclusions should be taken with precaution.   First and foremost, because certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer are just as common in non meat-eaters as in others.  Finally, the decrease in risk of cancer is not necessarily linked to dietary habits.  “If vegetarians have fewer cancers, it is because over all they are health conscious,” Dr Perez stated.  So, they have fewer lung cancers because they are less likely to smoke than the rest of the population.

Other studies have been carried out on cardiovascular diseases.  Here again it is difficult to associate lower prevalence in vegetarians with diet.  Dr Perez added that “vegetarians are also a little less frequently diabetic and less obese.”  But an Austrian study has upset the cart, coming to the conclusion that vegetarians had more allergies than meat-eaters, and were more depressed.  Aline Perraudin, for her part, believes that going meat-free has enabled her to eat a more balanced diet.  “Initially, you feel like there are only side dishes left”, she told Europe 1.  “At the end, I felt as though I was doing myself good.  Eating a vegetable-based diet eased my conscience.” The journalist ate a more balanced diet, “tofu doesn’t need chips”.   Indeed, besides meat, what people eat with it disrupts a balanced diet, and thus their health.  “People who eat meat, eat more chips, and more fat, and drink more wine” concluded Dr Perez.

The question remains as to what (nutritional) deficiencies a vegetarian diet can cause.  For nutritionist Jean-Michel Cohen it is nevertheless possible to compensate for the proteins, iron and vitamin B12 contained in meat.  “We can get iron from chocolate, wholemeal bread or wheat bran.”  Vitamin B12 on the other hand is difficult to find in other foods besides fish.  If fish is also being avoided, taking dietary supplements is advised.