Near Death Experience of a Neurosurgeon: A must watch! (Video)

A neurosurgeon shares his near-death experience.

Bacterial meningitis, coma, earth worm eye view of the world, then the warm loving light...

Featuring also Dr. Bruce Greyson, a psychiatrist and longtime NDE researcher.

A must watch video for skeptics, specially people who seek scientific evidence.

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Bali court sentences Australian boy, 14, over drug charge

Teenager sentenced to two months in detention for buying drugs, but he should be free in just over a week 

guardian.co.uk, Associated Press in Bali, Friday 25 November 2011

Indonesian guards escort the 14-year-old Australian boy after his trial
at Denpasar district court. Photograph: Firdia Lisnawati/AP

An Australian teenager has been sentenced to two months in detention for buying drugs while on holiday with his family in Bali.

Judge Amzer Simanjuntak told the packed Denpasar district court that when taking into account time already served, the 14-year-old would be freed in just over a week and immediately deported.

The boy, who cannot be identified because of his age, sat sobbing, his head bowed down, as his father patted him on the back while the judge spoke.

Though he could have faced up to 12 years under Indonesia's tough drug laws, the panel of three judges said it decided to be lenient because he admitted to buying 3.6g (0.13oz) of marijuana from a man in front of a supermarket, and repeatedly expressed remorse.

The teenager has been in an immigration detention centre since his arrest on 4 October. He has promised to enter a drug rehabilitation programme if allowed to return to his home in Morrisset Park, north of Sydney.

He said he had been struggling for some time with his addiction.

Dozens of Australians have been jailed or put on death row for drug possession in Indonesia.

BPOM Says These 22 Coffee Brands Are Bad for You

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, November 25, 2011

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Coffee drinkers, beware of these 22 brands. It is not about their caffeine content, says the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), but that they contain chemicals that can be bad for your health.

The 22 brands are not registered with BPOM but had been sold in the market, according to BPOM head Kustantinah. The problem is that they contain sildenafil or tadalafil.

Both substances are not allowed for use in food or beverage as they can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomach aches, palpitations, chest pains, permanent erectile dysfunction and even death.

Sildenafil and tadalafil are usually found in drugs or supplements for erectile dysfunction. They can have a lethal effect if consumed by someone with a heart condition.

“Imagine if people don't know this fact,” Kustantinah said. “Coffee is a beverage usually taken in the morning, during the day and at night time.”

BPOM has withdrawn all these brands from the market to be destroyed. Meanwhile, the producers as well as marketers have been warned to stop producing and selling these or face sanctions of a maximum of five years in jail or a fine of Rp 600 million.

The banned coffee brands are:

    1. 39 Sa Kao 3 in1 Kopi Mix Plus Ekstrak Jahe

    2. 39Sa Kao kopi Mix Ginseng Korea 3 in 1

    3. Bel-bel Kopi Ekstra Susu

    4. Black Borneo Platinum Coffee

    5. Dream Coffee

    6. Dynamic Coffee/Dynamic Nusantara/Dynamin Tribulus Coffee.

    7. Golden Life

    8. God Coffee Premium/ Good Coffee

    9. Herba Max Coffee

    10. Jaho Mix Barokah SP

    11. Jomoon Instant Coffee

    12. Joss-Fly Plus Coffee Plus Panax Ginseng

    13. Kopi Cleng- Sehat, Nikmat, Berstamina

    14. Kopi Mahabbah

    15. Kopi Pasutri

    16. Kopi KPH/Kopi Kuat

    17. Kopi Strong 234

    18. Maca-Tech

    19. Matador Coffee

    20. Mawaddah Coffee

    21. On Coffee

    22. Premium Energy Coffee

Lippo Group to Build Six Hospitals in 2012

Jakarta Globe, Ivan Dasa Saputra, November 23, 2011

A doctor and his assistant perform simulations at the Siloam
 Cancer Hospital MRCCC Semanggi, Jakarta. The Lippo Group
 is planning to build six more hospitals next year.
(JG Photo/Safir Makki)

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The Lippo Group is planning to build six international standard hospitals in five Indonesian regions next year.

“Every hospital should be built with international principles, using international standards, equipment and service,” James Riady, CEO of the Lippo Group, said on Wednesday.

James said that while it is not relevant to get international accreditation for all hospitals, the hospitals will be built with international standards.

“International accreditation needs a high budget that might have an impact on patients,” James said.

The six hospitals will be built in Makassar, Manado, Bali, Palembang and Jakarta with an investment of Rp 300 to Rp 500 billion ($33 million to $55 million) each.

As part of the Lippo Group’s mission to serve all sections of society, Siloam Hospital, owned by the Lippo Group, is increasing space for a third class ward.

“We will keep on building hospitals because we’re hoping to be the main player in the health industry,” James said.

The Jakarta Globe is affiliated with the Lippo Group.

Rice containing radioactive caesium found in Japan

BBC News, By Roland Buerk, Tokyo, 17 November 2011

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The rice came from an area outside the exclusion zone
around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

Radioactive caesium has been detected above the safety level in rice for the first time in Japan since the nuclear crisis began at the Fukushima plant.

The sample came from a Fukushima city farm about 60km from the plant.

The government is considering banning shipments from the area it was found.

There have been a series of scares over radiation in food in Japan in recent months - in beef, mushrooms and green tea among other products - but never before in the country's staple, rice.

Now caesium in concentrations above the official safety limit has been detected in a sample from a farm in Fukushima city.

The rice was being prepared for market, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said none had been sold.

The discovery highlights the difficulty of tracking the radiation which has been spread across eastern Japan by wind and rain.

Local governments in rural areas have set up testing centres to try to ensure contaminated products do not get into the food chain.

Last week the Tokyo Metropolitan Government also began testing samples bought at shops in the capital in an attempt to further reassure anxious members of the public.

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J&J starts removing toxins from baby products

Associated Press, Nov 16, 2011 

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- Johnson & Johnson has begun removing two harmful chemicals from its iconic baby shampoo and other baby products in the U.S.

An international coalition of consumer and environmental groups had pressed the company since May 2009 to remove the toxins from all personal care products, including Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

Two weeks ago, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics was emboldened after finding the health care giant had removed the two chemicals from products in several other countries. But in the U.S., the products contain trace amounts of potentially cancer-causing chemicals.

Johnson & Johnson now says it expects to remove formaldehyde-releasing preservatives from baby products within about two years and is reducing traces of the other chemical.

Indonesian MER-C volunteers continue hospital construction in Gaza

Antara News, Mon, November 14 2011

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Bogor, W.Java (ANTARA News) - The volunteer organization of the health emergency, Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia from the engineering division headed to Gaza, Palestine, to continue the second phase of the tender for the construction of an Indonesia hospital there.

"The members of the team are engineers and will go to Gaza via Egypt," chairman of the MER-C Indonesia presidium dr.Sarbini Abdul Murad said here Saturday night.

He explained that by Emirates Airlines in the Jakarta-Dubai-Cairo route, the team was scheduled to leave on Sunday (Nov 13) morning and arrive in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday (Nov 13) at 10.55 local time.

The team was led by chairman of the MER-C construction division Ir.Faried Talib with Ir.Idrus Muhammad Alatas and Ir.Nur Ikhwan Abadi as members.

Dr.Sarbini said the team was expected to be in Gaza for at least two weeks. Meanwhile, Ir.Nur Ikhwan Abadi planned to stay in Gaza joining the other six Indonesian volunteers who are still there to oversee the Indonesia hospital construction.

"We have asked all Indonesians to pray for the success of the project," he said.

Faried Talib added the team`s target is to directly supervise and evaluate the construction of the hospital which has been 50 percent completed.

In addition, it will prepare the second phase of the tender for architectural work and mechanical and electrical equipment of the hospital in Gaza.

Dr.Sarbini explained they finally got an entry permit from the Egyptian foreign ministry to enter the Gaza Strip, Palestine, for building the hospital.

"After waiting for 20 days, finally the Egyptian foreign ministry issued a permit for the MER-C engineering team consisting of four people to enter Gaza through the Rafah border," he said.

According to him, information on the permit was made by the Indonesian embassy in Cairo, as the party which has helped facilitate the issuance of the permit for the MER-C team to the Gaza Strip on Monday (Oct 24).

He explained initially the confirmation about the entry permit to Gaza was received in a short message from the political section of the Indonesian embassy in Cairo followed by the necessary papers sent by electronic mail of the embassy on the same day.

Dr.Sarbini asserted that the team decided not to leave until the permission of the Egyptian foreign ministry was secured. It was based on the previous experience, in which the engineers of the MER-C team who in May 2011 did not get a permission to go to Gaza although they had been waiting for a month in Egypt.

However, the tender of the Indonesian hospital`s construction must be continued so that the whole process of the tender and interview with the contractor was finally done via teleconference between Gaza and Egypt.

Even the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the Indonesian hospital`s construction between the MER-C team in Egypt and the tender which won contractor in Gaza was carried out by quite unique.

Dr.Sarbini explained the uniqueness was that the Mer-C team entrusted the MoU documents to a person who went to Gaza from Rafah gate (in Egypt), while the contractor was waiting for the documents at the Rafah gate (in Gaza).

Once the MoU was read and signed by the contractor, the documents re-deposited by a person who went to the Rafah gate (Egypt) where the MER-C team was still waiting.

"Although the process was winding, the construction of the Indonesian hospital progressed step by step. On May 14, 2011 the construction of the Indonesia hospital in Bayt Lahiya, North Gaza was finally started," Dr.Sarbini said.

The construction of the Indonesian hospital in Gaza was started from the mission of humanitarian relief team from Indonesia who brought medical supplies from the government and the Indonesians to Gaza people from 2008 to 2009.

At that time the mission was led by dr.Rustam S.Pakaya who served as head of the crisis control of the ministry of health and Aidil Chandra Salim, the director of Middle Eastern affairs of the foreign ministry.

But, furthermore the Indonesian government fund which should be combined with those raised by MER-C Indonesia to build the hospital was diverted to other uses in the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

300,000 doses of flu vaccine Preflucel withdrawn in alert over side-effects‎

Daily Mail, by Sadia Whitelocks, 27th October 2011 

Preflucel has been recalled amid
fears it is making people ill

A flu vaccine has been recalled from thousands of surgeries and pharmacies across Europe amid fears it is making people ill.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a warning over Preflucel, a popular influenza vaccine.

Around 300,000 doses of the drug are to be immediately withdrawn following fears from health bosses that the most recent batch, issued last month, is causing side-effects.

A high percentage of those vaccinated with Preflucel have reported fatigue, muscle pain and headaches.

Alternative products will now be made available to prevent any shortages.

Newbury-based Baxter Healthcare, which manufacturers the drug, approved for use in March said that patients with concerns should contact their GP.

A statement read: 'There has been a higher-than-expected reporting of adverse reactions after administration of vaccines from this batch.

'Any stock should be quarantined and returned via the normal channels.

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'No further Preflucel of any batch should be administered at this time.'

In Scotland 2,500 vaccines have been recalled and Preflucel will not be issued until further notice.

In response the Scottish Government has ordered more than 1.1million doses of other flu drugs.

Despite fears, a spokesman urged people not to panic: 'This recall does not affect the flu vaccination programme, for which over 1.1 million doses of other flu vaccines have been ordered.

Experts say the side-effects are those usually associated with flu vaccines

'Individuals who have been vaccinated with Preflucel should not be concerned.

'Most of the side-effects are those usually associated with flu vaccines - they have started shortly after the vaccination and have been mild and short-lived.

'The vaccine is being recalled because these side-effects have been reported more frequently with this specific batch.'

It was labelled as suitable for patients with allergies because it does not contain egg and is expected to provide up to 80 per cent protection against influenza.

A spokesman said the recall was a 'precautionary measure' due to reports of adverse reactions.

Preflucel is one of 13 different flu vaccines being used to protect people against the winter virus.

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ASEAN to form partnerships to promote traditional medicine

Antara News, Sat, November 5 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - ASEAN member countries have agreed to establish partnerships to promote traditional medicine through among other things information exchange, research, and the scientization of traditional cures to guarantee their safety.

The agreement was reached at the Third Conference on ASEAN Traditional Medicine in Solo, Central Java, on Saturday, President Director of PT Deltomed Laboratories Nyoto Wardoyo said in a press statement here on Saturday.

The conference was attended by representatives of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, and Indonesia as the host.

The meeting`s participants on the sidelines of the conference visited the factory of PT Deltomed Laboratories in Wonogiri, Central Java.

They made a comparative study on the modernization and standardization process of traditional medicine production, and the herbal material extraction carried out in the factory.

PT Deltomed, a national herbal medicine producer, has established cooperation with the health ministry`s Traditional Medicine and Herbal Medicine Development and Research Center (B2P2TO-OT).

Since 2009, the company has met the Good Manufacturing Product Standard and received a National Sanitation Foundation certificate on September 14, 2011, as a prerequisite for herbal medicine exports to countries in the American continent.

Editor: Suryanto

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Indonesia promoting medicinal herbs tonic scientifically

Antara News, Thu, November 3 2011

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Karanganya (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government has made a strong commitment to develop and promote traditional medicine, especially jamu (medicinal herb tonic), with a view to integrating traditional medical treatment into the national health system, in which a number of regulatory frameworks had been published, including the development of jamu scientifically.

The Health Ministry in developing jamu scientifically or for research purposes this year has provided a budget of Rp45 billion, Health Ministry secretary general Ratna Rosita said on the sidelines of the participants of an International Conference on Traditional Medicine in Karangpandan, Karanganyar regency, Central Java, on Wednesday.

He said the budget for the development of jamu has also been increasing. Jamu has now also entered hospitals treating various diseases like cholesterol, uric acid, and hypertension. "We will continue developing traditional drugs which had often been more acceptable culturally by the people than conventional ones".

"Traditional drugs will be prioritized in Java as they are normally closely related to the culture of the people on the most densely populated part of the country which has become popular in using jamu. In other parts of the country, jamu may be produced in the form of capsules or other more accepted forms," he said.

Karanganyar Regent Rina Iriani SR said the people have become increasingly popular in using traditional drugs.

She said as security includes benefits and quality of traditional drugs, jamu has also been scientificated. Karanganyar is part of Central Java which has become a national example of a jamu scientific program of medical treatment.

The Karanganyar administration supported the central government`s policy on the integration of traditional drug treatment into national health services and jamu scientification process, while preparing biological resources.

Karanganyar has more potentials in the cultivation of medicinal plants.

The seminar participants from ASEAN member countries led by Health Ministry secretary general Ratna Rosita also watched the treatment at the various public health centers using herbal drugs.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

Govt commences construction of brain treatment center

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 11/01/2011

The Health Ministry began the construction of a hospital in Jakarta on Tuesday, which was expected to serve as the country's first national center for brain and nerve disease treatments.

“Up to now, Indonesia hasn't had a special, integrated center for comprehensive brain and nerve disease treatments. The center must operate according to evidence and be able to compete at the global level,” Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said during the groundbreaking ceremony of the National Brain Center Hospital in Jakarta.

Endang said that Indonesia required such a center as strokes had been the main cause of deaths and disabilities in nearly all hospitals across the country.

She said that the number of people experiencing strokes had been increasing each year, as was the number of those suffering from other neurological disorders, such as dementia and traumatic head and spinal injuries.

Endang said the hospital would provide comprehensive “brain check-ups” among other medical services, Antara reported.

Bali Gay Clinic a National First

Jakarta Globe, November 01, 2011

Denpasar. Bali has opened the country’s first ever clinic geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The Bali Medika Clinic, located on Jalan Kalianget in the popular tourist area of Kuta, has been in operation since Sept. 27 but was officially opened on Saturday, with the mission of tackling the stigma routinely experienced by members of the LGBT community at other health centers.

“This clinic will be a safe haven for homosexual and transgender people who continue to experience difficulty getting access to treatment at general health care facilities,” said Prof. Dewa Nyoman Wirawan, an adviser to the clinic.

He added that although the provincial administration was making progress in ensuring better access to health care for all by improving services at community health centers, the reality was that the LGBT community was still being left out because of widely held conservative views against them.

“That’s why I proposed the idea of setting up a clinic that would serve members of this marginalized community,” Wirawan said. “Fortunately, one of my colleagues, Dr. Yogi Prasetia, has agreed to manage the clinic. Over time, we will continue to provide the facility with more equipment than we currently have.”

Wirawan, a senior faculty member at Udayana University’s School of Health, said that Yogi had extensive experience in dealing with health issues among the LGBT community in the resort island.

Among the services available at the clinic will be general medical check-ups, screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, and hormone-replacement therapy.

“We will also provide counseling services, both general and mental,” Wirawan said. “In the future, we plan to offer VCT [voluntary counseling and testing] services for people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as distribute ARVs [anti-retroviral drugs].”

He added that since the clinic’s unofficial opening, staff there had seen a steady stream of patients.

The Gaya Dewata Foundation, which provides counseling and promotes safe sex practices among Bali’s gay community, has welcomed the establishment of the Bali Medika Clinic.

“The gay and transgender community here tends to be closed off and its members are reluctant to let anyone find out about their sexual orientation, so they tend to avoid seeking medical treatment when they fall ill,” said Christian Supriyadinata, the foundation’s director.

He also pointed out that existing community health centers were unlikely to offer some of the treatments required by the transgender community, such as hormone replacement therapy.

A doctor is available from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Official figures show that 160 people from Bali’s gay and transgender community have contracted HIV as of September, while 39 have developed AIDS.

Nongovernmental groups, however, suggest the real unreported figures could be much higher.

Antara

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Yoga may work better for lower back pain than conventional treatments

Patients with lower back pain who did yoga showed bigger improvements in their ability to perform everyday physical tasks

guardian.co.uk, Nic Fleming, Monday 31 October 2011

Yoga sessions used in the study were designed to be safe and beneficial
for people with lower back pain. Photograph: David Mcnew/Getty Images

Doing yoga is a more effective way for people with lower back pain to become more mobile than the treatments currently offered by GPs, according to new research.

The study found that back pain sufferers recorded greater improvements in everyday physical tasks such as walking, bending down and getting dressed if they did weekly yoga sessions.

Participants who had practised yoga reported enhanced function compared with those receiving standard care, even nine months after the yoga classes had finished.

Previous, smaller studies have suggested yoga could be beneficial to back pain sufferers. However, these have often involved just one teacher and have not included long-term follow-up.

Back pain is estimated to affect 80% of adults at some point in their lives, and one in five people visits their GP in any given year because of it.

The condition, defined as chronic if it lasts longer than six weeks, is the second most common cause of long-term disability after arthritis and second only to stress as a cause of absence from work. It costs the NHS around £1bn per year and the annual cost to the economy has been estimated at £20bn.

Existing treatment options include painkillers, spinal manipulation, acupuncture, exercise classes and cognitive behavioural therapy.

"In the past when you had back pain, you were told to lie down until it passed," said Prof David Torgerson, director of the York Trial Unit at the University of York, who led the study.

"These days the main advice is to keep your back active. It seems yoga has more beneficial effects than usual care including other forms of exercise, although we have not carried out a direct comparison.

"We are still carrying out the economic analysis but it is likely yoga could reduce the costs of back pain both for patients and for the NHS."

Twenty experienced yoga teachers from the British Wheel of Yoga and Iyengar Yoga were trained to deliver a beginner level course of 12 yoga sessions specially designed to be safe and beneficial to those with lower back pain.

A group of 156 patients with chronic lower back pain were assigned to have the 75-minute yoga classes in north and west London, Manchester, York and Truro, in addition to normal GP care, while a control group of 157 just saw their GPs.

Participants filled in a 24-point questionnaire on whether their condition prevented them from doing everyday tasks. Lower scores equated to better function.

Those who did the yoga scored on average 2.17 points lower than those who did not. Three and nine months later, their scores were still 1.48 and 1.57 points lower respectively.

Participants also reported lower overall pain levels on average. However, this effect did not reach statistical significance. Around 60% of those in the yoga group continued with their practice after the classes.

The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Rates of reported cases of back pain have doubled in the past 40 years in England, a trend seen in other Western countries. Some believe this is a result of higher levels of obesity, stress and depression, while others suggest people are more willing to report the condition.

When the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence – which draws up guidelines on the best treatments – last reviewed treatments for lower back pain in May 2009, it ruled that exercise, spinal manipulation and acupuncture were cost-effective treatments.

"Yoga is one of a number of treatments that have now been shown to be effective for back pain," said Martin Underwood, professor of primary care research at Warwick Medical School.

"The study shows it having a small to moderate average effect for patients, meaning there will be some people who experience little or no effect and other people for whom it has substantial benefit. Unfortunately we don't yet know which patients respond to which treatments."