StemCell Therapy

Among the different modes of freight transport, the trucking industry is possibly the only segment that remains localized and bound to specific regions, unlike the air or maritime sectors that are fundamentally more global.

However nucleated the trucking ecosystems might come across, they share certain traits and woes that are strikingly similar across geographies like excessive fragmentation, lack of visibility and transparency, and general indifference to technology.

Fragmentation creates an environment in which the adoption of common standards or practices is extremely arduous, furthering the issue of digitalization percolation as it requires stakeholders across the horizon to come together and adopt technology en masse.

"Another primary issue with fragmentation is that it leads to massive amounts of siloed data," said Lyall Cresswell, the CEO of Transport Exchange Group, a U.K.-based freight logistics company providing real-time decision-making solutions for businesses. "This is where we come in, democratizing that data and putting it across in a commonly accepted standard format for businesses to consume."

Cresswell spoke of how small- and mid-sized companies in the trucking landscape are often caught in a "deer in the headlights" situation, where they struggle to adopt technology that could help them future-proof their businesses from disruption both from an operational and financial perspective.

"With digitalization initiatives getting more mature over the last couple of years, it is important for businesses to not hold back and look at making decisions. They aren't necessarily making long-term decisions, as the technology might change. But it is critical to move in the direction towards change, as if they remain stagnant, the industry is just going to pass them by," said Cresswell.

In the context of price points on adopting technology into their operations, Cresswell contended that a majority of the solutions are available at a cost that isn't unreasonable. This is due to the technology maturing over the years and in part due to the proliferation of startups that lower prices to gain market share in the space.

"Technology is low-cost now as it's all cloud-based today. We do see some high-end systems that companies might need help in setting up, but most of the time, cloud-based technology is something that you can plug and play instantly," said Cresswell. That said, the trucking industry is chock full of traditional family-owned businesses that oftentimes do not grasp the relevance of technology, making it vital for developers to educate them on technology's scope in improving their operations.

Technology aside, it is hard for any company to accurately identify industry trends and future- proof their operations to address potential challenges. For instance, the Amazon effect that has virtually revolutionized the way logistics work today, was not a trend that was anticipated to scale this quickly until it actually arrived at the scene. In the same vein, technological disruption in the delivery sector via drones, last-mile delivery robots, and autonomous driving technology could alter the future of the transport landscape all in quick time.

Though these are trends that businesses have no control over, it serves them well to look at leveraging things under their control like data streams, which can be used to create operational insights like predictive maintenance, dynamic pricing and capacity availability.

"These are the kind of things that, as a small business owner, you'd have them in your head. But if you are a fleet with over 1,000 trucks, you will have to look at using that data, because without that, the information just partially resides in somebody's head," said Cresswell. "Future-proofing is about taking that data beyond traditional reporting and making use of that in an intelligent way to improve operations."

Image Sourced from Pixabay

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Future Proofing Is Critical To The Longevity Of Trucking Businesses - Benzinga

Top surprising facts about growing older

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have been well known for years, and it is considered one of the best options to treat the mind of people who suffer from an anxiety disorder. As a part of this therapy, the patient interacts with a mental healthcare professional and discusses feelings, emotions, and behaviour.

Thus, the patient and the psychotherapist will work together to expel the negative thought processes. Now, researchers have found that CBT is helpful in increasing longevity among people who suffer from anxiety and other related disorders.

During the study, researchers selected 46 participants who are suffering from a social anxiety disorder. Nine weeks of CBT treatment were given to these participants, and during this time, no psychotropic drugs were given to them. After nine weeks, researchers checked the blood samples of the participants and found that anxiety levels were reduced drastically.

Surprisingly, researchers also noted a spike in telomerase activity in these blood samples. It should be noted that telomeres a structure in the human DNA that is inherently related to the ageing process. As cells divide and we age, telomeres become slightly shorter. Telomerase is an enzyme that slows down this process, and thus it will effectively promote longevity.

"Telomere length and telomerase activity did not change significantly after treatment, but an increase in telomerase over treatment was associated with reduced social anxiety. Also, lower pretreatment telomerase activity predicted subsequent symptom improvement," wrote the researchers in the study report published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Even though CBT is widely used as a treatment for anxiety disorder, this additional benefit will surely enhance its popularity in the coming years, and it will encourage more people any kind of disorder to try this therapy. Currently, this form of therapy is being used among 45 percent of people who suffer from anxiety and other mood disorders.

More here:
This new therapy could boost longevity and can treat anxiety - International Business Times, Singapore Edition

The transaction includes a significant proportion of non-UK overseas lives and will protect the Scheme from the risk of rising costs as a result of pensioner and dependent members living longer than expected.

CMS was appointed by the Scheme as legal counsel for this specific project following a competitive tender process and worked closely together with Hymans Robertson, the lead adviser to the Scheme. In a market first, the transaction optimised efficiencies for the Scheme through a combination of the following: allowing the Scheme to have exposure to Hannover Res credit risk; allowing the Scheme to benefit from Zurich retaining a substantive minority share of the longevity risk (in a product known as Enhanced Pass Through); and providing the Scheme the benefits of transacting with a UK regulated insurance company.The CMS team was led by Pensions Partner, James Parker, with assistance from Maria Rodia, Alex Tomlinson and Laura Clarke.Commenting on the transaction, James Parker said: We are delighted to have been able to assist the trustees to significantly reduce the longevity risk in their scheme and improve the security of members benefits. This is one of a series of high-profile transactions on which we have acted as transaction legal counsel this year, underlining CMS market-leading reputation in the pensions de-risking market.This transaction concludes a busy year for the CMS Pensions Team with highlight transactions including acting for Stanhope Pension Trust, trustee of the GEC 1972 Plan, on a 4.7 billion buy-out transaction with Rothesay Life the UKs biggest ever pension transfer deal.

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Pensions - Articles - FTSE 100 pension scheme in ground breaking longevity swap - Actuarial Post

There are few tenements still standing in South London the Pullens Estate in Walworth is one of them.

It has a classic design, which was why it was used to represent London in multi-Oscar-winning movie The Kings Speech, set around the Second World War.

Charlie Chaplin lived there months before he set sail to earn his fortune in the movie industry in the USA. And enduring Streatham supermodel Naomi Campbell lived there, too.

Also resident was Frank Bowling, the first black artist to be elected to the Royal Academy in its history. The buildings were saved by squatters in the 1980s.

The tenements and three yards, occupied by small businesses, are among some of the last surviving in London.

They were once a private estate of 684 flats in 12 blocks, owned by the builders, the Pullens family, until taken over by Southwark council in the late 1970s.

They had been built over 30 years from 1870 by James Pullen and Son of 73 Penton Place without planning permission.

The estate originally had 650 flats, surrounding four separate yards of workplaces of which 360 flats and three yards remain.

The yards are unusual originally, each ground or first-floor workshop opened into one of the two flats situated behind it.

Formed in Amelia Street, Crampton Street, Iliffe Street, Penton Place and Peacock Street, the tenements and the workshops are protected by Conservation Area status.

We dont know precisely what businesses were carried on in the very early days, but by the 1970s there were industrial clogmakers for London Fire Brigade; stationers; makers of ships fans; manufacturers of X-ray machinery; hatmakers; brushmakers; bookbinders; printers as well as furniture makers and restorers.

Two brothers, the Lilleycrops, ran Turners Office Furniture, which was furniture restorer to the Inns of Court.

The first block of 16 flats was built in Penton Place without the required consent of the Metropolitan Board of Works.

But Pullen managed to persuade local officials that his work was good, and continued building until 1901 10 years more than he had been granted permission for.

When the philanthropist Charles Booth was surveying London for his poverty map in 1899, he encountered Mr Pullen at work. Booth said: Old Mr Pullen in a top hat and fustian suit was on a scaffolding superintending.

Booth said demand for the well-built flats was high they were occupied before the paper isdry on the walls often by police officers from Whitehall and Lambeth.

The rent was eight shillings for three rooms, kitchen and scullery, plus six pence a week charged for cleaning the stairs and gas. Each had to make a deposit of 24 shillings effectively barring anypoor tenants.

Behind the blocks, around four yards, were 106 workshops and shops at the entrance.

A young Charlie Chaplin lived in one of the Pullens Buildings for nine months in 1907.

Some of the buildings were damaged during German bombing in the Second World War.

A V1 rocket hit Manor Place by the railway on June 27, 1944 at 10.45pm.

Six houses were blown up in Crampton Street and four in Manor Place.

It also damaged a public wash house and stores in Manor Place, a railway bridge, two arches, and 300 houses and buildings in Manor Place and the surrounding streets.

In the 1970s, the council planned to demolish the buildings.

But it was stopped in the 1980s by squatters under the umbrella of the Pullens Squatter Organisation who, with the full support of residents, campaigned and fought successfully to save them.

Their campaign of direct action and solidarity eventually climaxed in barricades which stopped police and bailiffs entering the buildings. Infoshop an anarchist bookshop and volunteer-run, 100 per cent unfunded, DIY social centre is the last remnant of that protest.

New businesses began to move in during the 1980s silversmiths, fine artists, bookbinders, ceramicists and furniture designer-makers.

Many of the remaining 351 flats in the buildings are owned by the council, which spent millions on refurbishment in 2009.

Naomi Campbell lived in Iliffe Street in the 1990s.

Just under 50 per cent of the flats are now in private hands as leaseholds.

Prices have soared, boosted by the regeneration of Elephant and Castle and Victorian design being back in fashion.

In 2007 a Pullens flat in Iliffe Street sold for 305,000. In 2014 in Iliffe Street a property sold for 365,000. In 2015, another on Iliffe Street went for 435,000.

The historic and architectural importance of the buildings has been recognised by their use in several high-profile films, including The Kings Speech.

These days there are still firms like Rob Dixson, ceremonial swordmaker to the Lord Mayor of London; RimmingtonVian, glassware and ceramics designer/decorators supplying various royal palaces, stately homes and the National Gallery Collection among others; and Kevin OBrien, former artist in residence at the National Gallery during his time in Peacock Yard.

Currently, there is a studio for artist Frank Bowling.

There are also lute makers, potters, jewellers, silversmiths, paper conservators, designers, graphic artists, web designers, furniture designers, architects, furniture makers, video and film-makers, photographers, writers and publishers, musical instrument makers and theatre and film costume makers.

Sales of Roger Batchelors book The Pullens Story, 1879-the Present Day go to the New Life Africa International School, Nakuru, Kenya.

Continued here:
South London Memories: Testament to longevity of tenements - London News Online

news, latest-news,

"Do you know what I've just seen?" I excitedly gasped and gibbered, running up to a group of six complete strangers in the sculpture garden of Canberra's Australian National Gallery. It was early one morning last October and I had just seen Jesus, Our Redeemer, striding confidently across the surface of the waters of nearby Lake Burley Griffin, just as in the Bible he walks on the waters of Galilee, amazing his disciples. The strangers seemed inexplicably unmoved. Strangely still and slow-moving I took them to be a group of Tai-Chi practitioners unprepared to let anything interrupt their oriental ritual. "What's WRONG with you people?" I raged at them. "I bring you thrilling news about Jesus' second coming and you just stand there like crash test dummies!" Exasperated I ran up to one of the strangers and shirtfronted him. The lapels of his shirt had a strangely metallic feel. "Excuse me grandad," a sculpture garden security guard intervened, "please don't touch the sculptures." And it emerged that the group of strangers were not Tai-Chi enthusiasts but Rodin's famous bronze Burghers of Calais. My imperfect eyes, awaiting the corrections of cataract surgery had played yet another trick on me. Suspicious now about my earlier vision I went back to the lake shore to check on my Jesus. It turned out that he, far closer to me now and more easily discerned, was in fact just a bearded mortal man. He was not walking on water but only shuffling across the waters standing upright on a hired paddle board. "I'm glad my cataract surgery is happening soon," I confided to an indistinct woman I was fairly sure was my wife after I arrived home from my morning's embarrassing adventures. I've since had cataract surgery, splendidly restoring hawk-eyed accuracy to my vision. It is something to be grateful for and to rejoice over. And yet. Between rejoicings I find myself half-missing some of the delusions, mirages and hallucinations that wonky vision gave me. I'm reminded of James Thurber's amusing memoir The Admiral on the Wheel in which Thurber (already with wonky vision) tells of adventures he suffered/enjoyed after breaking his glasses and having a long wait for new ones. Waiting for his glasses he saw, or seemed to see, wondrous things. "I saw the Cuban flag flying over a national bank, I saw a gay old lady with a grey parasol walk right through the side of a truck, I saw a cat roll across a street in a small striped barrel, I saw bridges rise lazily into the air, like balloons." Thurber enjoyed seeing these sorts of things and came to realise: "With perfect vision, one is inextricably trapped in the workaday world, a prisoner of reality. For the hawk-eyed person life has none of those soft edges which for me blur into fantasy." I strongly identify with Thurber in all this, although overall I am very glad to have had my eyesight corrected since poor eyesight did cause me some embarrassments. There was the time when I put on the first undies I could find in the laundry basket, my wife's, and got very funny looks later that day in the men's locker room at my gym. Then there was that time at my local shops when, not seeing the shopfronts clearly, I went into the bakery, mistaking it for the chemist's and handed the woman behind the counter my doctor's prescription for a well-known medication pertaining to my sexual health. Now I am too embarrassed to go there again; a shame, since its lamingtons are the best in Australia. But so many of my visual mistakes, like dear Thurber's, had a magic about them that I miss now that surgery has put me back into prison with the hawk-eyed. I miss how at the Yarralumla off-leash dog park my dog always seemed to be playing not with mere dogs but with mythical creatures galore, including unicorns and hippogriffs. Once I threw a ball for a bunyip and it, now with a pixie riding on its back, brought it back to me. I miss, now, the flying things (like albatrosses, pterodactyls and airborne superheroes, like Batman) that used to come down to and gather around my garden's birdbath. An art buff, back in perfect eyesight's prison now I miss some of the things I seemed to see in the great paintings reproduced in my coffee-table books. Where, now, is the mystery object (depending on the state of the light in my study either an iPad, a souvenir snowdome of St Basil's Cathedral or a miniature Schnauzer dog) that always seemed to be there in the lap of Whistler's Mother? Today, hawk-eyed now, all I can find in her lap are the frilly cuffs (reminiscent of the frills on the undergarment I once blush-makingly wore to my gym) of her long-sleeved garment where it meets her folded hands. And, now that I see so pragmatically I can no longer find the lamingtons (perhaps bought from my shopping centre's noble bakery) that always seemed to be there on the table in Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper. Nor, in the same masterpiece, is Judas any longer holding in his right hand what I always believed before my surgery was either a lamington or a mobile phone. Disappointingly hawk-eyed now, I can see it is, predictably, just a bag of coins. Cataract surgery, so magical in every medical way, has taken everyday magic from my every day.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc76o44a3o4iw1eym1o6n6.jpg/r0_642_6000_4032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

OPINION

December 22 2019 - 4:30AM

"Do you know what I've just seen?" I excitedly gasped and gibbered, running up to a group of six complete strangers in the sculpture garden of Canberra's Australian National Gallery.

It was early one morning last October and I had just seen Jesus, Our Redeemer, striding confidently across the surface of the waters of nearby Lake Burley Griffin, just as in the Bible he walks on the waters of Galilee, amazing his disciples.

Unicorns at Yarralumla's off-leash dog park: where for art thou? Picture: Shutterstock

The strangers seemed inexplicably unmoved. Strangely still and slow-moving I took them to be a group of Tai-Chi practitioners unprepared to let anything interrupt their oriental ritual.

"What's WRONG with you people?" I raged at them.

"I bring you thrilling news about Jesus' second coming and you just stand there like crash test dummies!"

Exasperated I ran up to one of the strangers and shirtfronted him. The lapels of his shirt had a strangely metallic feel.

"Excuse me grandad," a sculpture garden security guard intervened, "please don't touch the sculptures."

And it emerged that the group of strangers were not Tai-Chi enthusiasts but Rodin's famous bronze Burghers of Calais. My imperfect eyes, awaiting the corrections of cataract surgery had played yet another trick on me.

Suspicious now about my earlier vision I went back to the lake shore to check on my Jesus. It turned out that he, far closer to me now and more easily discerned, was in fact just a bearded mortal man. He was not walking on water but only shuffling across the waters standing upright on a hired paddle board.

"I'm glad my cataract surgery is happening soon," I confided to an indistinct woman I was fairly sure was my wife after I arrived home from my morning's embarrassing adventures.

I've since had cataract surgery, splendidly restoring hawk-eyed accuracy to my vision. It is something to be grateful for and to rejoice over. And yet.

Between rejoicings I find myself half-missing some of the delusions, mirages and hallucinations that wonky vision gave me. I'm reminded of James Thurber's amusing memoir The Admiral on the Wheel in which Thurber (already with wonky vision) tells of adventures he suffered/enjoyed after breaking his glasses and having a long wait for new ones.

Waiting for his glasses he saw, or seemed to see, wondrous things.

"I saw the Cuban flag flying over a national bank, I saw a gay old lady with a grey parasol walk right through the side of a truck, I saw a cat roll across a street in a small striped barrel, I saw bridges rise lazily into the air, like balloons."

Thurber enjoyed seeing these sorts of things and came to realise: "With perfect vision, one is inextricably trapped in the workaday world, a prisoner of reality. For the hawk-eyed person life has none of those soft edges which for me blur into fantasy."

I strongly identify with Thurber in all this, although overall I am very glad to have had my eyesight corrected since poor eyesight did cause me some embarrassments.

There was the time when I put on the first undies I could find in the laundry basket, my wife's, and got very funny looks later that day in the men's locker room at my gym.

Then there was that time at my local shops when, not seeing the shopfronts clearly, I went into the bakery, mistaking it for the chemist's and handed the woman behind the counter my doctor's prescription for a well-known medication pertaining to my sexual health. Now I am too embarrassed to go there again; a shame, since its lamingtons are the best in Australia.

But so many of my visual mistakes, like dear Thurber's, had a magic about them that I miss now that surgery has put me back into prison with the hawk-eyed.

Between rejoicings [of successful cataract surgery] I find myself half-missing some of the delusions, mirages and hallucinations that wonky vision gave me.

I miss how at the Yarralumla off-leash dog park my dog always seemed to be playing not with mere dogs but with mythical creatures galore, including unicorns and hippogriffs. Once I threw a ball for a bunyip and it, now with a pixie riding on its back, brought it back to me.

I miss, now, the flying things (like albatrosses, pterodactyls and airborne superheroes, like Batman) that used to come down to and gather around my garden's birdbath.

An art buff, back in perfect eyesight's prison now I miss some of the things I seemed to see in the great paintings reproduced in my coffee-table books.

Where, now, is the mystery object (depending on the state of the light in my study either an iPad, a souvenir snowdome of St Basil's Cathedral or a miniature Schnauzer dog) that always seemed to be there in the lap of Whistler's Mother? Today, hawk-eyed now, all I can find in her lap are the frilly cuffs (reminiscent of the frills on the undergarment I once blush-makingly wore to my gym) of her long-sleeved garment where it meets her folded hands.

And, now that I see so pragmatically I can no longer find the lamingtons (perhaps bought from my shopping centre's noble bakery) that always seemed to be there on the table in Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper.

Nor, in the same masterpiece, is Judas any longer holding in his right hand what I always believed before my surgery was either a lamington or a mobile phone. Disappointingly hawk-eyed now, I can see it is, predictably, just a bag of coins.

Cataract surgery, so magical in every medical way, has taken everyday magic from my every day.

More here:
Perfect vision sadly a sight for sore eyes - The Canberra Times

From elementary to high school, children in Japan are breaking records for bad eyesight, an education ministry health survey showed Friday.

According to the survey results, children with uncorrected vision of less than 1.0 on the Japanese acuity scale account for 34.6 percent of elementary school students, 57.5 percent of junior high school students and 67.6 percent of high school students all record highs.

A score of 1.0 is equivalent to 20/20 vision.

Looking at smartphone screens at close distances and reading books may be having some effects on childrens eyesight, the ministry said.

The preliminary figures came from samples collected from the results of medical checkups nationwide for children between 5 and 17 from April to June. A more detailed investigation covering several thousand students will be conducted for the first time in fiscal 2020.

The fiscal 2019 survey also found record high ratios of nasal or paranasal sinus conditions, such as allergic rhinitis, in 12.1 percent of junior high students and 9.9 percent of high school students.

The share of high schoolers with ear problems aside from hearing impairments also hit a record high at 2.9 percent.

On the other hand, the ratios for tooth decay continued to fall, setting record lows of 34 percent in junior high schoolers and 43.7 percent in high schoolers.

The downtrend is being credited to improved education on brushing teeth at school and greater awareness of parents about dental hygiene.

The survey also found that the proportion of 13-year-olds in Fukushima Prefecture weighing at least 20 percent more than standard stood at 12.29 percent, the highest by prefecture.

While obesity in children rose after the March 2011 nuclear disaster, which caused restrictions to be placed on outdoor activities as a result of contamination, It cannot be said that (the proportion in Fukushima) is markedly higher than in other prefectures, so there may not be any significant effect, the ministry said.

Original post:
In the age of smartphones, Japanese schoolchildren's eyesight is worst on record, health ministry finds - The Japan Times

PEORIA Bryce Weiler has a vision: Help people with disabilities connect with sports.

Weiler was born without eyesight, but he hasn't let that hamper his love for sports. He has worked as a broadcast color commentator for more than 140 games, one of which was a Peoria Chiefs game at Dozer Park in 2014.

He played catch on the field with then-Chiefs manager Joe Kruzel. He can hit a baseball. Shoot free throws. You name it, he's tried it.

And that's what he wants for everyone with a disability. To that end, the Baltimore Orioles disability consultant co-founded the Beautiful Lives Project after his college days.

Beautiful Lives helps sports organizations create participation chances for people with disabilities.

And one of those events happened Saturday during a basketball game at Galva High School.

The Galva dance team welcomed a handful of students with disabilities, led them through practice on Friday, and then danced with them at halftime on Saturday.

"We had three students, two from Geneseo and one from Kewanee, join us for this," Galva dance team coach Ali Weston said. "The goal for us was to be inclusive. I wanted our dancers to experience this, and work toward helping others achieve something they didn't think they could do.

"None of the three guests who joined us had a background in dance. They wanted to experience it and we were excited to help them."

Weston met Weiler when the two were students at Western Illinois University. She danced for WIU and Weiler became a friend.

"We found out we both had a love for sports," said Weston, 26. "The thing you have to know about Bryce is, any obstacle that comes into his path he embraces and overcomes."

The idea for the Galva dance event was formed over the summer.

"I just thought it was an amazing opportunity," Weston said. "It helps our dancers, too. They learn what it is like for someone who cant do all the things that they can do."

Said Galva junior dance team member Jacqueline Boyce:

"This is a good opportunity for our dance team to reach out to people who haven't had the experiences we've had."

Weiler earned a bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Communication from University of Evansville, and earned a master's in Sports Administration from Western Illinois.

He was born with the retinas in his eyes detached, so he's never had sight. But he certainly has vision.

"The Beautiful Lives Project is my chance to give back to all the people who have helped me out," said Weiler, 28. "Ali has been such a good friend, helped me so much at Western Illinois and is such a good person.

"She's passing along these experiences to her dance team now, and that's a great thing."

You can check out the Beautiful Lives Project at https://www.beautifullives.org/.

Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen and Chiefs for the Journal Star, and writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

Continue reading here:
Cleve In The Eve: Beautiful Lives Project teams up with Galva dance team for special event - Peoria Journal Star

Andy Warhol. All images courtesy of Supple and totalcontent

This is certainly a sight for sore eyes: a printed wall calendar for 2020, inspired by famous spectacle wearers past and present, ranging from Gandhi to Ga Ga, Elton John to Audrey Hepburn.

Brought to you by design studio Supple and copywriting firm totalcontent, 2020 Visionaries focuses on familiar specs and the little-known stories behind them.

Supple went all ocular on the design, basing the creative on graphic illustrations of the iconic face furniture, judicious use of the Optician Sans font, and a take on the traditional opticians' Snellen vision test chart on the cover.

The glasses illustrations are reproduced true to size. The lenses reflect not only the identity of the wearer but what they might see through them. For example, January poster boy Michael Caine's lenses feature a couple of speeding Minis, a nod to his iconic British heist movie The Italian Job.

totalcontents Jim K Davies says: "I had the idea for a spectacles-based calendar a couple of years ago when I saw '2020' printed in a newspaper. The research was a real eye-opener. Most interesting find? Elton John doesn't need specs anymore, thanks to the lens implantsurgery he had in 2003. It was a shame not to include Dame Edna though. Her extravagant glasses dont have lenses, so, unfortunately, we couldnt use her."

Designer and illustrator Yee Poon adds: After Jim suggested a 2020 calendar of famous spec wearers, we explored loads of ways of featuring the glasses, before focusing on the idea of reflections. We decided to keep things pure and simple, taking our cues from eye-test cards for colour, typography and minimalism."

The 2020 Visionaries calendar is supported by a pop-up microsite by web design agency Our Name is Mud, along with a link for donations to Guide Dogs for the Blind, one of Supple's clients.

Creative Director Matt Powell said: "When we saw the calendar, we immediately thought it would lend itself to an online quiz and we could have some fun with opticians' iconography. The red and green screens lend themselves beautifully to right and wrong and using some clever mask effects, we could mimic the way test lenses work."

Michael Caine

Elton John

John Lennon

Amelia Earhart

Ray Charles

Billie Jean King

Lady Gaga

Audrey Hepburn

Gandhi

Karl Lagerfeld

The Two Ronnies

Go here to see the original:
Supple's eye-catching 2020 calendar inspired by famous spectacle wearers and your local opticians - Creative Boom

Las Vegas, NV, Dec. 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 27th Annual World Congress concluded on Sunday, December 15th at the Venetian/Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas. As the largest event in Anti-Aging medicine worldwide, the conference hosted thousands of the industrys leading clinical professionals including renowned practitioners, innovative companies, and like-minded partner organizations. The annual conference boasted an extensive agenda featuring five pre-conference workshops, a brand new Aesthetics Symposium, the annual MedTech Impact on Wellness symposium, an extensive variety of session topics, and a faculty panel consisting of the foremost clinical experts and thought leaders in Anti-Aging and Integrative medicine. Rooted in a forward-focused mission to redefine modern medicine, this conference disseminated the most valuable knowledge, recent updates, and clinical expertise within Anti-Aging medicine available.The event began with five pre-conference workshops covering a broad range of topics. Led by industrys experts, pre-conference attendees gained valuable and in-depth knowledge during workshops focused on Precision Medicine and Diabetes, Hormones and Chronic Disease, Peptides and Aging, Stem Cells, and Practice Management. In placing an emphasis on equipping practitioners with the advanced capabilities to improve clinical outcomes and enhance practice efficiency, these pre-conference workshops offered clinicians the opportunity to begin the conference with actionable knowledge ready to be integrated into practice.The congress featured three keynote speakers from a diverse range of clinical backgrounds but each serving, in their own respective right, as a pioneering leader in a new and transformative form of healthcare. On the first day of the conference, attendees heard Dr. Anna Lembke, MD share her keynote presentation titled: The Opioid Epidemic: From Freud to Fentanyl. Currently serving as the program director for the Stanford Addiction Medicine Fellowship, psychiatrist Dr. Lembke, was one of the first in the medical community to sound the alarm regarding the epidemic of over-prescribing opioids. During the second day of the conference, attendees learned from Dr. Robert Pearl MDthe former CEO of Kaiser Permanente and longstanding prominent authority on healthcare culture and delivery. Dr. Pearl provided listeners with valuable and timely insight during his presentation on Fixing American Healthcare: Structure, Reimbursement, and an Aging Population. On the third day of the conference, Dr Louise Aronson, MD took the stage to share her presentation titled Future of Elderhood: Life, Vitality, and Transformation. A Harvard graduate, leading geriatrician, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the author of the New York Times bestseller Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, and Reimagining, Dr.Aronson is a well-respected thought leader and practitioner surrounding geriatric care and the process of aging. In questioning the status quo and pushing well-beyond traditional standards of medicine, these speakers helped lead attendees in envisioning and ultimately practicing a redefined form of medicine. The conferences newest educational offering, The Aesthetics Symposium, provided in-depth understanding surrounding one of the most quickly expanding industries: aesthetic medicine. Hosted in partnership with the South Beach Symposium and led by aesthetic medicine experts Mark S. Nestor, MD, PhD, and Michael H. Gold, MD and anti-aging thought leader, Patrick Bitter, MD, The Aesthetic Symposium provided an in-depth and comprehensive examination of the latest advancements, novel technology, and market knowledge available within modern aesthetic medicine. The conference additionally featured the MedTech Impact on Wellness symposium, an annual educational symposium centered upon the emerging clinical value in digital health. The event hosted digital health stakeholders, clinicians, health IT executives, entrepreneurs, and researchers to promote the development of patient-centered medical technology. Speakers covered a diverse range of topics including application interoperability, telemedicine, the role of artificial intelligence in clinical decision making, and data-driven healthcare among various others.Throughout the entirety of the conference, attendees broke off into afternoon sessions highlighting an extensive variety of topics including targeted approaches to brain and pain, CBD, intermittent fasting, oncological care, gut health and much more. With over 75 educational sessions, 18 learning tracks, 9 Professional Medical Education workshops, and 10 Product Theater presentations, attendees were given the opportunity to customize their conference experience to best suit their clinical needs and interests. The conference additionally provided attendees access to an Exhibit Hall that hosted over 400 companies, showcasing key therapeutic products, devices, and services in Integrative, Anti-Aging, & Aesthetic Medicine: including pharmaceutical products and diagnostic testing, CBD, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, digital health devices, and the most recently available medical technologies. Collectively, the companies offered attendees the opportunity to leave home with valuable resources to integrate into practices across the globe.

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Sarenka SmithAmerican Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M)561-997-0112 x7912a.aloi@a4m.com

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The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Concludes the 27th Annual World Congress - Yahoo Finance

Sons of the Silent Age, a David Bowie tribute band, will be performing "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust" and "Station to Station" on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at Metro Chicago. Funds raised will benefit integrative medicine therapies for NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) Kellogg Cancer Center adult and pediatric patients.

An opening set will be performed by The Ready Freddies, playing the music of Queen. Tickets are now on sale at https://foundation.northshore.org/IMConcert. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. General admission is $25 in advance; $30 day of; VIP Tickets are $122/each, and include reserved balcony access, an exclusive pre-show party with the artists and a signed poster from the artists. VIP Table Tickets, $222/piece and sold only in pairs, include all VIP benefits, plus a reserved table and seats for two.

Sons of the Silent Age is composed of nine Chicago musicians, when Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks, Ministry) and Matt Walker (Filter, Smashing Pumpkins and Morrissey's band) joined forces in 2012 to pay tribute to their hero David Bowie.

For the third year, the concert is benefitting the NorthShore Integrative Medicine program, as one of the largest and most-well established programs in the country. Each of the parties involved in the benefit concert from the Sons of the Silent Age bandmates, to the owner of Metro, to the NorthShore Integrative Medicine team share a common bond of commitment to the cause, and for some, cancer survivorship.

"We are again honored to receive proceeds from the fabulous Sons of the Silent Age Benefit Concert at Metro in 2020. Over the past 2 years, concert proceeds and donations have provided free integrative therapies for our patients with limited means to help ease their symptoms from cancer while promoting health and wellness," said Leslie Mendoza Temple, MD, NorthShore Integrative Medicine Medical Director. "We appreciate the dedication of Joe Shanahan, Chris Connolly, Matt and Char Walker, and the band Sons of the Silent Age for their heartfelt contributions to the life and health of our patients."

Integrative medicine programs are designed to relieve pain and neuropathies, reduce fatigue and sleep issues, boost immunity, provide stress relief, improve their appetite and their overall quality of life.

NorthShore cancer patient and stage four cancer survivor, Steve Merola, benefited from the funds raised at last year's benefit concert.

"The integrative medicine services have given me the additional tools and guidance I need to withstand the rigors of chemotherapy and radiation," he explains.

Merola worked with Dr. Mendoza to develop a personalized integrative medicine plan. Through his therapy, Merola noticed the significant impact relaxation had during his fight for recovery. "Thanks to Dr. Mendoza Temple and her team, my stress has been relieved with a program of exercise, meditation, acupuncture, and supplements to help with appetite and stress. With all these services combined I found that I had body, mind, and spirit all aligned to win my fight. It's not over yet, but I am confident I will prevail."

NorthShore's Integrative Medicine Program uses safe, evidence-based complementary therapies and communicating fully with patients' traditional western medicine physicians and specialists optimizes each patient's health and a heightened sense of well-being. Learn more about NorthShore's Integrative Medicine Program or support the cause at foundation.northshore.org/imconcert.

NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) is an integrated healthcare delivery system consistently ranked as a Top 15 Major Teaching Hospital in the U.S. The NorthShore system, headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, includes four hospitals Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie. NorthShore also includes a 950+ physician multispecialty group practice, NorthShore Medical Group, with more than 130 practices in the Chicagoland area. NorthShore is a Magnet recognized organization, the first in Illinois to receive this prestigious honor as an entire system that demonstrates nursing excellence and high standards in patient care. The system also includes the NorthShore Research Institute; the NorthShore Foundation; and the NorthShore Home & Hospice Services. As a not-for-profit organization, NorthShore provides $235 million in charitable care and services to the communities it serves, while philanthropic support from individuals and organizations enhances clinical care, research and education programs across the system.

One of the nation's most renowned independent music venues, Metro has hosted thriving local talent and international headliners for 35 years and counting. From industrial champions Ministry and Revolting Cocks to alt-rock pioneers The Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair and pop-punk royalty Alkaline Trio and Fall Out Boycountless Chicago artists have laid their roots in Metro as a business, sanctuary, and springboard.

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David Bowie Tribute Band at Metro to Benefit NorthShore Patients - Patch.com

Casa Perez Furnishings to open on First Street in Prescott Valley

You may know Juan Perez as the owner of the popular Casa Perez Family Mexican Restaurant at 3088 N. Glassford Hill Road in the Frys grocery store shopping center in Prescott Valley.

Early next year, youll know him for Casa Perez Fine Family Furnishings, which will be located toward the back of the former AAMCO auto repair building at 6871 E. First St.

Two signs currently hang on the tan stucco building in Prescott Valley. They read Casa Perez Fine Family Furnishings and Coming Soon! on the metal paneling that stretches across the top of the building facing Highway 69 from the south side.

Perez said he grew up in a town near Guadalajara, Mexico. In a community nearby, a group of families makes furniture, as well as chandeliers and flower pots, among other furnishings.

When Perez bought some of the families furniture for his Prescott Valley restaurant, which he opened two years ago, he found that customers were asking him how they could buy the furnishings, too.

We have 2,500 square feet, Perez said of the space he will have for furniture at Casa Perez Fine Family Furnishings, but our goal is to expand.

Rickety Cricket in downtown Prescott closes

The Rickety Cricket Brewing Tap Room at 214 S. Montezuma St. in Prescott closed nearly a month ago, but it doesnt appear that the space will be vacant for long.

Ive heard the owner of the building has bought the liquor license and will be reopening, possibly by Dec. 31, local musician Don Cheek stated in an email to the Courier on Dec. 6.

Rickety Cricket still operates two locations in Arizona, including its main brewery, restaurant and swag shop in Kingman, and its tap room in Flagstaff.

Dr. Stout joins Harmony Integrative Medicine in return to Prescott

Harmony Integrative Medicine, 518 E. Gurley St. Suite 101, and Dr. Jean Painter have announced veteran Dr. Reggie Stout as a new member of their staff.

Stout brings 30 years of clinical experience from Tucson to Prescott, where he had lived previously.

Dr. Stouts broad experience and training include a doctorate in Pain Management, training in homeopathy and 17 years teaching acupuncture medical students for the residency program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizonas School of Health Sciences in Tucson.

Stouts experienced in handling patients who suffer from chronic ailments related to pain syndromes, internal medicine, digestive disorders, geriatric, genitourinary/prostate problems, stroke-related hemiplegia, fibromyalgia and neurological conditions.

Harmony Integrative Medicine and Dr. Painter have been a mainstay in the Quad Cities for advanced Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for nearly 16 years.

For more information, call 928-776-4895 or visit harmonyintegrativemedicine.com.

To submit items for the Couriers Need2Know, email editors@prescottaz.com; for legal advertisements, email ssialega@prescottaz.com.

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Need2Know: Casa Perez Furnishings to open soon on First Street in Prescott Valley; Rickety Cricket pub in downtown Prescott closes; veteran pain...

Ive never understood how sucking down a rock booger is supposed to make you, like, really horny. I get the intent whenever a guy invites me out for red wine and oysters, but the whole presentation (and my general aversion to seafood) is always a turn off. It does make you wonder, do aphrodisiacs work, and if so how do they trick our mind and bodies into peak arousal? Well, in a few different ways, in fact.

Aphrodisiacs have been studied forever, mention of aphrodisiacs has been found in texts from various ancient civilizations, including Hindu, Egyptian, Chinese, and Roman. In modern times, there have been many interesting studies on how aphrodisiacs may make subjects frisky. As Sally Fisher, MD, integrative medicine specialist and medical director atSunrise Springspoints out, searching aphrodisiacs in the virtualNational Library of Medicine returns 830 peer reviewed scientific studies. How plants or herbal products might effect the body or mind really varies based on the aphrodisiac.

Some examples of effects include increasing hormones like testosterone, or certain neurotransmitters in the brain, or dilating blood vessels to increase blood flow, or affecting molecules in the body such as, for example, nitric oxide, the molecule that Viagra affects, says Dr. Fisher.

And sometimes the studies just note that certain herbs make animals want to bang more. Basically, its complicated to deduce what will potently work on a person, although she has one herb in mind.

I tend to recommend Tribulus terrestris, used in folk medicine for hundreds of years, because of modern research on sexual function improvement in both women and men, but Id emphasize that Id approach this integratively, and if there is room for improvement, put lifestyle changes foremost, says Dr. Fisher.

Sexual health is complex and involves cognitive, neurochemical, hormonal, and genetic factors, she says. That means that, in part, shifting your overall diet might be what helps amp up your sexual wellness. Embracing a healthy diet might decrease the risk of sexual dysfunction in women, defined generally as more fruits and vegetables, and less refined grains, meat, sugar, fried food.

There is, as then might be expected, promising data on theMediterranean diet alleviating sexual dysfunction in women, says Dr. Fisher. Its helpful to think of the Mediterranean diet as a plant-based diet; other whole foods plant-based diets have not been formally researched but may be expected to have the same beneficial effect.

Opa! Okay but if you cant prioritize a full diet upheaval right now, are there good mood foods thatll make you like, really horny in one slurp? Yes and no. According to Brigitte Zeitlin, RD, and owner of BZ Nutrition in New York City, its hard to directly link food and sex drive. However, there are particular compounds within [certain] foods that can have a connection to certain hormones and sexual reactions, she says.

Among Zeitlins top picks are foods with red ginseng, fatty fish that increases your feel good dopamine hormones for a stronger orgasm, cayenne pepper, and maca.

[Maca] root has been linked to boosting those frisky feelings and has shown to be a helpful fertility food as well by multiple studies, says Zeitlin. One study actually found that maca improved sex driveon people taking certain medications where the side effect was decrease of sex drive; think anti-depressants, hair-loss meds, anti-anxiety meds.

If youre truly about to make a quick bodega run before a potential boink fest (weve all been there) Zeitlin has a good power combo in mind.

Dark chocolate, 70 percent or higher, contains compounds that actually boost the release of feel-good hormones getting you more in the mood for some togetherness and even more feel-good hormones, says Zeitlin. Pair it with some dried apricots for extra pro-longed sexy energy, as the amino acids in apricots can trigger more stamina.

As for oysters, well, theyre rich in zinc, which supposedly to help with erectile dysfunction, so that means Im off the hook forever. Like anything, utilizing a so-called aphrodisiac feels like a personal journey with room to experiment. Our recommendation? Grab a hottie or your favorite vibratorand conduct some research yourself.

If youre looking for other ways to boost your sex drive naturally, we have a few recommendations. And learning about spontaneous and responsive desire might help you get turned on.

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Do aphrodisiacs actually work? Trying to have better sex over here - Well+Good

It's the defenseless children of the world that are bearing the bulk of environmentally-related diseases such as asthma that can be traced to air pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO estimates more than 40 percent of the burden of environmentally-related diseases and more than 88 percent of the burden of climate change is borne by children younger than 5 years old. In the United States, disorders such as asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prevalent in children and have been increasing over time. Asthma has a prevalence of about 8 percent and ADHD has a prevalence of 10 percent. ADHD is the most commonly studied and diagnosed mental disorder in children and adolescents.

WHO said even disorders with lower prevalence such as autism represent a growing public health concern. Autism affects one in 60 U.S. children.

There is a monetary price to pay for the growth in these afflictions. A new study has, for the first time, quantified the cost of diseases caused by fossil fuel air pollution.

The study by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health is the first to compile the estimated per-case costs of six childhood health conditions linked to air pollution estimates that can be incorporated into benefits assessments of air pollution regulations and climate change mitigation policies.

Published in the journal Environmental Research, the study reports case-specific monetary estimates for these six childhood health conditions: preterm birth, low birth weight, asthma, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and IQ reduction in children. Previous scientific evidence has shown the six are among the known or likely health consequences of prenatal and early childhood exposure to air pollution. Globally, 80 percent of air pollution can be linked to burning of coal, oil, diesel and gas.

"Impacts on children's health are generally under-represented in benefits assessments related to environmental pollution," study co-author Frederica Perera, professor of environmental health sciences and director of translational research at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, said. "Policies to clean our air and address the serious and escalating problem of climate change will yield numerous benefits for children's health and for the financial health of families and our nation."

The study cited previously published estimates of health costs. It agrees $23,573 is being spent for childhood asthma not persisting into adulthood. A further $3.11 million is being spent for a case of autism with a concurrent intellectual disability. Researchers also provided an example of cumulative costs. About $267 million can be saved from a reduction by just one percent in the number of pre-term births in the U.S. attributable to particulate matter (PM) with a size of 2.5 microns, or PM2.5. PM is a measure of particulate matter, one of several harmful air pollutants.

The study prioritized monetary estimates that factored in both immediate medical costs and longer-term and broad societal costs. It warned its monetary figures are likely underestimates because it didn't adequately capture the long-term health and societal impacts such as effects over the full life course or losses in economic productivity.

A previous study published in 2014 by the same Columbia Mailman School of Public Health showed air quality can influence cognitive development en utero. The team that arrived at this conclusion previously found a correlation between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and developmental delays, reduced IQ and attention problems in children of ages 3 to 6 years old. In this research, the Columbia researchers focused specifically on how PAHs might be connected to concentration and contribute to ADHD symptoms in children. PAHs are pollutants emitted in the air from burning fossil fuels like car exhaust or heating.

This study should not come as a surprise," Dr. Sandy Newmark, founder of the Center for Pediatric Integrative Medicine in San Francisco, said. "Although there is a strong genetic component to ADHD, there is an equally strong environmental influence, and this influence begins with the prenatal environment."

"Other research has shown that ADHD incidence increases with exposure to pesticides and other environmental pollutants during childhood. The bottom line is that the developing brains of our children are highly susceptible to environmental influences of many kinds, and we need to continue to research these exposures and prevent damage whenever possible.

In 2014, study found that air pollution from power plants that used fossil fuels caused nearly 16,000 premature deaths in the U.S. Pixabay

Link:
New Study Reveals Financial Cost Of Air Pollution Borne By Children And Their Families - Medical Daily

The party gained the coveted first position on the NSW Senate ballot in 2016, from where it received 1.18 per cent of first preference votes and negligible results in three other states.

Dr Golden's PhD contended that homeopathic immunisation had a 90 per cent success rate on his own patients. He sells "nosodes" or homeopathic vaccines from his Gisborne clinic. The World Health Organisation (WHO) this year described "vaccine hesitancy" as in its top 10 threats to global health. This month Samoa was ravaged by a measles epidemic in unvaccinated children during which 78 people died.

Dr Golden stood for the Senate in 2016 and for a Victorian lower house seat in 2018. He admits his historical role in the cult. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald understand he has never publicly disclosed his role in the cult despite political ambitions, two university affiliations and a thriving homeopathic practice. He describes himself in party material online as a globally respected researcher, author, and speaker who has worked for the Indian and Cuban governments as a world authority on homeopathic vaccines.

Isaac Golden was involved right from the start, said a former cult member who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He didnt have a particular role as such because Lowe was basically a dictator. But I would say he was definitely part of the unofficial hierarchy. He was pretty well up at the top as far as the men went. There is no suggestion Dr Golden was involved in or encouraged any child sexual abuse perpetrated by Lowe.

The cult practised polygamy and wife-swapping. Many of the wives and children were given Hawaiian names by Lowe, who decreed he be called 'The Controller' and limited his followers' access to food, according to court and police files. Former The Bachelor star Keira Maguire has said she is one of Lowes children, although she was removed from the cult by her mother when she was five.

Cult child Keira Maguire at this year's Melbourne Cup.Credit:Getty Images

Lowe required some male followers to effectively hand their daughters to him to look after in the cult's run-down Bells Beach compound while the men lived elsewhere. At the time it was not obvious that he was abusing some of the children.

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The children were often unaware who their real parents were. They were home-schooled then sent en masse to Torquay Primary School. Lowe told followers he was a reincarnated God or Jesus figure, that extra-terrestrial spirituality was real and he was able to see visions from other worlds.

Lowe bestowed two cult identities on Dr Golden, according to former cult members. One was as "Yitsach" Golden and the other was as the reincarnation of Samuel Hahnemann, the German homeopathy pioneer from the 1700s. Corporate records show Lowe was a business partner of Dr Goldens in a Victorian-based natural medicine business called Aurum at the time the child rapes were occurring.

Dr Golden was awarded a PhD by Swinburne Universitys Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in 2004 and was attached to Federation University in Ballarat as an honorary research fellow until 2016. Two years after his Swinburne PhD the university discontinued complementary medicine programs.

Ian Lowe, or Alistah Laishkochev.Credit:A Current Affair

Lowe was jailed in 2000 for seven years and six months' for 20 child sex offences and one charge of reckless injury after he threw a plank of wood at the head of one of the children. Court records show the child offences involved four cult children aged between seven and 11 in sheds and bedrooms on the Bells Beach property. One of them was Laishkochav's own child. The other three were the children of devotees.

The cult leader faced further charges in NSW in 2003 over alleged indecent assaults on two children in the 1970s. He was deported to New Zealand after being released from jail and died in 2012.

The former Victorian policeman who pursued Lowe was Detective Sergeant Doug Smith, who also led Taskforce Sanos sex crime investigations into Cardinal George Pell. He says Lowes crimes were a despicable breach of trust against young, vulnerable children who couldnt defend themselves against someone they saw as a God-like figure.

Ian Lowe and some of his nine wives and 63 children.Credit:A Current Affair

Court documents from Lowes trials show that he shared a futon bed with a roster of his "wives" but also roamed the two-storey beach-house at night raping cult children and isolating them in sheds and toilets, where rapes and assaults also occurred. One survivors testimony shows that he made her promise not to tell anyone what had happened and that God would punish her if she did.

He would always be wearing a sarong, one survivor told police when she was 15, and try to wake me up shaking me and kissing my face and mouth.

Former policeman Doug Smith says many of the cults survivors were severely traumatised but Lowe refused to admit his crimes despite eventually being found guilty on multiple counts. By the time I charged him he was a broken old man who denied every allegation.

Psychological reports heard in court reveal Lowe had no diagnosed mental illnesses, no history of drugs, alcohol or other crimes, and was dishevelled easy-going but very suspicious. One psychiatrist who saw Lowe in August 2000 wrote that he had an ongoing personality disorder of the narcissistic and charismatic type.

Former cult leader Alistah Laishkochav (former name Ian Lowe) outside court in Melbourne.Credit:Simon Schluter

The Age and Herald have established through police and court files that Lowe was raised by his grandparents in Auckland and left school at 15. He became a baker, a policeman and then worked in the electronics industry. He married a Cook Islander and became a Mormon and then moved to the United States. He arrived in NSW in 1969, changed his name by deed poll to Alistah Laishkochev and started preaching that he was a God-like figure.

The former cult member says all former members regret their involvement with Lowe. We trusted him with our lives, the man says. I cant believe we were so blind. I knew there was something not right, and it is the biggest regret of my life.

The Health Australia Party did not respond to requests for comment. A legal letter from Dr Golden's lawyer, Ralph Manno, said any imputation that Dr Golden "enabled or encouraged the offending by Mr Lowe" would be "a very serious defamation and grossly irresponsible".

"Any allegation is entirely without substance," the letter said.

Chris Johnston is co-author of The Family, about Anne Hamilton-Byrne's Melbourne cult.

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Cult member, anti-vaxxer, Senate candidate: The bizarre past of Isaac Golden - The Age

Weight loss: Lemon water must be avoided if you have stomach or mouth ulcers

Lemon water side effects: Lemon water is a popular morning tonic that people take for better metabolism and even quick weight loss. However, the same lemon water might not show the same consequences for everyone. The mindset to overdo something is not something which will work in your favour, according to lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho. In one of his recent live sessions on Facebook, he mentions that lemon water does make your body more alkaline, which in turn helps in burning of fat. This, however, does not mean that the more lemon water you drink, the more fat you will burn.

It is important to understand that just because lemon water is a popular remedy for digestion, metabolism, etc, it doesn't mean that it will show the same effects on your body. Whenever you are trying something new, it needs to be done slowly and safely, while observing if it suiting your body or not.

Also read:Follow Lemon Detox Diet Plan For Quick Weight Loss And Better Health

Lemon water is a rich source of Vitamin C and can work as a great immunity booster, if it suits you. It definitely helps in alkalising the body. But, there are some side effects of drinking it, which cannot be ignored.

1. 1-3 cups of lemon water in a day is good enough to reap benefits from it. Drinking lemon water throughout the day can cause damage to tooth enamel. This is because lemon water is acidic in nature.

Drinking lemon water in excess can cause damage to tooth enamelPhoto Credit: iStock

2. For those who already have a weak enamel, even 1 or 2 cups of lemon water can cause damage. Drink lemon water through a straw to prevent damage to your enamel.

3. Consuming lemon water with sugar in can worsen tooth cavities. Cavities contain bacteria that feeds on sugar.

Also read:Diabetes Diet Chart: Here's What Nutritionist Suggests To Keep Blood Sugar Under Control

4. Lemon water must be avoided when you have mouth ulcers as it can aggravate ulcers.

5. Lemon water can be considered to be an excellent remedy for acidity. But, lemon water can also make some people highly acidic. If you feel uneasy after drinking it, then it is not suiting you and you must avoid its consumption.

6. This drink must also be avoided if you have stomach ulcers.

7. Drinking lemon water can also be harmful if you joint pain and arthritis pain as it can aggravate the pain.

Lemon water may worsen joint pain and arthritis painPhoto Credit: iStock

8. People with migraine and severe headaches should check their lemon water consumption. Luke says that there is a direct connection between citrus and migraine headaches. If you get these symptoms too often, its time to cut back on intake of lemon water.

Also read:5 Myths About Migraine Pain You Must Stop Believing

(Luke Coutinho, Holistic Lifestyle Coach - Integrative Medicine)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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Lemon Water Helps With Weight Loss, But May Cause These Side Effects Too: Take Note Of Them, Says Luke Coutinho - NDTV News

As the old saying goes, strike when the iron is hot. That's what a new gene editing start-up named Beam Therapeutics hopes to do by conducting an initial public offering (IPO) less than two years after forming and more than a year before it asks regulators for permission to begin clinical trials. Given the excitement over genetic medicines, it might be wise to take advantage of the open window now.

Assuming the IPO proceeds as planned, Beam Therapeutics will offer investors a second chance to own a next-generation gene editing technology platform and the first next-generation CRISPR tool. Here's why investors might want to keep the business on their radar.

Image source: Getty Images.

Beam Therapeutics bears some similarities to Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT). Both trace their origins back to the Broad Institute in Boston. They share a trio of all-star scientific founders: Dr. Feng Zhang, Dr. David Liu, and Dr. Keith Joung. Each company's technology platform is built on CRISPR-based tools.

But the differences are more important for investors. Editas Medicine is developing gene editing tools that require Cas enzymes to cut both strands of DNA. While that theoretically provides the ability to delete or insert genetic sequences to treat diseases, the approach relies on innate DNA repair mechanisms. When the built-in safeguards on those mechanisms break down, cells can turn cancerous. CRISPR-CasX tools can also create unintended genetic edits, and have a relatively low efficiency.

Beam Therapeutics is developing gene editing tools based on a new technique called base editing. The enzymatic approach doesn't make double-stranded breaks in DNA. Instead, it induces chemical reactions to change the sequence of the genetic alphabet -- A (adenine), T (thymine), C (cytosine), and G (guanine) -- one letter at a time. Base editing can make A-to-G edits, C-to-T edits, G-to-A edits, and T-to-C edits.

The next-generation approach decouples CRISPR gene editing tools and the need to make double-stranded breaks in DNA, which is the most pressing concern facing Editas Medicine, CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP), and Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA).

Clinical Consideration

CRISPR-CasX Gene Editing

CRISPR Base Editing

Does it cut DNA?

Yes, enzymatically cuts both strands of DNA

No

Can be used to insert new genetic material into a sequence?

Yes

No, but it can enzymatically change an existing DNA sequence

Does it trigger DNA repair mechanisms?

Yes

No

Source: Beam Therapeutics, author.

While base editing can't make every possible edit (example: A-to-T edits), it can target a number of disease-driving genetic errors. And Beam Therapeutics has inked important collaboration deals to augment the capabilities of its technology platform:

After reviewing the details, investors see that there's a tangled web of related transactions that all flow back to the Broad Institute, which is going to great lengths to extract every ounce of value from its scientific discoveries. Similar actions have caused a stir in the scientific community in recent years. If the profit-seeking terms of the non-profit research institution's agreements are too strict, then it may pose a risk to Beam Therapeutics at the expense of investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors familiar with gene editing stocks will immediately recognize the programs included in the pipeline of the base editing pioneer. The lead assets take aim at blood disorders, and are part of a push to engineer better immunotherapies to treat cancer.

In beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease, Beam Therapeutics is first attempting to increase the production of fetal hemoglobin, which confers natural immunity to both conditions. That's similar to the lead drug candidate of CRISPR Therapeutics, which recently demonstrated promising results from the first two patients in a phase 1 clinical trial.

A second program in sickle cell disease aims to directly correct the genetic mutation responsible for the blood disorder. It involves changing a single base -- perfectly suited for base editing.

In immunotherapy, Beam Therapeutics is working to engineer better chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells that can be used as cellular medicines to treat various types of cancers. CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and Intellia Therapeutics are deploying CRISPR gene editing in the same applications, while Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) is leaning on ARCUS gene editing to do the same. The latter's lead drug candidates are in immunotherapy, a unique distinction among gene editing stocks.

Beam Therapeutics' pipeline also includes a range of potential assets aimed at gene correction, gene silencing, and more complex editing, but none have entered clinical trials. The company doesn't expect to file investigational new drug (IND) applications -- required for regulators to sign off on the start of clinical trials -- until 2021. But since the window for an IPO might be slammed shut by then, the business is exploring a market debut now.

There aren't many details in the company's S1 filing concerning a potential date for a market debut or how much money the company is aiming to raise. The filing says $100 million, but that's just a placeholder for the initial submission. The actual amount will be determined once Wall Street gets an idea of the level of interest in an IPO, which will determine the number of shares to offer and the price.

Assuming the IPO takes place, Beam Therapeutics and base editing offer investors a technological upgrade over the first-generation gene editing platforms leaning on CRISPR-CasX tools. The next-generation tools aren't perfect, and there are risks related to the agreements with the Broad Institute and sister start-ups, but this is certainly a gene editing stock worth watching.

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This Start-up Might Be the Next Gene Editing IPO - The Motley Fool

A group led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine has identified significant differences at the epigenetic level the chemical tags in DNA that help regulate gene expression between two clinically distinct forms of acute childhood malnutrition known as edematous severe acute malnutrition (ESAM) and non-edematous SAM (NESAM).

The researchers report in the journal Nature Communications that ESAM, but not NESAM, is characterized by a reduction in methyl chemical tags in DNA and complex changes in gene activity, including both enhanced and reduced gene expression. Some of the genes that lost their methyl tags have been linked to other disorders of nutrition and metabolism, such as abnormal blood sugar and fatty liver disease, conditions that also have been observed in ESAM. The findings support consideration of methyl-group supplementation in ESAM.

Severe acute childhood malnutrition presents in two clinically distinct forms: ESAM and NESAM, said corresponding author Dr. Neil Hanchard, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics and the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor. ESAM is characterized by body swelling and extensive dysfunction of multiple organs, including liver, blood cells and the gut, as well as skin and hair abnormalities. NESAM, on the other hand, typically presents with weight loss and wasting.

The differences between ESAM and NESAM are still not fully explained despite decades of studies addressing this question. In the current study, Hanchard and his colleagues looked to better understand the conditions by investigating whether there were differences at the molecular level, specifically on DNA methylation.

The decision to look at DNA methylation was partly driven by previous studies looking at biochemical markers in these individuals. In particular, the turnover of a particular amino acid called methionine, said Hanchard.

Previous work has shown that methionine turnover is slower in ESAM than in NESAM. Methionine is a central ingredient of 1-carbon metabolism, a metabolic pathway that is key to DNA methylation. Lower methionine turnover suggested the possibility of alterations in DNA methylation.

First, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation. When we found in children acutely ill with ESAM genes with levels of DNA methylation that were significantly different from those in NESAM patients, the levels were always lower. Of the genes analyzed, 161 showed a highly significant reduced level of methylation in ESAM, when compared to the same genes in NESAM, Hanchard said.

Interestingly, a group of adults who had recovered from having ESAM malnutrition in their childhood did not show the same reduction in DNA methylation the researchers observed in childhood acute cases. This suggested that lower DNA methylation was probably related to acute ESAM.

Knowing that DNA methylation helps regulate gene expression, Hanchard and his colleagues next investigated whether there were differences in gene expression between ESAM and NESAM. They found that reduced overall methylation in ESAM resulted in a complex pattern of gene expression changes. For some genes, having reduced methylation enhanced their expression, while for others it reduced it.

Among the genes that were highly affected by reduced methylation were some of those related to conditions such as blood sugar regulation, fatty liver disease and other metabolic problems, which are also commonly seen more often in ESAM than NESAM.

Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular events that likely result in the differences between ESAM and NESAM, Hanchard said. Although we still dont know why malnutrition leads to ESAM in some children, while it results in NESAM in others, our findings suggest that, once ESAM gets on its way, methylation changes are likely involved in the clinical signs and symptoms of the condition. There is also evidence that individual genetic variation also influences the level of DNA methylation. Furthermore, I am excited about the possibility that altering the molecular outcome of malnutrition with specific interventions could one day help alter the clinical outcome.

Other contributors to this work include first author Katharina V. Schulze, Shanker Swaminathan, Sharon Howell, Aarti Jajoo, Natasha C. Lie, Orgen Brown, Roa Sadat, Nancy Hall, Liang Zhao, Kwesi Marshall, Thaddaeus May, Marvin E. Reid, Carolyn Taylor-Bryan, Xueqing Wang, John W. Belmont, Yongtao Guan, Mark J. Manary, Indi Trehan and Colin A. McKenzie.

See a complete list of author affiliations and financial support for this study.

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Form of severe malnutrition linked to DNA modification - Baylor College of Medicine News

Dr. Lu Qi is director of the Tulane University Obesity Research Center at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Getting a good nights sleep could be beneficial for long-term health. A pioneering new study led by Dr. Lu Qi, director of the Tulane University Obesity Research Center, found that even if people had a high genetic risk of heart disease or stroke, healthy sleep patterns could help offset that risk. The study is published in the European Heart Journal.

The researchers looked at genetic variations known as SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) that were already known to be linked to the development of heart disease and stroke. They analysed the SNPs from blood samples taken from more than 385,000 healthy participants in the UK Biobank project and used them to create a genetic risk score to determine whether the participants were at high, intermediate or low risk of cardiovascular problems.

The researchers followed the participants for an average of 8.5 years, during which time there were 7,280 cases of heart disease or stroke.

We found that compared to those with an unhealthy sleep pattern, participants with good sleeping habits had a 35% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and a 34% reduced risk of both heart disease and stroke, Qi says. Researchers say those with the healthiest sleep patterns slept 7 to 8 hours a night, without insomnia, snoring or daytime drowsiness.

When the researchers looked at the combined effect of sleep habits and genetic susceptibility on cardiovascular disease, they found that participants with both a high genetic risk and a poor sleep pattern had a more than 2.5-fold greater risk of heart disease and a 1.5-fold greater risk of stroke compared to those with a low genetic risk and a healthy sleep pattern. This meant that there were 11 more cases of heart disease and five more cases of stroke per 1,000 people a year among poor sleepers with a high genetic risk compared to good sleepers with a low genetic risk. However, a healthy sleep pattern compensated slightly for a high genetic risk, with just over a two-fold increased risk for these people.

A person with a high genetic risk but a healthy sleep pattern had a 2.1-fold greater risk of heart disease and a 1.3-fold greater risk of stroke compared to someone with a low genetic risk and a good sleep pattern. While someone with a low genetic risk, but an unhealthy sleep pattern had 1.7-fold greater risk of heart disease and a 1.6-fold greater risk of stroke.

As with other findings from observational studies, our results indicate an association, not a causal relation, Qi says. However, these findings may motivate other investigations and, at least, suggest that it is essential to consider overall sleep behaviors when considering a persons risk of heart disease or stroke.

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Can good sleep patterns offset genetic susceptibility to heart disease and stroke? - News from Tulane

In the world of rare diseases, patient testimonies about the extreme difficulties of receiving an accurate diagnosis for an illness are numerous. For instance, one woman, sick for most of her young life, was not properly diagnosed with idiopathic gastroparesis an ultra-rare disease that affects stomach motility and digestion until late in college after seeing numerous different specialists in multiple fields and undergoing a battery of testing.1 Another patient, now active in the rare disease advocacy community, went undiagnosed with familial partial lipodystrophy a disease that, among other things, causes selective fatty tissue loss for 37 years.2

Unfortunately, these stories are not unique. One survey indicated that it took on average 7.6 years to properly diagnose a rare disease patient in the United States.3 Another study indicated that a rare disease patient on average consulted eight different physicians before landing on an accurate diagnosis, with only 12.9 percent of respondents indicating that they had seen only one physician prior to diagnosis (23.5 percent of respondents had seen between six and 10 physicians).4 Frequently, rare disease patients exhibit similar symptoms as other, more common diseases, making diagnosis complicated and leaving patients confused and frustrated about a path forward. Further complicating the situation is that traditional treatments for more common illnesses that mimic rare disease symptoms, such as irritable bowel syndrome in the case of the aforementioned gastroparesis patient, may actually worsen a patient's condition.

As such, the misdiagnosis of rare diseases, in addition to being traumatic for patients and their families, can be extremely expensive. One study indicated that over a 10-year period, an undiagnosed rare disease patient cost over 100 percent more than the average patient. This was due in part to a significant increase in outpatient visits compared with the average patient. (The cost differential was heightened in pediatric patients.)5 Such data indicates that shortening the path to diagnosis for rare disease patients may lead not only to increase patient health but also to a significant reduction in overall long-term healthcare costs.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there may be upward of 7,000 rare diseases in the United States affecting as many as 30 million people, or nearly one-tenth of the U.S. population.6 Alarmingly, only 5 percent of identified rare diseases have an approved treatment. Despite this daunting figure, approximately 80 percent of rare diseases have genetic origins, a common factor that points to genetic (the testing of individual variants or individual/multiple genes and their effects on an individual) and genomic (the study through various methods of an individual's entire genome and its interaction with the environment) testing as logical tools for identifying and ultimately combating these illnesses.

Genetic Testing Becoming More Common

From concept to execution, the Human Genome Project at the NIH took approximately 15 years and involved the creation of the National Center for Human Genome Research (now the National Human Genome Research Institute, an official Institute at NIH), the collaboration of hundreds of national and international scientists, and an approximate, inflation-adjusted total investment of $5 billion.7,8Since that time, the cost of performing genetic and genomic testing has declined significantly, with a per-genome cost of slightly less than $1,000 in 2019 compared with per-genome costs of approximately $95 million and $30,000 in 2001 and 2010, respectively.9 This significant cost reduction, which has been associated with the development of next-generation sequencing platforms and leaps in computer hardware development, among other things, has opened the door for patients to more readily access these important resources.

Most tests fall into overall categories of DNA diagnostic testing that include single-gene tests, which can detect an abnormality in a gene associated with a particular genetic illness; whole exome sequencing, which sequences the protein-encoding regions of genes; or whole genome sequencing, which is the most rigorous in that it involves sequencing the individual's entire genome. Given the sheer number of rare diseases and the size of the human genome, it is not surprising that there are numerous genetic tests on the market today. One study indicated that there are approximately 75,000 genetic tests on the market, or 10 issued every day.10

However, insurance coverage for these technologies is minimal and inconsistent despite recent positive reception for the increased use of enhanced technologies for patient treatment through the Precision Medicine Initiative, the NIH's Cancer Moonshot and similar programs. One study indicated that coverage for multigene testing varied drastically by disease type and that tests for broad indications or a large range of genes (i.e., those tests that may be helpful in narrowing down disease possibilities in a diagnostic profile) are frequently not covered by insurers.11 It should be noted that some progress has been made on national coverage determinations for some more widely recognized testing technologies. For instance, next-generation sequencing, a revolutionary sequencing technology that sequences genetic material multiple times simultaneously against a reference genome, received a reissued national coverage determination under the Medicare program from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in October 2019.12 However, while this decision was significant as a model for future coverage for genetic testing services, it was only a minor first step in that it was limited only to previously untested patients with ovarian or breast cancer who are Medicare eligible.13

The large and complicated landscape of genetic testing is partially responsible for the lack of insurance coverage for these technologies. For instance, there are only about 200 standardized Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes to identify various types of genetic tests to insurers, other physicians, hospitals and health systems, limiting the ability for payers to systematically cover these technologies. This is especially true when applying "medical necessity criteria," which requires a provider to submit accurate information showing that a treatment or test is medically necessary to treat or diagnose a specific illness in order for it to be reimbursed by a payer. Data have shown that a majority of spending in the past several years on genetic tests has gone to noninvasive prenatal tests, cancer screening tests and multiple-gene analyses.14 This is unsurprising given that some of these technologies target pre-identified, validated markers and that newer screening methods present fewer risks for patients than other, more traditional or invasive testing methods.15 For many conditions, however, showing the medical necessity of genetic testing is still a complicated and unpredictable process when a patient is in the middle or beginning of his or her diagnostic odyssey.

Thus, coverage of new genetic testing technologies continues to remain a major challenge for the medical community and a mystery for the tens of millions of U.S. patients with rare diseases. Although small-scale studies and other evidence show that the use of genetic testing as a means to more quickly and accurately diagnose patients can reduce overall health expenditures, policymakers still lack systematic data showing the effectiveness of genetic testing as a means of cutting overall health spending at a macro level.

Help on the Horizon?

Bills have been introduced as recently as the 116th Congress that would create demonstration projects to test coverage of genetic testing technologies for certain patients to help inform future expansions of genetic testing coverage. In addition, Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the original champions of the 21st Century Cures Act,16 recently issued a request for information to help inform a follow-on version of the landmark legislation dubbed "Cures 2.0."17 One of the main focuses of their inquiry is into "how Medicare coding, coverage, and payment could better support patients' access to innovative therapies." Expanded coverage to increase access to genetic testing technologies could certainly fit within this scope and would help supplement expanded access and coverage of other new and innovative healthcare technologies for rare disease patients.

Stakeholders across the rare disease landscape have also shared consistent concerns with the length of time between when a new or breakthrough medical technology is approved and when it receives coverage by insurers. Underutilized programs may help speed new technologies to the patients that need them by shortening the gap between approval and coverage. One such example is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-CMS parallel review program for medical devices, which was recently touted by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan at the recent FDA/CMS Summit18 and through which a next-generation sequencing test received a parallel approval and coverage determination in 2017.19 These efforts may help the scientific community and others assemble data about how greater access to these technologies positively affect patient care, provide information necessary for lawmakers to empower CMS, the FDA and others to work together on increasing coverage and access, as well as to create mechanisms to speed new technologies to patients in need.

In addition to testing expansion of coverage and access for genetic and genomic testing, further investments should be made into public-private partnerships and other information gathering networks that may centralize information from a diverse group of medical professionals to provide patients additional resources for rare disease diagnosis. For instance, the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, housed at the NIH, utilizes a dozen sites nationwide where teams of physicians assess rare disease patients and share data, including genetic testing data through a "sequencing core," to maximize the amount of national expertise available to pin down rare disease diagnoses that would be extremely difficult and expensive to receive if patients sought expertise individually.20 In addition to further investment in these resources, continued policy development and investment in the development of artificial intelligence technologies and diagnostic support software tools, which have shown promise in assisting physicians in the early detection of rare disease through symptom analysis,21 will provide additional means for patients to receive care more quickly through largely noninvasive means.

Finally, payers both public and private may lack expertise in understanding and evaluating genetic tests, especially for rare diseases. Insurers should prioritize hiring individuals to supplement their teams who have some form of advanced knowledge not only of rare diseases but also the nature of genetic testing technologies and how they are used to expedite disease diagnoses. This is especially true given the rapid development of new testing systems and the growing use of other diagnostic technologies promoted in part by provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act and other legislation.

While it typically refers to something that is uncommon, the term "rare" can also imply heightened value. Greater investment in improving the diagnostic odyssey for rare disease patients, including through greater coverage of new technologies, can only enhance the value and efficiency of the U.S. healthcare system for all patients not just the few.

Read more:
Sequence of Events: Genetic Testing Offers Significant Promise, But Coverage and Access Limited - Lexology

By Michael Erman

NEW YORK (Reuters) Novartis is in discussion with patient groups over its lottery-style free drug program for its multi-million-dollar gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) after criticism that the process could be unfair to some babies with the deadly disease.

The company said on Friday that it will be open to refining the process in the future, but it is not making any changes at this time. The program is for patients in countries where the medicine, called Zolgensma, is not yet approved for the rare genetic disorder, which can lead to death and profound physical disabilities.

At $2.1 million per patient, Zolgensma is the worlds costliest single-dose treatment.

Novartis said the program will open for submission on Jan. 2 and the first allocation of drugs would begin in February. Novartiss AveXis unit, which developed the drug, will give out 50 doses of the treatment through June for babies under 2 years old, it said on Thursday, with up to 100 total doses to be distributed through 2020.

Patient advocacy group SMA Europe had a conference call with the company on Friday, according to Kacper Rucinski, a board member of the patient and research group who was on the call.

There are a lot of ethical questions, a lot of design questions that need to be addresses. We will be trying to address them in January, Rucinski said. He said the program has no method of prioritizing who needs the treatment most, calling it a Russian roulette.

The company said it developed the plan with the help of bioethicists with an eye toward fairness.

This may feel like youre blindly passing it out, but it may be the best we can do, said Alan Regenberg, who is on the faculty at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and was not among the bioethicists Novartis consulted with on the decision. It may be impossible to separate people on the basis of prognosis out of the pool of kids under 2, he said.

According to Rucinski, the parties will continue their discussion in January to see what can be improved in the design of the program.

Novartis said on Thursday that because of manufacturing constraints it is focused on providing treatment to countries where the medicine is approved or pending approval. It has one licensed U.S. facility, with two plants due to come on line in 2020.

Zolgensma, hit by turmoil including data manipulation allegations and suspension of a trial over safety concerns, is the second SMA treatment, after Biogens Spinraza.

Not all of the SMA community are opposed to Novartis program.

Rajdeep Patgiri moved from the United Kingdom to the United States in April so his daughter could receive Zolgensma. She has responded well to the treatment, and Patgiri worries that negative attention to the program could keep patients from receiving the drug.

The best outcome for all patients would be if everybody could get the treatment. Given all the constraints, a lottery is probably the fairest way to determine who receives the treatment, he said.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Additional reporting by John Miller in Zurich; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Novartis in talks with patients upset about lottery-like gene therapy giveaway - Physician's Weekly