Syria should we care?

http://www.facebook.com/syria.care

By Shahfizal Musa

BANGI, 20 Dec 2012 -Syrian women and children were raped in front of their husbands and fathers with some of the despicable acts even committed in mosques.

People were slaughtered on a daily basis with some of them mutilated by President Bashir Al Assad’s regime.

Despite such atrocities they did not receive the help and media attention that they deserved, said Chairman of the Syrian Ulama Council, Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al Sabuni.

The 83 old renowned Islamic scholar came to The National University of Malaysia (UKM) to seek help from Malaysians in whatever way such assistance could be rendered.

Making his emotional plea in Arabic, he said the atrocities committed on the Syrian people are much worse than those committed by Israel on the Palestinians judging from the death toll. 

Syeikh Muhammad Ali said 60,000 Palestinians were martyred in 60 years but over the last two years of intense oppression in Syria, 60,000 people were killed brutally. That is the official figure whereas the unreported death is 5 times more, he said.

The problem is that the Syrian plight is overshadowed by the Palestinian cause. Muslims don’t see helping the Syrian is as important as helping the Palestinian. 

The Syrian people do not just need money and prayers, they need every Muslim whether in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia or Indonesia to be united about the importance of helping Syrian.

The situation in Syria is not a conflict between the Sunnis and the Syiahs because to call what is happening in Syria a conflict is to suggest two parties of equal strengths. But the actual situation is where the defenseless ordinary people are being massacred because they are Sunnis. 

Syeikh Muhammad Ali said not even one mosque in Syria is not damaged or destroyed by the regime, which is supported by Iran.

He said no hospital would be willing to help the Sunnis; if they are injured or maimed they are left in pain until they die as even family members can’t help because those who helped will be tracked down and killed. Thus the injured who needs urgent medical attention is left untreated, the best they could hope for is for the injured to die quickly.

Syeikh Muhammad Ali’s statement that Syria is as important if not more so than Palestine was emotionally objected to by a Palestinian saying that would be tantamount to taking away help and attention from Palestine.

But her comments was responded by Abu Anas, another member in the audience, a Palestinian Medical Doctor who have worked on the frontlines in Gaza.

He said the situation in Syria is much worse than in Palestine because at least in Gaza they are dealing with the Isreali soldiers who only has the courage to attack from the air, but in Syria the people who are Sunnis are murdered in their own homes, their children are slaughtered in front of their own eyes,

They have no food and children freeze to death because there is no heating, no medical help and hunted and slaughtered like animals.

He agrees with Syeikh Muhammad Ali that right now, the situation in Syria is much worse than in Palestine.

Syeikh Muhammad Ali clarified that he was not asking Muslims wanting to help to make a choice but was only trying to correct the misconceptions among Muslims that Syrian oppression is not bad.

The talk organised by the Institute of West Asian Studies was attended by more than 200 students and lecturers.

The mindset of Muslim is that they feel that they are betraying Palestine if they focus on Syria. Nobody is willing to say that the atrocities in Syria is worst than Palestine. Even when Hamas and Palestinian themselves have admitted that what happen in Syria is much much worst. 

Muslims are actually suffering from a guilty conscience of their years of indifferent towards the Palestinian Issue. Now they are doing the same mistake that they did to Palestine. They are ignoring Syria. 

‘Abdullah bin Hawalah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “You will prepare some armies: an army for Sham, an army for Iraq, and an army for Yemen.” So, ‘Abdullah said: “Choose one for me, O Messenger of Allah!” So, he said: “Go to Sham. Whomever is unable to do so should go to Yemen, as Allah – Mighty and Majestic – has sufficed for me Sham and its people.” Rabi’ah said: “I heard Aba Idris narrating this hadith and saying: “Whoever is sufficed by Allah can never be lost.”

Hollywood favorite villain

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The negative international image of the Arabs and Muslims as violent, intolerant and out of control people has been attributed to films continuously churned out by Hollywood. A visiting professor from California State University, Prof Dr Sophia Pandya said Hollywood has for decades been producing and distributing films depicting a very bad image of the Arabs and Muslims for the global market.

Speaking at a discourse jointly organised by the Institute of West Asian Studies (IKRAB) and the Institute of Islam Hadhari (HADHARI) and the Turkish Dialogue Society here today, she said such negative portrayal had been made from the very beginning from cartoons like Aladdin to blockbuster movies.

 Arabs are portrayed as a subhuman barbaric and a threat to be feared by western society. This dehumanising of the Arabs and Muslims has nurtured hatred for them by the Americans for a long time. What is sad is that Muslims themselves support Hollywood by buying and watching those movies that portray Muslims in a preposterous manner.

 Muslim watch it because the image portrayed was so far off the mark, that Muslims think it is silly and is not about them. Yet this fictionalised image of Arabs and Muslims is taken as fact by non Muslims and the West, she said. She referred to a groundbreaking documentary on how Hollywood have been slandering Arabs and Muslim for decades, The negative international image of the Arabs and Muslims as violent, intolerant and out of control people has been attributed to films continuously churned out by Hollywood.

A visiting professor from California State University, Prof Dr Sophia Pandya said Hollywood has for decades been producing and distributing films depicting a very bad image of the Arabs and Muslims for the global market. Speaking at a discourse jointly organised by the Institute of West Asian Studies (IKRAB) and the Institute of Islam Hadhari (HADHARI) and the Turkish Dialogue Society here today, she said such negative portrayal had been made from the very beginning from cartoons like Aladdin to blockbuster movies. Arabs are portrayed as a subhuman barbaric and a threat to be feared by western society.

This dehumanising of the Arabs and Muslims has nurtured hatred for them by the Americans for a long time. What is sad is that Muslims themselves support Hollywood by buying and watching those movies that portray Muslims in a preposterous manner. Muslim watch it because the image portrayed was so far off the mark, that Muslims think it is silly and is not about them.

Yet this fictionalised image of Arabs and Muslims is taken as fact by non Muslims and the West, she said. She referred to a groundbreaking documentary on how Hollywood have been slandering Arabs and Muslim for decades, Reel Bad Arabs- How Hollywood Vilifies People by Jack Shaheen. The documentary is a compilation from about one thousand films with racist remarks demeaning the Arabs.

Such remarks if made against the Jews or African Americans can cause an uproar, she said. Prof Pandya said Hollywood inherited the blatant racist portrayal of the Arabs and Muslims from the Europeans who used to colonise the Arab region in the Middle East and North Africa. The colonial powers were on a quest for raw materials during the industrial revolution leading them to systematically robbed countries out of their resources. They argued that the Arabs are barbarians which needed the colonial powers to bring modernisation.

 The late Edward Said in his book Orentalism explained that the colonial powers portray the Arabs as a threat and something to be feared. Debates in the British parliament then depicted the Arabs as people who deserved to be colonised, occupied and controlled even if it involves violence. Thus the perception that Arabs and Muslims are bad people who deserved everything that is done to them is deeply rooted and entrenched in western perceptions.

Though such image is a gross injustice it continues unabated and will keep on, Prof Pandya said. She quoted Martin Luther King’s idea on peace “peace is not the absence of tension but it is the presence of justice”. Justice has not been done to the Muslims and Arabs, Prof Pandya said. Present at the talk was the Director of Islam Hadhari, Prof Dato’ Dr Mohd Yusof Hj Othman, academic staff and the public. The documentary is a compilation from about one thousand films with racist remarks demeaning the Arabs.

 Such remarks if made against the Jews or African Americans can cause an uproar, she said. Prof Pandya said Hollywood inherited the blatant racist portrayal of the Arabs and Muslims from the Europeans who used to colonise the Arab region in the Middle East and North Africa. The colonial powers were on a quest for raw materials during the industrial revolution leading them to systematically robbed countries out of their resources.

 They argued that the Arabs are barbarians which needed the colonial powers to bring modernisation. The late Edward Said in his book Orentalism explained that the colonial powers portray the Arabs as a threat and something to be feared. Debates in the British parliament then depicted the Arabs as people who deserved to be colonised, occupied and controlled even if it involves violence. Thus the perception that Arabs and Muslims are bad people who deserved everything that is done to them is deeply rooted and entrenched in western perceptions.

Though such image is a gross injustice it continues unabated and will keep on, Prof Pandya said. She quoted Martin Luther King’s idea on peace “peace is not the absence of tension but it is the presence of justice”. Justice has not been done to the Muslims and Arabs, Prof Pandya said. Present at the talk was the Director of Islam Hadhari, Prof Dato’ Dr Mohd Yusof Hj Othman, academic staff and the public.

No more hypertension during pregnancy

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 April 2012 - A group of four final year medical students from The National University of Malaysia (UKM) have made history with a discovery that can prevent hypertension in pregnancy. 

The discovery said to be the first in the world was made by Dr Noorfaizahtul Hanim binti Md. Nawawi, Dr Lim Jing Fen, Dr Melissha binti Luqman and Dr Faizuddin bin Zoklkeplai. They graduated earlier this month. 

The discovery has been accepted for publication in a high indexed international journal, a statement by the supervisor of the students, the Deputy Dean of Graduate Studies of the Faculty of Medicine UKM, Prof Dr Zainul Rashid bin Mohamad Razi said today.

Prof Zainul Rashid said hypertension in pregnancy is still one of the main causes of maternal death all over the world.

“Women in their first pregnancy are more susceptible to develop hypertension with an incidence of between 10% to 15%. Many methods have been tried to prevent this condition such as supplementation with aspirin, zinc, Vitamin E and anti-oxidants. However, to date, none of these methods have proven to be successful. 

“Thus, the only method to reduce the morbidity of this condition is to control the blood pressure when it appears in pregnancy to buy time for the baby to be more matured for delivery.

“This, however, exposed the mother to all the complications of hypertension in pregnancy such as eclamptic fits, bleeding due to placental separation, premature delivery as well as maternal and fetal death,” Prof Zainul Rashid said.

The group who were then in their 4th year of studies were doing research on mothers in their first pregnancy following IVF. They noted that the incidence of hypertension among the mothers were very low compared to other mothers in their first pregnancy who conceived spontaneously.  

Prof Zainul Rashid said the only difference were that the mothers who conceived by IVF were supplemented with a progestogen hormone, dydrogesterone for the first 16 weeks of their pregnancy. From 116 mothers who conceived by IVF, only two(1.7%) developed hypertension in pregnancy as compared to 15(12.9%) in 116 other women who conceived spontaneously.

Prof Zainul Rashid the difference was very significant statistically.

“With this finding, it is now possible to reduce the incidence of hypertension in first pregnancies thus further reducing maternal mortality due to this condition by taking the hormone dydrogesterone during the early part of their pregnancies.

“Further studies will be performed by other students in the UKM Medical Faculty on other pregnant mothers who are at high risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy such as twin pregnancies, obese and mothers older than 35 years,” Prof Zainul Rashid said.

The students took 1 year 10 months to complete their studies, which was one of the requirements for UKM medical students to pass their medical course.

The newly qualified doctors will receive a prize of RM1000.00 each for their discovery from Prof Dr Zaleha Mahdy, the Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies of the Faculty at a special ceremony at the Faculty

Reverse aging with palm oil

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 July, 2012 – Research findings by a team of postgraduate students at The National University of Malaysia (UKM) revealed that Tocotrienal Rich Fraction (TRA) derived from palm oil may have the potential to reverse the aging process.

The initial findings made by the students from the Department of Biochemistry at the Medical Faculty discovered that TRA actually has the potential to reverse the shrinking of satellite cells found in skeletal muscles. These are cells in muscles that support the skeleton.

The discovery is one of over 50 such findings exhibited in the ongoing 14th Health and Medical Research Week (RW14) being held at the Faculty of Medicine here from Tuesday 17 July.

Lim Jing Jye, who is doing his Masters and involved in the research said that the cells in question have been closely linked to aging since they shrink with age.

What the team did was to take human cells from 5 day old infants and exposed them to conditions that simulated the causes of aging.

The team found that the cells that have shrunk grew back to almost its original size when treated with TRA.

Chairman of RW14, Prof Yasmin Anum Mohd Yusof from the Biochemistry Department when asked about the research at a press conference said: “While it is too early to say that aging of an octogenarian can be reversed, the findings have the potential at the very least too delay the aging process.”

TRA may offer not just a longer life but more importantly a healthier life especially to the aged.

She said the focus of the study is not to find the ‘fountain of youth’ but how to make people live longer and at the same time in good health.

There were many other equally significant findings made that were exhibited such as anti oxidant and anti-tumour properties found in ginger (Zingiber officinale).

There was also research done on ‘belacan’ (shrimp paste) titled “Risk Assesment of local Belacan Intake”. Belacan which is a favourite flavouring ingredient used in many Malaysian dishes is said to contain arsenic and lead which exceeded the limit of Malaysian Food Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985.

However the findings revealed that the daily intake is much lower than the provisional tolerable weekly intakes given by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) and could not be considered to be harmful to humans.

Over 200 participants consisting of postgraduate students and lecturers from the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Health Sciences, Pharmacy and the Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI) are taking part in the programme.

It include a series of lectures meant to hone in the skills of the researchers and lecturers in preparing their research proposals and nurturing multidisciplinary collaborations.

The RW14 is one of the initiatives by UKM Medical Centre (UKMMC) to equip lecturers and students with the knowledge and skills they need to get their research proposals approved and later recognised at the international level.

Dean of the Medical Faculty and Director of UKMMC, Prof Dato’ Dr Raymond Azman Ali, Deputy Deans and heads of department, students, clinicians and lecturers attended the official opening of the RW14.

Brain drain or Brain Circulation

KUALA LUMPUR, 19 APRIL 2012- A number of ENT specialists trained in The National University of Malaysia (UKM) have been snatched to work abroad thereby regarded as being part of the brain drain phenomena for the country. However its Vice Chancellor, Prof Tan Sri Dato' Wira Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin looked at it differently.

 She is of the view that these experts who chose to work abroad will one day come back home and will then bring back their expertise to the country. Opening the 4th ASEAN Academy of Neuro-Otology & Audiology Congress (AANOA) here today, she likened it as ‘brain circulation’ rather than ‘brain drain’. Neuro-Otology is a branch of clinical medicine which studies and treats neurological disorders of the ear. It is a subspecialty which stems from Ear, 

Nose and Throat (ENT) specialisation. She said their going abroad will allow them to gain invaluable experience and will one day bring their expertise back home. Though it does cause a shortage to the country in the immediate term the specialists nonetheless are helping people no matter where they are. What is more important is that the people should benefit regardless of boundaries, she said. Prof Sharifah Hapsah also said that new developments in ENT treatment like cochlear implants have revolutionised the treatment of hearing impairment where hearings can now be revived even in cases once considered impossible. Sign language may one day become obsolete, she said.

 Hearing impairment needed to be detected early as it can have a detrimental effect on an individual’s learning ability, she said. UKM began its coclear implant programme in 1995 and to date had given such implants to 295 patients. The honourary founding president of the conference, Prof Dr Suchitra Paransuk in her keynote address said she was treated with skepticism and sometimes ridiculed when she said that hearing disability can be tackled with Neuro-Ontology some 40 years ago. She had then just got back home from studying abroad. Now the Thai government is subsidising cochlear implant surgery while Neuro-Ontology is also recognised globally.

 Prof Suchitra said though cochlear implant surgery is accepted, the treatment depended on facilities available in a country. In some places it is only available to those who can afford it. This has to change because every child deserves the gift of hearing. UKM started its cochlear implant programme in 1995. The cochlear team also trained health personnel from other hospitals both locally and foreign.

 The AANOA conference which began today ends on Saturday 21 April. It also consists of various workshops on the latest technique available for ear surgery. AANOA President, Prof Dato’ Dr Lokman Saim, participants and guests from United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines attended the conference.

Cure for Osteoporosis

KUALA LUMPUR, 6 April 2012 - Researchers from The National University of Malaysia (UKM) have discovered that ‘tocotrienol’ (a form of Vitamin E) derived from palm oil, can strengthen brittle bones thereby reversing incidences of osteoporosis.

This discovery was made by Prof Dr Ima Nirwana Soelaiman and her team, Assoc Prof Dr Norazlina Mohamed, Assoc Prof Dr Ahmad Nazrun Shuid and Dr Norliza Muhammad of the Faculty of Medicine, UKM after a series of comprehensive studies.

Prof Ima who is Head of the Bone Metabolisme Research Group, said: “our extensive animal studies have shown that Tocotrienol can improve the bone structure of osteoporotic bone and bring it back to its original condition.”

She said that the studies also revealed that besides reversing osteoporosis, Tocotrienol can also prevent the development of osteoporosis. The studies conducted over fifteen years have produced consistent results time after time; which is that tocotrienol can prevent and cure osteoporosis.

Her work has won awards in international scientific expositions, such as at the Invention and New Product Exposition (INPEX2008), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, 2008 [Gold Medal, Award of Merit] and 34th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006 [Gold Medal, with Merit]. She has also published almost 80 scholarly articles in indexed journals, of which half are on vitamin E and bones.

Tocotrienol is a family of vitamin E which is derived from palm oil. In recent years, Tocotrienol has gained recognition as a potent antioxidant that protects cell membranes and DNA from free radical damage. Free radicals are by products generated when oxygen is converted into fuel for the human body. As an antioxidant tocotrienol prevents cellular damage. Therefore diseases such as osteoporosis which have strong oxidative component will benefit from tocotrienol.

Understanding osteoporosis

Bone is made of a hard outer shell with a mesh of collagen (tough elastic fibres), minerals (including calcium), blood vessels and bone marrow. This mesh looks a bit like a honeycomb, with spaces between the different parts.

Healthy bones are very dense and thus the spaces inside the bones are small. However in bones affected by osteoporosis, the spaces are larger and this make the bones weaker, less elastic and more likely to break.

As a living tissue, bones constantly repair themselves in a process called bone turnover. There are cells which break down old bones (osteoclasts) and cells which build new bones (osteoblasts). Bones become brittle when the osteoclast activity predominate over osteoblast activity. This results in less bone, since bone is broken down at a faster rate than it can be replaced.

These fractures most commonly occur in the spine, wrist and hips but can affect other bones such as the arm or pelvis. A fracture is a huge problem to an osteoporotic patient, since osteoporotic bone is slow to heal and a fracture may not heal completely.
These patients will have to depend on others to do simple tasks such as going to the bathroom.

Osteoporosis Risk Group

Osteoporosis is caused primarily by hormonal imbalance and women are four times more likely to get osteoporosis then men. When women reach menopause, their estrogen production will go down drastically, causing increased bone loss leading to osteoporosis. Women with a low pre-menopausal bone mass are more prone to develop osteoporosis. Tocotrienol can prevent this from occurring.

Men are, however, not totally immune to osteoporosis. Men can become osteoporotic if they lose their testosterone and this is also considered to be osteoporotic due to hormonal deficiency. This problem usually arises when men get very old or if there are problems with their testicles such as testicular tumor that require their testicles to be removed. Removal of the testicles will then cause testosterone to be depleted in the body leading to osteoporosis.
People who are on steroid treatment for asthma, arthritis and cancer can developed osteoporosis as a side effect. From her studies tocotrienol was also shown to reverse steroid induced osteoporosis.

Nicotine found in cigarrette smoke is another risk factor for osteoporosis. Chronic smokers have been shown to have lower bone mineral density compared to non-smoker. Studies by Prof Ima and her team have found that tocotrienol can reverse the osteoporosis and bring the bone back to normal once the nicotine intake was stopped.

Additional studies by Prof Ima and her team found that tocotrienol also enhanced the structure and strength of normal, non-osteoporotic bone. This indicates that tocotrienol can increase peak bone mass. High peak bone mass will reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life. Her latest studies have shown that it can accelerate the process of fracture healing in osteoporotic bone.
Prof Ima Nirwana Soelaiman can be contacted at imasoel@medic.ukm.my, imasoel@yahoo.com

How notorious is Vitamin E

Well it depends on what type of vitamin E you are talking about.Some can increase your risk to have osteoporosis. But others have the opposite effect. Yes it can help brittle bones get back to normal condition.

There is a lot of confusion about Vitamin E in general. This is more so after the publication of a scientific article in a reputable journal, ‘Nature Medicine’ titled “Vitamin E decreases bone mass by stimulating osteoclast fusion”.

The paper published was referring to the presence of the compound alpha tocopherol found in vitamin E but not the compound tocotrienol which is also found in vitamin E which has been the subject of extensive studies by Prof Dr Ima Nirwana Soelaiman and her team of researchers at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Malaysia, UKM. (see accompnying story).

The article did in fact showed that alpha tocotrienol did not have the same effect as alpha tocopherol, which was claimed to be linked to osteoporosis, said Prof Ima, Head of the Bone Metabolisme Research Group of UKM.

Some researchers have shown that tocotrienol found in palm oil is a better antioxidant than tocopherol found in soya oil.

There are even some reports that say tocopherols and tocotrienols may have opposing effects in certain situations. In her studies, Prof Ima has found that tocotrienol was better than alpha tocopherol in preventing and reversing osteoporosis.

While Prof Ima does not dispute the findings of the study itself, she said that the title, which used the general term “Vitamin E” will create the wrong impression.

“You have to be more specific since there are eight isoforms of Vitamin E, four can be classified as tocopherol and another four as tocotrienol,” said Prof Ima.

Therefore, it should be made clear in the title, that it is the alpha-tocopherol isoform of Vitamin E that was being referred to because not every isoform of vitamin E have the same effect. Unfortunately, due to the misleading title, the mass media have started to portray all vitamin E in a bad light .

She has since written to the journal’s editor pointing out the misleading heading and asking for a correction but to no avail.

Prof Ima and her team are continuing their research on tocotrienol and osteoporosis and plan to develop tocotrienol as an anti-osteoporotic agent with a pharmaceutical company.

They are in the final stages of animal testing and will then conduct clinical testing on humans. Once the medicine is produced and reaches the bedside, osteoporosis maybe a thing of the past.

EU deny Discriminating Muslim Asylum Seekers

BANGI, 29 Oct 2010  -  The Europeon Union (EU)  does not discriminate entry of asylum seekers solely on the basis of their race or religions, the Belgian Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Frank Van De Craen said.
In a talk on ‘The Belgian Presidency of the Europeon Union: Implications for EU –Asia Relations’ at UKM’s Institute of Occidental Studies’ third Round Table series here yesterday, Dr Van De Craen did, however, admit that things had indeed changed for security reasons after September 11, 2001.
“The EU is certainly more wary to accept immigrants from certain regions, and tighter screenings were done after Sept 11. But the EU does not deny the right to asylum and migration just because of a person’s race or religion,” he said.
Since then Europe had experienced a rise in Xenophobia, especially in France and Germany resulting in the French government’s proposal to ban the use of the hijab in schools initated in 2004.
There was also the campaign to ban minarets at mosques in Switzerland. Though Switzerland is not an EU member it is nonetheless part of the geographic region.
The ambassador claimed that these views were not mainstream but are extremist views which clearly infringe upon the freedom of choice and religion.
The immigrants are by and large different and they find it difficult to integrate into the EU societies. So populist politicians jump on the issue and try to present it as black and white issue but they are not the mainstream, he said.
Responding the questions on whether Europe has failed as a multicultural society he said: “I am afraid the answer is yes. Twenty years ago we never anticipate that we would have a large influx of the unskilled immigrant labours. ”
So the EU sees the only way to tackle the problem of such large influx is by tightening its labour laws.
He also said that Asia and Europe share some common grounds for example in economic and financial relations by rejecting trade or currency wars while upholding socially responsible markets.
Both regions also advocate for improvements in the quality of life of their peoples. 
“Without imposing our views on social security policy, democracy or justice in Asia, we want to share with our Asian neighbours the experiences we went through since the 18th century from the very positive to the very negative,” said Mr. Van De Craen.
They also have a common concern on the global warming phenomena. This, he said, was also a new challenge for Europe and “we have no lessons to advice you. But we are all in the same boat and we expect a strong and honest commitment from Asia (on the issue), he said.

Breast Cancer Biopsy

BANGI , 13 Oct. 2010 – UKM Medical Centre has performed the latest minimally invasive breast cancer biopsy procedure, the breast Sentinel Lymph Biopsy (SLNB), the first public hospital in Malaysia to do so.

The SLNB is a procedure which helps determine if a cancer is contained in a specific location or have spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body.

After performing 35  such procedures successfully, UKMMC has organised the Breast SLNB workshop attended by approximately 50 surgeons from all over the country yesterday. 

Opening the workshop, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development , Senator Heng Seai Kie hoped the workshop would encourage more centres to advocate the procedure to their patients and thus improve the medical care services in the country.

Later she told a press conference that the government will give a RM50 subsidy to woman earning less than RM 5000 a month, for breast cancer screening.

Breast cancer affects woman irrespective of age, colour or creed with every one in 13 women found to develop breast cancer.   

When breast cancer cells begin to escape from the primary tumor site in the breast they travel to the lymph nodes under the arm, the first lymph node they reach is the 'sentinel' lymph node.

When breast cancer is diagnosed, women (and men) must often undergo axillary lymph node dissection (i.e., removal of underarm nodes) to check for the spread of cancer. This process is part of assessing the cancer location. Unfortunately, the removal of these lymph nodes can lead to lymphedema (chronic swelling) of the arm of the patient.

The SLNB biopsy procedure involves only the injection of a dye to pinpoint the lymph node which is closest to the cancer site. This is better than the conventional method which requires the surgeon to generally remove between five and thirty nodes during a traditional axillary dissection.

Furthermore the lymph nodes has a role in activating our immune system. If we imagine that our immune system as an army which fends of threats of diseases, then the lymph nodes is like an army base which sends out orders and deploys the troops. So it is better to leave them intact as much as possible so they can do their job.

Present at the workshop were Prof  Dato’ Dr Lokman Saim, the Dean of the Medical Faculty and Director of UKMMC, Prof Rohaizak Muhammad, Head of Breast and Endocrine Surgery and Dr Saladina Jaszle Jasmin, the Course Director of the workshop

Youth told to aim for the outer space

BANGI, 6 Oct. 2010 – UKM’s Institute of Space Science (ANGKASA) has been identified as the secretariat for the proposed Malaysian Association of Young Space Explorers (MyACE) .


Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah said the setting up of the Malaysian Young Aerospace Explorers (MyACE) is to promote interest in space exploration and aerospace studies among youth and students.


Speaking at a gathering of 64 astronauts in the UKM campus today, he said Malaysia’s own astronaut, Datuk Dr Sheikh Muzapahar Shukor will act as advisor to MyACE.


The ministry, he said, was committed to develop aerospace studies by having related courses in various public universities apart from UKM. Other universities involved include UTM, UPM, USM, UIAM, UPNM and UTHM.


Dato’ Saifuddin also said that Malaysia’s involvement in the space programme was not merely the sending of a Malaysian to outer space but more importantly what could be done after the astronaut came back to earth.


Datuk Dr Sheikh Muzapahar Shukor took along with him cancer cells and microbes to see how they behaved in zero gravity. This can help scientists understand cancer cells better and hopefully can lead to finding a cure for many diseases.


UKM played a leading role in the area forging international collaborations in the area of space research.


Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs), Prof Ir. Dato’ Hassan Basri said that ANGKASA since its inception in 2003 has been actively involved in setting up an international network of collaborations to further its research agenda in aerospace science.


Presently UKM has collaborations with Antarctic New Zealand, University of Canterbury New Zealand, Science Institute of University of Iceland, National Institute of Polar Research and Space Environment Research Centre of Japan and STAR laboratory of Stanford University USA.


He said the research networks comprise studies in the fields of upper and lower atmospheric layers, meteorology, solar radiation impact on the atmosphere (space weather), radio signal propagation and related space engineering including antenna communication and satellite technology.

Noble laureate : Don't look for a job create your own

By Shahfizal Musa
Pix Shahiddan Saidi

BANGI, 25 Feb. 2012 -Aided by technology, a new economy is

taking shape that enables people to create jobs instead of looking for one.

The National University of Malaysia (UKM) Laureate in Residence Professor Muhammad Yunus in saying this believes that everyone including the poor can be a successful entrepreneur if given guidance.

Giving a talk to a group of women entrepreneurs of small businesses here today, the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh likened the poor to bonsai trees. There is nothing wrong with the plant. But because the tree is planted in a pot, it can only grow to a very limited height.

His efforts in helping the poor help themselves through the bank earned him a Nobel prize in 2006. His idea of using capitalism to help the poor took off spreading like wild fire engulfing the rest of the world.

Similarly, he said, society never gave the poor the base to grow bigger. They is nothing wrong with poor people, it is not their fault, society never gave them a chance to realise their true potential.

“Sincerity is of the upmost importance even before trying to help the poor with any success.  Their mind set has to be changed first. And usually there are several layers of fears and assumptions that is stopping them from becoming successful. Each one of the layers needed to be peeled off.”

He said that was evident from his experience with the Grameen Bank which he founded for the poor including beggars. It took him quite a while to convince the poor especially the women, that they can generate their own income.

“At first no one wanted to take money from the bank to start an income generating project, because they lack the confidence in themselves. So patience is required”.Technology gives freedom

Today, he said, technology has made it possible for man and women to be happy. “They can take care of their family without having to be stuck in the office from 9 to 5. They will have the freedom to be with their families and generate their own income without having to depend on a job”.

He said with the help of technology an accountant can become an expert that offers his services not just to his town but the whole world.

Technology has come to a level that we can reach out to the world and not be limited to our towns and villages.

Prof Muhammad gave his talk to a group of women entrepreneurs of small businesses. The event was organised by Centre of Women Leadership to help women realise their true potential.

Prof Muhammad said that he believes that everybody can be a successful entrepreneur if they are given guidance. This holds true even for the poor.Empowering Women 

He also urged women to take part of the new economy. He said when he first started the Grameen bank it helped the poor to borrow money and create their own income generating vehicle. It was a success with virtually everyone paying back their loans.

Prof Muhammad Yunus said he discovered one major difference on the outflow of income they generated according to their gender. For the women most of the income will go to the family including their children’s need.

But if the borrower was a man, the money generated from the capital, were usually spent on himself first before it goes to the family.

In other words lending money to a woman will give more social benefits than lending money to a man.

Thus the need to empower women with income generating opportunities because their earnings will benefit the whole family.

But when you try to empower women you will definitely step on a few toes. Usually these are men who are comfortable with the status quo of women being subservient.

Prof Muhammad Yunus found it odd that several women rights groups also opposed his idea of lending money to women to enable them to start their own income generating projects.Challenges in empowering women

In giving women the power to generate their own income, it might be seen as a threat. Despite the rhetoric of women empowerment some people do not want to see women do better than them .

No man would like to be told that his wife is wearing the pants in the house.

But the fears that some men have about women earning more than them was a misconception. He said in many cases the relationship between husbands and wives have improved when the wife can contribute to the family financially.

So it basically strengthen the family institution and not threaten it, he said.

Giving Tradition a new leash of life

Tradition is usually the stumbling block in empowering women. Most tradition originate out of necessity. Harsh and hazardous environment, may have required women to sit and take care of their young ones in caves. While the man go out and hunt for food.

But as the environment is tamed by technology the man’s role has also to change.

Tradition, he said, is a living thing, it is not a set of rules that is carved in stone. It should evolve with time.

If empowering women can lead to thousands of families climbing out of poverty, then it is natural that it should be made the new tradition.

Another subject used to hinder efforts to empower women financially is religion. It is not religion per se that prevents women from being financially capable. But it’s the fear of men losing their status quo of being the dominant one in a family.

He said it is not religion that hampers efforts to help women realise their potential. It is the interpretation of religion from a certain view point.

Islam, he said, gave women the right to own property and inheritance. While before Islam they are not so entitled.

Empowering them, he said, was not about giving women the upper hand over man.  It is about using entrepreneurship and capitalism to solve society’s most pressing problem.

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation Affars)  Prof Dato’ Dr Rahmah Mohamed; Director of the Centre for Women’s Leadership, Assoc Prof Dr Madeline Berma; women entrepreneurs, lecturers and students attended the talk.

71 year old surgeon smuggled himself to Syria

PARIS — At the age of 71, Dr. Jacques Bérès, a veteran of war zones, left his comfortable Paris life last month to smuggle himself into Homs, the center of the Syrian revolt, to tend to the wounded and the sick.

Dr. Bérès, a surgeon who was part of the group that founded Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, appears to be the only Western doctor who has been able to enter Homs, where security forces have been carrying out a brutal assault. His account offers a rare glimpse at the medical emergency that has developed as the Syrian conflict rages on.

His journey into Syria began in early February when he crossed the Lebanese border with the help of smugglers, carrying luggage filled with medical equipment. He then traveled by car and motorbike to Al Qusayr, another besieged city that is part of Homs Province, where he worked for a few days with a Syrian doctor. When he finally made it to Homs, he spent about two weeks there.

Working in secret, in a dark, abandoned house, with only one operating table, three beds, four local aides and intermittent electricity, Dr. Bérès operated on 89 people, he said; all but nine survived.

He was forced to move once — “I sensed that the building had become a target for government forces” — and conditions were far from ideal.

“The place was so crowded that we had to walk between the stretchers,” Dr. Bérès said in an interview late last month in his Paris apartment, just days after returning.

“I treated all kinds of wounds, from heavy mortars, shots from long-range sniper rifles, high-velocity rounds, shrapnel,” he said. His makeshift hospital was only a few minutes from Baba Amr, the neighborhood that had some of the heaviest shelling and fighting.

One day, he said, 11 people died in his hospital, some before he could even begin to treat them. “Some of them had brain damage and arrived already dead,” Dr. Bérès said. “Others were so severely injured that they could not be saved.”

Many of his patients were children, he said. At least 400 children have died since the beginning of the uprising, according to Unicef.

He was clearly affected by the death of a teenage boy, “who had pale skin, handsome features, a slightly mischievous look and a cap on his head which made him look like Gavroche in Victor Hugo’s ‘Misérables.’ ” The boy, Dr. Bérès said, “had almost been cut into two.”

Dr. Bérès left Syria before the government began its all-out assault on Homs in late February.

“I was sad,” he told the French radio network RTL after his return to Paris. “I saw useless suffering, cruelty, meanness, the suffering of children, of families.”

But those who worked with him praised Dr. Bérès for his composure and quiet energy in the face of suffering and death.

“We went through very tense moments,” said Nicolas Hénin, a video journalist and a friend of Dr. Bérès who filmed him on the first days of his mission in Al Qusayr. “But while everyone around him got agitated, Dr. Bérès remained extremely calm, as if all this agitation didn’t affect him.”

Dr. Bérès’s trip to Syria was partly sponsored by two associations: France-Syria Democracy and UAM93, a federation of Muslim associations in Seine-St.-Denis, an area in the Paris suburbs largely populated by immigrants. Dr. Bérès said the participation of the Muslim federation was crucial.

But gaining its support was not easy. “I was strongly against this trip,” said M’hammed Henniche, the director of UAM93, who said he thought it was too risky. “But Dr. Bérès insisted so much that we finally paid for his ticket and begged him to keep his mouth shut during his stay.”

Mr. Henniche said that Dr. Bérès left because he could no longer cope with the violence and harsh living conditions in Homs, including the lack of hot water and electricity, and because he was exhausted from treating so many patients. “We also thought that he had to escape before the city was entirely besieged,” he added.

Dr. Bérès described weeks of tension and sleepless nights; he struggled with the noise of bombardments, cold weather, mud in the streets, a lack of food and a shortage of child-size masks for anesthesia. He said there was not enough equipment to allow for anything but the most basic treatments.

But he also emphasized the professionalism of his aides and the character of the Syrian opposition, as well as the spirit of solidarity among the city’s residents.

“The members of the opposition are formidable,” Dr. Bérès said. “They’re very smart, they’re very, very motivated, their morale is very strong regardless of what happens to them.”

Donations of blood, which are often difficult to obtain in war zones, “never caused us any trouble,” the doctor said. “There was almost a line of people ready to offer their blood.”

Born in 1941 and married twice, Dr. Bérès learned battlefield surgery in Vietnam in 1967 at the French hospital in Saigon where he did his military service. Surgery was primitive, Dr. Bérès said, and some doctors had been reluctant to use techniques “often inherited from the First World War.”

He was among the dozen or so co-founders of Doctors Without Borders in 1971 and of a similar group, Doctors of the World, in 1980. He has spent more than 40 years in some of the most dangerous war zones around the world, experiencing conflicts in Vietnam, Liberia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Chechnya, Iraq and most recently Libya.

“In Baghdad, I used to operate on people with an aide hanging an oil lamp over my shoulder,” Dr. Bérès said.

He said he wanted to return to Homs because the need was great and international aid was meager.

“I don’t know what the future of Syria will look like,” Dr. Bérès said. “But I admire the Syrians so much.
”

Source NYTIMES & AlJazeera

Shortage of optometerists

By Shahfizal Musa

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 Oct. 2010 - Malaysia currently faces a shortage of nearly 3,000 optometrists if it were to meet the ratio of one optometrist for every 7,000 people. It currently have only 834 registered optometrists, 736 of whom are UKM graduates, against 3,600 needed to meet the ratio requirement.

There is thus a need to increase such qualified eye specialists to meet the need of an expanding demand, said Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin when launching the Malaysian Optometry Day at The Faculty of Health Sciences UKM yesterday.

Measures needed to be taken to increase such specialists is in line with the 10^thMalaysia plan objectives which emphasises on intellectual development rather than mere physical developments as in previous plans.

He said: “The shift in priorities is very important and significant in the light of the ongoing transformation process for Malaysia to become a fully developed nation by 2020. This must be supported with a source of talented and qualified human capital needed in all sectors, said Dato Seri Khaled.

It was feared the shortage of optometrists could lead to a brain drain phenomenon because there will not be enough skilled professionals to pass on their knowledge to the younger generations

“Though the issue of brain drain is not that serious in optometry, proactive steps needed to be taken to ensure that the graduates work in the country,” said Datuk Seri Khaled.

UKM was the first institution of higher learning to have the Bachelors programme specialising in Optometry in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region. Optometry graduates produced by UKM are now working in various higher learning institutions in the country as well as overseas in Singapore and Australia.

Also present in at the ceremony was Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Dr Mohamad Abdul Razak, Professor Dr Salman H. Inayat Hussin, the Dean of the Faculty and Prof of Toxicology, senior members of the optometry faculty and representives from other higher learning institutions which offer optometry courses.

Aug 15th has been chosen as Malaysia Optometry Day to mark the date when the first batch of seven optometrists graduated from UKM. They were the pioneers in the field of optometry studies in Malaysia

This year the celebration was delayed to yesterday (30^th September) in deference to the month of Ramadhan.