Advent of needle-free anaemia scanning promises progress on maternal health

A new device that destigmatises anaemia diagnosis should be of major benefit to women and children in developing countries.
Anaemia, or abnormally low haemoglobin in the blood, affects more than half of children under five and pregnant women in the the developing world, according to the World Health Organisation. The disorder, which remains the biggest indirect cause of maternal mortality in such countries, weakens the blood's ability to clot, increasing the risk of postpartum haemorrhage.
Low levels of haemoglobin, the iron-rich molecule that transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, have a detrimental effect on the development of the body, including the brain. The young inventors at Biosense say their device can help to fight anaemia more effectively.
ToucHb, as their device is called, comes with a probe into which the finger is inserted. When light-emitting diodes in the probe shine light through the nail, a photodiode on the other end interprets the absorption patterns to produce an instant reading of the volume of haemoglobin in the patient's blood.

Anaphylaxis from depot medroxyprogesterone acetate in an adolescent girl.

A 16-year-old girl developed anaphylaxis after receiving 150 mg of DMPA intramuscularly. She previously had received four injections of DMPA without any adverse reactions, including two earlier doses from the same lot number. She initially was treated in the clinic and was stabilized in the emergency department, with full recovery. She subsequently underwent allergy testing, which was inconclusive, and decided to use the copper intrauterine device for ongoing contraception.

ATTENTION ! :

Anaphylaxis, a rare complication of DMPA, can occur even if a patient had no adverse reactions from previous injections from the same lot number.

Leisure-time exercise 'reduces depression risk'

People who take regular exercise during their free time are less likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety, a study of 40,000 Norwegians has found.

But physical activity which is part and parcel of the working day does not have the same effect, it suggests.
Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers said it was probably because there was not the same level of social interaction.
The charity Mind said that exercise and interaction aids our mental health.
Higher levels of social interaction during leisure time were found to be part of the reason for the link.
Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London teamed up with academics from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the University of Bergen in Norway to conduct the study. People who were not active in their leisure time were almost twice as likely to have symptoms of depression compared to the most active individuals,

 "So going out with a running club, taking part in a team sport or working on a communal allotment is far better for your mental well-being than a physically demanding job.
"Mind has found that after just a short country walk 90% of people had increased self-esteem,"