Newsletter Sept 2012

NEWSLETTER • Molecular Screening Services at one GLANCE

• Bypass Burgers: Eat Unto Death

• Breastfeeding Against Breast, Uterine and Ovarian Cancer

• What If My Engine Seizes… My Heart Stops?

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INFOVALLEY® Group of Companies

Unit 1.1, Level 1, Block B, MINES Waterfront Business Park,

No. 3, Jalan Tasik, MINES Resort City, 43300 Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel: (603) 8941 5830 Fax: (603) 8941 5970

September 2012

• Events

• MSS Updated Partners

• ColoPrint Release

Molecular Screening Services at one GLANCE

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Molecular screening for cancer is meant for health conscious individuals, which test for genetic

variations associated to cancers. More info

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CME SNAPSHOT

Kedah Medical Centre

Hospital Kuala Lumpur

YOUTUBE

I am sure most of you like burgers, rather LOVVVVVE burgers. Would you want to try triple bypass burger? It is available at Heart Attack Grill @ Las Vegas, Nevada. I stumbled upon this last week while researching for mutations related to cardiovascular disease.

Menu offered at Heart Attack Grill:

• Single Bypass Burger

• Double Bypass Burger

• Triple Bypass Burger and much more.

Funny name right? Find out more what happens if you eat them regularly.

When you pass by a KFC or McDonald's joint, don’t you crave for a big, juicy hamburger, but thank your stars that you are in Malaysia, not USA, where you get a small sized burger and not like the one shown on your right. Contents inside the burgers can lead to an increased risk for heart disease if you have too many of them. Two main risk factors for heart disease are cholesterol and high blood pressure.

The saturated fat and cholesterol in hamburgers can raise your blood cholesterol levels, which can increase your risk for heart disease. Ground beef has about 21 g total fat and 8 g saturated fat per 3-ounce serving.

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Bypass Burgers: Eat Unto Death http://infovalleyart.blogspot.com/2012/07/bypass-burgers-eat-unto-death.html

Terrifying News on Heart Attack Grill

High sodium intake is another risk factor leading to high blood pressure, and a hamburger loaded with cheese and condiments is very high sodium laden.

Check out our FH Mutation Test at any one of our

partners’ centers.

Advice to all:

Eat burgers only occasionally. Share a burger with your friend.

Eat more vegetables with it.

Control your craving for French fries.

Inculcate the habit of eating more vegetables and not burgers, in young children.

By Dr Livy Alex, Head of Molecular Research Lab

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Coronary artery bypass surgery is a surgery performed to relieve angina(pain in the chest) caused due to blockage in arteries and reduce the risk of death . Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the coronary arteries to bypass the narrowed passages and improve the blood supply to the heart muscle. This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped, often called off-pump" surgery. It requires a heart-lung bypass machine to circulate the blood and add oxygen. Bypass surgery is usually performed only when other treatments, such as medicine and angioplasty are not useful because of the location or extent of the blockage.

Number of Bypasses

The terms single bypass, double bypass, triple bypass, quadruple bypass and quintuple bypass refer to the number of coronary arteries bypassed in the procedure.

• A double bypass means two coronary arteries are bypassed (e.g. the left anterior descending coronary artery and right coronary artery.

• A triple bypass means three vessels are bypassed

• A quadruple bypass means four vessels are bypassed (e.g. LAD, RCA, LCX, first diagonal artery of the LAD) and

• Quintuple means five. Bypass of more than four coronary arteries is uncommon.

Bypass Burgers: Eat Unto Death http://infovalleyart.blogspot.com/2012/07/bypass-burgers-eat-unto-death.html

The greatest health benefit of having a baby is a decrease in the risk of several types of cancer. During pregnancy, breast cells undergo tremendous changes, causing them to become fully matured and prepared for breastfeeding the baby after the birth1. Hormonal changes in both pregnant and lactating (breast-fed) woman are thought to help prevent breast cancer. Estrogen levels drop at some point during pregnancy and breastfeeding as the monthly menses impede and shift the hormone balance toward progesterone.

Estrogen and progesterone, closely interrelated hormones, work in synergy in female body. Estrogen however promotes the proliferation of cells in the breast and uterus. Proliferation of normal cells with exposure to estrogen creates a vulnerability to spontaneous mutations, some of which might represent the first step of cancer pathway. It is thought that the less estrogen is available to stimulate the lining of the uterus and breast tissue, the less are the risks of these tissues becoming cancerous2.

The frequency of ovulation has been associated with ovarian cancer risk. Some experts believe that women who ovulate less often have a decreased risk of ovarian cancer. Women who are breastfeeding do not ovulate as often as never breastfeeding women. Thus breastfeeding is a potentially modifiable protective risk factor for breast, uterine and ovarian cancers3-5.

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Breastfeeding Against Breast, Uterine and Ovarian Cancer http://infovalleyart.blogspot.com/2012/05/breastfeeding-against-breast-uterine.html

Breastfeeding is a wonderful bonding

experience between mother and child.

Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is one of major decisions expectant parents will make and the decision can be a very personal one. Women who chose to breastfeed her child have to be mentally prepared as it can be time-consuming and physically challenging for both sides. Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed your baby and the benefits are incalculable. It can impact the present and future health of you and your baby in the long run.

References:

1. Riordan J AK. Breastfeeding and Human Lactation. 2nd edition ed: Jones and Bartlett.

2. (Accessed 24 May, 2012, at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/estrogenreceptors/page1.)

3. Lipworth L, Bailey LR, Trichopoulos D. History of breast-feeding in relation to breast cancer risk: a review of the epidemiologic literature. J Natl Cancer Inst 2000;92:302-12.

4. Danforth K, Tworoger S, Hecht J, Rosner B, Colditz G, Hankinson S. Breastfeeding and risk of ovarian cancer in two prospective cohorts. Cancer Causes and Control 2007;18:517-23.

5. Cramer DW. The epidemiology of endometrial and ovarian cancer. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 2012;26:1-12.

By Nurul Hanis Ramzi, Research Scientist

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Breastfeeding Against Breast, Uterine and Ovarian Cancer http://infovalleyart.blogspot.com/2012/05/breastfeeding-against-breast-uterine.html

Some good articles to share:

Breast Cancer Genetics and Family History

Breastfeeding Guide

The Surgeon General’s Call

I am a software engineer and I see my heart as an engineering marvel, a medical device with complex hardware components & an embedded software system. Heart is the ‘motor pump’ which works tirelessly every day, every minute nay every second, for the entire duration of our lives, day after day, month after month, year after year. It does not ask for a break on weekends, casual leaves, and vacation. In fact even if our heart misses a single beat, we feel scared & think as to what happened. Heart has the most efficient motor pump working relentlessly to keep our lives going on, to maintain the circulation incessant all our lives. The pacemaker and the nerves are similar to the ‘switch and the electrical wiring system’ of a medical device. Any disturbances or short circuit will cause rhythm upset ‘misfiring engine’ or cardiac arrest that is ‘engine seize’ making the machine to stop working.

Heart’s fuel supply is by the coronary arteries, this is similar to the multi-point-fuel injection of cars that keeps the engine running. Any partial blockage makes the engine to strain & get damaged, while complete blockage may switch off the pistons & the pump stops working. The blood flow direction is maintained by ‘heart valves’ which work like non-return valves of an engine. They could get tight or loose due to infections/heart disease that’s like the valves getting spoiled which may need replacement.

In software engineering we do ‘code reviews’ diligently so that the software doesn’t throw errors, this leads us to & ensures that timely action can be taken & preventive maintenance of the server can be done to keep the application running. The same can be done by us undergoing genetic/molecular testing to understand our DNA codes of the heart. Necessary life style changes; reduce weight, cut down salt, moderate fat intake, relaxation techniques have to be adopted so that we are proactive in our heart matters and not reactive implying, to take action only when we get hospitalized. These days’ young individuals even below the age of 30’s, are suffering from heart diseases and few very unfortunate ones are succumbing to sudden deaths at work places, at home, on the sports field.

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What If My Engines Seizes… My Heart Stops? http://infovalleyart.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-if-my-engine-seizesmy-heart-stops.html

We need to keep our hearts in a healthy state for it to keep pumping efficiently & effectively. We are so punctual with our car servicing schedule but we never bother about our Heart’s servicing and maintenance. We don’t take adequate preventive measures to ease its burden. The following are few of the preventive maintenance I can think of:

We need to keep our weights in check so that

there is no ‘engine overload’.

We need to keep our cholesterol in acceptable levels so that

our fuel supply system is not choked.

We need to keep our blood pressure normal, eat less salt so that

‘resistance’ of the system is optimal.

We need to keep our lungs healthy, avoid smoking, do aerobic exercise so that

‘air filters’ don’t get blocked.

By Shiny John, Project Manager

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What If My Engines Seizes… My Heart Stops? http://infovalleyart.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-if-my-engine-seizesmy-heart-stops.html

Let us Take Care of our Hearts…

for fear that it should not stop…

... then a heart shaped wreath

will be placed on our chests.

Global Business Submit at Lancaster House

Our CEO was invited by Professor the Rt Hon Lord Darzi of Denham KBE, Chair of the Institute of Global Health Innovation

and Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, Minister of State for Trade and Investment to London... Read more

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Events

National Gynae-Oncology Conference 2012

Theme: “The Current Trends”

Date: 21st – 23rd September 2012

Venue: Double Tree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

The Intermark

348 Jalan Tun Razak

50400 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Interested?

Life Beyond Breast Cancer – an International Symposium

Date: 18th – 20th October 2012

Venue: Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Program: Click here

Interested?

APHM International Healthcare

Conference & Exhibition 2012

Date: 17th – 19th July 2012

Venue: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

What was it about?

Our Partners (updated)

18. Pusat Pakar Wanita Arun

19. Victor Medical Practice

20. Allied Healthcare Superclinic

21. Klinik Pakar Wanita Medina

22. Poliklinik Roshan

23. Dev Breast Specialist Clinic

24. Pantai Hospital Penang

25. Beacon International Specialist Hospital *

26. Assunta Hospital

27. KPJ Penang Specialist Hospital

28. Klinik Murni

29. International Specialist Clinic

30. Klinik Reddy

31. Klinik Mediviron

32. Kedah Medical Centre **

33. Sunway Medical Centre ***

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1. HSC Medical Centre

2. Tropicana Medical Centre

3. Lablink Medical Laboratory

4. Global Doctors Specialist Centre

5. Golden Horses Health Sanctuary

6. Pantai Premier Pathology Laboratory

7. KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital

8. Dharan Wellness Clinic

9. Chaudhury Medic-Centre

10. Sidiq Specialist Medical Clinic

11. Klinik Holistic Healthcare

12. Dr Kim Wong Women Specialist Clinic

13. Pusat Perubatan dan Bersalin UMRA

14. KPJ Tawakkal

15. KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital

16. Pantai Hospital Ipoh

17. Klinik Healthcare & Surgery

* Centre offers SYMPHONYTM only.

** Centre offers Molecular Screening Services and SYMPHONYTM

*** Centre offers SYMPHONYTM and ColoPrintTM

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INFOVALLEY® Group of Companies

Unit 1.1, Level 1, Block B, MINES Waterfront Business Park,

No. 3, Jalan Tasik, MINES Resort City, 43300 Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel: (603) 8941 5830 Fax: (603) 8941 5970

Single Cancer Screening Service