The Life Sciences building at EPFL in Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A team of researchers at the Brain Mind Institute at the EPFL in Lausanne has unraveled one of the mysteries that is part of the larger question of how Alzheimers works. In an article that appears Wednesday 3 March in The Journal of Neuroscience, the group of laboratories working with the Institute’s director, Pierre Magistretti, has studied studied how the functions of cells called astrocytes are impaired when “possessed” by aggregated, or built up, Amyloid-Beta.
Amyloid-Beta protein, found in cerebral plaques, is typically present in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.
Update 19:00 Sierre, canton Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Dr Daniel Savioz, chief medical officer at the cantonal hospital in Sierre, has not had his contract renewed by the Réseau Santé Valais (RSV) after he questioned the quality of some visceral surgery operations at the hospital. Savioz, who is also an associate professor at the University of Geneva hospitals (HUG), works with renowned specialist Dr Philippe Morel at the HUG. The two hospitals have a partnership agreement, but Savioz’s contract was not renewed after he called in Morel and another professor, sharing a number of patient files in order to more closely study the situation.
Savioz has remained discreet in his comments, but Morel Wednesday 24 February told Swiss news agency ATS that he was shocked and upset by the decision. “It’s an inappropriate sanction against an excellent doctor.”
RSV, a state body that which medical care and hospitals in canton Valais, said at a press conference Thursday that it ended Savioz’s contract because it considered unacceptable his move in sharing several files with Geneva colleagues, against the wishes of his superiors in the RSV. Even a partnership agreement with the HUG in Geneva does not make this acceptable, it noted, adding that the RSV is anxious to ensure that there is no deterioration in the work atmosphere within the visceral surgery unit at the Sierre hospital, it noted.
More than strong coffee is needed to treat narcolepsy, often confused with other disorders.
Geneva / Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A team of doctors and scientists in the Lake Geneva region, working with researchers from France and The Netherlands, have for the first time been able to confirm the “presence of identified and autoreactive antibodies in human narcolepsy.” Nacrolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and attacks of muscle atonia, or limpness, triggered by strong emotions (cataplexy). The authors of an article published 15 February in the Journal of Clinicial Investigation note that while the medical world has suspected that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder, until now there has been no proof.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A group of researchers from Australia, Austria and Switzerland have published results of clinical trials which show that fish oil may be a safe and useful preventive treatment for “a range of psychotic conditions, including schizophrenia.” A far lower proportion of those who took fish oil went on to have psychotic episodes than in the placebo group.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The World Health Organization (WHO) publishged a report Friday 8 January that the number of deaths from the H1N1 flu have risen to 12,799 worldwide, but it also pinpointed areas where the virus remains strong. Switzerland was one of Europe’s top three countries for specimens testing positive:
A glass a day: closer to understanding the secret of red wine's benefits
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – The secret behind the reputed healthful effects of moderate quantities of red wine have been a hot research topic for more than 20 years. French researchers at Inserm national research institute in Angers say they have now found the molecular mechanism that links known benefits, in reducing cardiovascular risk, of the polyphenols found in wine and naturally-occurring estrogen in pre-menopause women. Their work “provides evidence that red wine polyphenols, especially delphinidin, exert their endothelial benefits via ERα [alpha isoform of estrogen receptor] activation.” The finding is, they believe, a “major breakthrough, bringing new insights of the potential therapeutic of polyphenols against cardiovascular pathologies.”
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe has confirmed that the country has more than 340 cases of measles and 22 people, mostly children under age 5, have died from the disease. The government puts the number of confirmed cases at 90. Those who died had not been vaccinated.
The WHO has called 2010 a “pivotal” year for reaching its goal of reducing mortalities from the disease by 90 percent from 2000 to 2010. Measles deaths worldwide fell by 78% between 2000 and 2008, from an estimated 733,000 in 2000 to 164,000 in 2008, the organization reports.
Links to other sites: AllAfrica, CNN, WHO measles programme
Aubonne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Ikea has announced a recall of all Leopard high chairs for children, and says that the chairs may be returned to any Ikea store for a full refund. The fixtures that attach the chair to the base may break, tumbling the child into the base. Ikea says it knows of 11 cases of breakage of more than 5,700 sold world-wide, of which 900 alone in France.
Links to other sites: Ikea site, Romandie News
Bern / Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland is facing a shortage of nurses, and higher health insurance premiums in 2008 reduced households’ disposable income, say two reports just out, that look at aspects of the health care system.
Too few nurses, even with foreigners
Switzerland is facing a health care professionals shortfall, says the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Health Directors (CDS). Two-thirds of the health care professionals the country needs are being trained in Switzerland, with foreign-trained professionals making up what should be the difference. But only about one-half of the nurses needed are available. An important reason for this is that too many health care professionals choose to drop out or take extended leaves, according to CDS in a report released 11 December.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Deaths from cancer have been falling across Europe, mainly due to the reduced consumption of tobacco, reveals a new study published 30 November in the Annals of Oncology. One of the lead authors is Fabio Levi of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Lausanne’s Chuv.
Cancer mortality rates for men in the years 2000-2004 dropped more than nine percent compared to the period between 1990-1994. For women the mortality rate was reduced 7.5 percent over the same period, reports Science Daily. The study reveals great variations between countries, due primarily to changes in patterns of tobacco consumption: in men fewer deaths are attributable to smoking, while women have increased their consumption of tobacco and alcohol. Improved diagnostic testing and treatment of certain cancers have also reduced mortality rates.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland confirmed 2,423 new cases of swine flu in the week ending 21 November, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) announced Friday 27 November, bringing the total to 6,691 since the outbreak began. The pandemic has already claimed four deaths in Switzerland, all from high risk patients. FOPH estimates that almost 27,000 people have consulted their doctors about the flu country-wide.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland’s second death from A/H1N1 flu has taken place just a week after the first, but doctors point out that the patient, a woman over 50 with diabetes, could well have died if she contracted regular flu. TSR quotes the head of public health in Zurich as saying that in a normal year Zurich alone has some 100 flu-related deaths, generally caused by complications from existing health problems.
image: ch.ch
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A small baby who died last week is Switzerland’s first death related to the A/H1N1 flu, authorities in canton Basel Land have confirmed. No details about the child or the exact cause of death have been released. The federal health department says the flu is now growing more rapidly, exponentially, with 773 cases, twice the number of the previous week.
Links to other sites: TSR (Fre), Swiss Federal Health Office web site on A/H1N1 pandemic, in English
I'd rather go skiing
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A vast majority of Swiss are not interested in getting a swine flu (A/H1N1) vaccination, when the campaign starts in two weeks time, according to a survey by pollster Isopublic conducted late last week, and published 1 November. Of 606 people around Switzerland surveyed, 86.4 percent of the representative sample said they were not afraid of the flu virus and would not be getting flu shots. Most of the people polled were aware of the government’s information campaign, but discarded the dangers.
The government has bought 13 million doses, and has said the vaccinations could begin 16 November, after several delays.
Background: “Switzerland buys 13 million doses of A/H1N1 vaccine“, 18 September 2009, GenevaLunch
Links to other sites:Romandie News, Sonntagsblick, TSR,
Mad cows don't laugh
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Researchers from the University of Zurich have isolated the cultural differences that people have about being laughed at and conclude that the fear of being laughed at varies enormously among adults in all cultural settings. People who relate the laughter they hear as being directed at themselves are known as “gelotophobes”, from the Greek gelos, laughter and phobos, fear. Gelotophobes have a “pathological fear of appearing to social partners as a ridiculous object”, according to Dr. Michael Titze, and will avoid situations where they may feel threatened by laughter. Researchers know that laughter is a universally human phenomenon.
Taking a broken leg to the hospital could take longer in future
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One hundred of the 320 hospitals in Switzerland should be closed, says Thomas Zeltner, head of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. He made the remarks on the evening TSR Swiss television programme Infrarouge Tuesday 6 October. Switzerland’s hospital coverage is dense, but expensive, and he suggests that smaller hospitals and clinics be closed, and that the remaining ones specialize.
Metal glass (top), traditional magnesium alloy (bottom), © 2009 ETH Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A substance that can stabilize broken bones as they heal, then is absorbed by the body when it is no longer needed, has been developed by materials researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (FITZ). The new material, called metal glass, is an alloy of magnesium, zinc and calcium that is cooled extremely rapidly to prevent it from forming the typical crystalline structure of a metal. The team announced the news in the science journal Nature Materials.
Where your health franc goes
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s obligatory health insurance premiums will go up in 2010 by an average of 8.7 percent, says Bern. The increases vary considerably by canton, ranging from 3.7 to 14.6 percent. The increase is slightly less than predicted by the federal government in May. The cantons of Geneva and Vaud have increases below the Swiss average, while most Swiss German cantons have increases above the national average.
Children’s premiums will go up 10 percent on average while young adults will pay 13.7 percent more on average in 2010.
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Geneva, Switzerland train station, August 2009
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – The Swiss traveled more kilometres on trains than any other nation in 2008: 2,422 kilometres per person. And for the first time ever, the average number of train journeys rose to 50 per person – putting the Swiss in second place after the Japanese, with 71 journeys a year per person. By comparison, the French travel 1,173 km per person a year.
The figures are compiled every year by the International Union of Railways (UIC), and this year’s theme is the importance of rail in reducing CO2 emissions. The table for passenger traffic shows that going by train from the centre of Berlin to Frankfurt’s city centre is four times better than by car in terms of emissions and three times better than by plane (plane includes travel to and from the airport to the centre).
Only train journeys taken on its members trains are included in the figures. These are mainly large nationalized companies, although for Switzerland it includes the Chemin de fer du Lötschberg and the Cisalpino trains, but the many smaller regional train lines are not included.
Flu virus © 2009 Novartis AG
Update 19.09 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland joins other major industrialized nations in reserving 10 percent of the vaccines for donation to poorer countries, under the auspices of the World Health Organization, an initiative proposed by US President Barack Obama, the Swiss government announced.
The Swiss government has bought 13 million doses of swine flu vaccine from Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to cover the 7.7 million population in the country. Deliveries will start at the end of September. The cantons will organize vaccinations, while the costs will be shared among the central government, the cantons and the health insurance industry, the government announced 18 September.
Health workers and those who work with infants under six months of age, as well as people at risk will be vaccinated before the general population, the government says. The cost to individuals will be slightly less than CHF20 per vaccine. The charge covers materials and the actual vaccination, but not the vaccine dose.
Latest tests by GSK in Canada indicate that a single dose of the vaccine provides immunity against the flu. Most countries have budgeted a double-dose vaccination campaign against swine flu.
Related: Swiss government site on prevention, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Blink has 7 air taxis
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The airline industry may be hurting from the gloomy economic situation, but business travelers continue to take to the air, and as of Monday 21 September they will have a new option in Geneva: Blink air taxis. Blink, a company which has been operating from London since June 2008, is extending its service to continental Europe, with Geneva as its first base. Passengers can order service to locations throughout Europe.
Back support: Seco wants to reduce their use
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) estimates that poor working conditions affecting people’s backs contribute up to CHF 4.3 billion in lost productivity and job absenteesim.
EPFL, campus in Lausanne
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A group based mainly at EPFL in Lausanne have identified a molecule that may provide a stronger tool in the fight against excess weight and diabetes type 2, both of which are increasing at alarming rates worldwide, according to the journal Cell Metabolism.
Researchers Kristina Schoonjans, Johan Auwerx, Hiroyasu Yamamoto and Chikage Matakiand at EPFL, the Lausanne federal polytechnic university, working with Charles Thomas at EPFL and Roberto Pellicciari at the University of Perugia in Italy, say the selective molecule, called INT-777, can activate the TGR5 protein. TGR5 controls secretion of a hormone that has a critical role in pancreatic function and regulating blood sugar levels.
Vinea 2009, Swiss wines take over main street of Sierre, Switzerland (photo: ©2009 www.photo-genic.ch)
Vinea wine fair 2008
Lausanne / Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Canton Vaud’s wine group Domaines Clos & Châteaux will be one of the guests of honour at Vinea, Switzerland’s main fair for Swiss wines, which opens to the public Saturday morning at 10:00, outdoors in Sierre. MeteoSwiss is predicting that Friday’s rain will turn to sunny skies during the day Saturday, with temperatures around 15-18C (take a jacket).
The fair, traditionally focused on Valais wines, is extending its reach to include other Swiss winemakers as part of the main offering this year, with two guests of honour: the second is wines from Burgundy’s Cortons hills in France.
The wine fair draws some 10,000 winelovers from Switzerland and neighbouring countries each year, thanks to an easy system for sampling the 1,200 wines and talking to the 110 winemakers presenting. The main street of Sierre is taken over by white tents organized in a line that replicates the Rhone River’s wine-producing villages in Valais, and visitors pay CHF30 for a tasting glass they use to sample as many wines as they like.
Friday the fair opens formally with the awards ceremony for the international wine competition, the Mondial du Pinot Noir.
West Nile Virus Mosquito found in Switzerland - Photo UZH News
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A mosquito capable of transmitting the West Nile Virus and Japanese encephalitis has been found in central Switzerland by researchers at the Parasitology Institute of the University of Zurich.
An expert parasitologist, Professor Alexander Mathis, says it can be safely assumed that the presence of the Aedes japonicus, also known as the Asian rock pool mosquito, is spreading and may be permanent.
