Category: health

Fatal familial insomnia: Genetic disease where patient can’t sleep at all

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A rare genetic condition that causes sleep difficulties, memory loss (dementia) and involuntary muscles twitching has no cure and gets worse over time and eventually leads to death. Symptoms of fatal familial insomnia (FFI) can only be slowed through treatment temporarily, according to Cleveland Clinic. FFI affects an estimated one to two people per million every year, as per data provided by the National Organisation of Rare Disorders. It passes from parent to child and between 50 and 70 families around the world are suspected to carry the genetic mutation…

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UN urges action over alarming rate of HIV cases among girls in 2023

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The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) sounded the alarm on Friday as it released a report in which it discovered an alarming rate of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among young women and girls. The report, which was released ahead of the world acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) day on Saturday, revealed that in 2023, 96,000 girls and 41,000 boys aged 15-19 were newly infected with HIV, with girls accounting for 70% of these cases. The report warned that these new cases resulted from lack of access…

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Pakistan’s polio toll rises to 55 with three new cases reported

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Pakistan’s total poliovirus cases have climbed to 55 after three more children were diagnosed with the crippling disease, sources told Geo News on Sunday. Two new cases were reported in Balochistan, while one child was affected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), bringing the total in the provinces to 26 and 14, respectively, the sources added. The Balochistan health department confirmed the new cases, stating that one was reported each from Zhob and Jaffarabad districts. District Zhob has now reported three, whereas District Jaffarabad’s tally stands at two polio cases in the ongoing year,…

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