Tuesday, February 12, 2008

[EQ] Developmental Origins of Environmentally Induced Disease and Dysfunction

Developmental Origins of Environmentally Induced Disease and Dysfunction
International Conference on Foetal Programming and Developmental Toxicity

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, 20–24 May, 2007


Philippe Grandjean, Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark,Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Pal Weihe Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health, The Faroese Hospital System, Torshavn, Faroe Islands

 

Available online at: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1742-7843.2007.00169.x

 

“…….Foetal and early postnatal development likely constitutes the most vulnerable time period of human life, in regard to adverse effects of environmental hazards. Subtle effects during early life can lead to functional deficits and increased disease risks later in life. The programming hypothesis (i.e. that early development determines subsequent organ functions and disease risks), has gathered much support from both experimental and epidemiological studies. The prenatal and early postnatal environment affects gene expression, and epigenetic changes may constitute an important mechanism for the programming effects. All of this information suggests that the timing of exposure to environmental chemical is crucial in determining the toxicity effects. These important insights are likely to be of importance for new research in environmental health and related fields, and for health promotion and prevention purposes.


An international conference was therefore organized to review the current research frontline and stimulate cross-disciplinary research and collaboration in regard to developmental programming caused by environmental chemical exposures. The meeting was held on 20–24 May 2007, and the venue was the Nordic Conference Centre in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Faroe Islands. Over 120 scientific papers were presented, half of them as lectures. All abstracts and most of the posters are available at the conference website (http://www.pptox.dk). ….”

 

“……just published report on the impact of Prenatal programming and toxicity. It is based on a conference held last May. This volume (and the conference) were sponsored by WHO HQ, by NIH and the U.S.EPA.

In collaboration with the journal editor, the publisher has provided open access to thsi special issue. One outcome of the conference was the "Faroes statement", which received wide attention in the news media last year.

The proceedings (the Faroes statement and 25 invited papers) are now freely available at the journal website:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/pto/102/2

 

The articles demonstrate that the issue of adverse effects during early development is becoming a crucial issue also in toxicology and environmental health. While developmental biologists, nutritionists, and physiologists have explored the science of "developmental programming", the related perspective in regard to adverse effects of environmental stressors is only now becoming apparent. This means that we need to look for causal factors also far back in the past, and that we may easily have missed that goal by several decades.  - Philippe Grandjean, MD….”

 

 

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
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[EQ] Better Outcomes Through Health Reforms in the Russian Federation

Better Outcomes Through Health Reforms in the Russian Federation:
The Challenge in 2008 and Beyond

Policy Note December 2007–January 2008- Patricio V. Marquez, Lead Health Specialist, Europe and Central Asia, The World Bank
Contributions from:
Rifat Atun, Imperial College, London; William Tompson, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris;
Sevil Kamalovna Salakhutdinova, Health Officer, World Bank Moscow Office.

Available online as PDF file [30p.] at:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTECAREGTOPHEANUT/Resources/russia_policy_brief_feb_6_08.pdf

“……The purpose of this Policy Note is to discuss selected health challenges in the Russian Federation, focusing on outcomes, expenditures and options for policy and institutional reforms in the health care system. The areas covered in the Note draw on recent studies and reports, and take into account lessons derived from the implementation of the World Bank-funded Health Reform Implementation Project (HRIP) at the federal level and in the Chuvash Republic and the Voronezh Oblast—the pilot regions of the project, over the 2005-2007 period….”

“…..This Note argues that most health challenges in the Russian Federation could be addressed through broad policy and institutional reforms at the federal, regional, and municipal levels covering many sectors and not only the health system. Improving health outcomes by implementing the proposed reforms in tandem to ensure overall coherence of effort is a very complex, medium- to long-term undertaking that should begin to be addressed forcefully today…”

Content:

Introduction
I. T he Rationale for Action

A. Why Invest in Health
B. Why Reform Health Systems?
II. The Health Challenges in the Russian Federation
Poor Health Outcomes
A Declining and Aging Population
Low Level of Funding for Health
Efficiency of Health Care Spending
III. How to Address Key HEALTH Challenges?
1. Developing Multisectoral Actions to Address the Causes of Russia’s Health Crisis
2. Increasing Level of Funding for Health
3. Advancing Policy and Institutional Reforms to Enhance, Efficiency, Equity and Effectiveness in the Health System
IV. Conclusion

 

 

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ IKM Area] 

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is".Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

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    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.