Even Moderate Drinkers are Susceptible to Hepatitis

On hearing the name “alcoholic hepatitis”, one might correlate hepatitis with excess alcohol consumption. You would be mistaken. Even moderate drinkers can be affected with alcoholic hepatitis disease. The inflammation of the liver due to toxin secretion in alcoholic hepatitis leads to several complications such as hepatic encephalopathy, portal hypertension, liver cirrhosis, coma and even death. Studies have also shown that women are at higher risk of developing alcoholic hepatitis.

The causes of alcoholic hepatitis include moderate or excessive consumption of alcohol over the period of many years. Other factors include hepatitis C viral infection, genetics and malnutrition.

The symptoms of alcoholic hepatitis include: 
1. nausea, 
2. vomiting, 
3. loss of appetite, 
4. weight loss, 
5. jaundice, 
6. fever, 
7. dry mouth, 
8. pain on touching the abdomen, 
9. fluid accumulation in the abdomen, 
10. fatigue and confusion.

If the patient has a history of alcohol consumption, a physical examination is also suggested. Blood tests, liver function tests and urine test would be carried out immediately. Ultrasonography, a CT Scan and MRI may be required, depending on the case.

Alcohol consumption should be stopped immediately to halt further damage to the liver. In severe cases of alcohol addiction, alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation may be required immediately. Medication, vitamins and mineral supplements are prescribed to reduce liver inflammation. Liver transplantation would be the only option left, in cases of severe irreversible liver damage.

The post Even Moderate Drinkers are Susceptible to Hepatitis appeared first on Drugdu.com

from Drugdu  https://goo.gl/QgQoHk

FDA Approves Pulmonx’s Zephyr Device to Treat Emphysema

The premarket approval of Pulmonx’s Zephyr Endobronchial Valve to treat severe emphysema has green-lighted by the FDA. Zephyr is a pencil eraser-sized device delivered directly to the lung in a minimally invasive procedure. After the successful delivery, the device stops air from entering diseased parts of the lung during breathing. This mechanism prevents the air from getting trapped by damaged alveoli and stops the breathing difficulties.

Pulmonx tested the Endobronchial Valve in a clinical trial, which consisted of 190 patients affected with lung disease. Around two-thirds of the participants received a combined therapy including Zephyr and standard medical management, such as pulmonary rehabilitation and medicines. The remaining participants received only standard medical management. After a year, nearly 48% of the patients had experienced greater improvement in pulmonary function capacity, compared to 17% of patients who experienced only medical improvement. This remarkable data led to the approval by FDA.

The Endobronchial Valve acts as an alternative to surgical procedures such as lung volume reduction and lung transplants for the emphysema patients.

Tina Kiang from FDA stated, “Treatment options are limited for people with emphysema who have severe symptoms that have not improved from taking medicines; This novel device is a less invasive treatment that expands the options available to patients.”

The post FDA Approves Pulmonx’s Zephyr Device to Treat Emphysema appeared first on Drugdu.com

from Drugdu  https://goo.gl/QgQoHk

Current Situation and Development Trends of China’s Rehabilitation Consumables Market

With the improvement of living standards and the enhancement of health consciousness, people’s investment in healthcare has been increased. In recent years, the scale of China's rehabilitation consumables market has been increased year by year.

The development of relevant technology has played a positive role in the further expansion of rehabilitation applications and greatly promotes a notable expansion of rehabilitation consumables market. It is excepted by 2020, the China's rehabilitation consumables market will reach 25.43 billion Yuan.

Today, Ddu, the global pharmaceutical & medical device B2B platform, will introduce the potential rehabilitation consumables market.

Steady growth of medical export of rehabilitation consumables

According to the customs data, China’s export of rehabilitation consumables has experienced a steady growth since 2010.In 2016, China’s exports of rehabilitation consumables stood at $3.02 billion, while its imports was $1.43 billion. Massage apparatus and eye care products accounts for 81% of the total exports. Because of the price advantage, comparable function and reliability with foreign similar products, China's rehabilitation consumables have comparatively superiority and international competitive capability.

Currently, China's rehabilitation consumables has exported to 178 countries and regions worldwide. In 2016 this has increased by 41 countries and regions. Main export markets are America, Japan, Korea, UK and Germany.

High Priority Companies in Exports

Small and medium size enterprises are the main factors behind China’s rehabilitation consumables export.

In China, there are more than 400 rehabilitation medical devices enterprises and 2,000 auxiliary instruments enterprises. According to the statistics of China Chamber of Commerce, the quality enterprises of rehabilitation consumables export are as follows:

Jiangsu Likang Medical Products Co., Ltd.

The company is one of China's largest medical materials production and export enterprises, with the production and management experience of nearly 20 years. It has been listed in the top ten among China's rehabilitation consumables export enterprises for a decade.

Wuxi Jiajian Medical Instrument Co., Ltd.

Jiajian medical is a technology enterprise dedicated in the research, product and trade of Chinese medical devices, healthcare instruments. Jiajian medical was successfully listed in the New Tertiary board in Dec, 2015, with the stock symbol of 835659.

Shanghai Shunlong Physical Therapy Equipment Co., Ltd.

The company specializes in the development, manufacture and sales of all kinds of rehabilitation physiotherapy products and plays a leading role in the global rehabilitation products.

Lisound Hearing Aid(Fuzhou) Co., Ltd.

The company is one of the earliest foreign-invested enterprises including incorporating production, research and development, training as well as sales. It is regarded as the China’s largest manufacture base of customized hearing aids.

Potential of rehabilitation consumables market

Although China has become the world's largest potential market with the fastest growing demand for rehabilitation devices, rehabilitation aid just accounts for 7.31%. Foreign products dominate the middle-high equipment market.

It is shown that there are only 100 rehabilitation equipment enterprises, accounting for 3% of all American companies and 6% of Germany companies. Moreover, the development of China's independent intellectual property rights and self-owned brands in massage apparatus and eye care products is still very weak. So, there is a huge market developing space in China.

In the future, with the integration of high-tech elements, rehabilitation equipment includes but no limited to traditional products, such as wheelchair, walker, massage machine, massage chair, massage bed, etc. There will be a large number of innovative high-tech rehabilitation equipment.

The post Current Situation and Development Trends of China’s Rehabilitation Consumables Market appeared first on Drugdu.com

from Drugdu  https://goo.gl/QgQoHk