Universal Medicine

Neriah Clarke This piece is the first in a series of posts about scientific racism. It may be an uncomfortable read. Introduction Scientific racism is the use of pseudoscience (flawed science) to perpetuate racist ideas and practices. Race itself is also a product of pseudoscience and was first documented in Carl Linnaeus’ book “ systema naturae” (systems of nature), published in 1735 (Linnaeus, 1735). Much scientific focus of the 18 th century was on taxonomy, so it is unsurprising that this system extended to the classification of humans. By suggesting a natural order among mankind damaging consequences ensued and such patterns are seen to this day. Skulls Craniometry is a branch of physical anthropology (study of humans) and focuses on the measurement of skull size. Such pseudoscience was used by Morton in the 19 th century to categorise the intellect of the races (Morton, 2018 (1839)). Morton had an extensive collection of skulls from individuals of varying races and upon measur...

Akhil Hanmantgad [1] [2] According to a census taken in 2011, it was estimated that Black, Asian and other Minor Ethnicities (BAME) accounted for roughly 14.5% of the UK’s population, which at the time would equate to around just over 9 million people. Since then, the UK’s BAME population has grown, whilst our understanding of their medical needs has not.  [1] During the COVID-19 pandemic alone, it was found that Persons of Colour (POC) were 1.5 - 2 times more likely to die compared to their white counterparts. Epidemiologists attribute this difference to social inequalities such as predisposed health issues, crowded living situations and occupation. Whilst the above factors would contribute to an increased incidence of COVID-19 amongst BAME communities, it does not explain why POC were at a much greater risk of dying from the virus in the UK compared to their countries of origin. [3] [4] For example, in India, the number of cases have overtaken the UK, however, their death rat...

Matthew Downes Following the gradual decline of the number of new Covid-19 cases, economists and epidemiologists have been engaged in a tense debate regarding the appropriate time to remove lockdown. Finding a compromise between public health and financial wellbeing has been a topic of much consideration. Given the gradual phasing out of the lockdown over recent weeks and the continued efforts to return societal function to normal, it is the perfect time to explore the factors driving these decisions from both a medical and an economic standpoint. When the lockdown was first implemented, an anticipated recession occurred due to the trading activity of many businesses ceasing, from local stores to national conglomerates. As expected, containment policies put in place by the government helped flatten the medical curve while simultaneously steepening the recession curve. While the UK’s response to the virus was lacklustre when compared to other European countries (every European country ...

Gemisha Cheemungtoo Upon the wake of Britain lifting its lockdown, the idea of introducing an immunity certification scheme is under consideration by our government. Discussion with digital tech companies is underway about potentially issuing digital certificates based on antibody test results. These 'immunity passports' would help verify your movement across different social groups, from meeting co-workers to caring for vulnerable family members at home.    The impact of COVID-19 is still fresh on our minds as the search for a vaccine continues, however the concept of health-based categorisation in society is not new. Examples in history have been highlighted by Virginia Berridge, Professor of History and Health Policy at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine during a virtual talk about a public health identity emerging from COVID-19 antibody test results. These include the Yellow Fever outbreak in 19th-century New Orleans, premarital certification to confirm a syphi...

Shilpi Awasthi Postpartum depression (PPD) is a clinical condition that has a severe impact on mood and lasts for more than 10 days after delivery. Symptoms include feelings of worthlessness, shame, lack of motivation and thoughts of hurting oneself or the baby. It is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). In comparison to postpartum blues, PPD lasts longer and has a more severe impact on the mother. Worldwide, PPD affects up to 15% of mothers and  87% of these women do not seek or attain support. Barriers to this may be due to a lack of education and social stigma. Some of the pathological theories for PPD correlate to those explaining psychiatric illnesses. This may not be justified as there are many biological and social events that occur exclusively to women during pregnancy and postpartum. Given the lack of current biological understanding, this article aims to explore the hypothesis of Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HP...

Karina Dembla  20 seconds. Running water. Soap. Palm to palm, back of the hand, in between the fingers and under the fingernails. Sound familiar? These are the steps to simple routine handwashing. It drastically reduces hand microbial contamination and limits the transfer of microbes on to surfaces, other body parts and people. Soap is composed of a mixture of fats, water and alkali. Its molecular structure consists of a hydrophilic (water-loving) head and a hydrophobic (water-hating) tail. The hydrophobic tail embeds itself into the lipid membrane of pathogens, disrupting their weak chemical bonds. The soap molecule then assembles into micelles around these pathogen fragments, making them soluble in water. The friction created during lathering and rinsing with water, allows the residues to be washed off the surface of hands.  In today’s world, where convenience and accessibility are the norms, many individuals rely on the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers (ABHS). The produ...

Trisha Banerjee The risk of mortality from COVID-19 is higher in Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, which is confirmed by the Public Health England review. Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Caribbean and other communities of Asian and Black ethnicity have a 10% - 50% higher risk of death compared to those who are white British. It was found that people from Bangladeshi ethnicity are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 compared to white British people. Moreover, in healthcare, a majority of the doctors that have tragically died from COVID-19 have been from BAME backgrounds. 33% of ICU patients are from BAME backgrounds, whereas BAME people only make up 14% of the population of England and Wales. There have been many explanations proposed to explain the disproportionate effect on BAME people.  From a scientific perspective, genetic factors predispose people of BAME backgrounds to COVID-19. Data from the National Diabetes Audit shows that there is a higher prevalence of Type...

Gemisha Cheemungtoo 20th May 2020 marked the enactment of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019 in England, or often referred to as 'Max and Keira's Law'. The name transpired from the campaign a family ran in favour of the opt out system, after their young boy, Max received a life-saving heart transplant from Keira, a girl who tragically lost her life in a road traffic accident.    In this new law, the organ donation system has been changed to consider that most adults have agreed to donate their organs unless the person opted out before their death, and this is done with the family's consent. The law excludes the following groups from the register:  Under 18s, who cannot be considered as adults  People who lack the mental capacity to make this decision People who are living in England involuntarily, or for less than 12 months    This new system has been approved to increase the supply of donors for the patients awaiting a transplant, which at the ti...

Andra Stefan  As of today, the novel coronavirus has infected 7,495,164 people and killed 421,976 according to WHO. [1] Moreover, as a result of the lockdown measures taken globally to contain the spread of the virus, our day-to-day lives have changed dramatically and the world economy has been disrupted. Given that Artificial Intelligence (AI) research in medicine has grown exponentially in the recent years, it is unsurprising that AI has stepped in to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] AI technologies can address almost every aspect of the disease from prevention and diagnosis to prognosis and treatment. In this article, I present some of the most promising AI-powered projects that aim to tackle this global health crisis. Prevention The AI-based early warning system developed by the Canadian firm BlueDot was among the first in the world to accurately predict the risk of spread of the coronavirus. BlueDot’s clients, ranging from governments to hospitals and airlines, were all warned ...

Mariam Ali Liver disease is the third leading cause of premature death. In the UK alone, over 40 people die from liver diseases every day. For many patients, a liver transplant is usually the last resort to improve their quality of life, with over 2633 on the waiting list. The liver regenerative process is vital for the successful treatment and recovery of a patient, after a transplant procedure. Therefore, a better understanding of liver regeneration could impact an array of the treatments used today. In mammals, the liver has the capacity to regenerate its own tissue through an organized sequence of events. The liver undergoes regeneration after events such as resection, trauma, transplant or hepatic surgery.  Liver regeneration restores liver mass and involves the proliferation of hepatocytes. The process requires elements such as growth factors, matrix remodelling, cytokines and growth inhibition feedback loops. The organ manages to restore hepatic mass whilst controlling gluco...