Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in the DMV in 2010

Firearm-related fatalities exceeded motor vehicle fatalities in the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia) in 2010, the most recent year for which data is available for both products. Firearm-related deaths include homicide, suicide, and unintentional fatal injuries. Gun deaths outpaced motor vehicle deaths not only in the region as a whole, but in each of the three jurisdictions that comprise the DMV. In 2010, gun deaths in the DMV totaled 1,512 while motor vehicles deaths totaled 1,280.The statistics in the DMV offer a stark illustration of a public health emergency that often receives scant attention from policymakers. Firearms remain the only consumer product not regulated by a federal health and safety agency, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has overseen automobile safety since 1966. Nationally, firearm fatalities almost equal motor vehicle deaths despite the fact that roughly three times as many Americans own automobiles as own firearms. The tolerance for such a high level of gun death is even harder to comprehend when the relative utility of the two products is taken into account. Unlike guns, motor vehicles are essential to the functioning of the U.S. economy

The Opioid Crisis in Rural and Small Town America

In this brief, authors Shannon Monnat and Khary Rigg examine rural versus urban differences in opioid mortality and identify challenges for dealing with the opioid crisis in rural areas. They report that, in 2016, opioid mortality rates were higher in urban than in rural counties, particularly in the Midwest, but rates have increased more in rural than in urban counties over the past two decades. Since 2010, the share of drug overdose deaths involving prescription opioids has declined, but the share of deaths involving heroin and synthetic opioids has spiked in both rural and urban areas. The most dramatic increases in opioid deaths were in the rural Midwest, where they were 16 times higher in 2016 than in 1999, and in the rural Northeast, where they were 11.4 times higher. Prescription opioids are involved in a larger share of rural than urban drug overdose deaths, whereas heroin and synthetic opioids (such as fentanyl) account for a larger share of urban deaths. Over half of drug overdose deaths involve multiple drugs. Policy initiatives to date have been largely ineffective at addressing the opioid crisis in many of the hardest-hit rural communities, and the recent surge in fentanyl overdoes in large urban areas may be a precursor of what to expect in at-risk rural communities in the coming years. Existing interventions are unlikely to be effective without addressing the underlying social and economic factors that are plaguing the hardest-hit areas

Burden of disease from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income settings: a retrospective analysis of data from 145 countries

objective To estimate the burden of diarrhoeal diseases from exposure to inadequate water, sanitation and hand hygiene in low- and middle-income settings and provide an overview of the impact on other diseases. methods For estimating the impact of water, sanitation and hygiene on diarrhoea, we selected exposure levels with both sufficient global exposure data and a matching exposure-risk relationship. Global exposure data were estimated for the year 2012, and risk estimates were taken from the most recent systematic analyses. We estimated attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by country, age and sex for inadequate water, sanitation and hand hygiene separately, and as a cluster of risk factors. Uncertainty estimates were computed on the basis of uncertainty surrounding exposure estimates and relative risks. results In 2012, 502 000 diarrhoea deaths were estimated to be caused by inadequate drinking water and 280 000 deaths by inadequate sanitation. The most likely estimate of disease burden from inadequate hand hygiene amounts to 297 000 deaths. In total, 842 000 diarrhoea deaths are estimated to be caused by this cluster of risk factors, which amounts to 1.5% of the total disease burden and 58% of diarrhoeal diseases. In children under 5 years old, 361 000 deaths could be prevented, representing 5.5% of deaths in that age group. conclusions This estimate confirms the importance of improving water and sanitation in low- and middle-income settings for the prevention of diarrhoeal disease burden. It also underscores the need for better data on exposure and risk reductions that can be achieved with provision of reliable piped water, community sewage with treatment and hand hygiene

Mesenchymal stem cells as vectors for lung cancer therapy

Despite recent advances in treatment, lung cancer accounts for one third of all cancer-related deaths, underlining the need of development of new therapies. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess the ability to specifically home into tumours and their metastases. This property of MSCs could be exploited for the delivery of various anti-tumour agents directly into tumours. However, MSCs are not simple delivery vehicles but cells with active physiological process. This review outlines various agents which can be delivered by MSCs with substantial emphasis on TRAIL (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand)