Regional Editor sought for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety for the Asia-Pacific Region, Middle East and Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 1252-1252
Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 4272-4272
Author(s):  
Vip Viprakasit ◽  
Norbert Gattermann ◽  
Jong Wook Lee ◽  
John B. Porter ◽  
Ali Taher ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 4272 Background: Globally, a number of management guidelines provide recommendations for transfusion and iron chelation therapy across various transfusion-dependent anemias. Most treatment guidelines aim to control body iron burden by maintaining serum ferritin <2500 ng/mL; however, ‘real-world’ practices may not reflect these guidelines and direct comparison of treatment practices between geographical regions are limited. Transfusion history and iron chelation practices prior to study enrolment in the EPIC study (Cappellini MD et al. Haematologica 2010;95:557–66) were evaluated to explore differences across geographical regions. Methods: Patients aged ≥2 years with serum ferritin levels ≥1000 ng/mL, or <1000 ng/mL but with a history of multiple transfusions (>20 transfusions or 100 mL/kg of red blood cells), and liver iron concentration ≥2 mg Fe/g dry weight were enrolled in the study. Baseline data were reported according to underlying anemias: thalassemia major (TM), thalassemia intermedia (TI), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), sickle cell disease (SCD) and aplastic anemia (AA), and by geographical regions: Europe, Middle East/Africa and Asia-Pacific. Results: Of 1744 patients enrolled in the EPIC study, 1558 are included in this analysis (680 from Europe; 275 from Middle East/Africa; 603 from Asia-Pacific; 937 TM, 84 TI, 341 MDS, 116 AA and 80 SCD). Across all regions, patients with TM spent a larger proportion of their lifetime (88–92%) on transfusion therapy compared with other anemias; this was consistent across geographical regions. For patients with TM, mean number of transfusion episodes in the year prior to study entry was lower in the Asia-Pacific region (14.9; n=416; mean patient age 16.2 years) than in Europe (22.7; n=279; mean patient age 24.9 years). In patients with AA, their proportion of lifetime receiving transfusions was also lower in the Asia-Pacific region (20.3%; n=82; mean patient age 33.2 years) than in Europe (42.7%; n=29; mean patient age 36.1 years). The proportion of patients receiving previous iron chelation therapy (deferiprone and/or deferoxamine [DFO]) varied considerably across geographical regions. In all patients, 22% were chelation-naïve; the highest proportion of chelation-naïve patients was in the Asia-Pacific region. In TM patients, the percentage of chelation-naïve patients varied considerably across regions being only 0.4% of patients in Europe compared with 5.4% in the Middle East/Africa and 12.5% in the Asia-Pacific region. For AA patients, 48.3% were chelation-naïve in Europe compared with 76.8% in the Asia-Pacific region. In TM patients, the proportion of their lifetime receiving chelation therapy was lower (48.9%) in the Asia-Pacific region than in Europe (63.6%). In patients with AA, the proportion of lifetime receiving chelation therapy was also lower in the Asia-Pacific region (6.3%; n=19) compared with Europe (26.3%; n=15). Median baseline serum ferritin level was >2500 ng/mL across all anemias. Serum ferritin levels were ≥2500 ng/mL in 61.3% of patients across regions (50.6% [Europe], 59.3% [Middle East/Africa] and 74.3% [Asia-Pacific]). For patients with TM, TI, AA and SCD, serum ferritin levels were substantially higher in the Asia-Pacific region compared with other regions (Figure). In the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of patients with serum ferritin levels ≥4000 ng/mL varied between 31.1% and 53.6% across anemias, compared with 14.3–37.5% in Europe. Conclusions: There are many differences in transfusion and iron chelation practices across regions, with most prominent differences in the Asia-Pacific region. Factors contributing to these differences might include regional variations in specific disease characteristics (severity, transfusion requirement), treatment practices (eg, hemoglobin level at which transfusion is initiated), the availability and accessibility of transfusion and iron chelation therapy including patients' compliance and physician attitude and adherence to treatment guidelines. The high proportion of patients with baseline serum ferritin >2500 ng/mL suggests that previous iron chelation regimens with DFO and/or deferiprone prior to the EPIC study were suboptimal with limitations for adequate control of iron burden across geographical regions. A greater improvement in iron chelation practices is warranted across the globe with an immediate focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Disclosures: Viprakasit: Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Gattermann:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding. Porter:Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Taher:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding. Habr:Novartis: Employment. Roubert:Novartis: Employment. Domokos:Novartis: Employment. Cappellini:Novartis: Speakers Bureau.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (515) ◽  
pp. 202-208
Author(s):  
R. P. Nykyforov ◽  

One of the most dynamically growing types of entrepreneurial activity in the world is restaurant business. Changes in the context of development, including increasing the share of the middle class, changing values, migration and nomadism, digitalization, population growth, urbanization, active development of tourism and hospitality cause influence on the status and features of the development of restaurant business in the world. The article identifies the main determinants that determine the current status and features of the development of restaurant business in the world; the author’s own approach to understanding the essence of the concept of «restaurant business» is provided; the main segments and features of modern development of restaurant business in the world are specified. It is determined that at the present stage of development of the world restaurant business it has the following inherent features: 1) asymmetry and polarization of development (the greatest interest in meals outside the home, and therefore the most active development of the restaurant business, is recorded in America and Asia-Pacific region. They are followed by Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The highest level of territorial heterogeneity of restaurant business development is characteristic of the Middle East and Africa, America, a relatively lower level of heterogeneity is characteristic of the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. The highest level of concentration of restaurant business development is characteristic of the Asia-Pacific region, the smallest – of the Middle East and Africa); 2) development disparities (the largest disparities between the development of restaurant business segments are recorded in the Asia-Pacific region (full-service restaurants significantly prevail over other organizational forms of restaurant business in the region), the smallest – the Middle East and Africa); 3) polysubjectivity (the subject structure of the restaurant business is very complex and heterogeneous, it includes not only restaurants, but also bars, cafes, coffee-shops, canteens, etc.); 4) active virtualization and digitalization (restaurants and other restaurant business entities are increasingly creating virtual platforms where you can order food, get comprehensive information about the establishment, etc., actively interact with their consumers in social networks, increase the budget of online marketing costs, attract robotics).


2019 ◽  
pp. 87-109
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Robb ◽  
David James Gill

This chapter assesses in detail the exclusion of Britain from the ANZUS Treaty, which embarrassed British policymakers and undermined many of the United Kingdom's interests in the Asia-Pacific region. Prime Minister Clement Attlee had initially accepted exclusion, but Winston Churchill's election to office in October of 1951 resulted in a concerted effort to gain membership. Although Australia and New Zealand remained sympathetic to an expanded treaty, both feared that pushing British membership too forcefully risked the United States dissolving the ANZUS Treaty. Despite enjoying a degree of recovery, economic limitations and ongoing commitments to Europe and the Middle East meant that the United Kingdom was unable to offer the antipodean states a credible alternative to existing arrangements. Australia and New Zealand consequently attempted to secure membership for Britain but prioritized ongoing cooperation with the United States. The major obstacle to British membership in ANZUS remained the United States. As far as U.S. policymakers interpreted matters, British inclusion provided few benefits and considerable economic and strategic drawbacks. Yet, U.S. officials preferred to use arguments about race and imperialism to justify British omission from the treaty. Ultimately, the United States remained committed to maintaining ANZUS in its existing form and rebuffed efforts by the antipodean powers to secure British inclusion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  

For the month of December 2020, APBN features article contribution from variety of writers. In the Features we take a dive into how COVID-19 vaccines could be shipped worldwide in an article by Kawal Preet, President of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region for FedEx. For the Columns section, explore the transformations in telehealth and telemedicine in the Asia Pacific region. Also, writers from ACT Genomics discuss how liquid biopsy could provide potential in replacing tissue biopsy in genomic alteration profiling. For this month in the Spotlights, are highlights from the recent APACMed Virtual Forum 2020 on how technology is changing the landscape of healthcare. Finally, Professor Nadey Hakim, a general surgeon and currently the vice president of the Royal Society of Medicine weighs in on the recent release of data on the study for Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.


1995 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-384
Author(s):  
Terri Gullickson

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