Alireza Mahdavi made the remakes on the occasion of World Stroke Day which is annually observed on October 29 to emphasize the serious nature and high rates of stroke. The day is also observed to raise awareness of the prevention and treatment of strokes.

The goal is to reduce premature deaths and disabilities under the age of 70. Unfortunately, at least one-third of deaths under the age of 70 are caused by non-communicable diseases, half of which are related to strokes, ISNA reported.

Stroke, also known as brain attack, usually happens when the blood supply to a part of the brain is disrupted. In this case, either vessels are blocked or they bleed, in both cases, there is an interruption of blood to any part of the brain.

Pointing out that brain attacks are the second leading cause of death in Iran, Mahdavi said strokes are the most common cause of disability in brain and nervous diseases.

Stroke is a vascular complication that can cause long-term brain damage and disability. The severity of disability caused by stroke depends on the extent of ischemia and the intervention time.

He enumerated the symptoms of stroke as convulsions, confusion, neck stiffness, trouble speaking, not understanding what others are saying, numbness in the hands, face, and feet, double vision, blurred vision, blindness in one or two eyes, severe headache accompanied by nausea and confusion, trouble walking, etc.

These signs warn of the occurrence of a stroke, and each of them may appear alone in a person.

With the emergence of some symptoms such as the inability to raise the arms, lack of clarity of expression, and so on ask the person to smile to determine whether the two sides of his face are symmetrical or not. In this case, time is very important to call emergency immediately. Immediate treatment can minimize the long-term impact of stroke.

Regarding the prevention of strokes, he said: regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol are among the most important ways to prevent strokes.

In case one is taking blood pressure and diabetes medications, they should take them regularly to prevent stroke.

According to the latest studies carried out two years ago ( ended March 2021) in the STEPS project, it was found that 1.4 percent of the population over 18 claimed that they were diagnosed with a history of stroke, which was reported in men more than women.

This percentage was almost equal in cities and villages. Last year (ended March 2022) the figure was reported to be 0.22 percent of the population of those over 18.

Family history stroke was also reported in 12.5% of men and women aged under 55 and 65 respectively.

World Stroke Day

World Stroke Day was established on 29th October 2004 at the World Stroke Congress in Vancouver, Canada. Later in 2006, the day was proclaimed for public awareness. In 2006, the World Stroke Organization was created with the merger of the World Stroke Federation and the International Stroke Society.

Worldwide, brain stroke is the second leading cause of death, and third leading cause of disability, and the second leading cause of death. Every year, approximately 1.8 million people suffer from stroke. It is noted that low and middle-income countries have witnessed more than a 100 percent increase in stroke whereas the developed countries have witnessed a drop of 42 percent.

This year, the World Stroke Day Theme is “Together we are Greater Than Stroke.” It highlights the prevention of risk factors such as hypertension, irregular heartbeat, smoking, diet, and exercise, as nearly 90% of strokes can be prevented by addressing the risk factors.

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He made the remarks on the occasion of National Tuberculosis Day, which is held annually on October 15, IRNA reported.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the TB detection and control program is about 20 percent less than in 2019, and last year we identified 5,666 cases of the disease in the country, of which 18 percent were non-Iranians.

With the TB control program, especially due to the free diagnosis and treatment, the disease can be controlled, Gooya stated.

“Mortality from tuberculosis is now on the rise, mainly due to the incidence of COVID-19, and given that both diseases have similar clinical symptoms, anyone who goes to a medical center with acute respiratory symptoms is recognized as COVID-19 patient, which reduces attention to tuberculosis.

Also, people refer to medical centers less often for treatment, and if the cases are diagnosed late, they can infect others.

Major investments should be made in the field of finance, manpower, and new methods of diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in the country, and the TB control program agreement should be revised because the epidemic has caused serious damages,” he explained.

According to the latest estimates of the World Health Organization, the incidence of tuberculosis in Iran is 13 per 100,000 people.

TB prevalence worldwide

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.

TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.

About one-quarter of the world’s population has a TB infection, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with the disease and cannot transmit it.

A total of 1.5 million people died from TB in 2020 (including 214 000 people with HIV). Worldwide, TB is the 13th leading cause of death and the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19 (above HIV/AIDS).

In 2020, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. 5.6 million men, 3.3 million women, and 1.1 million children. TB is present in all countries and age groups. But TB is curable and preventable.

In 2020, 1.1 million children fell ill with TB globally. Child and adolescent TB is often overlooked by health providers and can be difficult to diagnose and treat.

In 2020, the 30 high TB burden countries accounted for 86% of new TB cases. Eight countries account for two-thirds of the total, with India leading the count, followed by China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and South Africa.

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. Only about one in three people with drug-resistant TB accessed treatment in 2020.

Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year and between 2015 and 2020 the cumulative reduction was 11%. This was over halfway to the End TB Strategy milestone of a 20% reduction between 2015 and 2020.

Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Also, the incidence of the disease in nursing homes has been reduced by 75 percent, and about 95 percent of the elderly in these centers have been vaccinated, and the rest have received the first dose, he explained.

Generally, the mortality rate among the elderly aging 60 or above in hospitals has reduced by 30 percent after vaccination, and this trend is declining, he noted, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The elderly constitute more than 10 percent of the country’s population, which is currently growing. In 2025, it will reach about 27 percent of the total population, which should increase the country’s infrastructure three times its current capacity.

Iran started mass vaccination with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, with the priority given to medical staff, the elderly, and people with underlying diseases.

While Iran continues efforts to mass-produce local candidates, over 60 million doses of foreign vaccines have already been imported, while others are expected to be imported soon.

Vaccination up, mortality down

In July, delta variant mortality peaked and recorded over 700 daily deaths, but the increase of vaccination pace reduced the toll.

Today, more than one million doses of vaccine are injected daily in the country, and many age groups of the elderly, rare diseases patients, teachers, university professors, health professionals, veterans, etc. have been vaccinated and now the process of vaccinating students is underway.

Studies show that people who are not vaccinated are 4.5 times more likely to develop COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated, and 10 and 11 times more likely to be hospitalized and die, respectively.

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A few weeks ago, he was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment for fatigue caused by COVID-19, Morteza Kia, one of his students, told the Persian service of ISNA.

“The virus had also affected his kidneys so that he was hospitalized over the past few days and finally, he died of cardiac failure,” he added.

Hakimi’s family confirmed his death in a statement calling him “the guardian of monotheism, justice philosopher, and the supporter of the deprived and helpless people.”

In another statement published on his Instagram account, his family also wrote, “He wanted to be the horizon to slake the thirsty desert of the onlookers and nourish the hopes of the desperate.”

Many cultural and political figures, including Culture Minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, have offered condolences over the death of Hakimi.

“I sadly received the news of the death of the learned man and great thinker, His Excellency Mr. Mohammadreza Hakimi, may God sanctify his soul,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in his message of condolences published on Monday.

He called Hakimi “a great philosopher, skilled litterateur, innovative thinker and a pro-justice Islamologist,” and added, “I offer my sincere condolences over the tragic death of this long-standing friend to his honorable family and relatives, especially his great brother, and friends and fans; may God bless his soul.”

Hakimi was born into a religious family in Mashhad, a major Iranian city, which is revered by Shia Muslims as it houses the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of the Shia.

His father, Abdolvahab, was respected by top businessmen in the bazaar for his honesty. Hakimi began his education in 1941. He was admitted to the Khorasan Islamic seminary six years later, spending 20 years learning Islamic sciences from top clerics such as Seyyed Abolhassan Hafezi and Sheikh Mojtaba Qazvini.

In 1969, Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammed-Mohsen Razi popularly known as Aqa Bozorge Tehrani qualified him to exercise ijtihad, however, he never wore the common Muslim clerics’ attire.

He wrote over 100 books and articles on Islamic issues. “Al-Hayat” (“The Life”) is one of his greatest books written in Arabic in twelve volumes dating from 1974 to 2015.

This book is actually an encyclopedia of Islamic sciences, which holds a lofty place in the Islamic world.

This book, which received contributions from some other Islamic scholars, provides a deep insight into the image of Islam and Shiism. The book centers on Hakimi’s views on social justice and individual freedom derived from the Holy Quran and hadiths.

Ahmad Aram has translated six volumes of the collection into Persian.

“Minus Poverty” is another book written by Hakimi, which discusses his pro-justice views of economic issues in Islam.

“Based on a hadith from Imam Sadeq (AS), if one person, just one person, lives in poverty and scarcity in a society, even if in a remote village, the society cannot be considered as an Islamic one,” Hakimi had once said.

Among his credits are also “The Sun of the Occident”, “Sun Interpretation”, “The Red Wisdom” and “The Cry of Days”.

Hakimi is scheduled to be buried in the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) on Tuesday.

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The higher presence of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) found in the heart, kidneys, in tissues lining blood vessels, and in particularly high levels in the testes, could explain why more men die from COVID-19, DailyMail reported.

ACE2 is a receptor on the surface of cells that binds to the new coronavirus and allows it to enter and infect cells.

While men and women are equally likely to catch the coronavirus, men are more likely to suffer severe effects of the disease, in part due to their higher levels of ACE2, according to the lead researcher.

‘ACE2 binds to the coronavirus and allows it to enter and infect healthy cells after it is has been modified by another protein on the surface of the cell, called TMPRSS2,’ said Dr. Adriaan Voors at the University Medical Center Groningen in The Netherlands.

‘High levels of ACE2 are present in the lungs and, therefore, it is thought to play a crucial role in the progression of lung disorders related to COVID-19.’

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, also found that widely-prescribed drugs called ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) did not lead to higher ACE2 concentrations and should therefore not increase the COVID-19 risk for people taking them.

ACE inhibitors and ARBs – which are widely prescribed to patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes, or kidney disease-account for billions of dollars in prescription sales worldwide.

‘Our findings do not support the discontinuation of these drugs in COVID-19 patients,’ said Dr. Voors.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has infected more than 4 million people worldwide and killed almost 277,000.

Death and infection rates suggest men are more likely than women to contract COVID-19 and suffer severe or critical complications as a result.

According to Chinese research, 58.1 percent of men test positive for the illness compared with 41.9 percent of women.

While an NHS England analysis of 17.4 million patient records discovered that men are 1.99 times as likely to die as women from the disease.

To find out more, Voors and his team measured ACE2 concentrations in blood samples from more than 3,500 heart failure patients from 11 European countries.

The study had started before the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers said, and so did not include patients with COVID-19.

But when other research began to point to ACE2 as key to the way the new coronavirus gets into cells, Voors and his team saw important overlaps with their study.

looking at clinical factors, including the use of ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and chronic disease, they found male sex was the strongest predictor of elevated ACE2 concentrations.

The fact ACE2 was present in the testes might partially explain higher ACE2 concentrations in men, and why men are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

Because the sample of patients was so large, the results can likely be generalized to the real-world setting, according to Professor Ian Hall, director of the Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Nottingham, who wasn’t involved in the research.

But there are likely to be other factors at play that are responsible for higher infection and death rates in men, he said.

‘The actual difference in ACE2 levels between men and women, whilst statistically significant, is in real terms small, and I believe it likely that whilst this might contribute in a small way there must be other explanations as to why men are at increased risk of severe disease,’ he said.

‘One potential explanation would be that differential immune responses to the virus, regulated by genetic differences between men and women, may also underlie this difference in susceptibility.’

The research did have a few limitations – ACE2 was measured in blood samples and not in tissues such as lung tissue.

Patients looked at also had pre-existing heart failure and so may not be entirely representative of the general population, and perhaps most crucially, did not have COVID-19.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

According To Iran News, Millions of Iranians have packed the streets of Tehran to pay homage to the Middle East’s most prominent anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani who was assassinated on U.S. President Donald Trump’s order Friday.

A huge sea of mourners, streaming from all the adjoining streets in freezing temperatures, descended on the iconic Engelab Square in central Tehran Monday morning before rallying to Azadi Tower in the capital’s west.

Chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” they carried portraits of their national hero whose assassination in a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad airport has generated an outpouring of anger and patriotism across Iran and elsewhere, with vociferous calls for revenge.

A correspondent for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said he had not seen such a crowd in 20 years in Tehran, where important occasions usually draw people in millions.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei led the prayers over the general’s coffin and the remains of his companions at Tehran University, his voice cracking several times with emotion which caused the massive crowd to weep.

The coffins of Gen. Soleimani and Iraq’s anti-terror commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also assassinated in Friday’s attack, were draped in their national flags and passed from hand to hand across the heads of mourners.

General Soleimani’s daughter, Zeinab, addressed the crowd, saying “the name Haj Qassem Soleimani is now shaking the nest of Zionism, Takfirism, and the order of hegemony.”

“America and Zionism should know that my father’s martyrdom has awakened more human instincts on the resistance front. It will make life a nightmare for them and shatter their spider houses,” she said.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh also paid tribute to “this great commander,” calling him three times in succession as the “martyr of Quds” in reference to the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

“This brutal crime perpetrated by the Americans shows the cruel and barbaric spirit that is causing all the atrocities and bloodshed in the blessed land of Palestine,” he told the mourners in Tehran.

Gen. Soleimani’s popularity transcends geographical boundaries, and many people across the Middle East and beyond regard him as the figurehead in defeating Daesh and other Takfiri groups.

His humble persona and devotion to the security of the regional countries and the Palestinian cause made him a darling of the masses in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and even the Palestinian territories.

Gen. Soleimani won the enmity of the US, Israel and their allies in the West and the Middle East alike, because they viewed the charismatic military tactician as a threat to their plans in a resource-rich region.

“To mad Trump who himself is a symbol of ignorance and a plaything of Zionism: Don’t think it’s all over with the martyrdom of my father!” Soleimani’s daughter said.

The U.S. assassination, in fact, has injured the national pride of the Iranians who regard Soleimani as the symbol of their overarching patriotism.

Since arriving in Iran, the cortege for Gen. Soleimani and his companions has drawn people in millions.

From Tehran, Gen. Soleimani’s remains will finally go to his hometown Kerman in the southeast for burial on Tuesday (today) , with expectations of even greater multitudes from across Iran.

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