Circoncisione Infantile Maschile

La resistenza all’Hiv è nei geni

Genova - Ci sono particolari varianti genetiche che conferiscono a un soggetto una maggiore resistenza a contrarre il virus Hiv. Le hanno individuate alcuni ricercatori milanesi, che hanno pubblicato sul Journal of Immunology i risultati di questa importante scoperta che suggerisce una strada per la messa a punto di una immunoterapia contro il virus. Lo ha reso noto l’ Università di Milano.

Per anni, infettivologi e immunologi si sono chiesti il motivo per cui, nonostante ripetute esposizioni al virus Hiv, molti soggetti non si infettavano. Si sa, in generale, che i fattori in grado di influenzare la suscettibilità all’infezione sono molteplici: ambientali, esposizione a diverse varianti virali, fattori genetici e immunologici.

Da oggi però si sa qualcosa in più grazie a questo studio, condotto da Mara Biasin (Immunologa del Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche “Luigi Sacco” dell’ Università di Milano) e da Manuela Sironi (Istituto Scientifico IRCCS E. Medea), e coordinato da Mario Clerici (Università di Milano e Fondazione Don Gnocchi).

È stato scoperto infatti che particolari varianti del gene che determina un particolare recettore che opera nell’ambito del sistema immunitario, denominato TLR3, sono molto più frequenti nei soggetti che pur se esposti al virus restano sieronegativi.

«I dati indicano che la variante di TLR3 che si concentra negli esposti sieronegativi permette l’ attivazione di una risposta immune anti HIV molto più precoce e potente, che potrebbe essere in grado di impedire la replicazione del virus e dunque l’infezione», spiega una nota dell’Ateneo milanese che così conclude: «Questa importante scoperta suggerisce un potenziale uso del TLR3 nella messa a punto di una immunoterapia contro il virus

FONTE: http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/magazine/2012/...tenza_all.shtml

La circoncisione infantile va vietata:
a dirlo è il presiedente del consiglio etico medico norvegese



La circoncisione dei maschi è comune tra i musulmani e gli ebrei in Norvegia, e ogni anno centinaia di bambini vengono circoncisi. I neonati sani vengono cosi esposti a dolore, a infezioni e rischio elevato di complicazioni in seguito al rituale, spesso eseguito non da personale medico, completamente inutile, dice Trond Markestad, capo del Consiglio per l'Etica Medica di Oslo e professore di pediatria, di NRK. - La procedura è dolorosa, non etica, (ed è dolorosa dopo) c’è un alto tasso di mortalità e molti bambini sono circoncisi in Norvegia senza anestesia. Trovo sia sbagliata la circoncisione rituale. Non ha alcuna giustificazione medica, ed è quindi contraria alla deontologia medica, dice il professore. I bambini rischiano anche una serie di complicazioni, dice il professore. - Il più comune è il sanguinamento e le infezioni, ma quello che ho visto che è stato male, è che spesso viene tagliata troppa pelle, così da generare una posizione obliqua(e antiestetica) del pene, ha detto. Markestad è supportato da Jan Helge Solbakk, professore di etica medica presso l'Università di Oslo e l'Università di Bergen. - La circoncisione è una violazione dei diritti umani e del bambino, cosi come una violazione dell’etica medica allo stesso modo della circoncisione femminile. Penso che dovrebbe essere vietata, afferma Solbakk….



Vil forby omskjæring av gutter.

Gutter som blir omskåret, påføres helt unødig lidelse og risiko, mener Rådet for legeetikk. Flere leger ber nå om forbud.

Omskjæring av gutter er vanlig blant muslimer og jøder i Norge, og hvert år blir flere hundre spedbarn omskåret.

- Friske spedbarn utsettes for både smerte og risiko for komplikasjoner helt unødig, sier Trond Markestad, leder for Rådet for legeetikk og professor i barnesykdommer, til NRK.

- Inngrepet er smertefullt, og det er smertefullt etterpå. Mange smågutter i Norge omskjæres uten bedøvelse, men selv med smertelindring er det galt å omskjære friske barn. Det har ingen medisinsk begrunnelse, og det strider dermed mot medisinsk etikk, sier professoren.

Barna risikerer også en rekke komplikasjoner, sier professoren.

- Det vanligste er blødninger og infeksjoner, men det jeg har sett som har vært ille, er at man har tatt for mye hud, slik at man har fått en skjevstilling av penis, forteller han.

Markestad får støtte av Jan Helge Solbakk, som er professor i medisinsk etikk både ved Universitetet i Oslo og Universitetet i Bergen.

- Omskjæring er et overgrep på samme måte som omskjæring av jenter er et overgrep. Jeg mener det bør forbys, sier Solbakk.

Overlege ved Kvinneklinikken på Rikshospitalet og tidligere leder i det Mosaiske trossamfunn, Rolf Kirschner, mener kritikken er helt urimelig og mener man må ha respekt for tradisjoner som har vart i tusener av år.

- Jeg stusser litt på at dette kommer opp så mange ganger når det er så mange andre av barns rettigheter som blir overtrådt så brutalt, sier han.

Few people respond to free male circumcision surgery

By David Adetona

After weeks of hearing about the protective effects of medical male circumcision against HIV/AIDS, a number of men in the Hardap region have failed to take advantage of a government move to provide free male circumcision surgical operation at the Mariental State Hospital.

Only about 90 patients have so far been circumcised in the last two weeks since the campaign started on Monday, 31 October. The programme ends Friday (11 November).

For the first seven days of the campaign a total of 50 patients were circumcised, 10 were done on the first day, eight people the following day, 15 patients on the third day and only one turned up on the fourth day.

“The public turnout for the campaign has been poor and disappointing despite extensive information dissemination prior to starting the operations. The number of registered or booked patient is over 200, which include those from Maltahohe, Hoachanas and Gibeon constituencies,” said Dr Samuel Lyimo, the principal medical officer at the Mariental State Hospital.

Challenges experienced so far includes: last minute drop outs, indecision on whether to accept the procedure despite counseling, and fear of the safety of the surgery despite efforts to educate the community about the whole process and its importance.

After this short campaign of two weeks, the hospital said it will continue doing male circumcisions as a routine procedure to all eligible male clients and therefore patients are still welcome for counseling, education, testing and thereafter circumcision.

“The importance of this procedure and its safety cannot be overemphasized,” Dr Lyimo said. [It sure is being!]

He added that the male circumcision procedure is safe and pain free since it is done under local anaesthesia with pain killers routinely prescribed after the operation.

As part of the procedure, patients received services that included a health check, counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS, screening for sexual transmitted infections and treatment, risk reduction counseling and condom promotion.

Dr Lyimo highlighted that circumcision is one of the measures for HIV/AIDS prevention. He said studies done in other African countries have proven that circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection by up to 60%. [Or down to 0%.]

“It also reduces the risk of infection by some other sexually transmitted infections. Therefore, the male population in the community should not fear to have the procedure done to them and or their male children since it is one of the HIV/AIDS preventive measures,” he said.

He however advised that circumcised people should still practice safe sex by using a condom if there is need to have sex.

[Well if they don't need to have sex, they don't need any protection.]

...

Urologist Renounces Infant Circumcision; Discusses Risks, Harms, & Lack Of Benefits

Dr. Snyder, former president of the Virginia Urological Society, talks about the obvious ethical problems with performing an unnecessary procedure on a child that cannot consent.

He also de-bunks the myths that newborn circumcision can stop penile cancer (the rarest of all male cancers), urinary tract infections, or HIV.

Finally, Dr. Snyder addresses the real risks associated with circumcising infants, including:

- Death, usually by bleeding or infection
- Loss of the entire penis or parts of the glans (head)
- Various healing complications such as skin bridges
- Meatal stenosis (urethral strictures), which can prevent urination and damage the kidneys
- Sexual side effects from tight erections due to so much skin being cut off

Dr. Snyder was actually surprised that non-therapeutic circumcision continues to this day, seeing as most major U.S. medical associations have made it clear since the early 1970's that newborn circumcision is not a medically indicated procedure. He concludes that, with circumcision rates plummeting in the US, circumcision will likely fall completely out of favor in the US within a generation, as happened in other circumcising countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Australia decades ago.

Doctor Discusses Circumcision Controversy



James L. Snyder, M.D., F.A.C.S., Past President of the Virginia Urological Society discusses the controversy around infant circumcision.
Warning: Medical photos of circumcision harm.


Two thoughts came to mind listening to Dr. Snyder speak:

First -- Of the thousands of US doctors who continue to perform or condone non-therapeutic circumcisions today, how many are actually giving parents honest disclosure on the harms, risks, and ethical problems of child circumcision? My hunch is that the answer is zero. Any ethical doctor capable of truthfully discussing these issues would surely have already stopped performing non-therapeutic circumcisions altogether. (All US doctors swear by the Hippocratic Oath to "First Do No Harm.")

Second -- Dr. Snyder's conclusions sound remarkably similar to the conclusions of a number of large international medical organizations: that non-therapeutic circumcision of children is harmful, risky, unnecessary (by definition), and a violation of a child's rights. Consider the conclusion of KNMG, the assocation representing over 40,000 Dutch medical professionals, from their 17-page report last year condemning circumcision:

The official viewpoint of KNMG and other related medical/scientific organisations is that non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors is a violation of children’s rights to autonomy and physical integrity. Contrary to popular belief, circumcision can cause complications – bleeding, infection, urethral stricture and panic attacks are particularly common. KNMG is therefore urging a strong policy of deterrence. KNMG is calling upon doctors to actively and insistently inform parents who are considering the procedure of the absence of medical benefits and the danger of complications.
As circumcision continues to fall out of favor in the US, I can't help but think that most intelligent, educated doctors in this country will reach the same conclusions regarding the unnecessary genital cutting of children, especially considering tomorrow's male doctors will most likely be intact.

During the transition period, I suspect that doctors who do continue to perform non-therapeutic circumcision on children will increasingly face lawsuits from both the children who are cut and the children's parents, who are so often being misled by the medical professionals they are supposed to trust.

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