NEWS - ~ Houla: How a massacre unfolded

At least 108 people were killed in Taldou, the majority of them women
and children
Syria Crisis
Press split on mass killing
'They had no mercy'
Course change unlikely
Al-Qaeda foothold?
The village of Taldou, near the town of Houla inSyria's Homs province
was the scene of one of the worst massacres in the country's
14-month-long uprising on Friday.
United Nations observers on the ground have confirmed that at least
108people were killed, including 49 children and 34 women. Some were
killed by shell fire, others appear to have been shot or stabbed at
close range.
But at whose hands they died remains a matter of contention.
Anti-government activists and eyewitnesses interviewed by a limited
number of journalists and human rights groups at thescene point the
finger at the Syrian army and the shabiha , a sectarian
civilianmilitia that supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
The government however denies all responsibility, saying its soldiers
were attacked and armed terrorists went on to shoot and stab
civilians.
The United Nations has condemned the"indiscriminate and
disproportionate use of force", but Maj Gen Robert Mood, the head of
the UN Supervision Mission in Syria(UNSMIS), said "the circumstances
that led to these tragic killings are stillunclear".
I was in a room by myselfwhen I heard the sound of a man. He was
shouting and yelling at my family. I looked outside the room and saw
all of my family members shot"
Survivor of the Houla massacre
He told a closed session of the UN Security Council that there is
evidence of tank shelling, artillery fire and "physical abuse". He
confirmed that the deaths were from shell shrapnel and gunfire at
"point-blank" range, but did not say who the mission thought was
responsible for the close-range killing.
Protest attacked
The picture being pieced together by activists, survivors and the
limited number of international journalists and human rights
organisations in Syria is of an attack that began with the army
shelling the town and ended with militiamen killing people
house-by-house late into the night.
Reports suggest that at about 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Friday,
just after midday prayers, soldiers fired on a protest in Taldou in
the Houla area to disperse the crowds.
Some accounts say that opposition fighters then attacked the Syrian
army position where the firing was coming from.
According to Syria's foreignministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi,
"hundreds of gunmen" armed with machine guns, mortars andanti-tank
missiles attacked soldiers, killing three.
Activists and eyewitnesses say the Syrian army shelledthe town,
reportedly at first with tank fire then with mortars, in a sustained
bombardment that lasted at least two hours.
This tallies with UN accounts of tank and mortar shells in civilian
areas. The UN Security Council issued a statement saying that "such
outrageous use of force against civilian population constitutes a
violation of applicable international law".
Mr Makdissi said that the army did not send tanks into the village and
security forces remained in their defensive positions.
House-to-house attacks
Any civilian deaths, he said,were the result of "armed terrorist
gangs" going house to house and killing men, women and children.
But according to activists and eyewitnesses interviewed by Human
Rights Watch, British broadcaster Channel 4 and others, army shelling
paved the way for a concerted ground attack bythe Alawite-dominated
pro-government militia, the shabiha.
Taldou, Houla region
The region of Houla, in thewest of Syria, comprises several villages
and small towns
The village of Taldou lies around 2km south-west of the main town,
also called Houla
The area is in the provinceof Homs, which has seen heavy fighting in
recent months
Houla's villages are predominantly Sunni Muslim, but the region is
ringed by a number of Alawite villages - the sect of the Syrian
president Bashar al-Assad
Their reports suggest that men from the shabiha entered people's
houses in army fatigues and either cut their throats or shot them in
the head from approximately 16:00 to 01:00 on Saturday morning.
One opposition activist from the area, Hamza Omar, told the BBC: "The
shabiha militias attacked the houses. They had no mercy. We took
pictures of children, under 10 years [old] their hands tied, and shot
at close range."
If that is the case, it is possible the killers were drawn from a
string of largely Alawite villages to the south of Houla region.
Fearing reprisals, some residents there have apparently been donating
blood to help the approximately 300 injured.

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HEALTH - ~ Morphine and pain control

Daniel Hopkins was told six weeks ago that he has advanced lung cancer.
The 85-year-old from Leeds knows his time left islimited, but he has
also hadto cope with terrible pain from the cancer, which hadspread to
his spine.
Treatment with morphine has changed that. He is delighted with his
care at St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds, and hoping to go home soon.
I didn't realise it was possible that medicines existed which could
relieve that level of pain. They have turned my life around."
Anne Jarvis
Patient
He told me: "On a scale of one to ten, the pain was offthe top - it
was excruciating. Now, I don't have any pain at all. It's marvellous."
Those views are echoed by another patient with advanced cancer at St
Gemma's, who is also planning to return home this week.
Anne Jarvis has head and neck cancer and has had her voice-box
removed. She is treated with a slow-release opioid patch.
"My pain was totally debilitating and it made it impossible to think
straight. I didn't realise it was possible that medicines existed
which could relieve that level of pain. They have turned my life
around."
Both are cancer patients but opioids are equally needed to help
patients with a range of other debilitating conditions suchas heart
failure, kidney andrespiratory illness and neurodegenerative
disorders.
New guidance for England and Wales from the health watchdog NICE makes
it clear that pain is being hugely under-treated. It wants doctors to
prescribe opioids, like morphine, more often. The guidance says that
these powerful medicines are often the only means of controlling pain.
I have written more about the guidelines here.
Mike Bennett, St Gemma's professor of palliative medicine at the
University of Leeds, said both doctors and patients needed reassurance
about opioids. He said: "Many doctors share concerns that patients
will become addicted, which is rare."
Natalie Laine says despite great nursing care her husband's death was
not peaceful
The University of Leeds andSt Gemma's Hospice have begun a support
programme for patients starting opioid treatment, which will monitor
and manage symptoms.
Reading the guidance and research in the British Medical Journal, I
was amazed at the apparent scale of under-treatment.
It would appear nearly halfof all patients with advanced cancer do not
have adequate pain controlin addition to others with chronic
debilitating conditions.
He was begging me for help but there was nothing I could do. Stronger
opioids would have made a big difference and dealt as much with his
anxiety as his pain"
Natalie Laine
Wife of patient
Natalie Laine's husband Mark died from motor neurone disease three
years ago at the age of just32.
He had been on opioids for several months. She says he was very
worried about becoming addicted as he knew he would need higher doses
as his disease progressed.
Despite excellent nursing care, Mrs Laine says her husband had a
terrible end."He wanted to be out of it at the end and was extremely
anxious. He was begging me for help but there was nothing I could do.
Stronger opioids wouldhave made a big differenceand dealt as much with
his anxiety as his pain."
The NICE guidance is not specifically about end-of-life care but
rather patientsliving day-to-day with chronic pain. Nonetheless itwill
be another factor which will inform the debate about care for the
dying.
My television report on thisissue is here - just click on the picture
below. My thanks to all those patientsand medical staff who gaveup
their time to enable me to report on this importantissue.
Many patients with advanced cancer and other debilitating conditions
are being "under-treated" for their pain/

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HEALTH - ~ NEWS - ~ Seaweed chemical can help treat arthritis, say scientists

Seaweed chemical can help treat arthritis, say scientists

A chemical produced by"nuisance" seaweed which has been destroying
coral reefs in Hawaii could be used to develop drugs to treat
arthritis, scientists say.
Researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in US found
the seaweed is packed with tiny photosynthetic organisms called
"cyanobacterium" which produce compounds that have shown promise in
combating bacterial infections.
It could also be used in future medicines to treat other chronic
diseases fromarthritis to cancer to heart trouble, the researchers
said.
The researchers, who first found the organism in 2008 off the Kona
coast of Hawaii, took samples in 2009 as they were overgrowing and
smothering the corals underneath by releasing a chemical that was
causing the corals to bleach.
Tests on the chemical revealed some surprising results - the seaweed
was generating natural products called honaucins, which had potent
anti-inflammation and bacteria-controlling properties, the Daily Mail
reported.
"In different arenas these compounds could be helpful, such as
treating chronic inflammatory conditions for which we currently don't
have really good medicines. Even nuisance pests, as it turns out, are
not just pests," said Prof William Gerwick, who led the research.
"These organisms have been on the planet for millions of years and so
it is not surprising that they have evolved numerous strategies for
competing with neighboring species, including chemical warfare," added
co-author Jennifer Smith.
"Several species of cyanobacteria and algae are known to produce novel
compounds, many that have promising use in drug development for human
and other uses."
About 350 million people worldwide have arthritis that causes pain and
inflammation within a joint. Currently, there is no cure for it though
painkillers and non-steroidal drugs are often prescribed to help treat
the symptoms.
"It's a long road to go fromthis early-stage discovery to application
in the clinic but it's the only road if we want new and more
efficacious medicines," ProfGerwick said.

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HEALTH - ~ The protein that reveals the heart’s ability to repair itself: Thymosin Beta-4

Beyond all the miraculous systems in the body, the heart by itself is
one of the finest examples of flawless creation. No similar artificial
mechanism that"can keep someone alive" has thus far been built,
despite all the recent scientific advances. With the cells that
comprise it, its special valve systems and the manner in which the
opening and closing of these valves isregulated, the heart is an organ
with exceptionally complex and special systems. No other organ can do
anything like the work it performs.
· What happens in the event of an impairment in the functioning of thisorgan?
· How can the heart repair itself following a heart attack?
· What role does the thymosin beta-4 (TB4) molecule play in the
heart's self-repair?
Although it is only 22 dayssince its creation, a small collection of
cells on the left side of the fetus begins to move. This collection of
cells will never stop now, not for a very long time. It will never
tire. It will beat approximately 70 times per minute, some 35 million
times per year, andaround two trillion times over the course of an
average life span. It will pump some 227 million liters of blood over
the course of a lifetime. It will tirelessly feed all the organs of
the body through the network of blood vessels . The heart functions
perfectly in every body because Allah so chooses, and everything it
does is underour Lord's control at every moment. Allah exhibits
Hisartistry of detail in the human body and reveals this in a verse:
" Allah brought you out of your mothers' wombs knowing nothing at all,
and gave you hearing, sight and hearts so that perhaps you would show
thanks." (Surat an-Nahl, 78)
This organ, the foundationof life, also uses blood to nourish itself.
However, in order to remind people of their weakness, our Lord may
sometimes cause the vessels that feed the heartto narrow, using such
natural causes as cholesterol (blood fats), other fats, calcium and
combinations of other substances. This then leadsto impaired
circulation in the blood vessels (coronary arteries) that supply the
heart, finally resulting in a heart defect. When the narrowing of the
vessels turns into complete blockage over the course of time, the
result is severe chest pain and a heart attack. This generally proves
fatal, though some victims do survive. But their hearts still suffer
damage from the attack.
Recent studies have once again shown Almighty Allah's love for and
mercy on His servants. Because a protein that the heart produces
during the developmental stage in children enables the damaged heart
to be repaired and increases the vessels supplying it.
The Healing Power of the Heart: Thymosin Beta-4
During a heart attack, heart cells die when the flow of blood to the
heart is suddenly cut off, resulting in irreparable damage. This
damage persists in the form of a decreased quality of life in the
patient's later life.
Until recently it used to bethought that, unlike other organs, the
heart had no ability to repair itself. Today, however, we knowthat
this damage can be put right by the body. The protein thymosin beta-4
(TB4), which plays a key role in the development ofthe heart in
children, activates stem cells that are lie dormant in the adult
heart. These tiny proteins, known as thymosin, which comes in two
forms in living tissue, α 1 and β 4, possess the ability to reprogram
cells in the body. The protein is today administered in the form of a
drug, and sends the stem cells a code regarding the repair of
theheart. The heart thus healsitself without the need for other
treatment. Administered in pharmaceutical form, this protein improves
heart performance by up to 25%by causing stem cells to turn into heart
and artery cells. It repairs the damaged heart cells, increases the
arteries supplying the heart and permits the muscles to repair
themselves.
Allah, the Creator of All, Is Most Great
Events in our body that we are unaware of, and whose existence we have
usually never even heard of, take place inside us with the greatest
regularity. Our heartbeat, essential for our survival, is not
something we initiate or maintain of our own will. Our heart is one of
the organs miraculouslycreated by our Lord. This organ begins beating
as a collection of cells when a person is still in his mother's womb,
and continues to flawlessly discharge its duties until the end of that
person's life.
Research in recent years has revealed that in the event of a defect
arising inthis immaculately functioning organ, various proteins go
into action to repair it.

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