The Nation Newspaper

Tag: restores

  • Tomatoes, fruits diet restores lungs damaged by smoking, says report

    Smokers who quit smoking and live on a diet high in tomatoes and fruits, particularly apples, have better chances of restoring their lung functions impaired by smoking, a new study finds.

    The study, published in the December issue of the European Respiratory Journal, said former smokers who eat more tomatoes and fresh fruits regularly saw a slower natural decline in lung function over 10 years.

    The study was conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

    According to it, adults who on average ate more than two tomatoes or more than three portions of fresh fruits and vegetables a day had a slower decline in lung function, compared to those who ate less than one tomato or less than one portion of fruits, daily.

    Lung function starts to decline at around 30 and poor lung function is linked to higher risks of death from all diseases, including chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, heart disease and lung cancer.

    “A diet rich in fruits can slow down the lung’s natural aging process even if you have never smoked,” said Vanessa Garcia-Larsen, the study’s lead author, who is also an assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health.

    Garcia-Larsen and her team examined diet and lung function of more than 650 adults from Germany, Norway and Britain in 2002 and performed lung function tests on the same group of participants 10 years later.

    The researchers found a more striking diet-lung-function among former smokers, who had around 80 ml slower decline over the 10-year period because their diets were highly rich in tomatoes and fruits.

    Such a result suggests that the nutrients in their diets are beneficial to repairing the lung damage done by smoking.

     

    •Source: NAN

  • Lagos restores hearing to 10 people

    The Lagos State Government has restored hearing to 10 people at the state teaching hospital (LASUTH) through cochlea implant surgery.

    The state government, according to the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof Wale Oke, paid N70 million to the hospital to carry out the surgery.

    He said the patients, who include six children and four adults, can now hear clearly on one ear because “it costs about N7million to do the other ear for each patient”.

    Deafness, Oke said, impedes growth, adding that the patients can now live a better life.

    “Besides this, we will send them to speech therapists to help them speak,” the CMD said.

    He said the hospital hopes to restore hearing to more as it now has necessary infrastructure and expertise. “This is the first time that a hospital in Nigeria has done this number of surgeries to restore hearing,” he said.

    For him, fund to buy implants and logistics is the problem.

    LASUTH Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Head, Dr Vincent Adekoya, said cochlea implant surgery was carried out on the patients because they have hearing loss, which could not be addressed by hearing aids.

    Hearing loss, he said, was the highest level of hearing problem.

    “Moreover, we accomplished bonebridge surgery for middle hearing problem in some of the patients. This is the first time it was done in Africa,” Adekoya said.

    He said the cochlea implant will pick sound through its microphone in the audio processor, adding that the audio processor analysis and codes sounds into a special pattern of digital information.

    “This information is sent and transmitted across the skin to the implant. The implant interprets the code and sends electrical pulses to the electrodes in the cochlea.  The auditory nerve picks up the signals and sends them to the auditory centre in the brain. The brain recognises these signals as sounds or hearing,” Adekoya said.

    He said hearing loss can be as a result of congenital problems, such as chromosomal abnormalities (mutations and inherited problems), diseases associated with prenatal infection, maternal drug abuse and environmental factors.

    Moreover, children and adults can also suffer ear problem from sudden trauma and drug use.

    An ENT consultant at the hospital, Dr Adeyinka Adesegun recommended neonatal screening.

    “The best time to screen babies for hearing is the first day up to the third month. And this can be done till the sixth months and one year before people can concluded that a child is actually deaf,” he said.

    He said early screening will help to avert pre-lingual as well as post-lingual deafness so that the person does not lose elasticity.

    Adesegun said treatment was possible at the hospital, stressing that the government, non-governmental organisation (NGO) and kind-hearted people should help indigent patients.

    Dr Olawale Olubi said catching hearing problem was best so that the brain could respond to treatment.

    He said deafness has been eradicated in some countries, adding that Nigeria can achieve same through collective effort.

    Olubi said in some developed countries, hearing screening was performed on babies the same day they were born.

    He said the recommended age to put hearing aid on a baby was when it is one year.

  • Lagos restores patients’ hearing

    Lagos restores patients’ hearing

    No fewer than 10 patients with hearing loss will be restored at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) between now and next month.

    On Monday, a 64-year-old  man has had his deafness reversed through cochlear implantation.

    This is courtesy of the hearing restoration initiative of the Lagos State government.

    The hospital’s Director of Clinical Service and Training (DCST), Dr Ayoade Adedokun, said some patients had been medically selected for the implantation.

    The hearing restoration, he said, was in line with the vision of the state to restore hope to the hopeless.

    “The experts have restored hearing to a 64-year-old man already. He is presently recuperating in the ward. The other nine surgeries would be performed between now and next month,” he said.

    He said cochlear implantation started in the hospital last year with experts coming from overseas to perform the first cochlear surgery, adding: “But by the end of last year, we were able to carry out another wholly by indigenous doctors. So, the one performed on the 64-year-old man would mark the beginning of the second set of surgeries performed by the hospital staff.”

    Adedokun said the capacity of LASUTH Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) experts was built in Austria about two years ago to enable them perform the surgery locally.

    This, he said, will deter Nigerians from seeking such treatment abroad as it is now available locally.

    The DCST said people who have lost their hearing because of their professional lives can be restored. Similarly, those with congenital hearing problem can hear again with cochlear implantation, he added.

    Adedokun thanked the government for initiating the programme, stressing that it is building on the foundation laid by the administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who transformed Ikeja General Hospital to LASUTH.

    Head, Department of ENT, Dr Vincent Adekoya said the ear is not just for hearing but also to maintain body balance.

    He said deafness can be mild and profound or severe, adding that patients with the latter can be restored because “they need an amplifier or microphone in their ears but if this cannot address their problem will be addressed through cochlear implantation.

    The causes of  hearing loss, he said, are congenital, meaning somebody was born with it, infections, such as mumps and measles and drugs.

    Some people, he said, can come down with hearing loss due to ear trauma, which can occur when people’s ears are exposed to more than 80 or 90 decibels of noise/sound.

    “This kind of hearing loss is common among factory workers where obsolete heavy equipment/ machines are used as they produce loud noise. Also, people who use headsets are prone to hearing loss, which destroys their ear cells,” Adekoya said.

    The ENT expert said the problem can be prevented if expectant mothers have antenatal and deliver at health facilities.

    According to him, no Austrian has hearing loss problem because there is a system, which allows experts to pick the condition six months after the birth babies in their country.

    Besides, factory workers should have regular hearing (auditory) test so that the problem can be picked early and treated.

    The use of headsets, Adekoya said, should be discouraged.

    He urged the Federal Government to put in place a policy to help minimise noise in public places, especially in residential areas.

  • Court restores family rights of monarch

    A Lagos High Court sitting at  Igbosere has restored the rights of Oba of Oworonsoki, Bashir Oloruntoyin Saliu, as a bonafide member of the Ojora royal family.

    Oba Saliu had approached the court  to challenge the withdrawal of his rights and privileges as a member of the family.

    He  also urged the court to compel the family, headed by the Ojora of Ijora, Fatai Oyeyinka Aromire ,to accord him his benefits and entitlements as a member of the family.

    Ruling on the suit on  June 5, 2015, Justice  Candide Johnson granted the prayers of the claimant and ordered that his rights be restored by the leadership of the royal family.

    A copy of the enrolment order obtained by our correspondent reads in part: “A declaration is granted that the applicant is a bona fide member of the Ojora Chieftaincy/Royal Family of Ijora, Lagos State.

    “An injunction is granted mandating the defendant as head of family and for and on behalf of Ojora Chieftaincy /Royal Family to accord the claimant any rights, privileges, benefits and entitlements as a bonafide member of the Ojora Chieftaincy/Royal Family of Ijora, Lagos State.”

  • Court restores APC aspirant’s mandate for Lagos assembly

    Court restores APC aspirant’s mandate for Lagos assembly

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday declared Wasiu Sanni as the lawful flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress(APC) representing the Lagos Island constituency 1 in the April 11 election.

    Justice Ibrahim Buba made this declaration while delivering judgement in a suit filed by Sanni against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC and Hakeem Masha, who was declared winner of the primary election.

    Sanni, in the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/34/15, had accused the APC of illegally transferring his mandate to Masha.

    He claimed to have polled 186 votes, while his opponent,  Masha  polled 70 votes in the December 2, 2014, party primary in Lagos.

    The plaintiff, through his lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, sought a declaration of the court that the substitution of his name in the list forwarded to INEC with that of Masha, ran contrary of the provisions of sections 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Electoral Act, 2010.

    In a 37-paragraph affidavit deposed to support the originating suit, Sanni averred that he has  not, at any time withdrew his candidacy in the race for the Lagos House of Assembly on the platform of the APC.

    He insisted that he  remains the substantive and the lawfully-nominated candidate of the APC.

    “I state that I am alive, fully fit and in good condition of health.”

    But the APC and Masha, through their lawyers, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and Mr.  Bonojo Badejo (SAN), raised objection to the plaintiff’s prayers.

    Falana and Badejo  described the suit as “frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court processes” and urged the court to dismiss same for want of jurisdiction.

    They also contended that the suit was “not initiated by the due process of law.”

  • DHQ restores GSM in Adamawa

    DHQ restores GSM in Adamawa

    The Defence Headquarters has ordered the restoration of GSM services in Adamawa State.

    It also set to subject the report of its fact-finding team on Yobe killings to analysis.

    Defence Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade said the restoration of GSM followed consideration of various appeals and the need to ease the situation in this Ramadan season.

    The statement said: “The Defence headquarters has authorised the restoration of GSM services in Adamawa State. This is sequel to positive indications in the ongoing security evaluation of the situation in the states affected by the State of Emergency.

    “This development is in line with the planned phased restoration of the facility in response to the reality of the situation in the states. Accordingly, the services will be subsequently restored in the other states as soon as the evaluation indicates sufficient clearance for the release.

    “This measure is also in consideration of various appeals and need to reassure the public that the measure is purely for security reasons, as well as the need to ease the situation in line with the Ramadan season.

    On the fact-finding team to Yobe over the killing of 29 pupils, the statement said the outcome of the trip would be presented to the DHQ for due analysis and action of the DHQ

    The statement added: “The leader of the DHQ team, Major General Obinali Ariahu, informed the governor that the team was in the state to assess the deployment of the JTF troops as well as their requirements to carry out their task in forestalling any breach of security in the state. He conveyed the sympathy and condolences of the Chief of Defence Staff to the Government and people of Yobe State on the loss of lives occasioned by the terrorist attacks on the school and other locations.

    “The General informed the Governor that the Team had visited the scene of the incident at Mamudo as well as various troops’ locations in the state.

    “He said the outcome of its fact-finding mission especially as it concerns the attack on the school would be presented for due analysis and action of the DHQ with a view to enhancing the capacity of the forces to prevent or respond to similar occurrences in the future.

    “Continuing, the team leader expressed the appreciation of the military authorities for the understanding and support of the state to the JTF. He assured the people of the state that the forces would remain committed to discharging their duties with due efficiency.

    “The team had earlier interacted with community leaders, Local Government officials, education authorities as well as teachers in Mamudo and environs to obtain necessary information. It also interviewed commanders and troops in the area.

    “The DHQ Fact Finding Team has since returned to Abuja to brief the Chief of Defence Staff.

    Yobe State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, commended the Federal Government and the Defence Headquarters for the interest shown in the security of the state by promptly sending a high-powered Fact Finding team to the state after the weekend terrorist attack on Government Secondary School, Mamudo.

    “Speaking while receiving the Defence Headquarters Fact-Finding Team in his office in Damaturu on Wednesday, the Governor noted that the gesture was the first of its kind in response to a disaster in the state.

    “He also declared that the Joint Task Force deployed in the state was doing its best in addressing the security challenges.

    “Continuing, the Governor remarked that the incident in Mamudo was an unfortunate and painful disaster.”

    “He said such places would require extraordinary protection. He therefore called for appropriate strategies to tackle the peculiar reality of the security challenges in such localities. “

  • Appeal Court restores Ondo ACN’s, Oke’s, CPC’s petitions

    Appeal Court restores Ondo ACN’s, Oke’s, CPC’s petitions

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday set aside the ruling of the Justice Andovar Kaka’n led Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the consolidated petition of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    The five-man Appeal Panel, led by Justice Tijani Abdullahi, in a unanimous judgment, allowed parts of the appeal of the ACN, PDP and CPC, but dismissed the appeal of the Accord candidate, Mr. Olawale Ojo James.

    It restored several paragraphs of the ACN’s petition, wherein the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was alleged to have manipulated the 2012 voters’ register.

    The paragraphs were earlier struck out by the lower tribunal.

    The court also allowed the ACN to challenge the election results in Okitipupa and Ilaje local governments, which were won by the PDP.

    The lower tribunal had ruled that ACN could not challenge the result since PDP won in those councils.

    The Appeal Court restored all paragraphs of the PDP candidate’s (Mr. Olusola Oke’s) petition, where PDP was mentioned.

    It ruled over the submission of counsel to Governor Olusegun Mimiko and the LP, Mr. Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Yusuf Ali (SAN), challenging the competence of the Appeal Court to entertain the case of the PDP.

    The Appeal Court said there are repetitions in the first and second respondents’ grounds.

    It restored paragraphs 38, 45, 46, 47, 54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 66, 67, 68 of the PDP’s petition, but said the tribunal was right to have struck out paragraphs 10, 13, 36, 40, 42, 55, 57.

    The court dismissed cross appeals on the case.

    It upheld the dismissal of the petition by the Accord’s candidate, Mr. Olawale Ojo, saying it lacks merit.

    The court ordered the tribunal to hear the petition of the CPC and its candidate, Prince Olusoji Ehinlanwo, but affirmed that paragraphs 10, 11, 33, 37, 38, 40, 41 and 59, which contain generic terms, were rightly struck out by the tribunal.

    It said the tribunal acted within the law by striking out paragraphs of the CPC’s petition where criminal allegations were made against unidentified people, who were not joined in the petition.

    Speaking with reporters after the sitting, ACN’s counsel Titiloye Charles praised the Appeal Court for standing by the principle of fair hearing.

    He said the paragraphs restored to the ACN’s petition would boost the party’s chances of getting a positive ruling at the tribunal.

    Mimiko’s counsel Eyitayo Jedege said: “Do not forget that there is a court higher than the Court of Appeal. We may challenge the ruling, but the decision will be taken by the council of lawyers constituted for the tribunal.”

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Agbede, the ACN hailed the judgment.

    It said: “We hail the Appellate Court for its judgment on the appeal of the ACN and Akeredolu, which restored the original petition at the tribunal.

    “The ruling has no doubt put a final nail on the coffin of Mimiko’s illegal stay in the Government House. We praise the courage of the judges in upholding the truth and preserving the sanctity of the judiciary, even in the face of corruption.

    “The ruling of these respected jurists signalled the end of the road for the respondents’ legal teams, who were hoping to cling to the ruling of the lower tribunal on the paragraphs to salvage their incurably bad case.”