Implementing the essential medicine concept in the country with the highest GDP per capita in the world

Qatar, an oil-exporting country with a population of about 1.7 million, achieved the highest gross domestic product [GDP] per capita in the world in 2010. Total health expenditure as a percentage of GDP in 2010 in Qatar was 2.0%, with the government's share at 75% of the total health care budget. Hamad Medical Corporation hospitals and the independent public Qatar Primary Health Care [PHC] centres are the main public health care service providers. PHC consists of 24 centres providing a wide range of health services. The PHC medicines list is a subset of the Hamad Medical Corporation medicine list. However, the PHC list of medicines could be improved both in its selection procedures and medicines included to correlate more directly to type of medical services provided by the Qatar PHC system in its different types of centres

Overview of blood transfusion system of Iran: 2002-3011

Despite importance of blood transfusion services as life saving procedures, some countries are unable to meet their national requirements for blood and blood components in a timely manner. Since establishment of Iran Blood Transfusion Organization [IBTO] in 1974 as an integral part of national health system, Iran has experienced a drastic improvement both in availability and safety of blood and blood products. Iran now has not only reached to a 100% non remunerated voluntary blood donation but also secured a national selt sufficiency of blood and blood components. Efforts of IBTO as the sole player of transfusion medicines in Iran enabled the country for timely providing of life saving blood transfusion services for all Iranian patients in need of such services. In order to meet the country's demand in 2011 about 2 million units of whole blood for a population of about 75 million collected by IBTO. This indicates 26.2 donations per 1000 population. Currently about 94% of blood donors in Iran are 25-35 years old males and contribution of female donors in blood donation is less than 6%. IBTO screen all donated blood for important transfusion transmissible infections such as HBY, HIV, HCV and syphilis. Prevalence of HBsAg, HCV and HIV in donated blood in IBTO in 2011 was 0.20%, 0.06% and 0.004% respectively

Social consequences of infected haemophilia cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The unintentional contamination of haemophilia patients with HIV in the early 1980s raised serious questions about the safety of blood product supplies worldwide. The events initiated a cascade of consequences for both infected patients and the national health systems of many countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. Lawsuits have been filed in the courts mostly in developed countries, leading to the establishment of some kind of reimbursement programme for haemophilia patients who acquired viral infections. In the late 1990s the courts ordered the Iranian Ministry of Health, in addition to providing free care with the latest treatments, to pay compensation to the haemophilia patients. The adverse consequences of these events on the equitable distribution of resources in the Iranian health care system are discussed in this paper

Evaluation of availability, accessibility and prescribing pattern of medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Prescribing, dispensing, availability and affordability of drugs were evaluated in 100 primary health care centres in 5 provinces of the Islamic Republic of Iran using WHO indicators. On average, 92% of the 12 essential drugs monitored were available in the health centre pharmacies and 95% of the drugs prescribed by the physician were dispensed by the health centre pharmacy. The stock-out duration was less than 1 month on average. A complete treatment for pneumonia cost only 2% of the lowest weekly government salary. The national average number of drugs per prescription was 3.4. Prescription of antibiotics and injectable drugs was very high [58% and 41% respectively]. Although availability and affordability of essential drugs is good in this country, rational use of drugs needs to be emphasized

Effect of garlic extract on cutaneous leishmaniasis and the role of nitric oxide

The production of nitric oxide [NO] is important in the final outcome of leishmaniasis in animal models. The efficacy of garlic therapy and a combination of garlic and vitamin A were compared with an antimonial drug [glucantime] to assess healing and regulation of NO release in mice infected with Leishmania major. The mice were subjected to 3 105 promastigotes and allowed to induce a lesion. The mice were treated with above compounds twice a day for 45 days. The diameter of the lesion was measured on days 1, 10, 20, 30 and 45. In a separate experiment, NO release by peritoneal macrophages was measured. The diameter of lesion was reduced by aqueous extract of garlic within 30 days of treatment. However, the maximum reduction was induced when mice were subjected to vitamin A for 10 days before the administration of the aqueous extract for 30 days. A significant correlation between healing and the amount of NO release was also found. A combination of aqueous extract of garlic and vitamin A can treat leishmanisis

Metabolism of nitrobenzylthioinosine in leukemic cells

Nitrobenzylthioinosine [NBRT] an equilibrative nucleoside transporter inhibitor, was anabolized to its nucleotides following incubation with human erythrocytes, fresh and cultured leukemic cells. Concentration of NBMPR and its nucleotides in acute myelogenus leukemic [AML] cells were significantly higher than those in chronic lymphocytic [CLL] and chronic myelogenous [CML] leukemic cells. However, no significant correlation was found between concentration of cellular NBMPR and its nucleotides. In contrast to lymphocytes, human erythrocytes anabolized NBMPR only to NBMPR-monophosphate but no di- or triphosphate NBMPR was found following incubation of NBMPR with human erythrocytes. Phosphorylation of NBMPR in lymphocytes was almost completely inhibited in the presence of 10 micro M of adenosine kinase inhibitor, 5-iodotubercidin, indicating that anabolism of NBMPR was cayalyzed by adenosine kinase. NBMPR was stable up to 86% in plasma following in vitro incubation with whole blood obtained from leukemic patients. 6-thioinosine was the only significant metabolite of NBMPR in plasma [8% of total radioactive dose]. NBMPR was stable following overnight incubation with human purine nucleoside phosphorylase. No incorporation of NBMPR and/or its metabolites in nucleic acids was observed following overnight incubation of [3H]- NBMPR with fresh leukemic lymphocytes