Doctors suspended over "kofta " device

[newcastle]

I don't know whether to laugh...or weep.



3 Egyptian Doctors Suspended for Using ‘Kofta Aids’ Device
Written by Rana Elhawary

Three Egyptian doctors have been banned from practicing medicine for three years by the Primary Disciplinary Board of the Egyptian Doctor’s Syndicate.

The decision made by the board comes from evidence that shows that these doctors have been using the, now infamous, “Kofta Gate” device (commonly known as Kofta Aids), invented by Egyptian military major general Ibrahim Abd El-Hafez.

Aside from all the ridicule that this device — supposedly invented as a cure for AIDs and Virus C — has received on all media platforms, it is very important to note that the Kofta Gate has received no official backing from any reputable member of the medical/scientific community.

Nor has it received any backing from any reputable, international or national, medical/scientific organization.

Despite all of these facts, Egyptian military major general Ibrahim has stated that “the military has not officially stopped backing this device”. This, I think, is where the greater problem lies.

While it is a great step that the syndicate took steps to punish doctors who use this device, the fact that no official statement has been released that bans and/or condemns the device makes me wonder if we can even fully blame these doctors for using the device.

Moreover, the fact that this device is being marketed and promoted as a “Made in Egypt” product truly complicates any attempt at a scientific-based criticism.

Those who attack the product are viewed in contempt because the issue gets quickly transformed into that person being fundamentally unpatriotic.

Furthermore, the doctors who have been caught using this device may genuinely view that they are doing their country a favor.

Apparently, science is being ignored, medical ethics are being side tracked, and human lives do not matter in the face of some faulty associated made between this device, and ideas like patriotism and encouraging local-based achievements.

WE SAID THIS: Although patriotism should not generally be shoved into every other discussion, this is especially true when people’s lives are at stake.

http://scoopempire.com/egypt-doctors-su ... ds-device/



You'd think the packaging would put most people off. Dog turd anyone?

If I ever became ill in Egypt I'd be straight to the airport if there was a breath left in my body

[Dusak]

Things could be worse, they could be contemplating bringing some of these back.

Enemas in medieval times were performed by devices called clysters. A clyster was a long metal tube with a cup on the end. The tube would be entered into the anus and a medicinal fluid poured into the cup. The fluid would then be introduced into the colon by a series of pumping actions. Although warm soapy water is used for enemas today, things were a little more earthy back then: one of the most common fluids finding its way into a clyster was a concoction of boar’s bile.

Even kings were high up on the clyster. King Louis XIV of France is said to have had over 2,000 enemas during his reign—some even administered while he sat on his throne.

Though it may not have been common, there is evidence to suggest that urine was occasionally used as an antiseptic in the Medieval Era. Henry VIII’s surgeon, Thomas Vicary, recommended that all battle wounds should be washed in urine. In 1666, the physician George Thomson recommended urine to be used on the plague. And there was even a bottled version: Essence Of Urine.

This isn’t quite as insane as it seems: urine is sterile when it leaves the body and may have been a healthier alternative than most water—which came with no such guarantee of cleanliness.

During the Middle Ages, cataract surgery was performed with a thick needle. The procedure involved pushing the cornea to the back of the eye.

Of course, eye surgery changed rapidly once Islamic medicine began to influence European practices. Rather than a needle, a metal hypodermic syringe was inserted through the sclera (the white part of the eye) and then used to extract of cataracts via suction.
7 Hot Iron For Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids

It was once believed that if a person did not pray to St. Fiacre (the “protector against hemorrhoids”) they would suffer from, you guessed it, hemorrhoids. If you were one of those unlucky fellows, you’d be sent off to the monks—who would put a red-hot iron up your anus. Nasty, but the less painful alternative was equally less effective: they’d send you to go and sit on St. Fiacre’s famous rock, the spot where the seventh-century Irish monk was miraculously cured of his hemorrhoids. It was for this reason that throughout the Middle Ages, hemorrhoids were called “Saint Fiacre’s illness.”

By the 12th century, things had changed. Jewish physician Moses Maimonides wrote a seven-chapter treatise on hemorrhoids calling into question the contemporary state of treatment. He prescribed a far simpler method: a good soak in a bath.
6 Deadly Surgery

Medieval surgery

Despite what blockbuster movies may have taught you, going under the knife without any anesthetic wasn’t as common in the medieval period as some people claim. In fact, medicine throughout this time was quite progressive: as the world expanded and travelers came from far afield, doctors from two different cultures would often share notes, and new practices were constantly being put to use.

However, even if the will for better medical care was there, the knowledge of chemicals certainly wasn’t. Although anesthetic was administered, analgesics, antibiotics, and disinfectants were a far cry from what they are today. As a result, many people died from infected wounds.


5 Poisonous Anesthetics

Medieval Hammer

As stated above, anesthetics were far from the established science they are today. In fact, general anesthesia is only about 150 years old. Before these advances, a rather crude brew of herbs mixed with wine was used to sedate the patient instead. The most common of these herbal anesthetics was known as dwale.

There were numerous ingredients in dwale—from the innocuous, such as lettuce and vinegar, to the deadly, such hemlock and opium. Much like modern knockout drugs, mixing these ingredients incorrectly could result in the patient’s death.
4 Trepanning

Trepanning

Trepanning involved boring a small hole into the skull to expose the dura mater, the outer membrane of the brain. The practice was believed to alleviate pressure and treat health problems localized within the head, though it was also thought to cure epilepsy, migraines, and mental disorders and were a common “fix” for more physical problems such as skull fractures. Needless to say, such exposure of the brain to airborne germs would often be fatal.

Trepanning as a practice has not been completely abandoned: it was performed as recently as 2000 when two men in the US used it to treat a woman suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.
3 Surgery On The Battlefield

Medieval Surgery Again

In medieval times, battlefield medicine was about as grisly as it gets, and arrows were one of the main culprits. Arrowheads were commonly attached to the shaft with wax for one single purpose: so that when the arrow was pulled out, the tip would break off inside the victim’s body. Purpose-built “arrow removers”—designed to pinch the tip and pull it from the body—were used to heal wounded soldiers. The wound was then cauterized with a red-hot iron to stop the bleeding and prevent infections.

While much has been forgotten about the medical capabilities of this era, research has shown that it may have been more effective than you might think. A set of bones from 500-700 AD discovered in Italy in 2011 showed that soldiers of that era could survive massive blows to the head. One of the remains even showed evidence that the individual had survived after suffering a five-centimeter (two-inch) hole to the head.
2 Medical Astrology

Medieval Astrology

Back in medieval times, astrologers were so revered that many thought they were real-life magicians. The truth is, they were respected scholars who advised on increasing crop yield, predicted the weather, and informed a family-to-be what sort of personality their child would have. The latter would often have consequences for the child’s medical care.

Doctors would refer to special calendars that contained star charts in order to aid with diagnosis. By the 1500s, the physicians of Europe were legally required to assess a patient’s horoscope before embarking on any medical interference.

Astrology suggests that each body part is influenced by the sun, moon, and planets, and that each star sign presides over different parts of the body. Aries, for example, pertains to the head, face, brain, and eyes; whereas Scorpio represents the reproductive system, sexual organs, bowels and excretory system. After the patient’s star chart was examined and the current position of the stars was taken into account, a person’s ailment could be predicted and a diagnosis would be made.
1 Bloodletting

Blood_letting

Doctors of the medieval period believed in things called “humors.” The word “humors” referred to certain fluids found in the body: blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. “Humorism” was developed from the musings of Greek and Roman physicians who believed an excess or deficiency of any of the four humors would strongly influence a person’s health.

For some reason, in the Middle Ages, blood—and excess blood in particular—was often seen as the cause of multiple ailments. Therefore, doctors would remove large quantities of blood from a person’s veins in the hope that it would cure them. The two main ways of doing this were leeching and venesection.

In leeching, a leech was placed on the part of the body that was a concern and the “blood-worm” would suck blood (and, in theory, the illness) from the patient. Venesection was a little bit more direct: a doctor would literally open up a vein using a knife called a “fleam” and allow blood to drain from the body.

Bloodletting was so common that some people drained their blood regularly just because they believed it would keep them healthy. Surely a half-hour jog is a better way to stay fit?

[John Landon]

...And that is science for you !

They too have to move with the times when they are proved wrong.


Had I presented to science that the earth was round back in 1560, I would have been ridiculed and abused by the scientific community.

Today, I would be ridiculed for saying the earth is flat by the very same community. But science knows so much more today and cant possibly be wrong, because this is the 21st Century right ?

[Winged Isis]

Re Trepaning. " Needless to say, such exposure of the brain to airborne germs would often be fatal."

Indeed, but amazingly there were also survivors, as evidenced by the re-growth of bone at the site. I have a photo of one such in the Citadel Museum in Amman, Jordan, which had three holes! There's no way of telling how long they lived, but they did. I have seen similar in other museums.

[newcastle]

...And that is science for you !

They too have to move with the times when they are proved wrong.

And they do! That is the very essence of the scientific method. If the theory is contradicted by evidence...you revise the theory. The religious and the non-scientists simply stick their heads in the sand and repeat their dogma like a mantra

Had I presented to science that the earth was round back in 1560, I would have been ridiculed and abused by the scientific community.

No you wouldn't. It was the scientific method which PROVED the earth was not flat. It was the ignorant and the church who believed in the literal word of the bible and who resisted the obvious

Today, I would be ridiculed for saying the earth is flat by the very same community. But science knows so much more today and cant possibly be wrong, because this is the 21st Century right ?

Science is always revising and refining its opinions and current hypotheses are frequently proved wrong. Again...this is the essential distinction between science and cobbled-together theories, based on little or no evidence

Not that I'd expect you to understand, let alone agree

[John Landon]

Science is only right until it is proved wrong ! Keep an open mind.....

[newcastle]

Re Trepaning. " Needless to say, such exposure of the brain to airborne germs would often be fatal."

Indeed, but amazingly there were also survivors, as evidenced by the re-growth of bone at the site. I have a photo of one such in the Citadel Museum in Amman, Jordan, which had three holes! There's no way of telling how long they lived, but they did. I have seen similar in other museums.

Mediaeval medicine was bit "hit & miss" and it's hardly surprising that some survived trepaning...although I imagine many more didn't

Science has enabled us to understand much more what we are doing, the rationale behind it, leading to the huge advances in medicine. Trepaning is basically intended to relieve pressure, which, on the brain, is deadly. It's still performed today...although under much better circumstances

We understand, unlike doctors in the middle ages, the nature of infection and have developed various means if combating it....rather than applying a range of remedies, a few of which might have had a positive effect, most of which were pointless....and some of which made the problem worse.

Sadly, there are still some people who are so committed to their unproven, unsubstantiated, ideas that they resist the advance of science.....maybe for fear of ridicule. They are a bit like a modern day "inquisition"...fortunately, without the wherewithal to inflict their ignorance on society generally.

[newcastle]

Science is only right until it is proved wrong ! Keep an open mind.....

The only sensible statement you've made lately...well done!

What you need to understand is that scientists are constantly trying to challenge their own ideas...and have absolutely no problem confronting evidence that disproves their theories.

In contrast, the non-scientist , when confronted with evidence contradicting his/her ideas, just rolls up into a ball...like a hedgehog

[John Landon]

science rarely challenges its own ideas, they usually end up accepting the theories of "out of the box" thinkers, once those theories have been accepted as self evident after much debate and study in that direction.

The reason many people "roll up into a ball" is that they realise what they are dealing with, and get fed up explaining themselves and not being taken seriously enough for science to explore.
Also one has to accept that some arguments are just not worth wasting effort on, and the status quo can carry on for now.

In Ancient Greece, they said that all the Gods lived on top of Mount Olympus. Look at the implications of those beliefs upon the people and leaders...! Why did no one bother to ascend this easily climbable mountain and check for themselves ?

[newcastle]

science rarely challenges its own ideas

Bunkum! The very essence of science is to constantly challenge...particularly if there's the slightest discrepancy in what a theory predicts versus empirical evidence. It's what led Einstein to relativity.

The reason many people "roll up into a ball" is that they realise what they are dealing with, and get fed up explaining themselves and not being taken seriously enough for science to explore.

Oh Diddums! No-one wants to hurt your feelings! There's a whole nation of pseudoscientists and purveyors of alternative theories (ideally requiring no evidence) just waiting to discuss the most outlandish of your ideas.

I daresay you're familiar with them....

[Hafiz]

Expectedly, Dr. Major General Ibrahim Abdel Atti in charge of the whole fiasco, who headed the 10 year project, who was medically trained and did all the press at the time, seems to have emerged unscathed – but definitely infected with something.

Given the President was enticed to attend the press conference announcing the cure, whats the betting that the aged and very unhealthy looking (at the time) Dr. Major General is now on gardening leave.


Even though I don’t put much weight on bed-side manner or appearance I wouldn’t let that doctor touch me.

The Dr. Major General must be kicking himself that he didn’t take the money at the time and run:

“He (the Dr. Major General) himself, he declared, had turned down an offer of $2 billion for the technology from an unnamed foreign firm after it rejected his stipulation that it must “write that its inventor was Egyptian, Arab and Muslim”. http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegran ... s-generals

The enthusiastic unnamed foreign firm must be relieved that it missed the bullet – and missed it only because it was racist and anti-Arab. Shame on them for their racism, however racism did save them a lot of money so maybe, in this case, racism was a good thing.

Maybe the good Dr. should now be disciplined for fluffing the Egyptian financial deal of the century - $US2 billion for nothing. He should have taken the racism on the chin.

The Dr Major General may have been suffering from non-infectious/or infectious delusions when he said at the same press conference:

“Egypt’s stricken tourism industry would receive an immense injection as millions of foreigners rushed to seek the new, exclusive treatment, he said.”

Maybe the real story is that those eager to please in hard times and in authoritarian situations will say anything to float the boat/curry favor and no-one questions whether it is likely or not. Also says something about the gullibility of those advising the President to publically, and before the world’s press, associate himself with it. Let’s hope he fired a few of his staff.

Its also relevant that al Ahram and the others never raised an eyebrow at the time at this improbable claim, nor checked it with experts, until the world press derided it. A basic check would have shown he was a TV faith healer and previously charged in Saudi with sorcery. The President's staff also don't seem to have done these checks.

Typically the new report of the de-registrations names no-one – thus saving face. Bet it was only the slaves who were following orders who have been deregistered. Even if deregistered I think military law overrules this, so they can probably still practice in the army. No-one was ever held to account for the original (medically-induced) infection of Egyptians with Hep-C: why change standard practice now?

Also, typically, the perps on this occasion went down saying, as recently as 9 months ago, that the attacks on their ‘discovery’ were all a Brotherhood plot by that well-known subversive organization, the Doctor’s Syndicate. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/orig ... dical.html. Presumably this doctor means a Brotherhood plot to discredit him proves his discovery was true. Typical, no admission of guilt even when faced with the gallows.

I disagree – rather than the Brother's, the whole plot reeks of the ‘you know who’s’. They are behind everything. If the ‘you know who’s’ are against it, it must be right.

What makes this whole story beyond bizarre is that the new and very effective Hep-C drug (Sovaldi) now available in Egypt was actually co-discovered by an Egyptian, Raymond Schinazi, a Jew whose family were driven out of Egypt by Nasser. Schinazi also has more business nous. He pocketed $US440 million in 2011 from the $US11 billion sale of his pharmaceutical start-up. Maybe Schinazi should insist that Sovaldi sold in Egypt carry the label – ‘Made by an Egyptian Jew’. That might be a message worth celebrating as well as therapeutic for both mind and body.

[newcastle]

Maybe Schinazi should insist that Sovaldi sold in Egypt carry the label – ‘Made by an Egyptian Jew’. That might be a message worth celebrating as well as therapeutic for both mind and body.

Unfortunately, the response to such labeling would be entirely predictable. I forsee headlines like :

"Jewish Plot to emasculate Egyptians with Fake Hepatitis Drug".

The "kofta-cure" debacle has to be one of the most bizarre goofs to emerge from Egypt in recent years....and it's up against some serious competition.

This looks promising :

"EGYPT TO ENTER SPACE RACE

After launching a satellite in 2007 and literally losing it, Egypt is planning to go to space again, as the framework for EgyptSat2 is announced."

http://www.cairoscene.com/BusinessAndPo ... Space-Race

“We have lost most of the engineers we have trained in the EgyptSat 1 programme, a lot went to refrigerator factories.”

That’s a direct quote from Ayman Hamdy Kassem, professor of aerospace engineering at Cairo University and a member of the research and training team for the EgyptSat 1 satellite project.

Yes...well...

[Horus]

“We have lost most of the engineers we have trained in the EgyptSat 1 programme, a lot went to refrigerator factories.”

Well it is cold in outer space