More Babies Born With Low Birth Weight
When a baby is born, his or her weight isn’t just a matter of trivial curiosity, or a fun fact shared by the proud parents. A baby’s weight and size at birth lays the foundation for the child’s future growth and development. Therefore, trends in recent years showing a deterioration in birth weight …
The Right Medicine For The Right Person
When you take any medication - whether it’s a painkiller or your hypertension pills - your body responds in a unique way due to your genes. This can explain why some medications may not seem as effective, requiring your doctor to change it or adjust the dosage. Or why you have certain side effects …
Secrets Cost Lives: How Transparency Can Improve Access to Medicines
Medicines, diagnostic tests, and vaccines are lifesaving but only if people can access them. From the point of research and development all the way to the final product, there are multiple barriers which prevent those who need these lifesaving products most from accessing them. Joining us on the sh…
Because Feelings Matter #31: Diary of a Work-From-Home Dad
In ‘Diary of a Work-From-Home Dad’, illustrator and comic artist Mohammad Yazid Kamal Baharin pulls no punches when it comes to telling the story of raising two very special girls: a strong-willed firstborn, and a secondborn with Smith-Magenis syndrome, a rare genetic disease. This episode of Becau…
Ask A Doctor: Women’s Urinary Problems
We’re back with our monthly Ask A Doctor series, and today we’ll be taking in questions about women’s urinary conditions, from UTIs to incontinence as well as the impact of menopause and childbirth. Here to answer them is consultant urologist Dr Siti Nur Masyithah Ma’arof. Image Credit: Shutterst…
The Powerful Role of Exercise in Cancer
Exercise is a powerful word when it comes to cancer. Physical activity has been linked to lowered risk of several types of cancer, and is even able to help cancer survivors cope with their treatment regimes and recover with better quality of life. Dr Nur Fadhlina Abdul Satar, Consultant Clinical On…
Healthy Ageing: Keeping Seniors Safe In The Driver’s Seat
In Malaysia, where many of us depend on cars to get around, it can be hard to imagine giving up driving one day when age catches up with us, especially when we see Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad still driving in his 90s. In fact, Malaysia doesn’t set an age limit for drivers to give up their licences, nor…
The Brain In Depression
Depression - you would definitely have heard of this mental health condition, and have a basic idea that it affects someone’s moods and behaviours. But how does depression lead to these mood changes, and what’s happening in the brain? And can imaging techniques like MRIs and electroencephalograms (…
Mind Matters: How Divorce Affects Children
Divorce is tough on any family, but there is a unique impact on children, who can feel conflicted and anxious throughout the process. With a significant jump in divorce rates in Malaysia - the Department of Statistics reported a 43% increase from 2021 to 2022 - we need to keep an eye on how childre…
People With Drug Addiction Need Help, Not Imprisonment
Amendments to the Drug Dependents Act were tabled in Parliament last week, resulting in swift pushback from drug policy experts that these amendments were unscientific and in fact could further harm people with substance use disorders. We speak to Palani Narayanan, Director of the Drug Policy Progr…