觀光醫美勁敵: 韓國超過10萬人次

韓流拚經濟 與台搶陸客  民視 (2012-01-25)從今年起，內政部正式開放讓中國客以醫療美容為目的，來台進行健檢或微整形，這是台灣醫院一直想搶食的大餅，但韓國卻是最大的競爭對手，去年赴韓國觀光美容的中國客，不但已經超過10萬人，位在首爾的整形診所，現在更流行直接開設在五星級飯店內。以往來台灣健檢或是微整形的中國客，都必須以觀光的假名義申請入境，但是從今年起，內政部終於對中國客開放健檢美容的簽證，不過這還是晚了一步，因為南韓早就已經開始大賺這筆外匯。蓬勃發展的首爾醫學美容中心，最新的服務，就是將診所直接開設在精品飯店內，從機場接送、入住客房、安排診療手術以及觀光購物等，全都一手包辦，這讓病患不必在診所內枯坐候診，直接可以從飯店客房往來診療室，在醫生問診和手術進行時，也全都有中文翻譯陪同。不斷推陳出新的特有技術和創意服務，讓韓國醫學美容界有信心面對台灣的跨國競爭，韓國醫學界表示，2010年到韓國進行觀光醫學美容的人數，已經有8萬2千人，2011年估計成長了30%，一舉突破10萬人，其中成長最多的就是來自中國的觀光客，而這也同時反應在觀光客的總人數上，根據韓國旅遊發展局的統計，訪韓的亞洲國家遊客，以中國排名第一，高達220萬人。韓國最新的塗鴉秀:HERO中4名演員利用尖端的影像科技，結合繪畫、舞蹈和風趣的默劇，在首爾掀起相當大的風潮，為了吸引中國的觀光客，部份橋段還以李小龍和三國演義做為表演主題，雖然最近幾年，中國多次批評南韓剽竊中國文化和篡改歷史，引發兩國間相當大的對立，但是一談到賺錢，韓國絲毫不打算將商機讓給任何人，台灣想發中國客的觀光財，韓國將是亞洲地區最大的對手。

A few cups of black tea lowers your blood pressure

 Jan 25, 2012 By Debbie Nicholson Published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine comes a new study that suggests consuming three cups of black tea daily just may help lower your blood pressure. Black tea has been associated to numerous health benefits including lowering your risk for due to the phenols those strong antioxidants along with the maganese. In this new study black tea tested against a placebo to determine if consumption of this beverage over a length of time had any effects in lowering blood pressure. The study consisted of 95 participants both male and female, age range 35 to 75 years of age and similar weights. Had a systolic blood pressure (top number in reading that measures blood pressure while the heart is beating) with readings ranging from 115 to 150. Participants had been divided into two groups. Group one consumed three cups of regular leaf tea with contents of 1,493 milligrams of powdered black tea solids and also contained 429 milligrams of polyphenols and 96 milligrams of caffeine. The other group had consumed a placebo which had the same flavor and caffeine content but had no black tea solids. Both groups had participated for six months. A healthy reading of systolic blood pressure is below 120 and 80 for diastolic pressure (bottom number of blood pressure while heart is relaxed.) At the close of the study, the group who had consumed the black tea had seen an average reduction of two to three points in their average twenty-four hour average systolic blood pressure levels. According to researcher Res/Prof Dr. Johnathan M. Hodgson, PhD, School of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Western Australia and associates had written "At a population level, the observed differences in BP (blood pressure) would be associated with a 10% reduction in the prevalence of hypertension and a 7% to 10% reduction in the risk of heart disease and stroke. A study in Greece had indicated that drinking green tea had remarkably increased artery dilation with thirty minutes. Another study of the medical college of National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan had found that just a half of cup of green tea or oolong tea drank each day by men and women on a daily basis for at least one year also may lower the risk for high blood pressure almost by 50%. That study had appeared in the July 26th , 2004 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study had consisted of 1,507 Chinese men and women with no previous history of high blood pressure. The study revealed that around forty percent of participants were frequent tea drinkers and had been consuming at least one half cup of tea each day for a year or more. Ninety percent of participants had drank either green or oolong tea.  After taking into account the factors of obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, consumed few vegetables, higher sodium intake and did not consume tea on a regular basis along with other factors associated to high blood pressure and heart disease. Researchers had found that tea drinkers were much less likely to develop high blood pressure in comparison to those who did not drink tea. Either way you look at it whether it is green or black tea, just one cup has more antioxidant power than a half of cup of strawberries, spinach, broccoli or carrots. In American women Coronary Heart Disease is the number one killer claiming the lives of more than 50,000 women each year. High blood pressure increases your risk for heart diseases and heart failure. Grab a cup of tea whether it is green or black both teas show benefits when it comes to lowering high blood pressure.

學名藥競爭 諾華年銷售料不變

（中央社2012年1月25日）製藥商諾華（Novartis AG CH-NOVN）今年銷售將會與2011年相同，獲利也將受創，主因公司銷售最佳藥品失去美國專利的保護。諾華今天發布聲明表示，第4季排除部分支出後的淨利增至30億美元，或每股1.23美元，高於上年同期的28億美元，或每股1.14美元。彭博調查14位分析師預估均值每股1.24美元。諾華血壓藥「得安穩」（Diovan）9月開始在美國面臨學名藥競爭，而在執行長希梅內斯（Joe Jimenez）為此藥營收減少作準備之際，諾華也經歷了一些挫折。在11名病患死亡後，歐洲及美國監管單位19日表示，正在檢視治療多發性硬化症的藥品Gilenya。希梅內斯今天在電話中表示：「2011年並不是每件事都很順利。我很看好公司未來的成長前景。」他表示，諾華今年受到學名藥競爭影響，銷售將減少約25億美元，其中包含得安穩營收15億美元。諾華第4季銷售成長4%，至148億美元，超乎分析師預估均值147億美元。