Only four people in Malta have inherited Mitochondrial Ence-phalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-like episodes [Melas] – a disease so rare that research into the cause is still ongoing – and Pink magazine speaks to the young widow of one of them to find out how truly devastating it is for the whole family.
First identified in 1984, the condition affects many of the body’s systems, particularly the brain and nervous system, and muscles. There is currently no cure, and the disease is progressive and fatal.
This mother of two tells Pink, out with The Sunday Times of Malta tomorrow, how her husband had been battling Melas for four years and spent the last six months of his life in intensive care.
She would now like to raise awareness and funds for more research into this degenerative and fatal condition, and in fact, donations collected during her husband’s funeral were sent to the Research Innovation and Development Trust [RIDT] of the University of Malta to be used for further study into this rare disease.
On the fitness front, research has shown that the gender gap decreases significantly in endurance sports: while female sprinters are far from their male counterparts, when the distances increase, women are catching up, with many coming within the top 10 in ultra-marathons of 100 miles.
In tomorrow’s issue, Pink meets a woman who has become an Ironman and learn about the sort of exercise regime it takes to make it and the importance of balancing an academic life with sports to relieve exertion on the brain.
Claire Azzopardi Lane feels the University is missing a sports culture. Despite having a sports department, most students are not interested and there is a heavy bias towards academia, with little understanding from lecturers when training and competition clash with lectures and exams, she says.
Big on fashion, Pink’s photo shoot continues to set the trends, this month softly welcoming an autumn wardrobe, with subtler and more subdued colours, away from the brightness of the summer sun.
Pink is a monthly magazine, produced and published by Allied Newspapers Ltd.