Latest news with #Málaga
Medscape
a day ago
- Health
- Medscape
Spain Nears Legal Shift on HIV-Positive Donors
Historically, the presence of HIV infection in a patient with end-stage organ failure has been considered an absolute contraindication for organ transplantation. However, advances in antiretroviral therapy have significantly improved life expectancy for people living with HIV to the extent that the condition is now generally managed as a chronic disease. At the same time, a growing number of these individuals are experiencing or dying from end-stage organ failure, prompting renewed debate about this long-standing contraindication. In addition, many national transplant policies require that organs from HIV-positive donors be discarded due to safety concerns. Even if the intended recipient is also HIV-positive, there is a risk of superinfection — acquiring a different strain of HIV from the donor, which may be resistant to certain antiretrovirals. There is also the potential for transmission of common coinfections. These issues were addressed during a roundtable session at the 28th Congress of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), held in Málaga, Spain, from May 22-25. The session, titled Advances in Solid Organ Transplantation in People Living With HIV: Use of HIV-Positive Donors, was moderated by Federico García, PhD, president of SEIMC, and Beatriz Domínguez, MD, PhD, managing director of Spain's National Transplant Organization. Expert speakers included Josep Maria Miró Meda, MD, PhD, Infectious Diseases Service, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Christine Durand, MD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore; and Paolo Grossi, MD, PhD, University of Insubria and ASST-Sette Laghi, Varese, Italy. The objectives of the session were to: Present clinical criteria and prognostic outcomes for solid organ transplantation in patients with HIV. Explore the perspectives of Spanish transplant experts on the use of HIV-positive donor organs for HIV-positive recipients — a practice that has been prohibited by Spanish law since 1987. Review the current regulatory landscape across the European Union regarding this practice. According to Domínguez, while Spain is widely recognized as a global leader in organ donation and transplantation, the country has fallen behind in its approach to transplant access for people living with HIV. International examples presented during the session, particularly from South Africa and the United States (under the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act), demonstrate that kidney and liver transplants from HIV-positive donors to HIV-positive recipients can have favorable short- and medium-term outcomes. These data, presented by Durand, support the reconsideration of long-standing transplant restrictions. Miró Meda presented long-term outcomes from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, where, between 2003 and 2024, 81 patients living with HIV received organ transplants from HIV-negative donors. Of these, 85% survived at least 10 years posttransplant. These findings support a growing consensus that it is time to reconsider policies restricting the use of organs from HIV-positive donors and to recognize individuals living with HIV as eligible both to receive and donate organs. In late 2024, Spain began the legal process to repeal its longstanding ban on such transplants — a change expected to be finalized in the coming months. Looking ahead, experts identified a new frontier in transplantation: The use of organs from HIV-positive donors for HIV-negative recipients. While still controversial, this practice has already been implemented in South Africa under exceptional clinical circumstances — specifically, cases where the lack of a transplant would result in death. In these instances, the immediate benefits are considered to outweigh the potential risks, given that HIV is now a manageable chronic condition. Importantly, these transplants are performed only with the fully informed consent of the recipient. This evolving field raises important clinical and ethical questions: Could HIV transmission be prevented by initiating prophylactic antiretroviral therapy in the recipient? Does the principle of 'undetectable = untransmittable' apply in the setting of organ transplantation? Although these approaches are far from standard clinical practice, experts agree that the topic deserves careful consideration and open discussion.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Two Scottish men shot dead outside Irish bar in southern Spain
Two Scottish men have been shot dead outside a bar in southern Spain. The victims were gunned down outside Monaghans, a popular Irish-themed bar in the coastal town of Fuengirola, Málaga, at about 11pm on Saturday. A masked man opened fire on the pair as they stood outside the venue before fleeing on foot. Both men died at the scene. Javier Salas, the deputy government delegate in Málaga, said both victims were believed to be Scottish nationals. Specialist officers from the Guardia Civil's violent crime unit are reportedly leading the investigation. Monaghans Irish bar, which sits on the seafront, is a well-known pub popular with British tourists and expats. Witnesses said it was busy on Saturday night with football fans watching the Champions League final. A resident told local paper Málaga Hoy: 'I thought they were going to kill me too. I thought I was hearing fireworks at first but then saw the noise was coming from someone firing a gun.' A Chinese expat who owns a shop next to the bar said: 'I heard a noise coming from next door. I looked out and saw a man pointing at something and shooting.' A worker at a nearby beach bar and restaurant also recounted how families with children took refuge inside after the shooting started. 'I didn't see anything because we focused on crouching down and staying safe, but it was a very frightening experience. Obviously all the customers we had left as soon as it was safe to do so.' A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said it had not been approached for consular assistance but that its staff stood ready to support any British nationals in need. Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.
Condé Nast Traveler
6 days ago
- General
- Condé Nast Traveler
The Loveliest Villas in Málaga, Spain
Málaga has no shortage of wonderful hotels, but to beat the crowds that gather at the buzziest addresses, a private villa will always be best. We've found several wonderful options scattered across the Andalusian hillsides, from a smart inner-city hideaway to a sprawling mansion with two in-house saunas and several rural retreats well worth the drive into the deep countryside. Below, six of the best villas in Málaga, Spain, to book in 2025. We've vetted these listings based on Superhost or Guest Favorite status, ratings, amenities, location, previous guest reviews, and decor.
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Spain's Airbnb clampdown: Is tourist accommodation the real issue here?
What has the Spanish government done? It has told holiday accommodation platform Airbnb that its Irish subsidiary, which manages much of its European operations, must take nearly 66,000 of the company's apartment listings off the market. Pablo Bustinduy, minister for consumer affairs, said that the properties, in six different regions of Spain , all breached regulations for tourist accommodation. Some, for example, did not list a licence number, while other listings did not show whether the owner was a private individual or a business. A Madrid court has backed the Spanish government's request for the immediate withdrawal of about 5,000 of those properties, with the remainder still pending further judicial rulings. Bustinduy celebrated the court's backing, saying that 'no company, however big or powerful, is above the law'. Is tourist accommodation the real issue here? Yes and no. Spain has suffered a severe housing crisis caused by a sharp increase in rental costs in recent years – the average rent has doubled over the past decade. There are a number of causes, such as a lack of social housing and red tape slowing down the construction of new homes. But as the number of foreign visitors to Spain each year approaches 100 million, many see tourist apartments as a major culprit, particularly in city centres where they push prices up and drive local people away. In some tourist destinations the problem has become extremely acute; in one area of central Málaga, for example, more than 80 per cent of homes are short-term tourist flats. READ MORE What was Spain's relationship with Airbnb before this latest announcement? Mixed, at best. Earlier this year, the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez , said there were 'too many Airbnbs and not enough homes'. Meanwhile, the mayor of Barcelona has already announced plans to eliminate the city's 10,000 or so registered short-term holiday rentals by the end of 2028. Some local governments, however, are taking a more conciliatory approach: authorities in Ibiza, the Canary Islands and Murcia have signed deals with Airbnb to co-operate in ensuring existing regulations are obeyed by hosts. What does Airbnb say? The company insists that no proof of rule-breaking on its platform has been provided and that it intends to appeal against the ruling. It also pointed to a previous decision by Spain's supreme court which, the company said, placed the responsibility for property listings on the owners in question, not the company. A spokesperson for Airbnb said: 'Governments across the world are seeing that regulating Airbnb does not alleviate housing concerns or return homes to the market – it only hurts local families who rely on hosting to afford their homes and rising costs.'
Medscape
23-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Obesity by Stealth: Marketing Unhealthy Food to Teens
MÁLAGA, Spain — In 2020, Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines off the pitch when, during a press conference, he pointedly removed two bottles of Coca-Cola placed in front of him and held up a bottle of water instead. 'Água,' he said. The clip went viral. It was a powerful example of how celebrity influence can shape health behaviors, offering a rare glimpse into the potential of using the same marketing machinery often employed to sell sugary drinks to instead promote healthier alternatives. This anecdote raises the deeper issue of how digital marketing, particularly that targeting adolescents, is driving unhealthy dietary habits and contributing to the global burden of obesity and associated diseases. Digital Marketing's Subtle Power Gastón Ares, PhD, adjunct professor of sensometrics and consumer science at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay, studies the intersection of food marketing and adolescent behavior. Speaking at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) 2025, Ares outlined the insidious ways in which digital marketing has reshaped what young people eat, drink, and aspire to. Gastón Ares, PhD 'Digital marketing is one of the key drivers of unhealthy diets during adolescence today,' he said. 'Adolescents are constantly exposed to messages — on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok — of people consuming fast food, soda, sweetened beverages. It's become a part of adolescent identity.' Unlike earlier generations, which may have consumed soda or fast food occasionally, today's youth see it as a norm, reinforced by the persistent presence of these products in their digital lives. 'Twenty or 30 years ago, you drank soda once a week. Now it's a daily behavior. It's been normalized, and that normalization is part of who they are,' Ares explained. Vulnerability Meets Persuasion Adolescents are neurologically and emotionally primed to be influenced. They are undergoing rapid and profound biologic and social change. Adolescents crave social belonging, have reduced inhibitory control, and are particularly sensitive to rewards. These characteristics make adolescents particularly vulnerable during the 5-12 hours per day during which they are exposed to digital media. 'Influencers don't just promote products; they appeal to and shape social norms,' Ares said. 'Adolescents identify with them. They're aspirational figures. If your favorite YouTuber or TikToker is constantly holding a branded energy drink, or it pops up on their video, it becomes part of your world, too.' In studies by Ares and others, 6-9 out of 10 adolescents recalled seeing at least one food or drink advertisement in the previous week, almost all of them for unhealthy products. Only a handful mentioned fruits or vegetables. Ares also described recent research on self-reported exposure to digital food marketing and consumption frequency of ultraprocessed products. The data indicate a clear association between exposure to an advertisement in the week before the survey and consumption: Soft drink consumption increased by 53% and energy drink consumption by 114% after exposure. Subtle and Subliminal Unlike traditional ads, digital marketing is often subliminal. Some adolescents who have contributed to the research conducted by Ares report a creeping sense of 'harassment' by ubiquitous ads for unhealthy food. 'Even if they're not consciously aware, it sticks,' he said. 'They'll say they're not influenced but later admit they might choose a meal based on something they saw online.' This type of advertising isn't just persuasive; it's personal. With targeting algorithms, companies deliver highly specific messages that resonate with individual preferences. It's cost-effective, far-reaching, and largely unregulated. Marketing Promotes Overconsumption Also at the ECO 2025 conference, Emma Boyland, PhD, chair of Food Marketing and Child Health at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England, presented findings from a randomized crossover trial of 7- to 15-year-olds. The research demonstrated the effects of food marketing across various media, including TV, social media, podcasts, and posters. It also examined the brands or products presented in this marketing. Five minutes of exposure to junk food ads was associated with children and adolescents consuming an extra 130 calories per day on average. 'This study is the first to demonstrate that brand-only food ads, for which there is currently no restrictive advertising policy globally, increase children's food intake. This new knowledge will help in the design of urgent restrictive food marketing policies that can protect children's health,' said Boyland. 'Our results also show that unhealthy food marketing leads to sustained increases in caloric intake in young people at a level sufficient to drive weight gain over time.' Moreover, the study found that children with higher body mass index consumed even more calories post exposure, highlighting how marketing may disproportionately affect vulnerable groups. Aspiring to Celebrity In interviews with Ares, even adolescents who claimed immunity to food advertising acknowledged its power. 'One participant said, 'That's the closest I can be to a celebrity: By eating what they eat,'' Ares observed. He added that advertising worked at a subliminal and emotional level, even if the recipient believed they were unaffected by it. Indeed, some adolescents support advertising when it evokes small businesses or local enterprises, suggesting that the perceived value or morality of the advertiser also plays a role in how marketing is received and rationalized. Medication Messaging Daisuke Hayashi, PhD, a graduate student at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, has been studying food noise, which is defined as obsessive preoccupation with food and eating that often is associated with cue reactivity and disordered eating behaviors. At ECO 2025, he presented a new analysis revealing that around half of the 100 top TikTok videos under the hashtag #FoodNoise referred to the use of medications (primarily glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide) to manage persistent and intrusive food-related thoughts. This content, while potentially empowering for some, may also confuse younger viewers who could misinterpret normal hunger as a pathologic problem requiring drug treatment. 'TikTok can be an incredible tool for raising awareness, but it also has a downside,' Hayashi said. 'Many young viewers may not understand the difference between food noise and natural appetite.' The TikTok content studied had high viewership (averaging over 1.1 million views per video). About 71% of the content comprised patient testimonies, and 5% disclosed sponsorship. 'This [finding] raises ethical concerns,' Hayashi noted. 'Undisclosed promotion could lead to unintentional harm, especially among adolescents forming their food identities.' Given that TikTok has more than 1 billion users, most of them young, the findings underscored the urgent need for digital literacy and stricter advertising transparency as conversations about weight-loss medications and body image proliferate. Same Tools, Different Purpose Medscape Medical News asked Ares whether similar strategies could be deployed to promote healthy eating. 'Yes, but the challenge is funding,' he replied. 'Governments often focus health messages on rational benefits, including long-term health and disease prevention. But junk food marketing appeals to pleasure, fun, and identity. That's what we need to do, too.' He points to Ronaldo's rejection of Coca-Cola as a rare but effective example: A health-positive message delivered by a globally admired celebrity and focused on strength and clarity, not guilt or restriction. 'It's about using the same playbook. Bring out water at kids' parties. Make fruit part of the fun. Link health to belonging and aspiration,' he said. New National Policies Encouragingly, the United Kingdom is set to introduce legislation restricting the advertising of less healthy food in October 2025. Under the Health and Care Act 2022, new regulations will impose 'a 9 PM watershed restriction' on television ads for unhealthy foods and impose a 24-hour ban on paid online ads, including influencer content. 'This is one of the strongest pieces of marketing regulation globally,' Ares said. 'But there are loopholes. Brand-only marketing [which does not mention products] is still permitted.' Meanwhile, Australia is planning to take the more radical step of banning children under 16 from having social media accounts. This step is designed in part to curb exposure to digital marketing. 'These are steps in the right direction,' said Ares. 'We'll need to see how they play out in practice, but they show political will.' Global Action Other countries are watching closely. Norway, for example, began drafting strong policies on targeted food marketing but reportedly softened them due to industry pressure. This development underscores a persistent challenge: The food and tech industries are powerful and well-funded. 'We're up against giants,' Ares said. 'Public health campaigns are underfunded, often reactive, and lack the emotional punch of commercial marketing. We need better budgets, more creativity, and stronger regulation.' New Messages To shift adolescent behavior toward food might require matching the emotional, social, and cultural weight of the messages that youth already receive. 'It's not just about facts, it's about identity,' Ares stressed. 'Marketing doesn't just sell products. It sells norms. If we want young people to eat better, we need to change what feels normal.' And that may start with something as simple and powerful as a bottle of water lifted in front of a camera by someone young people admire.
