Training Blog

It is reported that a simple saliva test could help to cut the toll of potentially dangerous premature births. The test detects levels of progesterone (which stops the uterus contracting before full term), the lower the level of the hormone the greater the risk of them going into premature labour. To clarify premature labour is any births occurring before 37 weeks gestation.

This is a significant breakthrough as the 48,000 premature babies each year in England and Wales are more at risk of serious health problems, learning difficulties and disabilities. Women who are at risk would be closely monitored and preventive measures could be taken such as hormone supplements to delay delivery.

This study is the first time lower saliva concentrations of progesterone have been investigated in women known to be at higher risk of premature birth. The experts are unable to explain why a low level of progesterone may lead to premature birth.

This is a huge breakthrough however, this is simply a test to identify women who are at risk of delivering prematurely. It can’t eliminate premature births but measures can be taken in some cases, at present this test is not readily available to women, hopefully it will be soon

According to analyst Roy Lilley unregulated pharmaceuticals may be permitted to increase the NHS drugs bill with little benefit to patients. He claims that the drugs will become more and more expensive; but we will by them regardless he says that we are essentially writing the pharmaceutical companies a blank cheque which is rather worrying, considering that at present, drug companies are reluctant to launch new drugs in the UK at prices below “global market value” because much of that market is influenced by UK prices.

The aim is to fast track new medicines that could be blocked by NICE on the basis of cost and effectiveness. A former drug company boss, Lord Drayson, has been given the task of promoting life sciences as potential big earners for Britain with the backing of Lord Mandelson, who sees pharmaceuticals as key to the revival of the UK economy.Reports suggest that Lord Drayson favours a system where NICE would appraise the drug after 3 years in the hope that the company would have made substantial profits and so may be willing to drop the price.

Based on the evidence, if Lord Drayson is successful we could see pharmaceutical companies rushing drug after drug in quick succession without them being thoroughly tested. Another big concern is that the prices of these drugs will have very little regulation, these costs are likely to be passed on to patients by taxes being raised which would make them experience even more financial hardship. So the theory that they could be the revival of the UK economy is flawed. Granted they may make more money but that doesn’t really help the general public.

The Social Market Foundation claims that forcing patients to pay for appointments would help the NHS to cope in times of financial hardship. Both the government and doctors are against such a move, one doctor says: “All patients have a right to free healthcare that is based on their clinical needs, not the size of their bank balance.”

The Social Market Foundation base their argument on the fact that while funding is guaranteed until 2011, many are expecting the budget to be frozen or cut after that. They state that the only way for the NHS to cope was to raise taxes to put more money into the system, limit demand or work more effectively. Those who support this idea say that charging people would make them think twice about whether their visit was essential, they argue that the move is not about making money but a small charge like this could help reduce appointments by about 5%. They also say that children and those receiving tax credits should not be charged and said the think-tank was opposed to fees being levied on any form of emergency care.

Those who oppose the scheme claim that charging for appointments would undermine the doctor patient relationship and may put some people who need the care from coming to the surgery. They also argue that it is against the founding principles of the NHS, which is free healthcare for all. However there is a flaw in this argument as the NHS already charges for prescriptions and dental treatment.

If the movement to charge patients is introduced are we not simply privatising healthcare? In many other countries there is no free healthcare, but there is help for those on low wages so it could work. It seems to me that we are merely shifting the financial burden to the public. It also means that those who have to see the doctor on a regular basis as a result of an existing conditions such as diabetes.

Top health officials for the UN have started a forum in Mexico on combating swine flu by saying the spread of the virus is now unstoppable. Current statistics show over 100 countries reporting cases of the virus, Dr Chan from the WHO claims; “….once a fully fit pandemic virus emerges, its further international spread is unstoppable.”

The UK is predicting more than 100,000 new cases of H1N1 a day in the UK alone by the end of the summer.
Whilst Mexico swine flu cases have decreased. In South America the peak of the flu season is approaching, as a result some areas have declared a public health emergency. However it is worth mentioning that in the 2 months since the outbreak of swine flu it has only killed approximately 300 people worldwide which when you put it into context isn’t really that many, obviously it is a tragedy for those who knew these people. In the UK the latest figures show only 26 people have died from the virus, which is minimal when regular flu claims the lives of around 6,000 people a year.

In the UK Health Secretary,Andy Burnham has come under fire from the Liberal Democrats who claim fighting within government departments led to the hotline which offers information on the virus and what to do to avoid catching it and what to do if you suspect that you have the virus being launched six months late. Although this claim is flawed as the outbreak of the virus was only announced 2 months ago. It was hoped that the hotline would take the pressure off frontline NHS staff and enable them to deal with other illnesses

Before everyone starts to panic the WHO says most cases of H1N1 (swine flu) are mild, with recovery within a week and often without any medical treatment. The exceptions, she said, were pregnant women and people with underlying health problems, who were at higher risk from complications from the virus and should be monitored if they fall ill.

Scientists claim that they have uncovered a reason why obese people have a raised risk of health complications such as type 2 diabetes. The cause seems to be a specific protein – pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) – which is secreted by fat cells hence the reason people who are obese have higher levels of the protein in their blood. Scientists claim that this can be treated by blocking the protein.

It seems that the protein triggers tissue in the muscle and the liver to develop an insulin resistance, PEDF levels are also believed to release fats into the bloodstream, raising the risk of complications such as heart disease. Therefore tackling insulin resistance directly, even in the absence of weight loss, could potentially strengthen our ability to help obese patients reduce their risk of life-shortening disease

These findings mean that a drug can be developed which blocks blocks the protein. This is believed to reduce the number of obese people suffering from the life threatening conditions but this does not cure the obesity therefore wouldn’t it make more sense to deal with the obesity which would in turn reduce the health risks?

A study in London gave 200 children pedometers to see how far they walked or ran. The researchers only realised that some of the children were cheating when they were surprised by the activity level of some of the obese children, it was then that they discovered that they had been attached to dog collars.

The researchers claim that it is not uncommon for participants to manipulate the findings. In psychology this is known as social desirability bias, in other words the participants want to been seen in a positive light so they think that if they can make the results higher that the researchers will be pleased with them.

This is a classic example of one of the biggest flaws in research if the participant is aware of the experiment, thus raising the question how accurate is any medical research?