Category: Healthcare News


Stop Premature Births!

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
November 30, 2009

Research has suggested that a drug used to treat cancer can stop contractions and may prevent premature labour. This research was carried out by a team from Newcastle University, they tested the drug Trichostatin A on tissue taken from 36 women undergoing a caesarean. They claim that it worked by increasing the levels of a protein that controls muscle relaxation.

Preterm labour and birth is the single biggest cause of death in infants in the developed world, around 1,500 babies die in the UK every year. There are a number of drugs which are used to attempt to stop early labour but research has shown them to have serious side effects.

The researchers got permission to take samples of the muscles of women undergoing caesarean sections at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. They exposed the muscle to TSA, a drug used to treat cancer, and measured the effects on both spontaneous contractions and those induced by the labour drug, oxytocin.
They recorded an average 46% reduction in contractions for the spontaneously contracting tissue and an average 54% reduction in the oxytocin induced contractions.

Professor Jane Norman, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG), said: “At the moment, it’s not possible to treat preterm labour effectively. We only have drugs that delay it by 24 hours or so – not enough to deliver the baby safely. There are experts who say that until doctors understand the cause of premature labour there is no way to develop a successful a treatment.

Of course as with any research there are those who feel that premature labour and birth can’t be or shouldn’t be prevented as the body has started labour early for a reason therefore doctors shouldn’t mess with nature. However mothers who have lost a baby because they were born prematurely would disagree and would claim that their child’s life should have been saved.

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Alzheimers-memory not first sign

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
November 15, 2009

A study done by the University of Kansa suggests that failing memory may not be the first signal for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Their research showed that a decline in thinking and learning skills may be warning signs years before a diagnosis, it is thought that spatial skills, those used for completing jigsaws are the first to fail.

This research holds the key as current drugs are more likely to have a significant impact if given when the disease is still in its early stages. It is thought that approximately 700,000 people in the UK have dementia, with levels expected to soar in coming years as the population ages.

If techniques can be developed in order to detect the disease when it’s in the early stages, it can dramatically improve the quality of life for those who suffer from dementia and those who care for them. However, there is still the potential for it to have a negative impact as some people may become depressed and could also potentially be misdisagnosed. In some cases ignorance is bliss.

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Children can imagine away pain

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
November 14, 2009

American researchers have found that children can be taught to use their imagination to tackle frequent bouts of abdominal pain. It is thought that the technique works particularly well due to their fertile imaginations. The research suggests that 1 in 5 children suffer with frquent abdominal pain with no identifiable cause. There were 30 children aged between 6 and 15 in the study half had 20 minute sessions of “guided imagery” this is where the patient is prompted to imagine things which will reduce their discomfort. The other half had the mainstream care.

It is thought that the treatment is very positive because it is inexpensive and is able to be self administered, which potentially opens the door for easily enhancing treatment outcomes for a lot of children sufering from frequent stomach aches.

This technique is an amazing breakthrough because this means that children can be treated by other means instead of drugs which is definately a positive. Also it means that more children can be treated without massive waiting lists which can be a definate plus for the NHS and the parents of the children who are suffering from abdominal pain and there is nothing they can do

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Psychiatric jabs for cash

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
October 28, 2009

In order to get some psychiatric patients to take their medication doctors are resorting to paying them. A trial involving 68 patients suffering from either bipolar or schizophrenia was carried out and the patients received £15 for every jab of anti-psychotic drug. If they take all of their medication they could potentially get £720 a year.

However there is opposition to this proposal; the charity, Mind feel that people should take the medication for health benefits not money.

Statististics show that patients not taking their medication is a big problem and increases relapse risk and NHS costs. It is estimated 33% of schizophrenics fail to take their prescribed medication. Professor Priebe, one of the experts conducting the study explains that they chose £15 as it is a small amount which they think will act as an incentive.

It is thought that patients who miss 1-10 days of oral anti-psychotic therapy are at greater risk of a patient being admitted to hospital, they say. The statistics show that this increase is nearly double that of a patient who never misses a day.

Whilst this concept seems like a good idea to an extent, it is not without it’s problems such as patients disregarding their well being in exchange for cash. Also although the drugs are only administered to those who need them it will put more financial strain on the NHS. If a patient refuses to take the oral medication that is their choice. As the saying goes you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
If a patient is incapable of taking the medication then measures should be taken to rectify this, but I don’t agree with paying somebody to take their medication.

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A cure for depression

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
October 26, 2009

It is already a widely accepted theory that the Mediterranean diet, protects against heart disease and cancer. However spanish researchers have found that it may also help to prevent depression. Their findings showed that depression was less likely to develop in those who have a diet high in fruit, vegetables and cereals and low red meat. The study was carried out over 4 and half years.

The findings showed that those who were adhered to the diet were exsmokers, those who were married and older idividuals.They were more physically active and showed higher energy intake.

This study seems to show that healthy eating is good for your mental health which would make sense as if you have a healthy lifestyle it will boost your energy and also if you’re more active there is increase in the endorphines in your bloodstream which improve your mood. However it is thought that a larger study may be needed to further prove this theory.

The question is how long before there is a theory that disproves this one?

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Educated women live longer

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
October 25, 2009

Research carried out by a Swedish research team suggests that well-educated woman have a positive influence on both their own and their partner’s chances of a long life. The statistics showed that a if the woman only has a school education then her partner had 25% greater chance of dying earlier than the man whose partner had a university education. It is thought that the reason for this is that educatated women are more likely to understand the health messages their family needs. When the roles are reversed it is the male’s income and social status that affect women’s lifespan.

One theory put forward is that women tend to take on the responsibility of feeding the family so a more educated woman will be more aware of better eating habits. It is also is thought women who are better educated tend to receive better healthcare and their partner benefits from this.

I don’t know if this is purely the case in Sweden where the research involved 1.5 million participants all of which were swedish; but I don’t really agree that the better educated women increase the life of the male. I think that it is simply a case of common sense that if you eat well and have an active lifestyle then you will in theory live longer. Plus is some scenarios due to having a high powered job I would have thought that their life may be shortened due to stress related illnesses.

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Starting Next Week – Swine Flu Jabs

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October 17, 2009

The Government say that swine flu vaccinations will begin in the UK next week (21/10/2009).

The first group to be vaccinated is those in hospital, pregnant women and those with existing health problems. After these people have been vaccinated GPs will start to call in patients from priority groups.

There are four priority groups:

  • 1. Individuals aged six months to 65 years with underlying health problems and the immuno-supressed, which includes chemotherapy patients.
  • 2. Pregnant women
  • 3. Household contacts of people with compromised immune systems
  • 4. Individuals aged over 65 with health problems
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Hidden Diabetes Warning

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
October 15, 2009

A recent study has shown that some people with type 2 diabetes are suffering needlessly from regular low blood sugar attacks. The study showed that out of 2,000 people all of which had type 2 diabetes 50% of them reported having symptoms of a hypoglycaemic episoded in the last 2 weeks. GPs claim that this is partly due to the increasing pressure to control their blood sugar makes it worse.

One of the key components of treatment is to ensure blood sugar levels don’t get too high, as this can lead to severe complications. Worryingly it is thought that the some people are on the wrong medication and that in some cases the medication may be causing the hypoglycaemia.

Knowing several people who are diabetic, yes the medication is there to help but it is important to recognise the early warning signs of a hypoglycaemic episode so that you can do something about it before it destroys your day. Also it is worth pointing out that even if you are on medication diet is very important. I know it sounds cheesy but why let diabetes control you when you can control it?

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Tinnitus cause found

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
October 10, 2009

Tinnitus is a condition where the patient reports hearing sounds in one or both ears but there is no external source.

Doctors previously thought that tinnitus was generated by ear problems. However following claims by US doctors that it is possible to pinpoint the area of the brain activated when patients suffer from tinnitus it is now widely accepted that the sounds are generated in the brain. The breakthrough was made by at team at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit who used a special scanner to map the locations in the brain.

The scan is called magnetoencephalography (MEG) and it measures the very small magnetic fields generated by intracellular electrical currents in the neuron cells in the brain.

They played various sounds until the patients agreed that that was the sound they experienced and then scanned their brains while the sound was played.

Here are just a few interesting facts about tinnitus:

  • There are approximately 2.3 million sufferers in the UK with moderate or severe tinnitus
  • Tinnitus noise can beat in time with your pulse
  • Most people experience brief periods of tinnitus after long exposure to loud noise

The results for the MEG imaging showed that those who only experienced tinnitus in one ear the greatest amount of activity was in the auditory cortex on the opposite side of the brain. However those with tinnitus in both ears brain activity was in both sides of the brain, with greater activity appearing in the opposite side of the brain to the ear with the strongest perception of tinnitus. Another part of the brain that was showing high levels of activity on these scans was the lmbic system that governs how we react to things.

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Child Swine Flu Jabs Trials

Filed Under: Healthcare News by Kirsty — Leave a comment
October 9, 2009

On Saturday 26th September a trial began involving 1,000 children to test two swine flu vaccines before the launch of a UK vaccination. The information is limited but the trial will allow the experts to observe immune reactions and any side effects which may occur.

The children participating in this trial are aged between six months and 12 years from Oxford, Southampton, London, Bristol and Devon. Participation in the trial is voluntary and consenting parents were be briefed on the risks. The children are given two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart, then a blood test three weeks after that.

The aim of the trial is to find out if one of the vaccines is better than the other in terms of immune reactions. They also want to ensure that the side effects are minimal before launching the UK vaccination programme.

One of the main problems the study seems to be having is recruiting enough children under the age of three, getting older children didn’t seem to be a problem just the younger ones, Doctor Saul Faust suggests that the younger children don’t usually respond to vaccines as well as adults and older children but says that they need to find out how the younger children respond before the vaccine becomes available to the UK. This could be because the younger children are deemed to be one of the high risk groups because young children, especially those that are under five, do seem to be at risk of serious illness. Also flu epidemics and pandemics are spread very efficiently by children.

The Department of Health has said that they will have enough vaccine for half of the population by the end of the year and that the high risk groups which are medical staff, the elderly and the very young will be immunised first.

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