Monday, September 05, 2005

National and International News



Time to think about changing tablets - The Times 05/09/05

MILLIONS of people in Britain could have their life expectancy dramatically altered if they took heed of the announcement of the results of the recent trial that compared the standard GP beta-blocker and diuretic regime with a different cocktail of drugs to lower blood pressure.

Drug switch 'cuts heart attacks by half' - The Guardian 05/09/05
Boost for heart and stroke patients - Daily Mail 05/09/05
New drugs halve heart attack risk - Daily Mail 05/09/05
Heart attacks may be cut by half - Daily Telegraph 05/09/05
Protein Design heart drug works well in trial - Reuters 05/09/05
Plavix before artery procedure saves lives -study - Reuters 05/09/05
Modern drugs can halve stroke and heart attack risk - Reuters 05/09/05
ACE drug prevents heart deterioration in aged - study - Reuters 05/09/05
Medication reduces risk of heart attack and cardiovascular death before and after angioplasty - Medical News Today 05/09/05





Plea for complete pub smoking ban - Daily Mail 05/09/05

The Government has been urged to introduce a comprehensive ban on smoking in pubs after new research showed that many publicans would stop serving food so they could get around a planned smokefree law.


Plea for complete pub smoking ban - Daily Mail 05/09/05
Smoke ban proposal 'half-hearted' - BBC Health News 05/09/05
Smokers 'inflict habit on others' - Daily Mail 05/09/05





Heart disease spotted, treated too little in women - Reuters 05/09/05

Cardiovascular disease in women is under-diagnosed and under-treated compared to cases in men, an expert said on Friday.


Women losing out in heart care to men - Reuters 05/09/05





Worm may turn the asthma tide - The Guardian 05/09/05

Irish scientists may have a drastic answer to the great asthma epidemic. It is called bilharzia. They think one of the world's nastiest parasitic infections could help combat the scourge of the affluent society.


Parasites 'may help allergies' - Daily Mail 05/09/05





Winston warns of stem cells hype - Daily Mail 05/09/05

Hopes of transforming medicine with stem cell treatments in the next decade have been "hyped up", leading fertility expert and TV presenter Lord Winston has claimed.


Winston warns of stem cell 'hype' - BBC Health News 05/09/05





Magazines criticised for offering 'boob jobs' as competition prizes - The Independent 05/09/05

Magazines, nightclubs and radio stations that offer surgical makeovers as prizes in competitions are trivialising medicine and putting patients at risk, specialists say today.





Hawking's blinks work voice machine - Daily Mail 05/09/05

Disabled physicist Professor Stephen Hawking is using blinks of his eye to control a computer which gives him a voice.





Call for more pregnancy information - Daily Mail 05/09/05

Mothers-to-be are not receiving enough vital information in the early months of pregnancy, new research suggests.





Birds Eye to reduce salt levels - Daily Mail 05/09/05

Food manufacturer Birds Eye is to reduce salt levels in its products to meet healthy eating guidelines for children.





Bid to increase crash first aiders - Daily Mail 05/09/05

A campaign to save more road crash victims in the minutes immediately after an accident has been launched by the British Red Cross.





Ambulances 'could spread superbugs' - Daily Mail 05/09/05

Ambulances are in danger of helping the spread of deadly superbugs in the NHS because of time and money pressures, it is claimed.





De Menezes pathologist before GMC - Daily Mail 05/09/05

The pathologist who conducted the post-mortem examination of Jean Charles de Menezes is to appear before the General Medical Council charged with serious professional misconduct.





Boost for heart and stroke patients - Daily Mail 05/09/05

The treatment of high blood pressure is under review after a study found that combining two drugs dramatically reduced the risk of suffering heart attacks and strokes.





Pregnant women quit - Daily Mail 05/09/05

The number of women who smoke during pregnancy has dropped dramatically in just a year, a survey has revealed.





Key to why melanoma is so potent - BBC Health News 05/09/05

Scientists have discovered why a form of skin cancer called melanoma can be so malignant.





Artery disease seen with sleep-breathing disorder - Reuters 05/09/05

Otherwise healthy middle-aged people with obstructive sleep apnea -- a disorder in which they frequently stop breathing for brief periods while they sleep -- show early signs of hardening of their arteries, according to a report from Brazil.





New rules on sun exposure divide EU lawmakers - Reuters 05/09/05

The European Parliament is split over controversial legislation intended to protect workers from over-exposure to sunshine, ahead of a vote next week.





Canadian study slams costly "me-too" medicines - Reuters 05/09/05

Governments and insurers around the world are wasting money on expensive "me-too" drugs that offer no substantial benefit over existing products, Canadian researchers reported in this week's issue of the British Medical Journal.




Long work hours may raise injury risk - Reuters 05/09/05

Working beyond the standard 8-hour day may raise the risk of job-related injuries, regardless of a person's occupation, a new study suggests.





Heart checks could avoid 1 in 10 cot deaths -study - Reuters 05/09/05

As many as one in 10 cases of sudden infant death syndrome could be avoided by early screening for a heart problem and proper treatment, researchers said on Sunday.





Anti-terror teams switch gears, help with Katrina - Reuters 05/09/05

A special medical unit set up to move fast in case of a terrorist attack is being put to its first test in caring for victims of Hurricane Katrina.





Adult stem cells from adipose tissue could save lives - Medical News Today 05/09/05

National and international scientists, including those from the University of Virginia Health System, will announce findings from a significant number of studies showing that adult stem cells from adipose tissue (fat) could eventually be used to treat injured or damaged tissues.





India Approves Emergency Contraception for Nonprescription Sales - Medical News Today 05/09/05

India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization on Wednesday approved emergency contraception for nonprescription sales in the country, the... Hindu reports.





Many People Trying To Conceive in U.K. Not in Best Physical Condition, Study Says - Medical News Today 05/09/05

Many couples in the United Kingdom do not take steps to guarantee they are in optimal health while trying to conceive, according to a survey of more than 2,000 women by... Pregnancy & Birth magazine, BBC News reports.





BMA(NI) initial response to Appleby Report, Northern Ireland - Medical News Today 05/09/05

Following publication on Wednesday 31 August 2005 of Professor John Appleby's report on Health & Social Care Services in Northern Ireland, BMA(NI) Chairman, Dr Brian Patterson, in an initial response said: "The BMA met with Professor Appleby as part of this independent review and early indications are that much of his report appears to be consistent with the evidence provided by the Association."





Leading Urology Experts Call For Better Recognition And Treatment Of Nocturia - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The world's leading urology experts have joined forces at a major international meeting to highlight the importance of recognising and treating nocturia, one of the most common causes of sleep disturbance[i].





Pros and Cons of Pharma R&D Outsourcing to India and China - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The rise of India and China as global economies presents immense opportunities for the international pharmaceutical industry. Besieged by ever-increasing cost pressures, shorter product life cycles and numerous regulatory challenges in the West, the industry is increasingly shifting its research and development (R&D) base to these two developing nations.





Results of European Cardiologists Survey - Medical News Today 05/09/05

More than eight out of 10 (85 percent) European cardiologists surveyed agree that treating two sources of cholesterol achieves greater LDL ("bad") cholesterol reduction than treating only one source - that is, treating both absorption in the intestine and production in the liver vs. treating liver production alone.





Royal College of General Practitioners view on the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), UK - Medical News Today 05/09/05

“We expect it to confirm high levels of achievement. This is very good news for patients. Patients with chronic diseases are having more check-ups than ever before. The results indicate better quality of care - from chronic disease management, to patient experience and medication reviews..."





September is Adhesion Related Disorder Awareness Month - Medical News Today 05/09/05

Adhesions are internal scars that bind organs and tissues that are not normally connected. Adhesions form as a result of trauma due to surgery, infection, disease or other injury.





UK Government misses opportunity over drug regulation, warns Which? - Medical News Today 05/09/05

Reacting to the Government's response on the Health Select Committee's report into the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, Dr Ike Iheanacho, editor of the Which? publication Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, said: “This response does nothing to tackle fundamental weaknesses at the heart of the medicines regulatory system..."





Welsh waiting list figures - rise concerns Plaid Cymru - Medical News Today 05/09/05

Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales have today raised concerns about the increase in the number of patients on waiting lists in Wales.





More juniors to sample general practice, Scotland - Medical News Today 05/09/05

More Scottish junior doctors will have a chance to sample general practice following a significant increase in the number of available posts, BMA News can exclusively reveal.





PCCS Argues For More Stringent GMS Targets Following Publication Of First Year Results, UK - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) has today called for more stringent General Medical Services (GMS) contract targets for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).





Royal College of General Practitioners announces GP certification unit, UK - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has announced it is setting up a new certification unit to process applications for a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) from GP trainees.





NICE and British Hypertension Society in joint collaboration to review new data on treatment of hypertension - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today announced that it is to work with the British Hypertension Society (BHS) in a preliminary review of new data on the management of hypertension.





Doctors call for accurate screening of bipolar disorder, UK - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) has published an editorial paper highlighting the vital role GPs play in distinguishing between unipolar and bipolar disorder and treating it accordingly.





The Construct of Personality Disorder - Medical News Today 05/09/05

The classification of Axis II personality disorders - deeply ingrained, maladaptive, lifelong behavior patterns - in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition, text revision [American Psychiatric Association. DSM-IV-TR, Washington, 2000] - or the DSM-IV-TR for short - has come under sustained and serious criticism from its inception in 1952.





Cheshire and Mersey News


We made New York smoke-free... and now we're after you - Liverpool Echo 02/09/05

THEY'VE taken on Hollywood and the big tobacco companies with their hard-hitting campaigns.





Entrepreneur to offer skin advice - Chester Chronicle 02/09/05

MANY people suffer from acne, eczema and other associated skin problems and despair that treatments don't help but a young entrepreneur is hoping to change all that.





Marathon show on hospital radio - Southport Visiter 02/09/05

TWENTY-seven hours of continuous broadcasting ended at Southport Hospital Radio at 10pm last night.





Cumbria and Lancashire News


Staff fearful as knife thrown at hospital porter - Blackpool Gazette 05/09/05

A MAN sleeping rough in a hospital storeroom threw a knife at a porter, it was claimed today.





Fundraising drive for county air ambulance - Carlisle News & Star 05/09/05

THE Rotary Club of Carlisle is planning a golf tournament to raise money for Cumbria’s emergency air rescue helicopter.





Greater Manchester News


Job axe shock at flagship hospital - Manchester Evening News 05/09/05

THE only foundation hospital in Greater Manchester is to axe up to 80 jobs to stop its £5m debt spiralling out of control.





What a difference a year makes ... - Rochdale Observer 02/09/05

ALMOST a year to the day of her premature birth and little Mirium Sophia Pomfret is still proving to be a miracle baby.

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