By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Friday, 26 September 2008
Almost one in five health trusts are delivering poor quality care outside normal office hours, the most comprehensive investigation into urgent and emergency services has concluded.
The Healthcare Commission also found that proportion of out-of-hours calls categorised as “urgent” varied from under 4 per [...]
Archive for September, 2008
Damning verdict on health trusts’ out-of-hours emergency care
Posted in Editor, Politics, Practice, RISKS, Science, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, news on September 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
ADHD: Ritalin over-prescribed to children
Posted in CHILDREN, Editor, RISKS, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, mental health, news on September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
The controversial drug Ritalin is being over-prescribed to children to control their unruly behaviour and should be avoided in those aged under five, the Government’s drugs watchdog said yesterday.
Instead of reaching for the prescription pad when confronted with a child who is inattentive, [...]
Cost of treating cancer: Because I’m worth it
Posted in Editor, Politics, RISKS, Science, bmj, cancer, chronic disease, health, life on September 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Source: BMJ, 17 September 2008.
Before Robert Mayer, a GP and family therapist, died earlier this year of pancreatic cancer, he wrote about the cost of treating cancer on the NHS and why patients should be allowed to co-pay for expensive drugs. Read his personal view, as well as extracts from a diary he kept [...]
Mobile phone use ‘raises children’s risk of brain cancer fivefold’
Posted in CHILDREN, Editor, RISKS, Research, Science, cancer, health, life, news on September 21, 2008 | 6 Comments »
By: Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor, The Independent
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Alarming new research from Sweden on the effects of radiation raises fears that today’s youngsters face an epidemic of the disease in later life.
Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new [...]
Antibiotics to delay premature birth may harm babies
Posted in CHILDREN, Editor, INFECTIONS, Politics, RISKS, Science, Women's health, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, news on September 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Thursday, 18 September 2008
A warning about the indiscriminate prescribing of antibiotics to pregnant women to delay premature labour was issued to all doctors yesterday after research unexpectedly revealed that the practice may cause long-term harm to their babies.
The Government’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, wrote to GPs, [...]
Heart disease risk of chemical used in food and drink containers
Posted in Diabetes, Editor, HEART, RISKS, Science, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, news on September 17, 2008 | 1 Comment »
By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
One of the world’s most widely used chemicals, a key constituent of plastic food and drink containers, has been linked for the first time with increased rates of heart disease and diabetes in adults.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the 10 most common [...]
Clinical Review: Treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection
Posted in Clinical review, Editor, Gastric problems, INFECTIONS, RISKS, Science, bmj, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, news on September 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Clinical Review, by: L Fuccio, research fellow et al, Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna.
BMJ, 15 September 2008
The prevalence of H pylori varies widely and is about 50% in international population studies. Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common human infections, and about half of the world’s population carries this organism. [...]
Global shortage of isotopes puts hundreds of (cancer) scans in doubt
Posted in Editor, HEART, RISKS, Science, cancer, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, news on September 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Saturday, 6 September 2008
A global shortage of radioactive imaging agents vital to the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases threatens to delay treatment for hundreds of patients in Britain.
Specialists warned yesterday that UK hospitals are receiving less than half the expected supplies of medical isotopes used in [...]
Appeal for new antibiotics after resistant E.coli infections treble
Posted in Editor, INFECTIONS, Politics, RISKS, Science, chronic disease, health, life, news on September 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Thursday, 11 September 2008
An increase in infections that are resistant to all known antibiotics is threatening Britain and the world, unless ways can be found to develop and finance new drugs, public health experts warned yesterday.
The Health Protection Agency said yesterday that of 20,000 blood [...]
Vitamin B12 may protect brain
Posted in ALZHEIMER, Editor, Men's health, RISKS, Science, Women's health, chronic disease, diagnosis, health, life, mental health, news on September 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
By: PA, The Independent
A key vitamin found in meat, fish and milk may help protect the brain as it ages, researchers said.
Vitamin B12 could help stop the brain shrinking – possibly preventing memory loss in older people and dementia.
A study of 107 people aged 61 to 87 found that those with lower vitamin B12 [...]
