Muslim GP faces sack over homophobic letter

By: Harriet Shawcross, PA, The Independent
Tuesday, 28 October 2008

A former head of the Islamic Medical Association sent a homophobic letter to a magazine for GPs, saying gay people needed the “stick of law to put them on the right path”, the General Medical Council heard today.

Dr Muhammad Siddiq was working as a GP at the Walsall Teaching Primary Care Trust when he wrote the letter to Pulse in July last year.

A GMC fitness to practise panel, in Manchester, heard Dr Siddiq’s letter read: “There is punishment and fine if you throw rubbish or filth on the streets, the gays are worse than the ordinary careless citizen, they are causing the spread of illness and they are the root cause of many sexually-transmitted diseases.

“They need neither sympathy nor help, what they need is the stick of law to put them on the right path.”

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Strict new benefit rules ‘will drive mentally-ill people into poverty’

By: Nina Lakhani, The Independent
Monday, 27 October 2008

People with mental health problems will be driven into poverty by the introduction of a new benefit today, campaigners have warned.

Around half of applicants for the employment and support allowance are expected to be rejected because of much stricter rules, forcing thousands of people with mental health problems on to the much less generous job-seekers allowance, or into jobs they are unable to cope with and which could lead to a relapse in their conditions.

Thousands more will face tough new sanctions on the benefit which replaces incapacity benefit, if they fail to attend regular work-based activities and interviews. This could lead to benefits being withdrawn completely.

Experts say this fails to take into account the erratic nature of mental illness and could leave sick people destitute.

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Drug (Alemtuzumab) that can reverse the effects of MS

By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Thursday, 23 October 2008

Scientists have made a dramatic leap forward in the treatment of multiple sclerosis with the discovery of a drug that not only halts the disease but can also reverse it.

The discovery is being hailed as the biggest advance against the debilitating neurological condition for more than a decade and could prove effective against other, similar diseases. The MS Society said it was “delighted” by the results.

Scientists believe the drug, alemtuzumab, may also be effective in other conditions. Further studies are under way into its use in autoimmune conditions such as rhemumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks itself, and in transplant surgery.

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Diabetics’ use of aspirin questioned

By: PA, The Independent
Friday, 3 October 2008

Diabetes sufferers should not routinely take aspirin to prevent heart attacks, research today suggested.
It had been argued that routine use of the drug could help prevent the risk of suffering a heart attack.

But new research conducted by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that people who showed no symptoms of heart disease, received no benefit after regularly taking aspirin.
The study found that aspirin benefited people who have already suffered a heart attack or stroke as the drug could reduce the risk of future related problems by a quarter.

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Long term predictive values of cytology and human papillomavirus testing in cervical cancer screening

Research; BMJ 13 October 2008.
By: Joakim Dillner, professor, Lund University, Medical Microbiology, University Hospital MAS, 205 02 Malmö, Sweden et al.

This joint analysis of studies across western Europe concludes that, for women with negative cytology and negative HPV testing, such combined screening every six years would be safe.

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Energy saving light bulbs can emit enough UV radiation to damage skin

By: Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent
Friday, 3 October 2008

Energy saving light bulbs can emit levels of ultraviolet radiation sufficient to damage the skin, the Government’s public health safety watchdog warned.
‘Open’ bulbs can be harmful if used close to skin, but closed bulbs are safe.

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‘Dr Death’ banned again over suicide workshop

By: PA, The Independent
Friday, 10 October 2008

A controversial euthanasia expert dubbed “Dr Death” said today he was banned a second time from hosting a DIY suicide workshop in a seaside town.

Dr Philip Nitschke was due to host the event in Bournemouth but a council-owned adult education centre pulled the plug and now his second venue, the Hermitage Hotel, has also cancelled.

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Ignored: the mentally ill killed by drugs that are meant to help them

By: Nina Lakhani, The Independent
Sunday, 5 October 2008

Campaigners plan to use World Mental Health Day to highlight discrimination within the medical profession against some of its most vulnerable patients.

Daniel Galvin died of a heart attack in August. He was six stone overweight and had high blood pressure; his hair was falling out and he was incapacitated by trembling legs. He was 29.

Daniel’s family believe his symptoms, and his untimely death, were caused by side effects from the powerful psychiatric drugs he had been taking for 14 years. He is, they think, one of thousands of people with mental health problems who have died prematurely because their physical health was neglected.

Rufus May, a clinical psychologist, said yesterday: “The real tragedy about Daniel’s death is that it symbolises how little things have changed in psychiatry. Young lives are still being wasted because we fail to listen to people and simply prescribe powerful drugs with little regard for their physical well being.

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Sick leave linked to early death

By: Laura May, PA, The Independent
Friday, 3 October 2008

Employees who take regular periods of long-term sick leave die earlier than their colleagues, a study by the British Medical Journal said today.

Researchers found that workers with more than one absence requiring a doctor’s note on their records were 66 per cent more likely to die prematurely.

And workers who had to stay off work because of psychiatric problems were two and a half more likely to die of cancer.

Those who had to take time off because of circulatory disease were the most likely to die before their healthy colleagues. Researchers found they had a four time higher chance of a premature death.

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Black men ‘three times more likely to get prostate cancer’

By: Laura May, PA, The Independent
Tuesday, 30 September 2008

Black men in England are three times more likely than whites to get prostate cancer and tend to be diagnosed five years younger, researchers have found.

Researchers at the University of Bristol found no evidence that black men get poorer access to health care.

They said the differences between races could not be explained by differences in the tests, screening or information black or white men had about the condition.

Reporting in the the British Journal of Cancer, scientists said black men were more likely to be referred to hospital for further investigation by their GP.

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