Daily Aspirin dose for all over 45 yrs

A small daily dose of Aspirin is considered to help protect those aged 45 and over against heart disease and cancer.
The Lancet study has shown that an increased use of Aspirin could save thousands of cases of bowel cancer, alone. research is also looking to see whether it is as successful against othet types of cancer. A professor at Newcastle University, is worried that if everyone was prescribes the drug we would see the side effects. At the age of 45 and above the risk of bowel cancer increases; a stratified approach would be to only advise those at a greater risk to take Aspirin daily.

Some experts have suggested that it would not be advised for everyone over 45 to take Aspirin, as a preventative against cancer.

New cervical cancer test could save thousands

The Cobas test costs as little as £15 per test and is hoped to be available in Doctors surgeries within a year. The test would replace the smear, which fails to detect cancer for 1 in 3 women, and will return test results to the patients the same day of testing. The Cobas test looks for HPV (which causes uncontrollable cell division) rather than the smear which looks for abnormal cell growth.

In a trial of 47 000 women, aged 30+, 10% were detected with HPV after the getting the 'all clear' from the smear test. this trial suggest success, however further testing is needed before it is to replace the smear and be available on the NHS.

Dangerous Superstrain bacteria C. Difficile

In the UK the strain 027 Clostridium Difficile, causing fatal diarrhoea and vomitting, has been found to be the highest proportion of cases in Europe. The cause of spreading has thought to have been from the overuse of antibiotics and poor hygeine.
At Strathetyde University, they have found that using HINS-light they are able to kill the bacteria by exciting the molecules within the bacteria which produces highly reactive chemical species that are lethal to them. This new discovery gives hope as an answer to this super-strain, however the cause of spreading needs to desparately be addressed.

16th November The Daily Telegraph

Blood Test can spot heart risk 15 years in advance

As reported today in the Daily Telegraph, researchers at the University of Maryland, USA, have found a new way of detecting the risk of future heart failure. 720 000 people in the UK suffer from heart failure with 11 500 dying every year. A protein called Troponin T has been found to be a long term predictor found in the blood.
This new test can detect Troponin T twice as weak as before. Those with high levels of Troponin T are at higher risk of suffering from heart failure int he next 10 years or of dying from cardiovascular disease.

If people then know that they have high levels of Troponin T they can adapt their lifestyle e.g. diet and exercise levels to reduce the risk of heart failure.

Fat gene identified

Researchers at Oxford university have found a direct connection between the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene and increased body weight. Scientists bred mice with an extra copies of the FTO gene and found that these mice, although they were healthy ate more and put on more weight that those without the extra genes. This has supported the 2007 finding that the FTO gene is linked to the likelihood of obesity in humans.

The researchers are now confident that the FTO gene is important and contributes to obesity. There can now be research into various drug therapies which hope to work by turning down the effect of the FTO genes in an anti-obesity pill, however there is no certainty that this will be a success, it is an exciting prospect.

If having this gene predisposes individuals to put on weight and eat more, can we justify thinking that obesity is a seft inflicted illness?


The Daily Telegraph 15th Nov

Homeopathy works- consultations on remedies

Homeopathy is based on the theory that by using substasnces that cause symptoms in a healthy person can be diluted and used to treat sick patients.

Daily Telegraph reported today that sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis who visited a homeopathic doctor experienced significant reductions in pain and inflammation, regardless of whether they received the genuine homeopathic medicine or the placebo. The patients who were given the remedies but not the consultations did not improve. The study suggests that talking and listening to patients could significantly assist their health.

It was also suggested that conventional doctors have some important lessons to be learnt in patient-centred care and how the consultation process can have a huge effect on the patient's health. This could have positive implications on how doctors are trained and how they communicate with patients more effectively as there is always room for improvement.

Alzheimer's screening test

The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that a 30 second screening test for the disease could be around in only 2 years time.
The screening process aimed at people around the age of 40, which would be conducted in GP surgeries using computers, could identify the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in later life.
Currently cognitive memory tests and brain scans such as PET and SPET are used but the only way to get a full examination of the brain is after death.
Research into the new test by Professor Bunce of Brunel University and has found an effective way of spotting potential sign using patient reaction times. They studied brain scans of healthy men and women ages 44-48 in search for tiny lesions which are similar to those discovered in post mortems of Alzheimer's patients. 15% of 428 participants had these abnormalities which occured in the brain's memory hub (same place as the lesions found in post mortems). The volunteers with the brain lesions had a range of reaction times whereas thoe which healthy brains were more consistient with reaction times.

This test could indicate the development of Alzheimer's disease leading to a quicker diagnosis. These patients could then take preventive stpes such as changing their diet and increasing the amount of exercise they do. If these patients are treated with drugs earlier on it could be that they will never develop the disease. However knowing at the age of 40 that you are likely to develop Alzheimer's could add to the stress of their current life, with the possibility of developing psychological distress or perhaps a depressive illness.

Hospitals are failing to care for the elderly

A report I read today in The Daily Telegraph claimed that a majority of elderly people died within a month of NHS operations because they were not cared for properly. In the survey of 820 patients over the age of 80, 38% were said to be cared for inadequately. Many were malnourished, treated by inadequate doctors and did not receive adequate pain relief. Only a third of the patients were treated by a geriatric specialist.

The key problem in the NHS drawn from this research showed that pain in patients that had difficulty communicating was not managed properly.

The government are determined to make the NHS more patient centered; the patient safety should be at the heart of everything.

An insight into how HIV can be controlled with Anti-retrovirals

1 in 300 people have the ability to control the HIV replication due to a difference in 5 amino acids making a protein called HLA-B. in a genome wide association study, they found 300 points were found to be associated with immine system control of HIV in the region of chromosome 6 which codes for HLA-B.

HLA-B is involved in the immune system when recognising virus infected cells to destroy. The binding pockets on the protein drag and drop peptides from inside the virus onto the cell membrane. CD8 T killer cells then recognise the virus and destroy the cell.

UK scientists think we still have a long way to go before we can develop a new drug or vaccine but we are an important step closer.

BBC News 4th November

Yesterday the Guardian reported, in the developing world, that by focusing on HIV, there are billions of patients who could be receiving cures for other conditions but are not. Victims of the world's most pernicous illnesses could be treated for less than 30p per patient annually however resources are being targeted at HIV, Malaria and TB which infedcts a much smaller fraction of their populations and treatable tropical diseases are being neglected.

'Discovery could lead the way for cancer vaccine' The Daily Telegraph

Researchers at Cambridge University have uncovered how tumour cells protect themselves from the body's immune system. FAP protein found in stromal cells (cell tissue which helps the body to heal) provides a protective shield for the cancerous cells. After running tests on mice, researchers have successfully been able to switch off the gene, coding for the synthesis and production of FAP, which has enabled the immune system to attack the tumour. There is great hope that in the near future this could lead to a vaccine suitable to destroy tumours in various areas of the human body.
We are now only steps away from finding a way to battle against one of the biggest killers, a real break through in medicine.