Saturday, January 28, 2006

Rabbit Proof Doors

National and International News


NHS 'MoTs' to give early warning of illnesses - The Guardian 28/01/06 All British people will be offered an NHS "MoT" in which they will be told how likely they are to develop certain diseases and illnesses based on tests taken at five stages during their lives. Health MoT for everyone and private GPs in shops - The Times 28/01/06 Hewitt's new cure: a health MoT plus trainer - The Telegraph 28/01/06 Mixed reception to Hewitt's health 'MoTs' - The Telegraph 28/01/06 New Labour is bad for the nation's health - The Telegraph 28/01/06 Health MoTs will be offered to everyone - Daily Mail 28/01/06 People to be offered 'health MoT' - BBC Health News 28/01/06
Free fruit and veg scheme for young pupils hits problems - The Guardian 28/01/06 The government's programme to promote fruit and vegetables in schools has been hit by a freeze on health spending and by an official evaluation that suggests it has made little significant impact on children's consumption.
Jon Ronson talks to the Thornes, dubbed 'the fattest family in Britain' - The Guardian 28/01/06 The Thornes were dubbed 'the fattest family in Britain'. Now, having lost 100 stone between them, they describe how lonely it is to live in a family in which everyone shares the same problem
Seven ways to boost your metabolism - The Guardian 28/01/06 A vigorous session at the gym isn't the only way to burn energy. Sam Murphy on how to get science on your side
That's better - The Guardian 28/01/06 It's a month when there's always someone in the house who is under the weather. And Matthew Fort knows only one way to treat the poorly: with culinary medicine
Gates pledges $900m to fight against TB - The Guardian 28/01/06 A plan to cut deaths from tuberculosis by 14 million over the next 10 years was launched yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos with a pledge of $900m (£507m) from the Microsoft boss Bill Gates and exhortations for the world to try harder from the chancellor, Gordon Brown. Gates cash kick-starts $31 bln TB funding drive - Reuters 28/01/06
Lucy Atkins on how can you protect your children from the damaging effects of divorce - The Guardian 28/01/06 Is it possible to protect your children from the damaging effects of divorce? Three British families struggling to cope with marriage breakdown travelled to Texas to visit a specialist 'divorce coach'. The results, says Lucy Atkins, were remarkable
Emma Mitchell: Remedy for allergy - The Guardian 28/01/06 All my life I have suffered from 'allergic' reactions to many things, but the local allergy clinic recently told me I had not allergies but 'hypersensitivity'. What is this, and are there homeopathic remedies?
Anne Karpf: Rights and wrongs of teenage abortion - The Guardian 28/01/06 It looked as if we were squaring up for a very old fight when, last year, Sue Axon first challenged the Department of Health's guidelines that allow under-16-years-olds to be given confidential advice about sexual matters. In the left corner the liberals, defending confidentiality as essential to avoid thousands more unwanted pregnancies. In the right corner the conservatives, claiming their parental rights were being usurped by professionals. For me it seemed like no contest: I hadn't marched for the liberalisation of abortion so many times only to have it whisked away from the most vulnerable all these years later. Now that Axon has lost, I still cleave to the same position and yet some of the glib certainties have ebbed away. Perhaps it's just a sign of middle-age to see beyond the slogans: today I subscribe less to "free abortion on demand" than "life's a bitch".
Inhaler could replace needles for diabetics - The Times 28/01/06 AN INSULIN inhaler that could replace injections for some people with diabetes has been approved by European drug-licensing authorities. Diabetes inhaler given approval - BBC Health News 27/01/06
Eggs in one basket - The Times 28/01/06 A fertility test for women sounds great — but don’t count on it
Why do men have nipples? - The Times 28/01/06 Mark Leyner and Dr Billy Goldberg answer the questions you'd love to ask a doctor at a party - agter a glass or two of wine
Becoming disjointed - The Times 28/01/06 An experimental course may help middle-class marijuana smokers trying to quit. John Naish gets the inside dope
Haunted by her past - The Times 28/01/06 Jane Horrocks thinks she inherited her obsessive genes from a line of tough women. Her ancestry is so important that she contacts the ‘other side’ via a spirit guide called Alan, she tells John Naish
All in the line of beauty - The Times 28/01/06 Extreme cold can wreck your complexion but when Hannah Betts joined a team of Polar explorers to test a new skin-protection formula she jumped in feet first
Self-help for women? It’s a scream - The Times 28/01/06 A weekend in the country getting in touch with her inner woman didn’t sound scary, but when Genevieve Fox heard the group wail, it was time to run
Do it like this, not like that - The Times 28/01/06 The control freak may be the boss at work, accustomed to telling others what to do, and them doing it without delay. And this attitude may extend to his family life. Or he may dream of being the boss and act out his fantasy at home. Women can be control freaks too but, in my experience, they tend to be men.
Lunchtime fix: CACI Electro-Cellulite Massager - The Times 28/01/06 Experts say that most anti-cellulite treatments are as effective as snake oil, but that hasn’t stopped cosmetics companies coming up with more ingenious methods to zap our fat. The CACI Electro-Cellulite Massager is a treatment that claims to send small currents of electricity into problem areas to “break down” cellulite. It is supposed to firm legs, lift buttocks and tackle dimply thighs, all in only 40 minutes.
Dr Copperfield: inside the mind of a GP - The Times 28/01/06 The Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently published a list of “Icons of Englishness”, including the Routemaster bus, Stonehenge and a decent cup of tea. Researchers from YouGov determined last year that our inalienable right to free speech, our world-renowned system of justice and the monarchy were things that made us proud to be British.
Bodylicious: anti-scar treatment - The Times 28/01/06 Alessandra Steinherr, the beauty director of Cosmopolitan magazine, chooses the best products to smooth and soften the appearance of scars.
Junk medicine: scientific peer review - The Times 28/01/06 The disgrace of Woo Suk Hwang, the South Korean cloning pioneer who faked his data, had already placed the integrity of medical science and its peer-reviewed journals under close scrutiny. Both are reeling again this week from another scandal. On Monday, Jon Sudboe, of the Norwegian Radium Hospital, confessed to fabricating a study of mouth cancer, published last year in The Lancet.
Sex matters with Dr Thomas Stuttaford and Suzi Godson - The Times 28/01/06 My once sexually adventurous wife of over ten years now utterly rejects my advances. She will not say why. What on earth should I do?
She doesn’t want to drink - The Times 28/01/06 My daughter is 4 and I am concerned that she is not drinking enough. She needs a lot of persuasion to have half a cup of juice with breakfast, does not drink school milk and often comes home with her lunch drink unopened? How can I encourage her to drink more during the day?
What's up, doc? checking your reflexes - The Times 28/01/06 Why bother? The doctor is tapping a tendon in your knee. This causes a slight but sudden stretch of your thigh muscle, which sends an automatic signal — via nerves and spinal cord — ordering the muscle to contract.
Get over it: being a pessimist - The Times 28/01/06 My partner complains that I always look on the down side of life. How can I be more optimistic?
It works for me: biosthetic aromatherapy - The Times 28/01/06 In search for a cure for baldness, one City boy discovered ‘biosthetics’. It performed miracles, he tells Emma Mahony
Home remedy: peppermint tea for indigestion - The Times 28/01/06 Can peppermint tea settle your stomach if you’ve overeaten?
Eco-worrier: Fairtrade fruit - The Times 28/01/06 Should I buy my bananas only from the Windward Islands?
Learning to think small - The Times 28/01/06 Can you teach a mum who’s never seen raw garlic to cook healthy food for kids in just two hours?
Not the beetroot of all evil - The Times 28/01/06 “But what can I do with them?” I heard someone ask at our local farmers’ market, as he picked up a bunch of earthy, dark-red beetroots. I usually have my hands too full to feel any desire to stop, but this was easy.
Change one thing: running the marathon - The Times 28/01/06 When David Aaronovitch tried to kickstart his running regimen, he was first told to stop ...
Not just anybody: Kathleen Turner - The Times 28/01/06 How the fit and fabulous stay that way. Actress Kathleen Turner, 51, used to drink to numb her arthritis; these days she’s addicted to the gym
'It was the worst night of my life' - The Telegraph 28/01/06 A new report claims that fathers who attend caesarean births are doing more harm than good. But do they want to be there, or are they just responding to pressure from society, asks Christina Hopkinson
And they said I should let one of my triplets die - Daily Mail 27/01/06 Every time Claire Orgill looks at her healthy, happy triplets, she gives thanks that she ignored the doctors' advice.
Want to quit smoking? Do it suddenly - Daily Mail 27/01/06 Many smokers gear up for months to try and kick their habit, making meticulous plans to ease them off the nicotine.
Trial to test asthma salt theory - BBC Health News 28/01/06 Scientists are to test the hypothesis that eating less salt can help people with asthma control their symptoms.
Clues to cause of long-term pain - BBC Health News 28/01/06 Undamaged nerve fibres - not those that are injured - may cause long-term chronic pain, research suggests.
'MRSA risk' patients on baby ward - BBC Health News 27/01/06 Health campaigners are demanding an inquiry after patients thought to be a high MRSA risk were placed in a Surrey hospital's maternity ward.
Cancer battle woman in remission - BBC Health News 27/01/06 Barbara Clark, the nurse who fought to receive the drug Herceptin on the NHS, is in remission from breast cancer.
PAC Report: Macmillan Cancer Relief Says Now It's Time To Focus On Patients Not Just Targets - Medical News Today 28/01/06 Macmillan Cancer Relief called for a new National Cancer Plan to dramatically improve the patient's experience throughout the cancer journey in light of the Public Accounts Committee report "The NHS Cancer Plan" today.
Eisai Establishes European Strategic Business Hub In The UK - Medical News Today 28/01/06 Tokyo, Japan (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Europe Ltd. (Headquarter: London, President: Yutaka Tsuchiya), a regional headquarter in Europe and a subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarter: Tokyo, President and CEO: Haruo Naito) concluded the Heads of Terms with Arlington Securities Ltd. in the UK on land sales and the development to establish a strategic business hub in Europe.
More Patients To Get Access To Cutting-Edge Medical Therapies Under New Health Research Strategy, UK - Medical News Today 28/01/06 UK Health Minister, Jane Kennedy today announced a new health research strategy aimed at giving patients better access to ground-breaking new medicines and treatments, and supporting researchers carrying out health and social care research throughout England.
Prostate Cancer Device Market Set To Triple In Asia And Latin America - Medical News Today 28/01/06 The next five years will herald massive growth for minimally invasive prostate cancer devices in several emerging markets, with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology leading the way. By 2010, the Asian and Latin American markets for brachytherapy seeds, cryoablation, and HIFU devices will gross over $25 million in revenue-more than 3 times the market value in 2005.
Future Science Group Signs With Ingenta For Delivery Of Electronic Journals - Medical News Today 28/01/06 Future Science Group has reached an agreement with Ingenta, the global research gateway, to provide electronic access to over 20 review journals published under their imprints Future Drugs and Future Medicine.
Penn To Test New Thermal Energy Procedure To Reduce Asthmatic Symptoms - Medical News Today 28/01/06 New Procedure May Revolutionize Traditional Asthma Care By Lessoning Smooth Muscle Tissue in the Airway.
Updated Index To Methamphetamine Research Literature - Medical News Today 28/01/06 The New York State Department of Health has posted a new version of "A Key to Methamphetamine-Related Literature" on its web site
New Pathway Could Present An Intervention Point For Cancer Treatment - Medical News Today 27/01/06 A new cellular pathway leads to destruction of a protein that promotes growth of breast, prostate and similar cancers and could provide a new avenue through which to pursue treatment of such diseases, said a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine.
Computer Systems Assisting Orthopaedic Surgeons - Medical News Today 27/01/06 EUREKA project E! 2288 MEDAC is helping orthopaedic surgeons to document clinical cases and analyse compiled patient data.
Non-surgical Therapy That Destroys Tumors But Leaves Healthy Surrounding Tissue - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Nonsurgical cancer therapy that destroys tumors but leaves healthy surrounding tissue intact could be available at every hospital if research reported this week in the journal Nature eventually comes to fruition.
BRCA1 Gene Found To Inhibit Two Sex Hormones, Not Just One - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Could help explain why women who have mutations in their BRCA1 gene are susceptible to 'hormone-dependent' cancers including breast, endometrial and cervical cancers.
Study Implicates Defective Synapse Generator In Onset Of Alzheimer's - Finding Links Age-related Brain Disease To Down Syndrome - Medical News Today 27/01/06 A new UCLA/Veterans Affairs study implicates defects in the machinery that creates connections between brain cells as responsible for the onset of Alzheimer disease.
UNC Scientists Discover 'gatekeeper' Protein In Blood Clotting - Medical News Today 27/01/06 New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has identified a protein that may control blood clotting by keeping blood platelets from sticking together.
DNA-wrapped Carbon Nanotubes Serve As Sensors In Living Cells - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Single-walled carbon nanotubes wrapped with DNA can be placed inside living cells and detect trace amounts of harmful contaminants using near infrared light, report researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their discovery opens the door to new types of optical sensors and biomarkers that exploit the unique properties of nanoparticles in living systems.
Bird Flu Virus Has Unique Gene Not Found In Human Flu Virus - Medical News Today 27/01/06 According to scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, USA, all bird flu viruses they have investigated have a unique gene not found in human flu viruses. This unique gene may play a major role in making the H5N1 bird flu virus strain so virulent (potent, powerful).
Brain Damaged Girl Improves, Her Eyes Follow Sounds - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Haleigh Poutre, who sustained severe brain injuries as a result of attacks by her stepfather and adoptive mother and was nearly removed from life support not that very long ago is now in a rehabilitation center.
Passive Smoking Raises Breast Cancer Risk For Under 50s - Medical News Today 27/01/06 According to the California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, passive smoking (second hand smoke) raises the risk of developing breast cancer for women under 50 by 68% to 120%. Post-menopausal women, say the researchers, do not have a greater risk from passive smoking.
Hewitt Launches Manual To Help Guide NHS Through Reform Process, UK - Medical News Today 27/01/06 New guidance includes plans to get the NHS back in the black. The next steps in creating a patient-led NHS were outlined today by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
Estimated Number Of HIV-Positive People In China Is 650,000, According To Report By China's Health Ministry, WHO, UNAIDS - Medical News Today 27/01/06 The number of HIV-positive people in China is an estimated 650,000 in 2005, 30% lower than the country's previous estimate, according to a report released on Wednesday by China's Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, Reuters reports (Reuters, 1/25). According to the report, 2003 estimates said that the number of HIV-positive people in China was 840,000, but current estimates say that 650,000 HIV-positive people live in the country, and 75,000 of those people have developed AIDS. The report also estimates that in 2005 there were 70,000 new cases of HIV and 25,000 AIDS-related deaths. The country's current HIV/AIDS prevalence is approximately 0.05%, the report says (China's Ministry of Health/WHO/UNAIDS, "2005 Update on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic and Response in China," 1/24). In some areas of Henan and the far-western border of Yunnan and Xinjiang, HIV prevalence among pregnant women is more than 1%, Reuters reports (Reuters, 1/25). Of the total number of HIV/AIDS cases in China, 80% are associated with injection drug use and commercial sex work, the Wall Street Journal reports (Oster, Wall Street Journal, 1/25). According to the Kyodo News, the new case load estimates have reduced the United Nation's prediction of the number of HIV-positive people that will be living in China by 2010 from 10 million to approximately 1.5 million (Kyodo News, 1/25). Wang Longde, China's vice minister of health, said the current case-load estimates are lower because China conducted a survey in 2004 that found the number of people who contracted HIV through illegal blood sales was lower than previously predicted in 2003 (Xinhuanet, 1/25). According to experts, another reason for the lower estimates could be the country's improved data collection capabilities (Reuters, 1/24).
European Donors In Discussions To Provide Funding For Programs Suspended By The Global Fund In Myanmar - Medical News Today 27/01/06 A group that includes the European Commission, Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden is planning to replace funding that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was providing in Myanmar, unnamed diplomats said on Tuesday, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 1/24). The Global Fund in August 2005 announced a suspension of its grants to Myanmar, citing travel and other restrictions implemented by the country's government that impede the delivery of medical supplies and services. The fund in 2004 pledged to spend $98 million over five years to fight the three diseases in the country. ECHO, the European Commission's humanitarian aid department, last month pledged about $18 million in funding aimed at helping vulnerable populations in Myanmar and refugees living along the country's border with Thailand (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/3). The European diplomats said the new donor group held talks on Jan. 19 with the Myanmarese government about providing funding to fight the diseases, and they also have had talks with the opposition political party in the country, as well as not-for-profit groups, according to AFP/Yahoo! News. The donor group wants to create a new system for funding health programs that uses procedures, created by the Global Fund, that aim to prevent funding from supporting the country's military-led government and allow health care workers to travel freely throughout Myanmar, according to AFP/Yahoo! News. A U.N. official on Tuesday said the U.N. Development Programme has secured funding so that Global Fund programs in the country can continue until July in an effort to "allo[w] a smooth handover when the new donors take over," AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 1/24).
Scientists Uncover 3-D Structure Of HIV, Study Says - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Scientists have uncovered the 3-D structure of HIV, according to a study published in the Jan. 10 edition of the journal Structure, BBC News reports. Because strains of HIV vary in size and shape, scientists have found it difficult to understand its structure, the study says. Stephen Fuller, a professor at Oxford University's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, and colleagues took several images of the virus from different angles. The team took about 100 images of 70 individual viruses and compared them using a computer program. The researchers found that the cone-shaped core of HIV is as wide as the viral membrane, and the virus has spikes on the outside that it uses when attaching to CD4+ T cells. In addition, the study finds that HIV differs from most viruses in that its membrane, rather than its internal structure, defines its size, a feature that limits the way the virus can assemble. "Identifying how the virus grows will allow us to address the formation of this important pathogen and how it accommodates its variability," Fuller said, adding that the finding could lead to the development of more effective therapies to treat HIV (BBC News, 1/24).
African Americans Face Higher Risk Of Lung Cancer Than Other Races, Study Says - Medical News Today 27/01/06 African Americans who smoke face a higher risk of developing lung cancer than smokers of other races, indicating that genes "might help explain the racial differences long seen in the disease," according to a study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports (Chang, AP/Detroit Free Press, 1/26). In the largest study on the topic to date, researchers from the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii followed 183,000 study participants over an eight-year period beginning in 1993. Over the course of the study, 1,979 enrollees developed lung cancer. Among African-American men who smoked, there were 264 cases of lung cancer per 100,000 individuals, compared with 264 cases among native Hawaiian men, 158 cases among white men, 121 cases among Japanese-American men and 79 cases among Latino men. The study, which did not include other ethnic groups, found that women overall had lower incidences of lung cancer, but ethnic disparities generally "followed the same pattern," the Wall Street Journal reports (Bulkeley, Wall Street Journal, 1/26). Overall, whites who smoked up to one pack of cigarettes daily had a 43% to 55% lower risk of developing lung cancer than blacks who smoked the same amount. Latinos and Japanese Americans were 60% to 80% less likely than blacks to develop lung cancer if they smoked up to a pack a day, according to the study (AP/Detroit Free Press, 1/26). The disparities -- which persisted even after researchers considered factors such as diet, socioeconomic status and occupation -- disappeared among participants who were the heaviest smokers, likely because the damage caused by smoking at that level overwhelmed other factors, according to lead author Christopher Haiman, an assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
IAVI President Berkley To Advocate For Doubling HIV/AIDS Vaccine Research Funding At World Economic Forum - Medical News Today 27/01/06 International AIDS Vaccine Initiative President Seth Berkley ahead of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2006 this week in Davos, Switzerland, said he plans to advocate for a doubling of commitments from policymakers and other participants at the forum for HIV/AIDS vaccine research to at least $1.2 billion annually, Reuters reports (Hirschler, Reuters, 1/25). IAVI estimates that about $682 million is spent annually on HIV/AIDS vaccine research and development, with about $100 million coming from the private sector (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/3). Berkley said the potential bird flu epidemic has highlighed the problems that result from not taking a long-term approach to vaccine development based on economic incentives for private companies. "The whole system for vaccines is not aligned properly," Berkley said, adding, "We have to find better ways to accelerate research, finance research and to create incentives for pharmaceutical companies." He said the Group of Eight industrialized nations has expressed support for making HIV/AIDS vaccine research a priority at six different meetings -- including the 2005 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland -- but implementation of promises remains an important obligation, Reuters reports (Reuters, 1/25).
Patients And Staff To Benefit From Funding Programme To Improve End-Of-Life Care, UK - Medical News Today 27/01/06 The NHS needs to pay more attention to dying patients and their relatives by improving the places where they are looked after.
Understanding Tumor-host Interactions, Five European Labs Cooperate - Medical News Today 27/01/06 An EU funded Specific Targeted Research Project (STREP) entitled "Tumor-Host Genomics" has been launched at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The Tumor-Host Genomics project links together the resources of five European leading-edge laboratories studying major signaling pathways in mesenchymal and hematopoietic cells, forming a concerted effort to understand tumor-host interactions, and to identify novel therapeutic targets.
Stem Cell Therapy For Parkinson's Disease - Medical News Today 27/01/06 High hopes have been pinned on the prospects of using stem cells to eventually be able to replace diseased or dead cells with new, healthy ones. In order to do this, the stem cells must be programmed to form cells with the exact speciality needed for the treatment of patients.
Role Of The Nervous System In Regulating Stem Cells Discovered - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine may provide new hope for cancer patients and others with compromised immune systems.
BiovaxID™ Yields 89 Percent Survival In Patients With Aggressive Non-Hodgkins - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABPI) and its subsidiary, Biovest International, Inc. (OTCBB:BVTI), report follow-up data to a Phase 2 trial conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that shows Biovest's BiovaxID yielded an 89% survival rate in mantle cell lymphoma patients. The median follow-up was 3.8 years. Historically, patients with this type of lymphoma only have had a 50% chance of surviving 3 years and 20% chance of surviving 5 years. BiovaxID, an investigational personalized anti-cancer vaccine, stimulates the immune system to seek out and destroy tumor cells. The data were published in a recent edition of Nature Medicine (Nat Med.2005; 11(9):986-91).
Bird Flu Poses Threat To International Security, Illinois Scholar Says - Medical News Today 27/01/06 In the past, when government leaders, policymakers and scholars have turned their attention to peace and security issues, the talk invariably has focused on war, arms control or anti-terrorism strategies. But Julian Palmore believes it's time to expand the scope of the conversation.
Three Neuronal Growth Factors May Be Key To Understanding Alcohol's Effects - Medical News Today 27/01/06 Growth factors are a large and diverse group of polypeptides critical for the development of the central nervous system. A symposium at the June 2005 annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Santa Barbara, California focused on three growth factors - insulin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) - that may also play an important role in the regulation of the behavioral effects of alcohol. Symposium proceedings are published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Daughters Of Alcoholics - Medical News Today 27/01/06 During the last decade, most of the research on genetic and environmental variables relevant to children of alcoholics has focused on the sons of alcoholics. In contrast, symposium participants at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Santa Barbara, California in June 2005 focused on moderators of risk for alcoholism and other psychopathologies among daughters of alcoholics. Proceedings are published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Peptide vaccines raise concern in animal study - Reuters 27/01/06 Findings from an animal study indicate that inoculation with so-called peptide vaccines can have lethal consequences.
Patients may see scary lights during eye surgery - Reuters 27/01/06 Patients who are awake while undergoing surgery on the gel-like vitreous inside the eye often report seeing frightening lights, similar to what is experienced by cataract surgery patients, a new study shows. As a result, many patients say they would opt for general anesthesia the next time around, despite the greater risk.
Antidepressants may affect immune system - Reuters 27/01/06 Antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft, which affect a brain chemical called serotonin, may also influence the body's immune system, new research suggests.
Women with type 1 diabetes have low bone density - Reuters 27/01/06 Bone mineral density (BMD) in premenopausal women with type1 diabetes, also referred to as juvenile, diabetes, is 3 percent to 8 percent lower than in women without diabetes, investigators at the University of Pittsburgh report.
US senator cites bird flu to oppose China exports - Reuters 27/01/06 China should not be allowed to process and ship poultry meat for sale in the United States due to the risk of bird flu, the Democratic leader of the Senate Agriculture Committee said on Friday.
DHEA may reduce depression symptoms in HIV patients - Reuters 27/01/06 The dietary supplement DHEA seems to relieve the symptoms of minor depression in patients infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to a new report.

Friday, January 27, 2006

And just smiling at the sound

A day of reviewing e-mails and attachments, will the fun never cease. Still not through it all but the notpod comes to the rescue as a device to carry data because my pen drive ain't here etc. I should read more of it but will continue over the weekend. E-mail goes off, but considering IT are moving out of Hammy and are in their new quarters as of Monday we should be rejoicing at how smoothly its all gone. Really it has been impressive and I'm not being my usual sarcastic self in that statement. OK so the mail has been a little flaky but apart from the fact I want to get a piece of email from one of the WLSINFO crew so I can send some books, it's been cool. I am assured that Stevie P. is in 7th heaven in his new purpose designed server room. Monst calls a couple of times to rant over the school thing and a few really nice calls over work issues from other people too succeed in providing welcome interruptions from the task in hand. A little information sharing pretends to be idle gossip which is cool with me. Everyone probing what is going on right now and as we share information we learn more and add 2 and 2 to make 34,043. Speak to the office of the Information Commissioner looking for some advice, it comes but tends to confirm my initial thoughts on the issue in hand. This I guess is traditional. Still it enables me to draft a note that will helpfully assist in other areas. Home and we dash out shopping. Pay the Euro Idiot Tax at Morrisons. Highlight a bottle of Young's Winter Warmer. Technorati Tags: ; ; ; ; ;

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Never Forgotten

Dave kindly passes me some stuff by Pipas and a tribute to the Smiths, I get a first listen in the car as I dash about today. Mighty fine it is too, so thanks Dave for pointing it my way and expanding my listening range further. I also have to thank Dave for reminding me how funny the Smiths stuff is. On the other hand it maybe a warped sense of humour. Discuss the trip to school with Monst. Inconclusive discussion. Wanna scream.....! Look forward to 64Mb of emails to go through tomorrow in detail looking at it to see if I can release it. With any luck it's mainly attachments. Trawl a few blogs. Waiting til I can escape upstairs without waking Cal. Technorati Tags: ; ; ;

Book of Hours

CBeebies take the piss out of the latest Marks and Spencer's ads, quite right too, I hat those things. 'This is not a rice pudding, it's a rice pudding that's been invaded by snowmen'. Training this morning not the best sesh I've ever done. Still give afew top tips to cu out the dross. SHA gig goes OK, I bounce around the building chasing up FoI bits and gain an insight into how hard it has been to pull some if it together. Get a message from Tracy just as I'm about to walk into the induction. Don't get a chance to follow it up because at that point induction happens, then its a dash home to pick Monst up and then to the school. Meeting at school is a bugger, nice coffee though! 4 from the school to two of us. They hear our concerns and then outline their response which I figure answers most of them. Monst I think is less happy with the session. Feel like I've been a buffer zone again. EAHIL membership done and dusted. Result. Technorati Tags: ; ; ;

Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant

Looks like a hectic day ahead, need to dash to see a pharmacist to deliver some search training. Unusual request for us because it includes Pubmed so I refresh my aquaintance with it and get ready for that. Then up to the Heaf' to be myself and a cardboard Jim at the corporate induction and to do some serious work on some FoI stuff. Catch my breath and away we go to the school for a meeting at which I get to be the buffer zone between Monst and Cal's teacher. Looking forward to the training bit though, it'll be fun. As to the rest, it'll be a challenge. Respond to a mail about the European Association for Health Information and Libraries (EAHIL) and free personal membership by applying to join. Meets an SLA requirement nicely and looks an interesting association. Technorati Tags: ; ; ;

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Fings to Make You Go, Um!

Morning and I talk through Liberty 3 to an interested party I know from Cairs use. Raises some interesting issues with the way we're using it and need to sort through a few ideas. Afternoon and I'm on the trail of some FoI stuff again, brief run through the KSP (Knowledge and Skills Profile) but I'm kind of switched off. Chat to a geezer at another point in the FoI triangle I'm currently involved in having spoken to the user. Need to convey to Jim some areas of conflicting interests. Get an invite to be part of an informal interview for the co-ord post at Merseycare. Nice to be thought of and Hannah who invites me is cool, consequently as a result of the phonecall that accompianied the offer I left work later than planned. Still it was a fun goss. Also chat to Liz and Lis, to many Lizzes in my life (a recurrent theme?) and share some RSS goodies with Lis and get amazed by Liz at the age of Wigbol Dave. Who'd have thought! Just shows he's wearing well and he's a smashing fella who consistently raises a smile with his e-mails. Technorati Tags: ; ;

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Birthday Boys Bash

Cal gets to choose where we eat tonight because it's his birthday. He opts for pizza. Monst is dissapointed she was hoping for chinese. So off to the No Mercy we go, drift round the prole shop, Smiths and the Pizza Hut. Nip into Borders post pizza as Monst prepares for the next big adventure in the land of the Kiwi. Cal falls down the stairs when we get home, black eyye beckons.... Day at work feels along time ago. Katie comes in to return an ILL and for a chat, she's always fun to be around and we swap goss and sort out a training sesh over at JMU for the community paeds people. She is the best of academics, very grounded in reality. Also get hacked off with some feedback on some of the news stuff we do. Now I take a very public health view of health so it can admitedly get kinda fringy but I ain't taking that from a librarian from an acute. To my mind a key thing about the news stuff is to understand the health environment we work in and that means things that are environmental and popular understanding of health and wellbeing are as valid as anything else. Here endeth that rant. Gave Dave a shite brief for the posters I asked him to do me yesterday. However he comes up with a great subliminal message that I'd like to run with. Look forward to the next iteration. Positive blog event, pass a message from someone who lost contact with someone who I gained contact with via the blog. Does this mean the Zanowack gig is not always the best move? 50:50 I guess. Technorati Tags: ; ; ; ;

Happy Birthday Callum

Happy Birthday to you, We went to the zoo, We saw a big gorilla, and we thought it was you! Happy 7th birthday to Callum today. 7 years ago, eh! I was watching Arsenal play Wolves on the TV, a cracking FA Cup tie, at the Wimmins waiting for things to happen as Monst in vain attempts to get comfortable was taking multiple baths and recieving diamorphine before things got exciting. Technorati Tags: ; ;

Monday, January 23, 2006

Ballroom Blitz

Monday night and a 70's nostalgia trip with 'Life on Mars' again. Can't work out if I like it because the cod Sweeney nature takes the piss or if it's the little bits of 70's that survive as childhood memories. Tonight's example being the tin of Watney's Party 7 which reminded me of the old fella's cricketing days and the shite they drank. Not helped by the fact the old drear reminded me of their age the other day by revealing one of the wife of one of the old fella's cricketing mate's was 70 this year (he's long gone more's the pity - life is poorer without Barry about). Before the crew t the library mock my age, all I can say in my defence is I was 11 in 1979 but my memory for trivia is as old as me..... All this reminds me I must find out what the odds are on the old fella being the next to suffle off to the great pavillion in the sky, I might still be able to get a decent return on a fiver.... Technorati Tags: ; ;

It's Too Late, That Ivory Tower's Falling Down

Swear that the library has been full of penguins and polar bears today. Regatta's heating packs in and people troop off to work from home at various different times as I find useful stuff for them to do. The consequence is that I'm gonna be more than geared up for the various inductions etc. This is deemed an unusual situation given that I habitually leave everything to the last possible minute. An unexpected bonus, then. For your eddification I provide a picture of the journey required to fetch coffee. Tracy and I person the library in the cold. Plus side to this is that I get to see various friendly library folk here for a DOAS (Do Once and Share) meeting (me I vote with Do Once and Doctor) but I'm notoriously awkward in that way. Anyway back to the cold, I'm blaming a Public Health conspiracy, the whole thing has neccessitated constant trips for warm drinks and subsequent trips elsewhere, not helped by physiology. Cal amuses me mightily when in response to be asked to spell by in his spelling test today actually spelt BUM. Thing is I know he's taking the pee. The teacher is convinced it is a genuine if unfortunate spelling mistake, luckily. Home and shove the chicken I've been marinading overnight in chilli, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper into the oven as we dash to the supermarket to fetch a cake for Cal's birthday (tomorrow) and bits for the party bags that are going into school. Finish cooking and ironing Monst's uniform and away we go to Faz. Wind up listing to The High Fidelity, The Long Ryders and The Mutton Birds. Cool sounds for jaded and frozen ears. Have a later date with a bottle of Broadside and Liberation. Technorati Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

Sunday, January 22, 2006

View from the Strawberry Oligarchy

Mission for the day, find 'Time Out' a play barn that is hosting Jack's birthday party up in Aintree. Monst kips as I wrap the present, and do Cal's homework with him. Deep joy! Furl the news and do my thing, post that a quick scoot around Sainsbury's and back home. Format the news and I'm away. Aintree and the party is a bugger to find. Eventually find he gaff, drop Cal and Monst off and rush into town. I have a book token that's been burning a hole in my pocket. Pick up a copy of 'Margrave of the Marshes' and for the 20 note voucher receive thirteen notes of vouchers back and a penny. Damn, cash would have been better. Means I need to find time to return, preferably without the pressure of time I had on me today. Run back to Aintree and pick up Monst, Cal and give Aaron and Paula a lift round to Old Roan Station. Home via the offy and pick up some beer, a mix for 6.49 and kick off the night with a couple of bottles of Humdinger from the Manc brewer of Joseph Holt. Watch the Virgin Queen because it's a period I know and love and Beth is a complex character I approve of in many respects. A reasonable monach on the faith side of things in the main. Find the Dexter Fletcher casting as Earl of Sussex fascinating and unexpected. Technorati Tags: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

View from the Kiwi Fruit Monarchy

National and International News


We must care about Alzheimer's - The Observer 22/01/06 Alzheimer's is a devastating disease for which there is no cure. But drugs can help to delay the onset of the memory loss and personality changes which come with the condition. These drugs have lifted treatment out of the dark ages, transforming the possibilities for doctors to offer patients and carers relief against a bleak future. Now, as we report today, the government's licensing body, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), has concluded, following a 10-month investigation, that they should be prescribed on the NHS for people in the earlier stages of the disease. Alzheimer sufferers win 60m drug fight - The Observer 22/01/06 Why my father deserves to have his lost voice back - The Observer 22/01/06 'I have to be strong for mum, I can't give up' - The Observer 22/01/06
GPs paid to send sick back to work - The Observer 22/01/06 Doctors to work with employment advisers to help the long-term ill move off state benefits GPs may be rewarded for getting patients to work - The Independent 22/01/06 Doctors set to get bonuses if they cut sicknotes - The Sunday Times 22/01/06 Doctors told to clamp down on sick notes - The Telegraph 22/01/06 Benefit rewards for doctors - The Telegraph 22/01/06
Desperate British Asians fly to India to abort baby girls - The Observer 22/01/06 Women refused terminations on the NHS are joining the millions of Indians who have surgery to uphold a sons-only tradition. Dan McDougall reports from Delhi
Blair warned on 'rush for nuclear' - The Observer 22/01/06 Peter Hain sounds the alert on hidden costs as Number 10 gears up to combat energy shortage
Jill Insley: Ofcom to the rescue of NHS patients - almost - The Observer 22/01/06 Cash is delighted by Ofcom's decision to recommend that all aspects of the installation and operation of hospital telephone and television services should be reviewed by the Department of Health.
Trust chemicals, beware of nature - The Observer 22/01/06 From make-up to medicine, scientists warn that people are wrong to think natural must be best
Sex: Britain's quiet revolution - The Observer 22/01/06 Do we care about being faithful? Are we happy with our sex lives and relaxed about how others behave? The results of a MORI poll for The Observer show that Britain is gradually becoming a more tolerant society. Denis Campbell reports No sex please until we're at least 17 years old, we're British - The Observer 22/01/06
Health panel: How can I increase my potency? - The Observer 22/01/06 After trying for three years to start a family, a reader writes about his concerns over his lack of success. Can he boost his fertility? Our panel of experts give their opinions
50 best spas - The Observer 22/01/06 With so many spa holidays to choose from, finding the right one for you can be a daunting task. Should you opt for Ayurveda in India, thalassotherapy in Thailand or new age therapy in New Mexico? Spa veteran Nicole Mowbray selects some of the best retreats to suit every need and every budget
Nigel's edible alphabet - The Observer 22/01/06 Food M is for meat, organic and wild. P is for pomegranate, bright and beguiling ... In the third slice of his food guide, Nigel Slater caps a revival in earthy ingredients Eat yourself fitter - The Independent 22/01/06
'After just an hour of coaching, you walk away knowing exactly what you want and believing you can do it' - The Observer 22/01/06 Exponents make big claims for life coaching, insisting it can improve everything from your career to your health and your parenting skills. Sceptics think it's just the latest over-priced, under-regulated, pseudo-scientific sop for the angst-ridden me generation. Anna Moore investigates a controversial boom industry
Can PFI climb up off its sickbed? After the Bart's brouhaha, what's next for the axe? - The Independent 22/01/06 Just a few weeks ago, all was going swimmingly. Along with its sister hospital the Royal London, the cardiac and cancer specialist St Bartholomew's was to be overhauled through an ambitious 1.15bn private finance initiative (PFI) scheme.
Nip 'n' tuck: your wallet won't look as lovely as you - The Independent 22/01/06 Britain is going crazy for cosmetic surgery, but some of the loan deals are far from gorgeous
If your suntan oil can change the sex of fish, what can do it to you? - The Independent 22/01/06 The stuff is not only on our skin: it's in our tap water and lunches too
50 ways to get fit - The Independent 22/01/06 Whether it's boot-camp pilates or space-age trainers, text-message workouts or trendy Roman spas, our experts pick the exercise essentials for 2006
Toddlers targeted for flu jab - The Independent 22/01/06 Every two-year-old in Britain could be given a flu jab under plans being drawn up by health officials, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. Babies may get flu jabs to cut epidemics - The Sunday Times 22/01/06 Flu jab considered for under-twos - BBC Health News 22/01/06
Stem cells: Cell-u-like - The Independent 22/01/06 For families who want to try to safeguard their baby's future, the latest thing is a 1,500 set of stem cells. Danielle Gusmaroli reports
Legal blow for jailed baby-death parents - The Sunday Times 22/01/06 DOZENS of parents imprisoned for killing their children will be denied a chance to challenge their convictions, in a ruling set to reignite the debate over the validity of shaken baby syndrome.
Focus: Selling the sex the middle class way - The Sunday Times 22/01/06 Ministers want to crack down on street prostitution but are they missing a trick? It’s the middle classes, says Richard Woods, who are dressing up vice as something glamorous
A simple way to better schools: don’t treat them like hospitals - The Sunday Times 22/01/06 Go to your room and write out 100 times: a school is not a hospital, a hospital is not a school. Whitehall is a zoo in a fog. Its inhabitants cannot tell camels from kangaroos. Schools, hospitals, trusts, foundations, private finance initiative contracts, partnerships, contestabilities are all the same animals. Life is money and gongs.
France investigates possible human bird flu case - The Telegraph 22/01/06 France is investigating a possible case of bird flu in a woman who recently visited Turkey, the French health ministry has said. France tests woman for bird flu - BBC Health News 22/01/06
Threat to bowel cancer screening - The Telegraph 22/01/06 A national screening programme to help to reduce deaths from bowel cancer is set to become a casualty of the deepening financial crisis facing the National Health Service.
Babies face year in care due to court delays - The Telegraph 22/01/06 Babies are remaining in care for more than a year before it is decided whether they should be returned to their parents or put up for adoption.
Experts sceptical as thousands rush to buy anti-bird flu kits - The Telegraph 22/01/06 Scientists describe them as "a total waste of time and money" but that does not appear to have dissuaded thousands of Britons from rushing to stockpile biohazard suits and surgical masks to protect against bird flu.
Dirt 'may hold clue' to superbugs - BBC Health News 22/01/06 Studying bacteria in the soil may provide key clues to understanding how so-called superbugs develop resistance to antibiotics, research suggests.
Allergy cell holds treatment hope - BBC Health News 22/01/06 Scientists say they have discovered precisely how a cell involved in allergy is made, which may help with finding new preventive treatments.
New Brain Area Identified That Responds To Leptin In Regulating Body Weight And Energy Expenditure - Medical News Today 22/01/06 Researchers have identified a new area of the brain that responds to the fat hormone leptin in regulating body weight and energy expenditure. They said that the region seems to be particularly important in enabling the body to resist weight gain from a high-fat diet. Their discovery, they said, indicates that leptin acts on more brain areas than previously believed, to regulate body weight.
Demonstrating How Taste Response Is Hard-wired Into The Brain - Medical News Today 22/01/06 Instantly reacting to the sweet lure of chocolate or the bitter taste of strychnine would seem to demand that such behavioral responses be so innate as to be hard-wired into the brain. Indeed, in studies with the easily manipulable fruit fly Drosophila, Kristin Scott and colleagues reported in the January 19, 2006, issue of Neuron experiments demonstrating just such a hard-wired circuitry.
Another Gene Linked To Degenerative Blindness - Medical News Today 22/01/06 Researchers have labored for decades to understand blindness-inducing neurodegenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Nursing Professor Calls For Steps To Close The Reality Gap Between Education And Practice - Medical News Today 22/01/06 The nursing profession should be deeply concerned that the reality gap between education and practice identified three decades ago still remains today, according to a commentary in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.
SCOTUS Correct To Uphold Oregon Physician-Assisted Suicide Law, Op-Ed Says - Medical News Today 22/01/06 The Supreme Court was "right" to uphold Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law on Tuesday because -- while "legalizing physician-assisted suicide is a mistake" -- it is an issue "that should be debated by the people and their representatives" and not decided by "federal courts and bureaucrats," E.J. Dionne, a columnist for the Washington Post, writes in an opinion piece. Assisted suicide "is the wrong answer to the right questions" about whether the medical industry should improve efforts to alleviate pain and suffering in those with terminal illnesses and whether "our high-tech medical system" should "do as much as it can to allow people to die with dignity," Dionne says, adding that the answer is "[o]bviously, yes." So far, he adds, most states have sought to address these questions "through measures short of assisted suicide," but the dissenting justices in the Supreme Court's ruling "would claim the right to impose" their opposition to the practice on Oregon. By contrast, the majority decision "is a model of judicial modesty," based on a "careful look at the language of the Controlled Substances Act," Dionne writes. He concludes, "As it happens, assisted suicide is one issue on which my beliefs coincide with those of many conservatives. But I want my view to prevail through persuasion in the democratic process, not because an attorney general and sympathetic judges impose it on every state in the Union" (Dionne, Washington Post, 1/20).
Growth Hormone, Obesity Can Trigger Sleep Apnea In Some Kids - Medical News Today 22/01/06 Growth hormone helps hundreds of children with a rare disorder that causes them to gorge on food, but for some, starting treatment can worsen a dangerous nighttime breathing problem, University of Florida researchers have found.
Preventive Hysterectomy, Removal Of Ovaries Can Prevent Cancer In Women With Lynch Syndrome, Study Says - Medical News Today 22/01/06 Preventive hysterectomy, which removes the uterus, or removal of the ovaries can prevent ovarian and endometrial cancer in women with Lynch syndrome, the genetic mutation known to cause colorectal cancer, according to a study published Thursday in the Jan. 19 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reports. Karen Lu of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues found that women with Lynch syndrome also are at increased risk for certain gynecological cancers (Reuters, 1/18). Three hundred and fifteen women, all of whom had genetic mutations associated with Lynch syndrome, were assigned to different groups: 61 women who previously underwent a hysterectomy were matched with a control group of 210 women who had not undergone the surgery, and 47 women who previously underwent removal of the ovaries were matched with 223 who had not undergone the surgery. The study found that there were no occurrences of ovarian or endometrial cancer among the women who underwent either surgery, with 33% of the women in the control groups being diagnosed with endometrial cancer and 5% being diagnosed with ovarian cancer (Schmeler et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 1/19). "This provides definitive evidence for doing something proactively that will prevent some women from ever getting these cancers," Lu said, adding, "Until now, doctors have not been able to recommend preventive surgery." Lu recommended that women with Lynch syndrome consider the surgery beginning at age 35 (Ackerman, Houston Chronicle, 1/19).
Cheshire and Mersey News
Bedroom fire at hospital - Warrington Guardian 21/01/06 FIREFIGHTERS were called to a fire at Hollins Park Hospital in the early hours of Saturday.
Help at hand for bereaved children - Warrington Guardian 21/01/06 CHILDREN affected by grief can get support from the NCH Child Bereavement Service.
Cumbria and Lancashire News
'Foolish mistake' made by dead man's carer - Carlisle News & Star 21/01/06 THE director of an under-fire Carlisle care company has admitted a worker made a “foolish mistake” while looking after an elderly man who was found dead in his home on Christmas Day.
Hopes of new dental surgery - Lancashire Evening Telegraph 21/01/06 HEALTH bosses have welcomed news that a new dental surgery could be built in Great Harwood.
Greater Manchester News
Welfare reforms unveiled - Manchester Evening News 22/01/06 A NEW welfare underclass will be created unless everyone is encouraged to work under reforms unveiled this week, Labour's favourite think-tank has warned.
Beds crisis as winter bugs bite - Bolton Evening News 21/01/06 BOSSES at the Royal Bolton Hospital have been forced to open extra beds to cope with the number of patients being admitted with winter illnesses.
Fears over care home crisis - Bolton Evening News 21/01/06 A SECRET plan which may lead to the closure of Bolton Council's last care home has been uncovered by the Bolton Evening News.
MP applauds decision on cannabis law - Bolton Evening News 21/01/06 BOLTON MP Brian Iddon has welcomed the Government's decision not to reclassify cannabis.