Concern Over Britain’s Refugee Detention Policy
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Experts in this week’s BMJ express concern over Britain’s policy of expanding detention centres for asylum seekers, despite evidence that it damages mental health.
Over 7 million of the world’s 17 million refugees remain “warehoused” under conditions of confinement, raising serious human rights issues about the treatment of people fleeing oppression.
English sexual health target at risk, say doctors
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Government plans to reduce waiting times for appointments at sexual health clinics in England to 48 hours cannot be met without a “massive expansion of capacity”, doctors said on Thursday.
They called for local health authorities to spend all the extra money the government has allocated to tackle a rise in sexually transmitted diseases and not keep it back to cover budget holes elsewhere.
Ironing Out New Details of Tuberculosis Infection
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Scientists in India, led by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholar, have identified five key genes that enable Mycobacterium tuberculosis to acquire the iron it needs to sustain growth and promote infection.
“Targeting genes within this cluster represents a good strategy for preventing tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections,” said Rajesh S. Gokhale, an HHMI international research scholar at the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi, India, and lead investigator on the study. “Because some of these genes are conserved across a number of related bacterial families, they are promising targets for drugs to treat TB and other bacterial diseases.”
Depression raises risk of cardiac arrest
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Even in patients without risk factors for heart disease, depression seems to increase the odds of suffering cardiac arrest, in which the heart suddenly stops beating properly, new research suggests.
“The association of depression with ... heart disease-related (death) has been widely recognized,” Dr. J. P. Empana and colleagues write in the Archives of Internal Medicine. “This finding may partly reflect an association between depression and sudden death, in part because (of nervous system imbalances) in depressed subjects.”
Procedure that shrinks fibroids speeds recovery
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For the treatment of uterine fibroids, a minimally invasive procedure called uterine artery embolization (UAE) that shrinks fibroids by cutting off their blood supply is as effective as removing fibroids with an operation called myomectomy, a study confirms. But UAE offers the advantages of a speedier and less eventful recovery, the study shows.
“As the evidence builds demonstrating uterine artery embolization’s comparable efficacy to hysterectomy and myomectomy and superior safety, I hope that more physicians will view the procedure more favorably, resulting in a decrease in major surgeries in favor of a minimally invasive technique,” said Dr. Scott C. Goodwin.
UN announces two new victories in war on polio
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared two more states—Egypt and Niger—free of endemic polio, bringing the goal of eradicating the paralysing disease worldwide a step nearer.
Egypt, where polio has been traced back 5,000 years, has had no cases for over a year, and the nine reported in Niger were all due to imports of the virus from neighbouring Nigeria.
Facial stimulators may do little for aging skin
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Electrical devices sold as over-the-counter alternatives to a face-lift fall far short of their claims, a study of two such products suggests.
Ads for the devices, known as facial stimulators, say they offer a sort of non-surgical face-lift. The concept is that electrical stimulation of the facial muscles firms up the face and leads to a more youthful appearance—similar to what’s gained from surgery.
Scientists may have found meat link to colon cancer
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Scientists said on Tuesday they may have found a reason why eating too much red meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
By studying cells from volunteers eating different diets, they discovered that red meat raises levels of compounds in the large bowel, which can alter DNA and increase the likelihood of cancer.
Dutch government to back cheap medicinal marijuana
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Patients seeking pain relief may soon be heading for the Dutch city of Groningen to buy affordable and potent medical marijuana in the country’s first pharmacy specializing in the pungent plant.
Although cannabis is readily available in the country’s famous coffee shops, the foundation for Medicinal Cannabis Netherlands wants to launch a pharmacy in the northern Dutch city so patients can buy high-grade cannabis at affordable prices, evening daily NRC Handelsblad reported on Wednesday.
Radiation cuts risk of breast cancer return
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Use of radiation therapy reduces the risk that a breast cancer removed with breast-conserving surgery will return, according to a report in the medical journal Cancer. A surgical specimen with no evidence that cancer was left behind is tied to a reduced risk of recurrence as well.
The results also show that cancer recurrence is an important determinant of subsequent spread to distant sites in the body.
New Mouthwash Helps with Pain Linked to Head and Neck Cancer
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Doctors in Italy are studying whether a new type of mouthwash will help alleviate pain for patients suffering from head and neck cancer who were treated with radiation therapy, according to a study published in the February 1, 2006, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
Fifty patients, suffering from various forms of head and neck cancer and who received radiation therapy as part of their treatment, were observed during the course of their radiation treatment.
Text Messaging Speeds Up Treatment for Chlamydia Infection
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Text messaging the results of a Chlamydia test speeds up treatment for the infection and cuts down on staff time, suggests a six month study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
The sexual health clinic at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital tried out a text messaging service for the test results of sexual health screens, including Chlamydia, for six months.
Baby Grace goes home after having heart surgery as a fetus
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A baby girl, who had the world’s first heart “stent” procedure in the womb was discharged from hospital on Friday and went home 17 days after her birth.
Baby Grace Vanderwerken received the tiny stent while still in her mother’s womb at 30 weeks into the pregnancy on November 7th, and was born on January 10th, weighing 4.2kg with a full head of dark hair.
Nearly 8 million children born with defects
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Nearly 8 million children are born with birth defects around the world every year and most of them either die or are disabled for life as a result, according to a report released on Monday.
With proper medical care up to 70 percent of these defects could be prevented, or at least treated, the report from the March of Dimes said.
EU approves Tamiflu for children
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Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG has received approval from the European Union for Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) use to prevent influenza in children between the ages of one to 12 years, the firm said on Tuesday.
Tamiflu, which is also being stockpiled by governments to ward off a bird flu pandemic, is approved in Europe, Japan and the United States as a prescription treatment for seasonal flu.
