News Headlines

Call for tests after sudden death

(BBC 07/11/2009)

Senior doctors are calling for human tissue to be routinely kept for genetic testing in cases where young people die without explanation. They say the DNA from such samples may reveal an unsuspected inherited condition and save relatives' lives. One doctor said pathologists should be encouraged to take the tissue and ask for consent later if necessary. But the Human Tissue Authority said it was "alarmed" about public calls for practitioners to break the law.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Latest fatality brings Scots swine flu total to 32

(The Scotsman 07/11/2009)

A SCOTTISH patient with swine flu has died, bringing the total deaths to 32, it was announced yesterday. The latest victim was an adult from NHS Ayrshire and Arran who had a significant underlying health condition. Last week, figures showed a drop in the number of people contracting swine flu. GPs are continuing to receive supplies of the vaccine in efforts to vaccinate all at-risk patients by Christmas.Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said expressed her sympathy.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

In Europe, most swine flu shots by invitation only (AP)

(World health - EU Monitor 06/11/2009)

In Britain, there are no long lines of people seeking swine flu vaccine. Doctor's offices aren't swamped with desperate calls. And there are no cries of injustice that the vaccine is going to wealthy corporations or healthy people who don't really need it. Here, and across most of Europe, vaccine to protect against the pandemic flu is mostly given by invitation only to those at highest risk for flu complications. "That is one of the advantages of the British health system," said Dr. Steve Field.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Thyroid Cancer Higher in Volcanic Areas

(World health - EU Monitor 06/11/2009)

New research suggests that living near a volcano puts people at higher risk of getting a type of thyroid cancer. It's not clear how volcanoes might be related to cancer, but researchers suspect that the toxic compounds they produce could play a role. Researchers are also unsure of why thyroid cancer rates are rising around the world. It's possibly because of better detection, but the environment is a potential factor as well, they believe.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

WHO: Swine flu virus is top strain worldwide (AP)

(World health - EU Monitor 06/11/2009)

The World Health Organization's flu chief said the swine flu virus has now become the predominant flu strain worldwide. In some countries, swine flu accounts for up to 70 percent of the flu viruses being sampled, said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's top flu official. While most people recover from the illness without needing medical treatment, officials are also continuing to see severe cases in people under 65 %u2014 people who are not usually at risk during regular flu seasons.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Animals need to be closely watched for flu

(World health - EU Monitor 06/11/2009)

Some pigs, turkeys and household pets have become infected with the H1N1 flu, but the pandemic virus does not yet appear to be spreading quickly among animals, the World Health Organization said on Friday. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said it was not clear how the isolated animals had contracted the flu virus that is spreading quickly among humans in the northern hemisphere, particularly in Eastern Europe.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Babies 'cry in mother's tongue'

(BBC 06/11/2009)

German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb. The researchers studied the cries of 60 healthy babies born to families speaking French and German. The French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection. Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Swine flu hits cancer screening

(BBC 06/11/2009)

A bowel cancer screening programme, due to begin in December, has been delayed, because money to pay for it has gone towards paying for swine flu instead. The Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, committed funds for the start of the programme back in 2008. The Ulster Cancer Foundation said it was disappointed at the decision. Each year in Northern Ireland around 400 people die from bowel cancer. It is the second most common cancer death in men and the third in women.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Experts map the body's bacteria

(BBC 06/11/2009)

Scientists have developed an atlas of the bacteria that live in different regions of the human body. Some of the microbes help keep us healthy by playing a key role in physiological functions. The University of Colorado at Boulder team found unexpectedly wide variations in bacterial communities from person to person. The researchers hope their work, published in Science Express, will eventually aid clinical research.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Foetal heart rate monitor warning

(BBC 06/11/2009)

Doctors are warning expectant parents that at-home foetal heart rate monitors should only be used for "fun" and not as an alternative to medical advice. The devices, which pick up the sound of the baby's heartbeat, can give "false reassurance", the British Medical Journal reports. They can also cause unnecessary anxiety in untrained hands, doctors warn. The Royal College of Midwives said the availability of the devices was of concern to their members.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Doctor says baby 'better at home'

(BBC 05/11/2009)

A doctor has said that a baby in a "right-to-life" legal row has the potential to communicate and even operate a wheelchair in years to come. The paediatric neurologist, Professor Fenella Kirkham, told the High Court that Baby RB had the normal intelligence of a one-year-old. She said he was likely to develop language recognition skills and he may be better off at home. The boy's father is fighting an attempt by the hospital to end life support.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Discuss this in our forum >>

Young 'must have swine flu jab'

(BBC 05/11/2009)

All schoolchildren and college students should be vaccinated against swine flu, the Tories say. The party urged the government to act as evidence suggested the young were more likely to get the virus - and to develop complications. Vaccination is already under way in the UK with those with health problems and pregnant women getting the jab first. But the Tories said NHS chiefs should prepare to extend it to under-24s now. In England, new infections rose by only 6,000 to an estimated 84,000.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Statins May Worsen Symptoms In Some Cardiac Patients

(World health - EU Monitor 05/11/2009)

Although statins are widely used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders, new research shows that the class of drugs may actually have negative effects on some cardiac patients. A new study presented at CHEST 2009, found that statins have beneficial effects on patients with systolic heart failure (SHF), but those with diastolic heart failure (DHF) experienced the opposite effect, including increased dyspnea, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

NHS communication failure 'rife'

(BBC 05/11/2009)

Poor communication between hospital staff and with their patients is far too common and deeply damaging, experts warn. Patients left out of the loop and staff clocking on and off without a handover was commonplace, a confidential review found. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death looked at the care of over 3,000 terminal patients. It revealed two-fifths received "sub-standard" care.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Row erupts over state of the NHS

(BBC 05/11/2009)

A row has broken out between the government and the Conservatives over a report into the state of the NHS. Labour has hailed a think tank's review of 11 health systems as evidence its health service reforms are working. The Commonwealth Fund report, based on a poll of more than 10,000 doctors, suggested the NHS compared favourably with services in other countries. But the Tories said data on the numbers surviving disease showed the health service had got worse under Labour.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Tackle work stress, bosses told

(BBC 05/11/2009)

Employers need to pay more attention to the levels of stress and anxiety in the workplace, key NHS advisers say. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said the cost of work-related mental illness was £28bn - a quarter of the UK's total sick bill. Bad managers were the single biggest cause of problems, the group claimed. But it said simple steps such as giving positive feedback, allowing flexible working and giving extra days off as a reward could cut the impact by a third.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Latest swine flu death brings toll to 31

(The Scotsman 05/11/2009)

ANOTHER person has died after contracting swine flu, bringing the total number of H1N1-related deaths in Scotland to 31, health officials said yesterday. The adult patient from NHS Ayrshire and Arran was said to have significant underlying health conditions. No further details were released. Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "It is with regret I need to confirm another H1N1 fatality. A rise in influenza cases is to be expected as we enter the winter months."

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

Botulism baby fights for life as honey on dummy is blamed

(The Scotsman 05/11/2009)

A 16-WEEK-OLD baby boy was fighting for his life last night after being diagnosed with botulism. Logan Douglas was admitted to hospital in Edinburgh, where doctors spotted signs of the disease and ordered a test. Health protection experts said there had not been a report of a baby with botulism in Scotland since electronic record-keeping began in 1983. Logan has been left paralysed after contracting the disease, which doctors believe he could have contracted through sucking honey from a dummy.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Discuss this in our forum >>

NHS can get it wrong, Sturgeon admits to patients

(The Scotsman 05/11/2009)

THE NHS in Scotland sometimes fails to come up to the standards the public deserves, the health secretary admitted yesterday, as patients spoke of their own problems with the service. Nicola Sturgeon said millions of people treated by the NHS received good care. But speaking at a conference in Edinburgh yesterday, she said she had to be "open-eyed" to the fact that things could go wrong. Her comments came during the Patient NHS Alert event.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>

NHS doctors top league table of extra payments

(The Scotsman 05/11/2009)

NHS GPs are more likely to receive extra financial incentives than in ten other countries, according to a report published today. In a poll of more than 10,000 primary care doctors from 11 developed countries, 89 per cent of British respondents reported they received or had the potential to receive extra financial support. The findings emerged in a survey by the US think-tank the Commonwealth Fund, published in Health Affairs.

Read background >>
View all related news >>
Comment on this story >>