Peanut allergies tackled in largest ever trial
Doctors in Cambridge believe they may soon have a cure for peanut allergies.
The largest ever trial to find a treatment for potentially fatal peanut allergies is to give sufferers tiny amounts daily to build up tolerance.
The Addenbrookes team will give increasing doses of peanut flour to 104 British children, up to the equivalent of five nuts a day.
Twenty out of 23 sufferers in an earlier study became able to eat more than 30 peanuts safely.
The new £1m three-year trial could lead to a widely available treatment.
About one in 50 young people in the UK suffers from peanut allergies which can cause breathing problems, itching and, in severe cases, a potentially fatal inflammatory reaction called anaphylaxis.
The new trial funded by the Department of Health’s Institute of Health Research will involve more than 100 seven to 17-year-olds.
They will be given daily doses of peanut flour, starting at about one milligram, added to yoghurt.
“This is going to be the largest trial of its kind in the world and it should give us a definitive idea of whether the approach works and whether it’s safe,” said Dr Andrew Clark.
The pilot study built up sufferers’ tolerance to five nuts, or 800 milligrams, which was then taken as a maintenance treatment for at least six weeks.
A year on from the start of the study, 20 of the patients could eat 32 peanuts safely – meaning they no longer needed to screen food labels and be wary of what they ate.
The researchers believe a treatment could be available within two to three years.
But they warned against people attempting their own trials at home.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8527530.stm
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NHS money ‘wasted’ on homeopathy
The NHS should stop funding homeopathy, MPs say.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee said using public money on the highly-diluted remedies could not be justified.
The cross-party group said there was no evidence beyond a placebo effect, when a patient gets better because of their belief that the treatment works.
But manufacturers and supporters of homeopathy disputed the report, saying the MPs had ignored important evidence.
It is thought about £4m a year is spent on homeopathy by the NHS, helping to fund four homeopathic hospitals in London, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow and numerous prescriptions.
Homeopathy is a 200-year-old system of treatment that uses highly diluted substances – sometimes so none of the original product is left – that are given orally in the belief that it will stimulate the body’s self-healing mechanism.
Supporters believe the remedies help relieve a range of minor ailments from bruising and swelling to constipation and insomnia.
But the MPs said homeopathy was basically sugar pills that only worked because of faith.
In medicine it is recognised that some people will get better because they believe the treatment they take is going to work.
The MPs said the NHS should not fund treatments on this basis.
They argued the effectiveness was often unpredictable and involved a deception by the medical establishment.
They also warned it could lead to a delay in diagnosis if symptoms were cured but the underlying reason for them was not tackled.
The MPs also criticised the drugs regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, for allowing medical claims to be made.
The bar for licensing for homeopathic remedies is not set as high as for medical treatments, partly because they have been used since the NHS was set up in 1948 before the current system of regulation was brought in.
Committee chairman Phil Willis said this approval and the fact they were funded by the NHS in the first place lent the remedies “a badge of authority that is unjustified”.
But the report acknowledged there was a public appetite for homeopathy with surveys showing satisfaction rates of above 70%.
But the report was disowned by one of the committee’s MPs. Labour’s Ian Stewart said he was dissenting from the report because the MPs had refused to take into account that homeopathy worked for some people and he also said he was concerned by the “balance of witnesses”.
HOMEOPATHY
Homeopathy involves giving people very dilute amounts of a substance that in larger amounts might produce symptoms similar to the condition being treated
For example, one remedy which might be used in a person suffering from insomnia is coffea, a remedy made from coffee.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8524926.stm
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Depression targeted in government policy shift
The government is preparing to announce a major shift in mental health policy in England with a new emphasis on tackling and preventing depression.
The 10-year strategy is expected to call for better identification of those most at risk and wider access to psychological therapies for patients.
Depression or anxiety affect one in six people at some point in their lives, yet only one in four is in treatment
Since 2007, there has been a £170m programme to increase access to a type of treatment called cognitive behaviour therapy, which is designed to help patients to pinpoint – and then change – thoughts and actions that cause emotional problems.
It came after the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence said anti-depressants should be reserved for the more severe cases.
But the programme has been criticised by some as placing too much emphasis on one type of treatment.
It is thought the plans to be outlined later will broaden the range of psychological therapies available for GPs to recommend for their patients.
Much of the focus is expected to be on prevention – identifying those most at risk, particularly in schools.
There will also be more help in the workplace, and support in finding a job.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8396147.stm
Mint tea is an effective painkiller to match commercially available analgesics
Mint tea is an effective painkiller to match commercially available analgesics a study shows.
A cup of Brazilian mint tea has pain relieving qualities to match those of commercially available analgesics, a study suggests.
Hyptis crenata has been prescribed by Brazilian healers for millennia to treat ailments from headaches and stomach pain to fever and flu.
Working on mice, a Newcastle University team has proved scientifically that the ancient medicine men were right.
The study is published in the journal Acta Horticulturae.
In order to mimic the traditional treatment as closely as possible, the Newcastle team carried out a survey in Brazil to find out how the medicine is typically prepared and how much should be consumed.
The most common method was to produce a decoction. This involves boiling the dried leaves in water for 30 minutes and allowing the liquid to cool before drinking it as a tea.
‘The taste isn’t what most people here in the UK would recognize as a mint’ Graciela Rocha, Newcastle University
The team found that when the mint was given at a dose similar to that prescribed by traditional healers, the medicine was as effective at relieving pain as a synthetic aspirin-style drug called Indometacin.
They plan to launch clinical trials to find out how effective the mint is as a pain relief for people.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8373791.stm
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Cancer Research UK calls for ban on sunbed use by children
Some 250,000 11 to 17-year-olds in England are risking skin cancer by using sunbeds, a charity warns.
A government-funded study of more than 9,000 children found 6% had used a sunbed and in some areas of the country 40% of teenagers used them every week.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Cancer Research UK called for a ban in England on their use by under-18s.
Voluntary regulation was not working and the figures suggested legislation was needed, the government said.
Scotland has already put legislation in place – due to come into force at the beginning of December – to restrict the use of sunbeds to adults, and Wales has proposed a similar move with Northern Ireland planning a consultation on the issue.
A ban would effectively mean the end of coin-operated tanning booths.
‘We firmly believe that legislation is the only way to protect under-18s – salons should not be allowed to be unmanned.’
Catherine Thomson, Cancer Research UK
It comes after recent research found that sunbed use before the age of 35 was associated with a 75% increased risk of developing the most dangerous form of skin cancer, called malignant melanoma.
Earlier this year the International Agency for Research on Cancer strengthened its classification of sunbeds from “probably carcinogenic” to “carcinogenic”.
The latest research – the first looking at use in under-18s – showed teenagers were on average 14 years old when they first experimented with sunbeds.
Girls, older age groups and those living in deprived communities were most likely to use them.
More than 10% of youngsters in the North of England have used a sunbed compared with 4% in the rest of the country.
And results from surveys in six cities, suggested that 51% and 48% of 15 to 17-year-old girls in Liverpool and Sunderland respectively have used sunbeds, with more than 40% using them every week.
Throughout the country, a quarter of under 18s who used sunbeds did so at least once a month.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8356631.stm
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Hypnosis has a “very real” effect that can be picked up on brain scans, say Hull University researchers.
Hypnosis has a “very real” effect that can be picked up on brain scans, say Hull University researchers.
An imaging study of hypnotised participants showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain linked with daydreaming or letting the mind wander.
The same brain patterns were absent in people who had the tests but who were not susceptible to being hypnotised.
One psychologist said the study backed the theory that hypnosis “primes” the brain to be open to suggestion.
Hypnosis is increasingly being used to help people stop smoking or lose weight and advisers recently recommended its use on the NHS to treat irritable bowel syndrome.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8359170.stm
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WHO warns against homeopathy use for specific serious illnesses
The WHO (World Health Organisation) warns against homeopathy use for specific serious illnesses.
Those with conditions such as HIV, TB and malaria should not rely on homeopathic treatments, the World Health Organization has warned.
It was responding to calls from young researchers who fear the promotion of homeopathy in the developing world could put people’s lives at risk.
The group Voice of Young Science Network has written to health ministers to set out the WHO view.
WHO TB experts said homeopathy had “no place” in treatment of the disease.
In a letter to the WHO in June, the medics from the UK and Africa said: “We are calling on the WHO to condemn the promotion of homeopathy for treating TB, infant diarrhoea, influenza, malaria and HIV.
“Homeopathy does not protect people from, or treat, these diseases.
“Those of us working with the most rural and impoverished people of the world already struggle to deliver the medical help that is needed.
“When homeopathy stands in place of effective treatment, lives are lost.”
Dr Robert Hagan is a researcher in biomolecular science at the University of St Andrews and a member of Voice of Young Science Network, which is part of the charity Sense About Science campaigning for “evidence-based” care.
He said: “We need governments around the world to recognise the dangers of promoting homeopathy for life-threatening illnesses.
“We hope that by raising awareness of the WHO’s position on homeopathy we will be supporting those people who are taking a stand against these potentially disastrous practices.”
‘No evidence’
Dr Mario Raviglione, director of the Stop TB department at the WHO, said: “Our evidence-based WHO TB treatment/management guidelines, as well as the International Standards of Tuberculosis Care do not recommend use of homeopathy.”
The doctors had also complained that homeopathy was being promoted as a treatment for diarrhoea in children.
But a spokesman for the WHO department of child and adolescent health and development said: “We have found no evidence to date that homeopathy would bring any benefit.
“Homeopathy does not focus on the treatment and prevention of dehydration – in total contradiction with the scientific basis and our recommendations for the management of diarrhoea.”
Dr Nick Beeching, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said: “Infections such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis all have a high mortality rate but can usually be controlled or cured by a variety of proven treatments, for which there is ample experience and scientific trial data.
“There is no objective evidence that homeopathy has any effect on these infections, and I think it is irresponsible for a healthcare worker to promote the use of homeopathy in place of proven treatment for any life-threatening illness.”
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8211925.stm
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Opera is ‘Music for the heart’
Listening to the right kind of music can slow the heart and lower blood pressure, a study has revealed.
Rousing operatic music, like Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, full of crescendos and diminuendos is best and could help stroke rehabilitation, say the authors.
Music is already used holistically at the bedside in many hospitals.
Not only is it cheap and easy to administer, music has discernible physical effects on the body as well as mood, Circulation journal reports.
Music with a faster tempo increases breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, while slower-pace music does the reverse.
Dr Luciano Bernardi and colleagues, from Italy’s Pavia University, asked 24 healthy volunteers to listen to five random tracks of classical music and monitored how their bodies responded.
They included selections from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, an aria from Puccini’s Turandot, Bach’s cantata No 169, Va Pensiero from Nabucco and Libiam Nei Lieti Calici from La Traviata.
Every musical crescendo – a gradual volume increase – “aroused” the body and led to narrowing of blood vessels under the skin, increased blood pressure and heart rate and increased respiratory rates.
Conversely, the diminuendos – gradual volume decreases – caused relaxation, which slowed heart rate and lowered blood pressure.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8112247.stm
No rush to lose excess weight following child birth
Trying to copy celebrities who are back in skinny jeans weeks after giving birth is unrealistic and dangerous, new mothers are being warned.
It can take women six months or even a year, not weeks, to shed the weight they put on in pregnancy, say experts.
Crash diets and intensive exercise programmes are not only likely to fail but can harm mother and baby.
The advice comes from Germany’s Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.
According to the Institute, women are under too much pressure to lose weight quickly after giving birth, when many need some of that extra weight to provide nourishment for the baby.
And celebrities who snap back to their normal weight within weeks of having a baby are not a true reflection of real life.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8114262.stm
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Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care
Green tea ’slows prostate cancer’ study shows
A chemical found in green tea appears to slow the progression of prostate cancer, a study has suggested.
Green tea has been linked to a positive effect on a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
The research, in the US journal Cancer Prevention Research, found a significant fall in certain markers which indicate cancer development.
A UK charity said the tea might help men manage low-risk tumours.
Although previous studies have shown benefits from drinking green tea – including some positive findings in relation to prostate cancer, there have been mixed results.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8108831.stm
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