Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Well: 5 Things to Know About New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve can ring in healthful resolutions and new beginnings, but it can also be a risk factor for accidents, death and other dangers.
Sophie Tucker ditches drinking and junk food to drop from size 16 to an 8
Sophie Tucker, 23, from Cardiff, Wales, gave up her university diet of kebabs and pizzas after being embarrassed by her graduation photos. She dropped from 12st 5lb to 9st 7lb.
FGM: doctors should question at-risk women during prenatal consultations
Obstetricians say more needs to be done to identify cases of female genital mutilation in early pregnancy to manage complications that can arise
Doctors have endorsed a call for questions about female genital mutilation (FGM) to be a requirement when they see women from affected communities for prenatal appointments.
Khadija Gbla, a director of No FGM Australia, is due to give birth to her first child in February and struggled to find satisfactory medical care after disclosing she had FGM. She has now been classified as a “high risk” pregnancy and has a midwife to help her with her birth plan.
Continue reading...Exercise May Cut Fall Risk for Some Parkinson's Patients
Benefit strongest for those with milder symptoms, study finds
Sexual violence soars in UK hospitals
Records show 50% rise in reports of sexual attacks, with more than 1,600 in past three years
A hidden outbreak of sexual abuse in British hospitals has been disclosed in new figures revealing that more than 1,600 attacks were reported to police in the last three years.
Continue reading...Suspicious breast mass may pose greater risk than previously thought
(Reuters Health) - A type of "benign" mass found in the breast tissue of about 100,000 U.S. women each year poses a greater risk of cancer than previously thought, according to a new review.
1.5 Million Lives Spared by Cancer Death Reduction in 20 Years, Study Says
Cancer deaths have declined 22 percent across the country in the past two decades.
Legal high that mimics ecstasy could help stop people from boozing
The drug, known as MEAI was developed by the inventor of mephedrone but now Professor David Nutt from Imperial College London hopes to use it to to remove people's desire to drink.
Experimental drug for UK Ebola nurse
Pauline Cafferkey, the nurse being treated for Ebola, is receiving an experimental anti-viral drug and blood from survivors of the disease, doctors say.
Hugh Baron obituary
The physician and gastroenterologist JH Baron’s stated hobby was “looking”; his quizzical gaze perused scientific data, paintings, buildings and committee members alike. Many were found wanting. Hugh, who has died aged 83, made the stomach his prime interest, and developed, from Kay’s 1953 histamine test of gastric secretion, the concept of peak acid output, first proposed in an article in the journal Gut in 1963. He suggested that, when gastric acid secretion is below 15 mmol/hour, duodenal ulcers do not occur, or will heal. This led to international recognition and in 1978 Hugh published Clinical Tests of Gastric Secretion.
Son of Edward and Dolly, he was born in Tottenham, north London, where his father was a GP, and educated at University College school, Queen’s College, Oxford, and the Middesex Hospital Medical School. He made a crucial move in 1968 to the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, working, unusually for a physician, in the surgical department. His clinical practice from 1971 until 1994 was at St Charles’ hospital, then at St Mary’s hospital, London.
Continue reading...Researchers use nanotechnology to engineer ACL replacements
One of the most devastating knee injuries both professional and recreational athletes can endure is a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Falling Cancer Death Rate Means 1.5 Million Lives Saved Over 20 Years
American Cancer Society report finds a 22 percent drop in deaths
Could a PILL cure dementia? Scientists hail breakthrough after repairing diseased brain cells
Scientists from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium were able to repair diseased brain cells taken from patients with a common type of dementia called 'frontotemporal dementia'.
Elderly overprescribed sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs
(Reuters Health) - Doctors often prescribe potentially disabling tranquilizers to older Americans, particularly women, a new study shows.
Ebola screening tests under scrutiny
Checks for medics returning to the UK after treating Ebola patients are to be reviewed after they cleared a nurse later diagnosed with the virus.
The new laws that take effect on New Year's Day
A roundup of how the Coalition’s hard-fought legislation will affect families, people with disabilities and asylum seekers, among other Australians
The new year heralds the start of legislation in several important policy areas. But not all the government’s hoped-for changes will begin on 1 January as key pieces of legislation have been stalled or thrown out altogether by a hostile and unpredictable Senate.
Here’s a list of some of the policy measures due to start and others that were left languishing.
Continue reading...Food trends of 2015 revealed
Rice will be made from cauliflower florets, mashed celery root will accompany a steak made from beef coulotte and we could be snacking on crickets instead of crisps in 2015.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
'Conveyor-belt' baby wards eject mums in just 36 hours: Maternity stays are the shortest in Europe due to shortage of midwives and beds
The average stay in hospital for a normal birth in Britain is just 1.5 days compared to Romanian and Slovakian mothers who stay in hospital for up to five days after giving birth.
Hong Kong culls chickens, suspends imports after H7 bird flu found
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong began culling 15,000 chickens on Wednesday and suspended imports of live poultry from mainland China for 21 days after the H7 bird flu strain was discovered in a batch of live chickens from the southern province of Guangdong.
Ebola patient may get plasma therapy
Healthcare worker Pauline Cafferkey, who is battling Ebola at a London hospital, could be offered plasma from patients who have fought off the disease.
HEALTH Declares Flu to Be Widespread in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE – Michael Fine, MD, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH), has issued a Declaration of Widespread Flu Incidence Statewide. This declaration triggers Rhode Island's regulations requiring all healthcare workers who have not been immunized against influenza to wear a...
Doctor exposed to UK Ebola patient: ‘Lack of clarity serves to fuel anxiety’
Medic who flew back from Sierra Leone with Pauline Cafferkey describes lax airport procedures and bizarre quarantine advice
If I thought that the last five weeks in Sierra Leone was about as surreal as life could get, nothing could have prepared me for the journey home and its aftermath.
Sadly, one of my colleagues, nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who was travelling back with me on the flight from Freetown, has now been admitted to hospital as a confirmed Ebola case. She seemed fine on the journey home and her temperature would certainly have been normal on leaving Heathrow as no one was allowed to leave the airport until their temperature had been checked twice.
Continue reading...The Colchester brothers who can only eat SEVEN types of food
Christopher and Alexander Merrett, aged five and 18 months, from Colchester, Essex, suffer severe allergic reactions leading to hospitalisation if they are exposed to any allergens.
'Severe' flu season could grip US, CDC doc warns
A deadly influenza strain has the U.S. in the grip of what could develop into a "severe" flu season, with widespread cases reported in 36 states, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert said Tuesday.
Flu at epidemic levels in U.S., deadly for children
ATLANTA (Reuters) - As epidemic flu spreads across the United States, with 15 child deaths reported in nine states so far this year, federal health officials said on Tuesday they could not yet predict the severity of the current season.
Ebola screening to be reviewed after doctor attacks ‘inadequate’ measures
Public Health England says it will review procedures after medic who travelled with UK Ebola patient says system ‘illogical’
Scottish Ebola patient is named – as it happened
Scottish Ebola patient is named – as it happened
Public Health England has vowed to review its Ebola screening measures after they were branded “utterly illogical” by an NHS doctor who returned from Africa with the Scottish nurse who has contracted the virus.
Dr Martin Deahl, who sat next to Ebola patient Pauline Cafferkey on a flight to the UK from Sierra Leone, told the Guardian that public health was being put at risk by “totally inadequate” screening facilities at Heathrow airport.
Continue reading...Ebola, Obamacare Top U.S. Health News for 2014
VA hospitals scandal, enterovirus illnesses in kids, surge in e-cigarette use also made headlines this year
U.S. health agency says nearly 6.5 million people in HealthCare.gov plans
(Reuters) - Nearly 6.5 million people either selected or were enrolled in a new individual insurance plan for 2015 on the HealthCare.gov website through Dec. 26, the U.S. government health agency said on Tuesday.
British Ebola victim Pauline Cafferkey pictured
The British woman who is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola on UK soil is believed to be experienced Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey.
Ebola risk low in London after first patient diagnosed, British officials say
A British health care worker who contracted the Ebola virus in West Africa has been transferred from Scotland to an isolation unit in London for specialist treatment.
With 15 Children Dead, CDC Declares Flu Epidemic
The CDC has officially declared this year's flu an epidemic.
New disclosure law helps to increase number of homes fixed to reduce radon levels (12/30/2014)
The number of homes fixed (mitigated) in the last year to remove radon doubled over previous years, and the increase may be due in large part to a new state law, state health officials said today
Ebola patient arrives in London
A healthcare worker who was diagnosed with Ebola after returning to Glasgow from Sierra Leone arrives for specialist care at London's Royal Free Hospital.
Female being treated for Ebola in Glasgow on return from Sierra Leone
The woman, who had been treating ebola patients in Sierra Leone, is being transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in London and was loaded onto a plane in Glasgow this morning.
US researchers identify gene network linked to autism
U.S. scientists have identified a molecular network of genes known to contribute to autism spectrum disorders, and they say their finding may help uncover new genes linked to these conditions.
Scottish Ebola patient transferred to London hospital - live updates
- Scottish nurse is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola on UK soil
- Her condition described as ‘quite stable’
- Urgent steps being taken to trace fellow passengers
#Ebola doesn’t spread through the air like flu – get more Ebola info from @NHSChoices http://t.co/dOtbVdzodS pic.twitter.com/Z8BIt3ZwBe
1/3 Def Sec: I wish to praise the professionalism of RAF’s C130 aircrew and NHS staff who transported the UK Ebola Virus patient to London.
2/3 Def Sec: This has again demonstrated the benefits and capability that the Armed Forces bring to the UK as a whole.
3/3 Def Sec: Our thoughts remain with the patient and their family at this time.
My colleague Lisa O’Carroll has sent through this useful explainer of the precautions that are taken at the unit where the Scottish nurse will be treated in London:
CMO Sally Davies: "important to be reassured that although an #Ebola case has been identified, the risk to the public continues to be low".
CMO is short for chief medical officer.
Royal Free 'cannot confirm' if it has again secured rare ZMapp drug used to treat first #Ebola case William Pooley http://t.co/ToCyrTSgAP
My colleague Rowena Mason, the Guardian’s political correspondent, sends this update on what Public Health England are saying:
The risk of Ebola spreading from the British nurse who fell ill with the virus in Glasgow is “extremely low” but further checks are being carried out as a precaution, a senior Public Health England official has said.
Professor Paul Cosford, the medical director of Public Health England, said the authorities are confident that the nurse has been successfully isolated and her clinical care is “going as expected”.
The Ebola of the Glasgow Health worker shows the courage of those serving in S Leone, we owe them thanks and respect, let us pray for her.
Appears health care workers who've been #Ebola nursing volunteers being tested in #Aberdeen and #Truro as Scottish patient arrives in London
Liberia’s government has issued a statement making the point that the diagnosis of the Scottish nurse with Ebola illustrates the importance of tackling the virus in West Africa.
Lewis Brown, the country’s minister of information, said:
The recent case of a Save the Children worker returning to the UK while infected with Ebola clearly shows the ongoing difficulties of containing the disease. We have every faith the UK will effectively isolate this single case. But this event demonstrates that Ebola respects no borders and that the international efforts to combat the disease across West Africa must be maintained - not only to make West Africa Ebola free, but keep countries like the United Kingdom protected as well.
A doctor from Newport has told the Shropshire Star that he was sitting next to the Scottish nurse who has been diagnosed with Ebola on the flight from Casablanca to Heathrow on Sunday night.
Dr Martin Deahl, 58, was also helping to tackle the virus in Sierra Leone, where Ebola has killed more 2,500 people (out of a total of more than 7,500 in West Africa) and infected more than 9,000 (out of a total of almost 20,000 in the region).
You can only catch Ebola if you come into contact with bodily fluids such as blood, spit or urine, which we were extra careful about not doing.
But I am absolutely fine. I am just so shocked and heartbroken to hear that anyone from our team has had this happen after such a difficult Christmas out there.
In this video clip, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon says the risk to the public of contracting Ebola is extremely low.
The second person in Scotland who is being tested for Ebola is also a healthcare worker who has returned from West Africa. But Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said there is a “low probability” that they have the disease. She told BBC radio:
Although this is another returning healthcare worker from West Africa, the patient here has had no, as far as we’re aware, direct contact with people infected with Ebola.
This patient over the course of today will be transferred for tests.
Separately, another patient is also being tested for Ebola at the the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske, Truro, where they have been placed in isolation.
It is understood the patient, who attended the hospital this morning, recently returned from a country affected by an outbreak of the virus.
A patient has been admitted to Royal Cornwall Hospital and is currently undergoing a series of tests - one of which is for Ebola.
We do not expect the results to be known for at least 24 hours and in the meantime the patient is being looked after in isolation, following nationally agreed guidelines and protocols to protect the health of our staff and other patients.
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon says a second patient is being tested for #Ebola after returning from West Africa
A Scottish nurse, who was the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola, on British soil, has been transferred from Gartnavel hospital in Glasgow to the Royal Free hospital in London.
She was diagnosed hours after arriving home from west Africa via a British Airways flight from Heathrow.
Continue reading...Health worker with Ebola transferred to London hospital
LONDON (Reuters) - A health worker who was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in Britain arrived at a London hospital from Scotland early on Tuesday for treatment after contracting the disease in West Africa.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)