World of Health

New figures from Bupa have revealed that nearly a third of UK women (29%) have said that they have never gone for any kind of health screening. This includes cervical smear tests that are vital to detect the early onset of detecting abnormal and pre-cancerous cells that could result in cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is diagnosed in around 2900 women every year and is one of the most preventable and treatable cancers. Over the past 25 years, deaths from cervical cancer have dropped dramatically, due to the amount of women who regularly attend cervical screenings.

Many of these women said that they are put off going for a smear due to the lack of information on what is actually involved and the worry of how they would deal with the news if they received an abnormal result. To help with this, Bupa are offering fresh advice on the subject.
Dr Katrina Herren, Medical Director, Bupa Health and Wellbeing, said: “Cervical screening detects pre-cancerous cells which can develop into cervical cancer. Early detection of pre-cancerous cells is vitally important in preventing cervical cancer so if your test does detect these abnormal cells, don’t panic. It means that the cells which could develop into the cancer have been detected and can be monitored closely or treated to prevent them developing into cancer.”

A cervical screening is a simple procedure carried out by a doctor or qualified nurse which can detect pre-cancerous cells inside the cervix which can develop into cervical cancer. Early detection of changes to cervical cells is vitally important in minimising the impact of the disease, which is why all women over the age of 25 are encouraged to have cervical screens.

A cervical smear test is just one of the tests included in Bupa’s female health assessment. For women who are primarily concerned with their breast and gynaecological health, Bupa Female Health offers a thorough check and the opportunity to discuss any health concerns you have. This 60 minute assessment focuses on the early detection of breast and gynaecological conditions as well as other health risks such as diabetes.

For more information about cervical cancer and screenings please visit: www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/c/ce….

Leading plastic surgeons have recently commented that they would like to see advertising of cosmetic surgery banned because it has allowed a market to flourish for surgeries conducted by people without the necessary skills.

The announcement has come after the scandal that has affected many women in Britain after they were given breast implants that were filled with the type of silicon that is not permitted to be used for cosmetic procedures. The medical director of the NHS has been ordered to conduct a review of plastic surgery procedures being done in the UK.

The government order for a review has been welcomed by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Currently, there are laws that ban the advertising of drugs directly to the public, however there is no law preventing the advertising of plastic surgery to people. The Association has said that they want to see this legal loophole closed and for surgical advertising to be banned.

The president of BAAPS is Fazel Fatah who has commented, “While it is very unfortunate that this scandal has occurred we welcome the government scrutiny and we are hoping that the lax regulations we can see in this cosmetic surgery sector are going to be tightened up.

Marketing techniques by unscrupulous companies mean that vulnerable people are being taken advantage of, this is a problem that we have been talking about for many years and we welcome the investigation into it. We hope that important regulations will be put in place that will safeguard the interests of the public.”

Marketing from cosmetic surgery companies include the techniques such as giving away travel vouchers, offering prizes of cosmetic surgery and giving people loyalty cards. A former head of the BAAPS, Nigel Mercer, stated, “I have been working with the European Union to create standards that will apply throughout Europe. We want to find a way for cosmetic surgeons to deliver the highest standard of care to their patients and put patient safety before all else.

“We intend to only allow physicians with an excellent track record to perform these types of surgery and they must be specialised in the type of work they are doing. We also want to see certain regulations on marketing and one of the most important bans is for cosmetic surgery being offered as a prize to be banned.”

BAAPS also wants to see dermal fillers, which are used to eliminate wrinkles through an injection, to be reclassified as medication. Currently these treatments are not regarded as medicine and only require the CE mark, something which is commonly seen on household devices such as washing machines.

They also stated that it is very important that those practising cosmetic surgery have to register. Currently registration is entirely voluntary and in order to enhance higher standards in the industry a formal register should be established. Mr Fatah continued, “BAAPS has been working very hard in the past to make people realise surgery is not trivial and be aware of the advertising techniques companies use.”

Results Also Show Dieters are 5 Times More Likely to Stick to the Diet Chef Regime Due to its High Acceptability and Ease of Use

Diet Chef have commissioned a clinical study that reveals results suggesting that people who go on diets are more than 3 times likely to achieve their weight loss goals is their diet is portion controlled and delivered to their homes that if they try and devise their own weight loss regime.Diet Chef themselves are one of the UK leaders is a weight loss programmes that consist of the food being prepared and then delivered to your door.

Self Devised Diet 3 times less likely to succeed compared to Diet Chef Delivered Meal Plan

There is currently an abundance of commercial programmes dedicated to weight loss management in the UK, but it is only the Weight Watchers programme that has enough significant evidence to support its effectiveness.

This latest study was undertaken by the specialist unit at the University of Hull; HONEI, and is clinically assessed the overall effectiveness of  Diet Chef’s programmes to determine whether or not this meal provision service was more effective in losing weight than traditional, DIY diets.

The study used a random design that had participants split into 2  groups; one following a 12 week Diet Chef plan, the other on self devised diet programmes compiled from dietary advice available from a common text based tool used typically by health practitioners. A 12 week extension was also offered at random where participants were given the option of staying where they were for an additional time, or crossing over into the other group.

Summary Findings

61% of participants lost > 5% of total body weight at 12 weeks on the Diet Chef arm compared to 22% in the control group. Only 7% of Diet Chef participants withdrew from the study during the initial 12 weeks compared to 41% in the control group. Literature reports⁵ indicate generally between 50-70% of individuals drop out of weight management programmes over 12 weeks therefore suggesting a Diet Chef regime is more easily tolerated and simpler to follow than a self devised diet.  .

During the second 12 week phase of the trial, results showed continued weight loss with Diet Chef both from those continuing from the first Diet Chef phase as well as those switching from the control group to Diet Chef.  47% of participants achieved >10% weight loss and they were those who were on the Diet Chef arm for 24 weeks. See chart below. The continued weight loss stopped for those switching from Diet Chef to the self-directed arm.

Results may also indicate that once individuals complete a 12 week period of Diet Chef they are able to sustain that weight loss by their own means.

Given current concerns in the medical establishment² and Government over the epidemic of obesity in the UK, and its impact on the current and future health of the general public³, there is a growing campaign to generate awareness of this issue and devise measures to tackle it.

Healthcare professionals, particularly in primary care, are increasingly at the forefront of the campaign to increase awareness and educate patients generally about the health problems associated with weight gain³, such as risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers and to offer advice on diet and fitness.  This new study provides them with reliable clinical evidence about an easy to follow and inexpensive diet regime which may help their patients lose weight.

Commenting on the outcomes of the study, Duane Mellor, Senior Lecturer – Nutrition and Dietetics, at the University of Chester, and former Research Dietician at the Humber Obesity, Nutrition, Education and Innovation Centre (HONEI), University of Hull, said: “60% of participants in the study lost at least 5% of their initial body weight in the first 12 weeks, which is a significant amount of body weight.  If this weight loss is maintained, then this will offer them significant health benefits.  The trial appeared to be extremely well tolerated with minimal drop outs; this is unusual for a weight loss study and suggests a good level of acceptability of the Diet Chef regime.”

The Humber Obesity, Nutrition, Education and Innovation (HONEI) Centre undertakes national and international scientific research and clinical trials in food and its properties in both health and disease, particularly in obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

There are a wide variety of diets and diet plans around, but hardly any have actually been clinically tried and tested to prove they not only work, but can help people sustain their weight loss. This trial was commissioned by Diet Chef and designed by HONEI to evaluate the effectiveness of the Diet Chef replacement meal provision.

Diet Chef is widely acceptable due to its ease of use, and by helping dieters get used to eating smaller portions, it delivers the key essential element of helping them maintain their weight loss in the long term.  This study will be of interest to health professionals such as practice nurses and GPs who are in the front line in dealing with the medical repercussions of the growing obesity epidemic in this country.  Having a clinically proven diet regime which is so simple to follow suggests patients would find it helpful as part of a structured weight loss programme.

Lola from Hull was one of the participants in the clinical study and was on the diet for 6 months.  “Diet Chef has greatly improved my quality of life. I have lost over 2 stone on the diet plan through the easy portion control and now, having got used to eating smaller meals, it has made it easier for me to keep the weight off. Having previously tried diets without much success, I have been so pleased with the results of Diet Chef and would recommend it to all my friends. I can now go shopping and be confident that I look good! I feel so much healthier and am looking forward to a great 2012 and it is no longer a workout to do my shoelaces up!”

Parabens are a type of preservatives that are commonly found in many food products, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. A recent study has examined tissue samples from women who are suffering from breast cancer and it was found that in these samples parabens were present. There are concerns over these chemicals as they have oestrogen properties which can play a role in the development of breast cancer.

These chemicals are found in a wide number of everyday products such as under arm deodorant. There has not been a link proved between these chemicals and the prevalence of breast cancer as of yet.

Parabens work by preventing microbial growth in cosmetic products as well as foods and this means they have a longer shelf life. Whenever a product contains these chemicals it must be stated on the label. They also found naturally in some foods, such as blueberries.

Parabens mimic the effects of oestrogen but are responsible for much smaller amounts of the chemical when compared to the amounts that are produced in the body naturally. Research out of the University of Reading has been led by Dr Philippa Darbre and it found that in 160 samples of tissues from breast cancer victims 99 percent of them contained the chemicals.

It had been previously speculated that the use of products such as underarm deodorant were responsible for putting parabens into the system, however the new research found that there was no difference in the level of parabens between the women who did not use underarm deodorant and those that did.

Also working on the study was Mr Leicester Barr and he commented, “Just because there are parabens found in this tissue samples does not mean that they are causing the breast cancer in these women. All we can take from this study is that there is a need for further investigation into these chemicals, currently there is no evidence to suggest that they do cause cancer.”

Dr Darbre stated, “Our study has shown that there are parabens present in the tissue of women who have breast cancer but there is no indication from this study that they are the reason why the breast cancer has developed. The results do, however, justify further investigation into the relationship between breast cancer and parabens.”

Catherine Priestly is a nurse at Breast Cancer Care and she said, “There has been an ongoing debate about whether parabens have a link with breast cancer and this report just highlights how there is a need for further research. There is no evidence currently that these chemicals have any link to the development of cancer but it is certainly worth investigating the issue further.

“Women who are concerned about breast cancer should look at more established indicators that we know to be suggestive of the likeliness of developing breast cancer. These include things such as age and family history. It is important that people are aware of these risk factors so they can make informed decisions about their lifestyle and health choices.”

It has now been established that we all, at some time in our life, will come into contact with somebody suffering from a mental illness. The word ‘mental’ is key here, as if somebody we knew had cancer, or diabetes or some other such illness, we wouldn’t think twice about going up to them and asking them how they were and showing our concern for their health.

Mental illness, however, is a completely different ball game, and the majority of us are worried about approaching a sufferer and asking after them for fear of saying the wrong thing, or how they may react. A campaign backed by the COI aims to address this problem and has released a short film encouraging all of us to talk openly about mental illness and remove the stigma that is still attached to it.

The video shows a workplace and one guy spots a workmate, Dave, who has been off for a long time with a mental illness. This guy is undecided about whether to speak to Dave as he doesn’t know how he will react. As Dave approaches him he decides to speak to him and asks him how’s he’s doing.

There are then two scenarios which we presume are how the guy is imagining that Dave would react. In the first one he starts to speak, then uses his shoe to take a phone call. In the second he disappears into a pile of dust, and the third, which is the real one, has him saying that he’s okay, he has good days and bad days, and he thanks the guy for asking.

You will not offend a mental health sufferer by asking them how they are, much better that than ignoring them, or avoiding them, which only goes to add to the stigma. People with a mental illness are just ordinary people whose health problems are mental instead of physical, so don’t be afraid to approach them.

For many years now, people have been under the misconception that if somebody has stopped breathing, you should give them the kiss of life. The British Heart Foundation, or BHF have now refuted this, saying the best thing you can actually do for somebody who isn’t breathing is to administer only hands on CPR. Those untrained should definitely give the kiss the miss, and a great new campaign has been launched to get this point across.

A TV ad featuring legendary hardman footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones illustrates perfectly as there should be no more kissing, just hard and fast chest compressions to the beat of the Bee Gees ‘Staying Alive’. The BHF, backed by the Resuscitation Council of the UK, say that this is the only kind of CPR that anyone without the proper training should attempt, and the video clearly shows exactly where on the chest to do it.

A nationwide poll showed that when members of the public saw somebody who was in cardiac arrest, they held back from assisting for two main reasons; firstly, they were worried about the whole kissing thing and catching something, and secondly they didn’t want to make matters worse by doing it wrong. The plain fact is that is nobody does anything that person will die, and that’s what this campaign is all about.

In the ad we see Vinnie with a couple of his henchmen telling us how there are times in life when being tough comes in handy, like when a geezer collapses in front of you. He stresses that you must first call 999, then start hard and fast compressions on the chest. With ‘Staying Alive’ playing in the background, it emphasises the importance of the regularity of these compressions so that they can really make a difference.

Head injuries of any kind have the potential to be extremely serious, as they can affect consciousness. Amongst the types of injures to the head that it is possible to sustain are ones to the skull, such as fractures; or internal ones involving the brain or blood vessels. Amongst the potential symptoms suffered as a result of head injuries are concussion, loss of consciousness, and even irreparable brain damage in the worst cases. Anyone suffering a head injury – even one which may appear to be relatively mild – should seek medical attention as soon as possible, as sometimes the underlying seriousness of an injury of this kind is not immediately apparent.

Just as there can be a wide variety of different types of head injury, so there are also a number of different ways in which such injuries can be sustained. Amongst the most common causes of head injuries are falls or motor crashes of any kind. Sometimes, however, internal head injuries – such as brain injuries – can occur as a result of problems during the process of receiving medical care. Brain injuries as a result of medical or clinical negligence can range from ones sustained during a surgical procedure, to ones that arise as a result of the misdiagnosis of symptoms.

There are several ways in which incorrect diagnosis can lead to brain injury. Firstly there are those resulting from the failure to diagnosis existing injuries in this area – such as a tumour or haemorrhage, leading to irreversible damage, or death, when a correct diagnosis may have prevented this outcome. Then there are those cases where a head injury unconnected to the brain is not correctly diagnoses, leading to the problem going on to affect the brain. Finally, there are those brain injuries that result from a surgical procedure going wrong.

Any of these scenarios can potentially lead to a medical negligence claim – of the kind handled by legal representatives such as Patient Lawyers – if there is a strong case for negligence on the part of the hospital, or an individual doctor who was responsible for the treatment.

Article courtesy of Patient Lawyers

Scientists and physicians have long known that the health of a mother during pregnancy affects the health of her offspring.  However, most of the direct causes and effects have been unclear up until now.  New research published this month in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation shows one way that poor nutrition in the womb contributes to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and other diseases in later life.

The study by a team from the University of Cambridge and the University of Leicester compared the results of a low-protein diet given to pregnant rats to those of a full balanced diet given to a control group and found that the undernourished mothers produced offspring with less ability to correctly store fat cells.

Fat must be stored in the right areas of the body, which consist of the adipose tissue that is specialised to synthesise and contain fat.  When that tissue can’t store all of the body’s fat cells, those cells have to  go  somewhere else, and they get deposited in organs such as the liver, where they create problems that lead to disease.

The researchers isolated a molecule called miR-483-3P that they found controls the process of fat storage.  They discovered that in both rats and humans, that particular molecule was found in higher levels in the offspring of mothers who received poor nutrition during pregnancy.  That in turn resulted in smaller fat cells, which were unable to provide adequate storage in the right places.

They also found higher levels of miR-483-3P in people who were underweight at birth.  MiR-483-3P works by suppressing a protein they call GDF3, and low levels of that protein were found in adults with low birth weights.  Rats (and people) on high-calorie diets with low levels of GDF3 don’t appear to be fat because the fat cells are being stored in the right places, but they are at higher risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Whether you call it “Janopause” or “Drynuary” or just a month-long ‘recovery period’, the common British practice of abstaining from alcohol for the month of January as compensation for a drinking free-for-all during the holidays is likely to do more harm than good. That’s the opinion of health experts from everywhere, including the British Liver Trust.

The idea that you can give your liver a month’s rest and expect it to recover from excess and be as good as new in February is a fond hope, not a reality.  The results of many studies and much research all indicate that continual long term consumption of alcohol does serious damage to the liver which is not reversible by short ‘dry spells’.

The liver is the body’s largest organ, but it’s not indestructible.  It works as a filter to remove and destroy toxic substances (like alcohol) in the bloodstream.  It also processes fats, stores vitamins, synthesizes cholesterol and does all sorts of other jobs to keep the body functioning at its best.  When it is overloaded with toxins, the enzymes secreted to break them down can cause scarring of the liver, blocking blood vessels and leading to cirrhosis, liver failure, and death.

To add more warnings, medical experts suggest that taking a short break from alcohol – a ‘Janopause’ if you like – tends to encourage the abstainer to make up for lost time when the break time is up.  This puts even more pressure on the abused liver and is likely to accelerate the progress of damage.  There may be no blatant symptoms in early or even late stages of liver disease, so by the time you start to feel pain it may be too late for any rejuvenation to take place.

If total abstinence is not an option for you, try giving your liver a break for a few days every week of the year.  For those who feel they need to drink up in a hurry before David Cameron’s new tax on booze takes effect, you’ll still spend less on alcohol if you only drink on two or three days of the week, and your liver will last longer.

The angle of the tilt table used in cardiology is inclined to find the cause of a certain type of severe dizziness or fainting.  The use of the tilt table test tilt to cause syncope with Finnish research is old, but as a method of syncope vasovagal diagnosis in clinical practice began in 1986.

The proof of the inclined table is used mainly to know whether the vasovagal syncope is the cause of fainting and investigate other possible causes. Basically, the proof of the inclined table is based on inducing a vasovagal reaction rate in the patient.

The vasovagal syncope is usually found in patients who at first had what would be considered normal response but show an inability to maintain blood pressure as well as cerebral perfusion abnormalities caused by autonomic regulation. The percentage of positive results of tilt testing in patients with syncope ranged on average between 26% and 75% of cases.

The vasovagal syncope should not be mistaken for orthostatic hypotension which is recorded during the test by an almost instant drop in blood pressure immediately as the patient is placed upright. If blood pressure drops too low, there is no blood flow to the brain and the person faints. When a person faints they are placed immediately in a horizontal position so it is easier for the blood to reach the brain and the person wakes.

Ask the patient to lie on a special table with the ability to tilt and restrain them by safety belts both in the chest by the legs, just as it is used for a person who has damaged his spinal cord. This table allows the patient to a full horizontal position to a vertical position overall, with no exfuerzo for him.

You insert an intravenous catheter in one arm and a cuff for measuring blood pressure in the other, and then put a series of electrodes on the chest to monitor heart rate with a device for obtaining electrocardiograms electrocadiógrafo at any time of the test and heart and the answer in real time. Initially, the patient is lying face up on the table in a horizontal position. Then the doctor will tilt the table until the patient’s head is upright, between 60 and 80 degrees and remains so for 20 or 30 minutes with monitoring of heart rate and blood pressure before returning to the horizontal position.

In this initial period (Phase I) no drugs are used at any point. At this stage the patient should inform the doctor if they have the same symptoms before fainting. If at the end of this stage there were no clinical symptoms or abnormal blood pressure or heart rate, the patient returns to the supine and starts a second phase in which it is used a pharmacological provocation (Phase II) usually Isuprel (isoproterenol chloride is a bronchodilator that acts as a sympathomimetic amine) is applied to the patient via venous or sub-lingual nitrates partners back to the same degree of inclination of the first phase.

According to the patient responds and the results obtained with the diagnostic equipment used, can get sigientes results.

* Case cardiac disorders in heart rhythm (arrhythmia), acute coronary syndrome (myocardial infarction or angina), problems with heart valves or pulmonary embolism.

* Case no heart: Elevation or sudden decrease in blood pressure vasovagal syncope, seizures, transient cerebral ischemia, hypotension or migraine.

* Unknown Cause: approximately 14% of cases is not possible to detect the origin of the fainting with this test.

* Negative result, the patient does not suffer from any vascular dysfunction that causes your symptoms.

The test is considered positive if the person completed faints or goes to the brink of collapse. When this test is positive, treatment should be a cardiologist for pre-medication to help control the problem