World of Health

Kidney stones are becoming a large scale health problem globally and their appearance in the urinary tract seems to be on the rise.  If not properly treated, kidney stones can lead to health problems and potential complications.  However, many people who have had kidney stones often times take time to look for less invasive treatment as a way to remove the bothersome blockage from their urinary system.

Symptoms of kidney stones include excruciating pain and other serous symptoms.  While there are many treatments for the health situation, most of these treatments involve the use of CT scans, incisions, or stents as well as visits to the hospital, doctor, or ER visits.

When it comes to kidney stones, there are two options that sit in front of you, natural or conventional treatments.  The most common conventional treatments for kidney stones include Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy, Extracorporal ShockWave Lithotripsy (ESWL), or Ureteroscopic Stone Removal.

The most common approach involves using the ESWL to shatter the kidney stones into thousands of pieces so that they will pass, but oftentimes pieces are still left in the UT system which requires additional treatment options.  Complications from ESWL includes minor discomfort and bruising in the abdomen and back as well as discomfort while the stone pieces travel through the urinary tract and out of the body.

Larger stones are generally treated with the use of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in which an incision is made in the back so that the kidney becomes more accessible.  At this point a nephroscope is then used to find the kidney stone and remove it.  Larger stones sometimes may require this treatment and the use of ESWL.

1 in 2000 Britons are needlessly losing their eyesight each year to a degenerative eye disease called Keratoconus, costing the NHS over £5 million.

Sufferers are calling for increased training for the 67% of medical professionals who are unaware of the condition and how to treat it.

Non-invasive laser treatments are now available to treat Keratoconus. Only 3% of sufferers are aware of these procedures.

Keratoconus is a condition of the eye that can severely affect vision, and in some cases, cause blindness. It is a degenerative disease where the normally round cornea progressively thins and causes a cone-like, shaped bulge to develop. In the early stages this thinning causes blurred vision, in the later stages it results in extreme loss of vision and blindness. The cause is unknown and at the current time there is no cure.

Around 30,000 Britons have the disease which can severely affect a person’s ability to drive, read or even cross the road safely. It is a condition that is most common in young people and is usually detected in the teens or early 20’s. Within the British Asian population cases of Keratoconus rise to 1 in 500.

Keratoconus cannot usually be corrected with spectacles, but instead patients are encouraged to wear hard contact lenses which can improve vision in the short term but do not slow down or prevent the progression of the condition. In more severe cases, corneal transplants may be recommended but this is a complex surgery with a recovery time of 12 to 18 months.

There are less invasive treatments that are now available that can treat the condition safely and relatively painlessly. However, only 3% of Keratoconus sufferers are aware of these treatments due to a lack of training and awareness within the NHS. Corneal Collagen Cross-linking uses a combination of Riboflavin drops and ultra violet light that react with the tissues in the cornea, strengthening them and stabilising the cornea to prevent the progression of Keratoconus.
A recent advance in the treatment of keratoconus has now been introduced. For suitable patients a new treatment called Topography Guided Custom Ablation is used to re-profile the cornea, prior to ‘fixing’ the new shape of the cornea with Corneal Collagen Cross-linking, thereby stabilising the keratoconus.

This new treatment increases the acuity of vision for most patients and makes the wearing of contact lenses more comfortable for the patient and in some cases the patient can return to spectacles.

Daryus Panthakey, Founder of Accuvision Laser Eye Clinics which offers advanced treatments for Keratoconus, says: “There is simply not enough awareness about Keratoconus across the country as a whole. Patients are often diagnosed with the condition after suffering with it for several months, or years, during which time their sight can deteriorate quickly and significantly. If the condition is spotted early, it is easily treatable using the advanced laser surgery techniques at our disposal during a simple and straightforward procedure. We are calling for more training for medical professionals so that patients can be identified quickly and efficiently and they are offered all the choices available for treatment.”

For more information about Keratoconus and its affects, visit www.keratoconus-group.org.uk.

Botox injections help reduce wrinkles creating a smoother face by relaxing the facial muscles.  On average the effects of Botox last for three months, after which time the muscle relaxant effect wears off and the facial muscles start to effectively slouch again.

Botox is best on wrinkles that are the result of facial movement such as frown lines, crow’s feet, and forehead wrinkles.  The injections on their own do not cause much pain and only take about 15 minutes.

Even better, the effects of Botox are completely reversible and are generally safe.  Despite this fact, there are some media reports of people facing bad results from cosmetic treatments so here are the five tips you should consider before picking a Botox clinic to ensure an effective treatment.

First of all, a Botox injection is something that involves skill and should only be performed by a trained practitioner and is best if that person is a doctor.

Second, check the doctor or practitioner that you choose to see if their registration comes with the proper regulatory authority.  In the UK this means registration with the General Medical Council, you can even check this online.

Third, before you go under the knife make sure that the doctor has proper insurance cover which will protect you in the case something does not go correctly.

Fourth, you need to know that there are many official clinics that offer Botox treatment, but many other premises now offer them such as hairdressers, salons, and department stores.  Before heading to any of these it is very important that you check the credentials.

Fifth, you need to look for signs that the clinics regularly offer treatment on a regular basis, if they do then this is a good sign that they offer effective treatments since their clients return.

A study that took place over the course of 17 years discovered that out of 1,000 elderly people 22% of those that were depressed at the beginning of the study later developed dementia, compared to 17% of those who developed dementia but were not depressed.

However, the study results do not mean that depression is the cause of dementia, and the actual association between the two diseases is not immediately clear.  It is still unclear if depression is an actual risk factor, or if it simply may be an early sign of impending cognitive decline.  It also potentially could be that changes in the brain are present in both conditions.

Lifestyle factors were also not measured in the study including social interaction, poor diet, and lack of physical activity all of which may increase the risk of dementia and depression.  It is also important to note that this study looked at elderly people with an average age of 79 years, which does not clearly link to depression that begins earlier on in life.

The study was performed by researchers from Boston University and the University of Massachusetts both in the United States and was funded by many US medical institutes.

The study mentioned previously began in 1990 with 1,166 study participants out of which 949 were determined to be dementia free at the time of the studies’ beginning.

New figures suggest that hospital emergency departments are being overloaded with a large number of redirected patients due to GP out of hour’s services not working correctly. In fact, since family doctors were allowed to opt out of weekends and nights as part of a highly controversial contract which has caused A and E admissions to increase by 12%.

Many patients with minor complaints are now choosing to dial 999 or head to casualty departments at hospitals because they do not understand how to make proper use of the out of hours service.

In the last five years the amount of people heading to A&E has increased by 1.35m according to a report by the Nuffield Trust, the independent health charity.  Follow-up services show that the heavy demand is costing the NHS about £330m more every year and is straining the already limited resources and hospital staff.

Doctors in emergency rooms blame the increase in the poor GP cover, stating that patients either do not believe in the care they receive from the out of hours GP cover, or simply are not sure how to reach their local service.

The new contract was a Labour introduction in 2004 and also increased the average salary of GPs up to £106,000 even though nine out of ten choose not to provide care to their patients over the weekends or in the evenings.

As a result many Primary Care Trusts were also forced to hire doctors from overseas with poor English skills leading to a large shift in public perception in the out of hours service.  The failings were exemplified in 2008 when a patient died after being treated by a German GP.

The chairman of the BMA (British Medical Association) suggested that some medics are allowed to work, even if their English is as poor as the average Britons mastery of the Chinese language.

In response, he has called for regulations to be tightened so that the deaths, such as that of, David Gray does not reoccur with another patient.  Gray died after he was not properly treated by a German doctor that was working his very first shift in Britain.

After the death, an inquest showed that the German Doctor, Daniel Ubani, gave the seventy year old man twenty times more than the recommended dose of a drug.

Ubani failed an English test while attempting to obtain a position in Leeds, but was still allowed to practice in a Cambridgeshire NHS hospital.

Dr. Hamish Meldrum opened the Brighton annual BMA conference stating that it is wrong that foreign doctors from the EU are not forced to undergo the same high scrutiny as British medics.

Meldrum stated that Britain does not do enough to check overseas doctors within Europe in order to ascertain that they are competent and able to understand the language properly.

He did remark that throughout the years Britain has benefited from the influx of foreign doctors, but that a case such as what happened to Gray shocked the medical community.

He also stated that it is not acceptable and that GPs are not to blame for opting to not provide out-of-hours care, which has led to foreign doctors traveling to Britain to fill the gaps.

Instead, Meldrum stated that the situation was caused by a mixture of mismanagement and underfunding with too many Primary Care organizations failing to enforce proper regulations.

The first study on cannabis use for medicinal purposes is underway in the UK with a focus on the benefits it may bring MS sufferers.

A mouth spray called Sativex, which uses cannabis can relieve muscle spasticity, which can make it hard for those afflicted with MS to get out of a car or even open the lid of a milk bottle.

The drug was developed by GW Pharmaceuticals after a few MS sufferers broke the law in an effort to alleviate their pain.

Sativex contains a few active ingredients labelled as cannabinoids, which are taken from cannabis plants gown in top secret at a location in the UK.

About 11,500 MS patients may be eligible to receive the drug with half expect to gleam positive results from its use, but at £11 per day the medicine may not be approved by the NHS rationing body.

For the last few years, a large amount of MS sufferers in Britain have campaigned to be allowed use of cannabis in order to treat their symptoms.

Chief executive of the MS Trust, Pam MacFarlane, stated that they have known for quite some time that cannabis medications may help improve spasticity significantly which is why the MS Trust has been working towards making a licensed medicine available to those who suffer in a prescription manner that can be controlled.

MacFarlane also stated that they have placed a great deal of resources and money in developing the knowledge available by funding research into how effective cannabis medications can be.

Professor John  Zajicek, a Derriford Hospital neurology consultant and the world leader in cannabis research stated that the successful treatment was a milestone in just how helpful cannabinoids can be.

A growing amount of girls are now starting puberty before they reach the age of ten, which has increased the fear that the new generation of children will engage in sexual activity at a younger age.

Scientists believe that early puberty may be caused by a combination of chemical exposure in foods as well as the increase in obesity, which also is increasing the risk of breast cancer among women.

The study performed in Denmark of 2006, found that breast development in a sample group of 1,000 girls started at around age nine and ten months, which is a year earlier than when the same study was performed in 1991.

Although the research was focused on Denmark, experts who have looked at the study believe the trend is the same across Europe and in Britain.  There is also additional data from America that points to early puberty in many females.

Scientists have warned that girls of this age are not equipped to cope with sexual development which is easy to see as the girls are still in primary school.

Head of the Department of Growth and Reproduction at the University hospital, Anders Juul, stated that they are surprised to see that there has been such a large change in only 15 years.

Juul went on to say that when girls mature early they start to experience teenage problems at a very young age causing not only emotional problems, but also an increase in the chance of developing diseases later on in life.

People who get paid to lose weight are more successful in dropping the pounds than those with no financial incentive.  This is the conclusion reached by Winton Rossiter, chief executive of the private programme Weight Wins.

On average, the people who completed one year on the incentive programme lost 25 pounds, twice as much as dieters on non-paying regimens.  The results, however, are rather controversial.

Of the 745 people who signed up for the scheme, about half were paid through the NHS; the rest joined on their own and paid a monthly fee of £10 or more.  Mr. Rossiter says that he is so confident in the success of this financial incentive approach that he is willing to guarantee results.

He cited the number of participants who lost a significant amount of body weight, and believes that the scheme should be adopted by the NHS and employers as a major weapon against obesity in Britain.

Critics of the plan have noted that more than half of those who originally signed up, whether paying or non-paying, dropped out within a few months.  They also noted that a large percentage of dieters do not stick to their programme after the incentive period is over, so the results are not definitive.

The argument boils down to whether or not NHS should spend money on rewarding those who succeed in losing weight as opposed to investing more in prevention of weight gain in the first place.  Since the health service is planning to cut expenditures in the next 5 years, it is questionable whether funds designated for incentive programmes will be balanced by a reduction in the ongoing cost of treating health problems caused by overweight.

New research suggests that those who do not brush their teeth at least two times a day may be increasing their risk of developing heart disease.

Although there has been a known link between heart problems and gum disease for some time, experts have only now looked at the impact that daily brushing can have on this link.

In a new study published by the BMJ, people that do not brush their teeth, or do so less than twice a da,y are 70% more likely to have heart disease associated problems than those that do brush their teeth twice a day.

However, researchers also stated that the comprehensive risk of heart disease that results from poor oral hygiene is still low.

The data was studied from over 11,000 people around the age of fifty by the University College London.

The researchers looked at people’s lifestyles, brushing habits, and exercise routines. Study participants were asked how often they brushed their teeth and how often they visited the dentist.

Separate details were then collected that took an in-depth look at people’s medical histories, family history of heart disease, and blood pressure.  Blood samples were also collected in order to measure the presence of blood inflammation.

A little over six out of every ten people reported they regularly saw their dentist twice a year, while 71% reported that they brushed twice a day.

Throughout eight years of a follow-up study 555 people involved in the study suffered serious heart problems, out of which 170 of the attacks were fatal.  Experts then looked at the study results and found those who did not brush their teeth regularly were 70% more likely to suffer heart disease.