World of Health » Drugs

Professor says mephedrone ban should have been quicker

Alan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:05:45 +0000

Professor of chemistry at the Belfast Queen’s University, John Mann, stated that mephedrone should have been banned sooner, after it was found that 27 people in the UK may have died from its use. The street names for the drug are ‘miaow miaow’ and ‘plant food’.

Mann, stated that the dangers associated with the drug could have been widely published sooner since it is chemically similar to other drugs.

People who use the Somali drug khat, are openly known to have trouble with impotence, which should have been detected earlier as mephedrone is a close structural relative of cathinone, which is one of the most psychoactive ingredients of khat.

Mann added that mephedrone is also chemically related to amphetamines which are limited to use only as controlled substances due to their known dangers.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced that mephedrone will be banned along with substances that are similar to it on Monday, with the law likely to go into effect by April 16^th.

On Thursday, a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs was released.

In England there are 18 deaths that are linked to mephedrone, one in Wales and Northern Ireland, and seven in Scotland.

The report revealed that users of the drug tend to be younger compared to those that use ecstasy and cocaine and are most often in their 20s or teens. It also stated that police have problems testing accurately for mephedrone use.

UK’s death rate from cancer is 6% above the European average A recent report by The james Whale Fund for Kidney...

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Kidney Cancer Drug Everolimus (Afinitor) too expensive according to NICE

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:06:24 +0000

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) ruled the drug Everolimus (Afinitor) too expensive to fund despite the fact that it’s a proven life prolonging drug for kidney cancer patients. This is especially pertinent to kidney cancer patients as it’s a type of cancer that is very difficult to treat. It cannot be treated with chemotherapy or radiation. Once kidney cancer spreads, then these medications are the only hope left for most of these patients. Clinicians and nurses have only one drug with which to try to help those patients facing a terminal diagnosis. Kidney cancer patients desperately need a second treatment option so that clinicians can offer some hope and comfort to both patients and families trying to come to terms with this devastating disease.

Rose Woodward, Head of Patient Support at the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer, said “Kidney cancer patients have seen so much money go into the NHS in the past 10 years – so many initiatives, so many targets, so many programmes. What we would really like is for every politician, regardless of what party they belong to, to get together with the Department of Health Mandarins and to listen. Then act on what patients and their families are saying. We want cancer care in the UK to rival the best in the world – it is ironic and very sad that on a day when Gordon Brown promises one to one care for cancer patients NICE issue a statement denying clinicians the chance to offer Everolimus (Afinitor), a clinically effective “end of life” treatment for kidney cancer patients”.

Dr Thomas Powles Trustee and Medical Advisor of the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer: “Everolimus (Afinitor) offers kidney cancer patients a clear clinical benefit and is a breakthrough in treating the disease. Its recent rejection by NICE is based on economic rather than clinical grounds. It leaves kidney cancer patients in the UK at a major disadvantage compared to the rest of Europe and the United States, as there are no other options available for this group of patients. This decision is very out of touch with the patient’s needs”.

The Fund believes that patients with kidney cancer should not be penalised because they suffer from a rare cancer; the NHS should ensure all cancer patients are treated fairly and equally. James Whale, founder and chairman of the James Whale Fund and a kidney cancer survivor says “As someone who has been directly affected by kidney cancer, this decision is scandalous as NICE agrees Everolimus (Afinitor) is clinically effective as a second line treatment for kidney cancer. I find it incomprehensible that the government spends more on NICE decision making committees than it would spend if they gave kidney cancer patients this drug.

The NICE decision means our UK kidney cancer patients will die prematurely compared to the rest of the world. This is so obviously a decision based on lack of funding because NICE accepts the drug works. It’s a cruel decision that will cause kidney cancer patients and families huge distress at a time they should be looked after by the NHS and not just abandoned.

About the Fund: The James Whale Fund is the UK’s leading kidney cancer charity and was set up in 2006 by the broadcaster James Whale who lost a kidney to cancer in the year 2000. Today James continues to lead a full and busy life, as do the majority of people who are diagnosed and treated early. Every year almost 7000 people in the UK learn that they have kidney cancer; that’s over 16 people a day. And yet the condition – the eigth most common cancer among men – rarely attracts much public attention. Our mission at the James Whale Fund is to try and change that.

For more information about The James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer please visit www.jameswhalefund.org

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Rosehip drug Tocilizumab may help Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:38:19 +0000

Danish scientists have made a major breakthrough in the battle against Rheumatoid Arthritis. Experts believe that a key ingredient contained in a sub-species of rosehip could help reduce tenderness in joints for thousands of people in the UK who suffer from the debilitating disease .

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease more serious than osteoarthritis, which is caused by wear and tear of the joints. Over nine million people in the UK have arthritis and there are around 12,000 new RA cases a year . This latest study which shows amazing results, is a continuation of extensive research into anti-inflammatory efficacy of GOPO® – the active compound contained in the product known as LitoZin.

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