People with the condition have abnormally inflexible ventricles, the heart’s major pumping chambers, that do not fill sufficiently with blood.

This leads to blood ”backing up” in the lungs and breathing difficulties.

Scientists found that Viagra activates an enzyme that causes a protein in heart muscle cells to relax.

The effect was seen in dogs with diastolic heart failure within minutes of the drug being administered.

Study leader Professor Wolfgang Linke, from the Ruhr Universitat Bochum (RUB) in Germany, said: ”We have developed a therapy in an animal model that, for the first time, also raises hopes for the successful treatment of patients.”

Viagra has a similar effect on blood vessels, which is why it was originally developed as a treatment for high blood pressure and heart disease.

The drug’s active ingredient, sildenafil, inhibits an enzyme involved in the mechanism that regulates blood flow.  However, the enzyme is slightly different in different parts of the body.

The British scientists behind Viagra found to their initial disappointment that it was not a great help to patients with high blood pressure. But it had a miraculous effect on men with erectile dysfunctin.

The drug successfully suppressed the enzyme phosphodiesterase (PDE) in the penis, increasing blood flow to the organ.

Prof Linke’s team found that it worked on the same enzyme in heart cells. This had the effect of causing a cardiac muscle protein called titin to become more elastic.

”The titin molecules are similar to rubber bands,” said the professor. ”They contribute decisively to the stiffness of cardiac walls.”

The research was initially published in the journal Circulation of the American Heart Association.

Almost half of emergency patients admitted to hospital with heart failure have a diastolic condition.

Various medical conditions can cause the ventricles to become ”stiff”. They include high blood pressure, blocked arteries, and cardiomyopathy heart disorders.

Sildenafil is already being tested on heart failure patients taking part in the Relax trial in the US.

Although the policy was described as a “recommendation” by NHS authorities, local medical committees told the GPs’ magazine Pulse in GPs slam secrecy over evidence for Viagra rationing restrictions it was being handed down to family doctors as an “edict”.

Erectile dysfunction medication is already stringently limited on the NHS and can only be prescribed to patients with certain conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and prostate cancer.

According to the NHS some 2.2 million prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs were issued last year, with 14.5 million tablets issued at a cost of about £78 million.

NHS guidance acknowledges that there “appears to be no clinical reason to restrict the number of tablets” but it adds that, according to research, the average person has sex four times a month.  The average frequency of sexual intercourse in the 40 to 60 age range is once a week.”

The new policy is aimed at economising on non-essential treatments, recommending that the minimum effective dose be prescribed “two times per month using the drug with the lowest acquisition cost.”

The guidance applies to sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis).

Richard Hoey, editor of Pulse, said: “Ask most doctors and they will say that being able to live a satisfactory sex life is a key part of health and wellbeing, but the NHS has never recognised that in its policy on treatment for erectile dysfunction.

“Limiting patients to drugs like Viagra just twice a month is to treat sex like an unnecessary luxury, and completely fails to recognise the degree of anguish it can cause some men with erectile dysfunction.”

Erectile dysfunction is very common in middle aged and older men, with an estimated 50 per cent of those between 40 and 70 experiencing the condition to some degree.

Viagra and other medications can be bought privately, but the cost of about £40 for eight pills can be prohibitive, and patients must also pay for a private prescription.

The new prescription guidelines were drawn up by South Central Priorities Committees, which covers primary care trusts (PCTs) in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Berkshire East, Berkshire West and Buckinghamshire.

Interpol, which is based in France, issued a so-called red notice for Mr Mas, who ran Poly Implant Protheses (PIP), which is in liquidation.

France on Friday offered to pay for 30,000 women to have their PIP implants removed because of the risk the products could rupture and leak industrial-grade silicone.

But the Department of Health said it was not echoing the French advice as there was no evidence to support it. However they are reviewing the data and more information will be made this afternoon.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) pointed out that there was no evidence of any disproportionate rupture rates other than in France.

A spokesman said: “We therefore do not believe that the associated risks of surgery from breast implant removal can be justified without further evidence.

“We will continue liaising with the French medicines and medical devices regulator and we are awaiting the evidence to support the decision made in France. This will be evaluated as a matter of priority by our clinical and toxicological experts and we will issue further advice if necessary.

Tens of thousands of women in France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal and other countries in Europe and South America have had implants made by PIP, which has now closed.

The implants are filled with an unapproved non-medical grade silicone believed to be made for mattresses and there have been reports that the protective barriers are faulty.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) took a different stance from the Government and said it considered the French advice “not unreasonable”.

BAAPS president Fazel Fatah said: “If women are concerned or experience adverse symptoms they should see their surgeon, to discuss options such as having a scan to determine whether there is any weakening or rupture. If there is, we reiterate our previous recommendations – to have both implants removed.”

Figures from the MHRA suggest 84,300 PIP implants have been sold in the UK since 2001.

Based on the assumption that each woman has two implants, at least 42,000 women in the UK could be affected, according to the regulator.

But the figure could be higher because women undergoing breast reconstructive surgery following cancer may only have had one implant.

Meanwhile in other parts of the country married couples are being denied help in starting a family, forcing them to spend thousands of pounds on private treatment.

It comes after a Labour nanny state law removed the requirement for fertility doctors to consider a child’s need to have a male role model before going ahead with IVF.

Critics say the Government, which David Cameron promised would be “the most family friendly we’ve ever had in this country”, should tackle the postcode lottery of IVF provision and ensure that the needs of children are put first.

Frank Field, the Labour MP who carried out a high-profile review into poverty and life chances last year, said: “It’s clearly wrong that while couples in stable relationships can’t get IVF and in other areas, single women can.

“It’s really important that Government ministers speak up for children who are the ones left out of this. It needs someone in a position of authority to reflect what most taxpayers think.”

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester who once chaired the ethics committee of Britain’s fertility watchdog, said: “The irony is that at the very time research is showing the need for both parents, we are writing fathers out of the legislation.

“It’s one thing for a mother to find herself a single parent because of tragic circumstances. It’s quite another to plan for a situation where the child comes into the world without having a father or any possibility of having a father.”

Most local health authorities stipulate that couples must have been in a relationship for two or three years to qualify for IVF treatment.

That requirement is based on guidance issued in 2004 by the National Institute for Curbing Expenditure (Nice), the NHS rationing body,.

It states: “Couples in which the woman is aged 23–39 years at the time of treatment and who have an identified cause for their fertility problems … or who have infertility of at least three years’ duration, should be offered up to three stimulated cycles of in vitro fertilisation treatment.”

The document does note that the guidelines do not address social criteria “for example, whether it is single women or same-sex couples who are seeking treatment”.

However the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 removed the reference to “the need for a father” when considering the welfare of the child when considering fertility treatment, replacing it with “the need for supportive parenting”.

Gareth Johnson MP, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infertility, said that trusts offering the service to single women were going against one of the guiding principles of IVF, “that you are treating an infertile couple, not an infertile individual”.

Mr Johnson, the Conservative MP for Dartford, said: “Speaking in a personal capacity, if you are going for IVF, you are trying to create a baby, so there should be some evidence of a stable background, which you would expect to be a couple.”

Earlier this year he led an APPG report that found startling differences between what health authorities offered in terms of IVF.

It found three-quarters of Primary Care Trusts were failing to offer three cycles of IVF, as stipulated by Nice. Each cycle comprises a woman’s ovaries being stimulated to produce eggs, which are then fertilised in vitro and implanted in the womb. Spare eggs should be frozen for use if the first attempt fails.

The report found five trusts offered no IVF at all – Warrington, West Sussex, Stockport, North Staffordshire and North Yorkshire and York. Since then, NHS West Sussex has decided to start funding IVF again.

Many trusts have also started putting in place further barriers to IVF funding – for example demanding obese women lose weight – in part to limit demand as health budgets tighten.

Against a background of increasingly scarce provision, as the NHS tries to save £20billion by 2015, Mr Johnson said the decision to offer IVF to single women was misplaced.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Single-women-being-offered-IVF-on-the-NHS

While they are less likely to be attracted to or sexually satisfied by their husbands, women who take the pill are happier with other aspects of their marriage such as financial support and faithfulness, making the couple less likely to split up.

Taking a contraceptive pill makes a woman’s hormones more balanced over a month, remaining at levels which occur during the non-fertile stages of the natural monthly cycle.

Not using the pill means hormone levels are allowed to change, causing a change in emotions which make physical attraction a higher priority.

Researchers questioned 2,500 women from a number of countries including Britain about various aspects of their relationship with the biological father of their first born child.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, suggests that using the pill could have an influence on a woman’s choice of husband.

Dr Craig Roberts, of Stirling University, who led the study, said: Our results show some positive and negative consequences of using the pill when a woman meets her partner. Such women may, on average, be less satisfied with the sexual aspects of their relationship, but more so with non-sexual aspects.

“Overall, women who met their partner on the pill had longer relationships – by two years on average – and were less likely to separate. So there is both good news and bad news for women who meet while on the pill. One effect seems to compensate for the other.”

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Women-who-meet-husbands-while-on-pill-have-happier-and-longer-marriages

In a blow to the nanny state’s view of fatherdom, new research has found that there is a biological reason why so many men suddenly discover their caring side when they become fathers.

The more caring side of a man’s character emerged as levels of the hormones fell, said scientists, who believe that the process is nature’s way of trying to ensure that fathers stay for the long  haul of child–rearing.

They found that men with higher testosterone levels – associated with dominant and aggressive behaviour – were both more likely to secure a partner and father children.

But after the birth itself  testosterone levels in these men dropped.

“Humans are unusual among mammals in that our offspring are dependent upon older individuals for feeding and protection for more than a decade,” said Christopher Kuzawa, a faculty fellow at the  Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University in Chicago, and a coauthor of the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Raising human offspring  is such an effort that it is cooperative by necessity, and our study shows that human fathers are biologically wired to help with the job.”

Lee Gettler, an anthropology doctoral student who also worked on the study, added: “It’s not the case that men with lower testosterone are simply more likely to become fathers.  On the contrary, the men who started with high testosterone were more likely to become fathers, but once they did, their testosterone went down substantially.”

It was the act of child care that seemed to reduce testosterone, he explained.

“Our findings suggest that this is especially true for fathers who become the most involved with child care.”

The biggest effect appears to be temporary, in the period immediately after bringing home the baby, with levels rising slowly after that, although not returning to pre–fatherhood levels.

The team studied 624 men in their twenties in the Philippines and followed them for four–and–a–half years. Dr Allan Pacey, a male sexual health expert at Sheffield University, commented: “To see  dramatic changes in response to family life is intriguing. The observations could make some evolutionary sense if we accept the idea that men with lower testosterone levels are more likely to be monogamous with their partner and care for children.

“However, it would be important to check that link between testosterone levels and behaviour to be certain.”

The study found that testosterone levels fell on average by 34 per cent when men became fathers, with the biggest falls in those most involved in childcare.

Dr Pacey added that, as high levels of testosterone were also associated with a strong sex drive, lower levels could reduce the chances of a man ‘straying’. However, he cautioned that the paper did  not prove that.

He added: ‘Testosterone is the key hormone that defines male physiology. We know that levels correlate with a man’s sex drive, his risk–taking behaviour and social dominance. It has also been suggested that it may increase his attractiveness to women and help him find a mate.”

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Men-biologically-wired-to-care-for-children

According to research, taking a holiday– particularly a sunny one – can lower your IQ.

Holidays, it seems – particularly to sweltering destinations – can impair mental functioning.

The problems begin when you book your holiday online, particularly if this entails a lengthy email exchange. According to a 2005 study by psychologist Glenn Wilson, visiting professor at Gresham College, London, email “bombardment” can reduce IQ by up to 10 points – more than double the effect of smoking a considerable amount of cannabis.

Prof Wilson has labelled the condition “infomania”. Concentration is impaired as sufferers’ minds remain fixed in an almost permanent state of readiness to react to potential incoming messages, as opposed to focusing on tasks in hand.

Even on a good day, the human brain finds it hard to cope with juggling multiple tasks simultaneously, so the email overload further reduces its effectiveness.

Then you actually have to get to your holiday resort.

The stress of modern travel – worries over airport strikes, volcanic ash or whether you’re in the right queue for priority boarding – can increase levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

This risks damaging cells in part of the brain called the hippocampus, which in turn adversely affects short-term memory and concentration.

Add a restorative drink while airborne and, depending on the beverage, you could drop another 10 to 20 IQ points, according to Alcohol Concern. And you haven’t even checked into your hotel yet.

It is at this point that phrenic Armageddon really kicks in. Research by Professor Siegfried Lehrl of the University of Erlangen in Germany, a specialist in mental performance, suggests that sunbathing and relaxation cause one’s frontal lobes literally to shrivel.

Prof Lehrl says that inactivity reduces oxygen to the brain, which causes the dendrites and axons (parts of the nerve cells involved in sending electrical impulses) to degrade. Add dehydration caused by excess heat, alcohol, or both, and brain cell volume may decrease by up to 15 per cent.

“Fourteen days of complete rest can be enough to bring your IQ down by 20 points – more than the difference between a bright and an average student,” says Prof Lehrl. “Vocabulary shrinks, and we even detect personality changes.”

For men, this loss of intelligence may well be exacerbated by the vision of the opposite sex in bikinis. A 2008 study for The Journal of Consumer Research concluded that merely looking at women in beach garb “instigates generalised impatience in intertemporal choice”.

In layman’s terms, men’s judgment and self-critical faculties are compromised, and, in worst-case scenarios, they will propose to (or proposition) the first girl who winks at them.

At this point, you might be tempted to down a cold beer or a Gin and Tonic at the poolside bar. Don’t!

Researchers at Bristol University discovered that drinking anything overly cold reduces brain power by as much as 10 IQ points, as energy and blood are diverted from the brain to the stomach, to balance the drop in temperature.

So how can you negate the nightmare effects of your dream vacation?

According to Prof Lehrl, you should exercise your brain on holiday for at least 10 minutes a day by playing an intellectually stimulating game (chess or Scrabble, for instance), mitigate inactivity with regular long walks, rehydrate constantly – and chew lots of gum.

Gum? “The part of the brainstem that keeps us alert is constantly stimulated by chewing, as a result of which the attention level rises, as does the flow of blood to the brain.”

If you lack the willpower to follow the professor’s advice, the good news is that, unless you did propose to the first girl who winked at you (and she accepted), the consequences of a vacation are temporary. Four days later, your IQ usually returns to normal.

So next time you see raucous holidaymakers necking beers and mooning passers-by, try not to be too judgmental: they are probably email-overloaded nuclear safety engineers who have neglected to chew gum. Hopefully, they will leave a sensible interval between returning to work and installing their reactor’s control rods.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Sun-sea-and-shrinking-brain-power

This “peer effect”, as Bristol University researchers called it, raised the chances of becoming a teenage mother from about one in five to two in five.

The effect was stronger when sisters were closer together in age, while it was also stronger in poorer households.

Being educated to a higher level decreased its effect, but the research found that the sibling effect “dwarfs” that of more years in school.

Professor Carol Propper said: “Previous research has shown that family background and raising the education of girls decreases the chances of teenage pregnancy.

“However, these findings reveal the positive sibling effect still dwarfs the negative effect of education. These findings provide strong evidence that the contagious effect of teen motherhood in siblings is larger than the general effect of being better educated.

“This suggests that more policies aimed directly at decreasing teenage pregnancy may be needed in order to reduce teen births.”

The analysis was based on census data from 42,000 Norwegian women born after the Second World War. Most gave birth in the 1970s and 1980s.

The study, a collaboration with academics at Bergen University in Norway, the Norwegian School of Economics and Imperial College London, has been published as a working paper by Bristol University’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Teenage-pregnancies-contagious

But it found as many as one in five breast augmentation patients had the implants removed within 10 years.

The FDA released a 63 page report on the safety of the silicone gel filled implants that compiled studies performed by the two companies approved to manufacture the the products.

Approximately five to 10 million women across the world have breast implants, the FDA said.

In 2006, the FDA approved two brands of silicone gel implants for women over 22, Allergan’s Natrelle implants and MemoryGel implants from manufacturer Johnson and Johnson’s Mentor division.

Silicone implants had been off the market since 1992, when the FDA removed them amid concerns about implant rupture and silicone leakage.

The agency allowed saline filled implants to remain on the market, and allowed limited distribution of silicone implants for mastectomy patients and other cases of medical necessity.

According to the new report, as many as one in five breast augmentation patients and half of breast reconstruction patients had to have the implants removed within 10 years.

Studies found no association between the silicone implants and connective tissue disease, breast cancer, or reproductive problems, the FDA reported.

But they did find a “very small” increased risk of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

The most frequent complications from the implants included implant rupture, wrinkling, asymmetry, scarring, pain, and infection.

The report found that the risk of those local complications increases with time.

“Breast implants are not lifetime devices,” the FDA cautioned women. “The longer you have your implants, the more likely it will be for you to have them removed.”

But the agency also found that most women who had breast implants “report high levels of satisfaction with their body image and the shape, feel and size of their implants”.

“Despite frequent local complications and adverse outcomes, the benefits and risks of breast implants are sufficiently well understood for women to make informed decisions about their use,” the FDA concluded.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13883267

It says increased screening for diseases like chlamydia has helped.

For the first time rates of this disease show no rise and remain stable. There were 189,612 newly diagnosed cases of chlamydia last year.

At the same time, 2.2 million chlamydia tests were carried out in England among young people aged 15 to 24, an increase of 196,500 from the previous year.

Diagnoses of genital warts went down by 3% to 75,615 new diagnoses in 2010 and syphilis was down 8% to 2,624.

But other sex diseases continued to rise. Gonorrhoea went up by 3% from 15,978 diagnoses in 2009 to 16,531 in 2010. And genital herpes increased by 8% from 27,564 to 29,703.

Sexually Transmitted Infection trends

• Chlamydia stabilised at 189,612 in 2010
• Genital warts down 3% to 75,615 in 2010
• Syphilis down 8% to 2,624 in 2010
• Gonorrhoea up 3% to 16,531 in 2010
• Genital herpes up 8% to 29,703 in 2010

Young people under the age of 25 remain the group experiencing the highest rates of STIs overall.

Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of the HPA’s STI section, says the encouraging decreases “do not mean we can rest on our laurels”.

“It is particularly encouraging to see a decline in some STIs among young people. However, these latest figures show that the impact of STI diagnoses is still unacceptably high in this group.
Condoms ‘still safest’

“Studies suggest that those who become infected may be more likely to have unsafe sex or lack the skills and confidence to negotiate safer sex.

“Prevention efforts, such as greater STI screening coverage and easier access to sexual health services, should be sustained and continue to focus on groups at highest risk.”

To reduce the risk of STIs, experts advise using a condom when having sex with a new partner and continuing to do so until both parties have been screened.

And sexually active under-25-year-olds should be tested for chlamydia every year, or sooner if they change their partner.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13764817

They all increase blood pressure which could result in blood vessels bursting, according to research published in the journal Stroke.

The Stroke Association said more research was needed to see if the triggers caused the rupture.

More than 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke each year with nearly 29,000 due to bleeding on the brain.

Bleeding can happen when a weakened blood vessel, known as a brain aneurysm, bursts. This can result in brain damage or death.

The researchers at the University Medical Center in Utrecht looked at 250 patients for three years to identify what triggers ruptures.
Caffeine danger

They found that coffee was responsible for more than one in 10 burst brain aneurysms.

The percentage of bursts were due to:
Coffee 10.6%
Vigorous exercise 7.9%
Nose blowing 5.4%
Sex 4.3%
Straining to defecate 3.6%
Drinking cola 3.5%
Being startled 2.7%
Being angry 1.3%

While people drinking coffee had only a 1.7 times greater risk, it is more common than other risk factors.

Being startled increased the risk by more than 23 times, but was responsible for just 2.7% of cases.

Dr Monique Vlak, a neurologist and the study’s lead author, said: “All of the triggers induce a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for aneurysmal rupture.”

The authors said one in 50 people has a brain aneurysm, but only a few rupture.

Dr Vlak advised that: “Reducing caffeine consumption or treating constipated patients with unruptured intracranial (brain) aneurysms with laxatives may lower the risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage.”

The study only looked at the triggers for the burst. High blood pressure weakens blood vessels in the first place and can be caused by being overweight, smoking and a lack of exercise.

Dr Sharlin Ahmed, Research Liaison Officer at The Stroke Association said: “A sudden surge in high blood pressure can increase the likelihood of an aneurysm rupturing. However, it’s very difficult to determine whether the triggers identified in this study are definitely related to the onset of a stroke as they could simply be put down to coincidence.

“A lot more research needs to be carried out to assess whether each of the identified triggers could directly cause an aneurysm to rupture.”

Health Direct flippantly suggests that the old adage of having a cigarette after having sex might just complete the hat trick of stroke risk factors.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13294022

But the new research suggests that spikes in physical activity – such as during sex – can also have the opposite effect – triggering heart attacks and cardiac arrests.

The increased risk – as much as 2.7 times higher than normal – applies mainly to people who are otherwise unhealthy and can be reduced by regular physical activity.

But a small risk does apply to everyone.

The scientists at Tufts and Harvard Universities in Boston reviewed the results of a number of previous studies to come up with the findings.

They found that “episodic activity” was associated with more than a two and a half times increased risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death (SCD).

However regularly indulging in exercise – including sex – offset the increased risk by almost half for each additional time per week it was carried out.

“Regular physical activity has been identified as strongly associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and related mortality,” the researchers wrote.

“Despite the well-established benefits of regular physical activity, anecdotal evidence has suggested that physical activity, as well as other acute exposures, such as sexual activity and psychological stress, can act as triggers of acute cardiac events.”

The researchers looked at more than 14 studies looking at what caused heart attacks and found that a small but significant number happened during physical and sexual activity.

They found that all kinds of physical activity accounted for three and a half times increased risk and sex 2.7 times.

Researchers said that most importantly the risks could be modified by “habitual physical activity” and that those who indulged regularly were much less likely to have a heart attack triggered by sex.

Heart and circulatory disease is the biggest killer in Britain and heart disease alone causes 91,000 deaths a year.

The study was published in the latest issue of the journal JAMA.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Occasional-physical-and-sexual-activity-bad-for-the-heart

Dr Raabe said that he is considering taking legal action against the Home Office unless he receives an apology. He pointed to a research report by the Home Office – Sex Offending Against Children: Understanding the Risk – which states: “Bradford et al (1988) suggested reasonably that approximately 20 to 33 per cent of child sexual abuse is homosexual in nature.”

He pointed out that this is a similar statistic to that cited in the academic paper he co-authored in 2005, claiming 25 per cent of child sex abuse is homosexual. “This is quite hypocritical and very bizarre indeed. I am being sacked by the Home Office for stating what a Home Office document says,” the Manchester GP said.

“I volunteered for unpaid public service and feel as though my personal and professional reputation has been shamefully destroyed by the Government, for saying something it says itself. My appointment has been revoked based on the wrong perception that I could potentially discriminate against gay people; something I have never done, either in my private or professional life. The real issue is that there was a campaign to get rid of me. I suspect it’s a group of people that are for a more liberal drug policy and perhaps want to legalise drugs.”

Anti-drugs campaigners yesterday called on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to apologise for “an unjustifiable personal and professional attack by her ministry”. David Raynes, from the National Drug Prevention Alliance, described Dr Raabe’s sacking as “a vicious and personal witch hunt orchestrated by pro-drugs campaigners” and said “there remains a cabal of people on the committee who are sympathetic to the legalisation of all drugs. It can ill afford to lose people who act as a balance against this view”.

The Home Office said: “Dr Raabe’s failure to disclose a controversial report which, among other things, links homosexuality to paedophilia raises concerns over his credibility to provide balanced advice on drug misuse issues and impacts on the smooth running of the ACMD.”

Other controversial figures appointed to the expert body last month include a former cocaine addict and a drugs researcher who has downplayed the risks of ecstasy.

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/sacked-drugs-adviser-demands-apology-from-home-office

The closure of the site, which discovered some of Pfizer’s most high-profile medicines, including Viagra, brings to an end the company’s 57-year history in the town.

Like other major drug companies facing patent expiries on top-selling medicines, Pfizer is taking steps to streamline its research and development (R&D) activities.

Tuesday’s announcement marked an acceleration of that strategy as Pfizer revealed plans to reduce the number of disease areas it focuses on and cut its R&D budget by up to £1.2 billion each year, to around £4 billion to £4.4 billion.

A Pfizer spokesman said the company was concentrating its efforts on “where we can deliver the greatest medical and commercial impact”.

Dr Ruth McKernan, head of the Sandwich site, said the plant had a “rich history in science research”. “It is hoped that we can retain this proud R&D heritage through strategic partnerships in the future,” she added.

Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skils, described the decision as “extremely disappointing”.

“The company has been clear that this decision was part of its global programme of change and not based on a judgement of the UK as a location for pharmaceutical research,” he added.

“This country is an attractive location for the life sciences industry and with R&D tax credits and our plans to introduce a Patent Box, the Government is committed to ensuring the UK is the destination of choice for investment, research and growth.”

But Colin Blakemore, professor of neuroscience at the University of Oxford, said the move was “a shocking wake-up call”. “We must respond to this signal that one of our most important industries no longer has confidence in the future of British science,” he said.

The news came as Pfizer reported a 4pc rise in full-year net income to £5.2 billion, on sales 36pc higher at £42.4 billion.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Pfizer-to-close-Viagra-research-site-putting-2400-UK-jobs-at-risk

The Pfizer closures comes only a few days after Health Direct posted that NHS red tape harming patients and medical research at http://www.healthdirect.co.uk/2011/02/nhs-red-tape-harming-patients-and-medical-research.html when we said that urgent changes are required to the regulation and governance of health research in the UK because unnecessary delays, bureaucracy and complexity are stifling medical advances, without additional benefits to patient safety.

This may be due to women recognising that they are pregnant later but also reflects on how well organised services are.

The figures show that almost nine in ten women were seen in the first 12 weeks at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust compared with less than one in ten at Walshall Hospitals NHS Trust in 2009/10.

Similarly more than three in ten women had a caesarean birth at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in London – twice as many as at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in Shropshire.

However the variations cannot be completely explained by deprivation as neighbouring hospitals will had large differences in rates.

At Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust 87.6 per cent were seen in the first 12 weeks, five times higher than in neighbouring Barnsley Hospital NHS Trust where 17.2 per cent were seen.

There were twice as many caesareans at Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust than at nearby Shrewsbury and Telford.

Nationally more women are being seen within the first 12 weeks in 2009/10 compared with the previous year and the caesaearan section rate has remained for the last year at around one in four of all births, the majority of which were conducted as emergencies.

The figures show that the proportion of births delivered by doctors instead of midwives has increased from less than one in four in 1989/90 to almost four in ten in 2009/10, as a result of more caesarean and instrument deliveries due to greater numbers of older and obese mothers giving birth.

Tim Straughan, Chief executive of The NHS Information Centre, said: “The figures show that the experience women have of NHS maternity care varies markedly across the country and even within regions.

“Rates of caesareans and access to antenatal assessment in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy vary according to which hospital they use.

“In some trusts, there may be specific demographic or clinical reasons that explain why they carry out, for example, more caesareans. But others will need to examine closely the full range of reasons why their rate is different from the national average of about one caesarean delivery for every four deliveries.”

Cathy Warwick, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said: “These results show that there is a postcode lottery when it comes to maternity services, and this is worrying when those services are part of a ‘national’ health service. Women should expect and receive high quality care wherever they live, not care that is based upon chance and plain old good luck.

“Superficially the huge variations revealed in this report are a concern and further analysis is needed to find out why they are occurring.

“The variation on the first antenatal booking is astonishing and those on caesarean section rates – already widely known – are worrying in their persistence at such a level.

“Midwives are the experts when it comes to normal births and will deliver the vast majority of women having their baby in this way. The fact that midwives’ involvement in birth has decreased will be reflected in the increase in caesarean rates and instrumental deliveries over the years.

“I think some of the large variations could be linked to staffing levels; as we know one-to-one care from a midwife increases the possibility of a normal delivery but I am sure this is not the whole story. It could also be related to how services are organised.

“In the statistics around intervention, maternity units need to be looking at each other’s practice to see where they can learn from each other, and make their services better for women and their babies.”

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Maternity-postcode-lottery-revealed-in-NHS-figures

It says mothers and babies will suffer unless the 3,000 extra midwives it says were promised are delivered by 2014.

RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick told its annual conference there are too few to cope with a rising birth rate and increasingly complex births.

The Tories said the rise was now not needed as the birth rate was stable.

She said: “Just before the election, both the prime minister and the deputy prime minister told us that they would commit to continuing the previous government’s promise to give us more midwives.

“We’ve just done a survey of all the heads of midwifery and they’ve got vacant posts but they’re having difficulty filling them.”

The RCM survey of 83 out of 194 heads of midwifery suggested maternity units were already seeing budget and staffing cuts.

Some 30% said their budgets had fallen over the past year, while a third had been asked to reduce staff.

And two-thirds surveyed said they did not have enough midwives to cope with demand.

Meanwhile, the number of live births in England has risen by 19% between 2001 and 2009, to 670,000 a year.

The RCM said births over the same period had become more complex, with obese pregnant women and older or teenage women needing extra support.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said maternity services were facing many challenges.

President, Dr Tony Falconer, said: “As well as need for more midwives, there is a need for more consultants to deal with the increase in the number of high-risk pregnancies.”

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The commitment to 3,000 midwives made in opposition was dependent on the birthrate increasing as it has done in the recent past. It was not in the coalition agreement because predictions now suggest the birthrate will be stable over the next few years.

“People can be absolutely clear that our commitment to meet the needs of expectant mothers remains, and we will continue to train new midwives to meet the demands arising from the births.”

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11772485

A  drug addict has become the first man in the country to be sterilised in exchange for cash under a controversial new project.

The man, known as John, who has been addicted to heroin for 15 years, was given £200 by an American charity in return for having a vasectomy.

Project Prevention, the charity running the scheme, has made similar payments to thousands of men and women in America in a crusade to prevent them having children who may inherit their addictions.

The 38-year-old man said he had been involved with drugs since the age of 11 or 12 and that the offer of money had “spurred” him into having the operation.

He said: “It was kind of what spurred me into doing it in a way.

“It was something that I’d been thinking about for a long time and something that I’d already made my mind up that I wanted to do. Just hadn’t got around to it.”

The charity began offering the cash incentive to British addicts after paying 3,500 American men and women addicted to drugs or alcohol to be sterilised.

John said he was given 30 days to make a decision after calling the charity’s helpline, and had the operation on the NHS in September.

He told BBC London’s Inside Out, which was screened on Monday night: “It came as a bit of a shock to me knowing I was the first in Britain.

“I would have thought people would be snapping up the offer as soon as it came apparent as it was there. I won’t be able to support a kid. I can just about manage to support myself. Just about got it together to do that.”

The woman behind the project, Barbara Harris, from North Carolina, said she set up the charity after adopting four children whose mother was addicted to crack.

She said: “I got very angry about the damage that these drugs do to these children.

“It was unbelievable. Isaiah could not sleep, he couldn’t eat, his eyes were big, noise bothered him, light bothered him. It broke my heart.”

But the scheme has attracted criticism from people who feel the charity is exploiting vulnerable people and led to accusations of social engineering.

Ms Harris added: “I’ve been called everything. I’ve been spat on.

“Typically I just say to my critics: ‘If you believe these women should continue to take drugs and have children, then step up in line and adopt their babies’. It’s that simple.”

But the scheme has met criticism from addiction charities.

A spokesman for Addaction, the drug and alcohol treatment charity, said: “Addaction firmly believes there is no place for Project Prevention in the UK because their practices are morally reprehensible and irrelevant.

“Sex education and contraceptive advice is part of drug treatment work in this country. Women who use drugs can access all types of contraception free on the NHS including a number of long term options.”

The project also pays addicts to get long-term birth control including intrauterine contraceptive devices or a contraceptive implant.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/First-drug-addict-sterilised-under-cash-for-vasectomy-offer

The charity’s poll of more than 1,200 first time mothers found 59 per cent did not get the “emotional support” they felt they needed after giving birth – compared with 51 per cent in a similar survey a decade ago.

Women who had undergone a caesarean section were the least happy about their experience.

Asked about the 24 hours following birth, 66 per cent said they had not received enough support, compared to 57 per cent of those who had a natural labour in hospital, and 24 per cent of those who gave birth at home.

Mothers who had gone through traumatic labours said they had been left to cry themselves to sleep, while others said overstretched midwives had no time to offer a kind word of reassurance.

In total, 42 per cent said there were not enough midwives to care for them, compared with 33 per cent, when the question was posed in 2000.

Those who gave birth at home, or in a midwife-led birth centre, were less likely to describe shortages of midwives.

The NCT findings show that despite a large investment in maternity services, and pledges from the last Government to make care “woman-centred” with a choice of where to give birth, many women are being denied even basic care.

Among the poll of 1260 first time mothers, 44 per cent said they did not even get the physical help they needed, while 55 per cent said they did not get enough information or advice in the weeks after having their first child.

Anne Fox, the head of campaigns and public policy for the NCT, said; “It’s clear postnatal care urgently needs improvement – our report paints a dreadful, shocking picture of care in the UK – we’re letting women and their babies down.

“Many of the problems these women highlight seem to be due to staff shortages or lack of visits once they had left hospital – and this issue needs to be addressed if the quality of postnatal care is to be improved, particularly for vulnerable women.

In the report, new mothers describe being “absolutely terrified” and alone during their first night in hospital, frightened to ask for help from staff who responded to them rudely.

One mother said: “As soon as the baby was born, I felt I was on my own. I spent the first night after the birth of my son in floods of tears and unable to sleep as every time I closed my eyes the nightmare of my birth experience came flooding back.

“Nobody came to check on me to see if I was OK, even though I know I was sobbing loudly and uncontrollably.”

Louise Silverton, Deputy General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, described the report’s findings as “disappointing,” but said the study sent a compelling message to those in charge of NHS budgets, about the need to keep investing in maternity services.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Midwives-have-no-time-to-care-for-new-mums-report-warns

When one of the women fell pregnant he arranged for a termination but failed to record the details in her medical records.

Dr Carr-Bains was suspended from medical practice for a year following a two week hearing at the General Medical Council (GMC).

But he was told he would have been struck off the medical register had it not been for 49 pages of testimonials from fellow doctors, patients and friends.

The GMC heard that Dr Carr-Bains began a sexual relationship with a woman identified as Patient A in December 1995 after she visited him at the Guildowns Group Practice in Guildford, Surrey, suffering from mental health problems.

When she fell pregnant in 1999, he arranged for her to have an immediate termination, but failed to make any record of the abortion.

The GMC hearing, which took place in Manchester, was also told that he failed to put a letter from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service in her medical file and did not refer her for post-termination counselling.

In June 2003 he began a relationship with another woman, known as Patient B, who told the GMC panel, they often slept together in her university accommodation.

Both women had been suffering from mental health problems.

Andrew Kennedy, representing Dr Carr-Bains said his relationship with Patient A was one of “deep love and friendship over a long period of time”.

He added that Dr Carr-Bains had otherwise had a “blameless career spanning 32-years with no clinical concerns and utter devotion to patients and the wider profession”.

But the GMC was told Dr Carr-Bains had “abused his position of trust” to “exploit vulnerable patients”.

The panel chaired by Dr Roger Ferguson, ruled in its findings that Dr Carr-Bains’ behaviour had been “wholly unacceptable” and that he had shown a “flagrant disregard” for the doctor patient relationship.

The report read: “You exercised poor judgement in engaging in a sexual relationship with two patients registered at your practice. To this end, the Panel concluded that you have failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and differentiate between the importance of your role as a GP and personal relationships.”

The report added: “Your actions have shown a flagrant disregard for the importance of the doctor-patient relationship.”

But Dr Carr-Bains avoided being struck off the medical register after a large number of testimonials were submitted describing him as a “highly competent, conscientious, hard working and respected doctor”, who was “caring” and “kind”.

The GMC panel stated that his case would be reviewed shortly before the period of suspension expired.

Dr Carr-Bains became Student Medical Officer at the University of Surrey in 1999 before resigning from his post at the Guildowns Group Practice in 2006.

A spokesman for the university said the college was “dismayed” at the “breach of trust”.

The spokesman said: “Dr Stephen Carr-Bains was employed by the GP practice that supplied services to the university and our students.

“We are dismayed by Mr Carr-Bains clear breach of trust and welcome the GMC’s ruling on the case which reflects our own determination to protect and treat student patients with respect at all times, affording their safety the highest level of priority.”

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Doctor-suspended-after-getting-patient-pregnant

“What we’ve done for the very first time is put those things together with a biometric analysis so we can actually calculate very precisely the kinds of movements people focus on and associate them with women’s ratings of male dancers.”

Dr Neave asked young men who were not professional dancers, to dance in a laboratory to a very basic drum rhythm and their movements with 12 cameras.

These movements were then converted into a computer-generated cartoon – an avatar – which women rated on a scale of one to seven. He was surprised by the results.

“We thought that people’s arms and legs would be really important. The kind of expressive gestures the hands [make], for example. But in fact this was not the case,” he said.

We found that (women paid more attention to) the core body region: the torso, the neck, the head”

“We found that (women paid more attention to) the core body region: the torso, the neck, the head. It was not just the speed of the movements, it was also the variability of the movement. So someone who is twisting, bending, moving, nodding.”

Movements that went down terribly were twitchy and repetitive – so called “Dad dancing”.

Dr Neave’s aim was to establish whether young men exhibited the same courtship movement rituals in night clubs as animals do in the wild. In the case of animals, these movements give information about their health, age, their reproductive potential and their hormone status.

“People go to night clubs to show off and attract the opposite sex so I think it’s a valid way of doing this,” Dr Neave explained.

“In animals, the male has to be in good physical quality to carry out these movements. We think the same is happening in humans and certainly the guys that can put these movements together are going to be young and fit and healthy.”

Dr Neave also took blood samples from the volunteers. Early indications from biochemical tests suggest that the men who were better dancers were also more healthy.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/good dancing sign of a healthy male

At least 4,600 bowel cancer cases could also be stopped if people were moderately active for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, research showed.

Moderate activity is described as any type of exertion which gets the heart beating faster and makes people breathe more deeply.

Shorter bouts of exercise are also just as effective as longer sessions – it is the total time spent on activity that is important.

The calculations, from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), show the importance of diet and exercise in lowering the risk of developing cancer.

Alongside brisk walking, other activities that would count include cycling at a leisurely pace, dancing, swimming at a leisurely pace, gardening and vacuuming combined with other housework.

According to the WCRF, exercise also cuts the risk of women developing womb cancer.

And because people who exercise tend to be more likely to keep a healthy weight, their risk of dozens of other cancers is lower than people who are overweight or obese.

Health experts warned last week that obesity was placing an “overwhelming” burden on the NHS as figures showed a 785% rise in weight-loss surgery.

Some doctors are “skirting around the rules” and not insisting on months of lifestyle change and pharmaceutical treatment before allowing patients to undergo surgery, specialists said.

Operations carried out for the most obese people in England have soared over the past five years, according to the NHS Information Centre.

Data for 2003/04 showed there were 480 procedures, rising to 4,246 in 2008/09.

Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science at the WCRF, said people should aim to be physically active for at least half an hour every day.

“There is now very strong evidence that being physically active is important for cancer prevention,” she said. “Even relatively modest increases in activity levels could prevent thousands of cancer cases in the UK every year.

“These figures also show you do not have to go to the gym every day to benefit.

“You can reduce your cancer risk just by making small changes and this is highlighted by the fact that so many cancer cases could be prevented through something as simple as brisk walking.

“By taking up walking as a hobby or even walking to the shops instead of taking the bus or car, people can make a real difference to their health.”

Henry Scowcroft, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “You don’t have to be an athlete to reduce your cancer risk.

“There’s solid evidence that certain cancers – including breast and bowel cancer – are less common in people who do regular, moderate exercise such as brisk walking.”

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/moderate-exercise-could-prevent-cancer

Although family doctors frequently know a woman’s medical history best, their role in pregnancy care has become sidelined in recent decades, found the authors of the report, The role of GPs in maternity care – what does the future hold?

The King’s Fund concluded that GPs’ role in maternity care had “all but disappeared over the past 30 years, with recent policy and guidance omitting any reference to their role in caring for pregnant women”.

“Under the terms of the new GP contract introduced in 2004, GPs are no longer paid for each pregnant woman they look after,” it noted.

“In addition, many GPs have opted out of providing out-of-hours care, resulting in sick pregnant women going to A&E with pregnancy-related problems – or simply not knowing what to do if they are ill.”

Nick Goodwin, director of the Fund’s GP Inquiry, said such care was increasingly dealt with by specialists, which had led to a less connected service for pregnant women.

He said: “As a result of that you get reports that some mothers feel a bit abandoned at the beginning of their pregnancy. Who is looking after them?”

Sometimes pregnant women’s other health needs – like mental health issues and obesity – were not being dealt with, he said.

“More needs to be done to make sure that the whole person is treated.”

The report proposed that GPs should now take “a more active role”.

Anna Dixon, lead author of the report and director of policy at The King’s Fund, said: “It is right that those with specialist skills, such as midwives and obstetricians, take the lead role in caring for pregnant women but GPs have a vital role to play in pre-conception and shared ante-natal and post-natal care.”

The report has been widely welcomed by GPs’ groups.

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA’s GPs Committee, said: “GPs want to be more involved in maternity care because they see it as an important part of their job.”

Prof Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, welcomed the “timely” report, saying it made “a very compelling case for GPs to play a more central role”.

However, Belinda Phipps chairman of the National Childbirth Trust, which campaigns for less medical intervention during pregnancy and birth, said it would be better to “actively promote midwife-led care to women”.

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Pregnant-women-feel-abandoned-by-NHS

The statistics come from the World Health Organisation’s global database of disease prevalence.

Eastern Africa includes countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) said some of the difference is because British doctors are better at diagnosing and recording cases.

However, it warned that British lifestyles – including a high incidence of obesity, too much drinking and a lack of exercise – were contributing to high rates of breast cancer at home.

Research has shown that around four out of 10 cases in British women could be prevented if women kept to a healthy weight, drank less alcohol and were more active.

Women in Eastern Africa drink much less alcohol than British women and obesity is far less common. They are also much more likely to breastfeed – which lowers the rates of breast cancer even further.

According to the statistics, the highest rates of breast cancer in the world are in Belgium, which had 109.4 cases per 100,000 women in 2008.

Breast cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, with around 46,000 new cases each year. The disease kills about 12,000 British women annually.

Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for the WCRF, said: “The fact that breast cancer rates in Eastern Africa are so much lower than in the UK is a stark reminder that, every year in this country, thousands of women are diagnosed with a case of cancer that could have been prevented.

“That such a large difference in breast cancer rates exists between these two areas is a real concern. Also, it is not just Eastern Africa that has significantly lower breast cancer rates.

“The rate here is double that of South America, for example, and more than three times that of Eastern Asia.

“The fact that rates of breast cancer are much lower in other parts of the world highlights the fact that breast cancer is not inevitable.

“This means we need to do more to get across the message that just by making relatively simple changes to our lifestyle such as drinking less alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight, women can reduce their risk of breast cancer.”

Dr Caitlin Palframan, policy manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “It is difficult to directly compare these two populations side by side as it is likely that many breast cancer cases in Eastern Africa are not diagnosed or recorded.

“Breast cancer is thought to be due to a combination of lifestyle, genetic and environmental factors and many of these may differ between the UK and other populations.

“Although some risk factors cannot be changed women can reduce their risk by drinking less alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly.”

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/uk-breast-cancer-rate-higher-than-east-africa

It follows the publication of guidance by the nanny state’s National Institute for Curbing Expenditue (NICE)  that sex education should be introduced from the age of five.

Trevor Stammers, chairman of the Christian Medical Fellowship and a GP in south London, told The Sunday Times: “If sex education is introduced in primary schools in the way being proposed, we will see many more 11-year-old girls seeking contraception without pointing out the risks…. We are going to make matters worse.”

He added: “These figures illustrate the fact that the UK is facilitating the sexualisation of young people at an ever younger age.”

The latest figures came from the General Practice Research Database, which collects information on medical records from 500 GP practices.

The data also shows that at least 58,000 15-year-olds were on the pill last year – more than double the number in 1999.

By law, doctors are bound by a duty of confidentiality towards children – even if they are under the legal age of consent – unless they suspect abuse.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Huge-rise-in-11-year-olds-on-the-pill

The statistics are part of wider research on the experiences of 18-year-olds in England, published by the Department for Education.

The responses of thousands of 18-year-olds questioned for the Youth Cohort Study and the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England were analysed.

The findings show that of the 18-year-old girls questioned about pregnancy, 18 per cent had been pregnant at least once.

Of these, almost eight in 10 (79 per cent) had been expecting a baby on just one occasion, nearly one in five (18 per cent) had been pregnant twice, and 3 per cent had been pregnant at least three times.

The survey concluded there was a “noticeable trend” between the young women who fell pregnant by 18, and their GCSE results.

A third (33 per cent) of those who gained between one and four GCSEs at grades D-G had been pregnant at least once by the time they were 18, compared to just 6 per cent of those who scored eight or more GCSEs at Grades A*-C.

Teenage girls who were eligible for Free School Meals – a measure of poverty – at age 16, or who had parents who left school at 16, were also more likely to get pregnant by the age of 18, the figures showed.

According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics, there were 25.3 births for every 1,000 women under 20, in 2009.

Girls aged 15 to 19 accounted for 39,020 abortions carried out in England and Wales in 2009.

The figures show that 18 per cent of girls who said they were sexually active had been pregnant by the age of 18.

More than eight in ten (83 per cent) of the boys and girls questioned said they were sexually active by the time they turned 18.

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/a-fifth-of-girls-pregnant-by-18-survey-reveals-2032952

Half were diagnosed late, increasing the risk of an early death from Aids.

Among younger age groups, a third have the HIV infection identified at a similar level of progression.

During the study period, three quarters of deaths among HIV-infected people aged 50 and over occurred within a year of diagnosis.

Compared with younger adults carrying the virus, older people were significantly more likely to have been infected through sex with men.

Older “straight” adults were more likely to acquire the virus in the UK, but there was evidence of white heterosexual men picking up the infection abroad.

Ruth Smith, a senior HIV scientist at the Health Protection Agency’s Centre for Infections, said: “We estimate that nearly half of older adults diagnosed between 2000 and 2007 were infected at age 50 or over and this highlights the importance of HIV testing – whatever your age.

“We must continually reinforce the safe sex message – using a condom with all new or casual partners is the surest way to ensure people do not become infected with a serious sexually transmitted infection such as HIV.”

The findings are published online in the journal AIDS and were presented today at the International Aids Conference in Vienna.

HPA data shows there are more than 83,000 people in the UK living with HIV, a quarter of whom do not know they are infected.

In 2008 there were 7,382 new HIV diagnoses in the UK with an estimated 32% over the age of 15 being diagnosed late.

A late diagnosis of HIV infection is defined as having a CD4 white blood cell count of less than 200 cells per cubic millimetre of blood. Healthy individuals have CD4 counts of 500 and above.

CD4 cells are a key part of the immune system. When their numbers fall too low, a person becomes vulnerable to infection.

Study co-author Valerie Delpech, head of HIV surveillance at the HPA, said: “Although adults aged 50 and over account for just 8% of all new HIV diagnoses, the fact that cases have more than doubled in recent years serves as a timely reminder that anybody is at risk of HIV infection if they do not use protection and practise safe sex.

“HIV remains a serious infection particularly when diagnosed late. The fact that we’ve seen an increase in the number of older adults getting diagnosed, and in particular getting diagnosed late, highlights the need for raised awareness in that age group.”

“Medical guidelines issued in 2008 encouraged widespread testing in areas where there is a high prevalence of HIV and the HPA fully supports any NHS or charity organisation initiative which will encourage increased testing and increased offering of testing across the UK.”

From: http://www.independent.co.uk/hiv-infection-rate-in-over-50s-doubles

To get foundation trust legislation through parliament in 2003, ministers agreed to a cap on private work to ensure the hospitals remained true to their NHS traditions.

This has stopped some of the leading hospitals in the NHS competing with private firms for patients.

But that will now change under the proposals unveiled in Monday’s white paper. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he wanted to create a “vibrant” industry of social enterprises by scrapping the rule and ordering all NHS trusts to become foundation trusts within three years.

Sue Slipman, director of the Foundation Trust Network, said the move would make a big difference.

“It is exciting for foundation trusts. We will have to wait to see what exactly happens, but there are huge opportunities to innovate.”

She said one of the most obvious areas for expansion would be in fertility services where treatment on the NHS is severely restricted.

“In the past these patients have had their NHS cycles and then left for private treatment. That is money that has been lost to the system.”

She also said mental health trusts may be interested in offering talking therapies to businesses for their workforce health schemes.

University College Hospital in London has already gone down this route with a private US health firm which has located a private unit on its site for cancer treatment.

The firm leases the space as well as paying for the NHS services it uses, such as intensive care, radiology and cleaning and catering.

The trust has also established a joint venture with a private firm to provide pathology services.

Sir Robert Naylor, the chief executive of the trust, said: “These initiatives bring in money which can then be reinvested in NHS services.”

Many NHS hospitals also operate their own private wings, although most of these only bring in a small amount of income. The exceptions are specialist centres such as the Royal Marsden cancer hospitals and Moorfield Eye Hospital.

But John Lister, of the union-funded pressure group Health Emergency, said he had concerns.

“Hospitals could overstretch themselves in chasing private patients which in turn takes away from the NHS side of it.  It also creates perverse incentives whereby they stand to make more money by getting patients into their private wings.

“They say money is reinvested in services, but I am not sure this is always the case. Some of these hospitals have huge surpluses, the money is moved around and does not end back where it should. If we get more and more of this, it will be a step towards the privatisation of the health service.”

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10619463

Overweight women are more than twice as likely to miscarry an IVF baby compared with those whose weight is healthier, fertility doctors say. The increased risk is so great they believe a warning should be included in counselling for couples before they embark on a course of fertility treatment.

Women who conceive naturally are known to have a greater chance of miscarrying if their body mass index (BMI) is 25 or higher, but the picture has been less clear for women carrying babies produced by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), or another technique called intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

“Overweight women wishing to get pregnant by spontaneous conception are already counselled to lose weight before trying for a baby,” said Tarek El-Toukhy, a fertility specialist who led the study at the assisted conception unit of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

“Our findings have shown clearly that women undertaking ART [assisted reproductive technology] should be strongly encouraged to heed this advice in order that they can have the best possible chance of obtaining and maintaining a pregnancy,” he added.

Overweight mothers have a higher risk of developing other medical conditions that can threaten their pregnancy, including high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, diabetes, premature delivery and post-partum bleeding.

El-Toukhy’s team examined the medical records of 318 women who each had one embryo implanted during fertility treatment at the clinic between January 2006 and December 2009. The women were divided into two groups: 185 had a healthy BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, while 133 had a BMI of 25 or above. Of the latter group, 19 were obese, defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.

The study, reported today at a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome, found a miscarriage rate of 22% among women with a healthy BMI, compared with a 33% miscarriage rate for the overweight women.

After adjusting their data to take account of the women’s age, history of infertility and miscarriage, and lifestyle factors such as smoking, the researchers concluded that being overweight more than doubled the miscarriage rate.

“Although there is evidence that miscarriage rates are higher in overweight women who conceive spontaneously, there were conflicting views about the effect of increased weight on the outcome of pregnancies occurring after IVF and ICSI,” said Vivian Rittenberg, a fertility doctor who took part in the study.

Rittenberg said many studies that have examined the issue in the past have been hard to interpret, not least because doctors looked at miscarriage rates after implanting several embryos at once at different stages of development.

“We transferred only one embryo at a specific stage of development, and were therefore able to provide clear evidence of the deleterious effect of being overweight on the chances of miscarriage,” she said.

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/28/overweight-doubles-risk-miscarriage-ivf

The trend was clearest if the fasting was done early in the women’s pregnancy, and during the summer months, when long hours of daylight called for them to go longer without food.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a time when Muslims across the world fast from dawn until sunset. Three in four Muslim pregnancies overlap with Ramadan and surveys indicate that the majority of pregnant Muslims observe the fast. This year, it falls between 11 August and 9 September.

Although pregnant women may request an exemption from fasting, they are expected to “make up” the fasting days missed during pregnancy after their baby is born.

Previous research has suggested that this requirement may discourage pregnant women from seeking the exemption, since they do not want to be the only member of their household fasting. Some Muslims also interpret Islamic law as requiring pregnant women in good health to fast.

Since fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a central part of Muslim culture, many women may fear a loss of connection with their communities or would feel guilty if they did not observe Ramadan.

The study, which used census data from the US, Iraq and Uganda, also discovered long-term effects on the adult’s health and his or her future economic success.

Douglas Almond, of Columbia University, and Bhashkar Mazumder, of the Federal Research Bank of Chicago, the authors of the research, concluded: “We generally find the largest effects on adults when Ramadan falls early in pregnancy.

“Rates of adult disability are roughly 20 per cent higher, with specific mental disabilities showing substantially larger effects. Importantly, we detect no corresponding outcome differences when the same design is applied to non-Muslims.”

Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, an imam from Leicester, said sharia (Islamic law) would never expect a woman to fast if it had an adverse effect on either the mother or child.

“Sharia would not want the mother to unnecessarily burden herself,” he said. “There’s no point being needlessly brave. When Ramadan falls during the winter months, more women will fast. But when it falls during the summer, when you might have to fast for 16 or 17 hours, it is understandable that fewer mothers will be fasting.”

From:
http://www.independent.co.uk/pregnant-women-who-fast-for-ramadan-risk-damage-to-their-babies-study-finds