All posts by ackersch

Distinct changes in the immune systems of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (known medically as myalgic encephalomyelitis), have been identified by researchers at Columbia University in the USA.

Although the condition has been recognised for some time this is the first robust physical evidence that ME is a biological illness as opposed to a psychological disorder, which has been suggested by some doctors.

The findings could help improve diagnosis for the disorder, in which symptoms range from extreme fatigue and difficulty concentrating to headaches and muscle pain.

Patients often report getting sick, sometimes from a common infectious condition, and never fully recover. The results suggest the immune system doesn’t turn itself off after the infection has gone but remains stuck in high gear.

It will be some time before the a definitive diagnostic test can be devised, but there are already medicines on the market that can dampen the immune system down, so another prescription medicine available from your local pharmacy may be on the way.

Although hair loss rarely needs to be treated, many people seek treatment for cosmetic reasons.

In some cases the loss may be temporary if for example, it is due to chemotherapy. If it is caused by an infection or underlying condition, such as lupus, treating the problem may prevent further hair loss.

Two licensed medicines for treating male pattern baldness are available from your local pharmacy, but you cannot get either on the NHS.

Propecia (containing finasteride) comes as a tablet is taken daily, but you might have to take it for up to six months before seeing any effects.

Regaine (containing minoxidil) is available as a lotion which is massaged daily onto the scalp. It also needs to be used for several months before any effect is seen.

Minoxidil is also licensed for female pattern baldness, but is only effective for one in four women.

With both products any improvements will be reversed when the medication is stopped. Ask for further advice at the pharmacy if you want to try either product.

The impact of dementia is being felt disproportionately by women, according to the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Not only has dementia become the leading cause of death among women, but women are more likely to become carers of people with dementia, the charity says.

Currently 850,000 people are living with dementia across the UK and 61% of them are women. The condition, which is caused by brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, results in distressing symptoms including memory loss, confusion and personality changes, which get worse over time.

Dementia is the leading cause of death for women in the UK, accounting for 12% of women’s deaths in 2013.

Between 60 and 70% of all unpaid dementia carers are women, and women are more than twice as likely to provide intensive, 24-hour care than men.

Sun Awareness Week, promoted by the British Association of Dermatologists (with a web address you couldn’t better – www.bad.org.uk) took place in May, a sure sign that summer is here.

To drum up publicity for the event BAD is promising that a major new study would reveal ‘shock findings into Britain’s attitudes towards skin cancer’. All very dramatic, but a good reminder that there are more consequences from over-exposure to sunshine than the red tingly pain of sunburn (not forgetting the suntan).

Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common type of skin cancer and is caused by too much exposure to UV light. It can occur on any part of the body, but is occurs most often on areas of skin exposed to sunlight. Possible signs to look out for include a scab or sore that won’t heal or a flesh coloured pearly lump that won’t go away.

Prevention is better than cure, so head down to your nearest pharmacy to get some factor 30 – and keep your t-shirt on!

‘Slip slop slap’ has entered the national lexicon as a reminder to use a sunscreen when outdoors during the summer. The original campaign using the phrase was launched in Australia in 1981 (you can watch the original TV clip with Sid the Seagull here).

Sunscreens – and there are a wide variety available from the pharmacy – help prevent the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin. Two types of UV – UVA and UVB – damage the skin and increase your risk of skin cancer. UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are linked to the ageing effects of sunshine

The sun protection factor (SPF) in a sunscreen is a measure of the protection you get from UVB. You should always use a product with SPF15 or higher. If it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening for 15 times longer — about five hours.

But in real life no sunscreen, regardless of strength, will stay effective for more than two hours without reapplication. Also, reddening of the skin is a reaction to UVB rays alone and tells you little about what UVA damage you may be getting. So slip, slop, slap!

Injuries from falls are a common and serious problem for older people, with 30% of people over 65 years, and 50% of those over 80 falling at least once a year. Dealing with the consequences of falls costs the NHS a whopping £2.3 billion per year.

Those at particularly high risk of falling include people:

• With two or more risk factors (muscle weakness, poor balance, visual deficit, concentration problems, arthritis)
• taking more than three medicines
• affected by orthostatic hypotension – a sharp fall in blood pressure when moving to a standing position, often caused by medication, causing dizziness.

Falls can be caused by almost any drug that acts on the brain or the circulation, so if you, or an elderly relative you care for, are concerned ask your pharmacist if you can have a medicines use review. This is an NHS service your pharmacy offers which will look at what the medicine is for, how you are taking it, whether it is effective, and whether there are any side-effects.

If it is appropriate to reduce the number of medicines you are taking, or change the dosage your pharmacist will advise you to see your GP.

The shorter you are, the more your risk of coronary heart disease, according to a study carried out at the University of Leicester.

Coronary heart disease is when the arteries supplying blood to the heart become narrowed due to a build up of plaque. If a blood clot forms over the plaque then the risk of heart attack is raised, as the artery can become completely blocked. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of premature death worldwide.

The researchers looked at genetic data from almost 200,000 people with or without coronary heart disease. They found that every 2.5 inch change in height affects coronary heart disease risk by 13.5%. So, for example, a 5 ft person has a 32% higher risk of coronary heart disease compared with a 5 ft 6 inch person because of their smaller height.

The take home message from this is that you can avoid coronary heart disease in the first place by exercising properly and eating sensibly, stopping smoking and cutting down on the alcohol. Ask your pharmacist if you need any advice.

Before you start to worry, we are talking about the USA here, where a study published in The American Journal of Medicine suggests that the national incidence of gun-related hospital admissions in the US mirrors the performance of the national stock market.

About 88 people die every day in the US from firearm-related incidents, making guns the second leading cause of injury-related death in the nation after road accidents, so the figures are not insignificant.

Comparing hospital in-patient data with the Dow Jones Industrial Average – an overall indicator of the nation’s economic health – the study’s authors suggest that ‘economic perturbations’ may be a ‘root cause’ or at least an important predictor of firearm injuries.

It is, fortunately, a set of statistics the Department of Health is unlikely to use in planning for the next A&E crisis in the UK.

Scientists at the University of Huddersfield are pioneering the use of a special gel that can be used to give medicines to young children and the elderly – groups who often have difficulty swallowing pills and capsules.

The gel medicine is made from gellan gum, a natural compound that has been used in foodstuffs until now. It consists of microscopic gel particles which collectively are pourable and can be administered with a spoon. But in the stomach the gel solidifies. This means the drug is not released there, where it would have little effect or even irritate the stomach, but later in the intestine over the course of several hours.

The research is a response to the increasing demand for ‘age appropriate’ drugs. It is important because a major reason for people not taking their medicines properly is the dosage form – be it a tablet, liquid or cream. So if you are having trouble taking your medicines for this reason, speak to your pharmacist. They may be able to suggest an alternative approach.

What will they measure next? There is a lot of evidence to link a high body mass index to an increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Another suggested risk factor is adult weight gain, usually associated with an increase in body fat.

Now a research team at University College London has used the self-reported skirt size of 94,000 women, over a number of years, as a proxy measure for their change in weight over those years, and investigated how this has affected their risk of getting breast cancer.

The results show that, for women aged between 25 and postmenopausal age, an increase in skirt size by one unit every decade increased the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer by 33%. However, a decrease in skirt size was associated with lowering of risk.

Something to think about…