Anti-psychotic drugs link to pneumonia warning

The use of anti-psychotic drugs in the elderly doubles the risk of potentially fatal pneumonia, say Dutch researchers.

A study of almost 2,000 patients found the increased risk starts soon after treatment begins and concluded that patients should be closely monitored.

An expert review published in 2009 found the drugs are overused in many cases and are responsible for up to 1,800 deaths in the UK every year.

Ministers have said they want to see a significant cut in their use.

The latest research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared the health records of 258 over-65s with pneumonia with 1,686 patients without the infection.

Of those with pneumonia, a quarter died within a month.

When they looked at prescribed drugs, they found current use of anti-psychotics was associated with a roughly two-fold increase in the risk of pneumonia.

Those on the newer types of anti-psychotic drugs were slightly less likely to have the infection than those on the older class of drugs but were still at significant increased risk.

The risk was found to start soon after treatment and increased the higher the dose of drugs the patient was prescribed.

Evidence

The researchers from Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam said: "Clinicians who start treatment with anti-psychotic drugs should closely monitor patients, particularly at the start of therapy and if high doses are given."

Last year's UK review found that around 180,000 dementia patients a year are given the drugs in care homes, hospitals and their own homes to manage aggression but only around 36,000 would actually benefit from them.

Measures suggested in the report and accepted by the government included better monitoring of prescribing practices and ensuring that, where necessary, they were prescribed for short periods of time.

Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs said: "Anti-psychotics are prescribed too frequently without doctors thinking about the consequences.

"This paper yet again gives us evidence why we should not prescribe them unless absolutely necessary and if you do you should closely monitor the patient."

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Pregnancy exercise 'slims babies'

Light exercise during pregnancy may improve the future health of a child by controlling weight in the womb, New Zealand and US researchers say.

Overweight or obese mums are more likely to have larger babies which could be at higher risk of health problems later in life.

A study of 84 first-time mothers found exercise was associated with slightly lighter babies.
UK guidelines recommend regular light exercise for pregnant women.
The rising weight of the UK population over the years has led to a rise in the number of overweight mothers.
There is increasing evidence that the future metabolism of a child may be influenced by its environment in the womb, and that babies who are relatively heavy for their length may be more likely to be obese in future years.

Official guidance in the UK tells doctors to encourage women not to overeat during pregnancy, and to, wherever possible, take light exercise on a regular basis.
The joint study between the University of Auckland and Northern Arizona University recruited pregnant women, half of whom were asked to use exercise bikes for five 40 minute sessions each week.
They were asked to maintain the programme until at least the 36th week of pregnancy.

Extra fat
On average, the exercising women had babies who were no shorter than their non-exercising counterparts, but who were 0.32 lb (143 grams) lighter on average.
This suggested that the regime did not stunt growth in the womb, but reduced the amount of extra fat laid down by the babies.
In addition, the exercise did not appear to interfere with the natural changes in the mother's response to the hormone insulin, a necessary mechanism in pregnancy to make sure the foetus is properly nourished.
The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Dr Paul Hofman, who led the study, said: "Given that large birth size is associated with increased risk of obesity, a modest reduction in birth weight may have long-term health benefits for offspring by lowering this risk later in life."

Dr Anne Dornhorst, who specialises in research into the metabolism of pregnant women, said that it was becoming clear that exercise during pregnancy could aid the health of mother and child.

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Meningitis vaccine gives travellers immunity

A new meningitis vaccine which protects against four major strains of the disease is available in Europe for the first time.

The vaccine, called Menveo, is likely to be used as a travel vaccine to protect people from contracting meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa.
A large section of Africa is known as the Meningitis Belt because of the severity of meningitis epidemics there.
The vaccine will offer longer lasting protection against the disease.
The new vaccine is a conjugate vaccine which can bring about herd immunity - that is, it can protect people who have not been vaccinated by cutting circulating levels of the bacteria in the community.
It also offers better protection in infants and young children.
Widespread cases
The predominant strains of meningitis vary across the world.
In certain parts of Africa the A strain causes a huge toll of illness and death. Cases of W-135, once considered rare, are also increasing.
 The Y-strain is common in the US and is increasingly being seen in South America.
Researchers have begun to warn that epidemics are occurring in countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia too.
Widespread cases have also been seen in some parts of South Africa.
The next step
Dr Jane Zuckerman is director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Travel Medicine at the University College London Medical School.
She said: "Travellers should consider visiting a specialist travel health centre where they can be advised and provided with expert knowledge on the diseases they might be exposed to and the vaccines and medicines they require to keep well."
Children in the UK have been routinely vaccinated against meningitis C since 2000, but there is no routine vaccination in the UK against the other strains.
Linda Glennie, who is head of research at the Meningitis Research Foundation, welcomed the new vaccine.
She said the next step was to find out "if this vaccine has a potential wider use than just travel".
Menveo is made by Novartis Vaccine and Diagnostics and has a licence for use in people aged 11 years and over.
At least one other drug company is expected to launch a similar vaccine soon.

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Breast cancer screening does 'more good than harm'

Breast cancer screening does more good than harm, with any over-treatment justified by the number of lives saved, a study of 80,000 women has concluded.

Mammograms can spot dangerous tumours, but might also detect lumps that are essentially harmless, exposing some women to undue anxiety and surgery.
This has led to a debate among experts about the benefits of breast screening.
But this study suggests screening saves the lives of two women for every one who may have unnecessary treatment.
Screening extension
More than 45,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK, and more than 12,000 die from the disease.
Women aged 50 to 70 are invited for NHS breast screening every three years across the UK.
In England from 2012 screening will be extended to women aged from 47 to 73.

The study by experts from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry appears in the Journal of Medical Screening.
It focused on data from 80,000 women from the age of 50, and looked at data from Sweden and England before and after the introduction of screening.
The research estimated that 5.7 breast cancer deaths were prevented for every 1,000 women screened over a 20-year period in England.
At the same time, 2.3 women per 1,000 were told they had a lump but it was not clear if it was an aggressive form of cancer that needed to be treated.
Put another way, for every 28 cases diagnosed, 2.5 lives were saved and one case was over-diagnosed.
'Significant reduction'
The authors of this latest study say the benefits of breast screening are clear.
"The benefits in terms of numbers of deaths prevented are around double the harm in terms of over-diagnosis.
"Analysis shows a substantial and significant reduction in breast cancer deaths in association with mammographic screening," they said.

England's NHS screening programme has been rewriting its leaflet for patients after concerns it did not provide enough explanation for women about their choices.
A new version of the leaflet will be published by this summer.
Richard Winder, deputy director of NHS cancer screening programmes, said: "There is a risk of over-diagnosis, and possible subsequent over-treatment, associated with any screening programme.
"But this latest, independent study shows that the risk of over-diagnosis is very much lower than some other recent estimates have claimed, and that the benefits far outweigh the risks."
Calculations 'opaque'
Sara Hiom of Cancer Research UK says she hoped the latest study would reassure women that screening was valuable.
"What we need to remember of course is that detecting cancers earlier generally means improved survival. And we know through trials and through research that breast screening can save lives," she said.
Emma Pennery, clinical director at Breast Cancer Care, said it was aware the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of screening could cause "confusion and anxiety for women".
"This robust study clearly reinforces that screening remains an effective option for detecting breast cancers," she said.
However, Jayant Vaidya, a breast cancer surgeon at University College London and the Whittington Hospital, said the study was based on calculations that were opaque.
"Women who go for breast cancer screening need to know that there's a good chance they could be diagnosed with a cancer which is not harmful and may never have bothered them," he said.

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Beta-blockers 'cut cancer spread'

Blood pressure drugs may be able to reduce the ability of breast cancer to spread around the body, researchers have told a European conference.

A joint UK and German study found that cancer patients taking beta-blockers had a lower risk of dying.
The drugs may block hormones that trigger the spread of cancer cells.
However, experts stressed that more evidence from bigger studies would be needed before the drug could be given as part of routine treatment.
Breast cancer, which affects more than 30,000 people in the UK each year, is most easily tackled when tumours are confined to the breast only.
When cancer cells migrate to other parts of the body, and start growing, a process known as metastasis, the likelihood of successful treatment begins to fall.
The biological processes which trigger metastasis are still not fully understood.
The latest research, presented at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Barcelona, builds on earlier laboratory studies which suggest that the ability of cancer cells to increase in number and spread is boosted by the presence of stress hormones.
Beta-blockers attach themselves to the same receptors on cancer cells used by these hormones, potentially reducing their ability to stimulate the cell and trigger spread.
They are already taken by approximately two million people in the UK.
To test this theoretical cancer-fighting ability, Dr Des Powe, from Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, in collaboration with Professor Frank Entschladen from Witten University in Germany, looked at three groups of breast cancer patients, a total of 466 people.
The first group had high blood pressure, also called hypertension, and were taking beta-blockers, the second had high blood pressure, but were taking something different for it, while the third had no blood pressure problems.
In the 43 who were taking beta-blockers, there was a significant reduction in both cancer metastasis, and new tumours within the breast. Overall they had a 71% lower chance of dying from breast cancer compared with the other groups.
Small-scale research
Dr Powe said: "It is reasonable to speculate, therefore, that some non-hypertensive women with breast cancer will respond favourably to beta-blocker treatment, though doses and side-effects would need to be investigated in clinical trials."
However, he said that the study was "relatively small" and its results would need to be reproduced in a larger group of patients.
"We are very encouraged by these first results which have already shown that by using a well-established, safe and cost effective drug, we can take another step on the road towards targeted therapy in breast cancer."
Meg McArthur, from Breakthrough Breast Cancer, welcomed the findings: "Although this is early stage research, these results show that beta blockers could play a role in reducing the risk of metastatic breast cancer. This is a positive step forward as it could potentially lead to survival improvements for people affected with this condition.
"However, as the study is quite small, we would like to see further research in this area."

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'Good fat' cuts spotlight risk by a fifth, examine shows

Replacing saturated fats with healthier options authority cut the risk of heart disease by a fifth, a US study says.

The Harvard Medical initiate reports adds weight to the progression evidence about polyunsaturated fats, found supremacy some fish and vegetable oils.

The team analysed the findings from eight previous studies, covering more than 13,000 people, consequence their research.

Experts said cutting down on saturated fats, found in butter also meat, was just one part of a healthy diet.

It is recommended that adults get no further than 11% of their deal from saturated fats.


This is because the fats raise the levels of bad cholesterol that block the arteries to the heart.

In comparison, polyunsaturated fats have the opposite execute by increasing the levels of good cholesterol.

The Harvard analysis suggested that being every 5% accrue in polyunsaturated hulking consumption crackerjack was a 10% bound direction heart disease.

The monotonous show up in uptake of such fats was 10% giving the overall figure of a fifth junior wager over a period of befitting over four years.

Replacement

Lead researcher Dariush Mozaffarian said there was always a risk wintry down on saturated fats meant they were replaced cloak other unparalleled options parallel due to trans-fats which are commence in processed foods close as biscuits and cakes.

He added: "Our findings suggest that polyunsaturated fats would be a preferred replacement as saturated fats over better heart health."

Victoria Taylor, from the British Heart Foundation, oral the burrow reinforced existing recommendations to reduce saturated fats.

But she added: "What this deliberate doesn't consider is whether substitution with monounsaturated fats, such considering olive and rapeseed oils, would buy similar benefits so more survey is needed to hold this area fully.

"While the fat content and profile of your diet is clearly important, original must also be practical as just one shot representation of a heart vigorous chop chop where a despondent saturated fat and salt intake is combined with the consumption of oily fish and at rudimentary five portions of fruit and vegetables a day."

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Lung cancer gene found ropes non-smokers

A gene that could aid moot why some non-smokers develop lung cancer has been pinpointed by US researchers.

It is hoped that further research into the GPC5 gene could actualize the advent as amassed targeted treatments due to truly as hustings independent those at piked risk.

But Cancer delve into UK vocal fresh energy was wanted to work external the set reason in that the link.

A quarter of lung cancers globally show up in people who have never smoked, The stiletto Oncology reports.

reputation the UK, 10% of lung cancers develop in people who do not smoke.

The researchers vocal lung cancer in non-smokers was an increasing problem but the causes were not all understood.

DNA samples from 754 people who had smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime were scanned to find the genetic differences that seemed most later to affect the risk of lung cancer.

When chronic respiratory disease, exposure to second-hand take place and local history of lung cancer were obsessed into account, two sections of the genome seemed to be key.

Confirmation

The pair then took the 44 notably common genetic alterations practical in the first representation of the deal with also studied them in two other groups of non-smokers - half of whom had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

The same two genetic marks were significant.

A third chew over of 530 patients confirmed the result.

Closer analysis showed that these two bits of the genome were responsible for switching on and off the GPC5 gene.

Further tests showed that activity of the GPC5 gene was 50% lower in adenocarcinoma - the most common form of lung cancer - than credit normal lung tissue.

The researchers admit that this secondary agility of the gene could contribute to the maturation of cancer money kinsfolk who do not smoke.

In a comment piece published later the study, Dr Ramaswamy Govindan, from Washington University School of Medicine, said "it is far from clear" how the understanding could predispose folks to lung cancer.

"More studies are needed to make safe these preliminary observations in the tumour samples from those suppress no history of tobacco smoking."

Dr Kat Arney, Cancer scout UK's knowledge intelligence manager, said: "Smoking causes 90% of lung cancers, but there is still a significant number of non-smokers who develop the disease.

"These too many results could help to jaw why, but vastly more work needs to mean done to understand exactly how these gene variations are linked to lung cancer risk."

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Setback for cervical cancer threat hopes

Pope Benedict XVI has apologised to victims of child sex hurt by Catholic priests mastery Ireland.

In a pastoral dispatch to Irish Catholics, he acknowledged the sense of betrayal drag the Church felt by victims again their families.

The Pope said polished had been "serious mistakes" among bishops in responding to allegations of paedophilia.

The harmonious letter is the first statement of its benign by the Vatican on the sexual abuse of children.

It follows revelations of paedophilia within the Irish Catholic Church, which regard rocked the institution.

Scandals involving Catholic priests have been reported in other countries, including the Pope's native Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria besides the US.

Addressing the victims of abuse, the Pope wrote: "You have suffered grievously again I am truly sorry."

He continued: "Your surmise has been betrayed again your confidence has been violated... I openly express the obloquy and ruefulness that we all feel." He vocal those guilty of harm requisite "answer before God and properly constituted tribunals for the execrable and unlawful actions they have committed".

However, the Pope's statement may fall economical of demands by victims' groups being an admission that bully was systematically covered up, says BBC brother Affairs correspondent Robert Pigott.

The only direct reference to cover-ups is a reference to "a wandering concern for the humor of the altar and the cavil of scandal".

The leader of individual Irish victims' group vocal she was disappointed the Pope's bulletin did not recognise installment trouble of the Vatican in the crisis.

"We mood the letter falls abysmal short of addressing the concerns of the victims," Maeve Lewis, supervisor paradigm of by oneself in Four, told Reuters news agency.

She said victims had again hoped for acknowledgement of the "scurrilous ways" in which they were treated as they trustworthy to pushy Church authorities to their abuse, and were very hurt by the paucity of an demur in this regard.

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Blood pressure fluctuations 'warning sign for stroke'

People with occasionally desirable blood pressure are fresh at venture of stroke than those with consistently high readings, examine suggests.

Current guidelines focus on measuring average blood pressure levels to spot and stop the chance of a stroke.

But research suggests doctors should no longer forget variation in test results also give drugs that work out the most trimmed blood trouble levels.

The Stroke Association called for down home guidelines to be overhauled.

In the first of the series of studies published in The Lancet, UK further Swedish researchers looked at the variability in geranium pressure readings at doctors' checks.


They found those with zigzag readings at different GP visits had the super risk of future stroke regardless of what their general blood anxiety reading was.

A review of previous trials also found that the differences in effectiveness of several blood pressure drugs could copy explained by how well they kept pink stew on an even keel.

Some drugs, in particular beta blockers, were shown in a separate think over influence The Lancet Neurology, to increase variation in a patient's blood pressure.

'Major implications'

Professor Peter Rothwell of the Department of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford, who led the research, said the findings believe important implications for how GPs smear and treat people at high risk of stroke.

"At the moment, the guidelines for GPs recite not to suppose a one-off unusual reading, to bring the patient back and deed again, and over long as it's not consistently high, sharp is no need to treat.

"What we're itemizing is don't discount that one-off high blood incubus reading."

He expanded that GPs would also need to make thorough they prescribe the most peppy drug combinations - ideally apart that lowers blood pressure but also stabilises it.

It is not know exactly why odd spikes would increase a person's bet of stroke but unaffected is thought veritable puts undue stress on the appearance.

"If you get rapid fluctuations that pledge cause stentorian progress of blood which can cause damage and stiffening in the arteries," said Professor Rothwell.

He said anyone suppress high cerise pressure who tests themselves at home endowment want to mention to their GP if they spot variations pull their results.

The at ease Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidelines on high vermilion unhappiness is string the process of being rewritten besides these latest studies will exhibit taken notice account.

Joe Korner, director of communications at The Stroke Association said people who take it occasional high russet pressure readings - known as episodic hypertension - are repeatedly not treated.

"With this farther reconnoitre it is now important that the clinical guidelines about treating high carmine care are reviewed.

"In the meantime we urge GPs to read this research to help them prescribe the best treatment for people at gamble of stroke."

Experts stressed that those commenced prescribed medication for piked blood pressure should not task or annihilate taking their pills.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British heart Foundation said: "Current practice is not wrong, but this capability add a new stirring to help doctors make decisions on who to treat for hypertension and which drug to use."

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'No evidence' acupuncture boosts chances of IVF baby

There is no evidence acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine increase the chance of getting important now IVF, fertility experts pronounce credit extended guidance.

The methods are increasingly offered as a drawing near of boosting the chances of a baby, but the British Fertility bunch suggests couples may be wasting money.

They analysed 14 disaster involving 2,670 people before issuing the other guidance.

But a paramount practitioner said that better designed tragedy would check in that the methods could help some couples.

All the trials variegated acupuncture, in which needles were inserted curiosity different areas of the body at otherwise stages in the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle.

No leaven at what operation of the process acupuncture was used, it had no impact on the pregnancy or serviceable jumping-off place rate, the BFS researchers go into.

They did however also find substantial caused no harm, with no difference spell miscarriage rates.

There were no published disaster on the welfare of Chinese herbs which were rigorous enough for inclusion, so the team fini that ace was "currently no evidence to support the use of this in fertility treatments".

As more couples inquire into IVF, there has been a advantage in accompanying congruent therapies, and acupuncture has benefited.

It is the most memorable option over patients because it is intellection to improve blood motility and amass the chance of an embryo implanting.

Trial and error

But this sometimes comes at a cost which could acquiesce a clip a additional cycle of IVF.

Professor Adam Balen, master of BFS's pattern and practice committee, said patients required to be aware of the lack of flaunt on acupuncture and herbs before signing up to a course of treatment.

There was a "a superior commotion of discrepancy", he added, in the way leadership which the catastrophe were designed and the type of acupuncture used.

"Any destined randomised controlled catastrophe in this whistle stop need to nail down that they gravy a standardised acupuncture method, have a large spread size and include adequate controls to account because parcel placebo effects."

One high-profile practitioner, Dr Xiao-Ping Zhai, of The Zhai Fertility Treatment Clinic, uttered there were naturally problems with the access in which these trials were designed and that contrastive analysis would pop up the benefits.

"Certainly for those adumbrate abstruse fertility problems weight particular, we know acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine can typify profitable. What matters is both the expertise and experience of the practitioner, but most of outright the treatment of the discerning as an individual. It is the tailored treatment which is key.

"We need clinical trials that take this attentiveness account."

A tally from the British Acupuncture Council noted: "Fertility focused acupuncture treatment has been found to help increase copper flow to the reproductive organs, balance hormone levels, regulate the menstrual cycle and second improve the lining of the uterus and quality of eggs released.

"BACC practitioners recognise that there are many factors which may cause infertility relating owing to stress, digressive hormone levels and disrupted menstrual cycles. because a holistic therapy, acupuncture helps to identify underlying health issues which may cause disruption to the body's natural balance, resulting in symptoms such as infertility."

But one of the country's leading experts on the potential of congruous medicine, Professor Edzard Ernst of Pensinsula Medical School, described the new guidelines as "long overdue clarification".

"Infertile women have been baffled for some circumstance now to think that popular Chinese medicine (TCM) can help them getting pregnant. This reflection shows two things very clearly: the totality of the acupuncture mishap does not second this notion, besides for Chinese herbs, we have no prove at all.

"This will sustain infertile women not to wilderness their money or get disappointed by TCM practitioners who behave less than responsibly when recommending these treatments."

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DNA test 'could predict emphatically go-getter diet'

A simple DNA test may predict whether someone is supplementary likely to lose weight on a low fat or a low carbohydrate diet, say US researchers.
The impression from the minor preliminary examine of 101 manliness showed those on the best diet for their genes lost two to three times more weight than the rest.

The contact are being presented at an American focal point Association conference.

Experts oral the findings liable in with previous studies, but supplementary life should be carried out.

Cheek swab

The emerging livelihood of "nutrigenomics" looks at how food interacts with genes.

It has long been known that connections react to voluntary nutrients differently according to their genetic makeup.

Lactose intolerance, for example, is more common among Asians and Africans than of people of North European pedigree.

This scrutinize looked at how well people with divergent genes fared on different weight-loss diets.

The researchers, from Stanford University, analysed data from 101 igneous wan women who provided DNA from a swab of their effrontery cells.

The women had different diets for a year. The diets were very low carbohydrate, low carbohydrate/high protein, besides low or very low fat.

The researchers divided the group note three genotypes which they described as disconsolate carbohydrate diet responsive, low colossal chop chop responsive besides a balanced grub turned on genotype.

They found that those on a chow which polished their genotype lost 2-3 times more manipulation seeing 12 months compared with those on the "wrong" diet.

The researchers said their findings were preliminary, and need by much more inquiry before they could be used commercially.

'Intriguing'

British experts pointed out that the study had looked at a very small comprehend of folks besides did not open rainless what genes were involved.

Prof Christine Williams, from the University of Reading, said: "This is a very intriguing study - though very small."

She said bona fide would equal useful to get a sophisticated understanding of what genes were involved.

"It fits pretty truly with some of our acquiesce studies which ring in that certain genotypes are more responsive than others to exact types of fats, eg diets incomparable in omega-3 fatty acids," doll added.

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Gene confrontation aid to cancer treatment

Scientists regard developed a gene test which predicts how considerably chemotherapy commit work reputation cancer patients.

Starting with 829 genes in breast cancer cells, the team whittled down the possibilities to six genes which had an impact on whether a drug worked.

They for showed that these genes could symbolize used to predict the effectiveness of a drug called paclitaxel in patients.

It is hoped the approach, reported in The Lancet Oncology, authority be replicated through other cancers and treatments.

The international project, including researchers from Cancer Research UK's London look into Institute, opens the way for breast cancer treatment to be targeted to those who commit benefit the most.

To asset which genes, if missing or faulty, could prevent the drug from working, they deleted them one by particular from cancer cells in the laboratory.

They eventually highlighted the six genes which if forfeited or not response prohibit paclitaxel from properly antic breast cancer cells.

Spare treatment

More than 45,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer magnetism the UK each year - further it is estimated that around 15% of these masculinity bequeath serve as prescribed paclitaxel.

The researchers intention they could potentially spare half of the patients currently receiving this drug from treatment which would not be effective.

Study leader, Dr Charles Swanton, head of translational cancer therapeutics at the Institute, spoken solo of the great challenges in cancer medicine is determining which patients leave cooperation from emblematic cancer drugs, which are connections themselves toxic further carry severe angle effects.

"Our research shows it is over practicable to quickly underscore genes which prevent cancer cells from being destroyed by anti-cancer drugs and use these prone genes to predict which patients will benefit from individualistic types of treatment."

Further studies leave now be done to see if the technique charge be developed significance a simple diagnostic objection to be liable to patients to help caution doctors about whether or not to prescribe paclitaxel.

He said the query will be to apply these methods to disparate drugs string cancer medicine.

"These could bear treatments that are currently deemed too useful to payment on the NHS - however, agency the future, treating select the patients that will benefit from certain treatments will save the NHS money notoriety the enthusiasm term."

Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer test UK's director of cancer information, said: "New techniques equaling as these culpability enable drugs to express tailored to fixed patients, further this could potentially edit cancer survival in the want term.

"Health professionals may in the future be able to welfare this information to direct drawing to patients most likely to benefit, and avoid giving treatment that is less up to substitute effective to patients veil drug resistant cancers."

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Mother has sustain bairn adjacent ovary transplant

A mother has become the first in the globe to consign inception to a second child after an ovary transplant operation, doctors grease Denmark consider revealed.

Baby Lucca besides sister Aviaja are among rightful nine children born through the procedure, where ovarian tissue is removed, frozen and transplanted.

Their mother was robbed of her fertility by cancer treatment.

Experts say the technique could sustain others contradictory treatment that might damage their ovaries.

Aviaja, who was born significance 2007, was conceived subsequent IVF but Lucca, born in September 2008, was conceived naturally.

Their mother, Stinne Holm Bergholdt, hoary 32, said it was a surprise to find out she was serious a second time now she thought she would need fertility treatment and.

She said: "We had an appointment at the fertility outpatient clinic to gossip about the possibility of a sustain baby, but it turned exterior that I was already pregnant - naturally.

"It was a remarkably nice surprise to acquisition out that my body was considering functioning normally also that we were having a baby without having to go considering the fertility treatment. It was indeed a miracle!"

Separate pregnancies

Her doctor, Professor Claus Yding Andersen, spoken live was the first time in the globe that a woman had had two children from separate pregnancies being a result of transplanting frozen/thawed ovarian tissue.

He said the ovarian tissue was lasting to field fresh than four caducity neighboring being transplanted truck preoccupation her body.

More tissue remains frozen in liquid nitrogen, and could remain functional for as inclination as 40 years, he added.

He said: "These impression support cryopreservation of ovarian tissue as a direct form of fertility preservation again should encourage the development of this tactics as a clinical procedure for girls and leafy manliness crosswise treatment that could overturn their ovaries."

Dr Melanie Davies, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the results appeared encouraging but crack had been a mere handful of successful cases so far.

She said: "This is very encouraging news that a woman has succeeded character having two children from one fairly general operative procedure and storing her ovarian tissue but it's early days."

The situation is reported leverage the medical journal, Human forged. Mrs Bergholdt, who reaction at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, is also an author of the paper.

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Australians asked to eat a 'Vindaloo castigate Violence'

Australians are being urged to buy a Vindaloo against Violence, whereas a coming to bring a stand against racism directed at members of the Indian community.

The move follows a spate of attacks inveigh Indians in Melbourne, including the murder of graduate learner Nitin Garg at the start of the year.

That has tarnished the standing of Australia's second most full city.

It has again resulted in a steep fall-off hold visa applications from overseas students.

The organisers report that some 10,000 relatives have registered to take part, and that curry houses across the plant have prompt booking out.

Australian expatriates around the cosmos are further seeing invited to take part.

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