Just to add to the confusion

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.

Oh dear!

Update on Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 6:55PM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Jonathon Wong alerted me of this link on reading my initial post. You may want to read this article.

Atrial Fibrillation linked to Alzheimer's

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a condition where the heart pacemaker is not functioning effectively causing the heart rhythm to become erratic and irregular. Left alone, blood clot can form in the heart chambers. This clot then in turn can be pushed out from the heart, ending up of all places usually in the brain circulation and may result in a stroke. It is a common condition especially in the elderly. It can also be caused by thyroid problems, longstanding hypertension and damaged heart valves.

A group in Utah however found that patients with AF have more incident of Alzheimer disease - in Malay-speak nyanyok!. However it cannot conclude if this is a direct relation or rather due to coincidence as both condition are more common in the elderly. More research are needed though but the trend is interesting. I thought it is more likely that the patient become forgetful due to small strokes occuring over time.

Folic acid is also good for the unborn babies heart!

I have always learnt that folic acid in pregnancy prevents babies from having problem with their spinal chord. Its deficiency has been linked to a condition called spina bifida, in which the baby were born with part of their spinal chord exposed to the outside, or in some cases not fully developed causing the babies to have weak limbs.

According to a study from Canada, it also reduces the incidence of babies born with congenital heart deformities, a condition always feared by all mums and dads as soon as they see their babies for the first time. This includes 'hole in the heart' and the likes.

So mothers, munch on those folic acid tablets as told, or take plenty of bread ....

Taking too much vitamins is not good after all!

Everything ought to be taken in moderation, and it certainly also applies to taking vitamins. Read this article.

Taking vitamins after exercise may undo some of the beneficial effects of the workout, research suggests.

Some advocate taking antioxidants like vitamin C and E to help protect the body from harmful chemical by-products it creates in breaking into a sweat.

But German scientists now believe these "free radicals" may actually be good for us and even buffer against diabetes, PNAS reports.

And mopping them up with antioxidants may do more harm than good.

A Dose of Medical News #3.2.3 - Baby resuscitation 'linked to IQ'

Children resuscitated at birth are more likely to have a low IQ by the age of eight, even if they appear healthy as babies, research has suggested.

The study compared babies who were resuscitated at birth - some needing further care, but others not - with those who had a problem-free delivery.

It suggests even mild problems around delivery may be enough to cause subtle damage to the brain.

The study, by Bristol's Southmead Hospital, appears in the Lancet.

It is based on children who were part in a long-term research project known as the Children of the 90s study.

The researchers defined a low IQ as being less than 80.

A Dose of Medical News #3.2.1 - Wii Injury in on the Rise

In the moments after I felt the pop in my left shoulder, the sensation I felt was not pain. It was panic. How exactly does a 40-year-old man explain to his wife that he might have torn his rotator cuff during a midnight game of Wii tennis?

Dr. Charles Young made me feel better without even examining me.

Late last year, Dr. Young, an orthopedic surgeon, spent about an hour experimenting with the balance games and strength-training exercises on his new Wii Fit. Running on a virtual trail. Slalom skiing. Walking on a tightrope. “They have this hula-hoop one where you’re supposed to spin yourself in a circle and try to get a high score,” said Dr. Young, who is completing a sports medicine fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. “I was really hurting.”

Call it Wii Shoulder. Or Wii Knee. If there is an epidemic of anything, it probably falls under a broader label: Nintendinitis.

A Dose of Medical News #3.1.2 - Inquest Into Patients' Death in Hampshire Suggest Morphine Overdose

Five patients who died at a hospital in Hampshire in the late 1990s were prescribed too much medication, an inquest jury has ruled.

Three of those patients were given inappropriate medication, the inquest at Portsmouth Coroner's Court found.

The inquest panel of five women and three men looked at the deaths of 10 patients at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1996 and 1999.

The patients' families are now calling for a criminal investigation.

Some of the relatives had long believed morphine was being over-prescribed.

One wait for the outcome of the inquest as it will have a big impact in medical practice in the UK especially in the thinking behind 'Do Not Resuscitate' decision and the notion of 'dying with dignity'. The population are getting more elderly and similar inquest is just a matter of time. Hopefully there will be ground rules laid out for doctor's future action in this grey area.

A Dose of Medical News #3.1.1 - Harvard Medical Students Rebels Against Pharma-Ties

200 Harvard Medical School students are confronting the administration demanding an end to pharmaceutical industry influence in the classroom.

"The students say they worry that pharmaceutical industry scandals in recent years - including some criminal convictions, billions of dollars in fines, proof of bias in research and publishing and false marketing claims - have cast a bad light on the medical profession. And they criticize Harvard as being less vigilant than other leading medical schools in monitoring potential financial conflicts by faculty members."

A front page report in the Business section of the New York Times should bestir some of Harvard Medical School alumni.  200 Harvard Medical School students are confronting the administration demanding an end to pharmaceutical industry influence in the classroom.

Students. What do they know?

A Dose of Medical News #2.7 - Traditional Medicine Practitioner to Learn from Chinese Masters

IPOH: The Health Ministry’s traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) division has started a programme to facilitate technology transfer from professional practitioners in China.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said local traditional Chinese medicine practitioners would be attached to the Chinese practitioners for three months through the programme to learn from them.

He said currently three oncologists from China have been recruited and each would have three local TCM practitioners under his wing.

“The programme, which started recently, includes hands-on lectures and observations on theories and practices using herbs as adjunct treatment for cancer patients,” said Liow at the opening of the Tongren private medical centre here Sunday.

He said the programme was meant to help build the foundation for all local TCM practitioners in the future.

From the Star this morning. To give them credit, Tong Ren Healing System has been studied by Harvard Medical School Professor (...... of Psychiatry). Game on!

Stem Cell Treatment for Diabetics

An experimental stem cell treatment has enabled patients with type 1 diabetes to go for as long as four years without insulin injections, researchers say.

A US-Brazilian project with 23 patients found most were able to produce their own insulin after a transplant of stem cells from their own bone marrow.

The two main properties of stem cell is self-renewal (regeneration) and ability to evolve into a more specialised cell under certain circumstances. In diabetic, where the main issue is the lack of insulin-producing cells - beta cells - in the pancreas, stimulating the stem cells into beta cells is a an attractive and viable treatment option.