Patients with one of the most lethal forms of cancer are having to wait months to have vital diagnostic tests, in a new sign of the relentless pressure on NHS services.
People suspected of having bowel cancer are facing waits of three months for tests when they should have them within a maximum of six weeks, the latest NHS waiting time figures show.
In March almost half the patients referred for the disease to Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust had to wait more than the six weeks set out in the NHS constitution. In all 144 (49.3%) of the 292 patients that month had to ensure waits of several months, and 39 of them were kept waiting for more than 13 weeks.
Campigners warned that patients could die as a result of the delays in patients undergoing either a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy, the two tests used to detect bowel cancer.
Prof Colin Rees, vice-president of the British Society of Gastroenterology, said: “By testing the right people at the right time we can save lives and stop people dying needlessly.”
In March 24% of hospital trusts in England missed the six-week target for colonoscopy, which meant that 1,121 patients were kept waiting. In the same month, 18% of hospitals breached the six-week target for flexi-sigmoidoscopy.
Deborah Alsina, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said the waiting times “present a worrying picture for patients”. She identified a lack of diagnotic staff as a key problem and lamented the latest of several delays in Health Education England publishing a plan, first promised in 2015, to boost the NHS cancer workforce.
About 41,000 people a year in the UK develop bowel cancer and around 16,000 die from it. It is Britain’s fourth most deadly cancer after lung, breast and prostate.
Meanwhile, NHS performance against its key waiting times targets is now the highest it has been for five years, NHS Englnd’s latest statistics show.
During 2015-16, 2.5 million people were not treated within four hours of arriving in A&E, and a total of 362,687 patients did not receive planned care in hospital – usually an operation – within 18 weeks.
Another 26,113 waited longer than 62 days for supposedly urgent cancer treatment after being referred by their GP, while 985,583 people with a life-threatening condition waited more than the maximum eight minutes for an ambulance to respond to an 999 call.
“These figures reveal the dismal human cost of the NHS crisis,” said Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman. “Millions of patients are waiting in distress and anxiety, but Theresa may doesn’t care.”
Responding to the latest monthly statistics, a Conservative spokesman said: “These figures show A&E performance has improved a great deal since the equivalent time last year. Waiting times for an operation again got shorter in March, and crucially patient outcomes continue to improve. Breast cancer survival is at its highest ever level.”
The figures came as the Health Foundation warned that the care patients receive is under threat because of the NHS’s unprecedented financial squeeze.
In a report, the thinktank says: “It is difficult to see how the intense financial pressures on all NHS and social care services will not threaten the quality of care in the near future if nothing changes.
“As OECD analyses have shown, the UK’s performance on quality is middling when compared with other OECD countries, but then so are our funding levels.”
NHS pathology services cannot keep up with the increasing number of samples being taken from the growing number of people being tested for cancer, raising fears that some will be diagnosed late.
That is the conclusion of a report published on Wednesday by Cancer Research UK, which warns that units are “struggling to cope” with the number of biopsies and blood samples being taken as the ageing and growing population produces more cases of suspected cancer.
Experts fear the lack of capacity and shortages of pathologists could hamper the NHS-wide drive to improve Britain’s poor record in early identification of cancer.
“Diagnostic services, including pathology, urgently need support and investment to ensure that diagnoses aren’t delayed and patients benefit from the latest treatment,” said Emma Greenwood, Cancer Research UK’s director of policy.
“The UK’s cancer survival is lagging behind other European countries and improving early diagnosis through diagnostic services is one of the ways to address this. The diagnostic bottleneck will only get worse without action now and this involves addressing staff shortages in imaging, endoscopy and pathology.”
The research found that the number of NHS pathologists is failing to keep pace with rising demand, leaving pathology services under growing pressure.
“Pathologists are the medical specialists who diagnose cancer. They also play a vital role in the prevention, treatment and monitoring of cancer and are at the forefront of research to improve the length and quality of life of people with the disease,”said Dr Suzy Lishman, president of the Royal College of Pathologists.
Meanwhile, women with ovarian cancer – the deadliest female cancer – are being “left stranded without vital support at every turn”, from diagnostic tests to access to nurses, according to a report by the charity Target Ovarian Cancer.
Its Pathfinder 2016 study found that only one in five UK women (20%) could identify bloating as a major symptom of the disease.
Two in five women (41%) visited their GP at least three times or more before they were referred for ovarian cancer tests, risking a delayed diagnosis.
And 80% of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer said they had encountered mental health problems since being diagnosed.
“Women with ovarian cancer are being failed at diagnosis, in access to trials and effective drugs, and they lack support,” said Annwen Jones, the charity’s chief executive.
Pauline Cafferkey has tested negative for the Ebola virus, NHS authorities have said, after she was rushed to hospital for a fourth time since her return from Sierra Leone in 2014.
The 40-year-old nurse underwent further tests under the care of the infectious diseases team at Queen Elizabeth University hospital, Glasgow, where she was taken under police escort on Thursday morning.
A spokesperson for the hospital said: “Following a detailed assessment we can provide reassurance that there is no risk to the public.”
Police Scotland confirmed that they had provided an escort “as a matter of course” for the ambulance taking Cafferkey from her home in South Lanarkshire at 9.30am.
Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon)
Sending my very best wishes to Pauline Cafferkey. She has already suffered way too much – & all for trying to help others. Thoughts with her
October 6, 2016
Cafferkey, 40, first became ill from the Ebola virus on her return from Sierra Leone in late December 2014. She flew on from Heathrow to her home in Glasgow, where she was admitted to hospital with a fever later confirmed as Ebola infection. She was flown to London’s Royal Free hospital, which has a specialist isolation unit for Ebola patients.
She nearly died, but when she was pronounced out of danger in January 2015, it was thought the virus had been cleared from her system. That October, however, she became critically ill again and was readmitted to the Royal Free. Her case astonished experts, as the first in which the virus had lurked in her brain or spinal cord undetected and then attacked again, causing near-fatal meningitis.
She has had long-term problems as a result of the second attack, including muscle weakness in one leg, which has meant she is unable to run as she used to do.
Nurse Pauline Cafferkey relieved to be cleared of misconduct over Ebola virus – video
A third admission to the Royal Free turned out to be a false alarm, but the experts have no idea whether the Ebola virus is still lying undetected in her body because too little is known about the virus and the disease.
Three weeks ago, Cafferkey was cleared by her regulatory body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which had investigated allegations that she concealed her high temperature at Heathrow on her return from Sierra Leone.
The NMC, which could have struck her off the nursing register, said Cafferkey’s judgment had been compromised by her developing illness, and so she could not be held responsible for putting the public in danger. Cafferkey said she reported her high temperature, but was allowed to fly on to Glasgow.
GPs are failing to refer almost one in three patients with malignant melanoma for urgent tests, prompting a health watchdog to say services must improve.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published a new quality standard, setting out the key areas for improving care for skin cancer patients.
It stresses that GPs should refer people with suspected malignant melanoma for an appointment to see a specialist within two weeks through the urgent referral system for suspected cancer.
The latest data from the National Cancer Intelligence Network shows that 56% of malignant melanomas were diagnosed following a two-week referral for suspected cancer in 2013.
Almost a third of cases, however, 29%, were only diagnosed following a normal GP referral to a specialist, which Nice says can take between four and six weeks in some trusts.
Another 2% of cases were diagnosed in A&E and 5% when the person concerned was already a hospital inpatient.
Figures released in July showed that the “sun, sea and sangria” generation of older people is being diagnosed with deadly skin cancer at an alarming rate.
Some 10,583 people aged 55 and over were told they had malignant melanoma in 2014, the most recent figure available, up from about 3,100 cases 20 years ago.
Cancer Research UK said people living longer is contributing to the rise but also blamed cheap package holidays.
It said people who have taken inexpensive package holidays since the 1960s and wanted a tan at all costs were now being diagnosed due to exposure and sunburn.
Rates of melanoma in people aged 55 and over have increased by 155% in the last 20 years, the data showed.
Rates among younger age groups are also rising, but at a slower rate, with a 63% growth in the last 20 years.
The disease kills around 2,000 people in the UK every year.
Non-melanoma skin cancers are also common, with 72,100 new cases diagnosed in the UK in 2013.
“How was your daughter’s wedding? I thought of you when the sun came out.”
“Yeah, it was good.”
And then, she burst into tears.
“Is everything OK?”
“Look love, I don’t mean to be rude but can you just tell me what my test showed? I haven’t slept all week and am nauseous with worry. I can’t take this anymore.”
“You had a test? But I didn’t order one. Your breast cancer has been stable for some years.”
“My GP did, and said you’d have the results. You mean you don’t know?”
Conventional medical training teaches doctors to start with perfunctory questions and build rapport before delivering significant news. After all, patients, especially in the public health system, don’t always see the same doctor and it’s important to cover or recap important details.
I used to greet patients at the door, ensure they were comfortably seated with phone turned off, hearing aid tuned in and notebook ready. I’d exchange a few pleasantries to humanise the interaction. But frankly, I am surprised it has taken me so long to appreciate that no oncology consultation goes far without first relaying the news of “the test”. “The test” is an umbrella term encompassing all manner of bloods and x-rays – haemoglobin, biochemistry, liver function, tumour markers, CT scans, PET scans and the rest. From the moment of their cancer diagnosis, patients are wedded to “the test”.
It’s different for brand new patients who are resigned to repeating their story multiple times to multiple doctors but when long-term patients return for their regular check-up they have one thing on their mind. So I have learnt to get to the point fast.
If the news is good, I tell the patient as soon as we’re out of earshot: “Your tests were fine, come and sit down.” Grips loosen, shoulders relax and some days you can feel the hiss of dissipating tension. When the news is bad, I escort the patient to a chair, make eye contact, and say, “I’m afraid the scans found a problem – we’ll have plenty of time to discuss this.”
Everyone does it differently but over time, I have decided this is kinder than, “How are you? Let’s go over any symptoms before we get to your results.”
Every patient has a story about spending sleepless nights and nail-biting days, fearing the worst but praying for a reprieve. When someone cries with relief at a scan that I’d always expected to be normal, I can’t help reflecting on how automatically scribbled test slips have the power to govern people’s lives.
“Your bone scan was normal again. There was no sign of cancer in your spine, only arthritis,” I recently reassured an elderly man with prostate cancer. He suffered from chronic back pain but the moment he mentioned it to a new provider, he scored himself another test. This time, a chiropractor had encouraged him to ask his GP for a scan.
Tests crowded his life – he rued that there wasn’t an event in recent times that hadn’t been disrupted by an appointment or a test, from his nephew’s wedding to his sister’s funeral. Knowing that I’d played a part in his misery, I suggested, giving him a break from tests. “They don’t really help nearly as much as talking to you and seeing how you are doing,” I said. But his wife was quick to squash his glee, “Oh no, I’d go mad not knowing! You must do a blood test at least.”
As cancer patients are living longer, they are seeing their oncologists more and many visits are accompanied by some sort of test. In the case of breast cancer, but also others such as prostate and colon cancer, blood tumour markers are used to track tumour activity, with changing markers often triggering costly scans. Patients regard painful and inconvenient tests as the cross to bear if they are to stay alive. After all, without tests how will their oncologist know what’s going on inside their body? For oncologists, writing test slips is as routine as breathing.
But the evidence suggests that cancer patients who are not receiving chemotherapy and are not enrolled in clinical trials do not need frequent testing. Depending on the disease, professional guidelines have long recommended against so-called “routine” testing in cancer surveillance but patients continue to receive them. Not all tests are ordered by oncologists – in a fragmented environment, patients see multiple providers. They order a test hoping it will reveal something that a good history won’t but this is seldom the case.
Tumour marker measurements in a range of advanced cancers altered management in a mere 2% of patients.
Pathology and radiology tests have grown by around 10% each year. The Grattan Institute estimates the overall cost of wasteful healthcare spending to be as much as a billion dollars.
It might seem intuitive that early detection of disease progression through tests might be helpful in instituting or switching therapies, avoiding unnecessary toxicity and guiding therapeutic choices but there is no evidence that a particular test done at a particular interval alone determines a change in course.
On the other hand, there is evidence that more tests cause more anxiety. Up to 65% of patients with advanced cancer are said to suffer some form of psychological distress. Undergoing frequent tests, not clearly understanding why and waiting weeks, even months, for results traps them in an unenviable situation. Patients who are preoccupied by test results have been shown to have a worse quality of life.
A recent study of more than 2,000 American women with metastatic breast cancer published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that more than a third of their providers were “extreme users” of blood tests and scans. (Here, extreme use was defined as more than 12 tumour marker tests and more than four scans per year.) Patients who were cared for by these providers had a 60% higher cost of care, more hospital-based care and later use of palliative care. A previous study found that tumour marker measurements in a range of advanced cancers altered management in a mere 2% of patients.
The overuse of pathology and radiology tests is by no means a problem specific to oncology but cancer patients are among the most heavily investigated, with the direct cost of cancer care in Australia reaching over $ 4.5bn.
Entrenched physician practice is hard to change through guidelines alone. In one study, over 90% of oncologists reported that repeat tests were ordered by someone simply copying the previous order. Without being constrained by rigid rules, doctors must be accountable for the tests they order. Making doctors aware, individually where possible, of the cost of tests, has been shown to influence practice, at least in the short-term. Awareness of the myriad costs of over-investigation must begin early in a doctor’s career. Good clinical practice means asking with every test ordered, “How will the results change my management?”
Patient expectations play a role in the prescribing habits of doctors. Comparisons in cancer are rife. “My neighbour with the same cancer gets a test every time, why don’t I?” is a common question posed to oncologists. The answer is not to order the test, rather to educate the patient. Patient surveys show a willingness to understand and avoid the harmful effects of indiscriminate testing. A key motivation for enduring tests is a feeling of security but patients need to understand that a good doctor-patient relationship, where concerns are promptly heeded, is no match for a battery of tests.
When I tell patients I’d rather not order tests that don’t provide meaningful results in their clinical context, they often ask what else they can do to look after themselves, as if submitting to tests were a proxy for self-care. I tell them that there is growing evidence that they should maintain a healthy weight, eat everything but in moderation, get some form of regular exercise, stop smoking and nurture good relationships.
Frequent testing improves neither quality nor quantity of life but these other recommendations nod to the foremost tenet of medicine, first do no harm.
If you are wondering if low B12 could be causing or contributing to your depression or other health issues, here are some tests to be aware of.
The Tests
Serum B12: This is a direct measure of serum in your blood. This is the first stage of testing for low B12. This test shows recent intakes but can be influenced by many other factors such as illness, birth control pills, and low folate status. This test is not often used to diagnose a deficiency.
Holotranscobalamin II Testing: While this test is less likely to be influenced by other factors such as renal function this method however is still undergoing testing.
Methylmalonic Acid: If you want to know your B12 levels, ask your doctor for this urine test. This is the current gold standard for B12 deficiency. In a person with renal dysfunction the test may result in a false positive. This is a urine test and is more costly than the serum B12 test.
Homocysteine test: This is a non- specific marker of B12 deficiency. Homocysteine is typically elevated when B12 is low. But homocysteine can be elevated for other reasons as well. High homocysteine can correlate with depression.
Standard Blood work: A mean corpuscular volume (MCV) increase or decrease along with an increase or decrease in mean corpuscular volume (MCH) can indicate the need for folate and/or B12 (increased levels) or iron, copper, or a B6 need (decreased levels). The same applies to mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) as a lower than normal reference range can indicate the need for folate and/or B12.
Bottom Line
If you are depressed, and know that you do not eat foods rich in B12 on a regular basis, the place to start is adding in these foods such as fish, red meat, grass fed yogurt and cottage cheese. If you avoid these foods such as meat or grass fed yogurt and cottage cheese for various reasons then add in a B complex and a B12 supplement.
Even if you do eat these foods and you have depression, along with chronic stress, my suggestion then is to still add in a quality supplement since stress depletes us of our B vitamins. Look for your B12 in the methylcobalamin form. Look for B6 as P-5-P. Look for the folate as methyl folate.
Some may think bee pollen would be a great source of B12. Actually it is a great natural source of your B vitamins except for B12! There are tiny traces of B12 in bee pollen but not enough for humans. Don’t use this as your source of B12! Bee pollen still has many benefits but this is not one of them. Many sites will tell you otherwise. Same goes with nutritional yeast. This product only contains B12 if it has been added in as it is not naturally occurring in the yeast but other B vitamins are. Again a great product but don’t use it as your B12 source.
Because some markers on standard blood work may indicate the need for folate and/or B12 and since both can contribute to depression, it is best to add in a B complex instead of an isolated nutrient. B complex contains a family of B vitamins and it is best to get them all together.
Products that I like (I have no affiliation with either of them) are Thorne Stress B complex and Emerald Laboratories Co-Enzymated B complex.
If you want the B12 testing done, you may have to request it from your doctor as often it is not part of the standard blood work.
Karen Brennan, MSW, CNC, author of Tru Foods Depression Free Nutrition, Supplement and herb guide and owner of Tru Foods Nutrition Services, LLC believes in addressing the root causes of your health issues with nutrition, supplements and herbs. For more information, visit her website at www.trufoodsnutrition.com
Sources:
Allen, L. How common is vitamin b-12 deficiency? Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2009 Feb; 89(2): 693s-6s. doi:
Patient safety could be at risk because doctors, nurses and dentists from elsewhere in Europe are not facing stringent enough language tests, leading medics have said.
In only one year, 29 medics from the European Economic Area faced allegations of “inadequate knowledge of English language”, according to data obtained by the Royal College of Surgeons.
By contrast, only 10 doctors from outside the EEA faced the same accusations during 2014/15, the figures obtained by the RCS from the General Medical Council show.
Under current EU rules, doctors coming to Britain from the EEA only have to show they have general English language skills. Those arriving from further afield have to prove their language abilities in a clinical context – showing they can talk fluently about symptoms and equipment. Brexit negotiations pose an “excellent opportunity” to ensure language checks are up to scratch, the RCS said.
Professor Nigel Hunt, dean of the faculty of dental surgery at the RCS, said: “The NHS would struggle to provide care in hospitals, clinics and dental practices without the very skilled doctors, dentists and nurses that come from both the EU and non-EU countries.
“It’s absolutely vital that the government find ways to ensure they can remain working in the NHS post-Brexit. That said it’s unquestionable that such staff should be able to communicate clearly with patients in English about their clinical problems, illnesses and treatment.
“While the professional regulators are able to require proof of the clinical language skills of non-EU applicants, the same checks do not apply to EEA applicants and our fear is that this could be putting patients at risk. We want the same rules to apply to all non-UK professionals, regardless of where in the world they come from.”
During 2014/15, 145 allegations were made about poor communication by dentists from the EEA compared with 27 about dentists from the rest of the world, according to data from a freedom of information request to the General Dental Council by the RCS.
A new briefing paper from the faculty of dental surgery at the RCS warns that despite attempts to improve language checks, EU law still prevents regulators from systematically testing EEA applicants’ language skills in a clinical setting, including on medical terms, ensuring consent, describing a procedure and possible side-effects.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Patient safety is of the utmost importance, and we expect all healthcare professionals working in the UK to have a good command of the English language.
“That is why we have tough rules, allowing the GMC and individual employers to test employees at and beyond the initial point of employment – and these cases represent just 0.002% of NHS staff.”
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, said: “Our language requirements are among the toughest in the world, and we keep them under regular review to make sure they continue to be effective.
“We have twice raised the standard in recent years and have secured a change in the law to allow us to take action against doctors who cannot communicate effectively.
“In the past we were not able to check doctors from Europe. Now we can and the difference is clear – this has been a huge step forward for patient safety. Since 2014 nearly 1,100 doctors from Europe have not met our English language requirements and cannot therefore practise in the UK.
“We have always argued that we should have the right to test the competence of European doctors as well as language and that remains our position.”
Simple eye and smell tests could be used to spot dementia years before sufferers experience memory symptoms, research suggests.
Researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology found a link between poor cognitive ability – a “clear warning sign” of the early stages of Alzheimer’s – and the thickness of people’s retinal nerves.
In a trial of more than 33,000 participants who were tested on memory, reaction time and reasoning, eye scans showed the nerve fibre layer was significantly thinner among those who performed poorly on cognitive tests.
The findings, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto, Canada, could be key as doctors believe diagnosing the condition early is essential for most effective treatment of sufferers.
Dr Clare Walton, research manager at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Changes in the brain associated with dementia can begin several years before any memory symptoms appear. This research suggests that some of these changes happen in the retina of the eye too, which could give us a relatively easy, non-invasive way to spot them early.
“Eye tests are fairly common for older people, so there is great potential to incorporate additional tests into their regular check-up.” While the tests could help with early intervention, it is not expected to be a primary way to diagnose the condition, she added.
Dr Simon Ridley, the director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the tests could help identify people at risk of memory decline, but more research was needed.
He said: “While this study did not look at changes in people with dementia, it does show that thinning of a layer of cells in the retina is associated with reduced cognitive performance. Further work is required to see whether thinning of the retinal nerve fibre layer is predictive of cognitive decline and dementia, to assess better whether nerve cell loss in the eye could be a potential early marker of the condition.”
Other findings presented at the conference suggest smell tests could help predict cognitive decline and detect early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers from Columbia University Medical Centre used a 40-item “scratch and sniff” test on 397 adults with an average age of 80. Fifty participants had developed dementia four years on, and researchers found low test scores were “significantly associated” with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Rosa Sancho, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This research suggests a potentially simple and cost-effective way to identify those at risk of memory decline, but while an odour detection test could bolster current diagnostic approaches like brain scanning and pen and paper tests, this test is not yet able to reliably predict who will develop dementia in future.
“Further studies using larger numbers of people are required to unravel how odour identification is affected by the brain changes in dementia and the potential that could hold for identifying those at risk of the condition.”
Numerous scientists think that profitable prevention or therapy of illness hinges on identifying situations lengthy ahead of any symptoms show.
Even though the investigation is nevertheless at an early stage, even more perform could see this kind of tests utilised as a very first stage in identifying men and women with Alzheimer’s.
Soon after an preliminary eye check, a lot more costly and pricey procedures this kind of as PET (positron emission tomography) scans or spinal fluid evaluation would be utilized to confirm the ailment.
Researchers said the exams could be utilised as element of standard eye checks by opticians.
Dr Doug Brown, director of study at the Alzheimer’s Society, stated: “Obtaining new and far better ways to detect the early stages of Alzheimer’s ailment could be a game changer for both long term research and for people who will produce the issue.
“These scientific studies offer evidence of principle that scanning the eye for amyloid could give us insight about what is going on in the brain.
“Nevertheless as they are only preliminary studies, the eye scans will want even more validation ahead of they could be utilized on men and women with dementia.”
In the two research, scientists looked for indicators of beta-amyloid protein, which forms clumps in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and is a essential hallmark of the illness.
The Australian crew used the turmeric spice ingredient curcumin as a fluorescent tag that permitted beta-amyloid to show up in the retina.
A total of 200 volunteers have been initial asked to get a supplement of curcumin, which binds strongly to the protein, and could then be detected in the eye employing imaging systems.
Amounts of beta-amyloid in the retina mirrored people shown in the brain by PET imaging.
Preliminary results on 40 participants showed that the test picked up every single participant with Alzheimer’s and appropriately recognized much more than 80 per cent of those who did not.
Shaun Frost, from the Australian science company the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Study Organisation, which led the examine, mentioned: “We envision this engineering potentially as an original display that could complement what is at present employed: brain PET imaging, MRI imaging, and clinical tests.
“If further investigation displays that our original findings are appropriate, it could possibly be delivered as component of an individual’s standard eye check out-up.”
He mentioned the photographs have been so clear that they could also enable accurate monitoring of individuals with Alzheimer’s condition, in buy to follow its progression and response to therapy.
In the 2nd research, researchers from the US organization Cognoptix Inc employed an ointment to apply a fluorescent label to beta-amyloid in the lens of the eye.
Laser scanning was then in a position to detect the protein. In tests of 40 volunteers with and without Alzheimer’s, it identified those getting the disease with 85 per cent accuracy, when checks were carried out using PET scans.
The results had been presented at the Alzheimer’s Association Worldwide Conference in Copenhagen.
Dr Simon Ridley, head of science at the charity Alzheimer’s Research United kingdom, stated: “It is difficult to diagnose Alzheimer’s condition accurately and, in numerous situations, by the time the signs and symptoms have created, harm has presently been going on in the brain for a amount of many years.
“The growth of a swift, low cost, non-invasive test to detect Alzheimer’s would be an important stage in helping individuals to get an early diagnosis, and assisting to improve clinical trials so that prospective new remedies have the ideal likelihood of accomplishment.
“This analysis is promising but is in the really early phases and includes extremely small sample sizes.”
Separate analysis presented at the meeting suggests that a worsening sense of smell could be an early indicator of dementia.
US researchers at Harvard Health-related School showed that men and women with a poorer sense of smell had smaller sized brain volumes in two important regions linked to memory.
In a 2nd research, scientists from Columbia University in New York located that poorer functionality in smell tests was significantly linked with enhanced incidence of the problem. For each and every point decrease scored on “odour identification test” the chance of establishing dementia was discovered to increase by ten per cent.
Scientists found indicators of beta-amyloid protein, which also kinds clumps in the brain, in the eyes of folks with Alzheimer’s. Photograph: Paul Faith/PA
Typical eye tests could in long term be used to diagnose early-stage Alzheimer’s, new research suggests.
Early trials of two diverse methods present that a essential Alzheimer’s biomarker can be recognized in the retina and lens of the eye.
Both strategies have been capable to distinguish between probable Alzheimer’s patients and healthful volunteers with a substantial level of accuracy.
Even though the analysis is even now at an early stage, additional function could see this kind of tests employed as a first phase in identifying men and women with Alzheimer’s.
After an initial eye test, a lot more expensive and expensive procedures this kind of as PET (positron emission tomography) scans or spinal fluid examination would then be employed to verify the condition.
Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is vital to establishing successful therapies that do much more than alleviate the condition’s symptoms.
Almost every single trial of a drug created to halt or reverse Alzheimer’s progression has ended in failure simply because the patients taking element have presently suffered also significantly harm to their brains, scientists think.
Shaun Frost, from the Australian science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Study Organisation, who led a single of the research, stated: “We envision this technologies probably as an initial display that could complement what is at the moment used: brain PET imaging, MRI imaging, and clinical exams.
“If even more investigation shows that our original findings are appropriate, it could probably be delivered as element of an individual’s regular eye check out-up.
“The higher resolution degree of our photos could also enable exact monitoring of person retinal plaques as a feasible approach to stick to progression and response to treatment.”
The eye tests exploit the reality that the eye is, in impact, an extension of the brain.
In both research, scientists looked for signs of beta-amyloid protein, which types clumps in the brains of Alzheimer’s individuals and is a crucial hallmark of the disease.
The Australian group utilized the turmeric spice ingredient curcumin as a fluorescent tag that allowed beta-amyloid to demonstrate up in the retina.
A complete of 200 volunteers have been 1st asked to take a supplement of curcumin, which binds strongly to beta-amyloid. The protein was then detected in the eye making use of a novel imaging system.
Ranges of beta-amyloid in the retina mirrored those shown in the brain by PET imaging.
Preliminary results on 40 participants showed that the check picked up every participant with Alzheimer’s and correctly identified far more than 80% of individuals who did not.
In the other study, researchers from the US business Cognoptix Inc utilized an ointment to apply a fluorescent label to beta-amyloid in the lens of the eye.
Laser scanning was then capable to detect the protein. In exams of 40 volunteers with and without Alzheimer’s, it recognized individuals getting the ailment with 85% accuracy.
Paul Hartung, president and chief executive of Cognoptix Inc, stated: “This method exhibits promise as a strategy for early detection and monitoring of the illness.”
Both tests showed that amounts of beta-amyloid in the eye mirrored these observed in the brain by PET imaging.
The outcomes were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association Global Conference in Copenhagen.
Dr Simon Ridley, head of science at the charity Alzheimer’s Investigation Uk, said: “It is hard to diagnose Alzheimer’s ailment accurately and, in many circumstances, by the time the symptoms have designed, harm has previously been going on in the brain for a number of years.
“The development of a swift, cheap, non-invasive test to detect Alzheimer’s would be an essential stage in helping individuals to receive an early diagnosis, and assisting to enhance clinical trials so that prospective new treatment options have the ideal chance of accomplishment.
“This investigation is promising but is in the really early stages and requires quite small sample sizes.
“It is also soon to figure out no matter whether these sorts of tests will be helpful for diagnosis of dementia and we would need to have to see the outcomes of greater trials before drawing any firmer conclusions.”
Dr Doug Brown, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, mentioned: “Locating new and far better approaches to detect the early phases of Alzheimer’s ailment could be a game changer for each long term investigation and for folks who will produce the issue.
“These studies supply proof of principle that scanning the eye for amyloid could give us insight about what is going on in the brain.
“However as they are only preliminary scientific studies, the eye scans will need additional validation before they could be employed on folks with dementia.”
Other research presented at the meeting advised that a decreased sense of smell could be an early indicator of dementia.
Scientists from Columbia University in New York identified that poorer overall performance in smell tests was significantly linked with increased incidence of the problem.
For each and every stage decrease scored on the test the risk of establishing dementia went up by ten%.
In a separate study US researchers at Harvard Health-related School showed that men and women with a poorer sense of smell had smaller sized brain volumes in two key regions linked to memory.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe: ‘We have to make positive we’ve explored all possibilities the existing legislation gives.’ Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Necessary health care examinations to identify victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) might have to be considered in the United kingdom, the head of Britain’s largest police force has explained.
The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said there had been a lack of referrals from schools and health-related pros about girls who had undergone the procedure, as an operation was launched at airports to identify possible victims.
An estimated 66,000 girls in the Uk have undergone FGM and a lot more than twenty,000 ladies beneath 15 are believed to be at chance of the practice, which is classed as torture by the UN.
The initial Uk prosecution for alleged FGM started earlier this 12 months, while there have reportedly been a hundred FGM-connected convictions in France.
Speaking at Heathrow airport, Hogan-Howe stated: “They have a slightly various program in France so they can have mandatory medical examinations. We feel which is one of the things that makes a difference for them. We have to rely on receiving our message out by means of the media and encouraging members of the public to come forward.”
Asked whether or not necessary healthcare examinations must be introduced in the Uk, he explained: “It really is a single of the things I feel most likely the government is going to have to consider at some stage. The 1st factor we have to do is make positive we’ve explored all options the present legislation supplies.”
Hogan-Howe said it was crucial for colleges and health-related specialists to get in touch with police with info about FGM victims to ensure individuals accountable had been prosecuted.
He mentioned: “We’re not acquiring an terrible whole lot of referrals from the community, from healthcare experts or from educational experts. We need to have these since with out that we cannot start an investigation. Of program the victims could come forward sooner or later. But what we do know is that’s very tough. If you have to report against your mother and father, that is clearly very a challenge.
“It’s actually important they recognize the barbarity of this act and it is a criminal offence which is punishable by 14 years’ imprisonment.”
Police this week launched Operation Limelight at airports across the country which targeted flights to and from nations acknowledged to carry out FGM.
Beneath the joint-force operation, officers at Heathrow spoke to passengers on 13 outbound flights to “high-threat” countries. Passengers have been warned that FGM is unlawful in the Uk and if caught, offenders encounter a large fine and a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Flights to Heathrow from Nigeria and Sierra Leone had been also targeted as officers sought to determine kids subjected to FGM and any individual who may possibly have arranged the process.
The week-long initiative at airports across the nation aimed to determine ladies who may possibly have been mutilated as well as warning United kingdom passengers that it was illegal to arrange for a kid to be flown abroad for the procedure.
DC Supt Keith Niven, head of the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Little one Abuse (SOECA) Command, said: “FGM is an abhorrent offence which consists of violent assaults upon kids. This is an illegal practice and it will not be tolerated in the United Kingdom. It truly is truly essential to educate people who engage in this practice so they are mindful that this is not a reputable way to carry children up.
“This is child abuse … and men and women will be prosecuted if we discover evidence of this.”
Operation Limelight was supported by Uk Border Force and the National Crime Agency, as properly as officers from the Met, Essex, Avon and Somerset, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Sussex and West Midlands police forces.
Participants have been asked to stand up and sit back down in a straight back chair – like a dining room chair – as speedily as they could.
They had been timed utilizing a stopwatch to see how numerous occasions they could go from sitting to standing upright with locked knees to sitting again.
The men with the lowest danger of early death did more than 39 of these movements in a minute although the worst did just 22 in a minute.
The very best performing women managed to do a lot more than 36 in a minute whilst the worst did just 21 in a minute.
Balance test
Topics were asked to stand for as long as attainable on one leg with their eyes closed. They were timed employing a stopwatch.
The healthiest males and females managed to stand on 1 leg for longer than 10 seconds while people with the highest risk of early death could only deal with to stability for three seconds.
The benefits from all of these exams were then utilised to calculate an overall score. People with the lowest score have been five occasions much more very likely to die within the 13 12 months study time period than these with the highest score.
The quantity of females overdue for smear exams was really worrying, the shadow wellness minister Liz Kendall said. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
New figures reveal an 11% rise in the amount of females whose smear test is overdue. Close to three.7 million had been late with their check out-ups in 2012-13 – 364,000 a lot more than in 2009-10. The greatest increases were among functioning-age women, data from the Well being and Social Care Details Centre displays.
Far more than a million females in their 30s were overdue, up 11%, whilst for people in their 40s the rise was 15%, to 925,000, and for people in their 50s it was 16%, to 620,000.
The shadow health minister, Liz Kendall, mentioned it was extremely worrying. She extra: “It’s vital to increase public awareness and make it simpler for women to book their tests, such as outdoors normal functioning hrs since it can be difficult acquiring to your neighborhood surgery if you’re working.”
A surgeon sitting in front of screens of a Focal A single device performs a robot-assisted prostate tumorectomy. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Photos
Guys with prostate cancer are becoming provided false hope by exams that underestimate the aggressiveness of their condition, in accordance to a research.
Researchers discovered that much more than half of a group of guys whose cancers have been initially classified as slow-expanding and confined later turned out to have a lot more dangerous tumours.
The findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer, get in touch with into question the potential of professionals to grade and stage prostate cancers on the basis of biopsy samples.
It also casts doubt on the “active surveillance” strategy of steering clear of unnecessary radical treatment method for sufferers with slow-growing prostate cancer.
Alternatively, these sufferers are closely monitored but left alone until exams propose their condition has worsened.
Urological surgeon Greg Shaw, from the Cancer Research Uk Cambridge Institute, said: “Our outcomes display that the severity of up to half of men’s prostate cancers might be underestimated when relying on tests just before they have surgical treatment.”
Slow-expanding prostate cancers, identified as “pussycats”, are really distinct from the far more aggressive “tiger” range.
In some cases, especially when he is older when diagnosed, a patient can live to the end of his normal lifestyle span prior to a “pussycat” cancer gets to be a threat.
An aggressive “tiger”, on the other hand, may quickly spread if it is not surgically eliminated or destroyed.
Biopsy samples examined underneath a microscope are utilised to rate prostate tumour aggressiveness with a score ranging from two to ten. A score of among two and 6 is a reduced-grade “pussycat”. A score of seven is intermediate, whilst scores of eight to ten are large-grade “tigers”.
Tumours are also staged in accordance to how far they have spread. A T2 tumour is contained fully inside the prostate gland, while a T3 tumour has commenced to break out, and one particular classified T4 has spread to other organs or web sites in the pelvic cavity.
The Cambridge scientists in contrast the staging and grading of more than 800 men’s cancers before and following they had surgery to eliminate their prostate.
They identified that of 415 individuals whose cancer was classified as slow-growing and confined to the prostate, just in excess of half (209) had been discovered to have a far more aggressive ailment than originally thought when assessed right after surgical treatment.
Nearly a third (131) had cancers that had spread beyond the prostate gland.
The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood marker test utilised to determine men who may possibly have prostate cancer has long been recognized to be unreliable and susceptible to providing false readings.
Professor Malcolm Mason, Cancer Research UK’s prostate cancer professional, explained: “At the minute the bBiopsy, MRI and PSA tests that we use to assess the severity of prostate cancers are the greatest strategies we have but, as this review displays, they will not constantly get it proper.”Regardless of the limitations that this review displays, all proof so far points to lively surveillance getting secure supplied men are cautiously selected. But we need to have far better strategies of assigning a grade and stage so that no man has to unnecessarily undergo treatment, even though at the identical time creating positive we detect and deal with the cancers that really require it.”
Every yr all around 41,700 guys in the Uk are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,800 die from the condition.
The scientists concluded in their paper: “In counselling patients for AS (lively surveillance), the surgeon should be explicit concerning uncertainty in predicting stage/grade in spite of obvious quick-term security.
“There is an urgent want for growth of a implies by which to exclude aggressive Pc (prostate cancer) in sufferers wishing to undergo conservative therapy.”
Dr Iain Frame, director of study at the charity Prostate Cancer Uk, stated: “Exact prostate cancer diagnosis continues to be one of the greatest difficulties facing the illness these days.
“The outcomes of this examine highlight but once more that existing tests are not able to offer a precise picture of the aggressiveness of a man’s cancer, usually leaving guys and their medical professionals to make difficult selections about treatment with out all the details.
“Prostate Cancer Uk is committed to discovering a far better diagnostic alternative for the 40,000 males diagnosed with the disease each 12 months through analysis.
“In the meantime, till the accuracy of tests improves, it is critical that males have the opportunity to talk about the pros and cons of every single treatment method selection available with their clinician, so that they can choose what is ideal for them and their scenario.”
The Welsh Labour government has come below attack for its NHS record like ambulance waiting times and hospital death rates. Photograph: Photofusion/Rex Functions
Wales has the worst Uk waiting times record for life-saving exams, according to the latest figures. Government statistics display that close to 42% of folks in Wales waiting for diagnostic exams had to wait much more than 6 weeks ahead of they were lastly noticed. This compares with one.eight% in England and three.8% in Scotland.
The statistics also show that 16.six% of sufferers on the Welsh diagnostic waiting record wait longer than twelve weeks. In Northern Ireland, 15.5% on the record had to wait much more than nine weeks. Physicians have described the statistics as extremely worrying and further evidence that the crisis in the NHS in Wales is worsening.
A Carmarthen-primarily based physician, Dewi Evans, who has been working in the wellness support given that 1971, mentioned early diagnostic tests had been critical simply because they could be a matter of existence and death. The checks – such as MRI scans and cystoscopies – can be used by medics to check no matter whether a individual has cancer.
Evans mentioned: “These investigations are the mainstay of early and exact diagnoses of daily life-threatening circumstances. In terms of significance, these are the most disturbing NHS statistics I have witnessed in a lot of many years.”
The Labour administration in Cardiff Bay has come under repeated attack for its NHS record considering that it returned to electrical power in the Welsh assembly in 2011.
As effectively as ambulance waiting times repeatedly failing to meet key targets, calls have been made for a public enquiry into death rates at Welsh hospitals.
But the nationalist party Plaid Cymru said the scenario was getting worse, soon after it collated official figures on diagnostic waiting times.
The Welsh government said claims created by Plaid were a “full distortion”. A spokeswoman mentioned: “In spite of the pressures on the NHS, accessibility to diagnostic exams is strengthening.
“However, the wellness minister, Mark Drakeford, acknowledges waits are nonetheless too lengthy in some instances, and last month announced £5m of new funding to help the NHS lessen waiting times for individuals scans and tests where there are distinct issues.
“Speeding up access to these tests will indicate that sufferers get the outcomes more quickly and can start their complete therapy sooner. We anticipate waiting times for diagnostic tests to come down.”
Since the starting of the so named “aids epidemic”, the whole world was taught how to decrease their possibility of contracting HIV by practicing protected intercourse, not sharing dirty needles when injecting street drugs etc. Along with methods to shield by yourself from HIV came the all effectively recognized propaganda campaign “know your status” and we had been all advised that the only way to know if you are infected with HIV is to get an HIV check. Most folks who get an HIV test do so believing that a optimistic check indicates infection and a adverse outcome both means that you are not infected or possibly you were lately contaminated and have not but developed antibodies to the virus yet and ought to be retested in the potential.
So how accurate is an HIV check? Does a positive consequence indicate without having a doubt that you are infected with Dr. Robert Gallo’s intercourse virus of mass destruction or are there situations exactly where a man or woman can check constructive due to a cross reaction, human error or a fallacy with the check itself? In accordance to the aids establishment, HIV exams are not only very precise in detecting the presence of HIV distinct antibodies but false positives are exceptionally uncommon.
“As proven by the specificity scores of 99.9% or over, the review gives reassurance that false positive outcomes are exceptionally rare – in other phrases, people who are HIV damaging do correctly get HIV-damaging final results.”
“Current generation HIV exams are regarded incredibly accurate. The blood-based HIV ELISA has a demonstrated sensitivity of among 99.3% to 99.seven%, with a specificity of amongst 99.91% and 99.97%. When combined with a Western blot, this translates to about a single false good out of each and every 250,000 tests in the standard U.S. population.”
These are only two examples out of numerous you will uncover telling you that HIV tests are very correct and are employed to diagnose HIV infection. The so named “rapid tests” are utilized as a screening tool and a optimistic end result need to be confirmed with added testing by means of western blot and elisa testing. Although the FDA states that a speedy check ought to help in the diagnosis of HIV infection, they nevertheless label it as a diagnostic check with a substantial degree of accuracy.
“The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration today accepted the first speedy Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) check for the simultaneous detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen as nicely as antibodies to the two HIV-one and HIV-two in human serum, plasma, and venous or fingerstick whole blood specimens. Accredited for use as an aid in the diagnosis of HIV-1 and HIV-two infection, the Alere Decide HIV-1/two Ag/Ab Combo test is also the 1st FDA-accredited check that independently distinguishes outcomes for HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV antibodies in a single check.” http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm364480.htm
Although the HIV tests are said to be extremely correct and that they detect antibodies which are distinct to HIV, practically nothing can be additional from the reality. In reality, the exams detect generic proteins which could be in your body for numerous motives which could assortment from antibodies developed by vaccination to pregnancy. The checklist of recognized cross reactions is now much more than one hundred and contain the following. References can be identified at http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/hiv/cjtestfp.htm.
Anti-carbohydrate antibodies
Naturally-happening antibodies
Passive immunization: receipt of gamma globulin or immune globulin (as prophylaxis towards infection which is made up of antibodies)
Leprosy
Tuberculosis
Mycobacterium avium
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Renal (kidney) failure
Hemodialysis/renal failure
Alpha interferon therapy in hemodialysis individuals
Flu
Flu vaccination
Herpes simplex I
Herpes simplex II
Upper respiratory tract infection (cold or flu)
Current viral infection or exposure to viral vaccines
Pregnancy in multiparous females
Malaria
High levels of circulating immune complexes
Hypergammaglobulinemia (substantial levels of antibodies)
False positives on other exams, which includes RPR (speedy plasma reagent) test for syphilis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Hepatitis B vaccination
Tetanus vaccination
Organ transplantation
Renal transplantation
Anti-lymphocyte antibodies
Anti-collagen antibodies (found in gay guys, haemophiliacs, Africans of each sexes and men and women with leprosy)
Serum-constructive for rheumatoid issue, antinuclear antibody (the two located in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoantibodies)
Antibodies with a higher affinity for polystyrene (utilised in the check kits)
Blood transfusions, several blood transfusions
A number of myeloma
HLA antibodies (to Class I and II leukocyte antigens)
Anti-smooth muscle antibody
Anti-parietal cell antibody
Anti-hepatitis A IgM (antibody)
Anti-Hbc IgM
Administration of human immunoglobulin preparations pooled before 1985
Haemophilia
Haematologic malignant problems/lymphoma
Main biliary cirrhosis
Stevens-Johnson syndrome
Q-fever with related hepatitis
Heat-taken care of specimens
Lipemic serum (blood with substantial ranges of fat or lipids)
Haemolyzed serum (blood in which haemoglobin is separated from the red cells)
Hyperbilirubinemia
Globulins created throughout polyclonal gammopathies (which are witnessed in AIDS danger groups)
Healthier men and women as a outcome of poorly-understood cross-reactions
Standard human ribonucleoproteins
Other retroviruses
Anti-mitochondrial antibodies
Anti-nuclear antibodies
Anti-microsomal antibodies
T-cell leukocyte antigen antibodies
Proteins on the filter paper
Epstein-Barr virus
Visceral leishmaniasis
Receptive anal intercourse
Trisha Morrison, widow of heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison has been fighting for the truth given that the passing of her husband at the beginning of September, 2013. Tommy tested optimistic on an HIV test in 1996 and several individuals believed that the wellness issues he was struggling from and that eventually led to his death were the trigger of him getting HIV contaminated and struggling from superior AIDS. The truth is that the negligence of the hospital workers who had been in charge of his care brought on a cascade of events which ended in his death as explained in the following press release from Trisha Morrison.
“PRESS RELEASE TO THE SPORTWORLD – MEDIA – PUBLIC TOMMY “THE DUKE” MORRISON
“Tommy Morrison is not too long ago deceased, and the physician who attended him at his death has unequivocally established that Mr. Morrison DID NOT die from AIDS, nor was Mr. Morrison discovered to be infected with HIV. Thus, it would each be irresponsible and inexcusable for web sites and authors of content articles to fail to publicly acknowledge the details, as stated over.
“A physician was instructed to take samples of Tommy Morrison’s blood, at the time of his death these samples had been examined by the hospital’s Division of Surgical Pathology, and were very carefully imaged employing electron microscopy (EM). The resulting report, as produced by the pathologist and attending doctors, states the following (this is a direct quote):
“”Rapid Electron Microscopy Evaluation: No viral particles identified.”
“”Electron Microscopy of Buffy Coat Layer: The electron micrographs contained monocytes, lymphocytes, occasional neutrophils and nucleated red cells…there is focal thickening of the cytoplasmic membrane nevertheless no retroviral budding is existing. The cytoplasm includes Golgi apparatus, and occasional strands of rough endoplasmic reticulum, with no abnormality. No retroviral inclusions or tubular aggregates have been existing. The pericytoplasmic space was examined. No retroviral particles have been observed.”
“”Final Diagnosis: Monocytic cells steady with peripheral blood buffy coat layer. No viral particles noticed.”
“Tommy Morrison died of problems secondary to many years of health care mismanagement, soon after obtaining initial been falsely diagnosed as being “HIV- positive” and then falsely diagnosed and handled for possessing HIV-AIDS. This epic tragedy Have to be effectively acknowledged by the sporting industry (particularly the World Boxing Association, and ESPN) and effectively reported on, to the Public”
“Respectfully,
“Dr. Jonas Moses “(technical/scientific consultant to Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Morrison)”
Launched To The Press: October 2, 2013 with the Permission of Mrs Trisha Morrison E-mail Speak to: Trisha Morrison on TommyTheDukeMorrison@yahoo.com”
Trisha Morrison contacted Walter Gardner, Chief, Client Affairs Branch, Division of Communication and Consumer Affairs, Meals and Drug Administration for inquiries with regards to the exams and the science behind HIV only to by no means receive direct solutions to her inquiries. 1 e-mail from Gardner, a response to the inquiries Trisha was asking, was pretty exciting.
“Thank you for your continued interest, but we are not capable to comment on HIV diagnostics not reviewed and accredited by the FDA. As far as licensed HIV screening and diagnostic tests, we have answered all of your queries and presented you with back links to the suitable background details. In fact, all of the publically accessible details on HIV check kits is obtainable on our site at the following website link: [ ]
Since we have offered you with all the data we have to share concerning HIV test kits, we will no longer reply to future e-mail from you on this subject. We are not ready to aid you in figuring out whether or not or not your husband truly had an HIV infection.
Walter Gardner
Chief, Consumer Affairs Branch
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research”
—
“Mr. Gardner -
Thank you for your email.
Thank you for providing me with no matter what info the FDA has with regards to ”HIV.”
I appreciate your try to react despite your/FDA lack of understanding whether or not antibodies are contagious or not and your lack of scientific proof of any “isolation or purification” of the actual “HIV Virus”.
I quote your e-mail below:
“We are not able to aid you in identifying whether or not or not your husband really had an HIV infection.”
I would like to thank you and the FDA for your written confirmation above that no “FDA licensed/approved HIV tests” are capable to help in determining whether or not or not a person really has “HIV” infection.
As Chief you should possibly report that to the head of the FDA so that you can erase the word “diagnostic” off your web site for the safety of the standard public.
Mr.Gardner – if you and the FDA are unable to figure out HIV infection then you and the FDA are certainly not in a position to figure out the presence of “antibodies” to an HIV infection.
Mark 4:22..For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and what ever is concealed is meant to be brought out in the open”
Most helpful – I will certainly quote you in all my future interviews and press releases.
God Bless
Trisha Morrison”
.
///
.
We are not able to help you in identifying no matter whether or not your husband truly had an HIV infection? Anyone can do some simple analysis on the internet and recognize that HIV exams approved by the FDA are labelled as diagnostic tests. If the tests are labelled as diagnostic, specific to HIV and highly exact as claimed why can not the FDA assist in identifying whether or not Tommy had an HIV infection? At least they could of stated that contemplating the accuracy of the diagnostic test, Tommy was HIV contaminated but that there are quite uncommon cross reactions which is up to the medical professional to recognize and rule out after examining the patient. The scary part is that the physician who gave Tommy the check admits to in no way have diagnosed him with HIV and that it’s up to the labs to truly come to the conclusion of a diagnosis while the lab says it’s the medical doctor who need to be responsible for the diagnosis.
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The fallacies behind HIV testing and the total HIV/AIDS paradigm is some thing of monumental proportions and a lot of who are conscious of this issue consider it a crime towards humanity. The CDC is urging doctors to incorporate HIV testing as part of their patient’s healthcare. President Barack Obama’s HIV Care Continuum Initiative calls for mandatory HIV testing for every person 15 to 65. Many men and women appear to care far more about other well being issues than they do about HIV due to the fact they believe it does not influence them and a lot of have forgotten about this situation altogether or do not think it to be the deadly plague it utilised to be several years ago ahead of the development of new antiretroviral therapies.
.
A optimistic HIV test for a lot of individuals is devastating. The fear of the virus itself is ample to cause sickness and psychiatric troubles in folks as well as destroying relationships, families, careers etc. People who have been labelled HIV constructive are unable to get non biased healthcare due to the fact no matter what is the underlying situation of the health care situation they may be struggling from, all the medical doctor can see is the virus.
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The antiretroviral medicine itself is very toxic and triggers a record of debilitating and deadly side effects to the point of getting labelled as black boxed medication by the FDA the group in which the most deadly pharmaceuticals are placed. It’s time to begin questioning and demanding answers since rather soon this might be one thing which will affect us all even these who are not considered at danger for contracting HIV.When you think about all the possible cross reactions, the non specificity of the check and that a good end result could probably ruin your life would you consider an HIV test?
‘A 2009 research published in the BMJ located no proof that screening ladies aged 20-24 diminished the incidence of cervical cancer at age 25-29.’ Photograph: Alamy
The household of a young lady who was denied a smear test and tragically died of cervical cancer are campaigning to reduced the cervical screening age to 16 (it is currently 25 in England). At the last count the petition had far more than 130,000 signatures.
Sophie Jones was 19 and died completely unnecessarily. She had been suffering from serious stomach pains for months and, on going to the medical professional, had asked for a smear test but been refused simply because of her age. Cervical cancer was diagnosed in November and she died on Saturday. A smear check could have saved her existence. Nonetheless, lowering the cervical screening age to sixteen is a horrible idea and I urge you not to indicator the petition.
Every single now and once more, a young lady dies from cervical cancer and as a result campaigners will get in touch with on the government to lower the age at which cervical screening commences. Their anger that the cancer of their loved 1 went undiagnosed is totally understandable, specifically when, as in Sophie’s case, the patient has presented with signs and symptoms which could indicate cervical cancer. Sophie’s signs meant she ought to have been granted a smear check, but that isn’t going to indicate that all the other women her age should be. Smear exams are not, we overlook, strictly tests at all. Their function is not to diagnose cervical cancer but to try out and avert cancer from creating. This danger is gleaned from cell modifications on the cervix. If you are below the age of 25, the modifications are so great that testing gets to be relatively pointless. 1 in three ladies below the age of 25 will have an abnormal outcome (in contrast to one particular in 14 for ladies in excess of 25). It has been located once more and once more that 25 is the tipping stage at which the advantages of cervical screening outweigh the hazards. This is why the age need to not be lowered – the variety of false positives could lead to numerous younger females currently being referred for agonizing treatment method unnecessarily.
I had an abnormal smear when I was less than 1 month past my 25th birthday, and I can testify that the therapy is painful. With out wanting to go into also considerably detail, think about becoming scraped out with an electrically charged spoon. The radio was taking part in even though they did it. If I did not detest Coldplay then, I surely do now.
Certainly when I received the letter I imagined I had cancer. I did not realise that most cell alterations are standard and that possessing a pesky fluctuating cervix does not imply that you are going to die. Even though I am glad I had a smear check, I am mindful that had I taken it a month earlier, in all probability they would have sent me away. It was not a pleasant knowledge and it did, to an extent, traumatise me. It’s certainly not one thing I would wish unnecessarily on a teenage woman.
The a lot more you commence talking about your abnormal smear, the more you hear the phrases “yeah, me also”. I have lost count of the quantity of ladies who have informed me their stories. Most didn’t have cancer and didn’t even need to have treatment. Lowering the age would indicate a lot of a lot more “me toos”.
There is a school of thought which argues that females shouldn’t have smear exams at all. I do not subscribe to that but studies have shown that the bulk do not have any benefit. The likelihood of getting an abnormal end result is significantly greater than the probability that you’ll get cancer, but for the small proportion of women who do go on to produce cancer, a smear is vital.
Thus far, health-related proof does not recommend a need to lower the age for cervical screening. A 2009 examine published in the BMJ identified no proof that screening girls aged twenty-24 lowered the incidence of cervical cancer at age 25-29. In other words, cervical screening at this age has small or no affect on charges of invasive cancer up to the age of 30.
It’s straightforward to get swept up in the emotion of a campaign this kind of as that of Sophie’s family members – her death was preventable and her physician failed her. But, as with numerous factors, education and bettering entry holds the important. Females need to have to be taught not to panic so a lot when they get an abnormal end result and to recognise signs and symptoms – it is a scandal that we are this unwell-informed about our very own bodies. Physicians need to be reminded how to react when young individuals present indications of the illness, and we need to be producing sure that teenagers are receiving all three HPV jabs, particularly people from non-white ethnic groups. Creating sure these measures are taken would be a fitting tribute to Sophie.
“We already have the technical abilities to assess males for a number of mutations at after, so all that stays is for us to do additional operate to show that choosing up harmful mutations early can conserve lives. If so, then in the long term, genetic testing might be essential as portion of the prostate cancer care pathway.”
Scientists tested blood samples from 191 British men with prostate cancer who had at least three family members affected by the ailment. Fourteen carried “loss of function” mutations in their DNA that completely stopped a gene functioning. Having any one particular of these flaws substantially boosted the possibilities of creating invasive, spreading prostate cancer.
Ladies with a robust loved ones historical past of breast cancer are routinely examined for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene defects, each of which drastically boost their possibilities of building the ailment.
The image is more complicated for prostate cancer, which seems to be linked to a multiplicity of genetic mutations.
They assortment from ferocious “tiger” prostate cancers that could cut lifestyle short, to “pussycat” cancers that are slow-expanding and can safely be left untreated whilst their progress is monitored.
Regardless of massive advances in remedy in the past ten to twenty years, all around 11,000 of the forty,000 males diagnosed with prostate cancer every single year in the Uk die from the illness. Amongst the impacted genes had been BRCA1 and BRCA2, variant varieties of which are implicated in the two breast and ovarian cancer. Four of the mutations had been recognized in the BRCA2 gene.
Among the examine participants, males with one of the mutations had been identified to be 13 times much more at threat of having substantial-grade tumours or cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes or travelled beyond the prostate gland to other organs.
Dr Iain Frame, of the charity Prostate Cancer United kingdom, which component-funded the study, said: “These final results are interesting as they include to the expanding excess weight of proof that males with a household history of prostate cancer who possess specific genes may possibly be at higher danger, delivering us with yet another critical piece of the jigsaw.”
The research is published in the British Journal of Cancer.
There’s no query that infant and kid safety seats have assisted slash highway death tolls in current years. When set up and employed properly, the National Highway Site visitors Security Administration says safety seats can minimize fatalities between infants by up to 71 percent and 54 percent for toddlers. Sadly motor motor vehicle crashes nevertheless stay the variety one result in of death among youngsters.
As part of its ongoing efforts to aid lessen serious injuries among the nation’s youngest motor-automobile passengers, NHTSA recently announced it is searching to improve the federal specifications for child automobile-seats offered in the U.S. by requiring them to pass a side-influence crash check.
Auto seats would be affixed to a specially developed test sled and subjected to a “T-bone” collision in which the front of a automobile going thirty mpg strikes the side of a modest auto traveling at 15 mph. Test dummies simulating each a twelve-month infant and a 3-yr outdated toddler would be used and all security seats would be needed to safeguard a child’s head and chest from crash forces. NHTSA estimates that the new guidelines could save five lives and avert 64 injuries each year.
(Photograph credit score: stevendepolo)
“Car seats are an crucial instrument for retaining younger youngsters safe in cars and have a confirmed track record of saving lives,” says NHTSA acting administrator David Friedman. “Today we continue to build on our comprehensive little one seat safety program by incorporating side-effect crash protection for the initial time.”
Assuming they are implemented in the coming months, auto-seat makers would subsequently have a 3-year time frame in which to make any style alterations essential to pass the check and comply with the new regulations.
This is all fine and well, and we’re surely all for doing whatever it takes to safeguard a vehicle’s most valuable cargo, but even with greater types and stricter solution testing there stays two wild cards in the deck: Mom and Dad. A research carried out by the AAA Chicago Automobile Club determined that three out of four automobile youngster seats are being improperly utilised or set up. This kind of infractions variety from not fastening a seat tightly enough to moving children out of infant or child seats ahead of it’s otherwise prudent.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants and toddlers trip in a rear-dealing with auto seat until age two (or till they reach the seat’s fat and height limits), moving to a front-dealing with seat with a harness till at least age four, and then into a seatbelt-positioning booster seat right up until they’ve reached 4 feet, 9 inches tall and are at least eight years previous. The AAP even more recommends kids who’ve out grown their booster seats continue to trip the back seat till they’re at least 13 many years old.
Right here, according to AAA Chicago, are the twelve most typical blunders parents make with regard to child auto seats:
Moving a youngster out of a booster seat too soon. Seatbelts are designed to restrain grownups, not kids. Based on the child’s physical development, a seat belt will not match properly until he or she is among the ages of eight and 12.
Not installing the seat tightly enough. A kid’s seat shouldn’t slide front-to-back or side-to-side, and there shouldn’t be far more than an inch of “wiggle room” in the seat belt.
Harness straps are also loose. Little one seat straps must be straight and flat and adjusted tightly enough to totally restrain a kid in a crash.
The harness retainer clip is set as well low. This should be set at armpit degree for appropriate restraint.
Moving a infant into a forward-dealing with seat prematurely.
Allowing a youngster below 13 to ride in the front seat.
Neglecting the best tether. This secures a forward dealing with seat to the auto and keeps the best of the seat from moving forward in a crash when a child’s head and neck could otherwise snap forward with excessive force.
Incorporating padding, toys or mirrors to a car seat. This kind of items might interfere with the seat’s performance or could come loose and turn into hazardous projectiles in a collision.
Putting in a automobile seat through a vehicle’s built-in “LATCH” (Reduced Anchors and Tethers for Young children, essential in all designs since 2002) in the center position, when it is otherwise not authorized by the automaker – verify the owner’s manual for particulars.
Carrying unsecured items – which includes pets – in the automobile. Once again, these can turn into injury-inflicting projectiles beneath sudden braking.
Putting in a vehicle seat making use of each a car’s LATCH connection and a seatbelt. The AAA says mothers and fathers must use a single technique but not the two, as they typically work towards each other in a crash.
Making it possible for children to wear bulky coats even though secured in a car seat. This can generate undue slack in the harness method – it is much better to place blankets more than youngsters in the car for warmth.
Having moved a couple of youngsters ourselves by way of numerous auto security seats buckled in the back seats of hundreds of manufacturers’ test cars and trucks over the many years we’d include 1 important caveat: Make confident the vehicle seat is as considerably a excellent match for your motor vehicle as it is for your kid. The bolstering and cushioning in some designs is far more hospitable to specified kid-seat designs than others. And ditch that comely coupe – select a vehicle that functions a wide-opening rear door that makes it straightforward to appropriately set up a seat and restrain the kid. However they even now endure a “soccer mom” social stigma, minivans with their huge sliding rear doors perform ideal in this regard, specifically in crowded parking plenty in which door clearance can otherwise be slim.
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