Bowel screening 'cuts cancer deaths in Scotland by more than 25pc'

 

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Last updated 09 November 2011



Bowel screening has had a noticeable effect on the number of cancer deaths in Scotland, a study shows.

Researchers at the Bowel Screening Research Centre in Dundee found that the number of bowel cancer deaths was 27 per cent lower among men who had taken part in screening than in men who had not.

The study, which was presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, is the first to reveal the impact of population-based screening with the faecal occult blood test (FOBt).

The test kit is mailed to eligible people, who are then able to complete it at home and post it back to the lab for analysis.

Dr Jane Cope, director of the NCRI, said: 'These figures are evidence that the bowel cancer screening programme is helping to lower the number of deaths from the disease.

'It's expected that when all of the national screening programmes across the UK have been up and running for a couple of years, that similar results will be seen for the whole of the UK.'

Hazel Nunn, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, explained that the test can detect growths in the bowel before they develop into cancer or cause symptoms.

She advised: 'It's really important to take up the opportunity to use the free bowel screening kit when it comes through your door.'

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Salt reduction 'may cause increase in cholesterol'

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Last updated 10 November 2011


Reducing the amount of salt in your diet may cause an increase in cholesterol levels, new research suggests.

But scientists at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) insist that consumers should follow existing guidelines on salt consumption until further research has been carried out.

At present, adults are advised to consume no more than 6g of salt per day, as higher levels may increase the risk of high blood pressure.

However, a review by scientists in Denmark, published in the American Journal of Hypertension, found that a low intake of salt may also cause significant increases in cholesterol and other compounds that have an adverse effect on heart health.

BHF heart health dietician Tracy Parker said: 'These findings aren't conclusive but they do highlight the complexities of how diet impacts on our risk of cardiovascular disease.

'As the scientists themselves say we'll need more research to confirm these findings, and understand better how they might need to be interpreted into practical guidelines.'

In the meantime, Ms Parker said people should continue to limit their salt intake to 6g (about one teaspoon) per day.
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'Mini stroke' may reduce life expectancy

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Last updated 11 November 2011


People who have a transient ischaemic attack (TIA or 'mini stroke') have an elevated risk of premature death, new research has found.

Scientists at the University of New South Wales and Ingham Institute in Australia looked at the medical records of 22,157 people, all of whom had been hospitalised with a TIA between July 2000 and June 2007.

Participants were followed for at least two years to see if they survived.

The researchers found that at one year after their TIA, 91.5 per cent of patients were still alive, compared with an expected survival rate of 95 per cent for the general population.

At five years, survival among TIA patients was 13.2 per cent lower than expected, and by the time nine years had passed, TIA patients' survival was 20 per cent lower than expected.

People who were older at the time of their TIA were found to be more likely to die than their younger counterparts.

Dr Melina Gattellari, whose findings are published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, said: 'People experiencing a TIA won't die from it, but they will have a high risk of early stroke and also an increased risk of future problems that may reduce life expectancy.'

She added that patients and doctors should 'intensely manage' lifestyle and medical risk factors following a TIA.

Approximately 65,000 people have a first TIA each year in the UK, according to the Stroke Association.

Patients who believe they may be experiencing a TIA - symptoms include temporary facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems - are urged to seek immediate medical attention.

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Experts call for increase in lung cancer surgery

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Last updated 14 November 2011


A greater number of patients with lung cancer should be offered surgical treatment, experts say.

Researchers at the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) and King's College London believe thousands of lives could be saved if more patients underwent surgery.

An analysis of data on more than 77,300 lung cancer patients in England, all of whom were diagnosed between 2004 and 2006, revealed great variation across the country in the percentage of patients who had surgery.

Areas with the highest rates of surgery typically had the best survival rates and the researchers calculated that more than 5,400 lives could have been extended during the three-year period if all areas had boosted their surgery rates to those achieved by the best-performing areas.

The findings are published in the European Journal of Cancer and follow recent calls from the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery to boost lung cancer surgery rates.

Co-author Dr Mick Peake said: 'For the majority of lung cancer patients, surgery is the only way to give them a chance of being cured, but England still lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to operating on these patients.'

Sarah Lyness, executive director of policy and information at Cancer Research UK, said that all lung cancer patients who would benefit from surgery should be given the option.

'And we must work towards diagnosing lung cancer early enough so that surgery is a viable option,' she added.

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Adolescent alcohol consumption 'may increase breast cancer risk'

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Last updated 14 November 2011

Adolescent girls with a family history of breast cancer may be able to reduce their own risk by limiting their intake of alcohol, new research suggests.

Scientists at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston analysed data on women who were aged between nine and 15 years in 1996.

Participants completed questionnaires every year between 1996 and 2001, followed by additional surveys in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The researchers found that adolescent girls with a family history of breast cancer were more likely to develop benign breast disease - a known risk factor for breast cancer - as young women if they regularly consumed alcohol.

Biostatistician Dr Catherine Berkey, whose findings are published in Cancer journal, said: 'Our study suggests that adolescent females already at higher risk for breast cancer, in light of their family history, should be aware that avoiding alcohol may reduce their risk for benign breast disease as young women.'

The expert added that a reduced risk of benign breast cancer 'might be accompanied by reduced breast cancer risk later in life'.

Earlier this month, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a link between low levels of alcohol consumption and a small increased risk of breast cancer.

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One in five people with diabetes 'reluctant to discuss their condition'

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Last updated 14 November 2011


A significant proportion of people with diabetes do not feel comfortable discussing their illness, new research suggests.

A poll of 2,000 people, conducted by Onepoll on behalf of price comparison service Confused.com, revealed that more than a fifth (22 per cent) of people with diabetes are reluctant to tell people about their condition.

Twenty-six per cent of respondents admitted they did not really understand what diabetes was, yet 31 per cent of people knew someone with the disease.

Matt Lloyd, head of life insurance at Confused.com, warned that people who fail to tell their insurer about their diabetes could invalidate their policy.

He revealed: 'Having a condition such as diabetes does not always mean you cannot get life insurance.

'Particularly if a person with diabetes is controlling their condition as directed by their doctor it is possible that they may be able to get a policy put in place.'

The survey follows recent research by Diabetes UK, which revealed that one in three people with diabetes keep their condition a secret from others.

The charity warned that nearly one million people in the UK could therefore be risking their health by failing to share the physical and psychological impact of the disease.


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Study supports omega-3 supplements in pregnancy

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Last updated 15 November 2011


Women who take omega-3 supplements during pregnancy are less likely to give birth prematurely and their children are less likely to have problems with cognitive and language development, a large clinical study has found.

Research funded by the Australian government looked at almost 2,400 pregnant women between 2005 and 2010.

Some of the women were given omega-3 supplements from the 19th week of pregnancy until birth, while others received a placebo (dummy pill).

The researchers found that omega-3 supplementation was associated with a 50 per cent reduction in very early pre-term deliveries and a 35 per cent drop in the incidence of low birth-weight babies.

In addition, they observed that infants whose mothers took omega-3 were less likely to be slow to develop cognitive and language skills, while supplemented women were less likely to experience postnatal depression.

Commenting on the research, Oxford University's Dr Alex Richardson said: 'In this trial - the largest of its kind - highly significant reductions were found in many factors that can adversely affect children's development and wellbeing over their lifetimes.'

Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in oily fish, such as salmon, fresh tuna and mackerel.


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UK's oesophageal cancer rate 'highest in Europe'

 

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Last updated 15 November 2011


The UK has the highest rate of oesophageal cancer in Europe, new figures show.

According to a league table of cancer rates compiled by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), about 6.4 in every 100,000 people in the UK develop the disease every year.

This compares with the European average of 3.3 in every 100,000 people - a fact that experts believe may be down to the UK's high levels of alcohol consumption and obesity.

Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science at the WCRF, said: 'The fact that the UK has the highest rate of oesophageal cancer in Europe is a real concern because it is a type of cancer that has a particularly low survival rate.'

The expert also noted that oesophageal cancer is 'particularly preventable', as the majority of cases could be avoided by eating a healthy diet, limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking.

She added: 'We need to get the message across that people can make a big difference to their risk of oesophageal cancer risk by making relatively straightforward lifestyle changes.'

Another lifestyle change that Britons should endeavour to make is not eating too much red and processed meat.

According to the WCRF, there is now 'convincing' evidence that both red and processed meat increase the risk of bowel cancer and the charity advises people to limit consumption to 500g (cooked weight) of red meat a week, and to avoid processed meat altogether.


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Patients' own stem cells 'treat heart failure'

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Last updated 16 November 2011


Scientists have shown it is possible to treat patients with heart failure by using their own stem cells to repair damaged areas of heart tissue.

A research team at the University of Louisville in the US have tested the procedure on 16 patients, all of whom had heart failure following a previous heart attack. An additional seven patients received standard care.

Patients' cardiac stem cells (CSCs) were extracted during bypass surgery, grown in the laboratory over a number of months, and injected back into the damaged areas of the heart.

The researchers found that the heart's pumping efficiency, or 'ejection fraction', had improved by more than 12 per cent after one year in eight of the patients.

Some degree of improvement was seen in all patients whose progress was followed.

Researcher Professor Roberto Bolli, whose findings are published in the Lancet medical journal, said: 'While we do not yet know why the improvement occurs, we have no doubt now that ejection fraction increased and scarring decreased.

'If these results hold up in future studies, I believe this could be the biggest revolution in cardiovascular medicine in my lifetime.'

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said that many patients are left with a badly damaged heart following a heart attack.

Commenting on the latest research, he said: 'It is too early to tell if this will prove to be a useful treatment for heart failure.'

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Smoking ban 'should be extended to cars'

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Last updated 16 November 2011


Smoking should be banned in private motor vehicles, according to the British Medical Association (BMA).

The organisation has reviewed the scientific evidence on second-hand smoke in cars and concluded that it poses a significant health risk, particularly to children and older people.

This is because children have under-developed immune systems and absorb more pollutants, while older people are more prone to respiratory problems.

Research suggests that the levels of toxins when a person smokes inside a car are 25 times higher than in a smoky bar.

This means that both smokers and non-smoking drivers and passengers are exposed to extremely high levels of harmful chemicals.

In light of its research, the BMA is urging the UK government to introduce new legislation banning smoking in private vehicles.

The organisation's director of professional activities, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: 'Every year in England there are over 80,000 deaths that are caused by smoking.

'We are calling on UK governments to take the bold and courageous step of banning smoking in private vehicles.'

The British Heart Foundation said that it supports any legislation that protects children from second-hand smoke.

Maura Gillespie, the charity's head of policy and advocacy, noted: 'Passengers in smoke-filled cars, including children, breathe in more pollutants than anywhere else.

'There is already clear evidence that passive smoking increases the risk of a number of serious health problems.'

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Severity of heart attack 'depends on time of day'

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Last updated 21 November 2011


The size and subsequent damage caused by a heart attack appears to vary depending on the time of day or night, new research has found.

Scientists at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation in the US analysed data on 1,031 patients, all of whom had previously suffered a heart attack.

Among these, they identified 165 patients who had experienced their first heart attack and had narrowed arteries.

The researchers discovered that the size of an individual's heart attack was linked to the time of day that they experienced the attack.

Patients who had their heart attack between 01:00 and 05:00 tended to suffer the greatest level of injury - around 82 per cent worse than levels seen at the time of least injury.

The findings, which are published in the journal Circulation Research, echo those seen in earlier studies on animals.

Senior author Dr Jay Traverse, a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, said: 'It is important to understand that the heart's ability to protect itself against more severe damage varies over a 24-hour cycle.

'Identifying those protective changes may be particularly relevant for pharmaceutical manufacturers that are seeking to develop cardio-protective drugs.'

There are around 124,000 heart attacks in the UK each year, according to the British Heart Foundation, with one in three patients dying before they reach hospital.

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People with early Alzheimer's 'more likely to have low BMI'

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Last updated 22 November 2011



Scientists have found that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease may be more likely to have a low body mass index (BMI) than those who are dementia-free.

Researchers at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in the US studied 506 people, using advanced brain imaging techniques and analyses of their cerebrospinal fluid to look for signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Participants included a range of people, from those with no memory problems to individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers discovered that people with no memory problems who had biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease were more likely to have a low BMI than those without the biomarkers.

Study author Dr Jeffrey Burns, whose findings are published in Neurology journal, said: 'These results suggest Alzheimer's disease brain changes are associated with systemic metabolic changes in the very earliest phases of the disease.

'This might be due to damage in the area of the brain called the hypothalamus that plays a role in regulating energy metabolism and food intake.'

Dr Anne Corbett, research manager at the Alzheimer's Society, said that it is not yet clear whether a low BMI is part of Alzheimer's disease or a side-effect of the illness.

She added that more work is needed before scientists can say for sure whether the findings could be used to develop better ways of diagnosing the early stages of Alzheimer's.


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Moderate alcohol intake 'may cut heart disease risk'

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Last updated 24 November 2011

 

 

Studies have consistently shown that a moderate intake of alcohol can help to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease, an expert has said.

Linda Main, a registered dietician and nutritionist at Heart UK - The Cholesterol Charity, said that people should consider drinking one to three units per day to reduce their risk of poor heart health.

She revealed: 'Alcohol increases the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the blood, a form of good cholesterol.

'The beneficial effect is small and insufficient to merit alcohol consumption in those that currently abstain. However, heavy alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease.'

Ms Main noted that the type of alcoholic beverage appears to be irrelevant - a claim that is supported by a recent Italian study.

While a large body of research indicates a link between wine drinking and reduced risk, the latest analysis in the European Journal of Epidemiology discovered that a moderate intake of beer could also cut people's chances of developing heart disease by 31 per cent.


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Seniors urged to maintain high-quality diet

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Last updated 24 November 2011

Older people should ensure they have a healthy and balanced diet to prevent a range of health problems, it has been claimed.

Laura Williams, a diet and fitness expert, said that milk, yoghurt and cheese provide a good source of calcium, which is important to maintain bone health.

Red meat is also a valuable part of the diet, as it can help to prevent anaemia - a common problem in older people.

Fibre is another dietary component that should not be neglected in later life, as this reduces the risk of constipation and digestive complaints. Fibre-rich foods include fruit, vegetables, whole grains and beans.

Ms Williams noted: 'High-fat or sweet and salty foods can be tempting, especially if you're suffering with a poor appetite, but there can be risks involved if too much poor-quality food is eaten.

'Excess salt can raise blood pressure and cause water retention, while an excess of saturated fat can have a detrimental effect on heart health.'

The expert made her comments after a study in Neurology journal found that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease are more likely to have a low body mass index (BMI) than those who are free from dementia.


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Meat consumption linked to prostate cancer

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Last updated 24 November 2011





People who regularly eat beef mince or processed meat appear to be more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer, scientists say.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, studied the meat-eating habits of approximately 1,000 men.

They discovered that those with a high intake of ground beef or processed meat were more likely to develop prostate cancer and had a heightened risk of an aggressive form of the disease.

Grilling and barbequing were also found to be associated with an increased risk.

The findings, which are published in the journal PLoS One, may be due to the higher levels of cancer-causing chemicals that occur when meat is prepared in this way.

'Higher intake of well-done grilled or barbequed red meat and ensuing carcinogens could increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer,' the study authors concluded.

Known risk factors for prostate cancer include age, a family history of the disease and racial background, with black and mixed-race men having a greater risk than white and Asian men.


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Regular exercisers may enjoy improved sleep

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Last updated 23 November 2011




People who regularly take exercise tend to enjoy better sleep and be more alert during the daytime than those who rarely indulge in physical activity, a study has found.

Scientists at Oregon State University analysed data on more than 2,600 people, aged 18 to 85, in order to investigate the links between exercise and sleep quality.

They found that people who took 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week typically benefited from a 65 per cent improvement in the quality of their sleep.

In addition, active people tended to report less daytime sleepiness than those who did little exercise.

The findings - which are published in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity - were consistent even after age, body mass index (BMI), smoking status and other factors had been taken into account.

Assistant professor Paul Loprinzi, who is now based at Bellarmine University, said: 'Our findings demonstrate a link between regular physical activity and perceptions of sleepiness during the day, which suggests that participation in physical activity on a regular basis may positively influence an individual's productivity at work.'

NHS figures suggest that just 39 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women met the recommended levels of exercise - at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on at least five days per week - in 2008.

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