Obesity drug withdrawn due to risk of psychiatric disorders

Drug used by about 3,000 Irish people to treat obesity

A DRUG used by about 3,000 Irish people to treat obesity has been withdrawn from the market after it was found to double the risk of psychiatric disorders, writes Genevieve Carbery

The prescription drug, Acomplia, used in Ireland since 2006, was suspended by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) following a recommendation by the European Medicines Agency yesterday.

"There is an approximate doubling of the risk of psychiatric disorders in obese or overweight patients taking Acomplia compared to those taking a placebo," the agency said in a statement.  more 

Such psychiatric side-effects include depression, sleep disorders, anxiety and aggression, the agency said. Warnings about the side effects have been included in the product information.

Scout motto Be Prepared to include visits to sexual health clinics

Sex guidance will help scouts be prepared

• John Carvel, social affairs editor
• The Guardian, 
• Monday October 20 2008
• Article history

Scouts will for the first time will be given sexual health advice and may be issued with condoms to prevent unprotected sex, under guidelines to be issued today by the Scout Association.

In a new interpretation of the scout motto Be Prepared, visits to sexual health clinics will also be included.

The visits are suggested for explorer scouts aged 14-18 "to break illusions of what these services are and improve the uptake of advice".

The association's chief scout, Peter Duncan, said: "We must be realistic and accept that around a third of young people are sexually active before 16 and many more start relationships at 16 and 17.

"Scouting touches members of every community, religious and social group in the country so adults in scouting have a duty to promote safe and responsible relationships and, as an organisation, we have the responsibility to provide sound advice about how to do that."

The scouting movement has about 400,000 young members in Britain, approximately 85% of them boys.

The association said the new sexual health guidance was designed to help young people develop the confidence, maturity and self-esteem to resist peer pressure to be sexually active until they are ready to make safe and informed decisions.

Other suggested activities for explorer scouts include role plays on learning to say no.  source 

“In-built defence system against HIV in human body”

The Hindu, October 13, 2008

New Delhi: Scientists have decoded an in-built defence system of human body against the HIV, giving a new approach to drug development.

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have unravelled the long-sought atomic structure of an enzyme APOBEC-3G which is capable of stopping HIV at the very first stage of its attack on the body.

“We now understand how this enzyme can interact with DNA,” one of the researchers and a professor at USC Xiaojiang Chen said.

“This understanding provides a platform for designing anti-HIV drugs.”  more 

Jam and jelly join the fight against cancer

http://news.scotsman.com/health/Jam-and-jelly-join-the.4583955.jp
Published Date: 13 October 2008
By Lyndsay Moss
Health Correspondent
AN INGREDIENT found in jelly and jam could help prevent the spread of cancer, research suggested yesterday.
A study found that pectin – a natural fibre found in fruit and vegetables and widely used in food processing – played a role in fighting the progress of the disease. more

No more free treatment at Bowring

tBy Gayathri L, DH News Service, Bangalore: Deccan Herald Ocober 7, 2008

Totally free healthcare would be a thing of the past at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, thanks to the Hospital's now active "autonomy".

Patients availing treatment at Bowring Hospital in the near future, will have to foot bills which is expected to be “almost on par with corporate hospitals,”  a highly placed official revealed. The Hospital has begun charging patients for healthcare services from September 25. Bowring, along with four other government hospitals in Bangalore, were granted autonomous status through a Government Order (HFW19MPS2005) dated November 16, 2006. While the administrative transition had begun then, the financial part  will begin to hurt the patients only now. Till now, Bowring Hospital used to treat 1200 out patients and admit 30 to 40 new in-patients everyday, free of cost. Only a small user fee was charged for admissions and in certain cases, for diagnosis. This was possible with an annual budget of Rs 15 crore, which came from the government.

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Smoking would Kill 83m in China in 25 years

China lung disease 'to kill 83m'

By Jill McGivering  BBC News One in three cigarettes in the world is smoked in China A US study has suggested that more than 80 million people in China will die in the next 25 years as a result of lung disease. The research says the vast majority of those premature deaths are preventable. The study focused on the devastating impact of smoking and the widespread practice of burning wood or coal at home for cooking and heating. The Harvard School of Public Health research looked at a 30-year period, spanning the last five and the next 25. Respiratory disease is already a leading cause of death in China, but this latest study suggests a startling rise. In the 30-year period, it calculates, about 83 million Chinese people will die prematurely of lung disease.  more