Healthwise    December 2010  

Healthwise is a regular column written especially for laterlife.com members and visitors. Welcome to healthwise 129.

For previous articles in the healthwise series visit 'More Healthwise'  

NEWS AND VIEWS
FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH

We should all be delighted at the advances now being made by scientists, researchers and the medical profession. For 2010 we continue to highlight some of the latest developments in health and medicine. 

Healthwise 129

ALTERNATIVE TO WARFARIN

A new drug rivaroxaban could benefit hundreds of thousands of heart patients.

A study of the drug by the American Heart Association says patients with atrial fibrillation (an erratic heartbeat) can reduce their risk by a fifth by taking rivaroxaban rather than warfarin.

Atrial fibrillation is very common among older people and affects around 800,000 people in the UK. It is a serious condition that can cause blood clots and strokes.

Professor Keith Fox, British Heart Foundation professor of cardiology at the University of Edinburgh who was involved in the research, said that the study showed rivaroxaban is simpler to administer than warfarin and patients taking it have fewer strokes and blood clots.

CLEAN BOWLED!

A recent survey carried out by a television station shows that four out of five people in this country do not clean their toilets regularly enough. Health experts confirm that odours and bacteria can build up quickly in and around a toilet, and recommend that in an average family of two adults with children, a toilet should be cleaned every day.

In the survey, it showed that the Scots were the cleanest in their toilet habits, with over a quarter saying they cleaned the bowl once a day; while the Welsh were the least concerned and cleaned their loos just once a month.

LESS PERMANENT DAMAGE FROM HEART ATTACKS

The function of a heart can be improved after an attack with the use of fat derived from stem cells.

A study, at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, used liposuction to extract fat from the abdomen of patients who had suffered heart attacks. They then isolated stem cells and infused them back into the patients within 24 hours of the attack.

The results were compared with a group of patients who had been given placebo treatment, and showed that the patients treated with the stem cells had a 15 per cent reduction in heart muscle damage.

UNDETECTED LUNG PROBLEMS

The British Lung Foundation says that around 3.5 million people in the UK don’t know they have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an umbrella term for lung conditions, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Their research shows that over 29 million people in the UK have never heard of the condition. A number was suffering from the typical symptoms of a nagging cough, wheezing or breathlessness from an activity such as climbing the stairs, but had not linked this to lung disease.

COPD is the UK’s fifth biggest killer, and kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer each year.

SNEEZE FREE WINE

Wine is known to cause allergies in some people, including problems such as sneezing, headaches and even skin rashes. Some reports say the number of people who show allergic reactions to wine is as high as 8 per cent.

Now scientists in Denmark and Italy have investigated the problem, and found that glycoproteins found in wine had molecular structures similar to known plant allergens.
Glycoproteins are proteins covered with sugar that are produced as a consequence of the fermentation process used to make wine from grapes.
The scientists are now looking at whether new wines making techniques could be developed to reduce or remove these allergens.

If in any doubt about any of the information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.

IN THE PREVIOUS EDITION

Better use for beta blockers.
Studies showed that Beta Blockers can slow down the spread of breast cancer

Benefits from salty water
An injection of salty water and steroids may ease 'frozen shoulder'

Olive oil - something to get your teeth into.
Olive oil mouthwashes might be on the way!

Don't mix your medications
Many people take aspirin and ibuprofen at the same time.