Healthwise

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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 2011 we continue to highlight some of the latest developments in health and medicine. 

 

Early detection of Alzheimer’s

Reports from research undertaken at the Alzheimer Disease Research Centre at the University of Pittsburgh say that people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s are twice as likely to fall as healthy people. The report also said the disease might be visible in scans of the eye.

The researchers are looking into ways to detect the disease before memory problems begin so that treatment can be started early. Already brain scans and spinal fluid tests have been found to help early detection of Alzheimer’s, but these tests have proved too expensive for general use.

Another boost for olive oil

New research from France shows that people who use lots of olive oil in their everyday cooking appear less vulnerable to stroke.

The report, which examined the medical records of 7,600 people, compared those who used olive oil either to cook or as a dressing; those who used it both for cooking and as a dressing, and those who never used it. The results showed that the most frequent users of olive oil were 41 per cent less likely to have had a stroke that people who avoided it altogether.

More older people diagnosed with cancer

Cancer rates in the middle-aged have risen by almost a fifth in just one generation. In new figures released by Cancer Research UK, rates of new cancer diagnoses have risen by 16% in men and 34% in women in Great Britain in the periods between the late 1970s and the end of the first decade of this century.

The highest rate of new diagnoses appears to be among people aged 75 and over where there was a 28% rise and in people aged between 60 and 74 where there was a 27% rise. Lifestyles and longevity are among some of the reasons being suggested as being behind the rise.

Brain repair from stem cells

The magic of stem cell research continues. The latest shows that stem cells taken from human noses can help repair damaged brains. The current tests were undertaken in mice, where the implanted cells travelled to the side of the brain damage and settled in, dividing and producing nerve cells.

The long term hope of the French researchers is that the technique can be translated to assist with brain injuries in humans.

More simple drugs are better

A report on the BMJ website says that a joint British and Norwegian study shows that dementia patients could be treated better with simple painkillers than the major mix of antipsychotic drugs that is usually given.

It seems around 150,000 patients in the UK are currently prescribed with unnecessary antipsychotic drugs which include a powerful sedative effect and can increase the risk of stroke. The report says simple painkillers would be a better treatment.

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