Healthwise January 2010
Healthwise is a regular column written especially for
laterlife.com members and visitors. Welcome to healthwise
118.
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NEWS AND VIEWS
We should all be delighted at the advances now being made by
scientists, researchers and the medical profession. For 2010 we
will continue to highlight some of the latest developments in
health and medicine.
END TO HANGOVERS
Something many people might have welcomed on New Year’s Day was
a new synthetic substance that can be used as a substitute for
alcohol. A team at Imperial College in London has researched a
new drug which mimics alcohol, giving the pleasant buzz of mild
inebriation but without the risk of a hangover.
The drug was developed from chemicals related to Valium but
there is more testing and licensing to be completed before it
can be used to replace the alcohol in beer, wine and spirits.
HOSPITALS GO OFF AIR
There is growing concern that hospital radios will have to stop
broadcasting when local radio stations stop broadcasting on
analogue by 2015. The switch to digital is expensive and it is
thought that most hospitals will be unable to meet the
switchover costs.
Hospital radio, often run by volunteers, has grown dramatically
in the last two decades and is regarded as providing an
essential service to inpatients.
QUICK CURE FOR HIGH BLOOD
PRESSURE
Details have been reported of a quick and easy operation that
could help to cure high blood pressure. The technique involves
placing tiny burns on a nerve responsible for carrying brain
signals that can cause high blood pressure. These signals, which
inform the kidneys to keep blood pressure raised, are disrupted
and tests suggest blood pressure can be significantly lowered
within three months.
The procedure has already been trialled at the London Chest
Hospital with excellent results.
A FURTHER PROBLEM FROM DEPRESSION
Researchers at the University of California have found that
people suffering from depression are more likely to develop
Alzheimer’s disease.
Their report says that depression hastens the development of the
disease and research shows that older people with depression
suffer a higher level of cognitive impairment than expected from
normal ageing.
A drug called Aricept has been developed that might help slow
down the process, although the medication has not been accepted
for use in the UK by the National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence (NICE).
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
SMELLY REPELLANT
NEW DRUG FOR ANAEMIA
PROSTATE CANCER BREAKTHROUGH
LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR YOU
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