General Practitioner News and Research

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CRF initiates Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in AMI II trial

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) today announced the initiation of the HORIZONS-AMI II randomized trial, evaluating Promus Element platinum-chromium everolimus-eluting stents versus Omega bare-metal stents in patients with heart attack undergoing primary angioplasty with bivalirudin anticoagulation.

28 Mar 2012

Patients with bowel cancer have poor survival rates

Almost 10 per cent of bowel cancer patients die within a month of being diagnosed according to new analysis by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN), published today.

26 Mar 2012

Unique clinic gives new lease of life – solves a family mystery

Isobel Dickinson, 62, of Wadsley, Sheffield, suffers from gluten ataxia – a neurological condition that can affect balance, co-ordination and speech. Until her diagnosis six years ago, little did she know that her difficulty balancing was being caused by sensitivity to gluten.

26 Mar 2012

Serco to provide community health services for NHS Suffolk

Serco has been selected by NHS Suffolk to provide services including district nurses and community hospitals. Serco won the contract worth around £140 million. Services are currently provided by Suffolk Community Healthcare (SCH), part of NHS Suffolk, and will transfer by this autumn.

25 Mar 2012

International study into safety of NSAIDs reaches enrollment milestone

An international study into the safety of some of the most widely used medicines has reached a significant milestone by recruiting its 6,000th patient.

22 Mar 2012

Aspirin may prevent cancer metastasis and halt its progress: Study

Aspirin has numerous benefits. It is already known that it may prevent cancer. Research shows it may also be an effective treatment for halting the disease once it has started. An analysis of five large trials of people who took a daily low dose aspirin showed that among those who developed cancer it reduced its spread to distant organs by 40 to 50 per cent.

21 Mar 2012

New way to accurately test for peanut allergy

Researchers from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and the University of Melbourne have identified a new way to accurately test for peanut allergy.

21 Mar 2012

Closer to effective screening for TB

An Australian scientist will bring effective screening for tuberculosis a step closer with his latest study in Vietnam- where he now lives and works.

21 Mar 2012

Electroconvulsive therapy and how it works in severe depression: Study

Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, has been used in severely and persistently depressed patients from their disabling mood state for more than seven decades. Researchers have searched for the reason why this technique sometimes works in these patients.

20 Mar 2012

47,000 UK women have faulty PIP breast implants

According to Britain's health ministry an additional 7,000 women were fitted with potentially faulty French-made breast implants, raising the total in the U.K.to about 47,000.

18 Mar 2012

Ovarian cancer – push for greater awareness

Women are being warned about ovarian cancer – mostly a silent killer, since many do not know what symptoms to look out for. Each year in the UK around 6,700 women are diagnosed with the disease and more than 4,000 women lose their lives.

12 Mar 2012

Statins remain important for people at high risk of heart attack or stroke

NPS is urging people taking statins to continue to take their medicine as prescribed and to see their doctor if they are unsure about the benefit of the medicine for them.

1 Mar 2012

Counterfeit drugs on the Internet find their way into legitimate pharmacies

Criminal gangs are increasingly using the internet to market life-threatening counterfeit medicines and some have even turned up in legitimate outlets such as pharmacies, according to a review led by Dr Graham Jackson, editor of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, and published in the March edition.

22 Feb 2012

New analysis highlights ongoing scale of tobacco problem among children

Every year around 157,000 children aged 11-15 start smoking - that's enough to fill 5,200 classrooms or make up nearly 14,000 junior football teams. These shocking figures, revealed in a new analysis by Cancer Research UK, highlight the ongoing scale of the tobacco problem, and underline the importance of sustained action to discourage young people from starting to smoke, including by introducing plain packaging for all tobacco products as soon as possible.

22 Feb 2012

Pharmacist-led interventions can help reduce medication errors in primary care

Medication errors are common in primary care but the number of mistakes could be reduced significantly if GPs introduced an in-house pharmacist-led intervention scheme.

21 Feb 2012

PIP breast implant removal and consultation costing the NHS large sums

After the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) breast implant scare nearly 3,000 women have been seen by NHS specialists, of which over 1,000 have had scans and 67 have opted to have the implants removed, according to Department of Health statistics.

20 Feb 2012

Slow walk and poor grip may predict dementia and stroke

According to U.S. researchers the speed of a person’s walk may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life. They also told a conference that grip strength in middle-age was linked to the chance of a stroke. The scientists said more studies were needed to understand the connection.

18 Feb 2012

Most women underestimate effect of asthma during pregnancy

Many pregnant women who suffer from asthma are putting their unborn child's health at risk by failing to use the right medication, according to a University of Adelaide researcher.

18 Feb 2012

Simple tests may help doctors determine risk of dementia, stroke in middle-aged people

Simple tests such as walking speed and hand grip strength may help doctors determine how likely it is a middle-aged person will develop dementia or stroke. That's according to new research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

16 Feb 2012

Mencap accuses hospitals of discriminating against patients with learning disabilities

Mencap - a charity organization claimed today that 74 NHS patients with learning disabilities have needlessly died in the last decade because of discrimination. It accused the health system of failing to provide adequate care to those with learning disabilities.

15 Feb 2012