Fibre 'helps heart-attack survivors'

30 April 2014 Last updated at 01:53 By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online

If you have had a heart attack, eat plenty of fibre because it may improve your long-term chances of recovery, say US researchers.

Heart-attack survivors were more likely to be alive nine years later if they followed a high-fibre diet, a study in the British Medical Journal found.

Every 10g-per-day increase in fibre intake was linked with a 15% drop in death risk during the study.

Dietary fibre may improve blood pressure and cholesterol, experts say.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

To get more fibre, you can make simple swaps, such as trading white bread for wholegrain versions"

End Quote Victoria Taylor British Heart Foundation

On average, most people in the UK get about 14g of fibre a day, against a target of at least 18g. US experts recommend up to 38g a day.

Fruit, such as bananas and apples, root vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, wholemeal bread, cereals and bran are all good sources of dietary fibre.

A jacket potato and baked beans contain about 10g of fibre; two slices of wholemeal bread about 4g.

Breakfast cereals

A low-fibre diet is associated with constipation and gut diseases, such as diverticulitis and bowel cancer, but it may also have implications for heart health, say US researchers.

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High-fibre foods

• One orange or pear - 3g fibre
• Six dried apricots - 4g
• Jacket potato - 5g
• Bowl of bran - 10g
• Bowl of muesli - 3.5g
• 2 slices of wholemeal bread - 4.2g

Source: NHS

The Harvard School of Public Health team analysed data from two large US studies involving more than 4,000 men and women who had survived a first heart attack and had provided information about their usual diet via questionnaires.

They were followed for an average of almost nine years after their heart attacks, during which time 682 of the women and 451 of the men died.

Chances of survival appeared to be linked with fibre intake, which was mostly from breakfast cereals.

The one in five who ate most fibre had a 25% lower chance of dying from any cause during the nine years after their heart attack compared with the fifth who ate the least.

The high-fibre group was 13% less likely to have a fatal heart attack.

The researchers say the findings point to a simple lifestyle step that people could take, alongside their medication, to improve their long-term health prospects.

Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "High-fibre foods are a key part of a healthy balanced diet, and this study suggests they may have a particular benefit for heart-attack survivors.

"We can't say for sure what caused the fibre benefit seen here, but we do know that, on average, we're not getting enough fibre in our diets.

"Fibre comes from a range of foods, including fruit and veg, beans and lentils, and also from cereal products, which this study found to be particularly beneficial.

"To get more fibre, you can make simple swaps, such as trading white bread for wholegrain versions or opting for higher-fibre breakfast cereals, like porridge or muesli."

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Drug resistance 'global threat'

30 April 2014 Last updated at 13:05 By Pippa Stephens Health reporter, BBC News

Resistance to antibiotics poses a "major global threat" to public health, says a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

It analysed data from 114 countries and said resistance was happening now "in every region of the world".

It described a "post-antibiotic era", where people die from simple infections that have been treatable for decades.

There were likely to be "devastating" implications unless "significant" action was taken urgently, it added.

The report focused on seven different bacteria responsible for common serious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and blood infections.

It suggested two key antibiotics no longer work in more than half of people being treated in some countries.

Continue reading the main story

What we urgently need is a solid global plan of action which provides for the rational use of antibiotics"

End Quote Dr Jennifer Cohn Medecins sans Frontiers

One of them - carbapenem - is a so-called "last-resort" drug used to treat people with life-threatening infections such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and infections in newborns, caused by the bacteria K.pneumoniae.

Bacteria naturally mutate to eventually become immune to antibiotics, but the misuse of these drugs - such as doctors over-prescribing them and patients failing to finish courses - means it is happening much faster than expected.

The WHO says more new antibiotics need to be developed, while governments and individuals should take steps to slow this process.

In its report, it said resistance to antibiotics for E.coli urinary tract infections had increased from "virtually zero" in the 1980s to being ineffective in more than half of cases today.

In some countries, it said, resistance to antibiotics used to treat the bacteria "would not work in more than half of people treated".

Gonorrhoea treatment 'failure'

Dr Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general at WHO, said: "Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill."

He said effective antibiotics had been one of the "pillars" to help people live longer, healthier lives, and benefit from modern medicine.

"Unless we take significant actions to improve efforts to prevent infections and also change how we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics, the world will lose more and more of these global public health goods and the implications will be devastating," Dr Fukuda added.

The report also found last-resort treatment for gonorrhoea, a sexually-transmitted infection which can cause infertility, had "failed" in the UK.

It was the same in Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Slovenia and Sweden, it said.

More than a million people are infected with gonorrhoea across the world every day, the organisation said.

'Wake-up call'

The report called for better hygiene, access to clean water, infection control in healthcare facilities, and vaccination to reduce the need for antibiotics.

Last year, the chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said the rise in drug-resistant infections was comparable to the threat of global warming.

Dr Jennifer Cohn, medical director of Medecins sans Frontiers' Access Campaign, said: "We see horrendous rates of antibiotic resistance wherever we look in our field operations, including children admitted to nutritional centres in Niger, and people in our surgical and trauma units in Syria.

"Ultimately, WHO's report should be a wake-up call to governments to introduce incentives for industry to develop new, affordable antibiotics that do not rely patents and high prices and are adapted to the needs of developing countries."

She added: "What we urgently need is a solid global plan of action which provides for the rational use of antibiotics so quality-assured antibiotics reach those who need them, but are not overused or priced beyond reach."

Professor Nigel Brown, president of the UK Society for General Microbiology, said it was vital microbiologists and other researchers worked together to develop new approaches to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

"These approaches will include new antibiotics, but should also include studies to develop new rapid-diagnostic devices, fundamental research to understand how microbes become resistant to drugs, and how human behaviour influences the spread of resistance."

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Sacking over poor elderly home care

30 April 2014 Last updated at 15:11 By Alison Holt BBC Panorama

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Secret filming by BBC Panorama shows some residents being taunted, roughly handled and one being slapped

One staff member has been sacked and seven suspended from one of England's largest care homes after an undercover probe by BBC Panorama found poor care.

The filming at the Old Deanery in Essex showed some residents being taunted, roughly handled and one was slapped.

The home said it was "shocked and saddened by the allegations".

Care minister Norman Lamb described the images as "absolutely disgusting" and said there "could be a role" for the use of CCTV in care homes.

Care Quality Commission figures seen by the BBC show over a third of homes that received warning notices since 2011 still do not meet basic standards.

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"Start Quote

People shouldn't be getting into this business if they don't care"

End Quote Andrea Sutcliffe Care Quality Commission

Allegations of poor care and mistreatment at the 93-bed home in Braintree, where residents pay roughly £700 per week, were first raised by 11 whistleblowers in August 2012.

Essex County Council put it on special measures for three months until concerns were addressed.

But secret filming by Panorama's undercover reporter over 36 shifts found many of the same sorts of issues reported a year earlier, including:

• a woman slapped by a care worker who had previously been complained about for her poor attitude towards residents

• the same woman, who has dementia and is partially paralysed after a stroke, was also repeatedly mocked and taunted by other care workers

• cries for assistance from a resident suffering a terminal illness ignored as she sought help for the toilet, and her call bell for assistance left unplugged on one occasion

• a resident bed-ridden with a chronic illness left lying in his own excrement after two care workers turned off his call bell without assisting him

Alex Lee, the reporter who conducted the undercover filming, said she saw "many good care workers trying their best" - but also saw some staff "mock, goad, taunt, roughly handle and ignore" elderly residents.

"Some were even left in their own mess for hours," she said.

Minister for care and support Norman Lamb said the images "turn your stomach" and there was a case for considering the use of cameras in care homes.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, he said: "I think there is a real danger that if you think that you can create a good culture and compassionate care through CCTV you will fail completely.

"But I think it is one of the weapons that the Care Quality Commission should consider using and indeed they are considering.

"I think in specific cases where there are allegations or concerns about possible abuse or neglect then there could be a role for it."

Last November, while Panorama was undercover, the home was inspected by the regulator and passed for the first time in 18 months.

When the CQC revisited this February after being told about Panorama's findings, they found too few staff and some residents waiting an "unacceptably long time" for call bells to be answered.

Continue reading the main story

Panorama: Find out more

• Behind Closed Doors: Elderly Care Exposed, BBC One, Wednesday 30 April at 21:00 BST

Anglia Retirement Homes Ltd, which runs the Old Deanery, said the incidents involved a "small number of staff" and were not reflective of the high standards of care it demanded.

A statement said: "As soon as the new management team was made aware of the allegations we took immediate action.

"We hired an independent law firm to carry out a full investigation as a matter of urgency.

"Eight staff were immediately suspended, and have not returned to work, pending a full inquiry.

"Our priority remains the health and wellbeing of our residents and we have more than 200 dedicated members of staff who remain committed to the highest standards of care."

It added: "The care worker responsible for slapping a resident has been summarily dismissed."

Whistle-blowers

The company was taken over by new owners in November 2013.

A former care assistant at another home, who became a whistleblower, said she had experienced problems not being solved. Eileen Chubb runs a charity called Compassion in Care which supports people reporting misconduct in the industry.

She has had nearly 2,000 calls to her helpline in 14 years and she often found repeated complaints about the same problems in the same homes.

"Every day cases are coming in where there has been up to 15 staff, 20 staff, raising concerns, then six years later, more staff raising the same concerns again," she said.

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Andrea Sutcliffe: "I'm shocked and really angry about what Panorama have found"

The CQC said it would work with the care sector to improve standards, but it was determined to ensure problems were addressed.

Its new chief inspector of social care, Andrea Sutcliffe, said she was "shocked and really angry" about the poor care Panorama had found.

She said her "heart goes out" to those affected, but also to the "hundreds of thousands" of good care workers who had been let down by the "small minority".

"People shouldn't be getting into this business if they don't care," she said.

Asked if the CQC's systems were working, she said most care was good and the organisation would act on any concerns raised.

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Undercover reporter Alex Lee worked 36 shifts at the Old Deanery in Essex

Panorama: Behind Closed Doors: Elderly Care Exposed on BBC One on Wednesday 30 April at 21:00 BST and then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

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'Experience dementia via Facebook'

29 April 2014 Last updated at 00:32

Facebook users are being invited to experience what it is like to live with dementia in a bid to raise greater awareness about the disease.

The FaceDementia app, by Alzheimer's Research UK, "takes over" personal Facebook pages, and temporarily erases important memories, mimicking how dementia affects the brain.

Users can watch their personal photos, important details and status updates disappear before their eyes.

Their real page remains intact.

The app does not hold on to any data or scramble a user's real timeline or Facebook information, instead presenting an overlay to show the effects of dementia.

People can also watch short videos featuring people affected by dementia explaining what impact the symptoms, simulated by FaceDementia, have had on them or their relative.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "Facebook's appeal is that it can gather your friends and family and keep them close, with memories and contacts all contained within one space. It also develops a diary of your life since you joined the site and documents your thoughts and musings during that time.

"We wanted to use these Facebook features to illustrate how those thoughts and memories can be confused, or forgotten altogether, as experienced by some of the hundreds of thousands of people across the UK living with dementia.

"Stigma around dementia is due in part to a lack of public awareness and understanding, so FaceDementia will be invaluable in helping people better understand the condition."

She urged people to take part and share the app with their friends and family on Facebook.

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Trust fined £200K for patient death

28 April 2014 Last updated at 15:45

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A judge at Stafford Crown Court said the death of Ms Astbury was tragic and wholly avoidable, as Michele Paduano reports

The health trust which ran Stafford Hospital has been fined £200,000 for failing a diabetic patient who died in its care.

Gillian Astbury, 66, lapsed into a coma at Stafford Hospital after nurses failed to give her insulin. She died there in April 2007.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust admitted health and safety breaches.

A judge at Stafford Crown Court said Ms Astbury's death was tragic and wholly avoidable.

'Routine' neglect

An inquest in 2010 ruled there had been a failure to provide basic care for Mrs Astbury who died after being admitted for fractures to her arm and pelvis.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

This was a wholly avoidable and tragic death of a vulnerable patient who was admitted to hospital for care but died because of the lack of it"

End Quote Mr Justice Haddon-Cave

Two nurses, Ann King and Jeannette Coulson, did not notice her high blood sugar, and she fell into a diabetic coma.

Ms King was subsequently struck off and Ms Coulson was cautioned after a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel found them guilty of misconduct last year.

At Stafford Crown Court, the Trust, which was also ordered to pay £27,000 in costs, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said responsibility for the failures at the time of Mrs Astbury's death lay with senior managers at the Trust, which was criticised by a public inquiry for the "routine" neglect of patients between 2005 and 2009.

"This was a wholly avoidable and tragic death of a vulnerable patient who was admitted to hospital for care but died because of the lack of it," he said.

He added: "As repeated investigations have revealed, there was a systemic failure at Stafford Hospital in relation to two of the most basic tenets of patient care: proper hand-overs between nursing shifts, and proper record-keeping.

"These failures put legions of patients at Stafford Hospital at serious risk. The simple fact is that Mrs Astbury died because she was not given the insulin that she needed."

The Trust is running an annual operating deficit of about £11m and became in April the first foundation trust to go into administration.

'Candid' about failures

Commenting on the court case, deputy chief executive of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, Jeff Crawshaw, said the court case marked "the final stage in what has been a thorough and long-running investigation into the failings which led to her tragic death".

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave faced a tough choice when deciding how much to fine the trust.

He had to send out a clear message that failings of this kind are completely unacceptable, whilst acknowledging the Mid Staffordshire Trust is a very different organisation to the one that caused Mrs Astbury's death.

In the end it was the trust's early admission of guilt which saved it from a much larger fine.

Ultimately though it's not just the Trust which needs to learn the lessons of this heartbreaking episode but the whole of the NHS.

"From the very beginning, we have acknowledged the failings in Mrs Astbury's care, and we have never shied away from our responsibility for what happened to her."

In assessing the size of the fine, the judge said the Trust had shown a high degree of co-operation with the authorities and had been "entirely candid" about its failures.

Mrs Astbury's friend and carer Ron Street said he was saddened that the health executives and line managers in charge at the time of her death would not be prosecuted.

He said: "After six-and-a-half…years in pursuit of justice for Gillian, during which I have too often found myself foolishly attempting to debate common sense with those being forced to defend the nonsensical, I have sufficient remaining sense to know that now is the time to say 'enough is enough'."

Peter Galsworthy, for the Health and Safety Executive, said: "The Trust's systems were simply not robust enough to ensure that staff consistently followed principles of good communication and record keeping. Gillian's death was entirely preventable. She just needed to be given insulin.

"We expect lessons to be learned across the NHS to prevent this happening again."

The HSE confirmed it was investigating two more deaths at the hospital - those of Ivy Bunn, who died in 2008, and Edith Bourne, who died in July 2013.

Following the ruling, assistant Chief Constable Nick Baker, from Staffordshire Police, said the force was continuing to work with other agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to identify the most serious cases between 2005 and 2009 where alleged neglect at the hospital contributed to a patient's death.

To date, none of the cases have resulted in charges from the CPS.

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Half with cancer 'live a decade'

29 April 2014 Last updated at 00:00 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Half of people in England and Wales now being diagnosed with cancer will survive at least a decade - double the rate in the early 1970s, figures show.

New treatments have played a role as well as earlier diagnosis and screening.

But Cancer Research UK, which carried out the research, said the progress showed there needed to be new, more ambitious aims.

It said it wanted to see 10-year survival hit 75% in the next 20 years.

And it promised to increase investment in research by half within the next decade to help achieve that.

Researchers said cancer need no longer be viewed as the "death sentence" it once was with the new figures suggesting a "tipping point" had been reached.

'Significant progress'

The analysis showed that in 1971-2, 50% of people diagnosed with cancer died within a year. Now 50% survive for at least a decade - up from 24% in 1971-2.

But the findings, based on the outcomes for more than 7 million patients, also showed that for some cancers, survival rates were still very low.

For example, just 1% of pancreatic cancer patients and 5% of lung cancer patients can expect to survive for 10 years.

Nonetheless, the overall figures showed there had been significant progress in the way cancer was treated.

The findings have been adjusted to take into account the changing profile of new cancer being diagnosed - there has been a shift away from the more deadly disease such as lung cancer to ones where survival rates tend to be better - so provide a measure of how the care of cancer patients has improved.

Cancer Research UK chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar said: "I don't think we would ever have expected to achieve what we have. We're gradually reversing the tide on this devastating disease.

"But many people still do not survive - we must tackle that."

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Parminder Sangha said she jumped for joy when she was told she was in remission

Researchers said there were a number of reasons for the success, which includes earlier diagnosis.

But if progress is going to continue - and the 75% target achieved - Cancer Research UK identified key areas to focus on. These included investment in personalised cancer treatment, reducing smoking rates and paying particular attention to the cancers with the lowest survival rates.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health, which has itself set targets to improve cancer survival rates in the coming years, said: "We share Cancer Research UK's aspirations for the UK to be the best place in the world to survive cancer.

"We have seen significant improvements in some cancer survival rates, with new and innovative research and earlier diagnosis at the heart of this upward trend."

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Saudi Mers death toll passes 100

28 April 2014 Last updated at 00:11

Saudi Arabia says more than 100 patients infected with the Mers coronavirus have now died since the outbreak began in 2012.

The health ministry said another eight deaths occurred on Sunday, taking the toll to 102.

The acting health minister says three hospitals in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam have been designated specialist centres for treating Mers.

Mers causes symptoms including fever, pneumonia and kidney failure.

The rate of infections is increasing and the World Health Organization (WHO) has offered to help Saudi Arabia investigate infection patterns.

The Saudi health ministry reported the latest deaths in a statement late on Sunday.

Among the victims were a child in the capital, Riyadh, and three people in the western city of Jeddah.

The ministry said it had detected a total of 16 new cases of Mers (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) over the past 24 hours.

Acting health minister Adel Fakieh said the three hospitals designated as specialist centres for Mers treatment can accommodate 146 patients in intensive care.

On Saturday, Egypt recorded its first case - a 27-year-old man who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia.

Correspondents say many Saudis have voiced concerns on social media about government handling of the outbreak.

Last Monday, Saudi health minister Abdullah al-Rabiah was sacked without explanation as the Mers death toll climbed.

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E-cigarette users reach 2 million

28 April 2014 Last updated at 00:43

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The BBC's Graham Satchell observes a university lab test comparing traditional smoking with e-cigarettes

The number of people who use electronic cigarettes in the UK has tripled over the past two years to 2.1 million, a health charity estimates.

It says just over half of current or ex-smokers have now tried electronic cigarettes, compared with 8% in 2010.

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) surveyed more than 12,000 adult smokers.

A separate study found that most e-cigarette users were using them to reduce smoking.

Use of e-cigarettes among people who have never smoked remains small at 1%, Ash said.

Ash has commissioned a series of surveys on electronic cigarette use since 2010, with the latest survey conducted in March.

Continue reading the main story

Smokers are increasingly turning to these devices to help them cut down or quit smoking"

End Quote Deborah Arnott Action on Smoking and Health (Ash)

Of those now estimated to be using electronic cigarettes, around 700,000 are thought to be ex-smokers and 1.3 million to be using them alongside normal cigarettes or tobacco.

Current smokers using the cigarettes regularly have risen from 2.7% in 2010 to 17.7% in 2014.

When ex-smokers were asked why they used electronic cigarettes, 71% said they wanted help giving up smoking. Among smokers, 48% said wanted to reduce the amount of tobacco they smoked and 37% said they used e-cigarettes to save money.

Smoking rate fall

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash, said: "The dramatic rise in use of electronic cigarettes over the past four years suggests that smokers are increasingly turning to these devices to help them cut down or quit smoking. Significantly, usage among non-smokers remains negligible."

Another study, The Smoking Toolkit Study, which covers England, has found that electronic cigarettes are overtaking the use of nicotine products such as patches and gum as an aid to quitting smoking.

It also found that the proportion of smokers who gave up smoking in the past year had increased and smoking rates in England were continuing to fall.

Study leader Prof Robert West said: "Despite claims that use of electronic cigarettes risks renormalising smoking, we found no evidence to support this view.

"On the contrary, electronic cigarettes may be helping to reduce smoking as more people use them as an aid to quitting."

Ms Arnott added: "While it is important to control the advertising of electronic cigarettes to make sure children and non-smokers are not being targeted, there is no evidence from our research that e-cigarettes are acting as a gateway into smoking."

Ash's survey suggests that most electronic cigarettes users, or "vapers", use a rechargeable product with replaceable cartridges or a reservoir.

Simon Clark, director of Forest, a group that supports smokers, said it welcomed the rise of e-cigarettes and was glad people had a choice of what to smoke.

But he suggested that most smokers using e-cigarettes were experimenting with them rather than using them to give up smoking altogether.

"We haven't seen a significant fall in smokers. Most smokers still find electronic cigarettes quite basic and it will take a few more years for the technology to improve."

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Pfizer confirms AstraZeneca bid move

28 April 2014 Last updated at 11:34

US drugs giant Pfizer has confirmed it has contacted AstraZeneca over a possible multi-billion pound takeover.

Pfizer said it made an initial approach in January in an offer worth £58.8bn, but on Saturday had approached AstraZeneca for a second time.

AstraZeneca said the original offer "significantly undervalued" the firm, which employs more than 51,000 staff.

If Pfizer comes up with a successful bid it would be the biggest takeover of a UK firm by a foreign company.

However, AstraZeneca said it was "confident" its strategy would create "significant value" for shareholders on its own.

"The Board remains confident in the ongoing execution of AstraZeneca's strategy as an independent company," it added.

Continue reading the main story

Pfizer's statement this morning is a love letter to AstraZeneca's shareholders.

It talks of "a highly compelling opportunity to realise a significant premium" and offers a "substantial cash payment".

Pfizer also pledges that AstraZeneca shareholders would be able to take up significant rights in any combined company.

Judged by other pharmaceutical deals, any bid of this size would come at a premium of around 30%, presumably on AstraZeneca's undisturbed 17 April share price of £37.81.

With a present market value above £50bn, AstraZeneca would cost Pfizer around £65bn.

Pfizer has the cash, with a multi-billion dollar war chest held off-shore to shield it from American tax laws.

If AstraZeneca does not engage, and it hasn't so far, this bid could turn hostile.

It will be quite a battle.

Pfizer said in a statement that AstraZeneca's refusal to engage meant it was currently "considering its options".

Global player

AstraZeneca manufactures drugs in 16 countries focusing on treatments for diabetes, cancer and asthma as well as antibiotics.

It reported £25.7bn in sales last year, with £3.3bn in pre-tax profit.

In the UK it has eight sites and about 6,700 employees.

Recently it has laid off thousands of staff in an effort to reduce its costs to compensate for a fall in sales due to patent losses on blockbuster medicines.

In April, it posted a drop in first quarter profits after its earnings were by hit by patents expiring on some of its older medicines.

'Compelling opportunity'

Pfizer said its initial offer in January was a combination of cash and shares worth £46.61 per AstraZeneca share, worth £58.8bn in total.

At the time, it represented a 30% premium to AstraZeneca's share price, although AstraZeneca's share price has since increased and on Monday morning it jumped nearly 15% to £46.88p.

Pfizer said the deal was "a highly compelling opportunity" for AstraZeneca's shareholders.

It said if the takeover went through, the combined firm would have management in both the US and the UK, but would list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We have great respect for AstraZeneca and its proud heritage," said Pfizer chairman and chief executive Ian Read.

Pfizer said it would only make a firm offer if AstraZeneca directors voted unanimously in favour of the deal.

Continue reading the main story

"The strategic, business and financial rationale for a transaction is compelling," it added.

Hostile move?

Buying AstraZeneca would give Pfizer, whose drugs include Viagra, access to a number of cancer and diabetes drugs.

However, Justin Urquhart Stewart, head of corporate development at Seven Investment Management, told the BBC the price Pfizer is offering was still too low to secure a deal.

"It's too close to what it is priced at in the market," he said.

"They've tried to talk to the management and gain agreement but that's not happened so they are considering now going directly to the shareholders".

Citi analyst Andrew Baum said he believed there was now a 90% chance that Pfizer would acquire AstraZeneca for at least around £49 a share.

Continue reading the main story

AstraZeneca's £7bn of drugs sold every year accounts for a whopping 2.3% of British goods exports."

End Quote

Linda Yueh, the BBC's chief business correspondent, notes that AstraZeneca is a key UK firm in the area of research and development (R&D) and also in exports.

"AstraZeneca's £7bn of drugs sold every year accounts for a whopping 2.3% of British goods exports," she added.

Pfizer has made other major acquisitions, its most recent being the $68bn (£40.4bn) purchase of Wyeth in 2009.

However, this would mark its biggest foreign acquisition.

It would also be the largest foreign takeover of a British firm, beating some of the more recent deals which include:

• O2 bought by Spain's Telefonica for £18bn in 2005
• Cadbury bought by US-based Kraft for £11.5bn in 2010
• Alliance Boots bought by US investment firm KKR for £11.1bn in 2007
• BAA bought by Spain's Ferrovial for £10.3bn in 2006
• Powergen bought by Germany's E.on for £9.6bn in 2002

However, the BBC's business editor, Kamal Ahmed, warned Pfizer's takeover approach could turn into a lengthy battle.

"If AstraZeneca does not engage, and it hasn't so far, this bid could turn hostile," he said.

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Care needs to 'outstrip' family help

24 April 2014 Last updated at 12:57

The number of older people in England needing care will "outstrip" the number of family members able to provide it by 2017, a think tank has warned.

An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report estimates that by 2030 there will be more than two million people aged 65 and over with no child living nearby to give care if needed.

The IPPR said the country must "build new community institutions" to cope.

The government said it was working to make sure more people got care at home.

The IPPR report estimates that, of the two million people it says will have no child living nearby to care for them in England in 2030, 230,000 will need more than 20 hours of care per week.

'Left to cope'

Clare McNeil, senior research fellow at the centre-left think tank, told the BBC: "There won't be the family members needed to provide the types care that people see at the moment. That will mean there is more pressure on social services, and stretched services like the NHS.

"We need to have a fundamental rethink about the way that we how we look after each other later in life."

She said the government needed to invest in community networks and make it easier for people to combine care and work.

To fill the care "gap", the report suggested the UK should:

• widen the use of "neighbourhood networks", highlighting those run in Leeds by older people and offering activities to reduce social isolation as well as providing care and support
• invest in strengthening community groups in areas with the "weakest record for community-based care"
• follow international examples, highlighting initiatives in Germany, Australia and Japan's 10-year nationwide campaign "to train one million dementia supporters"
• house public services for different age groups, such as childcare and care for the elderly, together in the same buildings as is done in Germany
• strengthen employment rights for carers

'Policy void'

The report also highlights the number of older people providing care, and estimates that the amount of "intensive" care provided by spouses and partners will rise by 90% over the next 15 years.

Continue reading the main story

Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel"

End Quote Jean Mowbray Worcester

It says the average annual cost for those who pay for care is currently £25,000 for home care and £36,000 for a nursing home.

The government said it was working to integrate health and council care services to ensure more older people received care at home.

Helena Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK said it was " absolutely critical" that the government took action to fill the "policy void" around elderly care.

She added: "Our families, society and economy need reliable, affordable, quality care and support services and solid support and rights for those caring to ensure such breakdowns are prevented.

"Support for working parents has transformed in the last decade; the same shift in attitude must now be adopted to dealing with the care of older, seriously ill and disabled loved ones."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Human skin grown in laboratory

24 April 2014 Last updated at 17:37 By Helen Briggs BBC News

Skin grown in the laboratory can replace animals in drug and cosmetics testing, UK scientists say.

A team led by King's College London has grown a layer of human skin from stem cells - the master cells of the body.

Stem cells have been turned into skin before, but the researchers say this is more like real skin as it has a permeable barrier.

It offers a cost-effective alternative to testing drugs and cosmetics on animals, they say.

The outermost layer of human skin, known as the epidermis, provides a protective barrier that stops moisture escaping and microbes entering.

Continue reading the main story

This is a new and suitable model that can be used for testing new drugs and cosmetics and can replace animal models"

End Quote Dr Dusko Ilic King's College London

Scientists have been able to grow epidermis from human skin cells removed by biopsy for several years, but the latest research goes a step further.

The research used reprogrammed skin cells - which offer a way to produce an unlimited supply of the main type of skin cell found in the epidermis.

They also grew the skin cells in a low humidity environment, which gave them a barrier similar to that of true skin.

Skin barrier

Lead researcher Dr Dusko Ilic, of King's College London, told BBC News: "This is a new and suitable model that can be used for testing new drugs and cosmetics and can replace animal models.

"It is cheap, it is easy to scale up and it is reproducible."

He said the same method could be used to test new treatments for skin diseases.

Researcher Dr Theodora Mauro said it would help the study of skin conditions such as ichthyosis - dry, flaky skin - or eczema.

"We can use this model to study how the skin barrier develops normally, how the barrier is impaired in different diseases and how we can stimulate its repair and recovery," she said.

The Humane Society International, which works to protect animals, including those in laboratories, welcomed the research, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Research and toxicology director Troy Seidle said: "This new human skin model is superior scientifically to killing rabbits, pigs, rats or other animals for their skin and hoping that research findings will be applicable to people - which they often aren't, due to species differences in skin permeability, immunology, and other factors."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health atlas shows risks by area

25 April 2014 Last updated at 11:29 By Pippa Stephens Health reporter, BBC News

A new online map of England and Wales allows people to enter their postcode and find their community's risk of developing 14 conditions, such as heart disease and lung cancer.

The map presents population-wide health information for England and Wales.

The researchers at Imperial College London pointed out that it could not be used to see an individual's risk.

It indicated an area's health risk, relative to the average for England and Wales, they stressed.

Twenty-five year study

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

People should definitely not use this atlas to decide where to live"

End Quote Prof Paul Pharoah University of Cambridge

Researchers at Imperial looked at 8,800 wards in England and Wales, each with a population of 6,000 people.

They collected data from the Office for National Statistics and from cancer registries for 1985 to 2009.

Data was then mapped alongside region-by-region variations in environmental factors such as air pollution, sunshine and pesticides.

The data was also adjusted for age, deprivation and to take into account small numbers.

Researchers said this was the first tool of its kind showing this level of detail.

Continue reading the main story

Diseases and conditions included in the study

• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Malignant melanoma
• Bladder cancer
• Leukaemia
• Brain cancer
• Mesothelioma (a type of cancer that can start in the lungs or abdomen)
• Liver cancer
• Coronary heart disease mortality
• COPD mortality
• Kidney disease mortality
• Still birth
• Low birth weight

Dr Anna Hansell, from the UK Small Area Health Statistics Unit, led the research.

She told the BBC: "We tried to present this so people do not jump to the wrong conclusions."

Dr Hansell said people were "fascinated" by the tool when they trialled it.

She added: "The new thing about it is you can go right down to neighbourhood level - beforehand it has been at a broader scale."

Eight communities in Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff, in Wales, and Leeds, Manchester and the Wirral in England had higher patterns of health risks, Dr Hansell said.

She said within those eight communities none stood out as "doing badly for everything", and that the statistics had not been geared up to rank the areas.

Since the study adjusted for deprivation, Dr Hansell said it raised some "surprising" variations which could be explained by changing smoking rates in the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, 33 wards were identified as having a lower risk of disease, such as parts of London, North Norfolk and Suffolk.

Although the researchers adjusted for deprivation, she said, there must be "some lifestyle factors" going on, to account for the variability.

Environmental factors, such as air pollution, accounted for roughly 5-10% of a person's risk of disease, which was significant in terms of a population, Dr Hansell said.

She said she hoped "really important benefits" could come out of further research using the tool and that it would raise questions about disease patterns.

Maps available on the site Continue reading the main story

Prof David Coggon, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Southampton, said the atlas provided a "finer level of spatial resolution" than its predecessors.

But he said there were "shortcomings" in the research, such as the possible of chance variation and the likelihood of distortion by exposure to non-environmental causes of disease, such as smoking and diet, which are not fully explained by deprivation.

Prof Coggon added: "These unavoidable shortcomings do not invalidate the analyses presented, but they are a reason for caution in interpretation."

He said people should not focus on environmental factors, but instead eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and avoid smoking, excessive alcohol, and "unnecessarily risky" behaviours such as dangerous driving.

Prof Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, said: "This atlas does not enable anyone to judge their individual absolute risk.

"People should definitely not use this atlas to decide where to live."

He said it would be "wrong to imply" any causal association between any of the environmental exposures and any of the health outcomes described in the atlas.

Prof Pharoah added: "What these data should do is help researchers identify important hypothesis that should be tested using research designs."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Care needs to 'outstrip' family help

24 April 2014 Last updated at 12:57

The number of older people in England needing care will "outstrip" the number of family members able to provide it by 2017, a think tank has warned.

An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report estimates that by 2030 there will be more than two million people aged 65 and over with no child living nearby to give care if needed.

The IPPR said the country must "build new community institutions" to cope.

The government said it was working to make sure more people got care at home.

The IPPR report estimates that, of the two million people it says will have no child living nearby to care for them in England in 2030, 230,000 will need more than 20 hours of care per week.

'Left to cope'

Clare McNeil, senior research fellow at the centre-left think tank, told the BBC: "There won't be the family members needed to provide the types care that people see at the moment. That will mean there is more pressure on social services, and stretched services like the NHS.

"We need to have a fundamental rethink about the way that we how we look after each other later in life."

She said the government needed to invest in community networks and make it easier for people to combine care and work.

To fill the care "gap", the report suggested the UK should:

• widen the use of "neighbourhood networks", highlighting those run in Leeds by older people and offering activities to reduce social isolation as well as providing care and support
• invest in strengthening community groups in areas with the "weakest record for community-based care"
• follow international examples, highlighting initiatives in Germany, Australia and Japan's 10-year nationwide campaign "to train one million dementia supporters"
• house public services for different age groups, such as childcare and care for the elderly, together in the same buildings as is done in Germany
• strengthen employment rights for carers

'Policy void'

The report also highlights the number of older people providing care, and estimates that the amount of "intensive" care provided by spouses and partners will rise by 90% over the next 15 years.

Continue reading the main story

Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel"

End Quote Jean Mowbray Worcester

It says the average annual cost for those who pay for care is currently £25,000 for home care and £36,000 for a nursing home.

The government said it was working to integrate health and council care services to ensure more older people received care at home.

Helena Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK said it was " absolutely critical" that the government took action to fill the "policy void" around elderly care.

She added: "Our families, society and economy need reliable, affordable, quality care and support services and solid support and rights for those caring to ensure such breakdowns are prevented.

"Support for working parents has transformed in the last decade; the same shift in attitude must now be adopted to dealing with the care of older, seriously ill and disabled loved ones."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Human skin grown in laboratory

24 April 2014 Last updated at 17:37 By Helen Briggs BBC News

Skin grown in the laboratory can replace animals in drug and cosmetics testing, UK scientists say.

A team led by King's College London has grown a layer of human skin from stem cells - the master cells of the body.

Stem cells have been turned into skin before, but the researchers say this is more like real skin as it has a permeable barrier.

It offers a cost-effective alternative to testing drugs and cosmetics on animals, they say.

The outermost layer of human skin, known as the epidermis, provides a protective barrier that stops moisture escaping and microbes entering.

Continue reading the main story

This is a new and suitable model that can be used for testing new drugs and cosmetics and can replace animal models"

End Quote Dr Dusko Ilic King's College London

Scientists have been able to grow epidermis from human skin cells removed by biopsy for several years, but the latest research goes a step further.

The research used reprogrammed skin cells - which offer a way to produce an unlimited supply of the main type of skin cell found in the epidermis.

They also grew the skin cells in a low humidity environment, which gave them a barrier similar to that of true skin.

Skin barrier

Lead researcher Dr Dusko Ilic, of King's College London, told BBC News: "This is a new and suitable model that can be used for testing new drugs and cosmetics and can replace animal models.

"It is cheap, it is easy to scale up and it is reproducible."

He said the same method could be used to test new treatments for skin diseases.

Researcher Dr Theodora Mauro said it would help the study of skin conditions such as ichthyosis - dry, flaky skin - or eczema.

"We can use this model to study how the skin barrier develops normally, how the barrier is impaired in different diseases and how we can stimulate its repair and recovery," she said.

The Humane Society International, which works to protect animals, including those in laboratories, welcomed the research, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Research and toxicology director Troy Seidle said: "This new human skin model is superior scientifically to killing rabbits, pigs, rats or other animals for their skin and hoping that research findings will be applicable to people - which they often aren't, due to species differences in skin permeability, immunology, and other factors."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health atlas shows risks by area

25 April 2014 Last updated at 11:29 By Pippa Stephens Health reporter, BBC News

A new online map of England and Wales allows people to enter their postcode and find their community's risk of developing 14 conditions, such as heart disease and lung cancer.

The map presents population-wide health information for England and Wales.

The researchers at Imperial College London pointed out that it could not be used to see an individual's risk.

It indicated an area's health risk, relative to the average for England and Wales, they stressed.

Twenty-five year study

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

People should definitely not use this atlas to decide where to live"

End Quote Prof Paul Pharoah University of Cambridge

Researchers at Imperial looked at 8,800 wards in England and Wales, each with a population of 6,000 people.

They collected data from the Office for National Statistics and from cancer registries for 1985 to 2009.

Data was then mapped alongside region-by-region variations in environmental factors such as air pollution, sunshine and pesticides.

The data was also adjusted for age, deprivation and to take into account small numbers.

Researchers said this was the first tool of its kind showing this level of detail.

Continue reading the main story

Diseases and conditions included in the study

• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Malignant melanoma
• Bladder cancer
• Leukaemia
• Brain cancer
• Mesothelioma (a type of cancer that can start in the lungs or abdomen)
• Liver cancer
• Coronary heart disease mortality
• COPD mortality
• Kidney disease mortality
• Still birth
• Low birth weight

Dr Anna Hansell, from the UK Small Area Health Statistics Unit, led the research.

She told the BBC: "We tried to present this so people do not jump to the wrong conclusions."

Dr Hansell said people were "fascinated" by the tool when they trialled it.

She added: "The new thing about it is you can go right down to neighbourhood level - beforehand it has been at a broader scale."

Eight communities in Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff, in Wales, and Leeds, Manchester and the Wirral in England had higher patterns of health risks, Dr Hansell said.

She said within those eight communities none stood out as "doing badly for everything", and that the statistics had not been geared up to rank the areas.

Since the study adjusted for deprivation, Dr Hansell said it raised some "surprising" variations which could be explained by changing smoking rates in the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, 33 wards were identified as having a lower risk of disease, such as parts of London, North Norfolk and Suffolk.

Although the researchers adjusted for deprivation, she said, there must be "some lifestyle factors" going on, to account for the variability.

Environmental factors, such as air pollution, accounted for roughly 5-10% of a person's risk of disease, which was significant in terms of a population, Dr Hansell said.

She said she hoped "really important benefits" could come out of further research using the tool and that it would raise questions about disease patterns.

Maps available on the site Continue reading the main story

Prof David Coggon, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Southampton, said the atlas provided a "finer level of spatial resolution" than its predecessors.

But he said there were "shortcomings" in the research, such as the possible of chance variation and the likelihood of distortion by exposure to non-environmental causes of disease, such as smoking and diet, which are not fully explained by deprivation.

Prof Coggon added: "These unavoidable shortcomings do not invalidate the analyses presented, but they are a reason for caution in interpretation."

He said people should not focus on environmental factors, but instead eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and avoid smoking, excessive alcohol, and "unnecessarily risky" behaviours such as dangerous driving.

Prof Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, said: "This atlas does not enable anyone to judge their individual absolute risk.

"People should definitely not use this atlas to decide where to live."

He said it would be "wrong to imply" any causal association between any of the environmental exposures and any of the health outcomes described in the atlas.

Prof Pharoah added: "What these data should do is help researchers identify important hypothesis that should be tested using research designs."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Care needs to 'outstrip' family help

24 April 2014 Last updated at 12:57

The number of older people in England needing care will "outstrip" the number of family members able to provide it by 2017, a think tank has warned.

An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report estimates that by 2030 there will be more than two million people aged 65 and over with no child living nearby to give care if needed.

The IPPR said the country must "build new community institutions" to cope.

The government said it was working to make sure more people got care at home.

The IPPR report estimates that, of the two million people it says will have no child living nearby to care for them in England in 2030, 230,000 will need more than 20 hours of care per week.

'Left to cope'

Clare McNeil, senior research fellow at the centre-left think tank, told the BBC: "There won't be the family members needed to provide the types care that people see at the moment. That will mean there is more pressure on social services, and stretched services like the NHS.

"We need to have a fundamental rethink about the way that we how we look after each other later in life."

She said the government needed to invest in community networks and make it easier for people to combine care and work.

To fill the care "gap", the report suggested the UK should:

• widen the use of "neighbourhood networks", highlighting those run in Leeds by older people and offering activities to reduce social isolation as well as providing care and support
• invest in strengthening community groups in areas with the "weakest record for community-based care"
• follow international examples, highlighting initiatives in Germany, Australia and Japan's 10-year nationwide campaign "to train one million dementia supporters"
• house public services for different age groups, such as childcare and care for the elderly, together in the same buildings as is done in Germany
• strengthen employment rights for carers

'Policy void'

The report also highlights the number of older people providing care, and estimates that the amount of "intensive" care provided by spouses and partners will rise by 90% over the next 15 years.

Continue reading the main story

Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel"

End Quote Jean Mowbray Worcester

It says the average annual cost for those who pay for care is currently £25,000 for home care and £36,000 for a nursing home.

The government said it was working to integrate health and council care services to ensure more older people received care at home.

Helena Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK said it was " absolutely critical" that the government took action to fill the "policy void" around elderly care.

She added: "Our families, society and economy need reliable, affordable, quality care and support services and solid support and rights for those caring to ensure such breakdowns are prevented.

"Support for working parents has transformed in the last decade; the same shift in attitude must now be adopted to dealing with the care of older, seriously ill and disabled loved ones."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Human skin grown in laboratory

24 April 2014 Last updated at 17:37 By Helen Briggs BBC News

Skin grown in the laboratory can replace animals in drug and cosmetics testing, UK scientists say.

A team led by King's College London has grown a layer of human skin from stem cells - the master cells of the body.

Stem cells have been turned into skin before, but the researchers say this is more like real skin as it has a permeable barrier.

It offers a cost-effective alternative to testing drugs and cosmetics on animals, they say.

The outermost layer of human skin, known as the epidermis, provides a protective barrier that stops moisture escaping and microbes entering.

Continue reading the main story

This is a new and suitable model that can be used for testing new drugs and cosmetics and can replace animal models"

End Quote Dr Dusko Ilic King's College London

Scientists have been able to grow epidermis from human skin cells removed by biopsy for several years, but the latest research goes a step further.

The research used reprogrammed skin cells - which offer a way to produce an unlimited supply of the main type of skin cell found in the epidermis.

They also grew the skin cells in a low humidity environment, which gave them a barrier similar to that of true skin.

Skin barrier

Lead researcher Dr Dusko Ilic, of King's College London, told BBC News: "This is a new and suitable model that can be used for testing new drugs and cosmetics and can replace animal models.

"It is cheap, it is easy to scale up and it is reproducible."

He said the same method could be used to test new treatments for skin diseases.

Researcher Dr Theodora Mauro said it would help the study of skin conditions such as ichthyosis - dry, flaky skin - or eczema.

"We can use this model to study how the skin barrier develops normally, how the barrier is impaired in different diseases and how we can stimulate its repair and recovery," she said.

The Humane Society International, which works to protect animals, including those in laboratories, welcomed the research, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Research and toxicology director Troy Seidle said: "This new human skin model is superior scientifically to killing rabbits, pigs, rats or other animals for their skin and hoping that research findings will be applicable to people - which they often aren't, due to species differences in skin permeability, immunology, and other factors."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health atlas shows risks by area

25 April 2014 Last updated at 11:29 By Pippa Stephens Health reporter, BBC News

A new online map of England and Wales allows people to enter their postcode and find their community's risk of developing 14 conditions, such as heart disease and lung cancer.

The map presents population-wide health information for England and Wales.

The researchers at Imperial College London pointed out that it could not be used to see an individual's risk.

It indicated an area's health risk, relative to the average for England and Wales, they stressed.

Twenty-five year study

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

People should definitely not use this atlas to decide where to live"

End Quote Prof Paul Pharoah University of Cambridge

Researchers at Imperial looked at 8,800 wards in England and Wales, each with a population of 6,000 people.

They collected data from the Office for National Statistics and from cancer registries for 1985 to 2009.

Data was then mapped alongside region-by-region variations in environmental factors such as air pollution, sunshine and pesticides.

The data was also adjusted for age, deprivation and to take into account small numbers.

Researchers said this was the first tool of its kind showing this level of detail.

Continue reading the main story

Diseases and conditions included in the study

• Lung cancer
• Breast cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Malignant melanoma
• Bladder cancer
• Leukaemia
• Brain cancer
• Mesothelioma (a type of cancer that can start in the lungs or abdomen)
• Liver cancer
• Coronary heart disease mortality
• COPD mortality
• Kidney disease mortality
• Still birth
• Low birth weight

Dr Anna Hansell, from the UK Small Area Health Statistics Unit, led the research.

She told the BBC: "We tried to present this so people do not jump to the wrong conclusions."

Dr Hansell said people were "fascinated" by the tool when they trialled it.

She added: "The new thing about it is you can go right down to neighbourhood level - beforehand it has been at a broader scale."

Eight communities in Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff, in Wales, and Leeds, Manchester and the Wirral in England had higher patterns of health risks, Dr Hansell said.

She said within those eight communities none stood out as "doing badly for everything", and that the statistics had not been geared up to rank the areas.

Since the study adjusted for deprivation, Dr Hansell said it raised some "surprising" variations which could be explained by changing smoking rates in the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, 33 wards were identified as having a lower risk of disease, such as parts of London, North Norfolk and Suffolk.

Although the researchers adjusted for deprivation, she said, there must be "some lifestyle factors" going on, to account for the variability.

Environmental factors, such as air pollution, accounted for roughly 5-10% of a person's risk of disease, which was significant in terms of a population, Dr Hansell said.

She said she hoped "really important benefits" could come out of further research using the tool and that it would raise questions about disease patterns.

Maps available on the site Continue reading the main story

Prof David Coggon, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Southampton, said the atlas provided a "finer level of spatial resolution" than its predecessors.

But he said there were "shortcomings" in the research, such as the possible of chance variation and the likelihood of distortion by exposure to non-environmental causes of disease, such as smoking and diet, which are not fully explained by deprivation.

Prof Coggon added: "These unavoidable shortcomings do not invalidate the analyses presented, but they are a reason for caution in interpretation."

He said people should not focus on environmental factors, but instead eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and avoid smoking, excessive alcohol, and "unnecessarily risky" behaviours such as dangerous driving.

Prof Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, said: "This atlas does not enable anyone to judge their individual absolute risk.

"People should definitely not use this atlas to decide where to live."

He said it would be "wrong to imply" any causal association between any of the environmental exposures and any of the health outcomes described in the atlas.

Prof Pharoah added: "What these data should do is help researchers identify important hypothesis that should be tested using research designs."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dog bites highest in deprived areas

24 April 2014 Last updated at 10:47

Hospital admissions for dog bites are three times as high in the most deprived areas of England as in the least, official figures show.

A report from the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed Merseyside had the highest rate, in the 12 months to January 2014.

The HSCIC figures show dog bites and injuries accounted for 6,740 admissions overall - up 6% on the previous year,

Young children were the most commonly affected.

The data rate for hospital admissions linked to dog bites and strikes for people living in the 10% most deprived areas was 24.1 per 100,000, compared with 8.1 per 100,000 in the 10% least deprived areas.

An HSCIC map displaying the variations shows the highest rates were in Merseyside (281 admissions - 23.6 per 100,000 population), Durham, Darlington and Tees (269 admissions - 22.8 per 100,000), and West Yorkshire (498 admissions - 21.7 per 100,000).

Head injuries

Dog bites are more common in the summer, and children under nine are the most likely to be injured.

They suffer more head injuries than teenagers and adults, who are more likely to experience wounds to the wrists and hands.

Continue reading the main story

Dog bite rates are particularly high among young children"

End Quote Kingsley Manning HSCIC

The HSCIC data also looks at injuries from other animals, such as horses, foxes and cats.

In the 12 months to January 2014, there were 2,970 admissions for such injuries - up from 2,700 the previous year.

Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had the highest rate.

Kingsley Manning, chairman of the HSCIC, said: "Hospital admissions for bites and strikes by dogs are three times as high in the most deprived areas of England as in the least deprived areas.

"This is fascinating new data that we haven't produced before.

"We know that dog bite rates are particularly high among young children.

"As we head towards the summer months, when admission rates for dog bites are at their highest, these trends may be worth further study by healthcare organisations and public sector bodies."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Teen makes 'largest' cancer donation

24 April 2014 Last updated at 12:20

A cancer charity says it has received its largest ever individual donation after a teenager with terminal cancer raised more than £1.6m.

Stephen Sutton, 19, from Burntwood, in Staffordshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 15 and started raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

He posted what he said would be his final blog entry on Tuesday which prompted hundreds of donations.

A charity spokeswoman said staff were "overwhelmed" by his efforts.

'Vulnerable position'

In his latest posting on Facebook on Thursday, Stephen said although he had been weakened by his right lung collapsing on Sunday, his recovery since had been "positive and quite unexpected".

He said: "Hi everyone, it's Stephen here- still here and still fighting!!!

"Throughout the whole journey I've been realistic about my position and at my last post I genuinely thought I was a goner.... But hey, I'm still here!!"

He initially planned to raise £10,000, but increased his target to £1m after receiving so many public donations as his fundraising campaign spread.

In his blog he said, reaching the £1m mark in donations on Wednesday was "phenomenal".

He said he planned to take things day-by-day and was still in a "very vulnerable position".

Kate Collins, director of fundraising at the charity, told BBC News Mr Sutton's campaign was "hugely touching".

"It's enormous for the Teenage Cancer Trust. We're a small charity, the only charity that helps children aged between 13 and 24 years old.

"Stephen is making the most transformational difference for us. It's very hard to talk about the scale of difference his money is going to make."

The previous largest individual donation the charity said it had received was for £500,000.

'Incredible achievements'

Mr Sutton was diagnosed with what was initially bowel cancer, when he was 15. Despite surgery, the aggressive cancer spread to different parts of his body and, after further treatment and operations, doctors concluded it was incurable.

Continue reading the main story

• Get a tattoo
• Star as an extra in a film or music video
• Organise a charity football match
• Skydive for charity
• Organise a charity gig
• Drum in front of a huge crowd
• Crowd surf in a rubber dingy at a gig
• Go busking

Mr Sutton's achievements were hailed as "incredible" by comedian Jason Manford.

Manford said he had met the teenager at charity gigs and was inspired to get involved by his positive attitude.

He said he was now aiming to help Mr Sutton reach the £2m mark and asked some of his celebrity friends including Chris Hoy, Simon Pegg and Sarah Millican to pose with a #ThumbsUpForStephen poster on Twitter on Wednesday.

"Stephen's Story has raised more money in the past 24 hours than I have doing gigs for the past four years for the charity," he said.

Speaking previously, Mr Sutton said he disliked the term "dying from my cancer - I am living with my cancer, despite it being there".

Fighting the disease, the teenager decided to set up a bucket-list of 46 things to do before he dies.

This included playing the drums in front of 90,000 people, skydiving and busking.

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Care needs to 'outstrip' family help

24 April 2014 Last updated at 12:57

The number of older people in England needing care will "outstrip" the number of family members able to provide it by 2017, a think tank has warned.

An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report estimates that by 2030 there will be more than two million people aged 65 and over with no child living nearby to give care if needed.

The IPPR said the country must "build new community institutions" to cope.

The government said it was working to make sure more people got care at home.

The IPPR report estimates that, of the two million people it says will have no child living nearby to care for them in England in 2030, 230,000 will need more than 20 hours of care per week.

'Left to cope'

Clare McNeil, senior research fellow at the centre-left think tank, told the BBC: "There won't be the family members needed to provide the types care that people see at the moment. That will mean there is more pressure on social services, and stretched services like the NHS.

"We need to have a fundamental rethink about the way that we how we look after each other later in life."

She said the government needed to invest in community networks and make it easier for people to combine care and work.

To fill the care "gap", the report suggested the UK should:

• widen the use of "neighbourhood networks", highlighting those run in Leeds by older people and offering activities to reduce social isolation as well as providing care and support
• invest in strengthening community groups in areas with the "weakest record for community-based care"
• follow international examples, highlighting initiatives in Germany, Australia and Japan's 10-year nationwide campaign "to train one million dementia supporters"
• house public services for different age groups, such as childcare and care for the elderly, together in the same buildings as is done in Germany
• strengthen employment rights for carers

'Policy void'

The report also highlights the number of older people providing care, and estimates that the amount of "intensive" care provided by spouses and partners will rise by 90% over the next 15 years.

It says the average annual cost for those who pay for care is currently £25,000 for home care and £36,000 for a nursing home.

The government said it was working to integrate health and council care services to ensure more older people received care at home.

Helena Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK said it was " absolutely critical" that the government took action to fill the "policy void" around elderly care.

She added: "Our families, society and economy need reliable, affordable, quality care and support services and solid support and rights for those caring to ensure such breakdowns are prevented.

"Support for working parents has transformed in the last decade; the same shift in attitude must now be adopted to dealing with the care of older, seriously ill and disabled loved ones."

Are you over 65 and without somebody nearby to help you? Or do you have parents over 65 who live too far away to provide care for? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Elderly care'.

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Breast cancer drug price cut urged

23 April 2014 Last updated at 00:02 By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News website

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NICE chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon says NHS resources need to be distributed "as fairly as possible"

Campaigners are urging pharmaceutical giant Roche to lower the cost of a pioneering new breast cancer treatment as the NHS drugs watchdog is set to reject its use on cost grounds.

NICE, which sets guidelines for England and Wales, says the £90,000 cost of trastuzumab emtansine is unjustifiable.

The drug can add months of life to women dying of breast cancer, and Roche says the price reflects years of work.

The drug is available in England via the government's Cancer Drugs Fund.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We hope the manufacturer will act in the best interests of patients and use this consultation period to look again"

End Quote Sir Andrew Dillon NICE chief executive

But this scheme will end in 2016, meaning patients in England will no longer be able to get trastuzumab emtansine on the NHS.

One fifth of all breast cancers are of a type that could potentially respond to trastuzumab emtansine treatment.

'Huge blow'

It is designed for women with HER2-receptor-positive cancer that has spread around the body.

The drug seeks out and destroys cancerous cells, attacking them from within. Its novel action means it is unlikely to cause the side effects, such as hair loss, seen with many other types of chemotherapy.

In trials, trastuzumab emtansine - which is sold under the brand name Kadcyla - extended the lives of women by almost six months.

Prof Paul Ellis, consultant oncologist at King's College London, has been treating his patients with the drug.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Roche is extremely disappointed that NICE has failed to safeguard the interests of patients"

End Quote Jayson Dallas Roche Products general manager

He said: "Kadcyla represents a significant advance in HER2-positive breast cancer, so for NICE to issue negative preliminary guidance is a huge blow."

Sir Andrew Dillon, NICE chief executive, said: "We had hoped that Roche would have recognised the challenge the NHS faces in managing the adoption of expensive new treatments by reducing the cost of Kadcyla to the NHS.

"We hope the manufacturer will act in the best interests of patients and use this consultation period to look again at their evidence and consider if there is more they can do."

Jayson Dallas, general manager at Roche Products, said: "Roche is extremely disappointed that NICE has failed to safeguard the interests of patients with this advanced stage of aggressive disease."

Unless the cost comes down, Kadcyla will be the third breast cancer drug made by Roche to have been rejected by NICE based on cost versus benefit.

Continue reading the main story

Democracy, it is said, is the worst form of government - except for all the others.

The same could - and is - claimed about the way the NHS assesses drugs.

News that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is planning to reject a new cancer treatment has disappointed many.

Assessing which treatments the NHS should pay for is clearly an emotionally-charged business.

NICE looks at how much a drug would cost to add a year of good life - and allows for up to £30,000 for this; more for end of life treatments, like trastuzumab emtansine. But the drug was assessed at costing £180,000.

The wider question is should the system be reformed? Some say the assessment process is too blunt, but even attempts to create a more "intelligent" system have proved controversial. NICE is currently consulting on a new way of assessing drugs by taking into wider societal factors, such as the likelihood of a patient returning to work, but has been accused of discriminating against the elderly.

Yet the fact remains many countries envy the work NICE does for the NHS, with research showing it is one of the most efficient ways to run a health system.

System 'can't keep up'

A Department of Health spokesman said stakeholders would have the opportunity to respond to the recommendations set out in the draft guidelines for England and Wales.

Dr Caitlin Palframan, of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said that the drug appraisal process and the cost of drugs must change if prospects for patients were going to improve.

"Drug development and research is moving at a pace that the system can't seem to keep up with.

"We are now looking to the Department of Health and the pharmaceutical industry to find a way to work together to bring the cost of expensive drugs down and put a sustainable system in place by which new treatments can be made available on the NHS on a routine basis.

"Until then it appears NICE will be forced to reject these cutting-edge treatments, some of which are capable of providing women facing terminal breast cancer diagnoses with extra time with their loved ones, which is the very least they deserve."

The charity estimates some 1,500 women in Britain could benefit from Kadcyla every year.

Emma Pennery, clinical director at Breast Cancer Care , of Breast Cancer Care, said: "We recognise that decisions about approval of cancer drugs are based on many complex factors, but we are concerned by the increasing number of people we support telling us how anxious they are about being able to access treatments when they need them.

"We await the results of the consultation period and the final guidance from NICE and hope Kadcyla will become widely available for eligible patients."

The Scottish Medicines Consortium, which considers drugs for use by the NHS in Scotland, is due to discuss the drug but has not yet set a meeting date.

Northern Ireland's Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety considers NICE's guidance after it is issued, so it could adopt the decision made for England and Wales or set a different policy for trastuzumab emtansine.

Have you suffered from breast cancer? Have you received treatment using trastuzumab emtansine? You can email us your experiences at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Drug costs'.

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