78% of small to medium enterprise fail to promote healthy eating.
FT 10/7/10
Say no to #gmo – buy organic fair-trade.
Research from Ge capital revealed that 78% of small and medium enterprise fail to promote healthy eating.
Financial Times, 10/7/10
Say no to #gmo – buy organic fair-trade.
Family Gp’s are to be given commissioning powers – where does that leave the Regional Health Authority and Primary Care trust commissioning staff. ?
McDonald’s McNuggets Under Watch by Chinese Food Administration
July 7 (Bloomberg) — China’s State Food and Drug Administration is monitoring McDonald’s China Co.’s McNuggets as the product contains the chemicals tertiary butylhydroquinone and dimethylpolysiloxane.
The additives are allowed in meat products in limited amounts, the administration said in a statement on its website.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jing Jin at jjin32@bloomberg.net
RC of Psychiatrists (@rcpsych)
02/07/2010 10:31
New research in British Journal of Psychiatry: Childhood adversities are ‘powerful predictors’ of suicidal behaviour http://bit.ly/bAt5Es
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Sativex is approved by prescription only for multiple sclerosis patients in the U.K. It targets the effects of spasticity, a symptom of multiple sclerosis caused by damage to nerves in the central nervous system. Loss of mobility and painful spasms may result from this involuntary stiffening of muscles.
The drug is sprayed into the mouth on the inside of the cheek or under the tongue, said Bayer Schering Pharma, the pharmaceutical company launching the product. Cannabis plants grown in a controlled environment give rise to the extracts that are the active ingredients of the drug.
The Multiple Sclerosis Trust, a U.K. charity, supported the launch of this medication. In clinical trials, only about half of study participants with multiple sclerosis found that it relieved spasms and cramping associated with spasticity. For this sort of research, that’s a good result, said Mark Rogerson, spokesman for GW Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug.
There is no evidence of long-term dependence or tolerance; patients have not reported needing to take more of the spray, and many say they’ve reduced the dose over time, Rogerson said. Common side effects include dizziness and fatigue. The cost is 125 British pounds for a pack of the spray, or about $185, which works out to 11 pounds per day, or about $16, for the average patient, Rogerson said.
In the United States, the only medical marijuana treatment available is a prescription drug called Marinol, whose active ingredient is synthetic THC – making it distinct from the natural cannabis plant extracts in Sativex. In the U.S., cancer patients may take Marinol to relieve nausea and vomiting side effects of chemotherapy, and AIDS patients may use it to help with loss of appetite, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Marinol comes in the form of a pill, although other delivery methods such as inhaler or patch, are being explored.
Sativex is in phase II clinical trials for cancer patients in the U.S., Rogerson said. He estimated that it will be about two years before it could get U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Rogerson noted a difference in the political climate surrounding medical marijuana in the two nations.
“U.K. public opinion is quite ready for a cannabis-based medicine. There’s really very little sense of, ‘Oh gosh it’s cannibis, it’s a bad thing,’” he said. “People understand that it’s different from recreational drug-taking, and also that it’s a treatment for a number of people who suffer from a very, very debilitating illness.”
Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.
The British economy lost 27m working days to bogus “sickies” last year, costing £2.5bn, the CBI says today as employers brace themselves for a rise in staff absences when the World Cup starts on Friday.
…..But so-called “sickies” remain a problem. The senior human resources managers surveyed at 241 public and private sector organisations estimated that about 15 per cent of sick days, or 27m, were not genuine.
…Those who phone in sick on or after match days should have to provide medical evidence, it said, and notify a specified person, thus making clear that absence was being closely monitored.
Katja Hall, CBI director of employment policy, said bogus sick days were “unfair on hard-working colleagues and employers”.
Long-term absence was a particular problem, much of it caused by back pain and mental health issues.
By Brian Groom, FT Business and Employment Editor - Published: June 7 2010 03:00 | Last updated: June 7 2010 03:00
June 7 (Bloomberg) — Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the manufacturer of Apple Inc. iPhones, dropped to the lowest in nine months after the company said it will more than double base salaries at its Shenzhen factories over four months following a spate of suicides.
The stock fell 4.8 percent to NT$118.50 as of 9:04 a.m. in Taiwan, the lowest since Sept. 1, while the benchmark Taiex index fell 2.7 percent. Hon Hai has lost 22 percent this year.
Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, will boost monthly pay for most first-line workers, their line managers and supervisors to 2,000 yuan ($293) from 1,200 yuan effective Oct. 1, the Taipei-based company said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. On June 2 the manufacturer raised base pay from 900 yuan, effective immediately. continue reading…
Chronic lower back pain is the bain of many peoples lives and is responsible for countless days taken off work. A new randomly controlled trial has found six sessions of group CBT brings more relief than standard advice. All 701 patients, with an average age of 54 years, received an hour’s worth of advice plus “The Back Book”. Group CBT was then offered to 468 of them. This “Back Skills Training” (BeST) targeted behaviours and beliefs about physical activity and avoidance of activity (people with lower back pain with a non-specific cause are advised to remain active). continue reading…
A call to ban cut-price alcohol is made by the government’s medicines advisory body today in delayed guidelines on how to tackle the growing health burden of ecessive drinking.
“Making alcohol less affordable is the most effective way of reducing alcohol-related harm,” concludes the final recommendation from Nice, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
