British Medical Journal articles from April 2001

British Medical Journal archives from April 2001

Bringing ordinary doctors into the genetics party.(Editor's Choice)
April 28, 2001... Most readers of the BMJ don't know much about genetics, and they know even less about molecular biology. Yet it is these ordinary doctors who will have to deliver the promises of the genetic revolution--if they are ever to be delivered. This...

Putting genetics in perspective: requires better understanding and more rational debate.(Editorial)
April 28, 2001... Requires better understanding and more rational debate How will genetics affect society? Is it a science without clear application, or will it bring important health gains? Should we be hugely excited about its potential or worry about...

Genetics and developing countries: the human genome has unifying messages as well as the potential to divide.(Editorial)
April 28, 2001... The human genome has unifying messages as well as the potential to divide With the publication of the sequence of the human genome, we can now approach our history as human beings in a way never previously possible--a history that has...

Pharmacogenetics: industry and academic researchers must collaborate to deliver its benefits.(Editorial)
April 28, 2001... Industry and academic researchers must collaborate to deliver its benefits To realise the potential of genetics research concerted activity by both academic and industry researchers is needed. Currently the research conducted by the...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis: needs to be tightly regulated.(Editorial)
April 28, 2001... Needs to be tightly regulated Pregnant women whose babies are at risk of having a genetic condition serious enough to warrant consideration of termination of pregnancy may be offered prenatal diagnostic tests such as amniocentesis and...

The promise of human genetic databases: high ethical as well as scientific standards are needed.(Editorial)
April 28, 2001... High ethical as well as scientific standards are needed Genetic databases are now helping elucidate gene function, estimate the prevalence of genes in populations, differentiate among subtypes of diseases, trace how genes may predispose...

Drug companies withdraw law suit against South Africa.(News)
April 28, 2001... AIDS activists are now looking to the South African government to provide access to cheaper drug treatment for HIV infection and AIDS after 39 large pharmaceutical companies withdrew their case against the government in the Pretoria High...

Drug company lobbyist joins Oxfam's cheap drugs campaign.(News)(David Earnshaw)
April 28, 2001... A senior lobbyist in the pharmaceutical industry is leaving his job to help to spearhead the battle for cheaper drugs to be made available in the developing world. David Earnshaw, director of European government affairs for SmithKline...

In brief.(News)
April 28, 2001... Suspected case of foot and mouth in slaughterman: The first suspected case of a human contracting foot and mouth disease during the current epidemic was reported this week. The unidentified slaughterman, heavily involved in culling cattle,...

Doctors demand immediate access to antiretroviral drugs in Africa.(News)
April 28, 2001... Sub-Saharan Africa is bound to become the biggest user of antiretroviral drugs in the world, so it has to start preparing to use them now, a conference of AIDS experts was told last week. More than 25 million people in the region are HIV...

NHS introduces new patient safety agency.(UK National Health Service)(News)
April 28, 2001... England is to set up a new agency to improve safety for NHS patients, with a mandatory system for reporting failures, mistakes, and "near misses." The National Patient Safety Agency will act as an independent body within the NHS, with...

Government to introduce safer administration of cancer drugs after fatal error.(News)
April 28, 2001... Fail-safe systems to rule out the chances of fatal errors in spinal injections are expected to be introduced throughout the NHS after a coroner's verdict of accidental death last week on an 18 year old patient with leukaemia. Wayne...

GPs threaten to leave NHS as stress levels rocket.(general practitioners, UK National Health Service)(News)
April 28, 2001... Family doctors in the United Kingdom are considering leaving the NHS because of intolerable working conditions. The BMA's General Practitioners Committee voted last week to ballot all its 36 000 members on whether they would resign if a...

Dissolving sugar helps nerve regeneration.(News)(chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans)
April 28, 2001... Nerve regeneration after brain or spinal cord injury can be improved by dissolving the sugar chains found on the inhibitory protein molecules that fill the scar tissue. Neuroscientists at the Brain Repair Centre in Cambridge have discovered...

Rebirthing therapy banned after girl died in struggle.(Candace Newmaker)(News)
April 28, 2001... Rebirthing therapy, a controversial treatment for reactive detachment disorder, has been banned in the US state of Colorado one year after it resulted in the death of a 10 year old girl. Candace Newmaker died after she was wrapped from...

New BMA book highlights human rights abuses.(British Medical Association)(News)
April 28, 2001... The BMA has criticised the hardening attitude to asylum seekers in Britain in its new handbook on human rights for doctors. In The Medical Profession and Human Rights: Handbook for a Changing Agenda the association criticises the way that...

NHS ignoring prisoners' health needs, says report.(UK National Health Service)(News)
April 28, 2001... The health needs of prisoners are being ignored, says a report criticising the NHS for missing an important opportunity to tackle problems of addiction among prisoners and prevent reoffending. Working conditions in prison medicine are so...

Manufacturing process helps Scottish hospital halve MRSA rates.(methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus)(News)
April 28, 2001... A system used to monitor variation in manufacturing processes in industry is proving successful in helping one of Scotland's largest hospitals control methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection at a time when rates are...

Doctor convicted of 4m [pounds sterling] fraud against NHS.(Dimitri Padelis, UK National Health Service)(News)
April 28, 2001... A doctor who ran a locum agency for medical staff faces a jail sentence for what is thought to be the biggest single-handed fraud carried out against the NHS. Dimitri Padelis, aged 45, (pictured below) will be sentenced next month for a...

US government limits abortion pill for poor women.(News)
April 28, 2001... The US Department of Health and Human Services told state Medicaid directors in a letter last month, that the abortion pill, mifepristone (RU 486), like abortions, would be covered only when a pregnancy resulted from rape or incest or when...

Kidney stones may be linked with sleep posture.(News)
April 28, 2001... Kidney stones may develop because people spend too long sleeping in one position. Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco studied 110 patients with recurrent nephrolithiasis (Journal of Urology 2001;165:1085-7) to see...

Review of generic drugs industry to go ahead, says trade commission.(News)
April 28, 2001... The US Federal Trade Commission is to conduct a wide ranging probe of whether the US drug industry conspires to keep lower cost generic drugs out of consumers' hands. The move, announced in a statement issued by the commission, counters...

Making genetics everyone's business.(News)
April 28, 2001... The government's plan to boost genetics is welcome news to John Burn, director of the Northern Genetics Service, Newcastle upon Tyne The government's portrayal last week of the United Kingdom as "genetics valley" is a shot in the arm for...

Genomic medicine as preventive medicine.(News)
April 28, 2001... A positive view of the post-genomic age is provided by Gordon Duff, professor of molecular medicine at the University of Sheffield Genomic medicine is not a luxury for the rich West, but a necessity that will deliver cost effective health...

The cautious view.(News)
April 28, 2001... Contemplating the post-genomic future, Neil Holtzman, director of genetics and public policy at Johns Hopkins University, advises against being seduced by "genohype" The publication of the draft human genome sequence generated tremendous...

Milburn challenges NHS to exploit genetics revolution.(UK National Health Service)(News)
April 28, 2001... A 30m [pounds sterling] ($42m) package of measures to help bring the genetics revolution into everyday medical practice has been unveiled by Alan Milburn, the health secretary. "The human genome project has already crossed a new frontier in...

UK genetics database plans revealed.(News)
April 28, 2001... The voluntary genetics database proposed by the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom will initially be used to study cardiovascular disease, leading cancers, and respiratory and metabolic disorders, in addition to the neurological...

Insurers will not use test results from research.(News)
April 28, 2001... Insurers have promised not to use genetic test results obtained from research projects when calculating insurance premiums. Although no such test results have ever been used in underwriting, the UK Forum for Genetics and Insurance, the...

Mortality over two centuries in large pedigree with familial hypercholesterolaemia: family tree mortality study.
April 28, 2001... Abstract Objective To estimate all cause mortality from untreated familial hypercholesterolaemia free from selection for coronary artery disease. Design Family tree mortality study. Setting Large pedigree in Netherlands traced...

Value of family history in identifying women at risk of venous thromboembolism during oral contraception: observational study.
April 28, 2001... Common inherited thrombophilic defects such as factor V Leiden and G20120A mutation of the prothrombin gene interact synergistically with oral contraceptives to increase the risk of venous thromboembolism.[1 2] The best approach to...

Gestational impaired glucose tolerance does not increase perinatal mortality in a developing country: cohort study.
April 28, 2001... The high prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in women of childbearing age in Mauritius provides an opportunity to assess prospectively the risks of adverse outcome in pregnancy of these conditions, whether the conditions are...

The man who had 42 psychiatrists (and rising).(A Memorable Patient)
April 28, 2001... Moving on to my next post on a psychiatric training rotation some years ago I met Mr L in my first outpatient clinic. He had a huge file and had been in follow up for 20 years. As he came through the door he announced, "That drug therapy the...

The challenge of integrating genetic medicine into primary care.
April 28, 2001... Summary points Primary care practitioners need to become genetically literate Currently the most important elements for primary care are prediction of risk of certain cancers and carrier screening for common autosomal recessive...

Postgenomic technologies: hunting the genes for common disorders.(Science, Medicine, and the Future)(Clinical Review)
April 28, 2001... Summary points Genetic factors contribute substantially to the risk of developing many common diseases Susceptibility genes for common disorders are being sought by genome scans and association studies in large patient cohorts ...

Online medical genetics resources: a US perspective.
April 28, 2001... Summary points For geneticists, web based resources describe mendelian disorders, genetic testing in specific inherited disorders, ethical issues and resources, and protocols for screening newborn infants Few resources exist for...

Online medical genetics resources: a UK perspective.
April 28, 2001... Summary points Several websites provide information for geneticists on genetic disease, genetic services, and professional training Two UK sites act as gateways to information on specific diseases and support groups, suitable for...

Advice about mammography for a young woman with a family history of breast cancer.(Evidence-Based Case Report)
April 28, 2001... Summary points There have been no randomised controlled trials of mammography in women under 50 with a family history of breast cancer The sensitivity and specificity of mammography are lower in women aged under 50 than in those over...

Conventional sphygmomanometry: technique of auscultatory blood pressure measurement.(Blood pressure measurement, part 2)(ABC of Hypertension)
April 28, 2001... Part II--Conventional sphygmomanometry: technique of auscultatory blood pressure measurement The measurement of blood pressure in clinical practice by the century-old technique of Riva-Rocci/Korotkoff is dependent on the accurate...

Integrated regional genetic services: current and future provision.(Education and Debate)
April 28, 2001... Summary points UK genetic services are based on a network of geographical centres offering specialist services to families at high risk of serious genetic disorders Regional genetic centres provide diagnosis, risk estimation,...

The complexities of predictive genetic testing.(Education and Debate)
April 28, 2001... Summary points Predictive genetic testing has considerable potential for accurate risk assessment and appropriate targeting of screening and preventive strategies Most predictive tests carry a degree of uncertainty about whether a...

Genetic risk and behavioural change.(Education and Debate)
April 28, 2001... Summary points Changing behaviour is difficult Behavioural change is most likely in motivated people who participate in effective interventions Providing people with genetic information on risk may not increase their motivation...

Obituaries.
April 28, 2001... William Muir Connell Former general practitioner Kilburnie and Glengarnock (b Darvel, Ayrshire, 1919; q Glasgow 1942; DCH, MRCGP), d 11 February 2001. After graduation he served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a medical...

Genetics and Public Health in the 21st Century: Using Genetic Information to Improve Health and Prevent Disease.(Review)
April 28, 2001... Genetics and Public Health in the 21st Century: Using Genetic Information to Improve Health and Prevent Disease Eds Muin J Khoury, Wylie Burke, Elizabeth J Thompson Oxford University Press, 47.50 [pounds sterling], pp 660 ISBN 0 19 512830 3...

Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease.(Review)
April 28, 2001... Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease Rudolph E Tanzi, Ann B Parson Perseus Publishing, 18.99 [pounds sterling], pp 320 ISBN 0 7382 0195 2 Rating: ** Decoding Darkness is something of a heart...

Genetics in Medicine: Real Promises, Unreal Expectations. One scientist's advice to policymakers in the United Kingdom and the United States.(Review)
April 28, 2001... Genetics in Medicine: Real Promises, Unreal Expectations One scientist's advice to policymakers in the United Kingdom and the United States Steve Jones Milbank Memorial Fund Available at www.milbank.org/000712genetics.html Rating: ***...

The Spark of Life.(Lisson Gallery, Bell Street, London NW1)
April 28, 2001... The Spark of Life Christine Borland Lisson Gallery, Bell Street, London NW1, until 5 May 2001 www.lissongallery.com No, no, no, a little more humanity please. That's what much of contemporary British art wants to say to 21st century...

Genetic information and the unexamined life.(Personal Views)
April 28, 2001... There is no right to genetic information nor to access to particular tests. Doctors may need persuading that particular tests are in patients' best interests, and usually such tests are for serious genetic conditions of which there is an...

Putting the genetics genie back into its bottle.(Personal Views)
April 28, 2001... Genetics is rarely out of the headlines. Almost every day there is a new story either promising the earth or threatening the end of civilisation as we know it. When the "first draft" of the human genome was announced last June, Bill Clinton...

Value of genetic counselling: a parent's view.(Personal Views)
April 28, 2001... When my daughter Kylie was born on a sunny June afternoon, I was delighted. She was a beautiful baby girl. Following emergency surgery after an earlier miscarriage, I had not been sure if I would ever have another baby, so this was a special...

Gangsta rappa.(Soundings)
April 28, 2001... She was embarrassed. "My boyfriend and I had... anal intercourse last night," she stammered, "and now I'm bleeding from my... back passage." I urged her not to worry. It was quite a normal practice between consenting adults, I said,...

Minerva.
April 28, 2001... Four fifths of new drugs that come on to the market add little or nothing to existing drugs, says a French pharmacology journal (Prescrire International 2001;10:52-3). An article blames French and European regulatory agencies for uncontrolled...

A healthy state of ignorance.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 21, 2001... "No one can in five, or even in fifty, years learn all that one could wish about disease and its prevention and treatment. You have to go on learning all your lives, and, a healthy state of ignorance is a saving grace." So said a Dr Andrews a...

Antibiotics for acute bronchitis.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 21, 2001... Four reviews and still no answers: our clinical definitions are at fault Acute bronchitis is one of the commonest medical problems managed by health services, and one of the important clinical questions is whether antibiotics do any...

Injury prevention in people with disabilities.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 21, 2001... Risks can be minimised without unduly restricting activities Some risk of injury exists for almost every human activity, and this risk may be increased for people with impairments, disabilities, or other special healthcare needs. The...

Do we need specialist adolescent units in hospitals?(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 21, 2001... Possibly If you were an adolescent aged 12-19 and you needed to be admitted to hospital would you want to be admitted to a paediatric unit with young children, an adult ward, or a separate unit just for adolescents? And if the last was...

Haematuria in asymptomatic individuals.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 21, 2001... It is often caused by inherited thinning of the glomerular membrane Haematuria is often detected incidentally by "dipstick" tests in clinical practice, and much recent discussion in the BMJ has centred round whether haematuria in...

Effectiveness, efficiency, and NICE.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
April 21, 2001... A NICE start but evidence costs money The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) was established in England and Wales in 1999 to "provide guidance to the NHS on the use of selected new and established technologies."[1] NICE...

Obesity and inactivity fuel global cancer epidemic.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Obesity and lack of exercise contribute to up to a third of cancers of the colon, breast, kidney, and digestive tract, says a new report from the World Health Organization. The study was prompted by concerns that obesity and its attendant...

Stresses on women doctors may cause higher suicide risk.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Suicide rates among women NHS doctors in the United Kingdom are twice that of the general female population, new research has found. It also found differences in suicide rates between medical specialties, with anaesthetists, community health...

In brief.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Miami jury rules dismisses second-hand smoking case: A former TWA flight attendant awaiting a lung transplant for emphysema and sarcoidosis had her claim for damages rejected by a Miami jury. Marie Fontana, 59, of Boca Raton Fla, a flight...

German heart surgeon denies corruption.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... A heart surgeon in Heidelberg who was fined DM200 000 for accepting money from a manufacturer of heart valves to invest in his research department has denied that he acted corruptly. Siegfried Hagl was found guilty of unlawfully receiving...

Scientists solve mystery of volcano's "natural deaths".(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Scientists believe they have pieced together the chain of events that can explain some of some of the most bizarre and mysterious deaths in recorded history. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, thousands of people evacuated areas around the...

Holland decriminalises voluntary euthanasia.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... The Netherlands has become the first country in the world to pass a law decriminalising voluntary euthanasia. Dutch doctors carrying out the practice under strict conditions will no longer be judged automatically as criminals when the law...

Hungary curbs drug company advertising.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Hungary's pharmaceutical manufacturers are facing a clamp-down on the methods they use to advertise and market their products to doctors. A health ministry, decree, due to become effective within the next few weeks, will drastically limit...

Former Treasury adviser weighs in against PFI.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Procurement of new NHS buildings through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is "artificially promoted and protected" because the evidence in its favour is so poor, a former health economist at the Treasury claims. Jon Sussex, now...

Canada acts on marijuana and tobacco.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Canada will become the first country to license marijuana for medical use if draft regulations published by the health ministry last week become law. They would allow patients and caregivers to apply for licences to possess and produce...

Bladder cancer risk higher for women smokers.(News)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Women who are exposed to cigarette smoke are not only at higher risk of developing lung cancer than men, but they may also be at greater risk of bladder cancer, an American study shows. "When smoking habits are compared, women may be at...

Early growth and coronary heart disease in later life: longitudinal study.
April 21, 2001... Abstract Objective To determine how growth during infancy and childhood modifies the increased risk of coronary heart disease associated with small body size at birth. Design Longitudinal study. Setting Helsinki, Finland. ...

Perspective in medical education.(One hundred years ago)
April 21, 2001... Dr. Andrewes said: My first and most pleasant duty is to bid a hearty welcome to the newcomers to this school, and I trust that you will gain here not only adequate u'aining in the profession you have chosen which this school is now more than...

Requests for electroencephalography in a district general hospital: retrospective and prospective audit.
April 21, 2001... Abstract Objectives To determine the number of inappropriate requests for electroencephalography (EEG) and whether guidelines on use could reduce this number. Design Audit with retrospective and prospective components. Setting...

National survey of use of hospital beds by adolescents aged 12 to 19 in the United Kingdom.
April 21, 2001... In contrast to North America and Australia, little attention has been paid to the use of health services by adolescents in the United Kingdom. The incidence of survival from chronic illness in young people is increasing. The care of...

Anaemia in Chinese, South Asian, and European populations in Newcastle upon Tyne: cross sectional study.
April 21, 2001... Britt drew attention to anaemia in Punjabi women in Southall nearly 20 years ago.[1] Representative population data on anaemia in adults from ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom have not been published since then. We used data from the...

Avoid the British winter.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... As this climate is, perhaps, the most unsteady of any in Europe, it would be proper that wealthy individuals... should retire to a southern part of the continent, as Nice, Naples, or Lisbon, or the island of Madeira, and there reside from...

How private finance is moving primary care into corporate ownership.
April 21, 2001... Summary points Healthcare companies and property developers are rapidly expanding into the ownership and provision of primary care premises Under the private finance initiative, there are no restrictions on the amounts that can be...

Spectacled soldiers.(One hundred years ago)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Army reform occupies so large a part of contemporary interest and is so many-sided a question, that it is not surprising to find aspects of it which present considerable interest to the profession. The old regime is undoubtedly passing away,...

Will primary care trusts lead to US-style health care?
April 21, 2001... Summary points For the first time, an NHS body will be able to charge for personal care and hotel costs Government guidance on intermediate care restricts entitlement to NHS care to six weeks except in exceptional circumstances ...

Oh? Why?(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... The responses to the article in which I argued the case for using the term adrenaline rather than epinephrine as the recommended international non-proprietary name (BMJ 2000;320:506-9) were almost all supportive. And some of the respondents...

Hip fracture.
April 21, 2001... Background Definition Hip fracture is a fracture of the femur above a point 5 cm below the distal part of the lesser trochanter.[1] Intracapsular fractures occur proximal to the point at which the hip joint capsule attaches to the femur....

Tonic seizures are a particular risk factor for drowning in people with epilepsy.
April 21, 2001... Tonic seizures pose a high risk of drowning because expulsion of air from the lungs causes rapid submersion It is accepted that people with epilepsy should be supervised when swimming. However, there is little or no guidance about special...

Fat as a factor in politics.(One hundred years ago)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Caesar wished to have about him men that were fat and slept o' nights; and looked upon those who, like Cassius, had a lean and hungry look as dangerous. The typical Yankee is still like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, Long, and lank, and...

Cardiovascular risk factors and their effects on the decision to treat hypertension: evidence based review.
April 21, 2001... Summary points There is a continuous, strong, and graded relation between blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, but no clear threshold value separates hypertensive patients who will experience future cardiovascular events from those...

Blood pressure measurement.(ABC of hypertension)
April 21, 2001... Part I--Sphygmomanometry: factors common to all techniques Methods of blood pressure measurement Most devices for measuring blood pressure are dependent on one common feature, namely, occluding the artery of an extremity (arm, wrist,...

Should we screen for type 2 diabetes? Evaluation against National Screening Committee criteria.
April 21, 2001... Summary points Benefits of early detection and treatment of undiagnosed diabetes have not been proved Effectiveness of diabetes screening in reducing cardiovascular disease depends on disease prevalence, background cardiovascular...

Writing.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2001... Writing is like Prostitution. First you do it for the love of it, Then you do it for a few friends, And finally you do it for the money.