Previous week's news

Warning of new hospital superbug

Friday May 9th, 2008

Scientists have made some important discoveries about a potential new superbug that has a "remarkable capacity for drug resistance".

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, or Steno, is a newly-emerging organism which could become the latest in series of antibiotic-resistant hospital infections. It causes about 1,000 cases of blood poisoning each year in the UK, with a mortality rate of around 30 per cent.

Its genome has now been sequenced by Dr Matthew Avison of Bristol University, UK, and colleagues. This work will help experts cope with an outbreak. Dr Avison says that, for example, knowing how Steno attaches itself to surfaces means the process could be disrupted.

"The degree of resistance it shows is very worrying. Strains are now emerging that are resistant to all available antibiotics, and no new drugs capable of combating these 'pan-resistant' strains are currently in development," he warns.

In the journal Genome Biology, the team explain that Steno is an opportunistic pathogen, meaning that it would not normally cause disease but poses a risk for those with a compromised immune system, including many hospital patients. It thrives in moist environments, such as taps, shower heads, and catheters that are left in place for a long time - often used by seriously ill patients.

The researchers say that Steno contains a number of genes which make it resistant to many different types of antimicrobial drugs. They conclude that this "panoply" of drug resistant attributes suggests that Steno infection is "an issue of considerable concern" which could be as hard to treat as MRSA and C. difficile.

Crossman, L. C. et al. The complete genome, comparative and functional analysis Stenotrophomonas maltophilia reveals an organism heavily shielded by drug resistance determinants. Genome Biology, Vol. 9.

Early abortion to be extended

Thursday May 8th, 2008

Trials of providing drug-induced abortions in community settings have proved encouraging, the department of health said yesterday.

The department caused controversy by announcing it was testing the use of cottage hospitals, polyclinics and community family planning centres for the provision of early medical abortions.

Yesterday it said the trials, which involved two sites, had shown this could work, offering a "safe, high quality" service.

Some women had welcomed the informality and extra staff support available in the new settings.

An early abortion takes place within the first 63 days of pregnancy - and the department of health promised to move cautiously in rolling out the programme.

There will be a consultation with medical professionals and patients before the scheme becomes nationwide.

Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Our priority is to reduce the time women have to wait for an abortion at what is already a very difficult time for them. We have made considerable progress in this, with 65 per cent of women having their abortion at under ten weeks in 2006, up from 51 per cent in 2002.

"We want to investigate whether patients can be more comfortable and feel as supported in a less clinical setting such as in a large community contraceptive centre.

"However, the safety of patients must remain paramount and we will now consult with the local NHS and patients to find out whether there is a demand for such a service and how it could best be delivered."

Massive global burden of high blood pressure

Wednesday May 7th, 2008

Blood pressure-related diseases must be tackled urgently in developing countries, warn health experts today.

High blood pressure has long been considered a problem only in high income countries. But new findings show that the vast majority of blood-pressure linked deaths occur in the developing world.

This week, the Lancet publishes a report by Professor Anthony Rodgers and his team at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, who analysed data from the year 2001.

They estimate that in 2001, high blood pressure triggered 7.6 million premature deaths globally - about 13.5 per cent of all deaths. Many of these deaths were from stroke (54 per cent) and ischaemic heart disease (47 per cent).

"Overall, more than 80 per cent of the attributable burden of disease was in low-income and middle-income regions, and a greater proportion of the burden was in young age groups in these regions than it was in high-income regions," the authors report.

However, the problem has long been neglected, believes Professor Stephen MacMahon of the George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia.

He said: "Ten years ago, the Global Burden of Disease Project predicted this epidemic, yet none of the key players who determine priorities for international health investment have made any real effort to address the problem.

"The cost of avoiding a very large number of fatal or disabling strokes is remarkably small. We are calling on the major players to rethink their policies and strategies. The evidence is clear, and they have the power to bring about major change. They can't ignore it any longer."

Lawes, C. M. M., Hoorn, S. V. and Rodgers, A. Global burden of blood-pressure-related disease, 2001. The Lancet, Vol. 371, May 3, 2008, 1513-18.

Pain-killer may shield brain

Tuesday May 6th, 2008

Taking ibuprofen and other pain-killers may help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported last night.

Using ibuprofen for five years is linked to a 40 per cent reduced risk of developing the disease, according to the report in the journal Neurology.

The finding is claimed as one of the largest to link common drugs to protection against Alzheimer's, involving nearly 250,000 people.

The study also found evidence of protection from some other anti-inflammatory drugs, such as indomethacin, but not from all drugs of this kind.

Researchers said their findings do not prove that ibuprofen protects against Alzheimer's - there could be another explanation for the finding.

Researcher Dr Steven Vlad, of Boston University, Massachusetts, USA, said: "Some of these medications taken long term decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but it's very dependent on the exact drugs used. It doesn't appear that all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs decrease the risk at the same rate.

"One reason ibuprofen may have come out so far ahead is that it is by far the most commonly used."

Neurology May 6 2008

Heart growth gene found

Tuesday May 6th, 2008

British researchers have found two genes linked to heart and kidney failure, it has been announced.

The British Medical Research Council and scientists from Imperial College, London, report that a gene called osteoglycin plays a key role in determining the size of the heart.

The research, reported in Nature Genetics, says the gene may play a part in the enlargement of the heart that can follow heart failure and high blood pressure.

Its effect is felt in the left ventricle of the heart, the main pumping chamber.

Researcher Dr Stuart Cook said: "Enlarged hearts are very common. A person whose heart is enlarged is more likely to suffer a heart attack or heart failure than someone whose heart is a normal size. We can't currently treat the condition directly, so lowering a patient's blood pressure is the only option we have.

"Now that we are unravelling how genes control heart growth, we can gain a better understanding of common forms of heart disease. This should lead to new and more effective ways of treating people."

His fellow researcher Professor Tim Aitman was also involved in a second discovery, reported in the same journal. This identifies a gene called Jund as being responsible for severe inflammation of the kidney.

Speaking about the heart gene, Professor Tim Aitman said: "This study shows how we can use the wealth of new genome technologies for analysing people's genes to gain a much greater understanding of common human disorders.

"We already knew that enlarged hearts were linked with conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity but figuring out the genetic causes as well could be key to working out how to treat the condition."

Nature Genetics, 28 April 2008

Women face heart peril

Monday May 5th, 2008

Growing obesity rates and inactivity may be starting to take their toll on the hearts of young women, British researchers have warned.

Improved treatments and nutrition, along with reduction in smoking rates, have led to death rates from heart disease falling in England and Wales since the 1970s.

Up to that point they had risen steadily as improved prosperity led to reduced exercise and higher levels of fat and sugar in the diet.

Writing in the on-line journal BMC Public Health, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Liverpool, UK, said recent generations have experienced much lower death rates from heart disease than those born in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

They said the rate of improvement had now levelled off among women under the age of 50.

Researcher Steven Allender said: "We observed that coronary heart disease mortality among younger age groups has increased in those born in the early twentieth century compared to those born in the late 19th century”.

"This requires further study as the public health implications of a decline in survival from coronary heart disease in younger age groups may be stark."

BMC Public Health 2008, 8:148

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