Why the biological clock is ticking for women aged 30

By Fiona Macrae

The biological clock is ticking for women aged 30 and over, according to a new study


The speed at which female fertility declines has been highlighted by the first study to track a woman's supply of eggs from conception to the menopause.

The average 30-year-old will have just 12 per cent - barely an eighth - of her eggs left, the research shows.

By her 40th birthday the situation is even more bleak, with just 3 per cent of the two million or so eggs she was born with remaining.

Only about 450 of the two million eggs will fully mature over a woman's lifetime. Many others will start to mature before dying off.

The more eggs the woman has, the greater the odds of one maturing enough to allow her to become pregnant.

Researcher Dr Tom Kelsey, of St Andrews University, said: 'There are women waiting for the next promotion or waiting to meet Mr Right.

'Women often do not realise how seriously ovarian reserve declines after the age of 35. Every year that goes by you are losing a big proportion of your ovarian reserve.
'A lot of people get to their menopause in their mid or late 40s. It is only the average age that is 50 or 51.'

The rapid decline of a woman's store of eggs - and fertility - was known before. But this study is the first to trace its entire path, from before birth through to the end of child bearing years, rather than looking at specific age groups.

Working with Edinburgh University experts, Dr Kelsey counted the number of eggs in the ovaries of 325 women of a variety of ages.

The information was then fed into a computer programme which worked out how the supply declined with time.

The analysis, which is reported in the journal PLoS ONE, also showed that until the age of 25 lifestyle factors such as smoking or alcohol have little effect on a woman's fertility. But after this point the way a woman looks after her body has a marked effect on fertility.

Unlocking the workings of female biological clocks could help doctors better advise young cancer patients on how to preserve their fertility.

If they can work out what proportion of the eggs supply is likely to be killed off by radiotherapy or chemotherapy, they can calculate when the patient is likely to go through menopause - and advise her on when to start a family.

Edinburgh University researcher Dr Hamish Wallace said that in some cases, the patient's best chance of having a family may come from freezing some eggs or ovarian tissue ahead of treatment.

He added that the results do not tally with the controversial theory that ovaries contain stem cells capable of replenishing a woman's supply of eggs as she ages.

Instead, the stock of eggs is fixed at birth.



source: dailymail

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How your face reveals the traumas you've been through - by ageing faster

By Angela Epstein

Mirror image: How traumatic events can age your looks

Take a look in the mirror and you may assume that each emerging wrinkle is simply down to the passing of time. But the reality is far more complex.

A new study has discovered that ageing can happen in spurts, and that these bursts of activity are driven by the way we live and the traumas we suffer. Whether it is crash-dieting or being made redundant, events such as these can quickly put years on our face.

The findings are revealed exclusively to The Mail on Sunday as a result of an investigation over the past nine years looking at facial ageing in 118 women which was presented at an international meeting held in Paris earlier this month.

Carried out by consultant plastic surgeon Mr Rajiv Grover, who is based in London's Harley Street, the research has shown how factors such as yo-yo dieting, bereavement, divorce and stress can cause bursts of ageing activity in the face.

'We know children grow in spurts, but the aim of this study was to see whether the process of ageing was gradual or if it occurred in spurts as well. It became apparent that while everyone has a gradual ageing process, ageing can also happen in accelerated spurts, precipitated by life events such as significant weight loss or the stress of a divorce.'

Rajiv Grover followed 118 women aged 40 to 45 for up to nine years (average 7.2 years) during the past decade, taking annual measurements in different areas of the face.

At the end of the study the results were then analysed graphically to see how quickly each facial feature aged over the decade, taking into account lifestyle factors that had happened at different points in the period and whether they contributed to the ageing process.

To establish how a face ages, it was analysed in thirds: the upper third runs from the forehead to the eye, the middle third from the lower lid to the upper lip and the bottom third comprises the mouth and jaw line.

Using special instruments known as vernier callipers, the face was then assessed in terms of brow height (the dropping of the forehead and brow is the main sign of ageing), fat volume in the cheeks and the depth of the nasolabial fold which runs from the side of the nose to the corner of the mouth. Jowl thickness was also taken as well as measurement of ageing in the lower third of the face.


Three years ago, Mr Grover published a report which suggested that ageing in the face started with volisume loss - or loss of fat tissues - in the late 30s, followed by the effects of gravity around seven years later.

Not all of the face, he said, aged in dramatic spurts. Analysis of the results found that ageing was gradual in the forehead, brow, jowl and jaw line. 'However, ageing in the mid-face seemed to happen in dramatic-spurts with up to 35 per cent of a woman's cheek volume being lost in just one year,' says Mr Grover.

So what are the factors that seem to drive the sunken cheeks, heavy jowls, lines and wrinkles? The most significant issue was yo-yo dieting, when there had been a weight loss of more than 11lb in one year.

'When you lose and gain weight repeatedly, it affects the ligaments that support the soft tissue in the face, allowing them to stretch and then relax. When this happens it causes the face to drop. It is the same principle that happens to women who find a change in their breast shape after they have had children and then breast-fed. The ligaments are affected in a similar way,' says Mr Grover.

Other issues driving the ageing spurts were stressful life events such as redundancy, divorce or bereavement, as well as illness, notably breast cancer which particularly affects this age group.
Now we know that our lifestyle can speed up the ageing process, what can we do to age gracefully?


The graphic shows the results of 118 women aged between 40 and 45 who were followed for an average of seven years. Measurements of brow height, cheek volume, nasolabial depth and jowl thickness were taken annually. The results show how quickly facial features aged. The cheek area loses volume before any other


'There are some things you just can't avoid, such as divorce or losing your job, though there is no doubt that avoiding stress would prevent an accelerated ageing spurt,' says Mr Grover. 'But there are things you can control. The best
to avoid yo-yo dieting and to not lose weight by some rapid, crash regime. It may also help to take a Vitamin D supplement as this has an effect on the skin's physiology. And because the body makes Vitamin D from sunlight, and we get so little sun in this country, it is easy to be deficient.'

An example of an ageing spurt revealing itself in the face was experienced by Christine McGovern, 51, a housekeeper from Jersey, who is single with one daughter.

She cites divorce as the reason for the sudden loss in volume of her face.

'The weight just dropped off. I'm 5ft 9in and normally-weigh 9st 2lb which means I'm quite slim anyway. But the trauma of my marriage breakdown saw my weight plummet to eight stone,' she says.

'This really showed in my face. I had gaunt cheeks and huge bags under my eyes and chin. Every time I looked in the mirror it reflected a woman who was rapidly ageing before my eyes.

'I was terribly unhappy, I felt I had no direction. I started to drink heavily, suffered with depression and had a few bad relationships.

'You can't turn back the clock or eradicate the stress. But by chance I entered a prize draw for injectible fillers with Dr Gertrude Huss at the Hill Street Clinic, St Helier, Jersey. I won and had the fillers in my cheeks and chin. Looking in the mirror I just felt so much better.

'My experience has taught me that the stresses life throws at you really show in your face. I'm hoping - now that I'm personally happy - I won't go through a rapid age spurt again.'


source: dailymail

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How heaping praise on your child could damage their chance of success

Parents could be damaging their children's life chances by praising them too much, it has been claimed (Posed by models)

Parents who praise their children too much could actually be hindering their development, it has been claimed.

Lavishing compliments on youngsters for doing something trivial actually demotivates them, experts say.

This could be because children resent being praised for just completing a simple task.

As a result, parents are in danger of turning children off learning completely, according to a new book called NurtureShock.

Unnecessary praise may also make youngsters unaware of how hard they actually need to work for real achievement.

Surveys of parents reveal there is now a modern trend for telling their children they are bright and talented, to boost their confidence and therefore achievement.

But praising a child for being good at something before the event may backfire as they will begin to believe they don't need to work hard at it - or it may heap unnecessary pressure on them.

Authors Ashley Merryman and Po Bronson say for compliments to work they have to be limited, sincere and about effort rather than achievement.

They cite an analysis of 150 studies at Stanford University, in California, which has found that students who are over-praised become risk-averse, make less effort and are less selfmotivated.

Even young children are vulnerable to the inverse power of praise - and bright girls especially so.

Studies by Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford, have shown that telling a child they are bright causes under-performance.

In one study on 400 nine-year-olds, telling them the six words 'you must be smart at this' before a test reduced their scores by 20 per cent.

Scores of bright girls, in particular, collapse when they are told before a test that they are clever. This is believed to be because they feel under pressure to achieve.

Author Po Bronson said: 'Offering praise has become a sort of panacea for the anxieties of modern parenting.'

Meanwhile, growing numbers of British academics claim that education is being undermined by the 'all must have prizes' regime and overpraising in schools.

A recent report claimed that rewards systems in schools - which provide stickers, sweets and even shopping vouchers for good work or behaviour - kills off children's learning zeal.

This is because children think they are being bribed.

They much prefer to feel they are improving over time rather than being instantly praised and rewarded, according to Emma Dunmore, head of psychology at Harrogate Grammar School, North Yorkshire.

Simon Brownhill, a senor lecturer in education at Derby University, said that prizes should be linked to proper achievement, above what is normally expected.

He said: 'A prize should be something you can work towards. When I was learning to swim I got a certificate for five metres, one for ten metres and so on.

'Whilst I am all for rewarding achievement, it has to genuinely recognise progress. A prize or certificate for nothing devalues the concept of a reward.'


source: dailymail

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Boys of five 'falling behind girls in writing skills'

Five-year-old girls are more advanced at school than boys, new figures show

Boys are already falling behind girls at school by the age of five --with a fifth unable to write their own names.

After one year of education, around 17 per cent of boys also can not hold a pencil or write simple words from memory such as 'mum', 'dad' and 'cat'.

Girls of the same age are improving their writing skills more quickly, with only half as many struggling to write their names by the end of primary school reception classes

The figures, released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, are designed to show the number of five-year-olds who reach Government early learning goals.

Schools, nurseries and childminders have had to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage, dubbed the 'nappy curriculum', since 2008.

But the latest statistics show the overall gulf in attainment between the sexes is widening in key areas including reading, writing, numeracy and social and emotional development.

The gap between the proportion of each sex meeting basic learning goals by the age of five has risen from 16.2 percentage points in 2007 to 18.3 percentage points in 2009.

Poor boys are faring even worse, with almost one in three, 28.4 per cent, unable write their name. The figure for poor girls is 15.2 per cent.

Experts claim that the nappy curriculum is imposing formal learning on children, particularly boys, too soon.

Literacy expert Sue Palmer said: 'Boys will be disadvantaged until we give them a more play-based approach. The sort of play they require needs to be more active physically, they need to run about, climb and scramble.'

But children's minister Dawn Primarolo insisted that improvements have been made, particularly among children in the most deprived areas.


source: dailymail

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Heidi Montag returns to the yoga mat post-surgery as she reveals: 'I'm still in pain'

By Lizzie Smith

Getting back in shape: Heidi Montag practises Kundalini yoga with her instructor

After undergoing the trauma of ten plastic surgery operations in just one day, Heidi Montag could be expected to take it easy.

But less than two months later The Hills star is already back working out with her yoga instructor.

But she isn't finding it easy. Heidi updated her Twitter page to read: 'Its so hard to get moving post surgery!


Natural beauty: Heidi before her first surgery in 2006


And while her body is healing from the intrusive attentions of the surgeons knife, Heidi is still suffering.

Earlier today she tweeted: 'I couldn't fall asleep due to the pain I was in!'

The wannabe pop star, who hopes to relaunch her career in November, has had work done on almost every part of her body, ranging from neck liposuction to a buttock augmentation.

She had a mini brow lift, chin reduction, Botox in her forehead and frown area as well as fat injected into her cheeks, nasolabial folds and lips

Afterwards she told People magazine: 'I see an upgraded version of me. It's a new face and a new energy.

'It's a new person and I feel like almost all of the things I didn't want to be and who I turned into kind of got chiseled away.

'So I'm very excited for the world to see the new me and a real me.'

But not everyone is happy with the 23-year-old's obsession with surgery.

Her husband, Spencer Pratt, has admitted he was unhappy with her decision.

But he said: 'Nobody truly understands how she feels except her. I may not be OK with things, but it's not my call.'


source: dailymail

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The hunt for female Viagra: Drug giants are ploughing millions into the search to boost women's sex lives...but could it ever work and do we really ne

By Maureen Rice

Phenomenon: Doctors have been working on a pill to boost female sex drive after noticing women were asking if they could try Viagra too


When Liz Canner was offered a job making erotic videos for women, she admitted she was interested - especially as it was all for what sounded like a good cause.

The films were for a drug company called Vivus, which was developing an 'orgasm cream' to boost women's sex lives.

They needed some female-friendly erotica to test sexual responses in women before and after treatment with their drug, to find out if it worked.

But the job didn't turn out the way Liz expected. Instead, she ended up making a shocking but hilarious film of her own, Orgasm Inc, which is causing a storm in America as it sets out to expose the drug companies and doctors who are now locked in a race to produce a 'female Viagra' - a treatment that promises women a super-charged sex life in a pill.

'The whole idea of these drugs is twisted,' she reveals.

'It's not about sexual empowerment for women, it's about exploiting women and making billions in profits for drug companies.

'They're creating a false idea of what constitutes a "good" or "normal" sex life just so we can all feel abnormal and then go and buy their products.'

Orgasm Inc follows Liz on a nine year journey as she meets CEOs of drug companies, researchers, doctors, scientists and therapists - all claiming to hold the key to the ultimate female sexual experience.

One doctor in the U.S. has invented a machine he called an ' Orgasmatron', which inserts electrodes into the spine and can be operated at the touch of a button for, so it claims, an instant climax 'in the car, while you're doing housework - anywhere you like'.




Key to ultimate sex? The Orgasmatron started life as a fictional device in the Woody Allen movie, Sleeper


The Orgasmatron started life as a fictional device in the 1968 film Barbarella and early Woody Allen movie, Sleeper.

Other companies are developing a wide range of drug treatments that work on everything from brain chemistry to hormones, delivered in a series of pills, nasal sprays, chewing gums, patches and potions.

Most of these 'treatments' turn out to be largely ineffective (a woman who tries out the Orgasmatron on screen reports that it does nothing for her
except make her leg twitch) or have dangerous potential side effects, including genital mutilation, depression, insomnia and even cancer.

Ever since Viagra for men launched in 1998 and became one of the biggest-selling drugs in history - it made $1.9 billion for its makers, Pfizer, in 2008 alone - the race to develop a similar treatment for women was inevitable.

'Viagra brought sexual dysfunction into the open - and not just for men,' says Alan Riley, a professor of sexual medicine and one of the UK's leading authorities on the subject.

'Doctors noticed that women were asking if they could try Viagra too - or something like it. For the first time, female sexual dysfunction was being taken seriously.'
And there is no doubt that lifting the taboo around female desire helped a lot of women, especially those who do have specific physical problems, for example following menopause or hysterectomy.

For Monica from London, who's now 58, the arrival of a pill for men was a turning point in making her realise just how little there was to help women.

'I was going through the menopause, and while my doctor was sympathetic about hot flushes and mood swings, when I tried to talk about sex he just brushed me off. It was as if I should just accept that my sex life was over.'

A year later, however, sex was one of the first things a new GP asked about.

She says: 'I sat in the surgery and cried. Sex was painful and I rarely wanted to do it at all. Sexual intimacy had always been a special part of our marriage, and I missed it terribly. He prescribed HRT and that really helped. I felt like a new woman afterwards.'

Studies revealed that the problem was more widespread than anyone had realised, with four in ten women reporting problems in their sex lives.

That many potential 'patients', combined with the runaway success of Viagra, made female sexual frustration suddenly very sexy as far as drug companies were concerned.

Yet as Liz Canner points out, even if we accept that 40 per cent of women have 'issues' in their sex lives, only a quarter of those women identify that as being a problem.

'Having or not having sex, having or not having orgasms - any of those things are only a problem if you feel as if they are,' she says. 'But the drugs companies will soon change all that.'


source: dailymail

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The world's SECOND pregnant man is 'blissfully happy' as he prepares to give birth to baby boy next month

By Carol Driver

Expecting: Scott Moore, pictured with husband Thomas, is due to give birth next month to a boy. The couple - who were both born as girls - live in California

A transgender couple have revealed they are expecting their first baby in a month’s time.

Scott Moore – thought to be only the second ‘pregnant man’ to go public – is due to give birth to a boy in February, with husband Thomas by his side.

The couple were both born girls and have undergone surgery to transform their sex

Scott, 30, who is legally married to Thomas because he still has a female birth certificate, says he eagerly looking forward to giving birth.

They have decided to call the child ‘Miles’.

‘We know some people will criticise us but we are blissfully happy and not ashamed,’ Scott said.

The couple, from California, already have two children - Gregg, 12, and Logan, 10 - who Thomas had with a previous female partner who died.

The case is similar to that of Thomas Beatie, from Oregon, who made headlines around the world in 2008 when he gave birth to a girl.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1246153/Second-pregnant-man-Scott-Moore-birth-baby-boy-month.html#ixzz0djJo8JzQ



It's a boy! The scan reveals Scott is expecting a boy - which will be named Miles


Scott, who started out in life as a girl named Jessica, first realised he wanted to be a man when he hit puberty aged 11.

‘When I told my family they thought I was crazy but they gradually realised I was serious and allowed me to start taking male hormones when I was 16 years old,’ he said.

His parents paid £4,600 for Scott to have his 36DDD chest removed. However, he could not afford the gender surgery, so still has female organs.

Thomas, who used to be called Laura, had a hysterectomy and gender reassignment surgery last year.


'Not ashamed': Scott and Thomas posted photos of themselves online. They have been together since 2007 after meeting at a support group for transgender men

'Not ashamed': Scott and Thomas posted photos of themselves online. They have been together since 2007 after meeting at a support group for transgender men
They met in 2005 at a support group meeting for transgender men but lost touch – but saw each other again in 2007.

‘We knew we had to be together,’ Scott said. ‘Two months later I gave up my job to live with Thomas and the boys.

‘Now they call me “dad two”.’The couple, who live in a four-bedroom house, decided in December 2008 to try for a baby.

Scott was inseminated with the sperm of a male friend and fell pregnant in June 2009.
‘We were so happy we did what all gay men do when they get excited - we went shopping,’ Thomas said.

They met in 2005 at a support group meeting for transgender men but lost touch – but saw each other again in 2007.

‘We knew we had to be together,’ Scott said. ‘Two months later I gave up my job to live with Thomas and the boys.

‘Now they call me “dad two”.’The couple, who live in a four-bedroom house, decided in December 2008 to try for a baby.

Scott was inseminated with the sperm of a male friend and fell pregnant in June 2009.
‘We were so happy we did what all gay men do when they get excited - we went shopping,’ Thomas said.


'Two dads': Scott and Thomas with Gregg and Logan at their home in California. Thomas had the boys with a previous female partner who died


The couple have dismissed concerns that Miles might be teased at school, saying they are confident they can deal with it.

‘We've been through it already,’ Thomas said.

‘My son Logan was bullied but now he just says to teasers: “You may have a problem with my two dads but I don't so you're not hurting me”.’

Scott plans to have a natural birth at their local hospital. Their doctor and obstetrician have told the medics at the local hospital.


First 'pregnant man': Thomas Beatie, born a woman but who lives as a man, from Oregon, gave birth to daughter Susan Juliette Beatie on July 14, 2008


‘We didn't want everyone to be shocked when a man turns up to give birth,’ Scott said.‘We found it very difficult to get a doctor and midwife at first. It was hard when people didn't want to treat me.

‘No pregnant person should be denied healthcare just because they are a man.’

But he added: ‘I'm looking forward to giving birth now. With Thomas at my side everything will be just fine.’

Thomas said: ‘We want to show the world that trans-families can be healthy, loving and nurturing.’


source: dailymail

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Why treating a child's fever could SLOW their recovery

By Jerome Burne

This winter, millions of parents will give children medicine to tackle a high temperature. But are we reaching for the paracetamol too quickly?


Some doctors and researchers now believe that parents - and many doctors - are ‘fever phobic’, over-anxious about children’s fevers and treating them too readily.

They point out that even official National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines say children should not be given medicine simply to tackle a fever.

And reducing a fever may slow recovery time, they say, because the temperature can help to kill the bacteria causing the illness.

Researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children found that, after four hours, meningitis bacteria cooled to a normal 37c grew faster than bacteria kept at fever heat (40c).

‘Fever may play an important role in controlling the growth of this type of bacteria early in the disease,’ the researchers concluded. ‘But more research is needed.’

So should parentsworry about a fever? It’s an important issue because, quite apart from patient recovery time, dealing with childhood fevers takes up a lot of a doctors’ time; fevers result in 30 per cent of visits to A&E.

And studies have found that 20 to 50 per cent of parents give their children doses of paracetamol or ibuprofen that are too high to tackle a fever.

Fever is defined as a temperature over 37.5c. The big worry is that it’s a sign of something serious. So if your child is also unusually sleepy, has a rash, cold extremities, a stiff neck or difficulty breathing, call your GP.

But most fevers are caused by a viral infection, and clear up on their own within a few days.

‘Fever is a symptom, not a diagnosis,’ says Dr Anthony Harnden, a GP in the department of Primary Health Care at Oxford University. ‘The justification for using drugs is to make a child more comfortable.’

That means tackling the pain of a sore throat, for instance - ibuprofen and paracetamol reduce pain and inflammation.

Dr Wouter Havinga, a locum GP from Gloucestershire, strongly believes fevers should be allowed to run their course.

‘I’m often called out by parents who are worried that their child has lost control of their temperature,’ he says. ‘They’ve given paracetamol, but it’s not coming down, so they strip them off and fan them. That’s no way to treat a sick person, but they believe the fever itself is harmful.’

The NICE guidelines state: ‘Do not routinely give anti-pyretic (temperature-lowering)
drugs to a child with fever with the sole aim of reducing body temperature.’

There is evidence that a fever can actually be beneficial.

‘It’s one of the ways our bodies fight off infection,’ says Dr Havinga. ‘Viruses and bacteria are temperature-sensitive. Once your temperature starts getting up to about 40c, their reproduction rate slows down.’

A Lancet study involving 50 feverish children with malaria found that lowering temperature slowed recovery time.

The patients who had paracetamol and quinine took 16 hours longer to get the parasite out of their body than the children who just had quinine. Adults also appear to benefit from recovering naturally.

at the University of Miami found patients whose fever was ‘aggressively’ lowered as soon as it got to 38.5c did worse than those whose fever was treated only when it reached over 40c.

Parents also fear a temperature may lead to febrile convulsions. ‘They often think a child is hotter than it really is,’ says Dr Clinch. ‘Then they try to bring the temperature down with drugs, often giving too high a dose, because they are frightened it could lead to convulsions.’

These affect 3 to 5 per cent of under fives. They are similar to an epileptic fit.

But they don’t last more than a few minutes and rarely have lasting effects.

As Professor Stephen Field, of the Royal College of GPs, explains: ‘You shouldn’t rely on medicine just to reduce temperature, but if the child is distressed or is uncomfortable, then we can recommend a drug.’


source: dailymail

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Health news: Five cuppas could prevent tumours, and a wireless device for tracking pacemakers

Those who drink five or more teas or coffees a day are 40 per cent less likely to have cancer (file picture)


This week in our round-up other exciting health stories, how five or more cuppas a day protect against brain tumours, a wireless device that checks up on your pacemaker and how herbal creams could be as good as over-the-counter drugs for treating sprains.

Five cuppas a day prevents tumours

Drinking at least five cups of coffee or tea every day could help prevent brain tumours, suggests a new study from Imperial College, London.

In the study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers And Prevention, researchers looked at more than 300 men and women diagnosed with glioma, a type of cancer that normally starts in the brain.

When they compared their caffeine drinking habits to patients without brain tumours, they found that those who drank five or more teas or coffees a day were 40 per cent less likely to have cancer.

Men benefited more from the 'protective' effects of the caffeine, though it's not clear why.

One theory is that caffeine reduces blood supply to the brain, starving tumours of the high levels of oxygen and nutrients they need to flourish.

Decaffeinated tea or coffee did not have the same benefits.

Wireless device keeps your ticker ticking

Scientists have developed a 'wireless' device to monitor how well pacemakers and other implants are working.

The battery-powered device, which works in conjunction with any brand of implant means patients will need fewer hospital check-ups - usually they need these every three months, if not more often.

The device, which is the size of a pocket watch and can be worn on a belt, could also detect problems sooner. It works by picking up signals from the implant and then sending this data daily, via a mobile phone, to a special service centre.

Doctors check on patients through a secure website, detecting heart irregularities early.

In trials, doctors were able to act on this information within, on average, three days, compared with more than 30 days with conventional hospital check-ups. The device has been approved for use in Britain.


A cream made from the herb comfrey could be as good as over-the- counter painkillers


Ease sprains with a herbal cream

A cream made from the herb comfrey could be as good as over-the- counter painkillers for treating sprained ankles, says a new study.

In one Italian trial, comfrey ointment was as effective as the anti-inflammatory gel diclofenac on pain, swelling, movement and tenderness.

Results from further U.S. studies have led researchers to believe ointments based on the herb might also work for back pain and other painful joint problems, such as osteoarthritis.

It's thought the active ingredient is the protein, allantoin. Found in the leaves and root, it is an anti-inflammatory and helps to speed up the natural replacement of cells.

However, the doctors warn that the use of comfrey has been associated with severe, even life-threatening, toxic effects when taken orally.

Furthermore, the cream should not be used on open wounds.


source: dailymail

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Who REALLY needs more sleep - men or women? One of Britain's leading sleep experts says he has the answer

By Lucy Elkins

Sleeplessness is a huge source of friction in many relationships


Competitive tiredness is a sport familiar to most couples. Men and women frequently disagree about who gets the most sleep, who finds it the least exhausting to tend to a crying child in the night and who has the most energy left for chores.
Indeed, Arianna Huffington, a leading U.S. commentator, has declared women's sleep 'the next feminist issue', arguing their lack of sleep affects their judgment, creativity and ability to realise their full potential.

But do women really need more sleep than men?

Now, thanks to Britain's leading sleep expert, that argument can finally be settled. In fact, women need 20 minutes more shut-eye than the average man. And that's down to a woman's busy, multi-tasking brain.

'One of the major functions of sleep is to allow the brain to recover and repair itself,' says Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University and author of Sleepfaring: A Journey Through The Science Of Sleep.

'During deep sleep, the cortex - the part of the brain responsible for thought memory, language and so on - disengages from the senses and goes into recovery mode.

'The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need.

'Women tend to multi-task - they do lots at once and are flexible - and so they use more of their actual brain than men do. Because of that, their sleep need is greater.

'A man who has a complex job that involves a lot of decision-making and lateral thinking may also need more sleep than the average male - though probably still not as much as a woman.

This is because women's brains are wired differently from men's and are more complex, so their sleep need will be slightly greater.

'The average is 20 minutes more, but some women may need slightly more or less than this.'

Professor Horne believes the differing sleep needs may explain why a man's brain ages faster than a woman's.

'A typical 75-year-old woman has a comparable brain age to a 70-year-old man,' he says.

'We are unsure why. The fact that a woman's brain tends to get more time to relax and repair itself may explain it.'

How much sleep individual men and women need varies greatly.


A woman's sleep can be more disturbed because of her bed partner


'The average adult needs between six and eight hours of sleep a night,' says Professor Horne. 'But individual needs differ greatly - some people can get by easily on six hours while others can't.

'What is important is that people have enough sleep to ensure they do not feel excessively sleepy in the day.'

The problem is that women might need more sleep than men, but they aren't getting it. A study carried out by scientists in North Carolina found that women suffer from a lack of sleep more than men.

This is partly because women's sleep tends to be lighter and more easily disturbed than men's, according to the American Academy Of Sleep Medicine

Some women suffer sleep disturbances as they go through pregnancy due to the weight and position of the baby.

Older women can sleep restlessly during the menopause, often as a result of hot flushes, but their sleep patterns normally return to normal once it is over.

'The most important, refreshing type of sleep is deep sleep, which occurs early on in the night,' says Professor Horne.

'After that, sleep becomes lighter and we have found from our studies that you start to become more sensitive to noise


Women find it much harder to get back to sleep than men


'However, you are especially sensitive to noises or words that have some emotional significance to you.

'So, for example, if someone whispers your name, you are more likely to wake up than if someone says a word completely unconnected to you.

'Mother's minds are sensitive to the sound of their child crying from babyhood onwards, so that is often why they wake when a youngster stirs - yet a man sleeps through it.

'Also our studies have found that when people share a bed, the lighter one tends to get moved around and woken up by the heavier one - normally the man.

'So a woman's sleep can be more disturbed because of her bed partner.'

Once they've woken up, women find it much harder to get back to sleep than men, according to research from the University of Surrey.

The study found that 18 per cent of women claim to have a bad night's sleep at least five days a week compared with only 8 per cent of men.

Most reported having difficulty sleeping because they were worrying about problems.

Yet despite a general feeling that we are all tired all the time, most people - men and women - do get enough sleep.


Women tend to multi-task and because of that, their sleep need is greater


A Dutch study last year found women in particular often underestimate the amount of sleep they get.

'People will tell you they get only five hours' sleep a night,' says Professor Horne. 'Yet if you question them further, they tell you they have an hour's nap in the afternoon, which puts them up to six hours. That is probably fine for most people.

'That's how Mrs Thatcher used to survive, though in times of crisis she used to make do with four hours.

'Winston Churchill was the same. He famously slept only four hours a night, but used to have two-hour siestas every day.

'The important thing is not to worry about not having enough sleep. If you have a bad night's sleep or a whole night without sleep, you don't need to go to bed for 14 hours.

'It is only the deep, refreshing sleep that you need to catch up on, so you need to try to recoup only about a third to a half of what you missed


source: dailymail

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Breast cancer treatment hope as scientists pinpoint gene that stops chemotherapy working

Scientists have pinpointed the genes that stop common breast cancer drugs from working

Scientists have pinpointed the genes that stop common breast cancer drugs from working in a breakthrough that could save hundreds of lives a year.

The discovery paves the way for a genetic test that identifies women likely to be resistant to the powerful chemotherapy drugs given after surgery to stop the tumour from spreading or returning.

Those who test positive could be given other medicines, greatly boosting their chances of survival.

The work centres on a family of breast cancer drugs called anthracyclines which are often given as 'adjuvant' therapy, which helps to keep the disease at bay after surgery.

The drugs, including doxorubicin, daunorubicin and epirubicin, are taken by around half of the 46,000 British women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

The researchers, from the Dana Farber Institute in Boston, studied breast cancer samples from 85 women to look for differences that would explain why some did well on the treatment, while others saw their cancer return.

In around one in five of the samples two genes were overactive,
allowing the cancer to resist the drug treatment, the journal Nature Medicine reports.

Medical records confirmed that these women had done less well than those without the suspect gene 'signature'.

Researcher Dr Andrea Richardson said: 'These results suggest that tumours resistant to anthracyclines may still be sensitive to other agents.

'So this would be very useful as a test to help pick the therapy that's going to be most effective for these patients.'

Such a genetic testing kit should not be difficult to develop and could be tried out on the first patients in as little as a year, she added.

Meg McArthur, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: 'Research like this is important for identifying the appropriate treatment for individual patients.'


source: dailymail

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Sunshine vitamin cuts cancer risk by 40%

Two sources of Vitamin D: Eggs and supplement pills. Having a higher level of vitamin D in your blood means you are 'less like to develop bowel cancer'


Having a higher level of vitamin D in your blood means you are less like to develop bowel cancer than those with low levels, according to scientists.

A study published in the British Medical Journal has concluded that those with the highest levels of the vitamin were at 40 per cent lower risk of developing the disease compared with those with the lowest levels.

Scientists looked at vitamin D quantities in 1,248 people with bowel cancer and 1,248 controls in the largest ever study of the subject

The research was carried out by scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, and Imperial College London, and was funded by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).

It comes after medical experts expressed concern yesterday about the rising number of cases of rickets - caused by vitamin D deficiency - and called for it to be added to milk and other food products.

The main source of vitamin D is sunlight, through skin exposure, but it is also present in a small number of foods, such as oily fish or cod liver oil.

According to the research team, although the latest study provides evidence of a link between vitamin D and bowel cancer it does not prove that taking vitamin D supplements prevents the disease.

More studies are needed to find out the potential impact on other cancers and the effects of taking extra vitamin D doses, scientists said.

Dr Panagiota Mitrou, science programme manager for WCRF, said: 'This is the biggest ever study on this subject and there is now quite a lot of evidence from studying populations that people who have low levels of vitamin D are more likely to develop bowel cancer.

'The next step is to carry out new clinical trials to try to confirm whether vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of bowel cancer and whether there are any harmful effects of higher levels of vitamin D.

'Looking at the figures in this latest study, it suggests that increasing the UK's vitamin D intake by ten per cent could prevent seven per cent of cases.

'And when you think that there are about 37,500 cases diagnosed in the UK every year, that could have a big impact.

'But we need to emphasise that, for the moment, the findings need to be treated with caution and they are certainly not enough evidence to suggest that we should be taking supplements to increase levels of vitamin D.

'The best advice for reducing risk of bowel cancer remains to stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight, be regularly physically active, to eat more fibre and less red and processed meats and to cut down on alcohol.'

Dr Mazda Jenab, the lead author of the study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, said: 'Our results support a role for vitamin D in the etiology of colorectal cancer, but this has to be balanced with caution regarding the potential toxic effects of too much vitamin D and the fact that very little is known about the association of vitamin D with either increased or reduced risk of other cancers.'


source: dailymail

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Killers in your kitchen: Gender-bending packaging, exploding floor cleaners and toasters more deadly than sharks...

By Michael Hanlon

Beware: The kitchen is full of deadly objects and appliances


Scientists at Exeter University claimed this week that non-stick frying pans could be bad for your health. A chemical used for their heat-resistant and stain-repelling properties was linked in research to a higher-than-normal incidence of thyroid disease. Here, our Science Editor MICHAEL HANLON warns of all those other hidden dangers lurking in your kitchen.

DISHCLOTHS
Damp dishcloths and sponges, left to fester for weeks on end, may contain several tens of thousands of individual micro-organisms per square inch.
In fact, a dirty damp dishcloth probably contains the highest concentration of pathogens anywhere in the house - including the inside of your toilet.

Wiping your surfaces with one of these feculent horrors will convert a clean and wholesome surface into something reminiscent of a Third World sewer.
DANGER RATING: 4/5


FOOD PACKAGING
An EU report produced in 2009 claimed young children are being exposed to potentially dangerous levels of hormone disrupting chemicals which can affect levels of certain vital body chemicals, particularly in boys.

'Oestrogen-like' chemicals, such as pthalates found in many common plastics, containers and packaging materials, Bisphenol-A (found in food packaging plastics and coating the inside of 'tin' cans) and the (now banned) PCBs still lurking in paints and electrical equipment have been blamed by environmental groups such as the WWF and Greenpeace for cancers, falling sperm counts and even an imbalance in the sex-ratio between baby boys and girls.
DANGER RATING: 1/5


LEFTOVER FOOD

It is a rule everyone should know: Cooked flesh can be reheated - but only once.

If you make a casserole, by all means warm it up the next day but if there are leftovers from THAT warmed-up portion they cannot be reheated again.

Similarly, never, ever, re-freeze melted ice cream. When it melts and warms, ice cream provides an ideal breeding ground for various nasties including salmonella and listeria.

In fact, ALL frozen food, once thawed, should be cooked and eaten and never put back in the freezer.
DANGER RATING: 4/5


TOASTERS
Several hundred people a year worldwide are killed by their toasters, compared to eight or nine by sharks.

Toasters are potentially deadly because they contain exposed live electric elements and the way they work invites one of the commonest causes of serious home accidents - electric shocks caused when using a metal knife to prize out a slice of stuck toast.
DANGER RATING: 4/5


FRIDGES
Overstocking your fridge increases the chances of contaminating cooked food with microbes from, say, raw meat.

Always store the latter on the lower levels, to avoid the chances of blood dripping onto other foodstuffs.

Be aware of how long some foods have been in the fridge - decay is not always obvious. Avoid storing foods in plastic bags, which increase the speed of decay.
DANGER RATING: 2/5


CHIP PANS
The open chip pan is one of the most dangerous objects most of us will meet in our lives.

Open chip pans are considered so dangerous that several local fire brigades offer 'chip pan amnesties' whereby they can be traded in for much safer enclosed deep-fat fryers.

If your chip pan does catch fire, remember the drill: turn off the heat, and cover the pan with a fire blanket or wet towel until the flames go out. Do not attempt to carry the flaming pan out of the kitchen or throw water on to it.

There is a second hazard related to deep-fat frying. Oil that is brought to the boil, allowed to cool and then reheated over and over again changes its chemical composition and can end up containing dangerous amounts of acyl radicals, chemicals linked to hardening of the arteries and heart disease.
DANGER RATING: 5/5


MICROWAVES
There is no evidence that a properly used and undamaged microwave oven poses any health risk whatsoever.

Indeed, there is evidence that some microwaved food is better for you than food cooked by conventional means, especially boiled vegetables.

That said, microwaves do present a small risk. Liquids heated in a microwave can be at a temperature higher than boiling point without bubbling.

Some people have been injured by jets of boiling coffee erupting from microwaved mugs.
Enclosed containers should never be microwaved, and there is a risk of burns from exploding eggs.

Finally, there is a small risk of fire from the electrical arcing that can occur should metal items be placed in the oven.
DANGER RATING: 3/5


CLINGFILM
Some American studies have drawn a link between chemicals found in certain plastic food wraps and storage containers and hormonal abnormalities, and even cancer.

One study, in the early 1990s, suggested that food wrapped in Clingfilm could become contaminated with chemicals such as pthalates and a substance called DEHA if heated in a microwave - both substances are linked to increased cancer risk.

But these studies were controversial (other scientists found no contamination risk).

To be on the safe side, use glass containers or old-fashioned greaseproof paper and avoid plastic altogether.
DANGER RATING: 1/5


FROZEN FOOD
We are usually aware of when food in the fridge has gone off - it starts to smell, and turn a funny colour.
But what happens in the freezer is usually far less obvious. Food, particularly meat, is often left to freeze, and forgotten - for months if not years.
For some foods this is fine, but it can create a hazard. Most people think that provided the food is frozen solid it cannot go off; this is not so.

Microbial activity can continue, albeit far more slowly, at temperatures down to a few degrees below freezing. Ideally a home freezer should chill food down to -18C or so, and even then it is important to be aware of the guidelines on maximum storage times.
DANGER RATING: 2/5


PESTICIDE RESIDUE
The benefits of these chemicals probably outweigh any harm. But that doesn't mean we should not be aware that there are some unpleasant chemicals out there, particularly some of the organophosphates used to protect fruit and vegetables from pests.

While pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables are almost certainly in concentrations that will not do us any harm, it is always wise to wash these products before eating them.

And be aware that the 'natural' fertilisers, weed and pest-killing chemicals (such as copper sulphate) used by organic farmers can be just as toxic - if not more so - than the synthetic chemicals used by conventional farmers.
DANGER RATING: 1/5


SINK CUPBOARD
Under the typical kitchen sink can be found enough potentially hazardous chemicals to start a minor WMD programme.

Detergents, sanitisers, polishes, caustic sodas and other alkalis, drain unblocking acids and degreasers - all present potentially fatal hazards, particularly to toddlers.

Put a childproof catch on the door, throw away old bottles of chemicals and never use the same space to store food.
DANGER RATING: 3/5


POTS, PANS AND FURNITURE FABRICS
The chemical PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) that's found in non-stick cookware and raised concerns about thyroid disease is also present in furniture, fabrics and some food packaging, where it's valued for its resistance to water and stains.
DANGER RATING: 1/5


CLEANING AGENTS
Sodium hypochlorite solution is an excellent disinfectant, cleaning agent and whitener.

Everyone knows that bleach is toxic if swallowed and can burn or irritate the skin and eyes.

But the greatest hazard with bleach is that when mixed with certain cleaning agents, particularly those containing ammonia, hydrogen peroxide or acids (examples include Harpic toilet cleaner and Jeyes Fluid products), the resulting chemical reactions can release large quantities of deadly chlorine and even nitrogen trichloride, an explosive.
DANGER RATING: 3/5


ANTIBACTERIAL PRODUCTS
A huge market exists for the numerous 'antibacterial' products aimed at that obsessive segment of the population that sees germs lurking in every corner.

Chopping boards and kitchen wipes may be impregnated with chemicals, typically triclosan (a phenol-compound), which, it is claimed, typically 'kill 99 per cent of germs stone dead'.

There are three problems here. First, triclosan itself has been linked to hormonal problems in animal tests.

Second, the one per cent of germs that survive the antibacterial onslaught are going to be tough little blighters, and within a few hours they will have divided and redivided and replaced other, feebler germs.

Finally, there is the 'hygiene hypothesis', which states that one possible explanation for the rise in auto-immune conditions such as asthma and eczema is that our children's immune systems are exposed to far too few germs at the formative stage.

Keep things clean, by all means, but don't go over the top.
DANGER RATING: 3/5


source: dailymail

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Nine in ten food allergy cases 'are all in the mind'

Many people wrongly claim they are allergic to foods such as wheat

Nine in ten Britons who believe they have a food allergy or intolerance are perfectly healthy, researchers say.

Studies show that although 20 per cent of adults - around ten million - claim they are unable to eat foods from milk to mustard, fewer than 2 per cent actually have a problem.

Researchers from Portsmouth University found the discrepancy after reviewing studies into the prevalence of food allergies, which are caused by an over-reaction of the immune system, and intolerances, which have similar but less severe symptoms.

They blamed internet searches, self-testing kits and celebrity food fads for the epidemic of make-believe allergies and intolerances.

As a result, they said millions are unnecessarily restricting their diets, starving themselves of their favourite foods - and of key nutrients.

Others could be suffering from another medical problem which goes untreated because they believe their symptoms are caused by a particular food such as milk, eggs or wheat.

For instance, some may stop eating wheat when in fact they are suffering from a bowel condition called coeliac disease. If the complaint is not diagnosed or treated it can raise the risk of other health problems including brittle bones in old age.

Dr Carina Venter, a dietician who specialises in allergies, said: 'Our concern is that people are self-diagnosing allergies which is very unreliable and could even mask a different illness which would remain undiagnosed and untreated.'

Cutting wheat out of the diet could lead to a deficiency in B vitamins, while avoiding dairy products will lower levels of calcium, vital in maintaining strong bones, she added.

Dr Venter, whose report was funded by the Flour Advisory Board, said: 'When you feel ill, it is almost a natural reaction to try and link it with what you have eaten.

'But anyone who thinks they have symptoms related to a food needs to go to see their GP who may refer them to an allergy centre or dietician.

'Children are more prone to nutritional problems when foods are excluded from diet, so it's critical that they receive a correct diagnosis.'

Dr Venter has previously warned that new mothers are too quick to decide if their children have food allergies or intolerances.

Her study of almost 1,000 babies born on the Isle of Wight revealed more than half had at least one food cut out of their diet by the age of one. Yet, tests showed the true rate of problems was barely one in 25.

'Mums tend to put down every rash, tummy ache, diarrhoea and cry to food allergy or intolerance,' she said.

'I sympathise with them - it seems reasonable to blame the food when an infant screams or turns red in the face after being fed it the first time.'

The most common allergies include milk, wheat and peanuts


source: dailymail

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Children can catch stress: Parents who bring home the pressures of work can hamper youngsters' schooling

By Fiona Macrae

Contagious: Children can begin to feel burnt-out at school if their parents are themselves stressed at work (file picture)


Parents who push themselves too hard at work may harm their children's chance of success at school.

Research shows that mothers and fathers with career burnout pass on their feelings of disillusionment at home. Their offspring are more likely to lose interest in schoolwork.

They can begin to worry they are not keeping up with their classmates, become cynical about the value of education and exams and may even start to experience the exhaustion that accompanies burn-out.

The recession may be exacerbating the problem, the study's authors warned.

The researchers, from the Academy of Finland's educational arm, quizzed more than 500 teenagers about whether they had ever experienced burn-out.

Symptoms include tiredness, a sense of inadequacy as a student and cynicism about the value of schooling.

Their parents were asked similar questions about work-related burn-out and a pattern quickly emerged.

The parents worn out physically and emotionally were more likely to have children who meet the same fate over their schoolwork, the European Journal of Developmental Psychology reports.

What is more, burnt-out dads tended to have burnt-out sons and working mothers under pressure had school-age daughters in the same boat.

Researcher Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro said: 'The parent of the same gender seems to serve as a role model for the development of burn-out.'

Family finances were also an important factor. The professor said: 'The greater the family's financial worries, the higher the level of experienced burn-out. This is an important result in view of the potential impact of the ongoing recession on the well-being of families and young people.'

British experts said that rather than youngsters' absorbing their parents' worries, they may simply suffer from lack of attention.

Cary Cooper, professor of health psychology at Lancaster University, said: 'The UK has the longest working hours in Europe. Professionals could be doing between 45 and 55 hours a week.

'They are coming home tired and exhausted and don't spend time reading to their children, talking to them and listening to them.
'And that could be affecting the children's health and their performance


source: dailymail

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Fears grow as study shows genetically modified crops 'can cause liver and kidney damage'

By David Derbyshire

An environmental campaigner protesting against GM crops. A study said it can cause organ damage.

Fresh fears were raised over GM crops yesterday after a study showed they can cause liver and kidney damage.

According to the research, animals fed on three strains of genetically modified maize created by the U.S. biotech firm Monsanto suffered signs of organ damage after just three months.

The findings only came to light after Monsanto was forced to publish its raw data on safety tests by anti-GM campaigners.

They add to the evidence that GM crops may damage health as well as be harmful to the environment.

The figures released by Monsanto were examined by French researcher Dr Gilles-Eric Seralini, from the University of Caen.

Yesterday he called for more studies to check for long-term organ damage.

'What we've shown is clearly not proof of toxicity, but signs of toxicity,' he told New Scientist magazine. 'I'm sure there's no acute toxicity but who's to say there are no chronic effects?'

The experiments were carried out by Monsanto researchers on three strains of GM maize. Two of the varieties contained genes for the Bt protein which protects the plant against the corn borer pest, while a third was genetically modified to be resistant to the weedkiller glyphosate. All three strains are widely grown in America, while one is the only GM crop grown in Europe, mostly in Spain.

Monsanto only released the raw data after a legal challenge from Greenpeace, the Swedish Board of Agriculture and French anti- GM campaigners.

Dr Seralini concluded that rats which ate the GM maize had ' statistically significant' signs of liver and kidney damage. Each strain was linked to unusual concentrations of hormones in the blood and urine of rats fed the maize for three months, compared to rats given a non-GM diet.

The higher hormone levels suggest that animals' livers and kidneys are not working properly.

Female rats fed one of the strains also had higher blood sugar levels and raised levels of fatty substances caused triglycerides, Dr Seralini reported in the International Journal of Microbiology.

The analysis concluded: 'These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown.'

Monsanto claimed the analysis of its data was 'based on faulty analytical methods and reasoning, and does not call into question the safety findings for these products'


source: dailymail

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Girl, 19, left battling blindness after taking Tamiflu (and she didn't even have swine flu)

By Cher Thornhill

Disabled: Samantha Millard had an allergic reaction to Tamiflu which left her blistered and battling blindness


A teenage girl left disabled by the swine flu treatment Tamiflu did not even have the virus, it was revealed today.

Samantha Millard, 19, became critically ill after suffering a severe allergic reaction to the tablets, which she took on the advice of the controversial NHS helpline.

Within 72 hours of taking three pills, doctors put her on life support.

Samantha spent a month in hospital after developing the life-threatening Stevens Johnson syndrome, which causes the skin to peel off, and later developed toxic epidermal necrolysis syndrome, which has damaged her sight.

But tests at the hospital have since revealed that she never even contracted the swine flu virus.

Her devastated mother Debbie Van Horenbeeck is now seeking legal advice about the information given out by the NHS swine flu helpline. She believes that Tamiflu has not been tested thoroughly enough.

‘They have disabled my daughter from that helpline,’ said the 42-year-old, who is now her daughter's full-time carer.

'When they told her she had swine flu, they did not inform her of anything that could go wrong. The Government told us we should take this if we got swine flu.’

Doctors believe it will take up to two years for Samantha - who has lost a stone in weight - to recover and do not know if her eyesight will ever be restored.

She said: ‘It’s hard. I can’t bathe myself, I can’t dress myself, I can’t watch films and I can’t read books.

‘I sit in my bedroom with my sunglasses on, curtains closed and the TV on so I can hear it. I don’t know how long it will take for my eyes to heal.

‘I know I’m improving but some days it’s really hard to cope with it. I can’t cry - I have no tears.’

Samantha, of Bicester in Oxfordshire, had taken just three of the 10 tablets when she broke out in a red rash.

Within hours, her body was covered in painful blisters which were so severe her long hair had to be shaved off.

She was rushed to hospital, where tests later revealed that she never actually contracted the swine flu virus.

The student at Bicester Community College now needs to use eye-drops every hour and wear sunglasses and a hat whenever she leaves her house.

Last year the Mail revealed some of the call centres speaking to people with suspected swine flu were manned by 16-year-olds with just three hours training.

A leading health expert also claimed last week that the swine flu outbreak was a 'false pandemic' driven by drug companies that stood to make billions of pounds from a worldwide scare.

Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, accused the makers of flu drugs and vaccines of influencing the World Health Organisation's decision to declare a pandemic.


Rare risk: Tamiflu has been linked to a few rare cases of lthe life-threatening Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which causes the skin to peel off


This led to the pharmaceutical firms ensuring 'enormous gains', while countries, including the UK, 'squandered' their meagre health budgets, with millions being vaccinated against a relatively mild disease.

Sitting at her daughter's bedside last year, Debbie said: 'It shouldn't be the case that people with no medical background can make these decisions.

'These people are just Joe Bloggs off the street. My daughter could die because of this. Her condition is getting worse.

Stevens Johnson syndrome affects just three in a million people and is usually triggered by an adverse reaction to medication. The mortality rate is around 15 per cent.

Victims develop terrible scarring all over their bodies as well as severe conjunctivitis which can lead to blindness and mouth infections which can stop them eating.

A Roche spokeswoman said the incident would be investigated and could not rule out the role of Tamiflu in triggering the syndrome.

She said: 'While it is difficult to determine the role of Tamiflu in Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, the prescribing information for doctors carries information regarding single cases of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome that have been reported.

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We are sorry to hear about this young woman's illness and hope she recovers quickly.

'Stevens Johnson Syndrome can happen after medicines or infections and it is very difficult to pinpoint the cause. Serious reactions to Tamiflu are extremely rare and it should still be taken as soon as possible, especially for very serious swine flu cases.

'The National Pandemic Flu Service has been informed by the best clinical expertise including specialist UK Royal Colleges. It includes questions so that potential signs of serious conditions are picked up and referred for immediate medical advice.


source: dailymail

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Mother tells of 'living nightmare' after BOTH twin daughters, 4, are diagnosed with cancer

Joint fight: Identical twins Megan and Gracie Garwood are both battling acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

A mother has told of her 'living nightmare' after both her identical twin daughters were diagnosed with leukaemia.

Emma Garwood, 38, and husband Mark, 35, were left devastated after they were told that their four-year-old daughter Megan had the cancer.

But just a week later doctors found out that Megan's twin sister Gracie also had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

Both the girls are still battling the disease after five months treatment at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

Mrs Garwood, who also has a two-year-old daughter Martha, said: 'To see both girls in a twin room at Addenbrooke's undergoing the same treatment side by side was an absolute living nightmare.

'I struggle now just to talk about it without getting upset. To be told that two of your three children have cancer is unthinkable and you begin to wonder what you have done to deserve it.'

The couple's ordeal began last August when Megan began looking tired and off colour at home in Colchester, Essex.

Her parents took her to their doctor who immediately referred her to Colchester General Hospital for further tests.

She was then transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital after the leukaemia was diagnosed.

Mrs Garwood said: 'We had just come back from holiday and suddenly Megan couldn't walk or do all the usual lively things she normally did.

'It all seems like a dream sequence. I still just assumed she had a bug. You never think anything this bad could happen to you.

'But suddenly a doctor says your daughter has cancer and moments later we are being rushed to Addenbrooke's in an ambulance with all the blue lights flashing. And then at midnight you watch your daughter begin an intense course of chemotherapy.

'The strange thing was that Megan was the only one who wasn't panicking. She seemed to be doing fine - maybe it was the adrenalin.'


'Little stars': Emma Garwood with daughters Megan and Gracie, who were given awards by Cancer Research UK


As the couple came to terms with the diagnosis, doctors reassured them that the chances of Megan's twin sister having the same cancer were slim.

But just a week later Mrs Garwood's sister called to say Gracie, who was staying with Mrs Garwood's parent, seemed tired and unwell.

Mrs Garwood said: 'We took Gracie to Addenbrooke's and asked if she could be checked.

'She thought she was only there to visit her sister, but they took one look at her and before we knew it she was moved into the bed next to Megan for treatment.

'From that day we did not leave the hospital for nine weeks. It was heartbreaking, all Gracie kept saying was "Mummy, I only came here to visit Megan".

'You want to stay positive but I experienced some terrible dark moments when it was difficult not to think the worst.'

Gracie began chemotherapy exactly a week after her sister but as the treatment progressed it was clear neither were responding as well as expected.

With their parents sleeping by their childrens' side every night, the twins underwent a more intensive chemotherapy programme - but an infection Megan had caught in her back did not respond to drugs.

Surgeons were forced to carry out a major operation to cut out the infection leaving a large hole in her back.

The wound was so deep that Megan had to carry round a special suction pump in a backpack for ten days to speed up the healing process.

Mrs Garwood and her husband who runs a motor dealership in Hatfield Peverel, Essex, moved to a cottage in High Rougham, Suffolk, so they could be closer to Addenbrooke's Hospital.

The twins were allowed out of the hospital in November and moved into the cottage with their parents.

Mrs Garwood said: 'It felt weird to be in our new home. Our lives had gone through such upheaval but thankfully we had Christmas together which if I'm honest I thought might never happen again.'

Megan and Gracie now face another two years of treatment and weekly visits to hospital before they can be given the all clear.


Cancer hospital: Addenbrooke's in Cambridge where the twins were taken to be treated


Mrs Garwood added: 'We went through hell in hospital but now hospital visits are just a way of life.

'Terrible as it was to have both diagnosed at the same time, if they both had to have it then much better that they went through it together. The hardest part for us now is trying to remember who's having which drugs.'

The twins' courage has led to them being presented with Cancer Research UK Little Star awards.

The annual awards, in partnership with TK Maxx which has raised £3.2million for research into children's cancer, recognises youngsters who have faced the ordeal.

Nominated youngsters receive a certificate signed by celebrities including Leona Lewis and athlete Usain Bolt.

Paula Young, Cancer Research UK's spokeswoman for Suffolk, said: 'Megan and Gracie have coped amazingly well with all that they have been through in the past six months.

'It's an honour to be able to give them the Little Star wards and we wish the twins and their family every best wish through their ongoing treatment.'


source: dailymail

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There's nothing fishy about using these oils to make yourself younger

By Jenny Hope

Elixir? Omega-3 fatty acids may have a direct effect on extending the lifespan of cells

Fish oils may hold the key to longer and healthier life, claim researchers.

They say omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil may have a direct effect on extending the lifespan of cells.

Their study is the first to link the oils - either from fish or supplements - with the body's ability to resist premature ageing.

The 'elixir of life' discovery was made in heart disease patients, who are already advised to increase their fish intake to ward off repeat heart attacks.

Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, looked at the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on 608 outpatients with heart disease.

They found higher levels of omega-3 slowed down damage to DNA contained in telomeres - tiny 'caps' on the ends of chromosomes which help protect against inflammation and other ageing processes.

Having longer telomeres is a sign of being biologically younger and also of being healthier.

As people age, their telomeres get shorter and they become more susceptible to certain illnesses.

Scientists believe this process is at the heart of many age-related diseases, and may even place a final limit on human lifespan.


Nothing fishy: Fresh Cornish sardines are rich in Omega-3 fatty aids

At the start of the study, measurements were taken of the length of telomeres in the patients' white blood cells.

The tests were carried out again after five years, and showed a clear link with omega-3 intake, says a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Patients consuming the least omega-3 had the fastest rate of telomere shortening while those in the top 25 per cent of consumption levels had the slowest rate


Lead researcher Dr Ramin Farzaneh-Far said animal research has shown that rodents live a third longer when given a diet enriched with fish-derived omega-3.

He said the latest study demonstrated 'a potentially novel pathway for the anti-ageing effects of omega-3 fatty acids'.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in oily fish such as mackerel, herring, salmon, sardines or trout - and fish oil supplements - as well as soya beans, rapeseed oil, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.

White fish is also a healthy food although it contains lower levels of essential fatty acids.

But, said Dr Ruxton, Britons fail to consume recommended minimum levels of two fish portions each week, one of which must be oily.



source: dailymail

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Breast screening benefits 'a myth' as 7,000 women a year are wrongly told they have cancer

By Jenny Hope

Checks: All women aged between 50 and 70 are offered breast cancer screening

More than 7,000 women a year screened for breast cancer are wrongly told they have the disease, it was claimed yesterday.

The misdiagnoses lead to unnecessary treatment, including mastectomies.

After an independent review of the NHS programme for women aged 50 to 69, scientists concluded that the benefits of screening have been exaggerated and women are not warned of the potential harms from having regular checks.


It says there is 'no convincing evidence' to support the Department of Health's assertion that screening saves 1,400 lives a year.

Improvements in breast cancer survival in recent years are more likely to be attributable to advances in treatment rather than screening, says the review by the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen.

Under the NHS breast screening programme, women aged 50-69 are invited for routine mammograms, or X-rays, every three years. Altogether 1.7million year take up the invitation.

Controversy has increased in recent years about the benefits, with critics complaining women are told too little about possible harms such as unnecessary biopsies.

More worryingly, they include treatment for a disease a woman does not have or for slow-growing or dormant tumours that would not have produced any symptoms in her lifetime.

Screening picks up more cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - cancer in cells lining the milk ducts that has not spread - than would normally be found because it is often symptomless.

Doctors are uncertain about the best way to treat them and accept some would never become life-threatening cancers.
Yet half of women diagnosed with DCIS have a breast removed.

The review found 21,000 women in the 50 to 69 age group had breast cancer diagnosed by screening in 2007.


source: dailymail

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