Medicine Man

Drinking a daily pint of beer or a large glass of wine increases your risk of bowel cancer by around 10 per cent - according to a new report by Cancer Research UK.

And the more you drink the more the risk increases.

Almost half a million people in 10 European countries were quizzed on their drinking habits as part of the EPIC study which is funded by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council and other European agencies.

The report, published online in the International Journal of Cancer, found that people who drink 15 grams of alcohol a day - equivalent to about two units - have about a 10 per cent increased risk of bowel cancer.

Those who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol - equivalent to three to four units which is less than a couple of pints of strong lager - increased their bowel cancer risk by around 25 per cent.

Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK epidemiologist and deputy director of the cancer epidemiology unit in Oxford, said: "The research shows quite clearly that the more alcohol you drink the greater your risk of bowel cancer. The increase in risk is not large but it is important that people understand they can reduce their risk of a number of different cancers - including bowel cancer - by cutting down on alcohol."

Almost 480,000 people were asked questions about how much alcohol they drank and were followed up for six years. In that period 1833 people developed colon cancer.

Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer information, said: "There is a lot of confusion over safe levels of drinking. This partly arises over the increasing strength of some wines and beers and the fact that many pubs offer a large glass of wine that is actually equivalent to one third of a bottle.

"It is important that people do not automatically equate one drink with one unit. A large glass of wine with a high alcohol volume is likely to be the equivalent of considerably more than that.

"Cancer Research UK recommends that women should drink less than two units a day and men less than three.

"While there is increasing evidence that over indulging in alcohol can increase the risk of some cancers research also shows that by far the biggest risk for life threatening diseases is the combination of smoking together with drinking alcohol."

http://info.cancerresearchuk.org

On 25 July 2007, four new cases of polio were confirmed in Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, bringing the total number of cases in the country this year to 27.

In neighbouring Angola, advance notification of two new polio cases was received, which will bring the total number of cases in Angola in 2007 to 8. The two cases are from Luanda and Benguele provinces.

Both countries are continuing synchronized, cross-border outbreak response activities. Large-scale, supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) were launched nationwide in Angola, and in the affected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Equateur and Bandundu provinces) on 25 July, to reach more than 8 million children under the age of five years. Further immunization campaigns will be conducted later in the year.

In 2005, poliovirus of Indian origin re-infected Angola, before subsequently spreading to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2006.

http://www.who.int

An AIDS conference planned to take place in China in August has been banned by government authorities.

The conference aimed to bring together Chinese and foreign experts and activists to discuss the legal rights of people living with AIDS and was due to take place in Guangzhou near Hong Kong in the south of the country.

The organizers, the New York-based Asia Catalyst group say they were informed by the authorities that the combination of AIDS, law and foreigners was too sensitive.

China admits to having 203,527 registered people living with the HIV virus but the United Nations believes the true number is much higher than that and to be around 650,000.

Of that figure, 52,480 have already progressed to full-blown AIDS.

On the agenda for the conference were issues such as discrimination, blood safety and setting up a legal aid center.

No new date has been suggested so far.

Although China has become increasingly open about AIDS in recent years and the government supports campaigns to educate citizens on avoiding infection, there are still sticking points.

AIDS victims infected through reckless commercial blood collection in rural Henan province have been given free drugs but nevertheless the state remains wary of local activists and the influence of foreign groups who might encourage litigation against the state by infected citizens or raise issues of official complicity in the spread of the disease; Henan has informally blocked patients from suing officials over tainted blood.

The conference had been co-organized with the China Orchid AIDS Project, a Beijing-based group, who had invited several experts from South Africa, India, the United States, Canada and Thailand.

In May this year authorities barred a prominent AIDS and environmental activist couple from leaving the country, accusing them of endangering national security and the doctor who helped expose the rural AIDS epidemic in Henan was only allowed to go to Washington to collect a human rights award after an international outcry.

Reports in the UK suggest that almost 400,000 youngsters aged between 5 and 19 are being treated with Ritalin and similar drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, regardless of fears about the drugs' serious side-effects such as cardiovascular disorders, hallucinations and even suicidal thoughts.

The number of prescriptions for behavioural problems has risen by 156 per cent in the last six years and in the last five years the National Health Service (NHS) costs for stimulant drugs such as Ritalin has trebled despite concerns over the potential health risks.

Research suggests that thousands of children are needlessly being prescribed mind-altering powerful drugs for hyperactivity with some GPs prescribing Ritalin to children under a year old and in the last decade the number of school children prescribed anti-depressants such as Prozac has risen four times.

Those diagnosed with ADHD often display disruptive behaviour and have difficulty paying attention to specific tasks but official guidelines recommend drug treatment only for the most severely affected children.

But claims are being made that Ritalin and similar drugs are being prescribed to those with mild symptoms.

Diagnosing ADHD properly is a lengthy process and should involve accounts and reports from a range of sources such as schools as well as parents.

Critics say some GPs are prescribing the powerful drugs after brief consultations and this is a concern as at least nine deaths have been reported to the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency since Ritalin became available in the early 1990s.

Opposition MPs say while there are undoubtedly many children in the UK with ADHD who will benefit from Ritalin, the increase of prescriptions raises questions as to whether it is being prescribed properly in each and every case.

They say cases have been reported which indicate that the NHS needs to review it's policy on prescribing such drugs and a review of the current guidelines is in order.

They suggest more research should be done into the effectiveness of non-drug treatment and natural remedies to treat ADHD.

The politicians used research compiled from global studies conducted over the past decade as there are no official records on the number of children prescribed Ritalin in Britain.

Their call follows a report by the University of California which shows that the use of ADHD drugs has tripled worldwide since 1993.

The ADHD charity Addiss has dismissed the research as "misleading" and claims the disorder is still "under-diagnosed and underprescribed".

In the U.S. almost 1 in 10 school-age boys is prescribed Ritalin or an equivalent and the drug is frequently recommended for toddlers.

According to scientists in Britain the battle against super bugs such as MRSA could be won with steam cleaning.

Researchers at University College Hospital London, have found that dry steam applied at temperatures ranging from 150-180?C may destroy bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant superbugs like MRSA, in less than two seconds.

The steam is produced in seconds by passing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide through a fine powder catalyst in a hand-held device which then delivers the superheated steam.

The researchers believe the device may help in the battle against hospital infections, such as MRSA but say more tests are needed.

The steam can be produced at temperatures as high as 800?C, but the handheld device can produce cooler steam suitable for hospital cleaning.

Experts say that 121?C is hot enough to kill all bacteria and even spores, so it would kill Clostridium difficile.

A British company is developing prototypes of the device, which uses a powder catalyst the size of a sugar cube; when the alcohol and hydrogen peroxide mixture comes into contact with the powder, it causes a powerful reaction, producing steam and carbon dioxide.

Although the reactor is a mere two centimetres high it is capable of producing 70 litres of steam at 650?C per minute, making it highly portable.

Experts say the instant steam would be convenient for hospitals because there is no wait for a boiler to heat up and no cables are required.

The steam device can be miniaturised into a plastic bottle along with a trigger able to kill bugs in nooks and crannies.

Steam is not a novel cleaning agent and is already used to clean medical instruments and laboratory equipment in autoclave machines.

The research is published in Chemistry and Industry.