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Ask Doctor Frank!'As a service provider to the Medical Profession, we feel it is useful to have a topical web page where busy doctors would have the opportunity to catch up with information and views covering subjects which affect their world.

We would welcome additional contributions from active doctors as well as from other sources.

October 2009

Dr Frank Says......

Another new cancer treatment
The use of antibodies to immobilize cancer cells has been known for some time but scientists from The University of Nottingham have shown that antibodies can actually kill cancer cells. The study reported in The Journal of Clinical Investigation looked at leukemia and lymphoma cells and showed that antibodies under certain conditions release lysosomes into the target cells causing them to swell burst and die.

Coffee for Alzheimer's
Researchers from Florida have confirmed previous reports of the benefits of coffee in Alzheimer's disease. The report, published in The Alzheimer's Journal described the effects of coffee on mice bred to develop the disease. Those given the human equivalent of 5 cups per day had, after 2 months, less cognitive decline than those not fed coffee.

I could have told them
A study from Keele University reported in Neuroreport found that when in pain swearing reduces the pain. 64 volunteers from The School of Psychology had their hand immersed in freezing water. Those who swore managed an average of 2 minutes whereas those forbidden to swear could only manage 1 and a quarter minutes. The team thinks that swearing involves the "flight or fight" response.

I'll have another one please
Older people who consume moderate amounts of alcohol have a reduced risk of dementia according to a study presented at The International Conference of Alzheimer's disease. The study from Wake Forest University in the US looked at more than 3000 people aged 75 plus. They followed the participants over a six year period and found that those who drank about 4 units per week hard a markedly reduced decline in cognitive function. They believe the effect is caused by blocking platelets and increasing the benefit of HDL cholesterol.

Healthy fat link to bowel disease.
We all know that high intake of polyunsaturated fat is good for the heart but scientists from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) have found that linoleic acid (found in most margarines) is converted in the body into arachidonic acid. This substance is known to be implicated in the causation of ulcerative colitis. In this particular study 126 of the patients on the high polyunsaturated diet went on to develop ulcerative colitis.

Novel approach to Heart Damage
Adult heart cells to not divide. A team from The Children's Hospital in Boston, working on mice, has found that daily infusion of neuregulin1 (NRG1) over a few weeks made the damaged cells divide and repair the damage. They will now continue their work with pigs. They see sometime in the future that patients who have suffered an MI could benefit from the treatment.

Lord Darzi Quits Last year

Lord Darzi published his review of the next ten years of the NHS. Darzi as I'm sure you all know is a surgeon. He knows nothing about general practice and his proposals showed it - as I and most of my GP friends thought. You probably remember that he wanted all GPs to work in huge poly-clinics! Thank goodness he's gone and let's hope his report (for which no doubt he was paid a fortune) goes with him!

More news on calorie restricted diet
Writing in Science researchers from the US showed that, in monkeys, reducing calorie intake by 30% monkeys lived up to 25% longer and had few cancers and age related illnesses. Earlier this year German workers showed that calorie restriction in a group of 70 elderly individuals that memory improved after 3 months.

Saliva test for Premature labour

A report from workers at University College London and Kings College London, published in The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology showed that monitoring levels of progesterone in saliva was a good indicator of risk of premature delivery. They showed that giving steroids to women with low salivary levels promoted fetal lung development and reduced the brisk of premature delivery.

And finally…………
How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb really has to want to change.

Please let us let us have your constructive observations on this page and any views covering other subjects. E-mail, website@locumlink.uk.com or drfrank@locumlink.uk.com . These can be published under a pseudonym for further comment.

Ed

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