January 2008 Archives

Positive Futures, a Home Office-funded social-inclusion scheme for disadvantaged and socially marginalised young people, has reported the results of a survey on alcohol consumption. Of 1250 disadvantaged teenagers questioned, 42% started drinking before the age of 13, with 29% saying they drink to get drunk. Beer was the most popular drink (35%), then spirits (29%), cider and wine. Half of those questioned said drinking had led to fights, violence and aggression. Drinking was also associated with vandalism and 17% said it led to sexual irresponsibility. The most common reasons for taking up drinking were that friends drank, and it looked like fun. Parents condoned or did not care about their drinking and 42% knew family and friends with alcohol-related problems. 52% said they got alcohol from their local shops and 22% got alcohol at home from their family. The survey illustrates the importance of parents/peer group behaviour and the accessibility of alcohol on the prevalence of under-age drinking in this vulnerable group.

In 2006/7 16,500 adults in England sought treatment for cannabis use, according to a report on the BBC news website. Although the legal classification of cannabis remains a controversial area, with advocates for both Class B and Class C, the rise by 50% of people seeking treatment since the drug was reclassified downwards from Class B to Class C is a worrying trend. The rise could be explained by the availability of better treatments but it is unlikely people would seek treatment unless they were experiencing a problem. As evidence continues to mount about the harmful effects of cannabis, the people who previously regarded cannabis as a harmless drug are strangely silent. The British Medical Association remains opposed to the Class C classification. It’s debatable what difference it would make to reclassify it now.

A case report published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation gives hope to patients with Alzheimer's disease and their carers. Rapid cognitive improvement was seen within minutes in a patient with late-onset Alzheimer's disease following perispinal etanercept (an anti-TNF drug). Previous research has suggested that excess tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is centrally involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. It has recently been shown to mediate the disruption in synaptic memory mechanisms, which is caused by beta-amyloid and beta-amyloid oligomers. The beneficial effects seen with etanercept may be related to amelioration of the effects of excess TNF-alpha on synpatic mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease.

Journal of Neuroinflammation: Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer's disease following perispinal etanercept administration 2008, 5:2 doi:10.1186/1742-2094-5-2

A combination of a healthy active lifestyle and moderate drinking leads to a longer life according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal. The study by Danish researchers found that people who did not drink or take any exercise had the highest risk of heart disease. Non-drinkers who were physically active had a 30% reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease compared to physically inactive non-drinkers. Physically active people who drank at least one drink a week had a risk 50% lower than that of physically inactive non-drinkers. Moderate drinking was defined as up to 14 units a week. In the past it has been suggested that drinking alcohol decreases the risk of heart disease by possibly thinning the blood and increasing the proportion of "good" cholesterol.

European Heart Journal: The combined influence of leisure-time physical activity and weekly alcohol intake on fatal ischaemic heart disease and all-cause mortality doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm574

The Tooke report into the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) debacle was published today and calls for a new national and independent organisation, NHS Medical Education England, to oversee the training and career development of junior doctors and to work with the government on workforce planning. The inquiry chairman, Sir John Tooke, is showing one way forward after the unprecedented disaster in spring 2007 which saw the government's attempts to reform postgraduate medical education and recruitment to specialist training posts descend into farce. However what happens to the doctors still suffering the consequences of the 2007 recruitment round and the doctors about to suffer in the 2008 round remains to be seen. The report, Aspiring to Excellence, acknowledges the problem but may have come too late to save them.