JULY 30, 2005
VOLUME 2 NO. 13
 

BMJ touched by London terror attacks
LONDON — The double decker bus bomb tragedy that occurred in Tavistock Square, London, on July 7, exploded right outside the offices of the British Medical Association (BMA) and BMJ. Thirteen people were killed in the attack, one of four public transit bombs that devastated the British capital — none of the victims were from the BMA or BMJ. Many BMA and BMJ staffers, including physicians, rushed out to administer first aid to the victims.

Brit docs vote for abortion status quo
LONDON — Before the bombs struck, BMA members showed their compassion for another group — women facing an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy. At the BMA's recent conference, doctors voted overwhelmingly not to reduce the limit on late term abortions. The current limit is 24 weeks; a proposal was made to cut that to 20 weeks because neonatal medicine has improved survival rates for severely premature babies — sometimes as young as 23 weeks. Delegates voted 77% against the motion. One, Dr Jan Wise, spoke out passionately against the reduction: "There is a lot of anguish in deciding to have such a termination. This puts an extra burden on the vulnerable and weak who have decided to take this terrible last step." Clearly his colleagues agreed.

Lorenzo's oil really works
BALTIMORE — The 1992 Hollywood film Lorenzo's Oil, based on a true story, tells the tale of the Odone family and the homemade concoction that saved their son from dying of the genetic childhood disease cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (ADL). In 1989, the same year the parents discovered their dietary supplement, a study was launched to see if it actually worked. The results have at last been published, in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology. They show that the supplement — made from a mix of olive oil and rapeseed oil — actually delays the effects of the disease. Of the 89 boys in the study, 74% remained healthy after 13 years. Most children with ADL die within seven years of onset of symptoms.

Cross-border organ trade goes high tech
CHICAGO, IL — A commercial website that links up organ donors and recipients — MatchingDonors.com — has led to the first international cyber kidney transplant arrangement. Trent Fenwick, from Kelowna, BC, generously donated his kidney to complete stranger Bill Lundborg, of Chicago. The procedure was scheduled to be performed on July 15 at the Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. Based out of Massachusetts, MatchingDonors.com allows patients to post their profiles on the site. Potential donors can then browse for a life they would like to help save. Patients are charged a membership fee but donors aren't financially compensated for their organs as it's still illegal.

Buddha made a man of her
AUG MYAY THAR YAR, MYANMAR — Twenty-one-year-old Thin Sandar recently prayed to Buddha, asking him if she could be a man in her next life. Her wish came true a little earlier than expected. At the end of June there was a full moon and Ms Sandar claims she suddenly noticed that she had grown a penis and that her breasts had disappeared. Born a girl, many villagers concede that Ms Sandar is a hermaphrodite. But physicians say that it still doesn't explain the sudden transformation. The health ministry, in the country formerly known as Burma, has gotten involved, sending experts to examine the woman-turned-man. Ms Sandar's proud father already has plans to send her to a monastery.

No Huntington's on flies
MADISON, WI — University of Wisconsin researchers have come up with a cure for Huntington's disease — in fruit flies. They were able to cure the flies by increasing the levels of two proteins that are usually reduced by the disease. Astute observers will recognize that this is bigger news for humans than it is for flies. Despite the fact the disease works in a far more complicated manner in people, senior author Dr Jerry Yin is hopeful the knowledge attained from curing the flies will lead us to find the underlying causes of Huntington's in sentient beings, and hopefully a cure.

Plan B doesn't lead to iniquity
LONDON — A BMJ study published online July 11 confirms the worst fears of sexual health moralists everywhere: the morning after pill does not cause an increase in unprotected sex, or indeed any significant change in women's contraceptive behaviour. The three-year study, conducted by researchers at Imperial College drawing on data from the British household Omnibus Survey, found that among sexually active women, aged 16-49, the only change in their birth control regime, since Plan B became available over the counter in the UK, was how they obtained the emergency contraceptive. During the study period, rates of use remained stable at 8.4% in 2000, 7.9% in 2001, 7.2% in 2002.

In Canada, CABG comes cheap
MONTREAL — With everyone in a flap over private healthcare it's sometimes easy to forget the public model actually has some clear advantages. A study in the July 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine offers a timely reminder. Researchers at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital compared 7,319 Canadian and 4,698 US coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients at four Canadian and five American hospitals. They found that in the US the procedure can cost a heart-stopping 82% more than it does in Canada. The researchers attributed the difference to vastly pricier hospital overheads in the US, from salaries on down. Clinical outcomes, mercifully, didn't differ.

US docs battle insurers — and win
MIAMI — Another classic complaint about the American healthcare system is the power of insurance bureaucrats to decide what treatments and procedures are "medically necessary." Doctors and patients alike are frequently infuriated when insurers refuse to cover an appropriate intervention. But now a settlement of a huge class-action lawsuit, brought forward by a host of doctors and state medical associations, should shift some decision-making power back to the physicians and out of reach of the insurance bean counters. Mega insurance company WellPoint is the latest to settle, following Aetna, Cigna, Prudential and HealthNet. The settlements so far total a payout to doctors and charitable healthcare organizations to the tune of $590 million US.

 

 
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