19 May 2008[Bridget Farham] This gloomy Monday, with the national newspapers carrying photographs that are reminiscent of the dark days of the 1980s, is perhaps a good time to remind everyone that the simple act of smiling can make you feel better. So it came as no surprise to me to see the study showing that a new therapy called yoga laughter can reduce blood pressure. read more 12 May 2008[Bridget Farham] New laws are about to give the Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang enormous control over the regulation of drugs in South Africa. The Medicines and Related Substances Emendment (sic) Bill will abolish the Medicines Control Council (MCC) and replace it with the South Arfican Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra). read more 5 May 2008[Bridget Farham] Hypertension is often called the 'silent killer' - silent because it has few symptoms - killer because uncontrolled hypertension is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. This week's edition of The Lancet contains a review of the global burden of hypertension. read more 25 Apr 2008[Bridget Farham] Today is the first ever World Malaria Day. It is described as a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world - a day to make the world care. What does malaria mean to most people who read this newsletter? I may be maligning some of you, but I would guess that for most it is an inconvenience that means that you have to take anti-malarial prophylaxis when you visit malarial areas - a bit of a nuisance, but nothing too serious. read more 21 Apr 2008[Bridget Farham] Last week my father was admitted to hospital with an infected, gangrenous toe. He is being operated on today - to remove the toe and to open up the blood supply to the foot so that the problem doesn't recur. read more 14 Apr 2008[Bridget Farham] Food and fuel prices are rising around the world and there is no sign of the increase slowing, according to a report in today's Business Times. For many of us this is little more than a minor irritation, made worse by the recent rise in the repo rate, stimulated by increasing inflation as a result of these rises. read more 7 Apr 2008[Bridget Farham] Vaccines are one of medicine's success stories. In the developed world, routine childhood vaccination saves millions of children from illness and potentially death each year. read more 31 Mar 2008[Bridget Farham] As the rhetoric about the Zimbabwe elections and who has won (impossible to tell) dominate our newspapers over the next few days, let's not forget the systematic errosion of health and human rights that has characterised that poor country over the past few years. An editorial in The Lancet this week reports that violence and torture have escalated to an alarming degree. read more 25 Mar 2008[Bridget Farham] The 24th March is my husband's birthday - it is also World TB Day - not a day that most people know about, I suspect. However, TB is a growing global problem. read more 17 Mar 2008[Bridget Farham] Last week I ran a story about a new analysis of the effectiveness or otherwise of the most commonly used antidepressants - SSRIs. The new analysis suggests that these drugs are little better than placebo - for people who have mild to moderate depression. read more 10 Mar 2008[Bridget Farham] We're growing a nation of fatties. According to our lead story today, more than 17% of South African children are classified as overweight or obese – and in allowing their children to eat fast foods and the like, parents are contributing to their children's future health problems and, sadly, short life spans. read more 3 Mar 2008[Bridget Farham] This week's issue of The Lancet carries a study from Uganda that shows that, in a well-supported trial at least, home-based carers providing antiretroviral therapy and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis can reduce mortality among those living with HIV by 95%. This may seem obvious, but what is important about this study is that the treatment programme was not dependent on doctors. read more 25 Feb 2008[Bridget Farham] Women should not die in childbirth in the 21st century - that is unequivocal. But an alarming number still do - most in the developing world - and, it seems, in sub-Saharan Africa, most are still dying of preventable diseases and not the complications of childbirth itself. read more 18 Feb 2008[Bridget Farham] A headline in The Lancet this week says that we are "Six steps away from averting one billion deaths". What the editorial is talking about is the release of the WHO's mpower report - on the global tobacco epidemic in 2008. read more 11 Feb 2008[Bridget Farham] Some time ago I saw an article giving the views of various plastic surgeons who were very concerned about the long-term side effects of cosmetic procedures such as Botox. Their concern was that we have no idea what these procedures will do to skin over time, particularly repeated procedures, which could, theoretically lead to scarring. read more |
