Butterbur is used normally to treat migraines, but it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids ingredient, which studies have shown to cause serious liver damage and organ failure. The MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) has urged British herbal shops to remove products from their shelves that containing butterbur, also known as Petasites hybridus.

At present products, which contain no ingredient of butterbur have been sanctioned for use in Britain under the Traditional Herbal Registration Scheme. A number of other European countries have also prohibited its use. But, the MHRA revealed that many products containing butterbur are presently being marketed in the UK.

Several cases of liver toxicity have been reported in other places in Europe. Therefore the MHRA advised people those using herbal remedies to check products for THR number on the label, which demonstrates that they have been licensed for use in UK.

Richard Woodfield head of herbal policy at stated they advised anyone taking these products to stop doing so. If you have any concerns, speak to your GP or pharmacist. If you think you have suffered a side effect from these products, can tell through the reporting system known as the Yellow Card Scheme.

When looking for herbal medicines, you should look for herbal products that have a traditional herbal registration or a product license so that you can be confident the product has been assessed as meeting appropriate safety standards, and has the necessary patient information. Some unlicensed herbal medicines can pose a serious risk to your health, concluded Woodfield.

Several doctors had recommended everybody aged forty and above to deem taking a daily dose of aspirin as it can diminish the risk of heart attack, strokes and prevent some forms of cancers. However, British experts called for to revise the guidelines after they found the risk of internal bleeding prevailed over possible benefits.

Researchers from St George’s, University of London analyzed the study of one hundred thousand healthy people who have taken aspirin. The study showed that the drug diminished the heart attack risks by about ten percent but at the same time the risk of non-trivial bleeding increased by third.

The findings of the study suggested that, though one heart attack or stroke was prevented for every one hundred and twenty individuals treated with aspirin over a period of six years, as the same time one in seventy-three individual suffered potentially significant bleeding.

According to lead author Prof Kausik Ray, the beneficial effect of aspirin on preventing future cardiovascular disease events in people with established heart attacks or strokes is undeniable. They urge people with these conditions not to discontinue their medication unless advised to do so by their physicians for valid reasons.

But, the benefits of aspirin in people those not known to have these conditions are far meeker than thought previously and, in fact, aspirin treatment may potentially result in substantial damage due to bleeding, added Prof Ray. The study was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.

People who have suffered a heart attack or stroke and are therefore at higher risk of another should still be routinely prescribed aspirin. However, they elevated apprehensions about the millions of otherwise healthy people who are taking aspirin in an attempt to prevent first heart attack or stroke, concluded researchers.

Campylobacter is the most frequent cause of bacterial food poisoning. The symptoms of the condition may include stomach pain, diarrhea, fever, feeling unwell and cramps. More than sixty thousand cases of this bacterial food poisoning were identified in England and Wales last year. Among those nearly four hundred and fifty became sick and one had to be admitted to the hospital.

A particularly high risk of Campylobacter is present in poultry livers because the bacteria can be present all through the liver.  Not just the surface as is the case for other poultry meat and may linger as a basis of infection if they are not cooked adequately.

The experts believe that caterers can diminish the threat of people getting infected by making sure that Campylobacter is killed through proper cooking and by keeping away from cross-contamination to other foods. The HPA found that out of the eighteen epidemics, fourteen occurred in catering venues and thirteen of these were associated with chicken or duck liver pate.

According to Dr Christine Little, an expert in gastrointestinal infections from HPA, the rise in epidemics due to the consumption of chicken liver pate has been gradually increasing over the last few years. Infection occurs as the livers are only cooked until they are pink and inadequate cooking will not be sufficient to kill the bacteria.

She added that both the public and the catering industry need to be aware that undercooking this product can result in food poisoning. People, those planning a wedding or other special event, should be aware of the threats if they were having chicken liver pate to prevent people becoming unwell.

The updated guidelines has already been issued by FSA to caterers on the safe handling and cooking of livers two time in 2010, despite that Campylobacter epidemics associated with the eating of chicken liver pate have continued to take place.

However, thus far it has been hard to discover this syndrome because it requires a complex sequence of tests on blood, which is taken from a vein that supplies blood to the adrenal gland. But now experts from the University of Cambridge reveal that a simple scan could mark the problem.

With the help of the hi-tech PET-CT scan they try to find small growths in the adrenal glands. These benign growths or tumours are known as adenoma, they pump out excessive hormone called aldosterone that sequentially increases blood pressure. To illuminate adenomas in the scan, researchers developed a special radioactive tracer known as 11C-metomidate.

Once the problem is discovered the disease can be cured either by using a drug to block the effects of aldosterone or surgically removing the affected gland. After successful preliminary trail in forty-four patients, researchers are now using scan on any patients, which they suspect to have Conn’s syndrome. The study was reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

According to lead author Prof Morris Brown, the test could be particularly important for older patients. They often see growths in the adrenal glands during a routine CT scan. Often these growths are not Conn’s adenomas, but it is difficult to be sure and they create a lot of anxiety in patients and doctors.

In the future PET-CT could be a swift means to assure several patients without the need for detailed investigations. They are excited to see that their technique works so well and shortcut the delays and discomforts associated with the alternative test. They are already using PET-CT on patients, but a larger study is required to work out who will benefit the most, concluded Prof Brown.

Video : Understanding PET-CT Scan

The symptoms of the condition may include feeling of unpleasant sensations in the legs that can be relived only by walking, moving or jiggling. In recent study researcher from Canada, U.S and Germany have found two hereditary mutations which are associated with the condition. People who inherited those mutations are much prone to develop restless leg syndrome.

For their analysis, researchers examined that genetic structure of nearly five thousand people suffering the condition and compared them to more than seven thousand people without the condition. They found two new regions of the genome which play key role. One area is within a gene occupied in organizing brain activity called TOX3.

TOX3 is occupied in protecting brain cells but, its connection to restless leg syndrome is still unknown. However, this discovery could escort to new treatments for the condition. The tingling, prickling and numbness in the legs happen mainly in the evening or at night when the body is resting and can only be eased by moving or walking around.

People suffering the condition often experience sleeping disorders and tiredness. In severe cases it can lead to depression. The odds of developing restless leg syndrome increase with age. However, the condition may also strike children. Women are more prone to be affected in comparison to men with several developing restless legs in the last few weeks of pregnancy.

The symptoms of the condition can be relieved by staying away from caffeine and alcohol. Mild exercise before bedtime may also stretch the muscles and diminish symptoms of the condition. Restless leg syndrome was first described in 1945 by Swedish nerve specialist Karl-Axel Ekbom. The condition is thought to be associated with imbalance of brain chemical dopamine. The study was reported in the journal PLoS Genetics.

source :http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health

At present there is no approved and effective treatment for the condition. The actual cause of the disease is not apparent, however, many doctors think the term CFS is being used for different diseases. A cancer drug that repressed the immune system alleviated some symptoms of the disease in some patients, showed a small study.

The recent study conducted by researchers from the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, developed on the earlier finding by testing thirty patients suffering CFS. Half of the patients were given two doses of Rituximab, which is a cancer drug and eradicates a type of white blood cell, while the other half patients were given a placebo treatment. Just thirteen percent showed an improvement in placebo group.

The patients, who were given the drug, reported an improvement in a score of their fatigue levels by sixty-seven percent. Just thirteen percent showed any improvement in the placebo group.

There was a mixed reaction none, moderate, dramatic relief of all symptoms, explained Øystein Fluge, an oncology consultant from the Haukeland University Hospital. Two patients had no recurrence and their life was turned completely around very dramatically. Their hypothesis is that a sort of white blood cell, B lymphocytes, is generating an antibody which attacks the body.

The cancer drug annihilates the lymphocytes which in some cases may reset the immune system, but, in other patients the fatigue symptoms would return when more B lymphocytes were generated. Patients responded to treatment, enhanced cognitive function, fatigue and pain makes them believe that they are touching the central mechanism, added Mr Fluge.

Now, researchers are examining the effect of giving more doses over a longer period of time. The study was published in PLoS One. The study findings are encouraging for people suffering ME, because they help to confirm that there is a significant deformity in immune system function in this disease, explained Dr Charles Shepherd, medical adviser from ME Association, UK.

In addition to that they indicate that changing the immune system reaction in ME could be an effective form of treatment for no less than a subset of patients. Now they need more clinical rails of such anti-cancer agents to perceive if other research group imitates these findings, concluded Dr Shepherd.

source : www.bbc.co.uk/news

Hypoglycemiaor low levels of sugar in the blood can be occurred due to a distraction in the balance between sugar and the hormone insulin. Insulin lowers the level of sugar in the blood. Hypoglycemiais usually connected with Type 1 diabetes, when the patients govern too much insulin, miss a meal or drink alcohol.

A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge think that mutations in the AKT2 gene can be blamed for the condition. For their study researchers examined the genetic code of three children suffering from the condition. All three has a mutation in so called the AKT2 gene.

AKT2 gene functions as an interpreter for the hormone insulin. Due to the genetic mutation, the interpreter works as though insulin is always there, lowering blood sugar levels. There are already available cancer drugs which target an analogous procedure. However one in one hundred thousand babies are born with this genetic defect.

This meant such babies develop hypoglycemia even when there is no insulin in the blood. In hypothesis they should have very high blood sugar levels. Such patients have to have a feeding tube inserted directly into the stomach to avert fits while they are asleep.

According to lead author Prof Stephen O’Rahilly cancer drugs were available which targeted AKT1 and which also function against AKT2. There are actual pills that can be swallowed by individuals and there could be a treatment in a year. Fear of low blood sugar has dominated the lives of these patients and their families, stated researcher, Dr Robert Semple. The study was reported in the journal Science.

source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

The chemical corticosteroids help the body in fight or flight conditions by suppressing the immune system and increasing the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. The forms of stress associated with the conditions comprising suffered by those in cul-de-sac jobs, loveless marriages and post traumatic conditions.

An area of the brain called hippocampus is occupied in the formation of memories is particularly susceptible to stress and doctors believe the stress could escort to dementia. The preliminary discovery emerged from doctors treating bosses of Wall Street firm for post traumatic stress after 9/11 attack.

The brain scans of executive showed that their hippocampuses had shrunk to the size of those of elderly people suffering dementia. The previous year study found that mid-life stress may increase the threat of developing Alzheimer’s in women. Women who reported recurring episodes of stress and anxiety in middle age were more than twice likely to develop dementia compared to those who did not.

According lead researcher T Byram Karasu professor of psychiatry from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, the sample size is too small to draw conclusions but the insinuation is that stress had affected the hippocampus. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroimaging.

Additional study by the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Centre also found that war veterans with post traumatic stress suffered a greater degree of brain loss.

In a lab study over mice researchers from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, US used a chemical that combines to zinc to eliminate it from circulation in the brain of mutant mice. They found that in absence of the mineral, the communication between neuron was blighted.

They revealed that zinc is vital for controlling the efficiency between two crucial inhabitants of nerve cells in the hippocampus. This lectures to a long-standing controversy in the field, explained lead author Dr James McNamara. People taking supplements of zinc should take exercise caution.

Cautiously controlling regulation of zinc of communication between these nerve cells is crucial to formation of memories as well as possibly to occurrence of epileptic seizures, added Dr McNamara. The study findings were published online in the journal Neuron. Fifty years back, researchers come to know that high levels of zinc were holding specialized compartments in nerve cells called vesicles.

However, substantiation that zinc essentially played a key role in cell gesturing was missing. The brain cells’ over-communication emphasized in the study was known to occur in epilepsy, indicating a connection between zinc and the epileptic seizures.

source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health

It was implausible that newer concoction of AIDS drugs manufactured by firms Pfizer, Gilead and GlaxoSmithKline would wreak analogous levels of damage, ever since they are believed to be less poisonous to mitochondria. However more study is required to make it certain. After some time these side effects become evident.

So there is an uncertainty regarding the future if or not the drugs will cause the problem. The DNA in mitochondria gets copied throughout lifetimes and, as people age, naturally accumulates errors, explained lead author Patrick Chinnery from the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University.

They believe these HIV drugs hasten the rate at which these errors accumulate. So over the period, say ten years a person’s mitochondrial DNA may have built up the same amount of errors as a person who has naturally aged twenty or thirty years, stated Chinnery. The study was published in the journal Nature Genetics.

The finding however explains why HIV infected people treated with traditional antiretroviral AIDS drugs sometimes show advanced signs of frailty and disease like heart disease and dementia in an early age. NRTI drugs, the best known of which AZT developed by GSK, were big advance in HIV treatment. They extended lives of the patients and make it manageable chronic disease.

The Worries about toxicity of long-term use of NRTIs drugs, are less commonly used in affluent countries where they have been replaced by newer more expensive combination AIDS drugs with fewer side-effects. But in poorer countries the only option for HIV patients is to get treatment with NRTIs so these drugs are used widely.

Chinnery’s team found that patients who had been treated with NRTIs , even as long as ten years formerly had damaged mitochondria analogous to that of a healthy older person. They are now searching for the ways to repair damage caused by the drugs and believe that focusing on exercise, which seems to have a beneficial effect on patients with mitochondrial diseases may help.