# Other health news 2nd February 2010



## Northerner (Feb 2, 2010)

*Dr Mark Porter: Should we all be taking vitamin D?*
It could protect us against colon cancer, improve bone strength and make us happier. Dr Mark Porter asks, 'should we all take Vitamin D?' New research showing that vitamin D may protect against cancer of the colon is the latest in a long line of studies suggesting that there is far more to this vitamin than its traditional role in helping to maintain healthy bones. And although this new study involved more than 500,000 people from ten different European countries, it is pertinent to the UK because so many of us have low levels of vitamin D ? especially at this time of year.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/expert_advice/article7008426.ece 

*Dragons' Den on the hospital ward: A jab with no needle and a cushion to stop DVT- the ingenious gadgets dreamed up by medics to help their patients*
Frustrated by problems while treating patients, some enterprising medical staff have come up with easier, cheaper or new ways of doing things. Here, CAROL DAVIS talks to those whose inventions have helped patients. PROBLEM: People with brain conditions such as Parkinson's can find it difficult to keep walking (though this improves if they are following a grid pattern, such as lines on a pavement). This affects their confidence and ability to get around. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...ous-gadgets-dreamed-medics-help-patients.html

*Me and my operation: Surgeons stuck a probe in my eye and now I can see again*
Wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects a quarter of a million Britons and, left untreated, can lead to blindness. Treatment involved a monthly injection into the eye, but Josie Lippitt, 59, a retired practice manager from Whitstable, Kent, was one of the first to undergo a new operation to restore sight. Here she talks to DAVID HURST. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1247863/Me-operation-Surgeons-stuck-probe-eye-I-again.html

*Obese youngsters aged four and above in Doncaster are now being given free places at fat camps *
The health of children in the country's fattest town has hit crisis point. Obese youngsters aged four and above are now being given free places at fat camps in a desperate attempt to fight the flab. One in four of the town's reception children and one in three year-six pupils are overweight.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-st...ven-free-places-at-fat-camps-115875-22012427/

*Herbal remedies 'can work against heart disease drugs'*
Herbal remedies taken by millions of Britons can pose a serious risk to health by interfering with medicines commonly prescribed for heart disease, doctors say. Warnings that supplements such as St John?s wort, ginkgo biloba and garlic can diminish the effectiveness of drugs or cause dangerous side-effects for certain patients have been restated by researchers in the United States

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/alternative_medicine/article7011647.ece



*BROWN'S 'WAKE UP CALL' FROM PRESCRIPTION CAMPAIGNERS*
Campaigners took part in a simultaneous "wake-up call" to Prime Minister Gordon Brown today, urging him to abolish prescription charges for people with long-term conditions. People with long-term conditions, their carers, families and health care professionals from across England, called the Downing Street phone lines at 11am this morning, to represent the 11th hour of the campaign

http://www.communitynewswire.press.net/article.jsp?id=6488576


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