New series!   References for Tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer: From NICE – guidance http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byID&o=14188 media release –  http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/news/MoreTreatmentOptionsWomenRiskBreastCancer.jsp BOADICEA risk calculator  http://ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/boadicea/ (you can do this for free online, but I’d recommend also discussing it with your healthcare providers) Links to original research http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673613601403 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673602099622 http://www.pec-journal.com/article/S0738-3991(13)00007-4/abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649664/ http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0201/p618.html Back pain and antibiotics The piece […]

    It’s impossible not to notice the debate around intersectionality which feminists are having on and  offline. An example; being concerned about domestic violence means also being concerned about poverty, sexuality and mental health. As wikipedia puts it; it’s “the study of intersections between different disenfranchised groups or groups of minorities; specifically, the study […]

Free link to BMJ article  Petition to Dan Poulter on change.org MEDICINE AND THE MEDIA Profits from pregnancy: how trusted organisations sell out women to commercial interests  The NHS and some UK royal colleges profit by selling commercial advertisers access to pregnant women through promotions such as Bounty bags. These potential conflicts of interest are […]

have you been invited to a swanky dinner by pharma offering to educate you?   do you have pharma branded tat in your office, handbag, pocket or toilet?   If so, we would like to collate them. Tweet me @mgtmccartney or @PeterDLROW and we will add to the Pinterest board.   http://pinterest.com/peterjgordon/pharmaceutical-sponsored-medical-education/

      free link in the BMJ

  (delete as necessary)   Today it is revealed that GPs are failing /getting worse at dementia detection/sending patients to A+E/offering health checks/objecting to telehealth. This is important because we need to have an external locus of blame/policy to support the technology industry/policy to support the pharmaceutical industry/policy popular with people also fit enough and […]

The media went crazy for a recent research paper that showed some benefit in long term antibiotic use for some patients with back pain. But was this science or sensationalism, is talk of a Nobel prize premature, and what of the author’s potential conflicts of interest? Margaret McCartney investigates Free link here

  There are three papers today in the Lancet about aspirin. I’m going to ignore the two papers about the effect on cancer metastasis, just now, and concentrate on the third, which is titled Short-term effects of daily aspirin on cancer incidence, mortality, and non-vascular death: analysis of the time course of risks and benefits […]