AAA screening (bottom line; it’s complicated. If you are considering having it done, I’d recommend spending a bit of time on some of the excellent resources NHS Screening offer.) http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/searchwebsite.php?searchstring=tag:Leaflets http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/patientfilms http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GEuBrMCevo0 http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/questions http://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b2307   Referral management centres (bottom line; referrals BJGP research paper; they don’t reduce referrals and are more expensive http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rcgp/bjgp/2013/00000063/00000611/art00036 Referral rates […]

Omega 3’s and prostate cancer (bottom line; this recent one wasn’t a very impressive study, and  their press release overstated the findings;  but omega-3’s have no proven clinical advantage in preventing dementia, reducing cancer, reducing all cause mortality, or reducing cardiovascular disease, thus I wouldn’t recommend them anyway.) http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/07/09/jnci.djt174.full   http://www.fhcrc.org/en/news/releases/2013/07/omega-three-fatty-acids-risk-prostate-cancer.html   http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1357266   http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/97/3/531.long […]

The events of the last couple of weeks have brought it into sharp focus: public health is being ruined by politicians who don’t understand the nature of evidence or how inequalities manifest or need addressing. This is the shape of public health 2013;   – a government who have decided that they will delay making […]

Measles http://www.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/mmr-vaccination-rates-children-missing-2641028 http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/page/66389#unvacc http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/headlines/health2012/120828/?lang=en http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=457&pid=54144 http://www.immunizationinfo.org/vaccines/measles http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/1/84.full http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2631830/ Click to access 299.full.pdf   Prostate symptoms (or why ‘try to hit the wall from 2ft. If you can’t, go to the doctor’ is a very very poor predictor of harmful prostate cancer)   http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/guidanceinfocus/WaterworksMenOver50.jsp http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/type/prostate-cancer/about/should-i-see-a-prostate-cancer-specialist http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/lower-urinary-tract-symptoms-in-men#content=view-node%3Anodes-initial-assessment http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/lower-urinary-tract-symptoms-in-men#content=view-node%3Anodes-drug-treatment Click to access 48560.pdf   Doctors, bare below the elbows, […]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019dl1b   http://www.bsaci.org/Guidelines/allergic-non-allergic-rhinitis http://cks.nice.org.uk/allergic-rhinitis#!scenariorecommendation:4   http://www.bmj.com/content/322/7302/1589?tab=responses

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/