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ALZHEIMER'S: Could it all start with an anaesthetic?

PARACETAMOL: It's far more dangerous than you think (just ask the

Irish)

VISION SURGERY: A simple op that comes with the risk of MRSA

SLEEP PROBLEMS: It's nothing to do with the menopause, doc

 

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ALZHEIMER'S: Could it all start with an anaesthetic?

 

 

Common anaesthetics used routinely in surgery may be a cause of

Alzheimer's disease, scientists suspect. They also think that the

drugs may accelerate the start of the disease.

 

It's common for patients to suffer cognitive problems when they come

round after surgery, but doctors assumed that the patient quickly

recovered, and suffered no long-term ill effects.

 

But scientists now reckon that the anaesthetics – and especially

isoflurane and halothane, which are both inhaled – are doing far more

harm than was suspected, and may be causing the onset of Alzheimer's.

 

So far their suspicions have been tested only in animal studies; mice

that were exposed to isoflurane suffered significant cognitive

decline.

 

And the problems may not be associated just with isoflurane and

halothane. Other anaesthetics, such as desflurane and sevoflurane,

have similar cell structures, and so may be causing just as much

damage.

 

One researcher urged patients and doctors not to panic, although he

admitted that the early results were `alarming'.

 

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007; 297:

1760).

PARACETAMOL: It's far more dangerous than you think (just ask the

Irish)

 

 

Paracetamol is one of the world's most popular painkillers – and it

is also far more dangerous than the millions who take it realize. It

kills around 450 people in the USA and around 120 in the UK every

year.

 

The American drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, is so

concerned that it is considering restricting the drug's availability,

an action that has already been taken in Ireland. There, it is

illegal to buy more than 24 tablets, or 500 mg, in a single

transaction. Despite this, it was responsible for nearly a third of

all the 7,933 drug overdoses recorded in Ireland in 2004.

 

The drug can become dangerous at even relatively low dosages, and can

cause serious – and sometimes fatal – liver damage.

 

(Source: The Lancet, 2007; 369: 1346).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VISION SURGERY: A simple op that comes with the risk of MRSA

 

 

People who have vision-improving surgery such as LASIK run the very

real risk of developing the killer infection MRSA.

 

Scientists who reviewed 13 cases of MRSA (methicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus) following refractive eye surgery say the risk

is very real, and increasing. In nine of the cases, the patient

worked at a hospital or medical centre, so it's likely the risk is

even higher among healthcare groups.

 

In the 13 cases, the infection was treated with antibiotics, although

it's not known if the treatment was successful. MRSA can be a deadly

infection, and one that killed more than 2,000 people in 2005 in the

UK alone.

 

(Source: American Journal of Ophthalmology, 2007; 143: 629-34).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SLEEP PROBLEMS: It's nothing to do with the menopause, doc

 

 

Older women often have difficulties sleeping. Doctors tend to blame

this common problem on the menopause – and they are wrong.

 

Sleep problems – which, according to one recent survey, affect nearly

half of all American women aged between 55 and 64 – are more to do

with stress and other illnesses than any hormonal change.

 

One of the key problems is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a breathing

disorder which doctors mistakenly believe mainly affects men. In

fact, apnea is a very common – but unrecognised – problem in women

after the menopause, and it's one that also increases the risk of

heart disease and stroke.

 

Other age-related problems – such as restless legs syndrome, diabetes

and arthritis – may also add to a woman's poor sleep patterns.

 

Older women may also be juggling home and work problems, which can

add to their stress levels and their inability to sleep.

 

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007; 297:

1865-6).

 

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