Modern medicine needs change!

The latest blog post from Dr Rangan Chatterjee explores the stresses facing general practice in the UK at the moment. He speaks of how time pressures cause frustration amongst patients, and how the highest levels of job dissatisfaction and stress have been felt amongst GPs for over a decade. Speaking from past experience he explains that actually only around 25% of patients walking into his clinic during his early years of practice received a solution dealing with the root cause of their problem, the rest were simply given a drug, developed by Big Pharma, to suppress their symptoms. He says, “The vast majority of chronic problems that I see today - such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, gut problems, insomnia and headaches - are largely driven by lifestyle choices”, something that is rarely addressed in the medical curriculum. Mainstream healthcare requires an overhaul to a more patient-centered, functional medicine focus in order to address chronic disease effectively.

HPV vaccine answers urgently needed

The Sanevax group has challenged the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) official statement regarding HPV vaccine safety, in an open letter sent on April 24th. The letter bears 446 signatures representing HPV vaccine survivors “from over 30 countries”, and puts a series of questions to the EMA that “the recent investigation neglected to address”. The letter requests that, “scientifically documented answers… be provided within the next 30 days”. It also requests “an open public meeting with participants from both sides of the debate invited to discuss HPV vaccine safety” before the end of 2016. The EMA were informed that, “The primary purpose is to make all representatives of the EMA well aware of the fact that every action you make is being closely scrutinized by not only those injured and their families, but also medical and scientific professionals around the globe”. We await the response with interest.

B12 deficiency, autism and schizophrenia

Scientists have recently suggested a link between vitamin B12 and autism or schizophrenia. The new study found unusually low levels of the vitamin in the brains of people affected by the disorders. The researchers have called for further research to explore whether a blend of supplemental methyl B12 and antioxidants could help to relieve the symptoms of these conditions.

Toxic school tragedy

Almost 500 Chinese school children have fallen sick due to hazardously high levels of toxic pollution found on their school campus. The school, said to be one of the better ones in the area, was built near the former site of several chemical plants in east China. Excessive levels of carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and chlorobenzene were just a few examples of what made up the toxic cocktail resulting in bronchitis, eczema and in some cases cancer in hundreds of vulnerable children. A handful of parents had previously pulled their children from the establishment due to reports of “this stinky duck-egg scent in the air and we knew it was something about the environment”.

Andrew Wakefield inspired screenplay

The story of Andrew Wakefield, the former British surgeon behind the controversial documentary Vaxxed, is to be told on the Big Screen. The screenwriter best known for Shrek and the Pirates of the Caribbean has recently acquired the film rights to Wakefield’s 2010 book, Callous Disregard: Autism and Vaccines - The Truth Behind a Tragedy.

Gut microbiome linked to autoimmune disease

A study spanning over three years assessed the gut microbiome of 222 children. The findings support the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, which recognises that a lack of early childhood exposure to pathogens suppresses the natural development of the immune system. The study concluded that this “may explain the rise in autoimmune diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis”. Read more.