La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) alertó el jueves pasado de que se están produciendo importantes brotes de sarampión en varios países europeos, africanos y americanos, y recomendó a los Gobiernos asegurarse de que su cobertura vacunal alcance al 95% de la población para evitar "brotes con un gran número de casos y hospitalizaciones y muertes asociadas". Las comunidades autónomas ya están respondiendo ante ese riesgo. La Consejería de Sanidad madrileña está enviando cartas a los padres de bebés y a directores de escuelas infantiles públicas en las que se les aconseja adelantar la vacunación de la triple vírica (que protege de la rubéola, las paperas y el sarampión) de los 15 meses a los 12.
Otras regiones, como Canarias y Murcia, tomaron esa misma decisión hace unos meses. El calendario vacunal infantil de Canarias se modificó en agosto pasado y, entre otras cuestiones, incluyó el adelanto de la primera dosis de la triple vírica a los 12 meses en lugar de los 15 del anterior calendario. Murcia decidió aplicar esa medida en febrero. Unos meses antes, en mayo de 2010, un brote de sarampión había afectado a 90 personas en Jumilla. La consejería madrileña ya envió instrucciones a los centros de atención primaria para que, a partir de junio de este año, la triple vírica se administre a los 12 meses.
26.000 casos en Europa
La OMS detalla que 40 de los 53 Estados de la región europea han registrado 26.025 casos de sarampión solo en el periodo comprendido entre enero y julio de este año. Once de ellos resultaron mortales. Según la organización el mayor número de contagios se ha producido en Francia, con más de 14.000 en los primeros seis meses del año. La OMS alerta de que el sarampión "es una enfermedad muy infecciosa que causa complicaciones y muerte, incluso en individuos que antes estaban sanos, pero es totalmente prevenible con la vacunación".
España ha registrado en lo que llevamos de año un importante aumento de los casos de esta enfermedad. Se han notificado 1.990 casos, de los cuales 1.739 se han confirmado, según datos del Centro Nacional de Epidemiología hasta el 1 de octubre. Los contagios se han multiplicado, al menos, por seis, ya que en todo 2010 se notificaron 353 casos, 273 confirmados.
**Publicado en "EL PAIS"
10 October 2011
Detecting glaucoma before it blinds
Early detection and diagnosis of open angle glaucoma important so that treatment can be used in the early stages of the disease developing to prevent or avoid further vision loss. Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, researchers in the US have analyzed and ranked the various risk factors for open angle glaucoma so that patients can be screened at an earlier stage if they are more likely to develop the condition. Glaucoma is one of the main leading causes of blindness; it is a progressive and irreversible disease. Of the various forms of glaucoma, open angle glaucoma (OAG) is the most common and can cause the most damage. Unfortunately, unless a patient is undergoing regular screening from about the age of 40 years because of a family history, it is otherwise difficult to detect until substantial and irreversible vision loss has occurred. Glaucoma is the third leading cause of blindness worldwide and the second leading cause of blindness in the USA.
Now, Duo Zhou and colleagues at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, have used statistical collinearity analysis to evaluate risk factors for OAG, and logistic regression models to identify a minimum set of such risk factors for prognosis and diagnosis of the disease. Their study was based on more than 400 patients with subtle or severe vision problems who attended hospital. It reveals the relative risk of being a smoker, age, visual "field test" results, presence of a localized notch or thinning of the neuroretinal rim identified during standard eye examination, cup to disk ratio (a measure of restriction of the optic nerve at the back of the eye) and other factors.
The data are complex and separating out predictors from diagnostic factors was difficult, the team admits. However, they suggest that family history, medical history, current medications, geographic location, visual field test and ocular examination must all be considered in diagnosis and prognosis for OAG. They have excluded certain factors from the OAG prognosis: gender, race, family history of glaucoma, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, thyroid disease, migraine, Reynaud's disease and myopia as these have no direct effect on OAG development.
As revealed in the analyses, the odds of developing OAG will be increased by 91% with an increase in the Cup-to-Disc ratio of 0.1. Risk increases by 3% annually by age but decreases by 31% for every dB increase of mean deviation of Humphrey visual field. The odds of developing OAG will be 4.36 higher for patients with abnormal Humphrey visual filed overall test, 7.19 higher in patients with localized notch or thinning of the neuroretinal rim. Interestingly, patients with a smoking history seem to be less likely to develop OAG as compared to those with smoking history; although there are many smokers with OAG. Oddly, because of the location of the study, the team can also say that patients living in Atlantic/Quebec will be 73% less likely to develop OAG compared to their fellow Canadians in Ontario.
**Source: Inderscience Publishers
Now, Duo Zhou and colleagues at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, have used statistical collinearity analysis to evaluate risk factors for OAG, and logistic regression models to identify a minimum set of such risk factors for prognosis and diagnosis of the disease. Their study was based on more than 400 patients with subtle or severe vision problems who attended hospital. It reveals the relative risk of being a smoker, age, visual "field test" results, presence of a localized notch or thinning of the neuroretinal rim identified during standard eye examination, cup to disk ratio (a measure of restriction of the optic nerve at the back of the eye) and other factors.
The data are complex and separating out predictors from diagnostic factors was difficult, the team admits. However, they suggest that family history, medical history, current medications, geographic location, visual field test and ocular examination must all be considered in diagnosis and prognosis for OAG. They have excluded certain factors from the OAG prognosis: gender, race, family history of glaucoma, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, thyroid disease, migraine, Reynaud's disease and myopia as these have no direct effect on OAG development.
As revealed in the analyses, the odds of developing OAG will be increased by 91% with an increase in the Cup-to-Disc ratio of 0.1. Risk increases by 3% annually by age but decreases by 31% for every dB increase of mean deviation of Humphrey visual field. The odds of developing OAG will be 4.36 higher for patients with abnormal Humphrey visual filed overall test, 7.19 higher in patients with localized notch or thinning of the neuroretinal rim. Interestingly, patients with a smoking history seem to be less likely to develop OAG as compared to those with smoking history; although there are many smokers with OAG. Oddly, because of the location of the study, the team can also say that patients living in Atlantic/Quebec will be 73% less likely to develop OAG compared to their fellow Canadians in Ontario.
**Source: Inderscience Publishers
La crisis daña la salud de los griegos
Grecia lleva los últimos cuatro años sumida en una 'guerra' que poco tiene que ver con las disputadas por Alejandro Magno o el Imperio Otomano, pero que también está pasando factura a sus ciudadanos... y no sólo en lo que se refiere al terreno estrictamente económico. La crisis a la que se enfrenta la cuna de la cultura occidental está removiendo los viejos cimientos del país donde se 'inventó' la democracia de tal forma que uno de sus principales pilares, la salud, tampoco se escapa a las consecuencias del calvario económico.
Esta es la conclusión a la que han llegado varios doctores ingleses desde el último editorial que publica 'The Lancet'. Según varios autores entre los que se encuentra Alexander Kentikelenis, de la Universidad de Cambridge, y el profesor Martin McKee, de la Escuela de Higiene y Medicina Tropical de Londres, los datos recogidos de las estadísticas de la Unión Europea sobre la renta y las condiciones de vida antes y durante de la crisis hacen que califiquen de "preocupante" la imagen de la salud del país heleno.
Así, pocas estadísticas se libran de la quema del pesimismo. Recogiendo los datos de cerca de 13.000 griegos en 2007 y de algo más de 15.000 en 2009, se observa que hay una reducción de un 15% a la hora de visitar al médico en este último año respecto a la situación previa a la crisis aunque son conscientes de la importancia de las revisiones. "Esto no se debe a que los ciudadanos no puedan pagarse la visita", acentúan los autores al explicar que según qué servicios son gratis o muy baratos, "pero sí a los problemas de oferta", indica el profesor McKee.
Entre ellos, se encontraría el recorte en casi un 40% del presupuesto de los hospitales, lo que lleva a la falta de personal, la escasez de suministros médicos o los sobornos al personal médico para saltarse las listas de espera.
Así, y aunque muchos esperan a 'sentirse mejor', los datos resaltan que de 2007 a 2009 se ha producido un aumento del 14% de griegos que dicen sentirse 'mal' o 'muy mal'. Una cifra a tener en cuenta por los autores, que señalan la importancia de la percepción de los ciudadanos para evitar males mayores. Precisamente, una de las cifras que más preocupan es la tasa de suicidios: un 17% más en los dos años de estudio y con perspectivas poco halagüeñas. Según datos no oficiales de 2010, se calcula un aumento del 25% respecto a 2009.
-Sida, heroína y alcohol
Uno de los principales apartados de este estudio está dedicado al incremento del abuso de las drogas y otras enfermedades relacionadas con esta práctica. Así, en un país que ha visto reducidas en un 40% las prestaciones por enfermedad debido al 'tijeretazo' en los presupuestos, se ha observado un incremento significativo de infecciones por VIH a finales de 2010. Así, los datos más recientes recopilados en 'The Lancet' muestran que se está en camino de aumentar estas infecciones en un 52% a finales de este año comparándolo con el pasado año, lo que en números totales significaría pasar de 605 casos a 922, la mitad de ellos atribuibles a los usuarios de drogas por vía intravenosa.
Y si hablamos de drogas, la reina es la heroína, con más de 24.000 usuarios a finales de 2010 y sin que encuentren programas de ayuda, ya que la crisis ha acabado con casi un tercio de ellos.
Vistos los datos cabe preguntarse si hay algo bueno. Y así es: el consumo de alcohol. Entre las pocas cosas que parece que no se han reducido en Grecia se encuentran los números de controles en las carreteras y el único dato para la alegría muestra una disminución importante del número de borrachos al volante y, más en general, del consumo de alcohol.
"En general, la imagen de la salud en Grecia es preocupante", resume McKee. "Nos recuerda que, en un esfuerzo por financiar las deudas, la gente común está pagando el precio más alto: perder el acceso a la atención sanitaria y los servicios de prevención, caer en un mayor riesgo de contraer VIH y enfermedades de trasmisión sexual (pues ha aumentado la prostitución y el sexo sin seguridad) y, en el peor de los casos, perder la vida. Hay que asegurar que la crisis griega no socave la última fuete de riqueza del país, su gente", finalizan los autores desde 'The Lancet'.
**Publicado en "EL MUNDO"
Esta es la conclusión a la que han llegado varios doctores ingleses desde el último editorial que publica 'The Lancet'. Según varios autores entre los que se encuentra Alexander Kentikelenis, de la Universidad de Cambridge, y el profesor Martin McKee, de la Escuela de Higiene y Medicina Tropical de Londres, los datos recogidos de las estadísticas de la Unión Europea sobre la renta y las condiciones de vida antes y durante de la crisis hacen que califiquen de "preocupante" la imagen de la salud del país heleno.
Así, pocas estadísticas se libran de la quema del pesimismo. Recogiendo los datos de cerca de 13.000 griegos en 2007 y de algo más de 15.000 en 2009, se observa que hay una reducción de un 15% a la hora de visitar al médico en este último año respecto a la situación previa a la crisis aunque son conscientes de la importancia de las revisiones. "Esto no se debe a que los ciudadanos no puedan pagarse la visita", acentúan los autores al explicar que según qué servicios son gratis o muy baratos, "pero sí a los problemas de oferta", indica el profesor McKee.
Entre ellos, se encontraría el recorte en casi un 40% del presupuesto de los hospitales, lo que lleva a la falta de personal, la escasez de suministros médicos o los sobornos al personal médico para saltarse las listas de espera.
Así, y aunque muchos esperan a 'sentirse mejor', los datos resaltan que de 2007 a 2009 se ha producido un aumento del 14% de griegos que dicen sentirse 'mal' o 'muy mal'. Una cifra a tener en cuenta por los autores, que señalan la importancia de la percepción de los ciudadanos para evitar males mayores. Precisamente, una de las cifras que más preocupan es la tasa de suicidios: un 17% más en los dos años de estudio y con perspectivas poco halagüeñas. Según datos no oficiales de 2010, se calcula un aumento del 25% respecto a 2009.
-Sida, heroína y alcohol
Uno de los principales apartados de este estudio está dedicado al incremento del abuso de las drogas y otras enfermedades relacionadas con esta práctica. Así, en un país que ha visto reducidas en un 40% las prestaciones por enfermedad debido al 'tijeretazo' en los presupuestos, se ha observado un incremento significativo de infecciones por VIH a finales de 2010. Así, los datos más recientes recopilados en 'The Lancet' muestran que se está en camino de aumentar estas infecciones en un 52% a finales de este año comparándolo con el pasado año, lo que en números totales significaría pasar de 605 casos a 922, la mitad de ellos atribuibles a los usuarios de drogas por vía intravenosa.
Y si hablamos de drogas, la reina es la heroína, con más de 24.000 usuarios a finales de 2010 y sin que encuentren programas de ayuda, ya que la crisis ha acabado con casi un tercio de ellos.
Vistos los datos cabe preguntarse si hay algo bueno. Y así es: el consumo de alcohol. Entre las pocas cosas que parece que no se han reducido en Grecia se encuentran los números de controles en las carreteras y el único dato para la alegría muestra una disminución importante del número de borrachos al volante y, más en general, del consumo de alcohol.
"En general, la imagen de la salud en Grecia es preocupante", resume McKee. "Nos recuerda que, en un esfuerzo por financiar las deudas, la gente común está pagando el precio más alto: perder el acceso a la atención sanitaria y los servicios de prevención, caer en un mayor riesgo de contraer VIH y enfermedades de trasmisión sexual (pues ha aumentado la prostitución y el sexo sin seguridad) y, en el peor de los casos, perder la vida. Hay que asegurar que la crisis griega no socave la última fuete de riqueza del país, su gente", finalizan los autores desde 'The Lancet'.
**Publicado en "EL MUNDO"
Neural stem cell transplant may tackle diabetes
Researchers in Japan have discovered how a patient's neural stem cells could be used as an alternative source of the beta cells needed for a regenerative treatment for diabetes. The research, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine on October 6, reveals how harvesting stem cells could overcome a lack of beta cell transplants from donors. Diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin production by the pancreas and affects more than 200 million people worldwide. There is currently no cure, leaving patients to rely on external supplies of insulin or treatments to alter levels of blood glucose.
The research, led by Dr Tomoko Kuwabara from the AIST Institute in Tsukuba, Japan, focus on developing methods for defining human stem cell differentiation, the process through which cells can be adapted to a specialized role, for use in cell replacement treatments.
"As diabetes is caused by the lack of a single type of cell the condition is an ideal target for cell replacement treatments," said Kuwabara. "However donation shortages of pancreatic beta cells are a major hurdle to advancing this treatment. So a safe and easy way of using stem cells for obtaining new beta cells has been long awaited."
The hippocampus and olfactory bulb, at the front of the brain provide an easily accessible tissue source for cells that could be transplanted directly into the pancreas. Normally neuronal cells do not produce high levels of insulin, pancreatic cells do.
However, once they had been transplanted into diabetic rats the cells not only started to express several key characteristics of pancreatic beta cells, but insulin production was increased and blood glucose levels were reduced. The removal of the transplant increased levels of blood glucose, revealing that transplanting neural stem cells into the pancreas could be an effective treatment for diabetes.
"The discovery of stem cells which have virtually unlimited self-renewal raises great expectations for their use in regenerative medicine. The isolation and cultivation of stem cells as a renewable source of beta cells would be a major breakthrough," wrote Onur Basak and Hans Clevers, from the Hubrecht Institute for Development Biology and Stem Cell Research, in their close up paper, published in the same issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine.
"Dr Kuwabara's team found that transplanting neural stem cells directly into the pancreas can unleash their intrinsic ability to act as critical regulators of insulin production, and most importantly they demonstrated that the cells could be gained from a patient without the need for genetic manipulation."
"Our findings demonstrate the potential value of neural stem cells for treating diabetes without gene transfer," concluded Kuwabara. "This presents an original strategy to overcome the donor shortage which has hindered cell replacement therapy."
**Source: Wiley-Blackwell
The research, led by Dr Tomoko Kuwabara from the AIST Institute in Tsukuba, Japan, focus on developing methods for defining human stem cell differentiation, the process through which cells can be adapted to a specialized role, for use in cell replacement treatments.
"As diabetes is caused by the lack of a single type of cell the condition is an ideal target for cell replacement treatments," said Kuwabara. "However donation shortages of pancreatic beta cells are a major hurdle to advancing this treatment. So a safe and easy way of using stem cells for obtaining new beta cells has been long awaited."
The hippocampus and olfactory bulb, at the front of the brain provide an easily accessible tissue source for cells that could be transplanted directly into the pancreas. Normally neuronal cells do not produce high levels of insulin, pancreatic cells do.
However, once they had been transplanted into diabetic rats the cells not only started to express several key characteristics of pancreatic beta cells, but insulin production was increased and blood glucose levels were reduced. The removal of the transplant increased levels of blood glucose, revealing that transplanting neural stem cells into the pancreas could be an effective treatment for diabetes.
"The discovery of stem cells which have virtually unlimited self-renewal raises great expectations for their use in regenerative medicine. The isolation and cultivation of stem cells as a renewable source of beta cells would be a major breakthrough," wrote Onur Basak and Hans Clevers, from the Hubrecht Institute for Development Biology and Stem Cell Research, in their close up paper, published in the same issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine.
"Dr Kuwabara's team found that transplanting neural stem cells directly into the pancreas can unleash their intrinsic ability to act as critical regulators of insulin production, and most importantly they demonstrated that the cells could be gained from a patient without the need for genetic manipulation."
"Our findings demonstrate the potential value of neural stem cells for treating diabetes without gene transfer," concluded Kuwabara. "This presents an original strategy to overcome the donor shortage which has hindered cell replacement therapy."
**Source: Wiley-Blackwell
Bone marrow cells migrate to tumors and can slow their growth
Bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) participate in the growth and spread of tumors of the breast, brain, lung, and stomach. To examine the role of BMDCs, researchers developed a mouse model that could be used to track the migration of these cells while tumors formed and expanded. Their results, published in the November issue of The American Journal of Pathology, strongly suggest that more effective cancer treatments may be developed by exploiting the mechanism by which bone marrow cells migrate to tumors and retard their proliferation. "Our results provide an excellent in vivo experimental model where the temporal dynamics of tumor-infiltrating BMDCs may be monitored in an immunocompetent host and novel therapies targeting BMDCs for the inhibition of tumor progression may be investigated," commented lead investigator Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, Professor and Chief, Hematology/Oncology Division at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Associate Director for Translational Research at the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute. "In the future, it may be possible to use specific identified tumor-infiltrating BMDCs to deliver therapeutic cargo."
A first group of mice expressing a fluorescence gene served as donors of the bone marrow cells. A second group of mice, whose marrow had been destroyed by radiation, were injected with the donated fluorescent bone marrow. The transplanted bone marrow cells were allowed to proliferate for 8 weeks. Then, colon cancer cells were injected into the same mice and tumors formed over the next 3 weeks.
Monitoring tumor growth by optical imaging, researchers found that the tumors contained numerous types of BMDCs. Notably they also found that tumor growth is reduced in animals that received the bone marrow transplants, compared with untransplanted host mice.
According to the authors, cancer has long been viewed as a disease in which transformed cells grow and invade tissues. However, they believe that it is becoming clear that cancer is a more complex disease in a heterogeneous microenvironment where many cellular interactions are occurring in the malignant tissue.
"This type of mouse model allows scientists to actually see in living color the complicated relationships and interplay between the…tumor's own cells and the immune system cells within the host…" said El-Deiry, who is also an American Cancer Society Research Professor. He added: "this ongoing war on cancer within this tumor microenvironment has surprising twists and turns." El-Deiry and his colleagues hope to steer patient outcomes "with additional treatments that can help [them] overcome the cancer."
**Source: Elsevier Health Sciences
A first group of mice expressing a fluorescence gene served as donors of the bone marrow cells. A second group of mice, whose marrow had been destroyed by radiation, were injected with the donated fluorescent bone marrow. The transplanted bone marrow cells were allowed to proliferate for 8 weeks. Then, colon cancer cells were injected into the same mice and tumors formed over the next 3 weeks.
Monitoring tumor growth by optical imaging, researchers found that the tumors contained numerous types of BMDCs. Notably they also found that tumor growth is reduced in animals that received the bone marrow transplants, compared with untransplanted host mice.
According to the authors, cancer has long been viewed as a disease in which transformed cells grow and invade tissues. However, they believe that it is becoming clear that cancer is a more complex disease in a heterogeneous microenvironment where many cellular interactions are occurring in the malignant tissue.
"This type of mouse model allows scientists to actually see in living color the complicated relationships and interplay between the…tumor's own cells and the immune system cells within the host…" said El-Deiry, who is also an American Cancer Society Research Professor. He added: "this ongoing war on cancer within this tumor microenvironment has surprising twists and turns." El-Deiry and his colleagues hope to steer patient outcomes "with additional treatments that can help [them] overcome the cancer."
**Source: Elsevier Health Sciences
UK government claims that patient choice improves health care is based on flawed research, experts say
Research which claims to show that the introduction of patient choice in the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) reduced deaths from heart attacks is flawed and misleading, according to a report published in The Lancet. The original study was used by the Government to advance its controversial Health and Social Care Bill 2011 and was the basis for the Prime Minister's statement that 'competition is one way we can make things work better for patients'.
In the report, academics -- led by Professor Allyson Pollock of Queen Mary, University of London -- point out a series of errors in the study and conclude that it is 'fundamentally flawed'.
The research David Cameron referred to was a paper by Zack Cooper and colleagues which was published by LSE Health. It examined the mortality rates for heart attack patients measured against the number of hospitals within travelling distance of the patient's GP surgery. It also looked at data on elective surgery for hernia, cataract repair, knee arthroscopy, hip replacement and knee replacement, and claims to show that introducing greater choice in elective surgery led to lower death rates from heart attacks.
Professor Pollock and her colleagues -- including Professor Alison Macfarlane at City University London -- say that, crucially, the study offers no explanation as to why the availability of choice for such elective procedures should have any effect on whether heart attack patients survive.
The Lancet report also points out the following:
the researchers do not look at whether the availability of choice has any effect on where patients go for treatment,
they do not look at whether or how GPs' patterns of referrals changed when choice became available,
recent research indicates the majority of patients who have been offered a choice pick their nearest hospital,
heart attack is a medical emergency and patients generally have no choice about where they are treated,
outcomes for heart attack patients tend to be better when they are treated in specialist centres in urban areas,
the authors ignore the possible effects of major changes in primary care prevention and secondary care intervention for heart attacks,
and that there is no evidence that the data on elective operations is in any way a good measure of choice or competition.
Professor Pollock said: "The Government's Health Bill has faced enormous opposition from the public and from health professionals. In trying to win over his critics the Prime Minister has used the study by Zack Cooper to justify competition within the National Health Service.
"Our examination of this research reveals it to be fundamentally flawed, amounting to the conclusion that the paper simply doesn't prove either cause or effect between patient choice and death rates.
"This work should not be quoted as scientific evidence to support choice, competition or the new Health and Social Care Bill."
**Source: Queen Mary, University of London
In the report, academics -- led by Professor Allyson Pollock of Queen Mary, University of London -- point out a series of errors in the study and conclude that it is 'fundamentally flawed'.
The research David Cameron referred to was a paper by Zack Cooper and colleagues which was published by LSE Health. It examined the mortality rates for heart attack patients measured against the number of hospitals within travelling distance of the patient's GP surgery. It also looked at data on elective surgery for hernia, cataract repair, knee arthroscopy, hip replacement and knee replacement, and claims to show that introducing greater choice in elective surgery led to lower death rates from heart attacks.
Professor Pollock and her colleagues -- including Professor Alison Macfarlane at City University London -- say that, crucially, the study offers no explanation as to why the availability of choice for such elective procedures should have any effect on whether heart attack patients survive.
The Lancet report also points out the following:
the researchers do not look at whether the availability of choice has any effect on where patients go for treatment,
they do not look at whether or how GPs' patterns of referrals changed when choice became available,
recent research indicates the majority of patients who have been offered a choice pick their nearest hospital,
heart attack is a medical emergency and patients generally have no choice about where they are treated,
outcomes for heart attack patients tend to be better when they are treated in specialist centres in urban areas,
the authors ignore the possible effects of major changes in primary care prevention and secondary care intervention for heart attacks,
and that there is no evidence that the data on elective operations is in any way a good measure of choice or competition.
Professor Pollock said: "The Government's Health Bill has faced enormous opposition from the public and from health professionals. In trying to win over his critics the Prime Minister has used the study by Zack Cooper to justify competition within the National Health Service.
"Our examination of this research reveals it to be fundamentally flawed, amounting to the conclusion that the paper simply doesn't prove either cause or effect between patient choice and death rates.
"This work should not be quoted as scientific evidence to support choice, competition or the new Health and Social Care Bill."
**Source: Queen Mary, University of London
El XVIII Congreso Nacional de Derecho Sanitario abordará las últimas novedades en materia legislativa
La Asociación Española de Derecho Sanitario (AEDS), que preside el abogado Ricardo de Lorenzo, organiza su XVIII Congreso Nacional de Derecho Sanitario, entre los próximos 20 y 22 de octubre en el Colegio de Médicos de Madrid. En el encuentro de la AEDS se van a exponer las principales novedades acontecidas en materia legislativa en el último año, entre las que cabe destacar la nueva Ley de Salud Pública y su incidencia en la política sanitaria, así como el R.D. 9/2011 de medidas para la mejora de la calidad y cohesión del Sistema Nacional de Salud, entre otros.
La Organización Médica Colegial, cuyo presidente, el doctor Rodríguez Sendín, forma parte del Comité de Honor, estará representada en esta ocasión por su secretario general, el doctor Serafín Romero, quien dirigirá una mesa redonda dedicada al “Mobbing en el ámbito sanitario”, en la que también intervendrá el miembro de la Comisión Central de Deontología, el doctor José Manuel Solla.
Otro de los temas de interés a los que se va a dar cabida en el Congreso de la AEDS es el del La Ley General de Sanidad tras 25 años de vigencia, a la que se le va a dedicar una mesa redonda en la que también se van a examinar otras cuestiones como el balance sobre las transferencias de competencias sanitarias o las políticas del gasto sanitario durante las dos últimas décadas.
Como es habitual, la temática relativa al paciente ocupa también un importante lugar en este encuentro. En este sentido se va a analizar una sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional, de 28 de marzo, que marca un antes y un después en materia de consentimiento informado (CI) del paciente y que establece que el CI en cualquier intervención sobre su persona es algo inherente, entre otros, a su derecho fundamental a la integridad física, a la facultad que éste supone de impedir toda intervención no consentida sobre el propio cuerpo, que no puede verse limitada de manera injustificada como consecuencia de una situación de enfermedad.
Otros temas que tendrán relevancia serán las dimensiones éticas y jurídicas de los cuidados paliativos, la obligatoriedad de vacunación de los profesionales cuando se exponen a colectivos de riesgo, el proyecto de ley para la agilización de la justicia, y la repercusión de la crisis en la formación de los MIR, entre otros.
La Organización Médica Colegial, cuyo presidente, el doctor Rodríguez Sendín, forma parte del Comité de Honor, estará representada en esta ocasión por su secretario general, el doctor Serafín Romero, quien dirigirá una mesa redonda dedicada al “Mobbing en el ámbito sanitario”, en la que también intervendrá el miembro de la Comisión Central de Deontología, el doctor José Manuel Solla.
Otro de los temas de interés a los que se va a dar cabida en el Congreso de la AEDS es el del La Ley General de Sanidad tras 25 años de vigencia, a la que se le va a dedicar una mesa redonda en la que también se van a examinar otras cuestiones como el balance sobre las transferencias de competencias sanitarias o las políticas del gasto sanitario durante las dos últimas décadas.
Como es habitual, la temática relativa al paciente ocupa también un importante lugar en este encuentro. En este sentido se va a analizar una sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional, de 28 de marzo, que marca un antes y un después en materia de consentimiento informado (CI) del paciente y que establece que el CI en cualquier intervención sobre su persona es algo inherente, entre otros, a su derecho fundamental a la integridad física, a la facultad que éste supone de impedir toda intervención no consentida sobre el propio cuerpo, que no puede verse limitada de manera injustificada como consecuencia de una situación de enfermedad.
Otros temas que tendrán relevancia serán las dimensiones éticas y jurídicas de los cuidados paliativos, la obligatoriedad de vacunación de los profesionales cuando se exponen a colectivos de riesgo, el proyecto de ley para la agilización de la justicia, y la repercusión de la crisis en la formación de los MIR, entre otros.
**Publicado en "MEDICOS Y PACIENTES"
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