More Std Test might be cause of Prostate Cancer

Scientists have suggested that prostate cancer may be linked to sexually transmitted diseases, meaning that more a more widespread program of STD tests might be advisable amongst the older generation.

The researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital showed that the infection trichomonas vaginalis, a bacterial infection, was strongly associated with incidences of aggressive or advanced prostate cancer.

They analysed blood samples from 673 men with prostate cancer and discovered that it was associated with a nearly three-fold risk of developing fatal prostate cancer and a two-fold increase in the likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

The team studied blood samples from the participants in the study and compared them with an equal number of healthy men. They looked at blood samples collected 15 years before and discovered that the men with antibodies to the infection were 23% more likely to develop prostate cancer and 2.17 times more likely to develop the aggressive form of the disease, which spreads throughout the body and is often fatal.

Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection in the world and it is believed that up to 174million people are infected with it each year.

However it is not generally part of routine STD tests done on the NHS as it was not previously associated with any dangerous side effects. Most people do not have symptoms, though it can cause discharge and painful urination in some cases.

Often the only way to get tested for the infection is privately. There are companies that offer home STD testing, and often the test for trichomonas vaginalis is part of the Full Screen Home STD Testing package. Trichomonas is easy to test for – all that is required is a urine sample, which makes it ideal for home STD testing. It is also very easy to treat, usually clearing up after a short course of antibiotics.

The new research suggests that a wider screening program and more frequent STD tests for the infection might be advisable and could help cut the number of prostate cancer related deaths. Currently the main tactic used to combat prostate cancer is screening, but this usually only detects very slow-progressing tumours, rather than the more aggressive variety. Caralluma fimbriata extract

The full research has been published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The Nurses have not taken Swine Flu Vaccine

The government’s plans to push forward the vaccination program for swine flu in Autumn have been set back after it was revealed that 1 in 3 nurses does not want the vaccine.

Despite front-line health care workers going to the front of the queue for the vaccine in order to protect patients, concerns about the safety of the jab and the severity of the illness lead one third of the nurses polled to say they would not get it done.

In an online survey for the Nursing Times, only 37% said they would be vaccinated, with the rest either undecided or determined to turn it down. Of those who said they would be reluctant to get it done, 60% said that safety concerns were putting them off.

At the moment trials are taking place on two different vaccines at the University of Leicester to assess safety and effectiveness. The director of the Department of Health’s immunisation team said that nurses had a duty to protect themselves from contracting the illness.

“They have a duty to themselves, they are at risk. They have a duty to their patients not to infect their patients and they have a duty to their families. I think you solve those responsibilities by being vaccinated” said Prof. David Salisbury. He added, “The evidence that we’ve had is sufficient to persuade the regulators that these are vaccines that will be licensed.”

So far the government has been advising the NHS to offer Tamiflu as influenza treatment , especially in more severe cases, but they are hoping the vaccine could prevent the most vulnerable – and therefore most likely to need Tamiflu – from falling ill in the first place

First to be vaccinated, aside from medical personnel, will be those with underlying health problems like heart disease or renal failure. Children are also expected to be vaccinated.

Fears have been raised that that vaccine has been developed too quickly and that there will not be time for sufficient human trials to ascertain safety before the vaccination program is rolled out. Doctors have been warned to watch out for Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a condition that can cause temporary paralysis which has been linked to previous influenza vaccinations.

The NHS has been criticised for prescribing Tamiflu too readily, with some experts suggesting that by autumn the swine flu strain may have become immune to anti-viral influenza treatments.  An independent panel set up by the Department of Health said on Monday that there were serious concerns about using the medication on such a large scale.

A member of the Committee on Ethical Aspects of Pandemic Influenza, Prof. Robert Dingwall, said that “Some people [on the panel] wanted to take a long-term view of the risk of resistance developing and to seek to preserve the effectiveness of antivirals for the next pandemic, which may be more severe. “

However he added that “It was felt … it would simply be unacceptable to the UK population to tell them we had a huge stockpile of drugs but they were not going to be made available.”

The panel said that paracetamol and ibuprofen were in most cases effective influenza treatments.

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