Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common long-term digestive conditions in the world. It can develop at any age but the most sufferers will first start to develop symptoms between the ages of 15 and 40. It is estimated there are a staggering 12 million people in the UK alone who are suffering from the stomach condition. Most GPs, on a general rule of thumb, will first operate on the ‘ABC’ of symptoms for diagnosis. This includes abdominal cramps, bloating and change in bowel movements (such as constipation, diarrhoea or even both). After this, your GP will probably further ask you about things such how often you typically need to go to the toilet or what can make your symptoms better or worse.

For those under the age of 50 and experience the usual typical symptoms it is very unlikely you will be referred to a hospital for further tests, this would only happen in severe cases whereby your GP may think you have a possible serious underlying condition. It is thought that IBS can be caused by many different reasons, but certain factors are known to worsen the symptoms. These include:

. Food and drink intolerances. The most common culprits include wheat, dairy, caffeinated beverages and chocolate.

. Stress or anxiety issues. Problems at work, a family bereavement, relationship difficulties, etc. will probably make your IBS symptoms worse. Some people keep a stress/anxiety diary to monitor their feelings and prepare for when elevated stress might be imminent.

. Certain drugs are known to trigger symptoms. These include antibiotics, anti-depressants and anything which may contain sorbitol such as cough syrup.

With all that in mind, you may be pleased to know that doctors are now claiming that the probiotic drink ‘Symprove’ is highly effective at relieving bloating and stomach pain in IBS sufferers. Symprove is currently able to be purchased online and from within certain stores of Tesco. The recommended daily dose of the drink equates to £2 per day, which you could save by cutting down on things such as cups of coffee, sausage butties and anything else which can trigger IBS.

In a study sponsored by King’s College Hospital in London, 186 people with moderate to severe IBS and aged between 18 and 65 were analyzed. For a testing period of 12 weeks, Symprove was given to two thirds of the subjects and the rest were given a placebo instead. Results suggested that the probiotic drink was effective in aiding constipation and diarrhoea and by the end of the study a lot of people commented that they were feeling less stomach pain and discomfort, and this continued even a month after the completion of the trial.

Professor Ingvar Bjarnason, who led the study, commented, “The Symprove trial is a real breakthrough for IBS sufferers.” At Medical Specialists Pharmacy, we are currently analysing the massive range of products for IBS sufferers with a view to expanding our evergrowing span of medications and chemist shop items, and we hope to offer effective solutions very soon, so keep checking our website regularly for more updates. Lansoprazole is just one of the IBS products which will soon be available to new and existing patients. In the meantime, feel free to browse around our website for help with other such common problems like male and female hair loss, impotence, help with quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol and much more.

Could eating a curry each day actually be good for you?

We all know the famous phrase ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’, however we may now also be able to say ‘a curry a day keeps the doctor away’. This is according to researchers at Oregon State University in America. Working together with experts at the University of Denmark, they found that the compound curcumin, which is the main component of the widely used curry spice turmeric, causes a significant increase in levels of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). This is a protein that aids the immune system in its fight against infection by any bacteria that the body hasn’t come across previously. This includes any fungi, viruses, etc.

The study was published in the May 25 edition of the ‘Journal of Nutritional Biochemist’. Dr Adrian Gombart and graduate student Chunxiao Guo, analysed the possibility of curcumin and omega-3 fatty acids to increase expression of the CAMP gene. They found that omega-3 had no effect on the CAMP gene.

However, Gombart and his team then discovered that curcumin caused levels of CAMP to nearly triple in laboratory tests on human cells. He commented, “This research points to a new avenue for regulating CAMP gene expression. It’s interesting and somewhat surprising that curcumin can do that, and could provide another tool to develop medical therapies.” He went on to acknowledge that generally a person’s consumption of curcumin is usually quite low, but that sustained consumption over time could help protect against infection within the stomach and intestinal tract.

Vitamin D has been shown to increase CAMP levels too. Unfortunately, high consumption of Vitamin D can result in high levels calcium being released into the blood. This can result in hypercalcemia, a condition whereby the sufferer can experience constipation, nausea, vomiting, kidney pain, muscular pain and many other symptoms. Researchers are now exploring other avenues of natural alternatives like curcumin.

Diabetes and erectile dysfunction link

he long term devastating effects that diabetes can have for it’s sufferer are now widely known. The condition can lead to a stroke, heart disease, damage to the retina and possible blindness, kidney failure, and diabetes accelerates atherosclerosis (the formation of fatty plaques inside the arteries which can result in blockages/clots and then a heart attack).

Such problems are the result of usually when diabetes is left uncontrolled and blood sugar levels are not properly maintained, most commonly in adults with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs when insufficient insulin is produced by the body for it to function properly, or when the body’s cells do not react to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. The disease is far more common than type 1, and around 90% of adults with diabetes, have the type 2 strain of the disease which has roughly 2.8million sufferers in the UK alone.

Dr. Madeleine Castellanos is a certified psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of sexual dysfunction and the improvement of sex life for couples or individuals. She has written a detailed article on her website in which she explains the connection between erectile dysfunction and diabetes. “Good sexual functioning depends on good blood flow and the ability to not only perceive sensations, but to have the organs and tissues respond to these sensations.  When a person’s blood sugar is high, cells cannot function properly and nerve endings become damaged.  This can cause numbness, or worse – uncomfortable tingling.  Having uncontrolled levels of blood sugar also causes damage to the blood vessels in the form of decreased ability to relax and contract when needed as well as increased atherosclerosis decreasing blood flow.”

She further comments “Ways that nerve damage manifests for someone with diabetes could be a decreased sensation in their genitals.  When this happens, it becomes more difficult to become aroused when touched or stroked.  Impaired blood flow commonly causes erectile dysfunction in men and lack of lubrication or difficulty reaching orgasm in women.  To make matters worse, patients with diabetes have a poorer response to medications for erectile dysfunction.” Dr. Castellanos also says in her article that she believes diabetics should keep their blood sugar level between 80 and 125 instead of trying to maintain the level of under 150 or 180 if they have had the disease for a while.

Christmas brings warnings for asthma and allergy sufferers

As the festive period is upon us, an expert allergist at the Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Maywood, Ill, has issued a warning which could dampen the moods of many. Fresh Christmas trees, plants, air fresheners, perfumes, dust and nuts may trigger asthma attacks and allergic reactions according to Dr. Joseph Leija.
Dr. Leija has warned that there is a good chance of a trigger being created through things such as:  the dust on old boxes of decorations that have been stored away for probably almost a year, fresh Christmas trees, and the popular holiday houseplant the Poinsetta, which has become almost as widely known at Christmas as holly and ivy.

The allergist commented in a Loyola University Health System news release: “The dust from the boxes and on the decorations that have been packed away in dank basements or dusty attics is triggering reactions in my allergy and asthma patients”. He further went on to suggest methods of avoiding such problems. For instance he advised avoiding scented candles and oils, choosing an artificial tree as apposed to a real and fresh one, staying clear of fresh plants and flowers, be careful with the humidifier and keeping humidity to no more than 48 to 50 percent, and finally to store all decorations in plastic bins to help keep them dust-free.

If you are worried about Dr. Leija’s warnings, why not be prepared and help beat the Christmas blues. At Medical Specialists we offer a wide range of medications to help asthma and allergy sufferers, all at great prices. If you are suffering from asthma like symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately for a diagnosis. Your doctor is able to prescribe medication if he feels you have asthma. If you have already been prescribed an inhaler or have lost your inhaler or run out and cannot get a prescription immediately, we are able to supply you an inhaler to help your asthma symptoms. We now offer both blue (relievers) inhalers such as Ventolin and Salbutamol, and brown (preventers) inhalers such as Qvar Beclomethasone, Qvar Easi-Breathe, and Pulvinal Beclomethasone. If you suffer from hay fever or allergies we offer Loratadine tablets and Nasonex spray. Both of the aforementioned are available without the need for a prescription.

Actor Simon Pegg shows off thicker barnet and thinner face

The British actor Simon Pegg has made appearances at several premieres this week, promoting the fourth installment in the Mission Impossible films. The star who has appeared in many notable films such as Run, Fat Boy, Run, and Hot Fuzz, is clearly now a major player in Hollywood, starring alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

However, it seems the “Hollywood effect” has taken over the highly popular Brit as he is now much slimmer in the face and his once receding and thinning hair appears to have been replaced by a much more fuller head of hair. This follows the comedian Ricky Gervais, who famously posed in a tiny pair of gold shorts prior to him hosting the Golden Globes back in January, showing off the incredible 22lbs he had lost during 2010 from his previous portly frame. Gervais too seemed to shrink simultaneously to his career taking off across the Atlantic.

Pegg’s hair transplant follows X-Factor judge Louis Walsh recently admitting in an interview that he had undergone a similar procedure which set him back roughly £30,000 after jibes from boss Simon Cowell, ‘He came up to me and said: “You know, you’re starting to lose your hair. I said, “I am not! And anyway, you’re going grey!”

‘I could have just left it and got on with things, but with TV today, everything is in high definition, and people notice every little thing’. Even Manchester United striker and footballing superstar Wayne Rooney earlier this year announced the news of his hair transplant after an expensive trip to a Harley Street clinic, tweeting his followers on social networking site Twitter – ‘I was going bald at 25, why not? I’m delighted with the result’.

However if you are you are not feeling flush enough to warrant paying 30k for a hair transplant you could try Propecia instead.

GP’s urged to cut their patient’s limit on erectile dysfunction medication

A committee of NHS managers who are responsible for rationing recommendations for areas that include Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, have asked doctors to limit their patients to just two tablets per month for those who are taking medications such as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis to treat erectile dysfunction.

The prescribing of such medications on the NHS is already under strict measures, with access to erectile dysfunction medication limited primarily to those who are suffering from conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease, polio, spina bifida, and spinal injury. The South Central Priorities Committee, who have made the new strict recommendations, covers PCTs in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Berkshire East, Berkshire West and Buckinghamshire. They suggest in their research that people between the ages of 40 to 60 have sex once a week, which could lead to questions about how up to date or accurate this research actually is and also why there is only a two tablet per month idea put forth.

In addition, there is NHS guidance that states that there “appears to be no clinical reason to restrict the number of tablets” of Viagra prescribed to an individual. Dr Paul Roblin, chief executive of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxon LMCs, said: “It is getting in the way of GPs having a sensible dialogue with patients about their requirements. Local priorities committees don’t understand the only restrictions on GP prescribing come from the national black list and grey list. They sometimes portray recommendations as a rule that has to be obeyed, and that’s not true.”

A spokesperson for NHS Oxfordshire had this to say on the subject: “Any decision made by the PCT cannot prohibit prescribing, but will form a recommendation to GPs. The policy can be adapted locally and NHS Berkshire East is implementing the two-dose policy for new patients only.” Moreover, a NHS Berkshire East spokesperson has commented on the new suggested procedure: “Existing patients are prescribed four tablets a month, but new patients are treated in line with the policy published by the Berkshire Priorities Committee.”

New drug could help obese patients lose tenth of their weight in just one month

A new drug which destroys blood supply to fatty tissue could help people lose a tenth of their body weight in just one month, a study indicates.

Obese rhesus monkeys lost on average 11 per cent of their body weight after four weeks of the experimental treatment. Body mass index (BMI) and waistline also were reduced, while all three measures were unchanged in untreated control monkeys.

Imaging studies also showed a substantial decrease in body fat among treated animals. A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre carried out the study. Co-senior author Professor Renata Pasqualini, at the David H. Koch Centre for Applied Research of Genitourinary Cancers, said: “Development of this compound for human use would provide a non-surgical way to actually reduce accumulated white fat, in contrast to current weight-loss drugs that attempt to control appetite or prevent absorption of dietary fat.”

She said previous attempts to treat obesity have predominantly focused on drugs aimed at suppressing appetite or increasing metabolism, but these efforts have been hampered by their toxic side-effects.
The MD Anderson group designed a new drug, which includes a homing agent that binds to a protein on the surface of fat-supporting blood vessels and a synthetic peptide that triggers cell death.
Their blood supply gone, fat cells are reabsorbed and metabolised.

Co-senior author Professor Wadih Arap, said: “Obesity is a major risk factor for developing cancer, roughly the equivalent of tobacco use, and both are potentially reversible.”

In earlier preclinical research, obese mice lost about 30 per cent of their body weight with the drug, now called Adipotide.

The drug acts on white adipose tissue, the scientific name for the unhealthy type of fat that accumulates under the skin and around the abdomen, and is a disease and mortality predictor.

Prof Pasqualini said: “Most drugs against obesity fail in transition between rodents and primates.

Adipotide-treated monkeys showed marked improvements in insulin resistance – using about 50 per cent less insulin after treatment. Now the research team are preparing for a clinical trial in which obese prostate cancer patients would receive daily injections of Adipotide for 28 consecutive days.

Treated monkeys’ abdominal fat levels fell by 27 per cent during the study. Fat levels increased slightly in the control group. Lean monkeys did not lose weight in a separate study to test for potential effects of the drug in non-obese animals, indicating that the drug’s effect may be selective for obese subjects.

Monkeys in the studies remained bright and alert throughout, interacting with caretakers and demonstrating no signs of nausea or food avoidance.

The results were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.