A mix up in paperwork led to a different sperm donor being used, a report says.

Offering tests for gene mutations would save hundreds of lives each year, a study suggests.

A plan to locate Shropshire’s main emergency unit in Shrewsbury at Telford’s expense is “appalling”.

UK specialists had argued taking five-year-old Tafida Raqeeb to a foreign hospital would be futile.

A court finds in favour of campaigner who challenged law after she was denied a termination in NI.

Many people who take the antidepressant Zoloft report feeling better. But new research suggests the drug may be treating their anxiety, rather than their depression, at least in the early weeks.

Zoloft (sertraline)– and the family of similar drugs it belongs to – may actually take months to ease classic symptoms of depression, UK researchers found.

Similar results

That doesn’t mean the drugs aren’t making patients feel better relatively soon, however. That’s because Zoloft appears to have a much speedier effect on anxiety. Within six weeks the drug notably cut down on feelings of nervousness, worry and tension, said study senior author Glyn Lewis, a professor of epidemiological psychiatry at University College London.

Zoloft is in a group of commonly prescribed antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Although the study focused only on Zoloft, Lewis and his team “think that results for other SSRI antidepressants, including Prozac, are likely to be very similar”. Celexa, Paxil and Lexapro are other common SSRIs.

The study was conducted between 2015 and 2017. It involved 653 patients cared for at primary care facilities across four British cities. Half were assigned to receive Zoloft for 12 weeks and half got a placebo pill.

Patients completed depression symptom questionnaires at two weeks, six weeks and 12 weeks. General anxiety screenings were also conducted.

Symptoms of depression typically include poor concentration, low mood, difficulty sleeping, and an inability to enjoy life, Lewis explained.

“At six weeks there was only a 5% reduction in depressive symptoms,” he said, “and this was not significant. In other words, this could have been just a chance result.

‘Weak’ evidence

“In contrast, there was a 21% reduction in anxiety symptoms at six weeks, and a 24% reduction by 12 weeks,” said Lewis.

By the end of the trial, there were indications that Zoloft had become more effective at cutting down symptoms of depression, but evidence of that impact was deemed “weak”, according to the researchers.

However, Lewis and his associates made the point that most patients who struggle with depression also struggle with anxiety.

And the study found that patients on Zoloft did realise significant quality-of-life improvements.

Patients who took Zoloft “were twice as likely to report feeling better overall than those on placebo,” said Lewis. Plus, they did not experience any serious side effects.

Study participants were between 18 and 74 years old. For varying periods of time, more than half had struggled with clinical depression, while just under half had been diagnosed with generalized anxiety. Nearly a third suffered from both, while 15% had a distinct disorder that involved elements of both, according to the study.

Understanding ‘true measure’

Zoloft “benefited a wider group of people than previously believed, including those with mild to moderate depressive symptoms,” Lewis said. These were people who may not warrant a full-blown depression or anxiety diagnosis.

The study authors said physicians should not hesitate to prescribe Zoloft and other SSRIs for the treatment of depression, since so many report feeling better.

But how is it that researchers are only now coming to understand the true measure of a medication that’s been prescribed to millions since its introduction in 1992?

The answer is that times have changed, and so have the types of patients who take antidepressants, investigators said. Most SSRI studies are decades old, they noted, and conducted when antidepressants were mostly prescribed by specialists for patients battling severe forms of depression.

By contrast, SSRIs today are typically prescribed by a much larger group of general practitioners addressing the needs of a far wider group of patients, many of whom struggle with relatively mild depression.

‘Impressive’ corrective window

Turhan Canli is an associate professor psychology at State University of New York at Stony Brook. He suggested that Lewis’ investigation offers an “impressive” corrective window into how SSRIs really work.

The upshot, he said, is that popular antidepressants may not be “all that effective in the treatment of depression”.

“On the other hand,” said Canli, “the finding that the drug reduced anxiety symptoms and improved quality-of-life measures suggests that patients – particularly those who experience symptoms of worry or restlessness – may still benefit, albeit in ways different than expected.”

The study was published online in The Lancet Psychiatry.

^{Image credit: iStock}

The Department of Health has introduced a bicycle delivery service to its Central Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme in the Gert Sibande District in Mpumalanga. 

The programme makes use of private pharmacy outlets as the pick-up points for chronic medication, with the main objective to improve access to antiretrovirals and chronic medicines for stable patients reliant on public health care.

From the clinic direct to you

The bicycle delivery service is meant for CCMDD participating patients who prefer their chronic medication parcels to be delivered at home or a convenient address of their choice. 

Other options in the CCMDD programme include patients collecting medication at a clinic or collection at a contracted pick up point at a pharmacy.

Improving access and opportunities 

Dumisani Malamule, Department of Health spokesperson says it is a youth development initiative  too. The service, he says, is managed and fully coordinated by the CCMDD service provider, Pharmacy Direct in collaboration with the National Youth Development Agency. 

The delivery staff will be provided with bicycles, protective gear, an electronic device, and a two weeks training on entrepreneurship. Chronic medicine parcels will be collected at the clinic, scanned to the electronic device, delivered to the patient, and scanned once again to confirm delivery.

According to the department, the reasons behind this new initiative is to:

• Create youth employment through business developments
• Improve access of chronic medication to patients
• Ensure adherence to medication and reduce defaulter rate
• Reduce influx of stable chronic patients to the facilities and reduce patient waiting time

Malamule says the bicycles will be equally distributed to all health care facilities. “High volume facilities will be allocated at least two bicycles depending on the number of clients opting for a bicycle delivery service. The district is currently piloting the service in 16 health facilities.”

Currently there are 104 233 patients in the district enrolled in the CCMDD programme, and 84 health facilities participating, he adds. 

“The bicycle delivery service is not only meant for antiretroviral medication but all chronic medication that treats diabetes, hypertension and so on,” says Malamule.

– Health-e News 

^{Image credit: iStock}

Cynthia Maseko

Most dogs and owners share an unbreakable emotional bond. But can they also share expanding waistlines?

Yes, said Danish researchers, who found that Fido is twice as likely to be heavy or obese if his owner is as well.

‘Hang out’ indulgence

Why? “Based on our findings, it seems that the way owners give their dog treats is related to the owner’s weight,” explained study author Dr Charlotte Bjornvad, a professor in companion animal internal medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

“Trim and overweight owners both give their dogs treats,” she noted. But “there seems to be two ways to use treats.”

Some offer treats to reinforce training or coax more activity, explained Bjornvad. But others share treats as a “hang out” indulgence.

Danish people have a specific name for it: “hygge”. Roughly translated as “cozy”, the term refers to enjoying mutual relaxation, inactivity and snacking, either alone or with friends and pets.

Based on a dog-rearing questionnaire completed by 268 owners in Denmark, the study team concluded that overweight and obese owners are more likely to offer their dogs “hygge treats” than trim owners. (One-fifth of the dogs were either heavy or obese.)

It may also be that overweight owners “spend more time relaxing, and therefore they give more treats during relaxation,” added Bjornvad, though her team did not test that theory.

Higher risk for osteoarthritis

But is the “hygge” affect a Danish problem or a global concern? It’s “more a universal finding”, Bjornvad said.

“Pet obesity is a major problem in most Western countries,” she observed. “And, like in humans, [being] overweight decreases the dog’s quality of life as well as expected lifespan.”

The study, in Preventive Veterinary Medicine, pointed out that heavy dogs live 1.3 fewer years, on average, perhaps due to a higher risk for osteoarthritis.

Gender also affects canine obesity risk, with female dogs more prone to obesity than males.

But in a first, the study found that when male dogs are neutered, they face a three times greater risk for becoming heavy or obese, compared with male dogs who aren’t. No similar finding was seen among female dogs who are sterilized.

“In Scandinavian countries, there is a very low rate of neutering in dogs and no street dogs,” said Bjornvad. “Perhaps it is time to reconsider the policy widely followed in the US to neuter all dogs that are not intended for breeding.”

Excessive snacking has consequences

And as to what the hygge affect might mean for dog rearing, Bjornvad said she hoped the findings “contribute to owners being more aware of how their habits can influence their dogs’ risk of becoming overweight.

“It is difficult to deny your dog the pleasure of treats or snacks,” she acknowledged, “especially if it is an important part of your time spent together. By becoming aware that also for your dog excessive snacking has consequences, it may motivate restricting the amount, or switching to low-calorie snacks, to the benefit of both the dog and its owner.”

Lona Sandon is programme director in the Department of Clinical Nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She noted much has been said about how dog ownership can help owners stay trim, given the need for daily walking.

“But we probably have dog owners that are active health-conscious people who walk their dogs regularly and dog owners who may be less health-conscious for themselves and their dogs, and do not walk their dogs regularly,” Sandon said.

Findings might have an upside

Regarding treat-handling differences, Sandon’s theory “is that humans project their thoughts, feelings and habits onto their pets.

“We tend to treat our pets like kids,” she added. “So if you use food to express affection to others like your kids, perhaps you’re more likely to do that with your dog, too. Or if you use food, let’s say ice cream, to treat a bad mood, and your dog is your best friend keeping company with you, you might also treat the dog, or share your ice cream, thinking the dog will feel better, too.”

But Sandon said the Danish findings might have an upside.

“Maybe we could use this to get humans to make healthier lifestyles for themselves,” she said. “Teach them to provide proper food and exercise for the dog, and maybe the dog’s healthier lifestyle will rub off on humans.”

^{Image credit: iStock}

Hormone replacement therapy, contraceptives and adrenaline pens are all on the government’s list.

Research into the pathology of vaping-associated lung injury is in its early stages, but a Mayo Clinic study published in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that lung injuries from vaping most likely are caused by direct toxicity or tissue damage from noxious chemical fumes.