Smileband health topics

A 23-year-old mother died after taking a 'high level' of the diarrhoea drug Imodium which caused her to suffer a heart attack, an inquest found. Brooklyn-Marie Barker, from Croxteth, Liverpool, was taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital after having a cardiac arrest in October but died five days later.

The pathologist Brian Rodgers said the combination of the drug Imodium and her epilepsy medication Pregabalin may have caused the cardiac arrest, the Liverpool Echo reported. 

Mr Rodgers said: 'There was a very high level of Loperamide more commonly known as Imodium.

'Why she was taking it I don't know, but Imodium is a morphine type drug and has similar effects.

'It is becoming an increasingly misused drug - and I make that as a general comment. Some individuals who have been abusing heroin will take Imodium to get off heroin.'

After being taken to hospital she caught pneumonia and a bacterial infection which ultimately led to her death.  

Liverpool Coroner's Court heard that the day before the cardiac arrest she had suffered two non-epileptic seizures, after which her boyfriend put her into the recovery position before going to bed.

The next morning he found her 'gargling, grey and unconscious' and he called 999 after realising she was not breathing. Ms Barker's mother, Diane, accused her daughter's boyfriend - who had a 'fairly chaotic' relationship with her after 'numerous allegations of assault' - of supplying her with heroin.

No such drugs were found in her system, but Mr Rodgers said there was scarring around her groin area which 'could have' come from drug abuse. 

Coroner Andre Rebello ruled that the death was accidental, and said that Ms Barker died from hypoxic brain injury and bronchopneumonia, caused by a cardiac arrest, with Loperamide (Imodium) and Pregabalin noted as contributory factors. 

He added: 'This was the most tragic accident. It is much more difficult when a child or grandchild dies before us - it is not how it should be.

'Please don’t allow these feelings regarding her relationship to destroy your memory of Brooklyn’s life.' <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

Thousands of British cancer patients are dying early because NHS survival rates are trailing behind the rest of the world, a report has found. The largest study of cancer survival ever conducted puts the UK towards the bottom of global league tables for several common cancers.

Health charities last night called for urgent action to close the 'appalling' and 'unacceptable' gulf with other nations, blaming slow diagnosis and poor treatment. While British cancer survival has improved slightly over the past 20 years, the country is being left behind by huge advances in other countries.

The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, analysed the records of 37.5million patients with 18 of the most common cancers, comparing survival rates for 71 countries.

The UK falls in the bottom half of the league table for seven cancers and only comes in the top ten for two. For years campaigners have warned that British survival rates are way behind those in Europe and the US, and studies suggest 10,000 deaths could be prevented each year if the UK merely hit the European average.

But the analysis shows Britain is also left trailing by developing nations such as Jordan, Puerto Rico, Algeria and Ecuador.

The data, from 2010 to 2014, shows that only 6.8 per cent of British pancreatic cancer patients survive for five years after diagnosis, putting the UK 47th out of the 56 countries that had full data for that cancer.

The pancreatic cancer survival rate in the US is nearly twice as high, at 11.5 per cent. But the UK is also surpassed by Latvia, South Africa and Argentina. For stomach cancer the UK comes 46th out of 60 countries, with only 20.7 per cent surviving five years, worse than Romania, Turkey and Malaysia. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband general news

Five men have been arrested after half a tonne of cocaine worth more than £50 million was discovered in a private jet. Border Force officers found around 500kg of the Class A drug after searching a twin-engined aircraft that flew into the UK from Bogota in Colombia yesterday.

Two Britons, two Spaniards and an Italian were arrested on suspicion of importing Class A drugs after the jet landed at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire. The discovery is believed to have been one of the largest recent seizures of its kind. The Border Force said that the drug was hidden in 15 suitcases found on board.

The plane belongs to an Austrian company called Tyrolean Jet Services based in Innsbruck, according to The Sun. 

Border Force Deputy Chief Operating Officer Mike Stepney said: 'After meeting the flight and questioning those on board, officers became suspicious and searched the aircraft and their luggage. 

'When opened, each case was found to contain between 34 to 37 tape wrapped packages weighing approximately one kilo each.

'One of these was pierced and a white powder exposed which tested positive for cocaine. Three properties in Bournemouth, Dorset, were also searched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of the investigation, and computers and phones taken away for examination.

NCA operations manager Siobhan Micklethwaite said: 'This is a major seizure of cocaine, one of the largest flown into the UK by plane in many years, and this seizure by Border Force represents a major blow to organised crime.

'We estimate that once cut and sold on the streets in the UK it would have had a potential value in excess of £50 million.'

The aircraft crew were questioned before being released without charge. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband health topics

Health Risks of Being Overweight

Overweight and obesity may increase the risk of many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. If you are pregnant, excess weight may lead to short- and long-term health problems for you and your child.

This fact sheet tells you more about the links between excess weight and many health conditions. It also explains how reaching and maintaining a normal weight may help you and your loved ones stay healthier as you grow older.

What kinds of health problems are linked to overweight and obesity?

Excess weight may increase the risk for many health problems, including

• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• heart disease and strokes
• certain types of cancer
• sleep apnea
• osteoarthritis
• fatty liver disease
• kidney disease
• pregnancy problems, such as high blood sugar during pregnancy, high blood pressure, and increased risk for cesarean delivery (C-section)

How can I tell if I weigh too much?

Gaining a few pounds during the year may not seem like a big deal. But these pounds can add up over time. How can you tell if your weight could increase your chances of developing health problems? Knowing two numbers may help you understand your risk: your body mass index (BMI) score and your waist size in inches.

Body Mass Index

The BMI is one way to tell whether you are at a normal weight, are overweight, or have obesity. It measures your weight in relation to your height and provides a score to help place you in a category:

• normal weight: BMI of 18.5 to 24.9
• overweight: BMI of 25 to 29.9
• obesity: BMI of 30 or higher
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Smileband general news

Bill Gates has revealed that his father suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The billionaire tech-mogul, 62, described how the diagnosis of his 92-year-old lawyer father, Bill Gates Sr, inspired him to fund research for a cure for the neurodegenertative disease.

In November, the Microsoft co-founder invested $100 million of his $94 billion fortune to innovative and unconventional research with the hopes that new drugs will be developed within the next 10 to 15 years.

Now he has disclosed that his Washington-born dad, who has had a hand in major business deals including Howard Schultz's purchase of Starbucks, was his motivation for doing so. 

This morning, Gates told TODAY that he is optimistic that with the right resources a cure and preventative drugs will be discovered to combat the disease that 5.5 million Americans suffer from. In a sit-down interview with NBC's Maria Shriver, whose father died of the disease, Gates said: 'I have a father who's affected deeply by it. Only by solving problems like this can we take these medical costs and the human tragedy and really get those under control.'

Gates added that his father's diagnosis lead him to worry about his own brain staying 'intact as long as possible'. 

Of his $100 million donation, $50 million will go to the Dementia Discovery Fund, an organization that brings together industry and government to fund innovative dementia research.

The remaining $50 million will go toward a national patient registry to speed up recruitment for clinical trials and an international research database that will help scientists share data and collaborate with one another.

Both donations are personal investments, separate from Gates' philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

'More and more people are getting Alzheimer's, and it's tragic,' he said. 

It is unclear how long his father, also a philanthropist, has had the disease.

Americans spent $259 billion in 2017 caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Dementia, of which Alzheimer's is the most common form, affects close to 50 million people worldwide and is expected to affect more than 131 million by 2050, according to Alzheimer's Disease International.

Despite decades of scientific research, there is no treatment that can slow the progression of the disease. The philanthropist, whose usual focus is on infectious diseases in poorer countries, eluded to his father's diagnosis when he announced his donation in November.  

'I know how awful it is to watch people you love struggle as the disease robs them of their mental capacity... It feels a lot like you're experiencing a gradual death of the person that you knew,' he said in a blog post about the dementia investments.

He added: 'Some of the men in my family have suffered from Alzheimer's, but I wouldn't say that's the sole reason [for this investment].'  

Through talking to experts in the field over the past year, Gates said he had identified five areas of need: understanding better how Alzheimer's unfolds, detecting and diagnosing it earlier, pursuing multiple approaches to trying to halt the disease, making it easier for people to take part in clinical trials of potential new medicines and using data better.

'My background at Microsoft and my foundation background say to me that a data-driven contribution might be an area where I can help add some value,' he said.

This would make it easier for researchers to look for patterns and identify new pathways for treatment, Gates added.

Gates said: 'I really believe that if we orchestrate the right resources, it's solvable.' <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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Smileband health topics

Dozing off at work could be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's disease, new research warns. People who dozed off or napped at inappropriate times, even if they got enough sleep, were more likely to have traces of the disease during their brain scans, according to the new study.

Alzheimer's disease, which is the sixth leading cause of death among adults in the US, is difficult to spot in the early stages because symptoms don't appear until later.

The study, published in JAMA Neurology, is the latest to link the sleep-wake cycle to the neurodegenerative disease and could help doctors identify people at-risk of developing the disease years in advance. 'In this new study we found people with pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease had more fragmentation in their [sleep-wake] activity patterns - with more periods of inactivity or sleep during the day and more periods of activity at night,' said senior author Dr Yo-El Ju of Washington University.

Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, which includes inability to create new memories and forgetfulness, usually do not appear until after the age of 60, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

One of the hallmarks of the disease is the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques between nerve cells in the brain. Clumps of this toxic brain protein destroys memory and causing confusion.

For the study, researchers at Washington University in St Louis analyzed data from 189 cognitively normal adults with an average age of 66. Their sleep cycles were tracked for one to two weeks using devices similar to exercise trackers.  

Some underwent PET scans to look for Alzheimer's-related amyloid plaques in their brains and others cerebro-spinal fluid tests. A third group had both.  

Researchers found that those with beta-amyloid plaques were either nodded off during the day, frequently had their sleep disrupted, or both.

In other words, people who experienced short spurts of activity and rest during the day and night were more likely to have evidence of amyloid build-up in their brains.   

Among the 50 whose results were abnormal - suggesting presence of the neuron-killing protein clumps - they were either waking up regularly during the night, nodding off in the day or both.

The 139 others had no evidence of the amyloid protein that signifies pre-clinical Alzheimer's. Most had normal sleep-wake cycles although several had circadian disruptions that were linked to advanced age, sleep apnea or something else.

The subjects from Washington University's Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre wore devices similar to exercise trackers for one to two weeks. 

Previous studies have linked sleep activity to the development of Alzheimer's disease.<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
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Research published last year in the journal Brain found that a poor night's sleep was associated with higher levels of amyloid plaque, proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease. 

A separate 2015 study in mice being published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine showed similar circadian disruptions speeded up the development of the beta-amyloid plaques. 

The team's previous research in people and animals has found levels of the protein fluctuate fall during sleep - and rise when this is interrupted or when people don't get enough deep sleep.

However, the current study isn't just about lack of sleep, it's about how people sleep.

'It wasn't the people in the study were sleep-deprived. But their sleep tended to be fragmented,' said researcher Dr Erik Musiek of Washington University. 'Sleeping for eight hours at night is very different from getting eight hours of sleep in one-hour increments during daytime naps.'

Researchers said it's top early to answer the chicken-and-egg question of whether disrupted circadian rhythms put people at risk for Alzheimer's - or whether Alzheimer's-related changes in the brain disrupt circadian rhythms. 

Smileband health issues

Low magnesium is known in research circles as the silent epidemic of our times.

Many of the symptoms of low magnesium are not unique to magnesium deficiency, making it difficult to diagnose with 100% accuracy. Thus quite often low magnesium levels go completely unrecognized… and untreated.

Yet chronic low intake of magnesium is not only extremely common but linked to several disease states, indicating the importance of considering both overt physical symptoms and the presence of other diseases and conditions when considering magnesium status. 

What are the symptoms of magnesium deficiency?

Magnesium is an important ingredient to so many of the body’s regulatory and biochemical systems that the impact of low levels spans all areas of health and medical practice. Therefore the symptoms of a magnesium deficit fall into two broad categories – the physical symptoms of overt deficiency and the spectrum of disease states linked to low magnesium levels. Classic “Clinical” Symptoms. These physical signs of magnesium deficiency are clearly related to both its physiological role and its significant impact on the healthy balance of minerals such as calcium and potassium. Tics, muscle spasms and cramps, seizures, anxiety, and irregular heart rhythms are among the classic signs and symptoms of low magnesium The subject of subclinical or chronic latent magnesium deficiency has been one of alarm and increased emphasis in research communities. This growing attention is largely due to epidemiological (population study) links found between ongoing chronic low magnesium and some of the more troubling chronic diseases of our time, including hypertension, asthma and osteoporosis.

Compounding the problem is the knowledge that the body actually strips magnesium and calcium from the bones during periods of “functioning” low magnesium. This effect can cause a doubly difficult scenario: seemingly adequate magnesium levels that mask a true deficiency coupled by ongoing damage to bone structures. Thus experts advise the suspicion of magnesium deficiency whenever risk factors for related conditions are present, rather than relying upon tests or overt symptoms alone.

Signs of Magnesium Deficiency

The classic physical signs of low magnesium are: 1 2 3

Neurological: Behavioral disturbances Irritability and anxiety Lethargy Impaired memory and cognitive function Anorexia or loss of appetite Nausea and vomiting Seizures Muscular: Weakness Muscle spasms (tetany) Tics Muscle cramps Hyperactive reflexes Impaired muscle coordination (ataxia) Tremors Involuntary eye movements and vertigo Difficulty swallowing

Metabolic: Increased intracellular calcium Hyperglycemia Calcium deficiency Potassium deficiency<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics --> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-109237959-1"></script> <script>   window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];   function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}   gtag('js', new Date());   gtag('config', 'UA-109237959-1'); </script>

Smileband health topics

The figures revealed that there is one 'severely obese' child for every classroom in the country.

The data shows a clear link between obesity and social deprivation - with the best and worst areas in the country being just five miles apart.  

Paediatricians warn the map is evidence that successive Governments have failed to tackle childhood obesity, fueling 'appalling life-long consequences'. 

It comes after it was revealed that an obese 12-year-old girl has been taken from her mother after doctors found her BMI is at a 'dangerously high level'.

The data shows that 44 per cent of 11 year olds in the north London borough of Brent are either overweight or obese - the worst region in England.

The figure is almost double that of the slimmest borough (25 per cent), Richmond-upon-Thames, which sits just five miles away.  

Smileband general news

Jermery Corbyn today vowed to buy 8,000 homes and create new powers for councils to take over 'deliberately' empty luxury flats to end rough sleeping. The Labour leader said the country needed 'social priorities' that placed homeless people above the right for foreign investors to buy and sell property off plan.

Mr Corbyn insisted Labour would intervene on the housing market in a 'number of ways' to help social tenants, private renters and first time buyers. 

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government last week revealed 4,751 people were sleeping rough in 2017 - the highest figure in the eight years rough sleeping has been tracked.

Some 760 were European nationals while another 402 people refused to reveal a nationality when asked. Labour said if it wins power, it would also seek to buy up housing association properties when they become vacant and hand them to homeless people instead of making them available again as affordable homes.

The housing association properties would then be replaced in a wider house building programme. Labour's manifesto claimed it will build 100,000 'genuinely affordable' for renting and buying each year. 

In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr how he would fix rough sleeping, Mr Corbyn said: '(We would) immediately purchase 8,000 properties across the country to give immediate housing to those people that are currently homeless.

'At the same time we would require local authorities to build far more. 'The problem is homeless people, rough sleepers, beg to get money for a night shelter, stay in the night shelter or a hostel.

'The problem then is move on accommodation, the problem then is not having an address, without which can't get a job or claim benefits.'

Mr Corbyn agreed there was a major problem with new flats being bought and sold off plan by foreign investors before they are left empty.

Asked by Marr homeless people should be handed empty luxury flats, the Labour leader said: 'We would give local authorities the power to take over deliberately kept vacant properties.

'When you have in the middle of an area where there is a lot of housing stress, many people rough sleeping, you have luxury, glossy, glistening block built, sold off plan to long distance overseas investors who may buy it and sell it before it is even built.

Smileband health topics

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Some health effects caused by HPV can be prevented by the HPV vaccines. 

How is HPV spread?

You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. It is most commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. HPV can be passed even when an infected person has no signs or symptoms.

Anyone who is sexually active can get HPV, even if you have had sex with only one person. You also can develop symptoms years after you have sex with someone who is infected. This makes it hard to know when you first became infected.

Does HPV cause health problems?

In most cases, HPV goes away on its own and does not cause any health problems. But when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer.

Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area. They can be small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower. A healthcare provider can usually diagnose warts by looking at the genital area. The jab grants immunity to the human papillomavirus (HPV), and has been provided free to all girls aged 12 to 13 since 2008 because HPV causes cervical cancer.

But it is now known it also causes 'oropharyngeal' cancer of the tongue, mouth and throat, whose incidence is rocketing, as well as tumours of the genitals and anus. Vaccinating boys would cost an additional £22million a year – against a total NHS UK budget of £148billion. But according to Treasury rules, vaccinating boys is not thought 'cost-effective', even though HPV cancer patients face months of expensive, agonising treatment.

HPV is spread through genital and oral sex, but can also be transmitted by saliva exchanged by kissing. Studies show some people who contract it are virgins, while 80 per cent of all UK adults have been infected. Only a minority will develop cancer, often decades after they got the virus.