bmj.com -- Press Releases

Press Releases Saturday 27 February 1999
No 7183 Volume 318

Please remember to credit the BMJ as source when publicising an
article and to tell your readers that they can read its full text on the
journal's web site (http://www.bmj.com).

If your story is posted on a website please include a link back to
the source BMJ article (URL's are given under titles).

(1) MEN WITH LOW FERTILITY HAVE DOUBLE THE RISK OF
TESTICULAR CANCER

(2) DEMAND FOR GREATER REGULATION OF CHINESE HERBALISTS

(3) IBS IS TEN TIMES MORE LIKELY AFTER GASTROENTERITIS

(4) HEALTH PROMOTION IS OVERLOOKING HOMELESS PEOPLE

(5) TAKE CARE - YOUR CAMPING STOVE COULD SERIOUSLY
DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH

(6) NICOTINE PATCHES ARE CHEAPER THAN SMOKING!

(1) MEN WITH LOW FERTILITY HAVE DOUBLE THE RISK OF
TESTICULAR CANCER

(Risk of testicular cancer in subfertile men: case control study)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7183/559

The incidence of testicular cancer has increased in the past 50 years and there
is some evidence to suggest that sperm quality has reduced in the same period,
leading to an increase in male subfertility. In this week's BMJ, Henrik Møller
and Niels Skakkebæk from the Danish National Research Foundation report that men
with low relative fertility have double the risk of testicular cancer than men
with normal fertility.

The authors suggest that the most plausible explanation for the association
between subfertility and testicular cancer, is the existence of causal factors
that are common in both conditions and they speculate that these factors may
take effect at an embryonic stage.

Contact:
Dr Henrik Møller, Head, Centre for Research in Health and Social Statistics,
Danish National Research Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
Email: cerefo{at}inet.uni2.dk

(2) DEMAND FOR GREATER REGULATION OF CHINESE HERBALISTS

(Analysis of Chinese herbal creams prescribed for dermatological conditions)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7183/563

In this week's BMJ Dr Fiona Keane and colleagues from King's College Hospital,
London report that some Chinese herbal remedies may not be as "natural" as they
seem and that closer regulation of herbal medicines is required.

In their study of Chinese herbal remedies obtained by patients for the treatment
of dermatological conditions, Keane et al found that eight of the eleven creams
tested contained a prescription only steroid (Dexamethasone) - the prescription
of which by unauthorised people is illegal in the UK. Furthermore the
concentration of the steroid in the creams prescribed for children was 5.2 times
higher than in those prescribed for adults and the concentrations used in all
eight was inappropriate for use on the face. No warnings about the side effects
of using such potent steroids inappropriately or on thin skin, such as the
face, was given to any of the patients.

Keane and colleagues recognise that their study is based on a small sample in
one area of London, however, they conclude that their findings suggest a need
for greater regulation and restriction to be imposed on herbalists and that
continuous monitoring of the side effects of such medications is urged.

Contact:
Dr Fiona Keane, Specialist Registrar in Dermatology, Department of Dermatology
and Clinical Biochemistry, King's College Hospital, London
Email: FionaKeane99{at}hotmail.com

(3) IBS IS TEN TIMES MORE LIKELY AFTER GASTROENTERITIS

(Increased risk of irritable bowel syndrome after bacterial
gastroenteritis: cohort study)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7183/565

In the year after a bout of bacterial gastroenteritis patients are ten times
more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) than the general population,
report Luis A Garciá Rodríguez and Ana Ruigómez from the Centro Espa ol de
Investigación Farmacoepidemiológica, Madrid in this week's BMJ. According to
the authors, these findings are taken from the first epidemiological study of
its kind and they say that their results confirm the suspicions of earlier
research. They conclude that bacterial gastroenteritis is a major independent
risk factor for IBS.

Contact:
Dr Luis A Garciá Rodríguez, Director, Centro Espa ol de Investigación
Farmacoepidemiológica, Madrid, Spain
Email: lagarcia{at}ceife.es

(4) HEALTH PROMOTION IS OVERLOOKING HOMELESS PEOPLE

(Health, health promotion and homelessness)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7183/590

Little attention has been paid to the health promotion needs of homeless people
and yet they are more likely than others to seek medical attention once they
have a disease rather than at a preventative stage, say Dr Robert Power and
colleagues from a multitude of medical institutions and associations advocating
action for homeless people, in this week's BMJ.

The authors write that homeless people are a heterogenous population - the
health care priorities of a young man sleeping on the streets differ from those
of a single mother in temporary accommodation - whose diverse health promotion
needs are poorly met. They suggest that further research is undertaken to
ascertain the specific health promotion needs of subgroups of homeless people
and that a rigorous evaluation of any health promotion activities is undertaken
in order to provide an evidence base for good practice.

Contact:
Dr Robert Power, Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Royal Free and
University College Medical School, London
Email: rpower{at}gum.ucl.ac.uk

(5) TAKE CARE - YOUR CAMPING STOVE COULD SERIOUSLY
DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH

(Portable camping stoves continue to cause burns)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7183/604

Inadequate instructions on how to change gas canisters on camping stoves is
resulting in unnecessary injuries, write Adrian Richards and colleagues from the
Odstock Centre for Burns, Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery at Salisbury
District General Hospital in this week's BMJ. Based on experiences with nine
patients that the Centre treated during the summer of last year, the authors say
that the design of camping stove gas canisters is dangerous, as they do not
incorporate a fail-safe mechanism to prevent the leakage of explosive butane
gas. The authors claim that despite issuing a warning more than thirteen years
ago the design of the canisters has not been adapted and injuries are still
being sustained uncessarily.

Contact:
Adrian Richards, Specialist Registrar, Odstock Centre for Burns, Plastic and
Maxillofacial Surgery at Salisbury District General Hospital, Salisbury
or Peter Shakespeare

(6) NICOTINE PATCHES ARE CHEAPER THAN SMOKING!

(Paying for nicotine replacement therapy is cheaper than smoking
20 cigarettes a day)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7183/604/b

A course of nicotine replacement therapy patches would be cheaper than smoking
20 cigarettes a day and therefore claims that such therapies are prohibitively
expensive are unfounded, writes Dr Robert Bunney in this week's BMJ. A general
practitioner from Barnstaple in Devon, Dr Bunney calculates that a typical eight
week course of patches, purchased from a pharmacy would cost £17 per week,
saving smokers of 20 cigarettes a day around £20 a week through not smoking.
The author says that before yet more pressure is added to the NHS prescribing
budget, it should be borne in mind that heavy smokers actually save money while
paying for their nicotine replacement therapy.