British medical bulletin
-
This article examines the role of National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal in detail, focussing on the process itself and the methods used to establish cost-effective practices for the National Health Service (NHS). ⋯ The decisions over which activities will be displaced by NICE approved treatments are made at a local level, while the cost-effectiveness threshold used to evaluate technologies is set nationally. This may result in treatments being displaced which are more cost-effective than those being introduced. AREAS TO DEVELOP RESEARCH: The introduction of programmes looking at disinvestment opportunities to help aid local decision makers is a key step in improving the allocation of NHS resources and removing geographical inequalities.
-
British medical bulletin · Jan 2007
ReviewCurrent and potential therapeutic strategies for the treatment of ataxia-telangiectasia.
Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by progressive neurodegeneration, a high risk of cancer and immunodeficiency. These patients are also hypersensitive to radiotherapy. The gene product defective in this syndrome, ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated), normally recognizes DNA damage and signal to the DNA repair machinery and the cell cycle checkpoints to minimize the risk of genetic damage. ⋯ Correcting for the loss of Purkinje cells is technically very difficult and would require transplantation of embryonic stem cells. However, since it seems likely that oxidative stress may contribute to the neurodegeneration in A-T, potential therapies based on the use of antioxidants offer some hope. We describe the natural course of disease, some supportive therapeutic approaches already in use and those with potential based on our knowledge of molecular and cellular characteristics of this disorder.
-
British medical bulletin · Jan 2007
ReviewRepetitive shock wave therapy for lateral elbow tendinopathy (tennis elbow): a systematic and qualitative analysis.
Pooled meta-analyses of statistically and clinically heterogeneous data of randomised-controlled studies are difficult to interpret. Therefore, a qualitative study-by-study assessment was thought to be of greater relevance, to physicians confronted with a therapy-resistant tennis elbow patient, to determine the effectiveness of shock wave therapy (SWT) for lateral elbow tendinopathy. ⋯ With current studies heterogeneous in terms of the duration of the disorder; type, frequency and total dose of SWT; period of time between SWT; type of management and control group; timing of follow-up and outcomes assessed, a pooled meta-analysis of SWT for lateral elbow tendinopathy was considered inappropriate. In a qualitative systematic per-study analysis identifying common and diverging details of 10 randomized-controlled trials, evidence was found for effectiveness of shock wave treatment for tennis elbow under well-defined, restrictive conditions only.
-
In this article we review different measures of socioeconomic position (SEP) and their uses in health-related research. ⋯ Generally, poorer socioeconomic circumstances lead to poorer health. This has generated a search for generic mechanisms that could explain such a general association. However, we propose that there is a greater variation in the association between SEP and health than is generally acknowledged when specific health outcomes are investigated. We propose that studying these variations provide a better understanding of the aetiological mechanisms relating specific diseases with specific exposures. AREAS TO DEVELOP RESEARCH: Using different indicators of SEP in health research can better capture these variations and is important when evaluating the full contribution of confounding by socioeconomic conditions. We propose that using an array of SEP indicators within a life course framework also offers considerable opportunity to explore causal pathways in disease aetiology.
-
AREAS OF GENERAL AGREEMENT: Total creatine kinase (CK) levels depend on age, gender, race, muscle mass, physical activity and climatic condition. High levels of serum CK in apparently healthy subjects may be correlated with physical training status, as they depend on sarcomeric damage: strenuous exercise that damages skeletal muscle cells results in increased total serum CK. ⋯ Total serum CK activity is markedly elevated for 24 h after the exercise bout and, when patients rest, it gradually returns to basal levels. Persistently increased serum CK levels are occasionally encountered in healthy individuals and are also markedly increased in the pre-clinical stages of muscle diseases.