By Bernard Purcell – Irish Independent – Thursday July 26 2007
AIRLINES and airports will be banned from charging for assisting disabled and elderly passengers under new EU rules. Airlines, airports and travel agents will now be obliged to ensure that would-be travellers with reduced mobility are afforded the same levels of access as the able-bodied. The airlines and airports now have a change-over period of a year until the new rules can be enforced.

The rules have three basic principles: equal treatment of persons affected by reduced mobility; free assistance in all EU airports; and free assistance on board. Regular wheelchair users and blind people can expect their chairs and guide dogs to be carried for free when the new rules – agreed by ministers and MEPs a year ago – are fully in force throughout the EU by no later than July next year.

In addition, the definition of restricted mobility has been broadened to include a whole spectrum ranging from the physically and intellectually disabled to the elderly and infirm, to those recuperating from surgery.

Until now airports and, mainly but not exclusively, the low-cost airlines have argued between themselves as to who must provide the facility and who should pay the cost, sometimes resulting in legal action by passengers. “Most airlines and airports do make genuine efforts to offer the necessary assistance but not all of them provide comprehensive assistance, free of charge,” said the Commission.
 

Article at http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2007/08/eat_away_just_dont_digest.html

News 14 of North Carolina is reporting that the Carolinas Medical Center has implanted its first Endobarrier Gastrointestinal Liner as an experiment in treating morbid obesity, especially in type 2 diabetics. Similar in function to gastrointestinal bypass surgery, in that it limits digestion, the device is implanted non-invasively through the esophagus. Though information is almost non-existent about the device online, including who the manufacturer is, it is also being experimented with at Academisch Ziekenhuis Maastricht (Maastricth Academic Hospital, Holland).
“This is again performed endoscopically with a device that goes down the esophagus into the stomach where the device is deployed. The theory is food goes on the inside of this endobarrier. The digestive enzymes are on the outside of the endobarrier and the food and digestive enzymes don’t mix until two feet further down stream in the smaller bowel.”
While it is similar to the gastric bypass, it’s not a replacement for those who need the surgery just yet.

“For now, it’s not instead of, it’s prior too gastric bypass. Whether or not this becomes a procedure instead of gastric bypass remains to be seen,” said Gersin.

At 2-3 months, the average weight loss is 20-30 pounds.

Lipostabil, also known as the Flab Jab, is currently yet to receive a licence for cosmetic purposes in the UK due to a lack of clinical testing and concerns over its safety.

Lipostabil is licensed in Germany as a treatment for fat embolisms, where blood vessels become blocked by fat particles. However, it has been discovered that when injected directly into problem areas, such as a double chin or fat behind the knees, fat can be broken down and lost in those specific places.

 The treatment has even been demonstrated live on television on Channel 4’s Richard and Judy show. A guest was given two injections of Lipostabil two months apart and showed a marked improvement.

 However, the Flab Jab has already been banned in Brazil, the country where its usage as a cosmetic treatment was pioneered, due to links to skin infection and nerve damage.

In fact, Lipostabil’s manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis has warned that the drug is not designed to be administered subcutaneously, under the skin, and is not safe to be used for cosmetic purposes.

The Medical Defence Union and the Medical Practitioners Society, the UK’s two main medical insurers are currently refusing insurance to any doctors who continue to supply the treatment. Also, the MHRA, Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, who license drugs in the UK, have contacted over fifty clinics to order them not to advertise the treatment and doctors who don’t comply could face unlimited fines and potentially prison sentences. So it may be some time if ever that Lipostabil is offered in the UK as a fat loss solution.

The Associated Press August 1, 2007, 2:18PM ET PRAGUE, Czech Republic

Tourists visiting one of Europe’s most beautiful cities often face an ugly reality — some Prague taxi drivers like to rip them off.

But City Hall wants to put a stop to that. It is introducing dozens of taxi stands — marked with thumbs-ups signs — that will guarantee passengers a fair fare, a city official said Wednesday.

The city’s fight against price-gouging cabbies intensified two years ago when the mayor himself was ripped off royally. Disguised as a tourist, Mayor Pavel Bem was charged six times the regular fare for a trip between the Old Town Square and the Prague Castle — two major tourist attractions.

By the end of next week, 49 stands in Prague will be certified as “Fair Taxi Places,” said City Hall spokesman Jiri Wolf. They will be checked frequently by city officials to ensure passengers are charged proper fares, Wolf said.

City officials say the situation has improved since the mayor’s undercover escapade. Last year, nearly 14 percent of taxi drivers checked were found to be cheating. For the first six months of this year, the number was 7.5 percent.

“The numbers are optimistic, but we remain realists,” deputy mayor Rudolf Blazek said in a statement. “Those less than eight percent of taxi drivers who cheat still harm the profession’s image here in Prague, in the Czech Republic and even abroad,” he said.

By EMMA MORTON -The SUN
August 03, 2007
 
FAT Brits who want to lose weight should just eat less, a top doctor claimed last night.                                                                                        Obesity is now “over-medicalisedâ€�, said British Medical Association chief, Dr Hamish Meldrum. He said too many adults use pills and surgery to try to slim – instead of cutting out junk food.

Dr Meldrum said: “People use fancy labels that suggest things are a medical problem. It is preferable for people to change their eating habits.�

Weight-loss surgery — like gastric bands — has risen six-fold in ten years, with 1,000 Brits having the op each year.

Slimming pill sales are also up with more than £48million a year spent on tablets.

COSMETIC BLISS WOULD WELCOME COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM

Here is some information from NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) which puts the above comment into perspective, we think.  If the morbid obesity epidemic was able to be solved by the simple expedient of eating less, there would be no problem:

According to NICE, in 1998, an estimated 0.6% of men and 1.9% of women in England and Wales had a BMI of 40 or more. This represents 124,000 men and 412,700 women or 2500 people for a typical primary care trust population of 200,000. The prevalence of obesity is rising as the average BMI increases. Between 1994 and 1998 the average BMI increased by 0.44 for men and 0.57 for women.

“ NICE recommend that weight loss surgery may be offered if the patient fulfils all the following criteria:

Obesity surgery should be considered only for people who have been receiving intensive management in a specialised hospital obesity clinic .
individuals should be aged 18 years or over.
there should be evidence that all appropriate and available non-surgical measures have been adequately tried but have failed to maintain weight loss.
there should be no specific clinical or psychological contra-indications to this type of surgery.
individuals should be generally fit for anaesthesia and surgery.
individuals should understand the need for long-term follow-up.
Surgery should normally be reserved for those with a BMI of 40 or more but NICE accept that it may be offered to those with a BMI in excess of 35 if they have associated morbidities that may benefit from weight reduction.”

Because of underfunding care for the obese in the NHS, we wonder if there are sufficient resources available to treat EVEN A FRACTION OF THOSE PATIENTS WHO MEET THESE CRITERIA

Friday, 03 Aug 2007 12:09
Northern Irish travellers will have more choice over their flights from Belfast with four new cheap European flights from Easyjet.

The low-cost airline has announced it will be flying to Prague, Barcelona, Venice and Gdansk from Belfast airport.

Twice weekly flights to Gdansk start from October 30th. There will be four flights a week to the Czech capital Prague, and twice weekly flights to Venice in Italy both from November 1st 2007. All three new flight routes start from £39.98 return including taxes.

Cheap flights to Barcelona from Belfast are set to start from November 3rd 2007 on a three times per week basis, with prices from £34.98 return including taxes.

Flights will be available to book from today.

By Lesley Thomas DAILY TELEGRAPH
9:14am BST 01/08/2007
 
Frank Sinatra advised in the song Wives and Lovers: “Don’t send him off, with your hair still in curlers. You may not see him again.”

However, it seems that British women couldn’t care less after a survey showed they are the least likely to put effort into their appearance for the sake of men.

They have the lowest levels of concern in the world for what husbands, boyfriends and other male observers might think, with only 51 per cent caring whether men liked their appearance, the study said.

Japanese women were second bottom with 53 per cent followed by Americans at 56 per cent.

advertisementIndian, Spanish and Korean women were far more worried about having a man’s seal of approval, but it was Russia which topped the poll of 10,000 women, with 77 per cent saying that they cared what their men thought.

Janet Saunders, of Clinique, the cosmetics company which commissioned the study, said: “British women like to feel confident and beautiful for their own pleasure and take pride in their outward appearance.” Susan Quilliam, a relationship psychologist said: “It’s a delicate balance. It’s a positive thing in an equal relationship to reference the other person’s tastes and preferences sometimes.”

The survey also showed that Britons are among the keenest on cosmetic surgery. Thirty five per cent of British women said they have gone, or are willing to go, under the knife for beauty.

Only Korean women were more likely to consider surgical enhancement, while just three per cent of Indian women condone it.

The survey also asked which of the 12 countries polled had the most beautiful women. Although most found their country’s own women the best looking, Britons rated Italian and Indian women more beautiful than themselves.
 

by HILARY FREEMAN The DAILY MAIL 2nd August 2007
Full story- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=472558&in_page_id=1879
Dark hollows under the eyes can make you look tired and are very ageing. A new non-surgical procedure called tear trough rejuvenation promises to restore your looks quickly. HILARY FREEMAN spoke to two women who have tried it.
Fran Cook, 42: For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a tendency to develop dark circles around my eyes, which worsen when I’m tired.
I should drink more water and do more exercise, but I’m a working mum and never seem to have the time.
I don’t spend a lot on skin care, although I do use concealer.
Recently, a couple of incidents made me feel very self-conscious about the circles.
First, my boss asked me if I’d considered having a health check-up because he thought I looked really tired and feared I was ill.
A couple of days later, I showed someone round an acquaintance’s house.
My client was an ocular plastic surgeon named Raman Malhotra. He called me that evening. “I hope you don’t think I’m being rude,” he said, “but you look very dark around your eyes. Have you ever thought about doing something about it?”
He said that hollows under the eyes are very common in women my age and that he was using a new, non-surgical procedure called tear trough rejuvenation to treat them, which research has shown to be much more effective, safer and quicker than surgery.
The surgeon uses Restylane injections to fill in the hollows under the eyes, which deepen when fat is lost as you age. It’s these, rather than eye bags, that make you look tired and old.

Source: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.  Date: July 31, 2007
Science Daily — Only one in seven UK doctors’ surgeries provide well-developed support programmes for obese patients, according to a survey of primary care nurses published in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Sheffield-based researchers surveyed just under 400 nurses in the north of England in mid 2006, including district nurses, practice nurses and health visitors.

Their aim was to ask the nurses about their clinical practice, views and support for patients with obesity.

The researchers discovered that 89 per cent of nurses recognise the need for more effective primary care services to tackle obesity and see obesity advice and support as part of their role.

However, one in five nurses also admitted that they felt awkward or embarrassed about talking to patients about obesity and only a fifth felt they were effective when it came to helping patients to lose weight.

Half said that they found providing care and support for obese patients particularly rewarding, but some also expressed negative attitudes and beliefs.

It’s estimated that one in five adults in the survey area — which covered four primary care trusts in the north of England – are obese, reflecting national UK trends.

Many of the nurses in the current survey also had weight problems – 14 per cent were obese and 29 per cent were overweight.

“Primary care nurses have an important role when it comes to helping patients to tackle obesity, which can lead to diseases like coronary heart disease and diabetes” says lead researcher Dr Ian Brown from Sheffield Hallam University.

“But they clearly need further training and organisational support to provide the help that obese people need to lose weight, in line with new UK health guidelines.

“Any training programmes should also address nurses’ beliefs and attitudes. While outright negatives stereotypes were rare, a number of nurses displayed potentially negative beliefs and attitudes relating to obesity and obese people. However, they were much less likely to do this if they were obese themselves”
Full Story:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070730100245.htm

31 July 2007  By Craig Mcqueen DAILY RECORD SCOTLAND

DEPRESSED MUM DIANNE TOOK DRASTIC ACTION WITH A GASTRIC BAND..AND IT CHANGED HER LIFE
AS Dianne Giannandrea spent years struggling with her weight, she began to wonder if her obsession with food would kill her.

The 41-year-old would have visions of becoming trapped in her own bed as she just couldn’t keep her weight down, and no amount of dieting seemed to help.

Severe post-natal depression had sent the 5ft 1in mum-of-three’s weight ballooning to a dangerous 17-and-a-half stone.

So when Dianne saw a TV programme called Supersize Surgery, she wondered if going under the knife was the answer.

And after visiting Glasgow’s BMI Ross Hall Hospital, she decided a gastric band was the key to regaining her health.

Now, nearly a year after surgery, she’s lost five-and-half stone and admits the decision has transformed her life.
Dianne said: “It wasn’t until I had Sarah, my second child, that the problems started as I got severe post-natal depression.
“For years after that my weight rocketed and although I would be on all sorts of diets and lose weight, I’d put it back on again.
“Because of the post-natal depression I became reclusive and ended up hating myself.
“I ate constantly, mostly takeaways. I believe I was addicted to food, just like an alcoholic or a smoker.
“When your full day is spent obsessing about food and what you’ll eat, how much you’re going to eat and when you’re going to eat, it does become an addiction.
“I would eat anything that was in the fridge. It was like it was calling my name, and it would always be the bad things like chips, chocolate or ice cream.”
By the start of last year, Dianne was at the end of her tether. But then she saw the ITV series Supersize Surgery, based at the Dolan Park private hospital in Bromsgrove, which focused on patients undergoing surgery to tackle morbid obesity.
With the support of husband Paul and kids William, 25, Sarah, 16, and seven-year-old Ben, she contacted the show’s producers and spoke to a consultant featured on the programme.
But then a friend suggested she contact BMI Ross Hall in Glasgow, a private hospital offering both the gastric band and the more complex gastric bypass procedures.
A gastric band is an inflatable belt placed around the stomach, dividing it in two and creating a smaller pouch at the top of the stomach so you feel full quicker.
Food passes slowly through the opening left by the band before continuing through your system, and the size of the opening is controlled by inflating or deflating the band with saline solution.
Adjustments are made by injecting fluid through a thin tube.
A gastric bypass is a bigger operation normally used for patients with more severe weight problems, so Dianne opted for the gastric band procedure.
Having already lost a stone before deciding she wanted surgery, Dianne lost another stone on the pre-op diet devised by the hospital’s dieticians.
She then had the operation last August. The one-hour procedure, which cost £8000, uses keyhole surgery and involves making around five small incisions to insert the band.
Dianne said: ” You’re on a liquid diet for about six weeks after the op, then you can start to eat more solid food.
“But I have to stay away from things like bread and rice as your stomach needs to work harder to process them which can cause the band to slip.
“And you can’t overeat or you end up being sick. In the six-week period I think I lost about two stones, which is quite dramatic, and I was taking supplements to make sure I was getting the vitamins I needed.”
Nearly a year later, Dianne says the band has transformed her life.
Her weight has fallen to 12 stone, she’s overhauled her diet and started getting regular exercise through walking.
She said: “It’s completely changed me. I was always miserable and although I got treatment for the depression, it never goes completely.
“Now I shake that off through things like exercise.
“Some people might think having an operation like that is an awful thing to do, but it’s given me my health and my life back. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Dianne’s surgeon, Mr Robert Stuart, said: “The noticeable thing about Dianne is that she now feels back in control of the decisions that are important to her in terms of what food she eats and what exercise she takes.”
Dianne also admits she could have never have done it without the help of husband Paul and her three children.
She said: “Paul’s been 100 per cent behind me. The kids are amazed as well. Ben’s delighted he can get his arms around me now, so there’s definitely no going back.”
‘People might think that this operation is an awful thing to do, but it gave me my health and life back’