Will Nickel-Plated Coins Affect Skin?
The Treasury's plans to introduce Royal Mint nickel-plated coins, in order to save costs, are examined in a letter published in BMJ(British Medical Journal). The letter, by skin experts from St. John's Institute of Dermatology and the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, states that there has been no evaluation of the new coinage. According to the experts, HM Treasury officials and the Royal Mint have given no consideration to the financial implications to the NHS, the potential health expenses causes by skin disease, or other costs to the taxpayer.
Promising Mechanical Tissue Resuscitation Technology
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers seeking a successful treatment for traumatic brain injury have found that the size and extent of damaged tissue can be reduced by using a new device to prevent cell death. The research, the focus of a three-year, $1.5 million study funded by the Department of Defense, was recently published in the journal Neurosurgery. The technology, tested in rats, is called mechanical tissue resuscitation (MTR) and uses negative pressure to create an environment that fosters cell survival.
Insect Bite Remedies Not Effective
A review in the April issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) shows that there is little evidence that over-the-counter remedies for ordinary insect bites indeed work and that in most incidents, no treatment actually works. In the UK, insects like mosquitoes, midges, flies, fleas and bedbugs are the most common bugs that bite their victims to feast on their blood, however, the saliva they inject can cause a reaction. Whilst most people have mild reactions to insect bites that can be treated with over-the-counter cures to stop itching, pain and swelling, scratching bites can result in secondary problems, which in turn could lead to infection, eczema flare-up, or, in the most severe cases to anaphylactic shock.