Pioneering asthma treatment in UK

Asthma sufferer using inhalerAbout 5.4 million people in the UK have asthma – around 250,000 of which have severe asthma
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Doctors in Manchester and Glasgow have begun treating NHS asthma patients with a pioneering treatment described as “melting away” muscle in the airways.

Instead of using drugs such as steroids, a wire probe is inserted into the lungs and then heats the tissue.

Currently, the procedure – called bronchial thermoplasty – is not being used anywhere else in Europe.

The technique uses 10-second bursts of radio waves which heat the lining of the lungs to 65 degrees Celsius.

That destroys some of the muscle tissue which constricts during an asthma attack, making breathing difficult.

Dr Rob Niven, senior lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the University Hospital of South Manchester, who led the team carrying out the procedure at Wythenshawe Hospital, said “bronchial thermoplasty is the first non-drug treatment for asthma and it may be a new option for patients with severe asthma who have symptoms despite use of drug therapies.”

“The operation went according to plan and our patient has responded well. It will be a little while before we are able to say it’s been a complete success, but I am cautiously optimistic,” he said.

The procedure follows six years of trials in the UK, Canada and South America. Patients in the United States have been receiving the treatment for some months already.

Bronchial thermoplasty will not be used on children, says Dr Niven, and its effectiveness decreases as patients age.

Tens of thousands of patients across the UK with the most severe forms of asthma stand to benefit most from the treatment.

Symptoms can worsen to begin with, as the heat also causes damage to the sensitive lung lining. But once this is repaired doctors say asthmatics can be helped for up to five years.

However, cost is a potential problem – it costs around £10,000 per patient, although savings could be made in the longer term through fewer hospital admissions and reductions in the costs of medicines.

It will be up to the local NHS bodies, which buy care for patients, to decide on whether to fund it, possibly on a case-by-case basis.

According to the campaign group Asthma UK, 5.4 million people in the UK have asthma and around 250,000 of these have severe asthma.

The group’s Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Ian Pavord, said of bronchial thermoplasty: “In some people with severe asthma, the symptoms of their asthma have been improved and the risk of them having an asthma attack has been reduced, so it is encouraging to see that the technique has now been carried out outside of clinical trials.”

“However, this kind of procedure will not work for everyone so we would encourage people with asthma to discuss various treatment options with their GP to find the best way for them to keep their asthma managed and under control.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Brazil’s chief minister resigns

Antonio Palocci on 6 June 2011Antonio Palocci said he did not want to weaken President Rousseff’s government
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The Brazilian president’s chief of staff Antonio Palocci has resigned over corruption allegations.

Mr Palocci, who ran a political consultancy while serving in the Brazilian Congress, has denied any wrongdoing.

A newspaper reported he had increased his personal wealth 20-fold over the past four years.

His resignation is a blow to President Dilma Rousseff who took office only six months ago.

The scandal broke three weeks ago when the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported Mr Palocci’s net worth was 20 times greater than it had been four years ago.

Trusted aide

Mr Palocci said the attorney general had confirmed “the legality and rectitude” of his conduct, but that the continuing “thrashing” the government was receiving over his high earnings could harm his effectiveness.

He said he resigned over concern the scandal could weaken President Rousseff.

Mr Palocci was seen as an advocate for fiscal restraint and a strong supporter of business.

It is the second time Mr Palocci has resigned from public office.

He stepped down from the post of finance minister in 2006 over another corruption scandal, but was cleared of any involvement.

Officials said Gleisi Hoffmann, a first-time senator for the governing Workers Party, would replace Mr Palocci.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

BBC Alba to be shown on Freeview

BBC Alba indentBBC Alba has been available on satellite television and over the internet
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Gaelic television service BBC Alba will start to broadcast on Freeview for the first time from 1700 BST.

The channel will appear on Freeview channel 8 after being available for more than two years on satellite television and the internet.

Due to a lack of bandwidth, a number of BBC radio stations will go off air on Freeview when BBC Alba is broadcasting – but not 1 Extra, 5 Live and 6 Music.

BBC Alba is a joint venture between the BBC and the media service MG Alba.

Alasdair Morrison, chairman of MG Alba, said those involved had “worked tirelessly” to broadcast the channel on Freeview.

He added: “We have been grateful for the support from the BBC Trust as well as that received from politicians in Holyrood and Westminster.”

Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan said it was an important step forward for Gaelic television.

The move to Freeview comes as the channel announced it will provide live coverage and highlights from the Rock Ness festival near Inverness.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Fraser set to learn appeal ruling

Nat Fraser and Arlene FraserNat Fraser was jailed in 2003 for his wife Arlene’s murder
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Nat Fraser is set to learn if his conviction for the murder of his wife Arlene has been quashed when he appears at the High Court in Edinburgh later.

An appeal hearing to decide on a retrial of the Elgin businessman was adjourned at the end of last month.

Nat Fraser was sent to prison in 2003 after his wife went missing in 1998.

In May, the UK Supreme Court remitted the case to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh to decide on a retrial and to quash the conviction.

Fraser could be set free, or if a fresh trial is ordered, released on bail.

On 27 May, the Court of Criminal Appeal judges adjourned the hearing after a defence request for more time to prepare their case in the event of a retrial. Fraser remained in custody.

His appeal had previously gone to Supreme Court judges in London after he exhausted the process in Scotland.

They found that Fraser’s human rights may have been breached because prosecutors failed to disclose some evidence in the case against him.

Granting the appeal, the Supreme Court judges said in their deliberations: “The Supreme Court unanimously allows the appeal.

“It remits the case to a differently constituted Appeal Court to consider whether to grant authority for a new prosecution and then, having considered that point, to quash the conviction.”

The Crown Office said it would seek to bring fresh proceedings against Nat Fraser, which would have to take place within two months.

His team argued there had been a miscarriage of justice, centring on claims that evidence was tampered with and prosecutors had not been given all of the facts.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

New terrorism strategy published

Theresa MayThe home secretary has accused universities of not doing enough to tackle extremism
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The government is to publish an updated strategy for tackling extremism and terrorism, on Tuesday afternoon.

The Times newspaper says a review identified serious failings with the existing policy – known as Prevent – set up four years ago.

Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to say some of the £63m annual budget was wasted on overseas projects which have produced no security benefits.

Spending more on countering radicalism in prisons is due to be recommended.

Other recommendations expected include monitoring people convicted of terrorism offences on their release and a renewed focus on the use of the internet, as the government considers a “national blocking list” of violent and unlawful websites.

Prevent was originally launched after the 7 July bombings in 2005 to stop the growth of home-grown terrorism.

A final draft of the new document, to be published in Parliament on Tuesday, was reportedly seen by the Times.

It says it was “possible” Prevent funding had gone to extremist groups promoting hardline beliefs.

But the new document is expected to say the government will ensure that no more cash will be given “to organisations that hold extremist views or support terrorist-related activity of any kind”.

Previously, Mrs May has said that, as a result of the strategy’s review of government support, about 20 of the organisations that received funding over the past three years would have their cash withdrawn.

According to the Times, one reason for the failings of the current policy was a lack of scrutiny of the programme to test whether money was going to legitimate groups and bringing benefits.

“What we’re moving to is now getting into policing people’s thoughts and ideas”

Azad Ali Chairman of the Muslim Safety Forum

On Monday, Mrs May accused universities of complacency in tackling Islamist extremism – a charge denied by the vice chancellors’ body, Universities UK.

She told the Daily Telegraph: “I don’t think they have been sufficiently willing to recognise what can be happening on their campuses and the radicalisation that can take place. I think there is more that universities can do.”

In February, Prime Minister David Cameron said organisations seeking to present themselves as a gateway to the Muslim community were showered with public money despite doing little to combat extremism.

Baroness Neville-Jones, until recently a security minister at the Home Office, said the plan now was to encourage people to integrate and build a single society based on values like democracy and equality.

But Azad Ali, chairman of the Muslim Safety Forum and an advisor to the previous government on extremism, said the government should not attack ideologies.

“Everyone’s happy to help, including the Muslim community, in catching criminals who want to perpetrate crimes,” he said.

“But what we’re moving to is now getting into policing people’s thoughts and ideas. What is extremism? We’re talking to the Muslim community in particular – let’s be honest about it – through the prism of security. Why?”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Elderly ‘cut food to buy heating’

 
Wintry weatherSeveral spells of cold weather have hit the UK in recent years

The poorest pensioner households cut their food spending during very cold spells of weather to cover the cost of heating, a report has said.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that all retired households raised fuel spending by 7% during cold snaps.

The poorest quarter of pensioner households also decreased their food spending by a similar proportion during the same period.

The report comes the day after Scottish Power announced it was to raise prices.

The utility company is to raise the cost of gas by 19% and the cost of electricity by 10% from 1 August, affecting 2.4 million households in the UK.

The IFS, in a separate report published simultaneously, said that older people spent an average of 41% of their winter fuel payment on heating bills.

The institute concluded that describing the benefit as a winter fuel payment encouraged recipients to spend more of the money on heating bills.

The annual winter fuel payment can be between £100 and £300 depending on the recipient’s situation. Most people born on or before 5 January 1951 will be entitled to the payment during the forthcoming winter.

It is aimed to help pay the increased heating bills of winter, but recipients are not obliged to spend it in that way.

“The winter fuel payment was introduced to encourage older households to spend more on heating in the winter,” said Laura Blow, senior research economist at the IFS.

“Remarkably it appears to have had just that effect. The fact that it is labelled a winter fuel payment appears to mean that much more of it is spent on fuel than would have been the case had no such label been attached.

“This suggests that simply calling a benefit by a particular name can have a real effect on how it is spent. The potential implications for government policy are significant.”

However, the IFS added that the payment, along with the cold weather payment top-up, did not fully protect all older households from the impact of very cold weather – when temperatures are more than 2C lower than would be expected at that time of year.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “We are committed to doing all we can to ensure that vulnerable older people can keep their homes warm in the winter.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Seawater used on coast gorse fire

Location mapFire crews came from as far afield as Fishguard and Carmarthen

Around 40 firefighters have spent the night tackling a large hill fire in Pembrokeshire.

Residents living in High Street, Solva, were asked to leave their homes as the gorse blaze, covering three hectares, threatened to reach their properties.

Trees and grass near some of the houses in the street were doused with water as a precaution but the fire was put out before spreading that far.

Emergency services received the call at 2325 BST on Monday.

“The conditions of the incident at the incident were very challenging for the crews with steep terrain and strong winds,” said Mid and West Wales fire service incident commander group manager Steve Bryant.

“Our fire fighters adapted well to these conditions and worked hard to deal with the incident safely.”

At its peak, crews from St David’s, Fishguard, Cardigan, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven and specialist units from Pembroke Dock and Carmarthen were at the scene.

Five appliances along with a high volume pump, an environment protection unit, a water bowser and a new welfare unit were in use.

A water tower with a hose reel jet was used near homes to make sure they were not affected by the fire.

There are still four appliances at the scene on Tuesday morning damping down what is left of the grass and gorse.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

HMV agrees new refinancing deal

HMV storeHMV has struggled with falling sales of CDs and DVDs
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Troubled music and DVD retailer HMV has agreed a new refinancing package with its lenders, worth £220m.

But the company faces high interest rates and fees as part of the new deal.

The deal includes issuing the lenders with warrants worth 5% of the company, which will be converted into shares next year.

In May it sold its Waterstone’s book chain for £53m to a fund controlled by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut, who already owns 6% of HMV.

HMV has estimated debts of £170m and has issued several profit warnings this year.

The company’s share price rose 6% to 13p at the start of trading in London, following the announcement.

The group has faced increased competition from online retailers and supermarkets, and has seen sales of CDs and DVDs fall as a result, leading to the planned closure of 60 stores this year.

HMV’s main lenders are taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

“HMV’s executives – led by chief executive Simon Fox – have little more than two years to get the business into shape”

Read Robert’s blog in full

But the new money will not come cheap – the interest rate payable is 4 percentage points above Libor, or the benchmark market rate.

The package is made up of separate £70m and £90m loans, and a £60m credit facility, which can be called upon if needed.

And the company faces an “exit fee” due on the £90m loan when it is repaid, which would rise to 14% by January 2013 if the loan has not been repaid by then.

Chief executive Simon Fox said the new bank facility “represents another important milestone in securing the financial stability of the group”.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said HMV’s executives had little more than two years to get the business into shape, “at the risk that the flame of this well-known retailer could yet be extinguished”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Cameron unveils major NHS rethink

David Cameron talks to a patient at Ealing Hospital in LondonThe prime minister has faced professional and political opposition to his plans
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David Cameron is to set out “five guarantees” for the future of the NHS in England amid details of when changes to planned reforms will be considered.

The prime minister will insist the NHS will remain free at the point of use, care will be improved, budgets will rise and waiting times be “kept low”.

Labour said the PM had broken pledges on the NHS and could not be trusted.

A group looking at how controversial NHS reforms can be improved is expected to report to Cabinet early next week.

Ministers are awaiting the findings of the Future Forum, the body set up to lead the consultation on the coalition’s proposed shake-up of the NHS.

The government’s plans to give GPs more commissioning powers , increase competition in the NHS and abolish primary care trusts have been criticised by medical professionals and are on hold pending the results of a “listening exercise” which concluded last week.

In the latest of a series of speeches aimed at reassuring people about the NHS shake-up, Mr Cameron will say that ministers have “learnt a lot about how to make our plans better” during the two-month consultation.

He will restate the government’s case for modernising the health service – plans which have caused tension between Conservative and Lib Dem partners – saying that, if no action is taken, the NHS could “buckle under the pressure of an ageing population and the rising cost of treatments”.

But again promising to get patients and NHS professionals on board with the plans, he will outline “five guarantees” about the future shape of the NHS.

He will say:

The NHS will remain a universal serviceChanges will improve “efficient and integrated care” not hinder itHospital waiting times will be “kept low”NHS spending will be increased, not reducedThe NHS will not be sold off and competition will benefit patients

“We will modernise the NHS – because changing the NHS today is the only way to protect the NHS for tomorrow,” he will say.

“We will stick by our core principle of an NHS that is more efficient, more transparent and more diverse… But I will make sure at all times that any of the changes we make to the NHS will always be consistent with upholding these five guarantees.

“There can be no compromise on this. It is what patients expect. It is what doctors and nurses want. And it is what this government will deliver.”

“David Cameron is desperately trying to make ‘I love the NHS’ his signature tune but the reality is very different”

John Healey Shadow Health SecretaryNHS overhaul: What next?

Ministers have already conceded there will be substantial changes to the Health and Social Care Bill as a result of the process but the opposition, and the doctors’ body the British Medical Association, have called for the legislation to be scrapped entirely.

“David Cameron is desperately trying to make ‘I love the NHS’ his signature tune but the reality is very different,” Shadow Health Secretary John Healey said.

“With real terms cuts to funding, more patients waiting longer and ideological plans to break up services, he has broken his personal pledge to protect the NHS and is instead taking it backwards. The NHS is not safe in his hands.”

The BBC understands the Future Forum report will be delivered to Cabinet either next Monday or Tuesday and ministers will respond swiftly.

It is understood there will be no decision on whether to send the bill back to committee stage in the Commons, which would entail detailed further scrutiny by MPs and further delay to the proposals, until ministers have digested the report’s recommendations.

In a recent speech, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg suggested such an outcome was likely.

Mr Clegg has also said he will oppose the idea of a regulator promoting competition in the health service, seemingly put himself at odds with Health Secretary Andrew Lansley – the architect of the proposed reforms.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

EU sets E. coli aid at 150m euros

 Francisco Sosa Wagner holding a cucumber

MEP Francisco Sosa-Wagner demands compensation for Spain’s farmers

The European Commission has proposed a 150m euro (£134m; $220m) aid package to help farmers whose products have been hit by the current E. coli outbreak.

Producers of salad vegetables have seen sales plummet in the outbreak, which has killed 22 people and sickened more than 2,400.

EU agriculture ministers are holding crisis talks in Luxembourg.

The EU health commissioner said the outbreak was limited to north Germany and did not need Europe-wide controls.

John Dalli also warned against releasing unproven information on the outbreak, saying it had spread fear and adversely affected farm producers.

European agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos told journalists ahead of the Luxembourg talks: “I will propose 150m euros today.

Analysis

This may turn out to be little more than an opening bid. The European Commission wants governments to release 150m euros in aid to European vegetable producers but that will still leave farmers with massive losses.

Spain has already threatened to take Germany to court if it does not cover 100% of the losses its farmers have incurred, and they are estimated to be running at more than 200m euros a week.

Other countries will also be making claims – Dutch farmers are thought to be 80m euros down – and some will resist efforts for money to be paid from central EU funds. The Commission proposal will cover less than a third of the total losses, and it will probably make use of a farm crisis fund within the EU budget.

But if that is what gets agreed, it may leave no-one entirely satisfied. At a time when European farmers are already worried about the effects of drought, the huge fall in the sale and price of fresh vegetables could do lasting damage.

“I hope that the authorities will be able to give an answer on the source of the infection as quickly as possible. Without this answer, it will be difficult to regain the trust of consumers, which is essential for the market to regain its strength.”

Compensation will cover the period from late May to late June, he said, but the amount paid could change once each country’s reported losses are known.

Spain has been demanding 100% compensation from Germany for huge losses suffered by its farmers because of the false accusation that the outbreak began in Spanish cucumbers.

Spain’s fruit and vegetables exporters association has estimated losses at 225m euros (£200m) a week.

All the deaths from the outbreak, bar one in Sweden, have been in Germany. Twelve countries have been affected, with the cases outside Germany linked to travel there.

The latest focus for the source has been on bean sprouts from a German organic farm in Uelzen, 100km (62 miles) south of Hamburg. However, of 40 samples examined from the farm, the first 23 tested negative.

Earlier Mr Dalli told the European Parliament: “I stress that the outbreak is limited geographically to the area surrounding the city of Hamburg, so there is no reason to take action on a European level.

“[EU-wide] measures against any product are disproportionate.”

EU health commissioner John Dalli

EU health commissioner John Dalli said unjustified fears were being spread

Detailing how the crisis unfolded, he said that originally pinpointing cucumbers from Spain as the source had been wrong.

He said: “It’s crucial that national authorities don’t rush to give information on the source of infection when it’s not justified by the science.

“That creates fears and problems for our food producers. We must be careful not to make premature conclusions.”

After he spoke, Spanish delegate Francisco Sosa-Wagner held up a cucumber during his speech, saying: “We need to restore the honour of the cucumber.”

Health adviceWash fruit and vegetables before eating themPeel or cook fruit and vegetablesWash hands regularly to prevent person-to-person spread of E. coli strain

Source: UK Health Protection Agency

Q&A: E. coli outbreak

BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris says the EU agriculture ministers will want to know how close experts are to identifying the source, amid mounting criticism of the investigation.

On Monday, Germany’s Lower Saxony agriculture ministry said that “investigations are continuing”, as it announced that the first tests from the farm in Uelzen had proved negative.

It added that it did not expect “any short-term conclusions”, and that given the complex testing procedure, the remaining 17 samples may not be returned for a few more days.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.