Medicine and Science from The BMJ

Disinvestment

Estimates of HIV are just that, estimates – but in order to research the progression of the virus, and the effectiveness of intervention strategies, those estimates have to be as accurate as possible. Professor Prabhat Jha joins us to explain the novel way in which he and his team have collected data in India to provide a more accurate picture about the spread of the virus.Also this week, as spending cuts are planned across public services, the financial strain on the UK health service is increasing. One way in which some money can be saved is through disinvestment; ceasing treatments which have been superseded, or shown ineffective. Peter Littlejohns, the clinical and public health director of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), joins us to explain what NICE is doing in that arena.Annabel Ferriman takes us through the news.

Chronic fatigue syndrome

This week’s hot topic is chronic fatigue syndrome. The journal Science published a paper in October 2009, which suggested a possible link between a new virus (xenotrophic murine leukaemia virus-like virus) and the syndrome. Duncan Jarvies is looking at the evidence behind this link, and finding out more about the history and treatment of the condition. Richard Hurley takes us through what caught his eye on bmj.com week.

Sex life - from soup to nuts

This week, Duncan Jarvies talks to Stacy Lindau and Natalia Garilova about their new sex life expectancy measure, and what it could mean for patients and public health.Zosia Kmietowicz talks to Douglas Gwatidzo and Rutendo Bonde about the health care system in Zimbabwe, and how the situation there has changed since its nadir in 2008.David Payne takes us through this week’s news.

Variolae Vaccina

If you visited Trafalgar Square in central London today you’d see Admiral Nelson gazing down from his column. What you won’t see is a statue to celebrate the work of Edward Jenner – although once there was one.Gareth Williams, a professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, is backing a campaign to have Jenner’s statue reinstated. Mabel Chew talks to him about the life and times of the father of vaccination.

Sunbeds and spotlights

This week the BMJ published research into the use of sunbeds. Cancer Research UK surveyed teenagers across the country to find out how often they top up their tan. Duncan Jarvies talks to Catherine Thomson, from Cancer Research UK, and Madeleine Brindley, a journalist who’s often campaigned on the dangers of solariums, about the results.Also this week, recent revelations from a group of stem cell scientists shone a light on some of the problems with peer review. Modern science often holds it sacrosanct, but in a feature in this week’s BMJ, Mark Henderson - science editor of the Times newspaper - highlights various ways in which it might not work. Trish Groves, the BMJ’s research editor, talks to Liz Wager, an independent researcher into peer review, about the process and the ways in which it might be improved.

Cannabis conversations

This week Duncan Jarvies discusses with London GP Chris Ford how to talk to patients about their cannabis use.Rebecca Coombes talks to Jim Swire, a retired GP whose daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing. Dr Swire has written an article for the BMJ about the role of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi’s doctors in his early release.

Regulating herbal medicines

This week Ike Iheanacho investigates the role of herbal remedies in modern medicine. He speaks to Dr Linda Anderson, Principal Pharmaceutical Assessor at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Michael Mcintyre, chair of the European Herbal Practitioners Association.Sabreena Malik and David Payne take us through the week’s news.

Sudden death

This week’s podcast is based on the BMJ series Competent Novice.Junior doctors play an important part in verifying sudden deaths in hospital and communicating with the family of the deceased. Unexpected, and often premature, deaths can be challenging to manage.In this podcast Mabel Chew talks to Paul Frost, a consultant in intensive care medicine at the University of Wales. Paul gives practical step by step advice on dealing with sudden death, illustraded by a case study of a 19 year old stab victim who has died in the accident and emergency department.Also this week, Annabel Ferriman takes us through the news.

Seeing the body

A traumatic death can be very difficult for friends and family to deal with. A clinician’s instinct may be to protect them from seeing the extent of the damage to the body. However this may not be best in the long run. Duncan Jarvies talks to Alison Chapple about her research into people’s experiences of viewing a body after a traumatic death.Also this week, the National Patient Safety Agency regularly issue alerts about clinical problems that can be averted. Mabel Chew talks to the NPSA about its latest alert featuring digital tourniquets.Birte Twisselmann takes us through the news.

Cambodia

This week David Payne talks to Emily Friedman, a health policy and ethics analyst, about Cambodia – a country with a difficult past that is now rebuilding its healthcare system to try to meet some of the particular needs of its population.