7/21/16, 11:27 PMThe Gander - The Medical Independent

Page 1 of 6http://www.medicalindependent.ie/93392/the_gander

You are reading 1 of 2 FREE articles per 30 day period.Register now for FREE Unrestricted, Unlimited access Register for free

Already registered? Log in here

22 Jul 2016 Login Register About us | Advertise | Privacy | Contact us

News Comment Life Professional Development Event Calendar Gallery Classifieds Premium

Tweet

The Medical Independent blog takes a look at the more unconventionalniches in science and research

A gain in chronic pain treatmentA team of US researchers is working on a new approach to the treatment

Related on the site

HSE awarded contractto orthodontist despiteongoing ‘probity check’investigations

€23.5m on record

The Gander

The Gander

Pat Kelly | 21 Jul 2016 | 0 Comment(s)

Like 0 Share 0 ShareShare

Breaking news

‘Z Drugs’ brought under Misuseof Drugs legislation

IHCA warns over “crumbling”hospital infrastructure

One-in-five trainee doctorsintend to leave Irish system

Minister promises 'majorsavings' in new drugs price deal

7/21/16, 11:27 PMThe Gander - The Medical Independent

Page 2 of 6http://www.medicalindependent.ie/93392/the_gander

of chronic pain and hope that their findings may help to alleviate opioid

abuse.

The team at the University of Texas used wireless electrical stimulation ofthe ventral tegmental area of the brain, utilising a wirelessly-controlledchip, to activate neurons and maximise the natural analgesic abilities ofthe brain.

As a result, the researchers could stimulate the brain to release dopamineand alleviate long-term, chronic pain.

It may not be too long before the new system actually comes to market,according to Dr Yuan Bo Peng, author and Professor of Psychology at theUniversity of Texas.

“Many patients could benefit and live a better life owing to our invention,”Dr Peng told the Huffington Post. “This line of research is importantbecause nearly 50 per cent of patients who seek medical help do sobecause of pain.”

Co-author Dr Jung Chih Chiao added: “If you imagine that the nerves inour body are circuitry wires, pain is due to the disconnection ormalfunction in the wiring. Our method to ease the pain is to enhanceproper connections in the circuitry by sending electrical pulses.

“There are several other commercial companies making FDA-approvedstimulation devices for neurological and psychiatric disorders, such asParkinson’s disease, depression and dystonia, so many safety issueshave already been investigated and addressed. We hope to see this moveforward rapidly to make our technology available for patients to alleviatethe suffering of millions.”

The team hopes that the initiative could also eventually ease the epidemicof abuse of therapies such as hydrocodone, methadone and oxycodone.

The paper was published in the journal Experimental Brain Research.

Education and brain tumours linkedA new study has suggested that people who are better paid, have moreprestigious jobs and are highly educated, have an increased incidence ofthree different types of brain tumour.

However, the authors cautioned that their findings may not indicate adirect link, but rather that people who are highly educated are morevigilant for symptoms of acoustic neuroma, glioma and meningioma thanthose who are less well educated.

People with a high level of education and professional standing are alsomore likely to have their data included in national cancer registries, theauthors suggested.

The team, based in University College London’s Institute of Child Health,

storage and transport

HSE Audit Committeeconcerned by StVincent’s review

Clinician involvement inopen disclosure pilot‘disappointing’

Search

Search our Archives21 Jul 2016

Dr Anthony O'ConnorBrexit in retrospect

Dr Paul HeslinWhen the solutionbecomes the problem

Who do you think is right in the rowover governance of the new NationalMaternity Hospital?

St Vincent's Healthcare Group

National Maternity Hospital

Don't know

Submit Poll

7/21/16, 11:27 PMThe Gander - The Medical Independent

Page 3 of 6http://www.medicalindependent.ie/93392/the_gander

UK, looked at data from over 4.3 million residents in Sweden and also

used that country’s National Cancer Register to collate data between1993 and 2010.

They found that men with three or more years of college education were19 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with glioma, in comparison to menwith lower levels of education.

In men, professional/managerial jobs were linked with a 20 per centincreased risk of glioma and 50 per cent higher incidence of acousticneuroma.

In women, they found that those with a similar level of education were 23per cent more likely to be diagnosed with glioma and 16 per cent morelikely to have meningioma than their less-well-educated counterparts.

Women with professional or managerial jobs were associated with a 26per cent increased incidence of glioma and a 14 per cent higher risk ofmeningioma, compared to females with lower-level jobs.

Commenting on the results, Ms Elizabeth Ward, Vice-President forIntramural Research at the American Cancer Society, said: “All of this isreally a clue that will help us look deeper and understand the reasons forthese differences [in tumour incidence].

“[But] there’s no cause for people to be concerned about their ownindividual risk, based on this study,” she added.

“If you were more educated, you might go to the Internet and say, ‘hmm,I’ve got hearing loss in my right ear, I need to go get it checked out,’ butsomeone with less education might pass it off.”

The results were reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and CommunityHealth.

Women in the driving seatUK researchers have discovered that when they take their car to a garagefor repairs, men are likely to be charged an average of 13 per cent morethan women for the same mechanical work.

The researchers got participants of both sexes to take a Ford Fiesta for aservice, new alternator and new brake pads. They found that on average,men were charged the equivalent of €125 for the service, while womenwere charged approximately €111. Furthermore, the difference was morepronounced when it came to brunettes and redheads, compared to blondewomen.

Brunettes and redheads were charged an average of 20 per cent lessthan blondes for installing the new brake pads.

The disparity became even more apparent when older men were involved— men aged 60 years and older were charged 32 per cent more to

7/21/16, 11:27 PMThe Gander - The Medical Independent

Page 4 of 6http://www.medicalindependent.ie/93392/the_gander

Name

replace the alternator, 26 per cent more for a basic service and 17 percent more to install the brake pads, compared to women of a similar age.

The research was commissioned by insurance company Sheila’s Wheelsand spokesperson Ms Elspeth Hackett said: “Taking your car to a garagecan be a confusing and costly experience, especially for those with limitedmotoring knowledge, and the imbalance of knowledge can lead to driversbeing vulnerable to rip-offs and sharp practice, whatever your gender.

“Even if you have no knowledge of car maintenance, it can pay to armyourself with as much knowledge as you can about your car when it goeswrong.

“It’s best to search the Internet for details about the problem and find outaverage costs, and then shop around at local garages to see what theywould charge,” she added. “Plus, it’s always worth checking that the priceyou are being given is a quote or an estimate and also check whether itincludes parts, labour and VAT.”

However, the results — which were issued by the company via pressrelease and reported in a variety of UK media sources — also showedthat men received a more formal service than women at a garage, at 49per cent vs 26 per cent. Approximately 50 per cent of the maleparticipants said they were addressed as ‘sir’ or ‘Mr’, while the otherswere generally referred to as ‘mate’.

With women, they were more often (16 per cent vs 8 per cent) greetedwith informal terms of endearment, including being called ‘love’ (8 percent) and ‘darling’ (6 per cent).

Visionary work in disease preventionAn Indian firm has pioneered a new high-definition TV that not onlyprovides excellent image quality, but also repels mosquitos from homes.

Makers of the IPS Panel ‘Mosquito Away’ TV hope their initiative will helpto prevent the spread of infectious disease; the device emits chemical-freesound waves to repel mosquitos.

But there are added applications for the Indian consumer market — theTV also includes ‘Bollywood mode’ for enhanced sound quality and‘Cricket mode’ for enhanced stadium-like viewing of cricket matches.

Comments

There are currently no comments.

Have your say. Add a comment

7/21/16, 11:27 PMThe Gander - The Medical Independent

Page 5 of 6http://www.medicalindependent.ie/93392/the_gander

Latest from Medical Independent Premium

Email

Your comment

Post your comment

eCopy

21 July 2016MCQs

MCQs - 21 July 2016Test your knowledge withour latest set of interactiveMCQs

Sports Quiz

Sports Quiz - 21 July2016The winner of this issues'ssports quiz will receive acheque for 50 euros

Crosswords

Crossword - 21 July2016The winner of the crosswordin this issue will receive 50euros. Closing date forentries is 3 August.

Sudoku

Sudoku - 21 July2016Play the latest sudoku fromthe current issue

Oncology

Renal cell carcinomaRenal cell carcinomas traditionally present withabdominal pain and haematuria however, anincidental diagnosis is becoming more commondue to an increased use of radiological imaging.Surgery with ne......

Nephrology

Renal transplant immunology.Part 1The module looks back at the progress that hasbeen made in the area of immunosuppressionsince the first successful transplant in 1954. Themechanisms of immunosuppression arediscussed. The d......

Home

NewsLatest NewsNews FeaturesNews AnalysisInvestigationsInterviewsPhoto News

CommentEditorialDr Anthony O'ConnorDr Christine O'MalleyDr Paul HeslinDr Sara BurkeDr Ronan KavanaghDr Pat HarroldLetters

ProfessionalDevelopmentCareersCase StudiesMCQSResearchInterviewFeatureAbstractsManagement

LifeGadgetsThe Dorsal ViewStock WatchConferencesQuizzesThe Gander

Events Calendar

Galleries

7/21/16, 11:27 PMThe Gander - The Medical Independent

Page 6 of 6http://www.medicalindependent.ie/93392/the_gander

Admin

Classifieds