News
* Vitamin D prevents osteoporotic fractures
New research has found that vitamin D supplementation is the safest and simplest way of preventing fractures due to osteoporosis (brittle bones). The study found that taking vitamin D supplements every four months for five years significantly reduced the incidence of first fractures in men and women aged 65 years and older (BMJ, 2003; 326: 469).

* Ovarian cancer deaths still high
Although conventional medicine claims that treatment for ovarian cancer has improved with the introduction of surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy, studies show that most women with ovarian cancer still develop recurring disease and die within five years of being treated (Lancet, 2003; 361: 2099-105).

* Nicotine patches a waste of time
Nicotine patches are proving to be ineffective as a way to give up smoking. According to a new study, 88 per cent of all trial participants took up the habit again within eight years of using the patches to quit (BMJ, 2003; 327: 28).

* Cervical screening survival rate far too low
The NHS has found that cervical screening prevents only one death in every 1000 women over a 35-year period. Such a poor statistic raises serious concerns over its value, bearing in mind its enormous cost to the state (BMJ, 2003; 326: 901).

* First legal warning for amalgam fillings appears
Dentists in California are the first in the world to be legally obliged to post a warning in their surgeries concerning the dangers of mercury in amalgam fillings.

All dentists in the state must display a notice telling patients that the mercury in fillings can cause birth defects and other reproductive harm, and that root-canal fillings can cause cancer.

The move follows a range of lawsuits being filed throughout the USA from patients who claim to have been harmed by their amalgam fillings (Townsend Lett Docs, 2003; 239: 19).