The Health News United Kingdom November 5 2017

• According to experts, there is no good evidence that a nutrient drink being sold online in the UK to “help” people with early Alzheimer’s actually slows the disease. Latest trial results in patients who took Souvenaid did not find it preserves memory and thinking. Manufacturer Nutricia says its drink should only be taken under the direction of a doctor, specialist nurse or pharmacist
• A report into contraception access in the UK has found that almost a fifth of women (16%) have had to wait over two weeks for a contraception appointment. The study, conducted by sexual health charity FPA, also revealed more than a quarter of women (27%) said they felt they didn’t have enough time to discuss all their contraceptive options during their consultation. Also almost a fifth (17%) said they found it “difficult” or “very difficult” to schedule a contraception appointment.
• The Liverpool council has said that The Coca-Cola Christmas lorry should be banned from visiting Liverpool this year because the city is “in the grip of an obesity epidemic”. Liverpool is among a number of locations that the bright red lorry sometimes visits over the festive period, offering free cans of fizzy drink. A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Great Britain stated that The Coca-Cola Christmas truck tour provides a moment of fun for everyone in the build-up to Christmas and we’ve had a positive response from many people in Liverpool when they visit each year.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 5th of November 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-41802252

According to experts, there is no good evidence that a nutrient drink being sold online in the UK to “help” people with early Alzheimer’s actually slows the disease. Latest trial results in patients who took Souvenaid did not find it preserves memory and thinking. The authors say in Lancet Neurology that bigger studies are needed to show if the product can work as hoped.
And consumers should be aware that the three point forty nine pounds per bottle drink “is not a cure”. Manufacturer Nutricia says its drink should only be taken under the direction of a doctor, specialist nurse or pharmacist.

Souvenaid comes in strawberry or vanilla flavour and contains a combination of fatty acids, vitamins and other nutrients. Taken once daily, the idea is that the boost of nutrients it provides will help keep Alzheimer’s at bay in people with the earliest signs of this type of dementia.
But the latest phase two clinical trial results do not prove this. The study involved three hundred eleven patients with very early Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment. All of them were asked to take a daily drink, but only half were given Souvenaid – the other half received one with no added nutrients. After two years of participating, the patients were reassessed to see if there was any difference between the two groups in terms of dementia progression, measured by various memory and cognitive tests. The treatment did not appear to offer an advantage, although patients in the Souvenaid group did have slightly less brain shrinkage on scans, which the researchers say is promising because shrinkage in brain regions controlling memory is seen with worsening dementia.
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Doctor David Reynolds, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, advised: “If people are worried about their memory, or are considering buying and taking Souvenaid as a supplement to manage their diet, then it is important that they discuss this with their general practitioner.” A spokeswoman from Nutricia said: “We are pleased that this adds to the body of evidence for Souvenaid and we remain committed to ongoing and further clinical research.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/women-in-the-uk-are-struggling-to-access-basic-contraception-report-reveals_uk_59f9ee13e4b00c6145e3391a?utm_hp_ref=uk-health

A report into contraception access in the UK has found that almost a fifth of women (sixteen percent) have had to wait over two weeks for a contraception appointment. The study, conducted by sexual health charity FPA, also revealed more than a quarter of women (twenty seven percent) said they felt they didn’t have enough time to discuss all their contraceptive options during their consultation. Also almost a fifth (seventeen percent) said they found it “difficult” or “very difficult” to schedule a contraception appointment.

In light of the findings, FPA is calling on chancellor Philip Hammond to invest in contraceptive services to avoid a “contraceptive crisis”, claiming if things don’t improve, it could cost the UK billions of pounds. The survey, commissioned by FPA, asked more than one thousand six hundred women aged sixteen to forty five about their experiences with contraceptive services.
The results highlighted that only around a quarter of women said a healthcare professional had discussed long-acting reversible contraceptive methods with them, such as the implant at  twenty four percent and IUD at twenty six percent.
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In a statement Doctor Jayne Kavanagh, medical director for the Campaign for Contraception, added: “In the year we’re celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Family Planning Act, it’s shocking that women’s hard-won access to contraception is under threat in the UK.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/31/calls-coca-cola-lorry-banned-liverpool-obesity-epidemic/

The Liverpool council has said that The Coca-Cola Christmas lorry should be banned from visiting Liverpool this year because the city is “in the grip of an obesity epidemic”.
Liverpool is among a number of locations that the bright red lorry sometimes visits over the festive period, offering free cans of fizzy drink. Each can of the original Coca-Cola contains nearly four teaspoons of sugar and Liverpool’s Liberal Democrat leader Richard Kemp said he was “appalled” that the “grossly unhealthy” product would be promoted in such a way.
In a letter to managers of the Liverpool One shopping district, he called the visit a “cynical event”, the Liverpool Echo reported. He wrote:  “You are probably aware that Liverpool is in the grip of an obesity epidemic for children and adults. 30% of our 11-year-olds are obese.”
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Liverpool One has declined to comment because the route for the lorry has yet to be revealed this year. A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Great Britain told the newspaper: “The Coca-Cola Christmas truck tour provides a moment of fun for everyone in the build-up to Christmas and we’ve had a positive response from many people in Liverpool when we visit each year. The company said that the lorry also promotes sugar-free drinks. It is not the first time there have been calls for the lorry to be banned. In January, a group of one hundred eight health experts said the tour should be stopped because it promoted unhealthy living to children. Data released in November last year from the National Child Measurement Programme for England showed that nearly one in five ten to eleven-year-olds was obese in the last academic year, with more than one in three or thirty four point two per cent now described as overweight or obese.