2009 October « Health & Environment

Blood bag exclusive in October edition (out now!)

October 5, 2009 at 11:32 am | Posted in H&EUpdate | Leave a Comment

Foetus from an ectopic pregnancy — one of the many health problems whose increasing rates of incidence is motivating Winchester’s research. (Image Wikimedia Commons)

In this month’s issue we scored an exclusive on how Swedish County Councils are planning to procure PVC-free blood bags.

PVC is commonly-used because DEHP, used to soften the bag plastic, also has a preservative effect on the blood.

However, phasing out PVC is a priority in Swedish healthcare’s environment program, so the Councils are looking at how techniques familiar in military procurement can be applied to medical devices.

This is very exciting. Also in this month’s edition we have a look at how child health can be determined not just by where the child is born (which is already tracked) but even when the child is conceived.

Dr Paul Winchester on increasing disease rates [video]

October 1, 2009 at 3:04 pm | Posted in Video | Leave a Comment

Autism. Early menarche. Major depression. Male birth defects. Premature birth. Ectopic pregnancy. Insulin resistance. Cancer. Childhood asthma. Incidence rates of these are all going up and the age of onset for some is coming down.

In this video Dr Paul Winchester, Clinical Professor, Indiana Univ. School of Medicine and Director, Neonatal Intensive Care, St. Francis Hospital, makes the case for examining the role of environmental contaminants in increased rates of a range of diseases.

The presentation is very detailed and thought-provoking. Although long, even the first ten minutes gives an excellent background of the problems which environmental health scientists and medical professionals are trying to understand.

A PDF (10M) of the presentation slides can be downloaded here.

One of Dr Paul Winchester's findings is to find an association between seasonal spikes in pesticide levels and children being born with spina bifida.

One of Dr Paul Winchester's findings is an association between seasonal spikes in pesticide levels and children being born with spina bifida. Click the image to link to the video.