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National Health Service Leaflets On Sex Among Teenagers, Elderly Spark Controversy In U.K.
Two leaflets from Britain"s National Health Service have provoked controversy over government messages on sexuality among teenagers and the elderly, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, the leaflet for teens, titled "Pleasure," says that daily sex "keeps the doctor away." It also states, "Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and [vegetables] a day and 30 minutes physical activity three times a week." It suggests that some form of sexual activity "twice a week" could have health benefits as well. The leaflet was issued by NHS in Sheffield, England, and is available to parents, youth workers and teachers nationwide. The leaflet for the elderly says that it is "never too late to experiment" sexually and offers information on dating services and contraception. The leaflet is available online, and 2,000 copies have been distributed to doctors" offices, health centers and libraries.Britain has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Western Europe, and the government has prioritized prevention-related policy measures by spending millions of dollars on awareness and contraception campaigns, the Post reports. The country also plans to make sex education mandatory in all public schools starting in 2010.After the teen leaflet appeared, "dismayed parents lit up message boards," and some educators argued that it "encouraged promiscuity," the Post reports. However, others said the leaflets are a welcome departure from traditional forms of sex education that focus on biology and disease prevention, rather than personal relationships. Hilary Pannack, CEO of the teen pregnancy not-for-profit Straight Talking, said that talking with teens about sexual pleasure "should be done with extreme caution" but that, in general, the leaflet is a "big turnaround for Britain." She added, "British people are very, very embarrassed talking to kids about sex."Steve Slack, the director of NHS" Center for HIV and Sexual Health in Sheffield and a co-author of the leaflet, said one of the objectives was to encourage teens to delay intercourse until they are ready and feel that they will enjoy it. He added that some of the leaflet"s ideas were inspired by the Netherlands, a country that is frequently referenced in British sex education debates because of its liberal attitudes toward discussing sex and its low teen pregnancy rates (Adam, Washington Post, 7/23).
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Psychotherapists who treat mothers suffering from postpartum depression and other mood disorders with their infants have developed a proven process that contributes to a greater positive experience with immediate insights for the mothers to develop healthy connections between their maternal experiences and their infants" behaviors.
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Landmark Data Presented At The British Society For Allergy And Clinical Immunology Shows Hay Fever Vaccine Could Be A Reality

New data presented at the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) annual meeting demonstrate that Grazax® is the first tablet treatment to provide sustained disease control in patients with grass pollen rhinoconjunctivitis (hay fever) after the treatment period ended. This is the first time disease modification by sublingual allergy immunotherapy tablets has been achieved; effectively re-setting the immune system to reduce future allergic reactions to grass pollen. The pivotal Grazax GT08 study is an international randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study. Patients were randomised to receive either three years of Grazax or placebo, followed by a two year treatment-free follow up period. Throughout the study all patients had free access to symptomatic medications such as antihistamines and nasal sprays. Sneezing, watery eyes and a blocked nose are amongst the most common symptoms reported by patients with severe hay fever. All of these symptoms improved during the three years of continued treatment. Importantly, one year following discontinuation of treatment, these symptoms remained significantly reduced by 31% (sneezing), 60% (watery eyes) and 51% (blocked nose) compared to the patients who had previously received placebo tablets.1 Furthermore, the need for symptomatic medications was sustained during three years continued treatment and remained significantly reduced in the season one year after stopping treatment, thereby confirming a disease-modifying effect (pReferences 1. Durham S, et al. Sustained, disease-modifying effect of grass allergen tablet immunotherapy 1 year after completion of treatment. XXVIII Congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; poster # 333 About Grazax Grazax is a once daily fast-melting tablet which is placed under the tongue (sublingual) and is the first immunotherapy tablet to address the underlying cause of grass pollen allergy. Grazax became available for adults in January 2007 and for children aged 5 to 17 years in February 2009. Grazax is generally well tolerated, with the majority of side effects being transient, local allergic reactions, such as oral pruritus (irritation in the mouth), which was classified as mild to moderate. About the Grazax GT08 study The pivotal Grazax GT08 study is a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study. Patients were randomised to receive either 3 years of Grazax or placebo, followed by a 2 year follow up period. Throughout the study all patients had free access to symptomatic medications. The data from the 4th year of the GT08 study is based upon a full analysis set that included 283 participants, with a history of grass pollen rhinoconjunctivitis uncontrolled by symptomatic medications The main clinical study end points were: - Rhinoconjunctivitis symptom score - Rhinoconjunctivitis medication score - Quality of Life (QoL) ALK-AbellÃö


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