BMJ No 7115 Volume 315
News Saturday 25 October 1997
In brief
 | Older women should be called for breast cancer screening: Age Concern has called for automatic invitation to breast screening to be extended to women aged over 65. The British government has said that it will not make a decision until the results of four pilot schemes are known in the year 2000, but the charity says that in the meantime thousands of women will die needlessly. | |
| Dental hygiene is poor among elderly people: Data from the national diet and nutrition survey show that over 75% of institutionalised elderly people in Britain have extremely heavy levels of plaque deposits, associated with tooth decay and gum disease, and these levels were higher than in those living at home (Quality in Health Care 1997;6:165-9). | |
| Older patients with depression get lower quality managed care: Older patients with depression who are enrolled in health maintenance organisations in the United States receive fewer visits from mental health professionals and are more likely to be given tranquillisers rather than antidepressant drugs, when compared with younger patients (International Journal of Psychiatry 1997;27:215-31). | |
| Plant extract can stabilise dementia: An extract of Ginkgo biloba can stabilise and, in an additional 20% of cases, improve the cognitive function and the social behaviour of patients with dementia, according to a one year, double blind, placebo controlled trial (JAMA 1997;278:1327-32). | |
| Family members and friends provide up to 80% of care given to older people in Europe: The report Who Cares for an Ageing Europe? says that informal carers fill the gap of under-provision in state services but that as family structures change this is unlikely to continue. The report, from the European resource unit at Age Concern, says that new systems for care of elderly people are needed throughout Europe. |
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