bmj.com: Comment

Heat waves and dehydration in elderly people

Older people who live in big cities that are not prepared for heat waves have the highest risk of heat related morbidity. Recognising the early warning signs of dehydration, which is the key pathophysiological problem, can save lives, say editorialists Marcel G M Olde Rikkert, René J F Melis, and Jurgen A H R Claassen. Nationally, implementation of preventive measures - such as electronic alerting systems, education of populations at risk, introduction of reflective paving and roofing systems, and increased planting of urban vegetative cover - can reduce heat related mortality.

Photodynamic therapy and cancer

Photodynamic therapy uses visible light, molecular oxygen (normally present in most tissues at adequate concentration), and a photosensitising drug to destroy tumours locally. It has the potential to meet a currently unmet medical need, but promising results need to be followed by development of more selective drugs, say editorialists Stanley B Brown and Sally H Ibbotson.

Mind the gap

"Britain is a profoundly unequal country, and there's not much that health care can do about that", says Nigel Hawkes. He is pessimistic about measures to reduce health inequalities and says the prognosis is not good.

Also published on 30 June:

Theodore Dalrymple: Ancients or moderns?

A brief history of shroud waving through the centuries

Liam Farrell: The scholar's tale

Des Spence: Cooking the books

Who wants to be the flu doctor?

In this personal view, Daniel Sokol writes, "A couple of weeks ago, some GPs contacted a clinical ethics committee. They cited guidance issued by the Royal College of General Practitioners, the BMA, and the Department of Health: 'Every GP practice must identify the person in the practice who will act as the practice lead on flu pandemic issues.' Once in the front line, this flu doctor may be more exposed to flu patients than his or her colleagues. Perhaps unsurprisingly, none of the GPs in their practice wanted the job." He considers how the lead should be selected.

Also published on 29 June:

From doctor to carer: mission impossible?

Medical Classic: A doctor's occupation

Vaccine disputes

As the BMA debates mandatory MMR vaccination to help stem the rising number of measles cases in the UK, Rebecca Coombes investigates the anti-MMR lobby in the UK and US in this feature article. Watch Bad Science author Ben Goldacre discuss MMR and the Wakefield case with Colin Blakemore, former head of the Medical Research Council in an accompanying video.

Making information about clinical trials publicly available

The trial registers of the World Health Organization, the US National Library of Medicine, the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Registry, and many others have started the process towards greater transparency within clinical research. Open access to information on the European EudraCT database will further improve transparency, and provide reassurance to the public that information from studies, made possible by the generosity and support of patients, is being used for the benefit of all, says paediatrician Rosalind L Smyth in this editorial.

Also published on 25 June: