Image caption Entamoeba histolytica in the gut cause dysentery. A cheap drug, which is already prescribed for arthritis, could fight amoebic dysentery, according to researchers in the US. They were testing old drugs to see if any killed the dysentery bug. Tests on animals, published in Nature Medicine, showed that auranofin was 10 times more effective than the best drug currently available.
This represents a decision from the European Court of Justice in 2003 ruling that the then current UK VAT exemption for medical services was too wide. It introduced a âpurpose testâ to determine whether a medical service should be VAT exempt. What is the âpurpose testâ? The European ruling means that if the principle purpose of the medical service is the protection, maintenance or restoration of individualâs health it will remain VAT exempt. Thus core medical services (whether provided through the NHS or privately) remain free from VAT liability.
[edit on Wikidata] A radioallergosorbent test (RAST) is a blood test using radioimmunoassay test to detect specific IgE antibodies, to determine the substances a subject is allergic to. This is different from a skin allergy test, which determines allergy by the reaction of a person's skin to different substances. Because there are other tests that help with confirmation, results are best interpreted by a doctor. Since at least 2010, health organizations have recommended that the RAST be abandoned as a diagnostic test for allergy in favor of more sensitive fluorescence enzyme-labeled assays.