Each year in England, falls cause around 235,000 hospital admissions for people over 65, costing the NHS an estimated £2.3billion. Dr Constantinos Koshiaris of Oxford University, who has developed a new tool for doctors to identify patients at high risk … Read More
Cambridge researchers discover how cancer spreads and look for drugs to stop it
How cancer spreads remains a mystery. Just how and why do cancer cells set off around the body to produce seedlings of cancer that grow into “secondaries” or metastases? What enables cancer cells to travel? Through some amazing research, Cambridge scientists have … Read More
Pharmacies may soon be first to spot gum disease that could lead to heart failure
Recently I wrote about how bad teeth and gum disease can cause serious heart problems. And now along comes research from Birmingham University on a rapid test for gum disease that could help address this – and a lot more. Gum (periodontal) … Read More
Simple diet changes could help debilitating menopause symptoms
There’s been a flurry of interest in the menopause recently, with more attention – finally – on the debilitating symptoms women suffer as their oestrogen levels plummet. And it gives rise to the question: could the loss of oestrogen seriously affect a … Read More
We should tell people how long their food will take to burn off in exercise
Frankly I’ve thought this for years – food labelling shouldn’t just give calories, but also the amount of exercise you have to do to burn them off. Knowing that information you may decide to opt for a “lazier”, healthier alternative. Researchers from … Read More
Sexual health tests given out from vending machines in a bid to tackle disease
Free health information, and easy access to it, is something I’m always in favour of. So a new initiative to provide vending machines offering free sexual health testing kits gets my vote. They’ve been launched in four venues across Bristol, North Somerset … Read More
Scientists find baby talk used by parents is the same in 36 different languages
The universality of baby talk has been a favourite topic of mine for decades, and now a study by the University of York and Denmark’s Aarhus University has revealed that baby talk is the same across 36 languages. ‘Baby talk’, that sing-songy … Read More
Dementia warning signs can be spotted nine years before diagnosis, research reveals
There are very few effective treatments for dementia or Parkinson’s disease. Sadly, these conditions are often only diagnosed once symptoms appear, whereas the underlying brain degeneration may have begun years – even decades – earlier. This means that by the time patients … Read More
Nightmares in middle age could be linked to your risk of dementia
Now here’s an interesting one – people who have nightmares in middle age run the risk of dementia in later life. This surprising news comes from a Birmingham University study and suggests nightmares may be an early warning sign of dementia long … Read More
Largest genetic study of ME could finally provide answers around the condition
There is much confusion around ME, a condition that affects more than 250,000 Brits of all ages and backgrounds. Symptoms include pain, brain fog and extreme exhaustion that doesn’t improve with rest. The key feature of ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) … Read More