Category Archive

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back in 2015, I first wrote about brain damage in athletes playing contact sports being linked to the early onset of dementia and Parkinson’s, particularly in American footballers. Then, in 2017, I followed up with the same brain disorders among football players, attributed … Read More

When you’re trying to fix an appointment with your GP do you have a preference for a particular day? Or rather is there a day you’d prefer not to see your doctor? Monday? Well, yes, it turns out that few of us … Read More