Post Archive by Month

I sympathise with any woman who’s driven to desperation in her desire to have a baby. In my own puny way I went through the pangs of not being able to conceive. It was between my first and second son. … Read More

Something’s always happening in prostate cancer research – and the news is invariably good. The most recent shows that combining two existing treatments can prolong patients’ lives by a whopping third. The findings of this latest study are so powerful … Read More

Even the calmest person can be prey to anxiety from time to time, and there are many ways to cope with it. I say cope, but often attempts to regain your composure are futile. New figures released recently show more … Read More

First of all, what is the low-FODMAP diet? Well, each letter of that acronym stands for a group of foods: the F for fermentable, O for oligosaccharides (wheat, garlic, onion), D for disaccharides (milk, ice cream), M for monosaccharides (apples, pears, honey) and … Read More

I know methylene blue only from my days as medical student studying the pathology of vital organs. It’s a dye and has been used in medicine for more than 140 years for a variety of things – from staining bodily … Read More

There have been quite a few surveys where the parents of overweight children refuse to admit their offspring are fat. Parents tend to see their fat children as normal, though it’s not known why. Now, these same parents have been shocked by … Read More

Two personal experiences of how the NHS treats acute emergency patients has ­convinced me we have a ­service second to none for acute ­medical cases. But then again I live in central London. Each time the paramedics have offered me … Read More

Over the years, I’ve kept my eye on research that throws light on the cause of autism. In a new study, scientists say being exposed to lead while in the womb or just after being born might possibly increase a child’s … Read More

When a premature baby is put in an incubator it is traumatic for both the ­parents and child. Mum and dad feel they cannot get close enough to bond, and the baby misses out on skin-to-skin contact that is ­important in the … Read More

I always suspected the side effects of statins, like muscle aches and pains, were exaggerated. And now a study has thrown light on how we experience the side effects of drugs. It’s not what you’d expect, according to a recent report … Read More