Post Archive by Month

Parkinson’s disease, much like Alzheimer’s, is caused by the accumulation of clumps of an abnormal protein in the brain. It’s toxic and is thought to kill nerve cells responsible for producing ­dopamine, which acts as a chemical messenger in the … Read More

Who would have thought ­letting your teenager have a lie-in could stop them from having risky sex? Especially at the weekend? Yes, sleep is that potent – to teen brains at least. Sleep, in some mysterious way, encourages the brain … Read More

The phrase “size matters”, in the minds of both men and women, really means penis size, and some men in pursuit of improving their length have gone in for penis extensions. The sad news is they don’t work. So don’t bother. … Read More

When I use my laptop I stand up, which amounts to ­several hours of standing each day. I began doing this a few years ago when I added up the number of hours I’d be ­sedentary if I didn’t. And, … Read More

The teenage years are never easy to navigate, but for today’s youngsters, it’s a minefield, made all the worse by social media. Pictures of perfect bodies are creating anxiety and insecurity in a way we’ve never seen before, so much … Read More

As we get older our eyesight becomes vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DMO). Both conditions will cause blindness if left untreated. Their main feature is the excessive growth of blood vessels which can leak in … Read More

The latest cancer treatments harness the body’s own ­defences to attack the disease. They supercharge a patient’s immune system to fight the ­cancer cells. This is one of our most promising lines of research, immunotherapy. In a first, researchers at … Read More

Many drug discoveries happen almost by accident, or accidental observation. Think penicillin and insulin. And now the first drug that was found to prolong the survival of people with Type 2 diabetes may also be able to treat heart failure. … Read More

The prevalence of the STI gonorrhoea can be considered a marker for the sexual activity of our nation and the figures aren’t good. In 2017, there were nearly 50,000 cases of gonorrhoea in the UK, making up more than half … Read More

There’s been a global surge in children going to gender clinics – reflected in the UK as a rise in the number of referrals to the Gender Identity Development ­Service (GIDS). The chairwoman of the child and adolescent faculty at … Read More