Category Archive

Personalised medicine is one of the most promising recent developments in cancer treatment, allowing doctors to specifically target the mutations that make an individual patient’s cancer unique and often untreatable. With the latest advance in targeted therapy, the US Massachusetts General Hospital … Read More

Over several decades of trying to rein in our obesity ­problem, now at epidemic proportions, I’ve felt like throwing the towel in several times. Why? Because nothing I can do affects the growing trend to bigger and bigger sizes. It … Read More

Every year 23,000 pregnant women in Britain suffer this ­potentially deadly condition that’s notoriously difficult to ­diagnose because some symptoms – such as high blood pressure, swollen feet, headaches and nausea – are also common in normal pregnancies. Pre-eclampsia, which … Read More

Pancreatic cancer rates have ­increased by nearly a fifth since 1999. Smoking is a known cause of this often-fatal disease yet the number of smokers has reached a record low while pancreatic cancer rates continue to climb. Could the obesity … Read More

Recently I answered a reader’s letter about newborn jaundice. I’ve had a few more ­enquiries so it seemed like a good idea to write about it in more detail. Jaundice is a common condition affecting about six out of 10 … Read More

A particular form of leukaemia, acute myeloid leukaemia, or AML, is hard to treat at the best of times – but some ­patients have a certain genetic ­mutation that makes their AML more likely to recur and harder to treat. … Read More

Vaccines are one the most potent protective medicines we have. They work by encouraging the body to ­protect itself, in almost all cases, against specific invaders like an infection. Vaccines are responsible for ridding the world of many scourges like … Read More

NHS England’s decision to get rid of 17 procedures, including ­surgery for snoring and back pain injections is controversial and has excited comment for and against in the BMJ. It’s a drive to stop doctors doing things we know don’t … Read More

Well now, just how little exercise do you think you need to do? Not very much, it would seem. Less than 10 minutes of brisk walking a day could counteract disability in older people leading to safer walking and less … Read More

Years ago when I suffered badly with migraine I discovered that sex brought almost ­instant relief. I often wondered why, and figured the hormones ­released during arousal, such as ­oxytocin, the love hormone, were ­responsible for the cure. Well, recently … Read More