NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Gene therapy used to treat haemophilia

12th December 2011

An experimental gene treatment means that people with haemophilia B may no longer need medication, BBC News has reported. The news is based on a study that looked at using gene therapy to treat haemophilia B, a genetic condition that prevents the body from producing a functional version of a protein called factor IX (FIX), which is required for blood clotting. It is currently treated with frequent injections of FIX protein. In this study, six people with severe haemophilia B were injected with a virus carrying a section of DNA that contained instructions for making the normal form of human ...

Cancer survival rates 'threatened by rising cost'

12th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Cancer survival rates could fall because of a rise in the cost of diagnosis and treatment over the next 10 years,” the Daily Express warns today. Other papers, including the Daily Mail claim that treating patients at home instead of in hospital could stop cancer treatments from “bankrupting” the UK’s healthcare system. The papers have each chosen to make stark warnings based on different aspects of the same report. The report, which projects the UK’s cancer treatment costs in 2021, was published by the private healthcare insurance company, Bupa. The report calculates that last year 318,000 people in the UK ...

Abortion 'does not raise mental health risks'

9th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Having an abortion does not raise risk of mental health problems,” according to The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper says that “the world’s biggest review of the issue” has found that it makes no difference to a woman's mental health whether she chooses to have an abortion or continue with the pregnancy. The extensive review behind this news analysed all relevant medical literature available on the matter to help understand whether women with an unwanted pregnancy who undergo an abortion (termination) are at greater risk of mental health problems than if they continue with the pregnancy. Its principle finding is that ...

Benefits of breast screening questioned

9th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Breast cancer screening could cause more harm than good,” The Daily Telegraph has today reported. The newspaper says up to half of the benefit that some women get from living longer lives could be cancelled out by others having misdiagnoses or unnecessary treatments. For example, some women may have surgery to remove cancers that would not have gone on to cause them any problems. Diagnosis of these cancers is referred to as “overdiagnosis” and their treatment as “overtreatment”. The news is based on a study that updated the Forrest report, the 1986 research that led to the starts of the ...

Should nuns take the pill to fight cancer?

8th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Nuns should take the pill to cut cancer threat,” the Daily Mail has reported. The news is based on an article in a medical journal which argues that Catholic nuns are likely to be at greater risk of breast, ovarian and womb cancers because they do not bear children. The authors say that nuns “pay a terrible price for their chastity” and they should be offered the oral contraceptive pill to suppress their ovulation in order to cut their cancer risk. As might be expected about a story that mentions nuns and the Pill in the same sentence, the editorial ...

Good results for bowel cancer testing

8th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“A bowel cancer screening programme in England is on course to cut deaths by a sixth,” the BBC has reported. The story goes on to say, however, that there is concern “that the programme misses tumours in certain parts of the colon”. This story is based on analysis of the first round of England’s Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, which was introduced in 2006. Screening programmes are designed to test for signs of a disease among people without symptoms. They can often detect diseases early, allowing treatment to be given at a stage when it is more likely to be effective ...

Endurance exercise 'may damage the heart'

7th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Marathons can damage you heart,” according to the Daily Mirror. BBC News and The Daily Telegraph reported similar findings based on a small study that examined the hearts of 40 endurance athletes before, immediately after and one week after endurance events. These events ranged from a regular marathon (42.2km of running) up to an ultra-triathlon (a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle and then a full marathon). The research found that immediately after the race there was a small, generally temporary drop in the efficiency of the right ventricle, the chamber of the heart that pumps blood to the lungs. However, ...

Lifestyle could changes prevent cancer

7th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

In 2010, around 43% of cancer cases seen in the UK were caused by lifestyle and environmental factors, according to several news sources today. This equated to around 134,000 cancers caused by potentially avoidable behaviours such as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating a poor diet. The news is based on an extensive report that has estimated how lifestyle factors can influence a range of cancers. Tobacco smoking was the biggest risk factor for cancer, responsible for over 19% of all new cases. Other factors included being overweight (5.5% of cases), having a poor diet (9.2%) and drinking too much alcohol ...

Sitting down 'makes your bottom fatter'

6th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Sitting around at work all day really does give you a bigger bottom,” according to the Daily Mail. The Daily Telegraph ran a similar headline. While these headlines refer to plump posteriors, they’re based on a laboratory study that found that mouse fat cells produce fat at a faster rate when placed under mechanical stress. This study used fat cells in a laboratory dish, but the mechanical stress the cells were placed under was supposed to mimic the stress that fat tissue is under when people sit or lie down. This stress was applied by growing cells on elastic, which ...

Christmas stocking-up on the morning after pill?

6th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Morning after pill given out free over the phone,” said The Daily Telegraph in a report also carried by most newspapers. The Daily Express reported that a scheme now makes getting the morning after pill “as easy as ordering a pizza”, while the Daily Star reports this as a “Pill plea to party girls”. The story is based on the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) launching a campaign to offer the morning after pill (also known as the emergency contraceptive pill) free to women aged over 16 throughout December, in case they need it. BPAS is a charity that provides ...

Low-fat foods 'could cause weight gain'

5th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Fat-free foods could “work against dieters”, The Daily Telegraph has reported. The newspaper said that fat substitutes may “confuse the body, gearing it up to receive calories that are never delivered”. The news is based on research in rats fed various combinations of full-fat and reduced–fat Pringles crisps over four weeks. The diet crisps contained a controversial artificial fat substitute called olestra, which mimics the taste and sensation of eating fat but cannot be absorbed during digestion. Olestra is used in many foods in the US, but isn’t available in the UK. When all the rats were later put on ...

Low-fat foods 'could cause weight gain'

5th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Fat-free foods could “work against dieters”, The Daily Telegraph has reported. The newspaper said that fat substitutes may “confuse the body, gearing it up to receive calories that are never delivered”. The news is based on research in rats fed various combinations of full-fat and reduced–fat Pringles crisps over four weeks. The diet crisps contained a controversial artificial fat substitute called olestra, which mimics the taste and sensation of eating fat but cannot be absorbed during digestion. Olestra is used in many foods in the US, but isn’t available in the UK. When all the rats were later put on ...

Pulse checks 'could prevent 12,000 strokes'

5th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The Daily Mail reports that, if doctors checked the pulse of every patient they see, this could “prevent 12,000 strokes a year”. The aim of the pulse checks would be to pick up cases of atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder that increases to risk of stroke. The figure is based on a report released by the Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA) and Anticoagulation Europe (ACE), which warn that there is a “silent epidemic” of atrial fibrillation, and this will worsen in the UK as the population ages. The report also sets out a number of ways that might improve ...

Pulse checks 'could prevent 12,000 strokes'

5th December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The Daily Mail reports that, if doctors checked the pulse of every patient they see, this could “prevent 12,000 strokes a year”. The aim of the pulse checks would be to pick up cases of atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder that increases to risk of stroke. The figure is based on a report released by the Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA) and Anticoagulation Europe (ACE), which warn that there is a “silent epidemic” of atrial fibrillation, and this will worsen in the UK as the population ages. The report also sets out a number of ways that might improve ...

WiFi from laptops 'may damage sperm'

2nd December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Working on a laptop wirelessly may hamper a man’s chances of fatherhood,” the Daily Mail has today reported. Its story is based on a laboratory study that found that healthy sperm placed under a laptop connected to the wireless internet for four hours, showed less movement and more changes to their genetic code than ‘control’ sperm not near a wi-fi connected laptop. Men should not be too concerned by the findings from this preliminary laboratory study, as they are not proof that using a wireless laptop on the lap reduces male fertility. It is not possible to draw conclusions about ...

WiFi from laptops 'may damage sperm'

2nd December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Working on a laptop wirelessly may hamper a man’s chances of fatherhood,” the Daily Mail has today reported. Its story is based on a laboratory study that found that healthy sperm placed under a laptop connected to the wireless internet for four hours, showed less movement and more changes to their genetic code than ‘control’ sperm not near a wi-fi connected laptop. Men should not be too concerned by the findings from this preliminary laboratory study, as they are not proof that using a wireless laptop on the lap reduces male fertility. It is not possible to draw conclusions about ...

'New blood pressure scan' of limited use

2nd December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Researchers have developed a test “that could spot a curable cause of high blood pressure in thousands of people”, the Daily Mirror has reported. According to the newspaper, up to 5% of high blood pressure cases could be due to Conn’s syndrome, where benign tumours on the adrenal glands affect the body’s hormone levels. The adrenal glands are located above the kidneys. When correctly identified, these tumours can be removed, returning a person’s blood pressure to normal levels. The study behind this news examined two techniques for diagnosing Conn’s Syndrome. It compared the use of body scans against an existing, ...

'New blood pressure scan' of limited use

2nd December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Researchers have developed a test “that could spot a curable cause of high blood pressure in thousands of people”, the Daily Mirror has reported. According to the newspaper, up to 5% of high blood pressure cases could be due to Conn’s syndrome, where benign tumours on the adrenal glands affect the body’s hormone levels. The adrenal glands are located above the kidneys. When correctly identified, these tumours can be removed, returning a person’s blood pressure to normal levels. The study behind this news examined two techniques for diagnosing Conn’s Syndrome. It compared the use of body scans against an existing, ...

Curious claim that garden sheds make men healthy

1st December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The Daily Mail has claimed that sheds “could help men live longer.” The Mail adds that the “therapeutic effects of pottering around relieves stress, which lowers blood pressure and even boosts self-esteem”. This shed story has shaky foundations. It is loosely based on an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) about the need for policy, practice and research aimed specifically at men’s health in Europe. Sheds are only briefly mentioned in this article, and not in this particular context. The references to “Men’s sheds” relate to an Australian skills and wellbeing programme that provides a place for male-focused activities ...

Curious claim that garden sheds make men healthy

1st December 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The Daily Mail has claimed that sheds “could help men live longer.” The newspaper adds that the “therapeutic effects of pottering around relieves stress, which lowers blood pressure and even boosts self-esteem”. This shed story has shaky foundations. It is loosely based on an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) about the need for policy, practice and research aimed specifically at men’s health in Europe. Sheds are only briefly mentioned in this article, and not in this particular context. The references to “Men’s sheds” relate to an Australian skills and wellbeing programme that provides a place for male-focused activities ...