NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Rare syndrome 'may give autism clues'

28th November 2011

“A rare syndrome linked to autism could help explain the origins of the condition,” BBC News reported. The broadcaster said that in the search for clues about autism, scientists have examined a rare condition called Timothy syndrome, which can cause autistic behaviour. Although just 20 people are thought to have the condition worldwide, it is of interest because the cause has been pinpointed to a single gene defect. In a new laboratory study, scientists took skin cells from two people with Timothy syndrome and converted them into nerve cells for use in a series of experiments. They found that the ...

Rare syndrome 'may give autism clues'

28th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“A rare syndrome linked to autism could help explain the origins of the condition,” BBC News reported. The broadcaster said that in the search for clues about autism, scientists have examined a rare condition called Timothy syndrome, which can cause autistic behaviour. Although just 20 people are thought to have the condition worldwide, it is of interest because the cause has been pinpointed to a single gene defect. In a new laboratory study, scientists took skin cells from two people with Timothy syndrome and converted them into nerve cells for use in a series of experiments. They found that the ...

Guide rates best and worst hospitals in 2011

28th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The Daily Telegraph has today revealed the findings of the latest Hospital Guide. The guide, published annually, closely scrutinises a range of healthcare data to measure hospital performance and detect trends that could save lives. As well as listing the hospital trusts in England that score above and below average on a range of different mortality measures, this year’s guide also found that: The rate of patient deaths in England is 20% lower than it was 10 years ago, in part because of improved hospital care. For certain conditions, patients admitted to hospital at the weekend are less likely to ...

Guide rates best and worst hospitals in 2011

28th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The Daily Telegraph has today revealed the findings of the latest Dr Foster Hospital Guide. The guide, published annually, closely scrutinises a range of healthcare data to measure hospital performance and detect trends that could save lives. As well as listing the hospital trusts in England that score above and below average on a range of different mortality measures, this year’s guide also found that: The rate of patient deaths in England is 20% lower than it was 10 years ago, in part because of improved hospital care. For certain conditions, patients admitted to hospital at the weekend are less ...

Study finds home birth is safe

25th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

A major study published today has examined the risks of home births, comparing them against deliveries in hospitals and midwife units. The research was covered by several newspapers, some of whom highlighted a low risk while others said the practice carries a high risk. The extensive study looked at the risks of birthing complications that can lead to injury, and found that generally, home births, births in hospitals and deliveries by midwifes, all carried a low level of risk. However, when the researchers focused solely on women having their first baby at home they found women were almost three-times more ...

Brain electric shocks used to treat Alzheimer's

25th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Alzheimer’s disease could be eased by “the return of electric shock therapy”, the Daily Mail reported. This story is based on a small safety trial that tested a technique called “deep brain stimulation” (DBS) in six patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The technique involves surgically implanting electrodes into the patients’ brains and delivering a series of electric pulses to the targeted brain region. However, although some patients showed slight improvements, the researchers’ objective was to test the safety of the technique, not whether it offered an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s. Therefore, they cannot confirm how DBS interacts with this complex disease ...

Dreams 'can ease painful memories'

24th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Dreams are a form of therapy to help us cope with painful memories,” according the Daily Mirror. The newspaper said scientists have found that during deep sleep the body’s “stress chemistry” shuts down to take the edge off the day’s problems. The research looked at a type of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, the phase of deep sleep when dreams occur. In the small study, researchers exposed people to images designed to trigger an emotional response and looked at how the time of day they were viewed them affected their emotions and brain activity. The researchers found that ...

Risk from chemical in canned soup overstated

24th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Canned food “could contain 1,000 times more of a controversial ‘gender bending’ chemical than fresh goods,” The Daily Telegraph has reported. The news is based on a study looking at how eating canned soup increased people’s urine levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound used to coat the insides of food cans to prevent rust, as well as in plastic products. In recent years BPA has been in the spotlight as some studies have suggested it could interfere with foetal and infant development, and possibly the action of certain hormones. BPA has also been banned from plastic baby bottles ...

Report highlights home care failures

23rd November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

A number of elderly people are being let down by home care services, an inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found. The commission reported that around half of the older people and relatives interviewed were highly satisfied with their standard of care; however, in a minority of cases there were significant lapses in the care some received. Among the problems reported were older people being left unwashed, denied assistance with eating and without a say in the way they were treated. In a few isolated cases, elderly patients reported physical abuse and having money systematically stolen. The ...

Paracetamol research is not cause for concern

23rd November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Taking too much paracetamol in pills and cold remedies could kill you,” the Daily Mail has today reported. BBC News said researchers have found that even taking slightly too much paracetamol day after day “can cause overdose”. People should not be alarmed by this news, which is based on an analysis of over 600 paracetamol users admitted to a Scottish liver transplant unit over a 16-year period. Rather than looking at how often small overdoses caused hospitalisation or death, the research actually looked at the pattern of paracetamol use in those people that ended up needing special liver care after ...

'On demand caesareans' recommended on the NHS

23rd November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Any pregnant woman can now ‘demand’ a caesarean section regardless of medical need, much of the media has reported. Many of the reports focus on mothers who fear birth trauma now having the right to request a caesarean. The reports are based on new full guidance on caesarean sections from the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence (PDF, 228kb). NICE claims this guidance may reduce the proportion of caesareans because of their recommendations for better planning and support for women who are making birth decisions. Currently around one in four UK babies is delivered by caesarean. Some papers have linked ...

Cancer survival rates still vary says charity

22nd November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Survival rates have risen dramatically for many types of cancer but have hardly improved for others, BBC News reported. Citing new figures released by the cancer charity Macmillan, the BBC said that the average estimated survival time for people diagnosed with cancer has risen from one year to nearly six years in the last four decades. Macmillan’s new report highlights the massive improvements that have been made in some areas. For example, people diagnosed with colon cancer might typically live beyond a decade, compared to just seven months if they had been diagnosed 40 years ago. However, it appears there ...

Global drop in new HIV infections

22nd November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Global rates of HIV infection and AIDS-related death have both fallen dramatically, the UN has today announced. According to the widely reported figures from the UN’s UNAIDS division, both have fallen by 21% since their peaks around the turn of the millennium. Measures such as improved medical treatment were estimated to have prevented 700,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2010 alone. The global statistics have been published ahead of World AIDS day, December 1, and to mark a decade since a groundbreaking summit that led to a global strategy for tackling HIV. The report investigated the rates of new HIV infections, people ...

Charity launches major cancer genetics project

21st November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

A new initiative to develop ‘personalised cancer treatment’ has today been launched. The experimental project has been designed to develop a screening program to test tumours for key genetic changes. It is hoped that in the future the results of such tests would influence treatment programs, helping doctors choose the best drug for each person. The new initiative, called the Stratified Medicine Programme, is being led by Cancer Research UK, the UK Technology Strategy Board and the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Pfizer. It is hoped that the work will lay the foundations for genetic testing of both patients and tumours ...

Child paracetamol dosages updated

21st November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The UK’s drug regulator has issued new dosage guidelines for children’s liquid medicines such as Calpol and Disprol. The new, age-specific guidance stipulates exact doses of liquid paracetamol medicines that should be given to children, doing away with the ranged doses currently in use. The guidelines also introduce seven narrower age bands covering children from 3 months to 12 years. The new guidelines, issued by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), will be introduced to medicine instructions and labels by the end of the year. The MHRA says that parents should follow the dosing instructions included with the ...

Hope and hype: stem cells in the media

18th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

Stem cells are often portrayed in the media as a miracle cure for many serious conditions and disabilities. Hugely positive headlines have led significant and understandable public interest in this fascinating cutting-edge science. But are all the claims for stem cells justified? Can stem cell treatments pose dangers to unwary patients? And who has control over this often controversial, pioneering branch of medicine? In this special report, Behind the Headlines analyses media coverage of stem cell research, gives an easy-to-understand insight into the science and checks the claims made against what researchers have found to date. Hope and hype: An ...

Eggs wake you up? The facts are scrambled

18th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The proteins in eggs “help us stay awake and feel alert”, the Daily Mail has today reported, adding that the “Go to work on an egg” advertising slogan of the 1960s was good advice. The newspaper says that cracking new research into the effect of nutrients on the brain has suggested that the proteins found in egg whites activate the brain cells that keep us awake and burning calories and trigger the release of a stimulant called orexin. Eggs are a good dietary source of protein, and this research examined the effect of amino acids, the building blocks of protein, ...

Dukan diet 'tops list of worst celeb diets'

17th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

The popular Dukan diet has been slammed as “ineffective and without scientific basis”, The Daily Telegraph has today reported. The newspaper says that the British Dietetic Association has criticised a range of celebrity diets, including the Dukan diet rumoured to be used by Kate Middleton. Anticipating the huge surge in dieting around Christmas and New Year, the association has drawn up a list of five 'fad diets' that slimmers may be considering after reading about celebrities using them to stay trim. According to the British Dietetic Association (BDA), the top diets to avoid are: The Dukan diet: this restrictive, complicated ...

Study looks at self-harm in young people

17th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“One in 12 people self-harm in their teenage years,” the BBC has reported. For most people the problem will resolve before adulthood, but for 10% it will continue into their adult lives, it continued. This alarming statistic, estimated in an Australian study, corroborates existing estimates that around 8% of UK teens deliberately harm themselves. This well-conducted new research surveyed almost 2,000 Australian adolescents over a period of several years, assessing them from around 14-15 years of age until they were into their late 20s. It found that between the ages of 14 and 19, 8% of the sample, mainly girls, ...

Do computer games mess with kids’ minds?

16th November 2011

NHS Choices: Behind the headlines

“Teenage video game players have brains ‘like gambling addicts’” reported the Daily Mail. Covering the same research, The Daily Telegraph warned that “children’s brains could be hardwired to spend hours playing video games”. These headlines are based on a small study of 154 healthy 14-year olds comparing the brain structure of those who played video games more than nine hours a week (frequent gamers) with those who played less (infrequent gamers). They focused on an area of the brain associated with rewards and decision-making (the ventral striatum) and found that a proportion of this area (the ‘grey’ matter, made up ...