Healthcare, The NHS, People & Training
University of Sheffield researchers claim that NHS walk-in centres near railway stations are not popular with commuters and are a waste of money. A five-year pilot programme of six centres near stations in London, Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds was set up in 2004 as part of a £50m programme. But a study has found they [...]
NHS figures show that over one in five children in England start their school life overweight or obese. Shockingly this rises to 1 in 3 by the end of primary school, which makes the child approximately 11. The statistics showed that obesity levels were higher in London, the North East and West Midlands than elsewhere [...]
Schools, employers and GPs all have more of a role to play in mental-health care in the UK, ministers say. Investment in recent years has focused on improving treatment, but the new 10-year strategy calls for more emphasis on prevention and early intervention. In particular, it highlighted the importance of helping people back into work [...]
Scientists believe that worms could hold the key to why some people develop Parkinson’s Disease. Worms share 50% of their genes with humans, including those involved with inherited Parkinson’s. Dundee University researchers will study a simple worm called C. elegans to try to work out why the condition causes patient’s brain cells to die. The [...]
The dudhi also called the calabash or bottle gourd is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, one of the calabash subspecies is known as the bottle gourd. The fresh [...]
US scientists are testing a radical new theory that multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by blockages in the veins that drain the brain. The University of Buffalo team were intrigued by the work of Italian researcher Dr Paolo Zamboni who claims 90% of MS is caused by narrowed veins. He says the restricted drainage, visible [...]
A major study has suggested that drinking alcohol every day cuts the risk of heart disease in men by more than a third. The Spanish research involving more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women found large quantities of alcohol could be even more beneficial for men, however the study found that the same was not [...]
The calorie counts used as the foundation for diet plans and healthy-eating guidance for the past 18 years may be wrong. The recommended daily intake of calories could be increased by up to 16%, a draft report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition said. Intake levels are currently 2,000 calories for women and 2,500 [...]
A US study claims that children with dyslexia find it harder to hear in noisy classrooms than those without the condition. Pupils with poor reading skills were also more likely to struggle to retain information when there was background noise, researchers reported in Neuron. They said the findings, based on tests on 30 children, might [...]
Scientists have identified a drug which may offer hope to patients with a particularly lethal form of lung cancer. The drug eliminated small cell lung cancer tumours in 50% of mice, and blocked the cells’ ability to resist standard chemotherapy treatment. The Imperial College London team now hope to test it in patients with an [...]