On March 25th 1968 a relatively unknown French medical journal l’Ouest Medical published a remarkable paper based on observations of 127 children with mothers who drank heavily. Paul Lemoine, a paediatrician…
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Health – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 5576 - 5600 of 5618 articles
Data on hospital performance often shows a wide variation and this poses the question of whether it should be available to the public or kept confidential. The government wants more transparency and announced…
As many as 500 brain scans are performed in Scotland every week. These scans are mostly used to diagnose - or rule out - serious diseases like strokes and tumours, but this is not their only function…
Millions of women in the US will have access to affordable genetic screening for cancer after the US Supreme Court ruled that a commercial company cannot patent human genes. The screening tests for mutations…
As a doctor it’s my job to prescribe lotions and potions. To do so, I read information about drug trials in books and medical journals to keep me up to speed on the latest drugs, dangers and side effects…
A new study shows an association between less access to GPs and high rates of attendance in nearby accident and emergency (A&E) units. It’s an interesting piece of work but risks inflaming an already…
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is happening across the UK but despite being illegal for nearly 30 years, there have been no convictions. Fortunately, politicians are beginning to pick up on the issue…
In 1632 the Catholic Church convened a case against Galileo on the grounds that his work using the telescope to explore the nature of the heavens contradicted the church’s teaching - the culmination of…
The public often suspects that the financial crisis is the real cause of hospital closures, even when other reasons are given. The NHS has found it virtually impossible to proceed with closing, or even…
Stephanie Bottrill, aged 53, became another suicide statistic and a grim reminder of the harmful impact of the UK welfare reforms last month, according to reports. In her suicide note, it was said she…
In 2001 I met David Graham, an official from the US Food and Drug Administration, in a car park in Washington. I wanted him to shed light on why the diabetes drug troglitazone, or Rezulin, had been available…
Something called “Scientific impact paper (number 37)”, might not be expected to attract much attention. But, news sites and parenting forums alike have been rife with comments attacking the release. The…
Many therapeutic drugs and toxins affect us without us knowing exactly how. We know, for example, that Epilim, or sodium valproate, one of the most highly prescribed medicines for epilepsy can prevent…
The NHS in 2013 is facing a series of unprecedented challenges. A rapidly ageing population is just one of a number of factors fuelling a rise in demand for services and hospitals are struggling to cope…
The idea of prisoners having sex upsets people; it offends our sense that prison is a place of punishment not pleasure. But sex still happens, maybe more than we like to think. And if it is happening…
Politicians and policy makers are blaming failures in out-of-hours GP care for the rising demand on accident and emergency (A&E) units. The number of attendances at A&E departments in England rose…
Actor Michael Douglas’ claim that his throat cancer was caused by human papillomavirus - or HPV - has generated lots of publicity. But head and neck cancers are still thankfully still very rare. They are…
Are you worried about how decisions involving public money are made? You should be. Last week, the National Audit Office disclosed that the Department of Health spent £424 million on the anti-flu drug…
Schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric illness which occurs throughout the world and affects one in 100 people, often appearing in adolescence or early adult life. Medication that targets the symptoms…
There are strong parallels to be drawn between last week’s Woolwich murder and the Boston bombings in April, and not just because of the terrorism connection. The subsequent shooting and hospitalisation…
The recent case of Neon Roberts and the legal dispute over his treatment for a brain tumour threw the spotlight on the potential risks of using radiotherapy to treat complex cancers in children. Radiotherapy…
Hospitals provide much-needed medical care and treatment for women who run into difficulty in childbirth. But many women and babies have medical intervention and treatment without good reason. We’ve become…
We really should have seen the crisis coming. It isn’t as if older people are a forgotten minority. Most of us, whether or not we are old, interact with people who are on a daily basis. And much of our…
What could music and surgery have in common? At first sight, not much. Operations aren’t done on stage in front of a large crowd - and nobody dies after a concert if someone plays a wrong note. As an amateur…
The brutal killing of Drummer Lee Rigby on the streets of Woolwich has raised serious questions about the safety of our soldiers at home, and how such violence could affect their recovery from the psychological…