Category Archives: Health

Caesarean babies have different gut bacteria, microbiome study finds

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C-section babies pick up more hospital bacteria than those born vaginally, research shows

Babies born by caesarean section have different gut bacteria to those delivered vaginally, the most comprehensive study to date on the baby microbiome has found.

The study showed that babies born vaginally pick up most of their initial dose of bacteria from their mother, while C-section babies have more bugs linked to hospital environments, including strains that demonstrate antimicrobial resistance. The findings could explain the higher prevalence of asthma, allergies and other immune conditions in babies born by caesarean.

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US attack on WHO ‘hindering morphine drive in poor countries’

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Claims have hurt efforts to help people around world in acute pain, say palliative care experts

An attack on the World Health Organization (WHO) by US politicians accusing it of being corrupted by drug companies is making it even more difficult to get morphine to millions of people dying in acute pain in poor countries, say experts in the field.

Representatives of the hospice and palliative care community said they were stunned by the Congress members’ report, which they said made false accusations and would affect people suffering in countries where almost no opioids were available.

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Air pollution particles found on foetal side of placentas – study

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Research finds black carbon breathed by mothers can cross into unborn children

Air pollution particles have been found on the foetal side of placentas, indicating that unborn babies are directly exposed to the black carbon produced by motor traffic and fuel burning.

The research is the first study to show the placental barrier can be penetrated by particles breathed in by the mother. It found thousands of the tiny particles per cubic millimetre of tissue in every placenta analysed.

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Former minister arrested over alleged mismanagement of Congo Ebola funds

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Oly Ilunga detained in connection with $4.3m allocated for fighting the deadly virus

The former health minister for the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been arrested over the alleged mismanagement of $4.3m (£3.4m) dedicated to the Ebola response.

Oly Ilunga, who resigned as health minister in July having been removed from leading the Ebola response by President Félix Tshisekedi, has denied any wrongdoing.

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Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas reveals HIV diagnosis

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Ex-British Lions captain believed to be first UK sportsman to go public about living with virus

Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas has revealed that he is HIV positive.

Mr Thomas, who came out as gay in 2009, is thought to be the first UK sportsman to go public about living with the virus, and has revealed that he was driven to suicidal thoughts as a result of his diagnosis.

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Experience: I nearly died of measles

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The doctors hadn’t seen such a bad case. But I don’t blame my mother for not having me vaccinated

I was watching a film with my boyfriend, Marty, one Saturday night last April when I felt an itchy rash on my neck. Then I started getting a dry cough, like a cat coughing up a furball. Marty Googled “dry cough” and “rash” and measles came up. But I didn’t have white spots in my mouth, which are common with measles, so we didn’t think anything of it. “You’ve got measles!” Marty joked. We laughed about it.

Mum is a nurse and, in the mid-80s, when I was due to have the measles vaccine, parents often didn’t take it up. This was before the MMR vaccine – and before the discredited doctor, Andrew Wakefield, wrongly linked it to autism – but even then, some parents worried about side-effects. The thalidomide scandal was still fresh in people’s minds. I was aware I hadn’t been vaccinated, but never thought in a million years I would catch measles; it wasn’t even on my radar.

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Indonesia takes steps to improve protection of mental health patients

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National agencies granted greater power to enforce existing laws banning practices such as shackling

Indonesia is stepping up efforts to protect people with mental health conditions by affording national agencies new powers to monitor and close down institutions found to be abusing patients.

The country’s human rights commission and its witness and victim protection unit are among the agencies empowered to monitor facilities to check they don’t contravene a 1977 government ban on “pasung” – shackling or detaining patients in confined spaces.

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Woodland sounds help relaxation more than meditation apps – study

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National Trust research finds birdsong and rustling leaves increase relaxation by 30%

Gentle woodland sounds such as birdsong and the breeze rustling leaves in the trees are more relaxing than meditation recordings, a new study claims.

Researchers exposed participants to three soundtracks – a woodland, a woman guiding a meditation session and deep silence.

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History shows it will take more than technology and money to beat malaria

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Hopes of eradicating the disease by 2050 will fail unless we tackle the poverty and weak governance that allow it to thrive

The Lancet Commission on malaria eradication received widespread attention this week with its claim that the disease could be eradicated by 2050. This would be a very welcome achievement, as malaria currently kills about 435,000 people – predominantly children – each year.

The report argues that the key to eradicating malaria is the application of existing and new technology, coupled with £1.6bn extra annual funding. Unfortunately, this solution is unlikely to be successful because it fails to address the underlying causes of malaria: grinding poverty and state incapacity.

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Diesel cars emit more air pollution on hot days, study says

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Emissions rose 20-30% in Paris when temperatures topped 30C, raising urgent questions as the climate gets hotter

Emissions from diesel cars – even newer and supposedly cleaner models – increase on hot days, a new study has found, raising questions over how cities suffering from air pollution can deal with urban heat islands and the climate crisis.

Research in Paris by The Real Urban Emissions (True) initiative found that diesel car emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) rose by 20% to 30% when temperatures topped 30C – a common event this summer.

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Even a few minutes’ exercise is good for you, new guidelines state

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Activities such as sprinting up stairs are positive for health, says UK chief medical officer

Exercise is good for you even if you clock up just a few minutes at a time, new UK guidelines state, overturning previous recommendations that physical activity needed to last at least 10 minutes to bring benefits.

The updated guidelines on physical activity, released by the UK chief medical officers, mean that even a quick sprint up the stairs can contribute to the 150 minutes of moderate to brisk exercise (or 75 mins of intense activity) that adults are recommend to undertake every week.

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73-year-old woman gives birth to twin girls in India – video

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A 73-year-old woman in southern India who has given birth to healthy twin girls may be the oldest woman to conceive. Mangayamma Yaramati started the menopause 25 years ago and so an egg was taken from a donor and fertilised with her 82-year-old husband Sitarama Rajarao’s sperm through IVF. She conceived in the first cycle and was found to be pregnant in January

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Indian woman, 73 gives birth to twin girls

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Mangayamma Yaramati and babies in good health, say doctors in Andhra Pradesh

A 73-year-old woman in southern India who has given birth to healthy twin girls described motherhood as “the happiest time of my life”.

The babies were delivered through caesarean section on Thursday. Uma Shankar, the woman’s doctor, told the Guardian the mother and her children were in good health.

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US health officials urge people to stop vaping as third death reported

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Officials are investigating more than 450 possible cases of a severe breathing illness among otherwise ‘healthy young people’

US health officials warned people not to vape until they determine the cause of a severe respiratory illness, which has killed at least three people and hospitalized many more.

Officials are investigating more than 450 possible cases of a severe breathing illness among otherwise “healthy young people”, they said on Friday. Possible cases have been identified across 33 states and one US territory.

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Malaria breakthrough as scientists find ‘highly effective’ way to kill parasite

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Drugs derived from Ivermectin, which makes human blood deadly to mosquitoes, could be available within two years

Human trials of new antimalarial drugs are in the pipeline after Kenyan scientists successfully used bacteria to kill the parasite that causes the disease.

The Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and global health partners say the breakthrough could potentially lead to the development of a new class of drugs in less than two years.

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Soft drinks, including sugar-free, linked to increased risk of early death

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Drink more water, say experts as they argue study proves need for curbs on consumption

People who regularly consume soft drinks have a higher risk of an early death, researchers have found, with the trend seen for both sugared and artificially sweetened drinks.

While experts say the study cannot prove soft drinks are a driver of an increased risk of death, they say the work – which is the largest study of its kind – supports recent public health efforts to reduce consumption of soft drinks, such as the UK’s sugar tax.

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Scientists discover way to ‘grow’ tooth enamel

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Experts produce clusters of enamel-like calcium phosphate to crack age-old problem

Scientists say they have finally cracked the problem of repairing tooth enamel.

Though enamel is the hardest tissue in the body, it cannot self-repair. Now scientists have discovered a method by which its complex structure can be reproduced and the enamel essentially “grown” back.

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Breast cancer risk from using HRT is ‘twice what was thought’

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Study prompts medicines regulator to advise all women using HRT to remain vigilant

The risk of breast cancer from using hormone replacement therapy is double what was previously thought, according to a major piece of research, which confirms that HRT is a direct cause of the cancer.

The findings of the definitive study will cause concern among the 1 million women in the UK and millions more around the world who are using HRT. It finds that the longer women take it, the greater their risk, with the possibility that just one year is risk-free. It also finds that the risk does not go away as soon as women stop taking it, as had been previously assumed.

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Lives at risk from surge in measles across Europe, experts warn

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Measles kills 37 in first half of 2019 as number of cases tops figure for whole of last year

The dramatic surge in measles across Europe is putting lives at risk, experts have said, as official figures showed the number of cases in the first half of 2019 outstripped that for the whole of last year.

Data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed nearly 90,000 cases and 37 deaths were reported across 48 of the 53 countries in the WHO European region in the first six months of 2019.

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Babies develop ‘werewolf syndrome’ after medicine mix-up in Spain

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Authorities say there are 17 known cases so far after hair loss treatment mistakenly put in reflux medicine bottles

At least 17 children developed so-called “werewolf syndrome” after a major medicine mix-up, Spain’s health ministry has said.

The children – some of them babies – began growing hair all over their body after being given what was thought to be omeprazole, a drug that helps with gastric reflux.

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