Law allows for termination if patient’s water breaks too early or in cases of ectopic pregnancy, but critics say it is not enough
A Texas law about to take effect on Friday carves out exceptions to the state’s abortion ban.
In June, the Republican governor, Greg Abbott, quietly signed HB 3058, allowing doctors to provide abortion care when a patient’s water breaks too early for the fetus to survive, or when a patient is suffering from an ectopic pregnancy.
Continue reading...Exclusive: ‘Startling’ rise in number of absences due to psychological disorders revealed
Triggers for mental health breakdown and self-harm in over-stretched police officers are being routinely missed, according to their representative body in Scotland.
The warning comes as the Guardian reveals a “startling” increase in the number of absences due to psychological disorders.
Continue reading...Analysis also reveals patients in more deprived areas are more likely to have their cancer diagnosed late
A postcode lottery in cancer care means more than one-fifth of patients with cancerous tumours wait longer than two months to have them removed in some parts of England, Labour has claimed.
Analysis of NHS data exposes regional inequalities in cancer treatments, with one in five patients receiving care following a cancer diagnosis in the West Midlands waiting longer than two months to have their tumours removed.
Continue reading...Research presented to annual meeting of European Society of Cardiology prompts calls for action
Ultra-processed food significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, according to two studies that one expert says should serve as a wake-up call for governments worldwide.
Global consumption of heavily processed items such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food has soared in recent years. In the UK and US, well over half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food (UPF). For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical.
Continue reading...Unique research shows cardiovascular gains recorded in patients who were shown TV comedy
The old adage that “laughter is the best medicine” may contain an element of truth when it comes to heart health.
A study has demonstrated that having a chuckle causes the tissue inside the heart to expand – and increases oxygen flow around the body.
Continue reading...Exclusive: experts fear the cost-of-living crisis is forcing people to forgo evidence-based healthcare
Hundreds of free appointments with naturopaths have been booked through Woolworths subsidiary HealthyLife, as peak health bodies warn people are forgoing more expensive, evidence-based care due to the cost-of-living crisis.
In March HealthyLife launched telehealth consultations with general practitioners, dieticians, nutritionists and in-house naturopaths, alongside home delivery of pharmaceutical products through its partner SuperPharmacy.
Continue reading...Large new study using UK Biobank data shows even a small reduction in salt intake can be beneficial
Cutting out salt from meals can slash your risk of heart problems and strokes by almost a fifth, the largest study of its kind suggests.
Research has documented how adding salt to food increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease and premature death. Now experts have established just how big a difference you could make to your heart health – simply by reducing the number of meals to which you add salt or by ditching it altogether.
Continue reading...Up to 31% of global population estimated to have metabolic syndrome due to three or more unhealthy traits
Millions of middle-aged adults who are overweight with even slightly raised blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose levels are about a third more likely to die early, research suggests.
They also face a 35% higher risk of heart attacks or strokes and will experience them two years earlier than their peers. The stark findings are being presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, the world’s largest heart conference. They represent more evidence of the immediate dangers posed by the global obesity crisis.
Continue reading...Active community testing required on an intermittent basis to see ‘the whole iceberg, not just the tip’, Prof Catherine Bennett says
Political momentum for the monitoring and surveillance of Covid-19 is “fading”, the Australian virologist who developed a world-first method for rapidly isolating and characterising variants said.
Prof Stuart Turville, with the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute, said while the impact of Covid-19 in Australia is waning, the Sars CoV-2 virus that causes disease is constantly changing and “there is still a lot we don’t know”.
Continue reading...Study of chronic fatigue syndrome also finds women are more likely to develop worse symptoms over time
Women with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) tend to have more symptoms than men and are more likely to develop increasingly severe symptoms over time, according to initial results from a major study.
It is already known that women are at higher risk of CFS, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and the latest study, called DecodeME, provides new insights into how their experience differs from men. The study found that women who have ME/CFS for more than 10 years are more likely to experience increasingly severe symptoms as they age.
Continue reading...Hopes guidance could help diagnose colorectal cancer faster and cut NHS waiting times for colonoscopies
At-home faeces tests could spare tens of thousands of people in England and Wales from having to undergo invasive procedures to rule out bowel cancer.
It is hoped the move could help diagnose colorectal cancer faster and cut NHS waiting times by reducing the need to refer people for a colonoscopy.
Continue reading...Pioneering operation could allow dozens of infertile women a year to have babies
Surgeons have performed the first womb transplant on a woman in the UK, opening up the possibility for dozens of infertile women to have babies every year. The woman’s sister was the living donor of the womb.
The 34-year-old was “incredibly happy” and “over the moon” with the success of the nine-hour operation, according to the medical team behind the pioneering procedure. She now plans to have two children using IVF.
Continue reading...Profession faces long task to reassure families and patients that crimes and apparent failings will not be repeated
At hospitals around the UK nurses continue to pull on fresh scrubs and prepare for another day caring for patients. But many have been “rocked to the core” by the Lucy Letby case and some fear the foundation of public trust has been shaken.
That was the message from senior nurses on Tuesday as the horror of the child killer’s sentencing sank in and the profession braced for a long task to reassure families and patients that Letby’s crimes, and the institutional failings that appeared to have allowed them to continue, were truly an anomaly.
Continue reading...Data from Australian Secondary School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey predates ‘huge’ increase in vaping
E-cigarette use is the single strongest risk factor for adolescents taking up tobacco smoking, out-ranking social norms, poor mental health and misperceptions about smoking harms, research published on Wednesday has found.
The findings come from 4,266 Victorian students aged 12 to 17 who anonymously took part in the 2017 Australian Secondary School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey (Assad), with researchers then focusing on 3,410 students who reported never having smoked even part of a cigarette.
Continue reading...Medical journal reports alarming rise in cases over two years with some patients experiencing toxic shock, amputation and flesh-eating, necrotising disease
It took just two days for one-year-old Jordan Sutherland to go from experiencing clinginess and a slight temperature to being in intensive care after surgery to remove flesh-eating bacteria from his neck, which had “swollen from ear to ear”, his mother recalls.
Jordan would not leave the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne for almost five weeks, after an infection with the common strep A bacteria developed into a disease known as “invasive strep A”.
Continue reading...Two cases to be heard this month could serve as legal precedent to outlaw the holding of patients against their will for unpaid bills
Two women who were prevented from leaving hospital over unpaid medical bills are to have their case against Ugandan authorities heard this month in a case that lawyers hope will end the practice.
Akello Esther Susan, 23, and NS (known by her initials) are jointly suing the government, two district councils and church dioceses over their treatment after giving birth in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Continue reading...CDC must now weigh in on vaccine to fight respiratory infection in vulnerable newborns
US regulators on Monday approved the first RSV vaccine for pregnant women so their babies will be born with protection against the scary respiratory infection.
RSV is notorious for filling hospitals with wheezing babies every fall and winter. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Pfizer’s maternal vaccination to guard against a severe case of RSV when babies are most vulnerable – from birth through six months of age.
Continue reading...Research found MRI is significantly more accurate than current tests, which are linked to overdiagnosis and overtreatment
Using MRI scans to screen men for prostate cancer could reduce deaths from the disease significantly, researchers have suggested.
Scientists said current tests, which detect the level of the protein prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood, have been linked to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of low-risk cancer.
Continue reading...Updated guidance covers verbal and written comments, displaying or sharing images and physical contact
Doctors will be expected to demonstrate “zero tolerance” of sexual harassment, the General Medical Council has announced.
For the first time, new professional standards, published on Tuesday, introduce explicit rules on sexual harassment towards colleagues.
Continue reading...Former nurse will never be released from prison as judge describes ‘deep malevolence bordering on sadism’
The serial killer nurse Lucy Letby will never be released from prison after a judge sentenced her to a rare whole-life term for the “sadistic” murder of seven babies.
Letby, 33, is one of only three women alive to have been given such a jail term in the UK. She was sentenced at Manchester crown court on Monday.
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