Behind the Headlines

Rotavirus vaccine to be introduced for babies

Saturday Nov 10 2012

A vaccine to prevent illness caused by rotavirus will be introduced in the UK, much of the media reports. The news is based on a Department of Health announcement that the rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, will be added to the routine childhood...

4 comments about ‘Rotavirus vaccine to be introduced for babies’:

Complaints about NHS up by 8%

Friday Nov 9 2012

"Complaints about NHS not acknowledging mistakes 'up by 50%'," The Independent reports, while The Daily Telegraph says doctors have been "careless and insincere" while talking to patients...

Is your doctor fattist?

Thursday Nov 8 2012

'Doctors are 'prejudiced' against overweight patients' the Daily Mail claims after the publication of a study aiming to assess doctors’ attitudes towards overweight and obese people…

Changes to trends in disease-related deaths

Wednesday Nov 7 2012

'Heart disease deaths halved by healthier lifestyles' The Guardian reports 'but cancers have become biggest group of killers'. The news is prompted by the publication of the Office for National Statistics’ annual report into causes of death…

1 comment about ‘Changes to trends in disease-related deaths’:

More teens seek help for cannabis use

Friday Nov 2 2012

New and more harmful strains of cannabis could be responsible for the growing number of teenagers needing specialist help after using the drug, The Daily Telegraph reported today. The story comes from a new report on substance misuse...

3 comments about ‘More teens seek help for cannabis use’:

'Poo transplants' for treating C. difficile

Friday Oct 26 2012

The BBC News informs us that "faecal transplant" is the "clue to treating the gut bug" Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). C. difficile are bacteria that usually survive in the digestive system (gut) and do not cause any problems in healthy people...

Gene link to placebo effect

Wednesday Oct 24 2012

'Placebo effect may be 'down to genes'' BBC News suggests. Researchers were looking at whether genes play a part in the placebo effect for people with irritable bowel syndrome – where symptoms improve even though only a dummy treatment was used…

Antipsychotics still overprescribed in dementia

Friday Oct 19 2012

"'Chemical cosh' drugs given to 50pc more dementia patients than thought," The Daily Telegraph reports, while the Daily Express runs with a rather more tasteless headline "Shocking rise in dementia patients on 'zombie' drugs"...

Cranberry juice 'won't prevent' bladder infections

Thursday Oct 18 2012

“It’s a myth that cranberry juice can cure bladder infections,” the Daily Mail reported today. The story was based on a large review of research that looked at the effectiveness of cranberry juice…

HPV jab and teen promiscuity: 'no link'

Tuesday Oct 16 2012

'HPV vaccine not linked to sexual promiscuity in girls, study finds' The Guardian reports. A new study seems to allay fears that the vaccine against HPV, spread by unprotected sex, could lead to an upsurge in teenage sexual promiscuity…