Behind the Headlines

Swine flu jab narcolepsy risk very small

Wednesday Feb 27 2013

There have been reports in the media today that the Pandemrix vaccine, used during the swine flu epidemic of 2009-10, increases children’s risk of developing narcolepsy...

New antiviral may help in flu fight

Friday Feb 22 2013

‘Flu drug shows promise in overcoming resistance’, reports BBC news, saying that scientists have found a way to permanently block the flu virus from spreading to other cells...

Worry over antipsychotic drugs in care homes

Thursday Feb 21 2013

New research looking at prescription data has raised concerns that powerful drugs such as antipsychotics are being overused, with both The Guardian and the BBC News website covering the story. The stories are based on a useful study in Northern Ireland...

Smaller paracetamol packs may have reduced deaths

Friday Feb 8 2013

The introduction of a limit on the number of tablets sold in packets of paracetamol has led to a 43% reduction in the number of poisoning deaths, The Independent accurately reports…

Disappointing results for new TB vaccine

Tuesday Feb 5 2013

The new tuberculosis vaccine MVA85A has been found to be less effective than initially thought, prompting widespread consternation in the press. The Daily Mail reported that the vaccine...

Antidepressant link to heart changes confirmed

Thursday Jan 31 2013

"Heart risk link to SSRI antidepressants confirmed," BBC News reports. The BBC goes on to say that "some but not all antidepressant drugs known as SSRIs pose a very small but serious heart risk"...

Long-term aspirin use 'increases blindness risk'

Tuesday Jan 22 2013

'Aspirin 'triples chance of leading cause of blindness'' The Daily Telegraph reports as a study finds an association between aspirin use and the eye condition macular degeneration…

Is Viagra a new wonder diet pill?

Monday Jan 21 2013

'Viagra helps men fight the flab as well as boost their sex life,' reports the Daily Mail, somewhat prematurely, on a study involving mice. The study aimed to examine the effect of a chemical...

Claims ginseng is 'new Viagra' just don’t stand up

Wednesday Jan 9 2013

'Forget Viagra, a tablet made from ginseng could boost a man's love life' is misleading speculation in the Daily Mail as they report on a study which actually found that the ginseng was no better than placebo in treating erectile dysfunction…

Could sleeping pill effect be half placebo?

Friday Dec 21 2012

Around half the benefit of taking sleeping pills comes from the placebo effect, the Daily Mail reports. Its story is based on a study that looked at the effectiveness of medicines called 'Z drugs', which are widely prescribed for insomnia...

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