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In "Life / Health"
LONDON — A boy with severe epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to trial a new device fitted in their skull to control seizures.The neurostimulator, which sends electrical signals deep into his brain, has reduced Oran Knowlson’s daytime seizures by 80%.His mother, Justine, told the BBC he was happier and had a “much better quality of life”.The surgery was carried out in October as part of a trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London when Oran, who is now 13, was 12.Oran, from Somerset, has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a treatment-resistant form of epilepsy that he developed at the age of three.Since then he has suffered several daily seizures ranging from two dozen to hundreds.When we first spoke to Oran’s mum last autumn, prior to surgery, she explained how...
June 24, 2024
World's first epilepsy device fitted in UK boy's skull
VIENNA — Gentle shockwaves could regenerate the heart tissue of patients after bypass surgery, research suggests.A study of 63 people in Austria found those given the new treatment could walk further — and their hearts could pump more blood.“For the first time, we are seeing the heart muscle regenerate in a clinical setting, which could help millions of people,” Prof Johannes Holfeld, from Innsbruck Medical University, said.Larger trials of the device, dubbed a "space hairdryer" by researchers, are now planned to try to replicate the results in a wider group of patients.Every year, 18 million people around the world die from heart disease or other cardiovascular complications, according to the World Health Organization.Risk factors include high blood pressure and an...
June 20, 2024
‘Space hairdryer’ regenerates heart tissue in study
March 20, 2024
Intermittent fasting: Your heart, your health, your waistline
LONDON — The anti-anxiety drug has been linked to fatalities in the UK, leading people taking the drug to come forward about their debilitating side effects.The first time Jade had a panic attack, she called an ambulance. Terrified and feeling as though her world had suddenly tilted, she’d recently stopped taking pregabalin, a drug prescribed to her for anxiety.Two years later, she is still trying to wean herself off it.“If I miss a dose I have trouble breathing, depersonalization, panic attacks, extreme body restlessness, feeling as though I am going to pass out,” the 29-year-old told Euronews Health.“I don’t think doctors realise the severity of it.”The drug has been prescribed to more than 8 million people in the UK, according to a study.Over the last five years in...
March 07, 2024
Anti-anxiety drug Pregabalin causes concern in the UK
January 17, 2024
Exciting new cancer drug kinder than chemotherapy
November 10, 2023
US veteran gets world's first eye transplant
November 07, 2023
Animal-to-human infections could cause 12 times more deaths by 2050, study says
MUMBAI — Affan, seven, and Erhan, five, have Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — a rare genetic disorder that causes muscle deterioration and affects breathing. Physiotherapy appointments alone cost the family 40,000 rupees ($480; £395) a month, and their sons need constant care as they cannot sit, stand or walk independently."We want to try gene therapy for our sons, but one dose alone costs around 175m rupees ($2.1m; £1.7m). We simply can't afford it," says Zeba Gufran, their mother.Zolgensma gene therapy, which the Gufrans want to try, is one of the most expensive drugs in the world. It is given as a one-time dose, usually to children under two — but the Gufrans are desperate and hope for a miracle.Like them, many parents in India cannot afford to buy Zolgensma and...
November 06, 2023
Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Indians who need $2.1m drug to fight a rare disease
LONDON — The Covid pandemic may have impacted brain health in people in the UK aged 50 and over, according to a new study.More than 3,000 volunteers completed yearly questionnaires and online cognitive tests to measure changes in memory, and other faculties, as the pandemic unfolded.The results revealed a decline, irrespective of Covid infection.Stress, loneliness and alcohol consumption may explain some of the findings, experts say.Coping with Covid fears, worries and uncertainties and disruption to routines may have had a "real, lasting impact" on brain health, they say.The rate of the drop in cognitive function was accelerated during the first year of the pandemic, when lockdowns occurred, the study found.For memory issues, the decline continued into the second year.People...
November 02, 2023
Brain power dropped among over-50s during Covid-19 pandemic, study shows
LONDON — Scientists say they may have made the biggest breakthrough in treating cervical cancer in 20 years, using a course of existing, cheap drugs ahead of usual radiotherapy treatment.Trial findings, revealed at the ESMO medical conference, show the approach cut the risk of women dying from the disease or the cancer returning by 35%.Cancer Research UK, which funded the work, called the results "remarkable".It hopes clinics will soon start doing the same for patients.Cervical cancer affects thousands of women each year in the UK, many in their early 30s. Despite improvements in radiotherapy care, cancer returns in up to a third of cases, meaning new approaches are very much needed.Dr Iain Foulkes, from Cancer Research UK, said: "Timing is everything when you're...
October 23, 2023
Biggest cervical cancer drug advance in 20 years hailed
