What? Organ transplantation saves millions of people a year, from young to old, transforming many lives and giving hope. Thanks to doctors and scientists, our NHS has pioneered great advances in transplantation surgery that make it very safe and allow some recipients to survive for 20 years or more. Transplantation surgery often involves removing an […]
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What? Danish researchers have found that taking a steroid called dexamethasone during and after a total knee replacement reduces the total amount of morphine required post-operatively. During and 24 hours after a total knee replacement, patients were either given a dexamethasone injection or a placebo. Then, the total amount of morphine required in the first […]
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What? An international research group have published a meta-analysis (a large study combining the results of multiple other studies) of 13,722 patients with major depressive disorder, which is often simply called depression in the UK. When treating depression, medication with talking therapies, or talking therapies alone, were approximately 15% more effective than medication alone. Why? […]
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What? A recent study has shown that a small percentage (2-3%) of adults from Greenland possess a genetic mutation that allows them to consume sugar but on average have: Lower BMI and weight Lower cholesterol Lower fat than the average adult! This technically allows those affected to eat the same amount of sugar as the […]
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What? A pioneering treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, aducanumab, has been rejected by the EMA (European Medicines Agency) for approval in territories, due to a lack of proven benefit. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia. It is a gradual and often irreversible development of symptoms such as memory loss and confusion. It is generally accepted […]
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Much like a broken record, we’re here to explain another round of COVID news. And someone else hoping to break records is prime minister Boris Johnson, who tonight announced a swathe of new measures to combat the spread of the Omicron variant. So what’s been announced? What? Boris Johnson has pledged to break previous vaccine […]
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What? Omicron is the latest COVID variant to hit the news. Viruses mutate very quickly to form new ‘variants’, and as a result there are thousands of COVID variants. However, a small number of ‘variants of concern’ are specifically named by the World Health Organization (currently, letters of the Greek alphabet), like the Alpha and […]
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What? A new HIV treatment (cabotegravir (Vocabria®) and rilpivirine (Rekambys®)) delivered by ‘depot’ injection is set to decrease the number of pills people living with HIV have to take on a daily basis. Patients will usually take the pill or tablet form of this medication for one month to ensure they can tolerate it. Thereafter, […]
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“Why was my hospital appointment cancelled? Why am I not able to book another?” “Which hospital should I go to for my surgery?” “How does my friend with same condition get seen faster by her consultant?” “What happens if I forget to attend my MRI appointment?” “Why has the hospital cancelled my blood test?” “Why […]
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Are statins dangerous? What? We all know the infamous saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’, and there is some truth to this. As healthcare professionals we always encourage you to maintain a balanced diet and have at least 20 minutes of exercise a day. We know that this dramatically reduces the risk […]
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