ProNurse

By Jeremy Laurance Do doctors kill? Ray Gosling claims that, in contravention of the Hippocratic Oath, some have helped patients end their lives and have even turned a blind eye while others - friends or family - carried out the deed, as he did for his dying lover. He is almost certainly right about the former, but almost certainly wrong ...

Surprise surprise.. look after the staff and the patients benefit. Nice to see some common sense ratified by the research. Jim  

By Jeremy Laurance Trust sold millions of pounds' worth of medicine intended for NHS use. An NHS trust hospital sold millions of pounds' worth of drugs intended for NHS use on to the export market because it saw an opportunity to make a quick profit. It later defended its activities on the grounds that trusts had been encouraged to be ...

Badly fitted condoms do not just reduce the pleasure of sex for men and women - they raise the risks of infection and pregnancy, researchers say.

A study has raised doubts about the creation of "ethical" all- purpose stem cells for research and treatment. Embryonic stem cells have the power to develop into any of the 220 cell types that make up the different tissues of the human body, but they are mired in controversy because they must be extracted from cannibalised early-stage embryos. But recent ...

Researchers from Dundee University have established a link between deprivation and a specific gene that explains why women from poorer backgrounds are less likely to survive breast cancer. In a paper published in this month's British Journal of Cancer, the Dundee team identifies - for the first time - that the p53 gene mutation in breast cancer is associated with ...

If I told you that eating two grapefruits every morning and drinking two strong cups of coffee helped you lose a stone in two weeks you probably wouldn’t believe me. However, there’s a good chance that you’d click on the headline to read the article. There’s an article from the Daily Mail in the news feed today that I could have ...

Doctors and nurses are being warned to take care when giving babies an antibiotic after figures showed some were given the wrong dose. Gentamicin is delivered intravenously to treat a range of infections, including breathing difficulties in the first few days of life. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued new guidance after 507 reports of harm or potential harm to ...

By Graham Grant As generations of mothers have reminded their children, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet, ironically, girls are more likely than boys to skip it entirely, a survey has revealed. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that 15-year- old girls were almost 30 per cent more likely to miss out breakfast than their ...

Delays at crucial points during the development of the brain in the womb may explain why people with a condition linked to autism do not like hugs...

By Jeremy Laurance Latest psychiatrist's bible is criticised for pathologising people's everyday habits This may come as unwelcome news to the millions of men who, surveys suggest, think about sex at least once every 20 minutes: you may be suffering from "hypersexual disorder". It is also likely to irritate the millions of women who feel grumpy at a certain time ...

Canadian researchers say their findings challenge the idea marijuana tempers Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found the treated mice had just as much plaque formation and the same density of neurons as the control group. However, the group given higher doses actually had fewer brain cells. "As scientists, we begin every study hoping to ...

By Sarah Cassidy Social Affairs Correspondent Plans to raise the retirement age to 68 will cause hardship for millions because three-quarters of people could be too ill to work, a Government-commissioned report warns today. All but the richest Britons are dying early and suffering years of ill health because of "unfair and unjust" inequalities. The richest live seven years longer ...

Thought this article might raise a smile or two.

A popular antidepressant could interfere with a breast cancer drug and lead to a greater risk of death, researchers have said. Women taking the antidepressant paroxetine (brand name Seroxat) alongside tamoxifen for breast cancer were more likely to die from the disease than women on other antidepressants, a study found. The researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), said ...

A diagnosis of cancer is traumatic. Speedy test results, a sympathetic doctor and rapid access to treatment all help to alleviate the anxiety. But one of the most persistent complaints among patients, with cancer and with other long-term conditions, is the ever changing panoply of health care staff. Labour's proposal to introduce dedicated cancer nurse specialists to provide one-to-one care ...

By Lyndsay Moss Health Correspondent It would never have happened in Dr Finlay's day. Rising numbers of GPs are having to seek legal advice on how to deal with "difficult" patients. With public expectations of the NHS soaring and increased awareness of the complaints system, doctors are reporting an increase in confrontations behind surgery doors. The Medical and Dental Defence ...

By Kate Loveys Couples are to be offered a gene test over the internet which will screen for more than 100 inherited diseases, it emerged yesterday. The saliva test, which identifies if a parent is carrying genetic mutations that could cause life-threatening illnesses, is likely to provoke ethical controversy. It is to set to be launched within weeks in the ...

By Gayle Ritchie The myth that women become infertile when they hit 35 is being exposed. More and more of us are having unplanned pregnancies in our late 30s and 40s. While many over 35s do struggle to conceive, figures show the birth rate in over 35s has shot up. The truth is, if you are still having regular periods ...

By Jane Kirby Women with breast cancer could be spared unnecessary treatments after experts discovered fewer, larger, doses were just as effective in battling the disease. A lower overall course of radiotherapy delivered as fewer, larger, doses also resulted in fewer skin changes in a clinical trial. Other side-effects - such as hardness, swelling, sensitivity and pain and stiffness - ...