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11/05/2008 - Breast vs bottle: the new battleground (The Independent)
Efforts to encourage more women to breastfeed are being threatened by "aggressive" lobbying directed at the Government by the baby milk manufacturing industry, campaigners warned yesterday.
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11/05/2008 - Call for vaccine opt-out penalty (BBC)
Tough sanctions are being proposed for parents who refuse routine vaccinations, such as MMR.
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11/05/2008 - Drugs blunders hit five patients a day (The Scotsman)
Scotland: FIVE hospital patients a day are put at risk as a result of blunders over drug prescriptions, an investigation by Scotland on Sunday has revealed.
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11/05/2008 - Grouse eaters braced for US health warning (The Scotsman)
IT'S enough to make a Highland laird choke on his porridge. American researchers claim diners who eat grouse or deer meat killed on the Scottish hills could be at risk of lead poisoning.
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11/05/2008 - Incubators may be linked to higher risk of cot death (The Independent)
Life-saving incubators may cause babies to die later from cot death, startling new research suggests.
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11/05/2008 - Scots doctors pioneer trial to remove 'mad cow' risk from donated blood (The Scotsman)
THE world's first trial to make blood transfusions free of the human form of 'mad cow disease' has been launched by doctors in Scotland.
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11/05/2008 - Spending sprees plunge mental health patients into chronic debt (The Independent)
People with mental health problems are three times more likely to be debt-ridden than the general population as personal borrowing reaches record levels in the UK.
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10/05/2008 - Depressed fathers 'hit learning' (BBC)
Depressed fathers may hinder their child's language development, US research suggests.
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10/05/2008 - Scientists' protest discouraged (BBC)
Scientists are being discouraged from attending Parliament to show their support for proposed embryology and fertility legislation.
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10/05/2008 - Suckers for trendy treatment (Telegraph)
PUK Comment: In modern times, medicinal Leeches have been used to good effect in osteoarthritis of the knee and hand, plastic or re-attachment surgery, penile replantation, haematomas and severe tongue enlargement. But now, a celebrity has found a use for which there is no evidence of benefit.
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09/05/2008 - Abortion: the battle lines are drawn (The Independent)
A study of the survival rates of premature babies has provided a vital boost to pro-choice campaigners, ahead of one of the most significant parliamentary debates on abortion for a generation.
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09/05/2008 - Caveman fad diet (NHS Choices)
'Eat like a caveman for a healthy heart', is the headline in The Daily Telegraph today. It and several other newspapers report on a new study which claims that a 'paleolithic'...
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09/05/2008 - Children's peers are best people to warn of smoking dangers (The Independent)
The most important health warning that parents can give their children - don't smoke - is best delivered by their friends, researchers have found.
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09/05/2008 - Diphtheria fear after child dies (The Scotsman)
A CHILD in London has died from suspected diphtheria ' the first such fatality in Britain for 14 years.
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09/05/2008 - Europeans get drunk 'to have sex' (BBC)
Some teenagers and young adults get high on drink and drugs to improve their sex lives, research suggests.
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09/05/2008 - Half city's youth 'take cocaine' (BBC)
More than 50% of young people in Liverpool admit to having taken cocaine, a new report claims.
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09/05/2008 - HIV funding priority shift call (BBC)
Funding for HIV prevention is being wasted on strategies which have little impact, say US researchers.
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09/05/2008 - Promises made over NHS overhaul (BBC)
Ministers have sought to allay fears over the forthcoming overhaul of the NHS in England.
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09/05/2008 - Warning over malaria dangers (The Scotsman)
AN Edinburgh pharmacist has warned sunseekers to take malaria health advice more seriously before heading abroad.
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08/05/2008 - Adults with autism to be audited (BBC)
For the first time the government is to calculate the number of adults with autism in England.
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08/05/2008 - Cannabis crackdown 'makes little difference' (The Scotsman)
RESTORING cannabis to its former class B status will make "very little difference" to levels of consumption, one of Scotland's leading drug experts has warned.
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08/05/2008 - Confusion over official advice on healthy diet (The Independent)
Most people are increasing their chances of developing heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions later in life by failing to eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, r...
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08/05/2008 - Deadly virus threatens China's children (The Independent)
Chinese health authorities are grappling with a virus that has killed 28 children and is set to claim more lives, with reports of a preliminary cover-up of the highly contagious disease echoing the Sars epidemic of 2003. PUK Comment: This appears to be due to a rare but more serious form of Hand Foot and Mouth disease caused by enterovirus 71 (EV71). In the UK, Hand Foot and Mouth disease is normally a short, mild, illness.
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08/05/2008 - Doctors to be consulted on easier abortions plan (The Independent)
Abortions could be carried out in family planning clinics, GP-run polyclinics and cottage hospitals after the Government claimed that pilot schemes designed to make access to terminations easier for women had been successful.
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08/05/2008 - Jab urged after diphtheria death (BBC)
Infectious disease experts have warned parents to check their children are vaccinated after suspected death from diphtheria.
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08/05/2008 - Obesity increases Alzheimer's risk (The Scotsman)
OBESITY can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease by up to 80 per cent, researchers say. PUK Comment: there have been a number of recent scientific studies linking general and abdominal obesity with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life.
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08/05/2008 - Scotland's Alcohol Shame: Hungover middle-class parents who leave children to fend for themselves (The Scotsman)
PARENTS are damaging their children through their alcohol use without realising they are doing it, experts believe.
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08/05/2008 - Stillbirth rate not coming down (BBC)
Stillbirth rates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not decreasing, according to a report.
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08/05/2008 - Trial tests lung cancer screening (BBC)
PUK Comment: A trial where COPD Patients are to be screened for early signs of lung cancer and offered treatment.
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08/05/2008 - Weight link to dementia (NHS Choices)
A 'behind the headlines' assessment of the recent news story that 'Obesity doubles the risk of Alzheimer's'.
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07/05/2008 - Alcohol 'main staff welfare risk' (BBC)
Most employers questioned in a survey believe alcohol is the biggest threat to workers' well-being.
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07/05/2008 - Care home ratings 'may mislead' (BBC)
New star ratings for care homes in England have been criticised for giving a misleading impression.
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07/05/2008 - Experts target women as middle-class drinkers face health threat (The Scotsman)
WOMEN who overindulge by consuming too much wine are to be targeted in efforts to tackle Scotland's dangerous alcohol culture, it emerged yesterday. (PUK Comment: There is an increased risk of breast cancer in regular heavy drinkers)
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07/05/2008 - Facial symmetry and gender perception (NHS Choices)
Beauty is an advert for good genes, reports The Daily Telegraph today. It says that 'research conducted across cultures and species', has found that not only are...
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07/05/2008 - Health fears over drug services (BBC)
More must be done by treatment services to stop drugs users harming themselves, a health watchdog says.
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07/05/2008 - Quitting smoking has rapid benefits (NHS Choices)
'People who give up smoking begin to improve their health almost immediately', The Guardian reported today. It goes on to report that a study looking at more than 100,000 women between...
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07/05/2008 - Quitting smoking has rapid health benefits (NHS Choices)
'People who give up smoking begin to improve their health almost immediately', The Guardian reported today. It goes on to report that a study looking at more than 100,000 women between...
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07/05/2008 - Reefer madness: Do the drug laws work? (The Independent)
Defying the weight of medical and scientific opinion, Gordon Brown is to order tougher new laws today on cannabis possession. The Prime Minister has decided to overrule his own expert advisers and reverse the downgrading four years ago of Britain's favourite illegal drug from a class B to a class C substance, threatening cannabis smokers with five-year prison terms.
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07/05/2008 - Treatment 'slashes baby HIV risk' (BBC)
Effective action almost eradicates the risk that a pregnant woman with HIV will pass it to her child, research concludes.
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07/05/2008 - Ventilator superbug resistant to antibiotics (The Scotsman)
HOSPITALS face a dangerous new superbug threat in the form of a drug-resistant microbe that clings to catheters and ventilation tubes.
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06/05/2008 - Baby bottle chemical label call (BBC)
Parents need more information about a controversial chemical found in plastic baby bottles, a childbirth charity says.
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06/05/2008 - Breastfed babies 'are more intelligent' (NHS Choices)
A 'behing dht headlines' assessment of the recent news story that breast-fed babies grow into more intelligent children, with IQs up to eight points higher than those who are bottle fed.
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06/05/2008 - Breastfed children have higher IQs, say scientists (The Scotsman)
FOR years, health workers have argued breast is best and claimed that breastfeeding your child can help guard against childhood diseases and allergies.
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06/05/2008 - Breastfeeding 'helps to boost IQ' (BBC)
A major study adds to growing evidence suggesting breastfeeding boosts a child's intelligence.
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06/05/2008 - Call to end 'lottery' of asthma treatment (The Scotsman)
CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a national asthma strategy for Scotland, saying treatment for sufferers across the country is a "lottery".
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06/05/2008 - Drink Nation: Scotland's alcohol abuse costs £2.25bn a year (The Scotsman)
ALCOHOL abuse is costing Scotland more than £2.25 billion a year ' double the previous estimate ' The Scotsman can reveal. But that massive figure is still considered to be a
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06/05/2008 - Early diet may keep Alzheimer's risk at arms length (The Scotsman)
LEGGY women and lanky men not only have a height advantage, they are less likely to develop Alzheimer's, a study suggests.
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06/05/2008 - Fears over children on anti-pyschotic drugs (The Scotsman)
THE number of children being treated with anti-psychotic drugs has risen sharply, according to a new study.
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06/05/2008 - Firm 'misled' over malaria drug (BBC)
Cosmetics chain Neal's Yard stops selling a homeopathic drug after watchdogs said customers were being misled that it could treat malaria.
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06/05/2008 - GPs lose right to dispense drugs in shake-up of rural health services (The Independent)
Up to three million NHS patients could lose the right to obtain prescription drugs from their GP under proposals to boost the development of rural pharmacies in Britain.
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06/05/2008 - NHS staff dub e-records 'clunky' (BBC)
The initial experience of electronic patient records is of "clunky" and "immature" technology, a study finds.
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06/05/2008 - Painkiller may cut dementia risk (BBC)
Long-term use of ibuprofen may reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease, a large US study reports.
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06/05/2008 - 'Seven genetic types of ME' found (BBC)
Geneticists identify a biological basis for seven different subtypes of chronic fatigue syndrome.
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06/05/2008 - Variation in child asthma care (BBC)
There is an eight-fold difference in children admitted to some hospitals for asthma attacks, a charity warns.
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05/05/2008 - Doctors warn of 'cowboy clinics' if laser therapy is deregulated (The Independent)
Doctors specialising in cosmetic treatments are warning of a growing problem of "cowboy clinics" using lasers without proper training or controls and endangering patients.
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05/05/2008 - Tan binges put young at risk (The Scotsman)
YOUNG people are risking their lives by indulging in "binge tanning", Cancer Research UK warned today.
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04/05/2008 - Fat cell numbers 'set for life' (BBC)
No amount of dieting will alter the number of fat-hoarding cells in our bodies, research has suggested.
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04/05/2008 - Health tourist checks 'not done' (BBC)
Around a third of hospitals in England and Wales are ignoring government advice to charge foreign visitors for NHS treatment.
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04/05/2008 - Safety fears rise over unlicensed 'flab jab' (The Independent)
It's been hailed as the new Botox, but a drug that promises to "melt fat" is not safe as a quick-fix beauty treatment.
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03/05/2008 - 'Extreme Atkins' diet can treat epilepsy in children (The Independent)
Doctors have confirmed that a special high-fat diet can help children seriously afflicted with epilepsy.
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