This week three-person babies, Alzheimer’s and stroke warning signs dominated the news.
Doctors have been granted permission to create the first three-person babies
Doctors in Newcastle have been granted permission to create the country’s first three-person babies for women who at risk of passing on devastating diseases to their children. The process was made legal by Parliament in 2015, however, has yet to be undertaken. The two women carry gene mutations that cause Merrf syndrome.
Read more on The Guardian
A blood test has been developed that can detect proteins linked to Alzheimer’s
Scientists in Japan and Australia have developed an early stage blood test that detects the build-up of toxic proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Whilst the discovery needs further testing, it has proven to be 90% accurate in trials. The blood test will be cheaper than brain scanning, widening access to important tests. Whilst there are no plans as yet to change treatment, the study holds great promise for Alzheimer’s clinical trials.
Read more on The Independent.
Stroke warning issued to middle aged adults
Public Health England (PHE) data shows that almost one in 10 strokes occur in middle-aged adults. This is believed to be due to people living more sedentary lives and eating and drinking too much. In 2016, 57,000 people had a stroke for the first time in England, and more than 30,000 people died from a stroke. It is because of this that PHE have relaunched their Act F.A.S.T. campaign, raising the four tell-tale signs of a stroke: face; arms; speech; and time.
Read more on i News
Two thirds of UK adults have no one to talk to about their problems.
The campaign, Time to Change, has found that of 2,500 people they interviewed, 66% said they had no one to speak to about mental health, relationships or money. This comes off the back of the Prime Minister appointing a Tracey Crouch MP as Minister for Loneliness. Further research by the campaign found that almost 200,000 older people had not had a conversation with a relative or friend in over a month.
Read more on BBC.
University College London and the BBC find commuters could be at risk of hearing loss from the tube
A study from University College London and the BBC that recorded noise on the tube for one week found that the noises on some lines could leave commuters with serious hearing problems. The Victoria Line was found to be the noisiest with parts of the Northern and Jubilee lines also leaving commuters requiring hearing protection if they were workplaces.
Read more on The Telegraph
Quote of the week – Adam Kay’s six ways to save the NHS:
“The NHS is fit for purpose and it’s time to give up stroking the malicious rumour there is something ineluctably unsustainable about it. Of course it’s a different service from when it was established in the 1940s, but it was actually working perfectly well until… umm… about five years ago.”
Read more in The Guardian