“Is this the solution to Alzheimer’s?” asks the Mail Online. Sadly, the headline is an overblown reaction to a small, poor-quality and arguably overhyped study. Researchers tested 2 mixtures of nutritional supplements on 25 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. There was no comparison group taking a placebo supplement or alternative treatment. The potential benefits aren’t based
“‘Helicopter parenting’ linked to behavioural problems in children,” reports The Independent. Helicopter parenting is a term describing what some people see as over-protective and over-controlling parental behaviour. The term is based on the image of a parent constantly “hovering” over a child, allowing them little opportunity for freedom of action. A study of 422 children
“Common drugs may stop sepsis, say doctors,” reports the Times. This is a simplistic take on a complex laboratory study that aimed to better understand why children and adults respond differently to sepsis infection, and that tried to identify potential new drug therapies to treat sepsis. Sepsis is a rare but serious complication of infection
“Women who wake up early as they get older are less likely to develop depression than those who love a lie-in,” the Mail Online reports. US researchers wanted to see if women’s chronotype – whether they were “early birds” or “night owls” – had an impact on their risk of depression. The researchers looked at
“Cannabis addiction rising among women and over 40s,” BBC News reports. Cannabis remains the most widely used illegal recreational drug in the UK. While it’s often see as a “young person’s drug”, a new study suggests this may not be entirely true. Researchers requested data from Public Health England (PHE) on the number of people
“Fifty-year-olds with slightly raised blood pressure are at an increased risk of getting dementia in later life,” The Independent reports. A long-running study of 8,639 British civil servants found that people who had blood pressure above the ideal level – but below that used to diagnose high blood pressure – were more than a third
“Could your medications be making you depressed?” asks BBC News, reporting on a new US study looking into possible links between prescription drugs and depression. Researchers looked at prescriptions issued to 26,192 adults in the US between 2005 and 2014. They found that more than a third had used medicines with depression as a possible
“Prostate cancer spit test is trialled,” reports BBC Online. They say that this test looks at men’s DNA to see if they have “high-risk [prostate cancer] genes that are thought to affect 1 in every 100 men”. The BBC reports that the test has started to be trialled in 3 London GP surgeries. As yet,
“New hope for type 1 diabetes,” reports The Express after a study showed insulin production in people with type 1 diabetes falls for about 7 years before stabilising. Insulin is a hormone used to control the amount of glucose in the blood. People with type 1 diabetes produce antibodies that destroy their insulin-producing cells, so
“Vaping ‘stronger e-cigarettes means ex-smokers inhale fewer cancer-causing toxins,” reports the Sun. This is based on a small study of just 20 e-cigarette users. It found those given low-nicotine rather than high-nicotine devices used them more intensely, potentially increasing their exposure to toxins in the vapour. When using the low-nicotine liquids, people generally felt a
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