We have come a long way since 1991 when Diana, Princess of Wales was photographed sitting by the bedsides of people with HIV and our screens were flooded with terrifying images of gigantic, collapsing tombstones. In the past 25 years, drugs to treat this previously life-threatening illness have evolved from multiple pills to single pill […]
In advance of The Hippocratic Post’s debate #TheEndofHIV sponsored by Gilead and hosted by ApothecariesLDN on 8th May, watch this short animation from The National Aids Trust. Panel for the debate includes Professor Jane Anderson – The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries Yusef Azad – Director of Strategy, National Aids Trust, Dr Michael Brady – Medical Director, Terrence Higgins Trust […]
NICE guidelines published last year recommended that all bowel cancer patients should be tested at diagnosis for signs of Lynch syndrome but we know that this isn’t happening in eight out of 10 NHS hospitals in England. It’s absolutely vital that these guidelines are followed because Lynch syndrome, which is an inherited condition, can increase […]
We could be just years away from eliminating trachoma, one of the world’s oldest diseases, says Dr Caroline Harper CBE, CEO of Sightsavers. ‘Last week I stood in front of hundreds of entrepreneurs, tech visionaries and creative thinkers at TED2018 with a pair of tweezers hanging from a chain around my neck. I was in Vancouver […]
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Yesterday was bittersweet, as I discharged my favourite patient from the MSF facility in Bangladesh where I have been working. She is 8 years old, and in many ways, she is one of the lucky ones. Having managed to escape Myanmar with her whole family, everyone made it across the border into Bangladesh and into […]
Dramatic drop in global measles cases: In 2016, an estimated 90 000 people died from measles – an 84% drop from more than 550 000 deaths in 2000 – according to a new report published by leading health organizations. This marks the first time global measles deaths have fallen below 100 000 per year. ‘Saving […]
Climate itself is a basic determinant of the distribution of malaria in the world. As the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, “Climate can influence all three components of the life cycle. It is thus a key determinant in the geographic distribution and the seasonality of malaria.”[1] Thus for anopheles mosquitoes there […]
Evidence now shows that around 70 per cent of your immune system depends on having a healthy micro biome in your gut. That means the good bacteria are in balance and they help protect the body against infection and disease. Unfortunately, due to widespread use of antibiotics, and unhealthy diets that do not support the micro biome, […]
ME is not a very useful term. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis derives from Ancient Greek. Myalgic meaning painful muscles and fibres and Encephalomyelitis meaning inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Those labelled with ME rarely have actual evidence of brain or nerve inflammation, so it is simply a label and not a very descriptive one at […]
The antibiotic group of medication has undoubtedly been responsible for relieving suffering and saving more lives than any other collective of drugs. How ironic, then, that these drugs now have the capability of potentially creating an apocalyptic plague due to bacteria becoming resistant to even the most powerful antimicrobials. Exposure of bacteria to antibiotics leads […]
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