Safe marathon running

The exceptional April heatwave has meant that the London Marathon organisers have said runners are not to come in fancy dress this year.  Here Emma Hammett of First Aid for Life discusses what you need to know to run the The Virgin London Marathon safely this weekend. What to wear: Correct clothing for the weather: Check the […]

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Eliminating the vicious eye disease, trachoma

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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Bittersweet goodbyes with MSF in Bangladesh

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 […]

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Popular diabetes drug may not reduce risk of death

One class of drug used to treat type 2 diabetes may not reduce the risk of death when compared with placebo, suggests new findings. But two other commonly prescribed drugs do significantly reduce mortality and could perhaps be better options. The research, led by scientists from Imperial College London and published in the Journal of […]

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HFEA wrong to criticise foreign IVF clinics

There has been a lot said about foreign IVF clinics and ‘false hope’ in recent days. You may have seen headlines screaming that ‘vulnerable’ couples ‘desperate’ to a have a baby are being ‘enticed’ by overseas IVF clinics. The clinics, it was claimed, had inflated their own success rates in a bid to make them look […]

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The life and times of a therapy dog

Lara was adopted from Battersea Dogs Home and became a therapy dog by default due to my job as a psychotherapist at the Priory’s Hospital Bristol. The therapy Lara provides in my sessions doesn’t require any formal training, however, she is registered with the national organisation Pets as Therapy as a therapy animal which ensures that interactions […]

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Up with the larks for a longer life

“Night owls” – people who like to stay up late and have trouble dragging themselves out of bed in the morning – have a higher risk of dying sooner than “larks,” people who have a natural preference for going to bed early and rise with the sun, according to a new study from the University […]

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Gender reconstructive surgery – winning the waiting game

When it comes to gender reconstructive surgery, if you could sum-up the patient experience in one word, chances are you’d use ‘waiting’. The patient may have known from their early teens they weren’t comfortable in their own skin, yet they were forced to wait until they could do anything about it. If they initially sought help […]

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Twinship: a subversive relationship

Twins generate a great deal of excitement and curiosity, and with the increasing frequency of twin births as a result of IVF and later age of conception, amongst other factors, it is important to understand the true nature of twinship and how it affects, and is affected by, us all. In particular, we need to […]

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Understanding eating disorders

Researchers have moved a step closer to understanding eating disorders – a move which could ultimately lead to better diagnosis and treatment of the conditions. It is estimated the NHS spends around £1.6 billion a year on eating disorders, but despite these efforts anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of all psychiatric conditions, with […]

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