[ad_1] Getty ImagesHow are you feeling?There has been a vibe in BBC HQ that friends, colleagues and family have been having a grottier year than usual – shaking off one cold only to rapidly catch another, rolling from infection to infection.“The reality is we're lacking data and so we have got a lot of anecdote,” says Prof Jonathan Ball, from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.So what could be going on?It's
[ad_1] Blood testing partnership Synnovis has warned that its hacked blood transfusion services may not be fully functioning again until the autumn.Its systems fell victim to ransomware hackers and the pathology partnership says it has rebuilt many of the 60 which were affected.The hackers made systems unusable unless a payment was received and caused significant disruption, with hundreds of operations and thousands of appointments cancelled.Synnovis said the blood transfusion services
[ad_1] Getty ImagesThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) has rejected a licence for an Alzheimer’s treatment which slows cognitive decline. The EMA said the benefits of lecanemab did not counterbalance the risk of serious side effects, especially bleeding and swelling in the brain. The medicines regulator in the UK, the MHRA, is still considering whether to grant a licence, and a decision is expected soon. The drug was approved in the
[ad_1] Karen Farquharson, 50, successfully sued for unfair dismissal over her menopause symptomsA mother who faced a "nightmare" in the workplace during the menopause hopes new research will help women be treated more fairly.Karen Farquharson, 50, of Aberdeen, successfully sued for unfair dismissal and harassment after being told she used the menopause as an excuse for everything."Work-wise I just felt that I couldn't cope anymore," she said. "I just didn't
[ad_1] BBCLara Basini-Millar claims she was subject to a "witch hunt" by fellow midwivesA midwife who makes popular videos on TikTok advising women about giving birth claims she was bullied out of her job by "jealous" colleagues.Lara Basini-Millar, who posts under the name midwifemillar, said a "clique" of fellow midwives had created a WhatsApp group chat to criticise her videos and that she had been the subject of a “witch
[ad_1] BBCMatthew Sharp has been unable to leave hospital for nearly a yearA disabled man has spent nearly 10 months in a busy general hospital because no suitable home has been found for him in the community.Matthew Sharp, who has a range of complex conditions, says he has been left in limbo while his local NHS and council try to decide who is responsible for his care.Council bosses in England
[ad_1] Being vaccinated against shingles may also help delay getting a dementia diagnosis - a study in the journal Nature Medicine suggests. The work builds on previous suggestions that a shingles jab may have this unintended benefit. Researchers compared some 100,000 people who had a new shingles jab to a similar group who had an older one.On average, those who had the new jab had an extra 164 days free
[ad_1] Getty ImagesThe NHS is appealing for people with O-type blood to urgently come forward and donate, after blood stocks dropped to "unprecedently low" levels in England. Officials said it follows a "perfect storm" of unfilled appointments at donor centres and increased demand following a cyber-attack which has affected services in London.O-negative blood - known as the universal blood type - is safe for all patients. It is used in
[ad_1] Getty ImagesThe anti-obesity injection Wegovy contains the drug semaglutideWeight-loss treatment Wegovy has been approved by the UK's medicines regulator, for reducing the risk of serious heart problems in overweight and obese people.Wegovy contains the drug semaglutide, which is already prescribed on the NHS to help some people with a body-mass index (BMI) above 26 lose weight.And it now becomes the first anti-obesity drug to be used to control heart
[ad_1] Getty ImagesThere is no evidence of a large rise in suicides in young patients attending a gender identity clinic in London, an independent review has found.Professor Louis Appleby was asked by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to examine the data following claims made by campaigners of a rise in suicide rates since puberty-blocking drugs were restricted at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in 2020.Prof Appleby's review concludes "the data
