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Inside Health

Latest episodes

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Aug 8, 2017 • 28min

Breast density; Health education; Switching outcomes

Breast Density - the major risk factor for breast cancer that you may have never heard of. Health Education - a long term approach to changing attitudes to illness by encouraging children to be less dependent on doctors and pills. Switching Outcomes - one reason why so few clinical trials result in real changes in practice that benefit patients.
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Aug 1, 2017 • 28min

Antibiotics, Lung Cancer, Dying of a Broken Heart, Gender Bias

Margaret McCartney unpicks recent headlines suggesting its okay not to finish your antibiotics; Lung Cancer screening in the high risk; Can you die a broken heart? Evidence suggests this is a real condition called Takotsubo syndrome and is much more common than previously thought. And gender bias in trials.
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Jul 25, 2017 • 28min

PPIs, Aspirin and cancer, Radiotherapy and smoking

There are growing concerns about the widespread use of PPIs, the acid suppressing family of drugs used to treat indigestion and the most prescribed in the world. They are recommended to be used for weeks in typical cases of heartburn, but most people including Mark, take them for months or years. But one reason why PPIs are being used so widely is to protect the lining of the gut from aspirin and combining these two drugs may also have benefits against cancer. Mark hears preliminary findings on the so called chemo-protective effects of aspirin. And radiotherapy is a crucial part of modern cancer treatment so why does it get so little attention compared to drugs? Plus why radiation and smoking are particularly poor bedfellows.
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Jul 18, 2017 • 28min

Hepatitis B vaccine, Sheds, Obesity Paradox, Taking part in clinical trials

The Hepatitis B vaccine has been added to the childhood national programme joining the 5 vaccines already given to all young babies at 8, 12 and 16 weeks. Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection & Immunity at the University of Oxford, and Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, explains why.Margaret McCartney and Mark Porter visit men in north London looking for the physical and mental benefits of community sheds. The obesity paradox - can being overweight sometimes be beneficial? Gavin Murphy, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Leicester and Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, debate the latest research suggesting that obese people are more likely to survive heart surgery than their slimmer peers. Are clinical trials good for you? We examine the evidence behind conventional wisdom that people taking part in research tend to fare better - whatever their illness.
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Jul 11, 2017 • 28min

Robo-docs, using AI to diagnose; Pancreatic cancer; Statins and muscle aches

Are we on the cusp of a new era where computers rather than doctors will be doing the diagnosing. Ali Parsa, founder of Babylon Health, believes we are and is developing an online tool using artificial intelligence that diagnoses quicker and more accurately than a doctor. He debates the issues with resident sceptic Dr Margaret McCartney. Mark Porter visits the world's first national tissue bank for pancreatic cancer, set up to aid research into a disease that has seen no outcome improvement for over 40 years. Plus statins and muscle aches; could the drugs' bad press in the media actually increase the odds of people experiencing side effects - the so called nocebo effect?
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Jul 4, 2017 • 28min

High costs of cheap medicines, Can a simple blood test help identify cancer, undescended testes, Aspirin

Price rises of everyday medicines due to some manufacturers utilising monopolies; Can a simple routine blood test help identify cancer; A definitive guide on undescended testes with evidence for the best time to intervene if a baby boy's testes do not drop and the downsides of delay; Aspirin and the risk of stomach bleeds in the elderly.
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Mar 21, 2017 • 28min

Cholesterol-lowering drug, Defibrillators, Post-traumatic stress disorder and heart disease, Lack of drugs in pregnancy

Statins have dominated the cholesterol-lowering field for some years but last week the results of an international trial of Evolocumab, one a new breed of medicines for reducing cholesterol, was hailed as a breakthrough. Professor Peter Sever, one of the leaders of the trial, explains how Evolocumab differs from statins and Dr Margaret McCartney takes a look at the trial.You may have noticed them in work places, gyms, and other public spaces but do you know how and when to use a defibrillator? Every time someone has a cardiac arrest and CPR is performed we should also be running for the nearest defibrillator. But currently this only happens in 2-3% of cardiac arrests, putting thousands of lives at risk every year. Mark speaks to teacher Erica Melsom and the pupil, Alex Cowes, whose life she saved by using the school defibrillator. Professor Gavin Perkins explains why and when we should run and get one. And Mark demonstrates just how simple they are to use, even if you've never touched one before.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, a psychological condition which can begin after a traumatic event and last for many years, is the equivalent for your cardiovascular system of smoking 10 cigarettes a day. Dr Donald Edmondson explains how extreme stress takes a toll on our arteries.More than 80% of pregnant women take at least one prescribed medication and yet very few of these drugs are actually licensed for use in pregnancy. Mark talks to Professor Anna David about why there has been a reluctance to license medications for use in pregnancy, what impact that has for pregnant women, and what needs to change.Producer: Lorna Stewart.
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Mar 14, 2017 • 28min

Bisphosphonates, IBS and diet, CRP test for infection, Randomisation

Clarification of new evidence that Bisphosphonates for osteoporosis may actually weaken bones if people are left on them for too long ; Dietary change using FODMAPS to treat Irritable bowel syndrome when medicines have not worked; CRP testing for chest infections to identify which need antibiotics; And Mark eats humble pie for getting clinical terminology mixed up.
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Mar 8, 2017 • 28min

Opt-out organ donation; your body after death; what time of day to take blood pressure medication

More than 6500 people are currently on the national transplant waiting list, hoping for an organ to be donated which might save their lives. Many of them will wait for years and, sadly, hundreds will die before a suitable organ becomes available. The low supply of organs remains the main restriction on performing lifesaving transplant surgery. The British Medical Association believes that moving to an opt-out donation system - where people who die without expressing whether or not they wish to donate their organs will be presumed to be willing to donate - would increase donation rates and save lives. The system has been in place in Wales since December 2015 and now the BMA says it's time the rest of the UK followed the Welsh model. Dr Margaret McCartney discusses with Dr Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association Welsh Council. An area of medicine not often discussed on Inside Health is pathology. Mark visits the morgue at St Mary's Hospital in London to speak to pathologist Mike Osborn. What happens to your body after death? What is rigor mortis? And how much do crime dramas on TV get right?Finally, what time of day should you be taking your blood pressure medication? Millions of people take drugs to control their blood pressure and reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes. Most people will take their medications in the morning but with many heart attacks and strokes happening during nighttime hours, just when the medication might be wearing off, should we be considering evening dosing instead? A new online trial has enrolled 21,000 people and aims to find out what time of day is best to take blood pressure medications. Mark speaks to Dr Amy Rogers from the University of Dundee who is in charge of the trial.Producer: Lorna Stewart.
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Feb 28, 2017 • 28min

Smoking in pregnancy; Lifestyle targets; Thyroid cancer; Flossing

New moves to test pregnant women for smoking by measuring carbon monoxide on their breath. How helpful are lifestyle targets like 10 portions of fruit and veg or 10, 000 steps a day? The incidence of thyroid cancer has tripled in 40 years, but many of the tumours picked up are on scans for something else and may never have caused harm. Mark Porter debates the issues. Plus this week's uncertainty question for Margaret McCartney and Carl Heneghan, to floss or not to floss?

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