Health (Page 110)

This episode of The Conversation’s In Depth Out Loud podcast features a report from two doctors on the frontline of the second wave of coronavirus in Liverpool. Tom Wingfield, an infectious diseases physician at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Liverpool, and Miriam Taegtmeyer, professor of global health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, describe what it’s like for healthcare workers who continue to put their lives and those of their families on the line. They describe arriving at work to face daily, sometimes dangerous, staff shortages but also seeing the inherent resourcefulness of NHS healthcare workers. Some specialist colleagues have expanded their care to cover or lead COVID-19 wards. Other hospital doctors have “upskilled” to lookContinue Reading

Water-based exercises have many benefits. tache/ Shutterstock Swimming, aqua-aerobics, and other water-based exercises are popular for people aged 55 and older to keep fit without putting strain on the joints. Studies show that water-based exercises have many benefits, including improving gait, balance and mobility. It’s also thought to offer benefits as part of rehabilitation programmes for peripheral arterial disease, in which arteries in the legs, stomach, arms and head narrow. But while water-based exercises are shown to have benefits for other aspects of health, until now there’s been limited evidence on whether it’s as beneficial on reducing cardiovascular disease risk for older adults and improving their heart health. Our latest study explored the long-term effects of regular, water-based aerobic exerciseContinue Reading

Rugby World Cup winners have joined a chorus of voices calling to reduce tackling in the sport in a bid to stop the growing number of brain injuries afflicting many of its former players. When the likes of 42-year-old Rugby World Cup winner, Steve Thompson, announced that he could not remember the tournament because his brain was left too damaged from his career, he highlighted that rugby, in its current state, is not fit for contemporary society. Invented in the 1800s, when safety was far less of a concern, rugby has been resistant to change. But this week, Thompson and 80 other high profile former rugby players announced that they are living with dementia, with many experiencing as early asContinue Reading

Our AI made its predictions by looking at how cells changes and act under different conditions in the body. elenabsl/ Shutterstock Machine learning technologies are everywhere. They’re used by search engines, social media, and even in online banking. But one area that this technology is still emerging is medicine. Machine learning technologies could be very promising in medicine, and could be used for many applications, such as detecting signs of disease in cells, or discovering new drugs for rare diseases. But in order for a machine learning approach to be able to do such things, it needs to be both accurate and able to understand how cells work. Our team has developed an accurate machine learning approach that can predictContinue Reading

Lucky Business/Shutterstock From birthdays to weddings and graduations, this year has seen many personal celebrations cancelled, while communal festivities such as Bonfire Night, Eid and Diwali either haven’t been celebrated or have been more subdued. So it might feel tempting to downplay Christmas too, especially with concerns that people mixing more freely could lead to a third wave of COVID-19. However, it will be more important this year than ever before to engage in the celebrations and rituals of Christmas and New Year. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that entering wholeheartedly into the spirit of the season – while keeping to 2020’s limitations – will be very good for our mental health. After a tough year, this might beContinue Reading

Lightspring/Shutterstock It’s Christmas 2020 and COVID-19 is unfortunately still here. Many people will be visiting loved ones, including vulnerable family members. So, to try to keep our loved ones safe during this festive period, there are two questions we need to answer: what’s the best thing to do for me and my family this Christmas? And if we gather with others, what’s the safest way to do so? The safest Christmas is within one household Under the UK government’s new rules, three households can form a “Christmas bubble” from December 23 to December 27. Your bubble can mix indoors and have overnight stays. However, we now know that most transmission of coronavirus happens indoors, particularly in crowded and poorly ventilatedContinue Reading

The use of puberty blocking drugs to treat adolescents with gender dysphoria or incongruence has recently come under scrutiny following a decision by the UK High Court. Three judges ruled that children under 16 were unlikely to be able to give informed consent to undergo such treatment. The case has raised questions about the effects so-called puberty blockers have on adolescents, whether the drugs are safe and whether their effects are reversible. The difficulty in answering these questions is that the evidence for the use of these drugs on adolescents with gender incongruence is limited, and more research is needed. But while treating gender incongruence with puberty blockers is a relatively recent application, these drugs have been used on childrenContinue Reading

There are many ways to control pain. Ken Tackett/Shutterstock.com Women have always used different methods to try and reduce pain during childbirth. Over the years these methods have included inhaling opiates, a warm compress, magical charms and even sprinkling animal dung in a hot drink. Anaesthesia started to be used in childbirth in the 1800s, typically involving ether or chloroform. Today, drugs such as nitrous oxide (gas and air), epidurals and pethidine are regularly used during labour. Epidural is the most comprehensive option, a type of anaesthetic that is injected into the back, numbing the nerves that carry the pain impulses. Pethidine is injected into the thigh or buttock. It works as more of a relaxant, by mimicking the naturalContinue Reading

For many people a stroke is a life-changing experience that involves a long and difficult recovery. Shutterstock Every year in the UK more than 100,000 people have a stroke – a life-threatening event that occurs when blood supply to the brain is cut off. For those who survive, a stroke can result in long-term physical, cognitive, emotional and psychological consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic is having a drastic effect on the mental health and wellbeing of stroke survivors and their carers. This has coincided with vital post-stroke rehabilitation and support services being reduced or cut. As survivors struggle to adapt to post-stroke life with limited external support, the burden of care is increasingly being placed upon family members and carers. AtContinue Reading

Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock The latest results from the phase 3 COVID-19 vaccines trials have been very positive. These have shown that vaccinating people with the gene for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can induce excellent protective immunity. The spike protein is the focus of most COVID-19 vaccines as it is the part of the virus that enables it to enter our cells. Virus replication only happens inside cells, so blocking entry prevents more virus being made. If a person has antibodies that can recognise the spike protein, this should stop the virus in its tracks. The three most advanced vaccines (from Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) all work by getting our own cells to make copies of the virus spike protein. The Oxford vaccineContinue Reading