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Cancer treatment response may be affected by gut bacteria

"Gut bacteria 'boost' cancer therapy," BBC News reports. The news comes from research into whether people with cancer might respond differently to cancer treatment depending on the bacteria in their gut. Researchers specifically looked at a type of cancer treatment called (...)

Could a blood test in middle age predict dementia risk?

"Tissue inflammation blood test points to dementia risk," is the headline in The Times. Researchers in the US say people who have higher measures of inflammation in middle age are likely to have less brain tissue in some parts of their brain in older age. The differences in (...)

Acid reflux drugs linked to increased stomach cancer risk

"A drug commonly used to treat acid reflux is linked to a more than doubled risk of developing stomach cancer," reports The Guardian. Researchers wanted to investigate whether there's a link between medicines known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and stomach cancer. Widely (...)

Nutrient drink for Alzheimer's has disappointing result in trial

A new study investigating the effects of a nutrient drink for Alzheimer's disease has led to very different headlines in the media. While BBC News tells us the "Alzheimer's nutrient drink falters in clinical trial", the Daily Mirror reports the drink "could help stave off (...)

Marriage may help lower dementia risk

"Marriage and having close friends may help protect against dementia, according to Loughborough University researchers," BBC News reports. The news comes from a study looking at the link between social relationships and the risk of developing dementia. The study included a (...)

Afternoon open heart surgery 'leads to fewer complications'

"Afternoon heart surgery has lower risk of complications, study suggests," says The Guardian. Researchers in France were interested in whether the time of day of the operation was carried out affected the rate of complications following a type of open heart surgery known as (...)

Report calls for better mental health support in the workplace

"Up to 300,000 people with long-term mental health problems have to leave their jobs each year, a report says," writes BBC News. This was just one of the UK media outlets that published the findings of a report looking at the extent of mental ill health in the workplace, and (...)

Blood-thinning drugs may reduce dementia risk in people with irregular heartbeats

"Common blood thinning drugs halve the risk of dementia for patients who have an irregular heartbeat," reports the Mail Online. Researchers in Sweden used the country's health registry data to assess whether people with a condition called atrial fibrillation were less likely (...)

New genetic variants associated with breast cancer identified

"Do you have one of the 180 breast cancer genes? One in five women has a variant that raises her risk of the condition by a third" is the rather inaccurate headline in the Mail Online. The story covers 2 new studies looking for genetic variations known as single nucleotide (...)