Health News

In two trials, British and US scientists also linked sports-related concussions with dementia and Parkinson-like problems, including tremours and movement difficulty in later life. The UK experts discovered found players who had been concussed had higher levels of proteins in their blood that may make them more prone to developing the diseases. The findings come after the death of Leeds Rhinos star Rob Burrow, 41, after a four-and-a-half-year battle with motor neurone disease.

Scammers are using AI to fake videos of TV doctors like Hilary Jones (top) and Michael Mosley (bottom) and to push products to unsuspecting member of the public on social media. A new report, published in the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ), has warned of the growing rise of so-called 'deepfakes'. Deepfaking uses AI to map a digital likeness of a real-life human being onto a video of a body that isn't theirs. They've been used to create videos of politicians to make them seem inept and even for corporate heists and now they're being used to sell you dodgy 'cures'. Dr Jones is only one TV physician caught up in the trend, with a deepfake video of him endorsing a blood pressure cure spreading on Facebook earlier this year.

Actress Fay Ripley made headlines yesterday when she said that in future she would happily breastfeed her grandchildren - her own children are currently aged 17 and 21. The reactions were swift and mixed - some people were shocked, thinking it is physically impossible, while others found the idea distasteful. But the fact is, grandmothers can breastfeed their grandchildren. If they have previously breastfed, this is known as relactation. If a woman who's never been pregnant starts breastfeeding, this is called induced lactation.

Under the Prime Minister's proposal unveiled in the King's Speech, anyone born after 2009 will be banned from ever buying cigarettes. There had been uncertainty in the medical community after July's general election quashed any hopes of the historic bill put forward by Rishi Sunak, passing before the previous Parliament. But health experts said the 'bold announcement' now 'positions the UK as world leading in tobacco control' and would 'save countless lives'. Yet not all were supportive with critics decrying the move as nanny-state, a 'killjoy' and 'unworkable'. 

Eating a bowl of fresh strawberries is such a simple, healthy pleasure. Or rather, it was until a recent alarming report revealed them to be top of the 'dirty dozen' fruit and vegetables on sale in our supermarkets. Analysing the latest government data, The Pesticide Action Network UK found that 95% of strawberries, organic or not, contain PFAS pesticides - also known, appetite-crushingly, as 'forever chemicals' because once consumed, there's no getting rid of them. PFASs - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - have been linked to health issues including cancer, high cholesterol, reduced kidney function, thyroid disease, low fertility, repressed immune system and low birth weight in babies. It's disturbing news - especially as the other 'dirty' 11 include favourites like grapes (61% of samples contained PFASs), cherries (56%) spinach (42%), tomatoes (38%), peaches and nectarines (38%), cucumber (22%), apricots (20%), beans (15%), spices (8%), cabbage (7%), and lettuce (7%).

A health startup claims its expensive MRI scans can detect cancer and other chronic diseases, though experts have slammed the technology as 'pointless.' Vancouver-based startup Prenuvo claims its full-body scans can detect more than 500 chronic conditions that may go undetected at a regular checkup. The tests have also received backing from celebrities like Kim Kardashian Cindy Crawford. However, these tests cost up to $2,500 and are not covered by insurance. Many medical experts say the companies are selling expensive, unproven technology that may lead to overdiagnosis while ignoring rising conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

Previous generations may have put up with their parents' annoying quirks (albeit while ­complaining about them to friends and ­partners) but Millennials - those in their late 20s to early 40s - tend to cut ties altogether. So why are younger generations so quick to block and ignore their parents? Experts say it's in part down to how they've been raised, with more emphasis on the idea of preserving mental health by keeping emotional 'boundaries' intact - meaning parents who overstep them are swiftly cast out.

Close to one in eight with an urgent referral in England - around 20,000 - endured hold-ups of more than three and a half months in 2022. This is up from around one in 25 in 2017, meaning this figure has tripled since pre-pandemic days. Catching cancer early, when it's most treatable, can boost survival odds up to eight-fold, data shows. Experts blamed the rise on a lack of staff, beds and hospital equipment, piling extra pressure on the health service. People aged between 60 and 69 were most likely to be caught in long waits, the analysis also found. Unless plans are urgently put in place to tackle this rise, the NHS 'won't be prepared to cope', researchers warned.

Young people don't need to worry about getting cancer, or do they? Although cancer is a disease mainly affecting older people, research suggests a growing number of younger people are now developing cancers years before they should. The number of under-50s diagnosed with cancer increased by nearly 80 per cent between 1990 and 2019 according to a major study published in BMJ Oncology. The number of deaths in younger patients rose by 28 per cent. The Princess of Wales (pictured left) was just 42 when she was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Campaigner Dame Deborah James (right) died of bowel cancer in 2022 at the age of 40 - 31 years younger than the average age for developing the disease, which is 71 in England and Wales. Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding died of breast cancer in 2021 at 39. The growing trend of 'early onset' cases (as diagnoses in the under-50s are known) is alarming experts. But what's driving it?

Lewis Daines, from Crawley in West Sussex, suffered the persistent cough for three months before visiting his GP in February. But it was only after he began experiencing pain in his shoulders and chest that he visited A&E, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. The 35-year-old was forced to return just two weeks later, however, after his symptoms failed to subside. Scans showed the advanced nurse practitioner had a cancerous golf ball-sized mass in his right lung. Devastatingly, further tests revealed the cancer was also present in his bones and adrenal glands - small triangular-shaped glands on top of both kidneys -  meaning it was classed as 'end-stage' and incurable.

A mother had electroshock therapy to overcome postpartum psychosis so severe she 'thought she had died and gone to hell'. Kayleigh Avery, 38, from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, first experienced the condition - which affects a person's sense of reality, causing hallucinations, delusions or paranoia - after the birth of her daughter, Daisy, now 10. (right) It left her unable to sleep and totally consumed by fear that she wouldn't be able to look after her baby. (centre) She was able to overcome the illness after taking medication but it struck again after the birth of her second child, Jasmine, now five. (left)

Sea moss has exploded in popularity among Gen Z women under 25 and it is essentially billed as the ultimate vitamin supplement, but there have also been reports of users falling unwell. There are also more than 1.4 million sea moss posts on Instagram, including gushing promotions from famous influencers. So what's the truth - and could this disgusting slime spell the end of vitamin supplements?

This year the youngest man is Ciaran Davies 21, (left inset) and the youngest women on the reality show are 24, including contestant Nicole Samuel centre left). But viewers have been quick to claim cast members look years older blaming fillers and Botox they may have had before the show. But aesthetic practitioner Simon Thorpe from Berkshire, warns unnecessarily getting tweakments in your early 20s can age the skin if it's not done properly.

Jo Prance, from Surrey, was diagnosed with a minor perineal tear - damage to the tissue between the vaginal opening and anus - during the birth of her son in 1998. But the severity of her tear and extent of the injury was missed by medics, she claimed. Now 48, Ms Prance has since had to undergo 19 separate operations to help tackle the resulting urinary incontinence, severe pelvic pain and even pelvic organ prolapse. Having lived a life 'dictated by access to toilets' for two decades, Ms Prance - who was also forced to have a stoma and mesh sling - is now fighting to lift the stigma of incontinence.

Tazmin Blight, 19, who vaped the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day, was taken to hospital after suffering 'tightness' in her chest. She'd initially put down the discomfort to 'trapped wind', but doctors told her a small air pocket that had formed in her lung had burst, causing it to collapse. Remarkably, the episode mirrored problems that had hit Tamzin's younger sister Kyla, 17, just weeks earlier. Their dad Mark, of Egremont, Cumbria, recently appeared on ITV 's Good Morning Britain to discuss Kyla's experience after it was revealed by Mail Online .

The news of the sad and untimely death of Dr Michael Mosley last month prompted an outpouring of grief from around the world. Thousands stepped forward to sing the author and Mail columnist's praises and shout about the ways in which his advice - always clear, concise, delivered with great enthusiasm and backed by robust science - had changed their lives for the better. Many even believe following Michael's advice could have saved their lives. Whether it was weight loss or better sleep, reversing diabetes, boosting fitness, balance or brain-power, Michael had an encyclopaedic knowledge of research and an armoury of clever tricks up his sleeve - most of which he'd tested on himself.

Health chiefs say Covid lockdowns have fuelled England's unprecedented epidemic of pertussis, nicknamed the '100-day cough' because it's notoriously hard to shake off. More than 7,500 cases have already been recorded in 2024 - almost nine times the level seen across the entirety of 2023. Nine babies have died since November. All were under the age of three months. Vaccination rates have also slumped in the wake of the pandemic in a trend experts blame on growing jab scepticism.

Leah Denney, from Kettering in Northamptonshire, was an otherwise healthy adult. But in late 2022, the now 28-year-old was struck down with body aches, a high temperature and struggled to keep any food or fluids down. Worried that cold medication had failed to shift the infection, she visited an out-of-hours urgent care centre. Yet, she claims she was told it was merely a UTI and was prescribed antibiotics. A second appointment saw her given more pills, despite experiencing sharp stabbing pains in her chest and aches in her side, she says. It was only after attending A&E with a 'gut instinct' her cold was 'something worse' that doctors discovered she was suffering from a combination of flu , Strep A , pneumonia and kidney infection that had led to sepsis.

During an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians , the 43-year-old told her mother Kris Jenner on set, 'I got salmon sperm facial with salmon sperm injected into my face.' As well as Botox-like effects, salmon sperm injections - also known as polynucleotides - are said to give customers a 'baby face' and rejuvenated skin. The beauty trend can leave your skin bruised and covered in specs of blood, according to advocates of the wrinkle-defying tweakment.

Nurse and mum-of-three Rose Fuentebaja, 40, from Stratford-upon-Avon, had been in hospital for a week when she suffered a cardiac arrest and died in June 2017, which solicitors argue was 'avoidable'. She had previously been 'fit and healthy' but collapsed at home in Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, leading to an ambulance being called on May 23, 2017. But even when paramedics carried out an ECG, which showed disturbances in her heartbeat, she was told her fainting was probably caused by anxiety.

In the study British researchers compared levels of cotinine in blood samples taken from children in various US households divided by smoking and vaping status. They found youngsters exposed to second-hand vape clouds have five times the level of nicotine in their bodies compared to normal. However, kids exposed to e-cigarette vapour had 84 per cent less of the addictive substance in their systems compared to those exposed to traditional second-hand smoking from cigarettes. Researchers in the study looked at cotinine levels in children, the substance made by the body as it breaks down nicotine and tests for it are considered the gold standard for detecting exposure to nicotine.

We spent an estimated £7billion on chocolate confectionery in the UK last year, according to data firm Mintel - that's about £105 for every adult and child in the country. If you are partial to picking up a sweet treat when you pay for petrol , or slipping a multipack in your shopping basket, read on. The bar you choose, from dark to milk or white, could make all the difference to your health and waistline. We asked Lucy Diamond, a dietitian at oviva.com - an NHS-approved, online weight and health management resource - to assess ten popular products, which we then rated.

England's patient safety commissioner Dr Henrietta Hughes (left) said the patient 'is the canary in the coal mine' of what is happening in the NHS and is 'the thing that tells us there's something going wrong'. She added: 'But too often we hear about patients who have raised concerns being gaslighted, dismissed, and fobbed off.' Her comments come after an extended catalogue of NHS care scandals, with multiple shocking inquiries into the state of maternity care at some Trusts. In an interview with the British Medical Journal , Dr Hughes, who took up her role in 2022, said women in some cases had been patronised and had their concerns dismissed. The Patient Safety Commissioner is also currently overseeing the implementation of Martha's Rule . Described as 'one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years' Martha's Rule is an established formal right for families to get a second opinion from medics, if they feel their concerns about a relative aren't being taken seriously. It is named after 13-year-old Martha Mills (right) who died of sepsis while under the care of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London in 2021.

Luke Tarrant quit his job in investment banking last September to embark on the voyage of a lifetime, riding from the US to Antarctica. The 28-year-old said he knew motorbiking could be dangerous and felt that 'something was bound to happen eventually'. He said: 'I've always had a passion for motorbikes and this was the dream trip I'd been planning for a while. I left my job for it and was having an amazing time.'

A boy spent four nights in hospital after coming into contact with Britain's most dangerous plant and now must stay clear of the sun for a whole year. Michael Taylor, 13, was rushed to Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and must keep his legs out of sunlight for the next 12 months after having a brush with giant hogweed. The plant, usually seen between June and August, is one of the UK's most dangerous plants. Its sap can cause painful, blistering burns which can recur over months and even years. Michael's brush has seen him miss two weeks of school. His mother gave a stark warning to other children and parents of the phytotoxic plant's dangers.

The singer has thrust the condition back into the spotlight. Now, two other Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) sufferers have come forward to reveal their battle with the condition. Carrie Robinette, 45, from San Diego (left), said she had been battling a strange illness for years - before doctors finally diagnosed SPS. She now can't walk further than 50ft without help and says some days can be good while during others she is doubled over with agonising symptoms.