Health news
Nurses act on obesity
A hundred nurses in the north-east of Scotland are taking part in research that could see improvements in the health of the local population.
Each participating NHS Grampian health worker will have a smartphone which picks up and analyses their physical activity.
Susan Webb, director of public health at NHS Grampian, highlighted the need for action in the face of rising obesity rates in adults across Scotland, particularly in Aberdeenshire.
She said the good news is that obesity is preventable and great efforts were being made across the north-east to improve health.
Fix for blindness in sight
Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have found a groundbreaking new treatment to improve vision in partially blind patients.
Aimed at those with sight loss after a brain injury such as stroke, the study of 300 participants found the NeuroEyeCoach programme boosted sight in more than 80% of cases, no matter their age, gender or time since sight loss occurred.
Professor Arash Sahraie said: “It is never too late, or patients are never too old, to benefit from rehabilitation therapy.”
Happiness for the hoarse
Coughs are the bane of our lives throughout winter – and there’s nothing worse than a dry tickly one that just won’t go away.
But help could soon be at hand, with scientists developing the first new cough treatment in 50 years.
Doctors from the University of Manchester showed a new drug called gefapixant could cut coughing by two thirds.
At the moment there is no way of treating patients with a chronic cough, some of whom have had a persistent cough for years.
Just the thought of it is taking our breath away.
Down’s law change call
Campaigners have called for a change in the law which currently allows parents to terminate pregnancies at any time up until birth where the unborn child has Down’s Syndrome.
They have written to Westminster requesting that all non-fatal disabilities be subject to the standard 24-week abortion time limit.
The call is opposed by British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which said it opposed any attempt to stop women from making their own decisions about whether to continue a pregnancy.