Health

Human intestines have been grown in the lab and transplanted into rats - offering hope of new treatments for serious gut disorders, scientists have revealed. The breakthrough could combat the organ donor shortage crisis, leading to better therapies for Crohn's disease and even cancer. It opens the door to creating tissues for patients "on demand" with no risk of rejection - ending the need for drugs, says the team. The technique involves creating a three-dimensional biological scaffold made with human...

A medical implant to correct congenital heart defects has been developed that grows with the child. The use of such devices has been thwarted because they are a fixed size - and cannot expand as young patients get bigger. Scientists said the new growth-accommodating implant inspired by a toy could revolutionise cardiac repair - and also be adapted to correct diseases in other parts of the body. Co senior author Professor Pedro del Nido, chief of cardiac surgery at Boston...

There has been a ten-fold increase in global childhood obesity over the past four decades and now 20 per cent of American children are obese. Leading scientists called for a sugar tax, cheaper fruit and veg and a curb on processed food as it was revealed girls in the USA had the 15th highest obesity rate in the world, and boys had the 12th highest obesity in the world. Although figures have levelled off there is a ticking fat time...

Colin is 34 and from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, he asked not to be pictured...this is his story I was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2003, when I was 20. The diagnosis followed an acute psychotic episode, which doctors thought was because my drink was spiked with combination of drugs that could have been lethal. This doesn’t happen in all cases, but for some people with schizophrenia there can be a single trigger for the symptoms. I’ll never know for sure, but...

Through a recent survey of 2,000 people at Shout Out UK surrounding their campaign around World Mental Health Day, they found out a shocking statistic – that 36% of young people believe Brexit has impacted their mental health. They sent out this survey as mental health issues are on the rise, especially amongst young people, and it’s important for them to see the impact Brexit has had on people’s mental health, and not just on our economy. Through their discussions...

Millions of British workers would shy away from discussing mental health issues with colleagues amid a fear they could jeopardise their career, it has emerged. Researchers uncovered the worrying statistic following a study carried out among 2,000 employees which showed 38 per cent wouldn’t feel safe being open about their mental health at work. The study revealed around one in five have witnessed phrases linked to mental health being used in a derogatory way at work. It also emerged nearly...

As part of the British Tinnitus Association’s (BTA) Share Your Sound campaign which launches this week, the charity is encouraging people to share their tinnitus stories and seek support when they’re struggling. Here, Stephen Holt, original front man of the famous 90s Manchester band the Inspiral Carpets, explains his personal connection to tinnitus and why it is so important for people to talk about the condition to ensure no one suffers alone. When I re-joined Inspiral Carpets in 2011 I...

Home-Start Birmingham has been supporting families across the city for almost 30 years, it’s part of a wider network of local Home-Starts across the UK. The family support charity recruits and trains local parent volunteers to offer emotional and practical support to families in their own homes; families who are struggling to cope, which in turn, affects their ability to parent their children well. In Birmingham, we see families face many issues; poverty, domestic violence, illness, disability, isolation, the list...

Dementia research has taken a massive step forward after researchers discovered an "ideal" biomarker that detects Alzheimer's disease before the onset of symptoms. They say the way of identifying dementia before symptoms even show using brain scans is perfect as the technique is completely non-invasive Around 60 per cent of people diagnosed with dementia, will have Alzheimer’s disease, and it is the most common form of dementia in the over 65 age group. Evidence has emerged over more than a...