Antibiotics Do Not Reduce Symptoms...

Stem Cell Shield 'Could Protect Cancer Patients'

It may be possible to use "stem cell shielding" to protect the body from the damaging effects of chemotherapy, early results from a US trial suggest.

Chemotherapy drugs try to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they can also affect other healthy tissues such as bone marrow.

A study, in Science Translational Medicine, used genetically modified stem cells to protect the bone marrow.

Cancer Research UK said it was a "completely new approach".

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'Birth Defect Link' to IVF Injections

Children conceived through a common method of IVF are more likely to suffer birth defects, a major study suggests.

Research on more than 300,000 babies found those born following a fertility treatment used when men have low sperm counts had a higher risk of abnormalities than those conceived naturally. Babies born as a result of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) — where a sperm is injected into the egg — were more likely to suffer abnormalities.

Researchers were unable to establish if this was because the technique itself increases the risks of abnormality or because men suffering from sperm damage were more likely to pass on anomalies.

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Cholesterol Levels in the U.S. on the Decline

Male Hormone May Help Heart Failure Patients

Testosterone-Treated Patients Exercised More in Studies

Treatment with testosterone may help heart failure patients feel better and exercise more, preliminary research shows.

The finding comes from four small studies of people with heart failure. The researchers analyzed the results from all of those studies and found that those who took testosterone supplements were able to exercise longer than those who didn't.

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Incontinence Drugs: Benefits and Harms Compared

Medications That Treat Overactive Bladder Offer Modest Benefits and Significant Side Effects

Drugs that treat incontinence caused by an overactive bladder offer modest benefits to some women, and they often come with significant side effects, a new review of research shows.

The government-funded review compared the benefits and side effects of several drugs: darifenacin (Enablex), fesoterodine (Toviaz), oxybutynin (Ditropan, Oxytrol), solifenacin (Vesicare), tolterodine (Detrol), and trospium (Sanctura).

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Few Sexually Active Women Get Chlamydia Test

Experimental Contacts May Ease Pain...

Experimental Contacts May Ease Pain After Laser Eye Surgery

Video Games 'Can Alter Children's Brains'

Children should "feel the grass under their feet" rather than play addictive computer games which can harm their mental development, a leading scientist has said.

Baroness Greenfield, the former director of the Royal Institution, said spending too much time staring at computer screens can cause physical changes in the brain that lead to attention and behaviour problems.

Technology that plays strongly on the senses – like video games – can literally "blow the mind" by temporarily or permanently deactivating certain nerve connections in the brain, the Baroness said.

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Teeth Grinders are in for a Shock

Patients complaining of grinding their teeth in their sleep are being given mild electric shock treatment.

A chain of private dental practices in Hull is trialling a device which delivers a tiny electrical impulse when it detects grinding is about to begin.

Teeth grinding - or bruxism - is a common and usually harmless habit induced by stress.