Behind the Headlines
Medication
04 May 2012
Taking aspirin to reduce blood-clotting is “as safe and just as effective as warfarin”, The Daily Telegraph has today reported. Both drugs have long been used to prevent potentially dangerous blood clots, but there is much debate over which is better for patients. Unfortunately, both can cause unpleasant side effects, such as major internal bleeds.
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16 Apr 2012
Over-the-counter insect bite remedies are not worth buying, the Daily Mail has reported. The newspaper said a review of the evidence on treating insect bites has found that there is little research to prove they are effective.
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10 Apr 2012
“Forget Viagra, the 'cuddle drug' could be the new way to boost performance in the bedroom,” according to the Daily Mail.
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28 Mar 2012
“Beating acne may be a matter of thyme,” quipped the Daily Mail, adding that an extract of the herb could be more effective than benzoyl peroxide – a chemical found in many anti-acne creams and washes.
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14 Dec 2011
The headline “Four in 10 drugs wrongly administered in hospitals” may have caused undue concern to readers of The Daily Telegraph today. Similar claims in The Independent gave a misleading impression of some valuable new research into the way medicines are given in hospital.
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17 Aug 2011
BBC News has reported that scientists have “stumbled on a potential new treatment for delayed asthma attacks”. Delayed attacks, also known as late asthmatic response (LAR), can occur several hours after...
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16 Aug 2011
“Applying caffeine to the skin in sunny weather may protect against a type of skin cancer”, BBC News has reported today. This news is based on a scientific study examining why caffeine consumption...
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09 Aug 2011
More aggressive chemotherapy is better for older lung cancer patients, according to The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper says that the caution of doctors and patients often lead them to be given single-drug therapy...
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09 Aug 2011
“Herbal medicines lack safety warnings,” The Independent has today reported. The newspaper says that this is despite the April introduction of new EU rules stipulating that they should carry warnings. This...
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04 Aug 2011
The Daily Mirror has reported that “a potentially deadly strain of salmonella that is resistant to drugs has been identified in Britain, [and] the strain – called S. Kentucky – has spread to these shores from...
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