Top health stories from around the world on 20 January 2014.
International health news
- Life-long dangers of head injuries — A blow to the head can leave people at risk of an early death, even years later, due to impaired judgement.
- “Smart contact lens” to help diabetics – Google has unveiled its smart contact lens which can measure the glucose level in your tears.
- A world without antibiotics – Diseases easily treatable today could be killers in the future as antibiotic resistance grows, warn scientists in France.
Health advice
- Green tea can weaken blood pressure medicine — The drug nadolol, used to treat high blood pressure interacts with green tea, lessening its efficacy.
- Weightlifting “cuts” diabetes risk – Women who lift weights, do press-ups, and other activities which stretch muscles have a lower diabetes risk.
Country health alerts
- UK: Number of gout sufferers soaring — Associated with unhealthy lifestyles, estimates say 1 in 40 people suffer from gout in the UK.
- Beijing: Residents take precautions against smog – The level of pollution in Beijing’s air is 25 times higher than WHO’s safe level.
- North Korea: TB crisis in the secretive nation — Since 2008 a US team has been allowed to enter the country to help train doctors and set up a TB lab.