Top health stories this week: Ebola update, the health benefits of curry, and how a mobile app is saving lives.
International health news
- 5 things doctors do that they shouldn’t — An international campaign is trying to stop doctors carrying out unnecessary tests and procedures, here are 5 to look out for.
- Curry helps brain self-heal – Researchers say turmeric encourages the growth of nerve cells, evidence which could lead the way to new Alzheimer’s and stroke treatments.
- Malaria severity influenced by genes – Whether a person develops severe malaria or has some resistance to the disease is dependent on 5 genes.
Health advice
- Walking the “superfood” of exercise – Fitness experts are stressing the need for daily movement over strenuous exercise and walking is touted as the solution.
- Head lice treatments no longer effective – Head lice have developed a resistance to traditional treatments containing permethrin so parents must use new methods.
Country health updates
- France: Government in smoking crackdown – Controversial measures, including plain cigarette packaging, could be introduced specifically to curb high teenage smoking rates.
- Liberia: Chief doctor in quarantine – Liberia’s chief medical officer has placed herself in quarantine for 21 days after her colleague died after contracting Ebola.
- UK: Mobile app causes fall in death rates – An app being used to monitor patients’ vital signs in hospital has been credited with decreasing the death rate by 15% in one hospital.