Health News from NHS Choices

• 'Kids grow out of autism' claim unfounded

  Can some children simply “grow out” of autism? The Daily Mail certainly thinks so, and today reported that new research by a “prestigious American university” claims that “not only is this possible, it’s also common.” The Mail’s claim is misleading and may offer a false impression to the parents of children...

• Weight loss advice 'ignores body changes'

  Losing is weight “twice as hard as previously thought”, according to media reports. Government weight-loss guidelines “mislead” overweight people about the effort needed to lose weight and dieting rules “don’t take into account changes in metabolism that occur when you lose weight”, several newspapers said. The reports are based on a recent conference...

• Drug combo may fight pancreas cancer

  An experimental drug combination may provide “a new weapon against pancreatic cancer”, BBC News has reported. In a search for new ways to fight the aggressive cancer, scientists combined an existing chemotherapy drug called gemcitabine with an experimental chemical called MRK003. The chemical can block the actions of a protein called "gamma secretase"...

• Is immune system linked to the body clock?

  “Not sleeping enough can damage your immune system and make you ill,” according to the Daily Mail. This somewhat sweeping statement is based purely on an animal study looking at how mice body clocks affected their immune systems. The study found that levels of an infection-detecting protein called TLR9 fluctuated throughout...

• Alcohol 'could kill 210,000 in next 20 years'

  Medical experts say “210,000 people could die from alcohol abuse in next 20 years”, according to the Daily Mirror. Several other newspapers have highlighted the estimate, based on the latest alcohol-related harm statistics released from the UK’s Office of National Statistics. These figures show that there were 6,317 alcohol-related liver deaths...