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It’s been a year in which great scientific minds have addressed many burning questions, asking – among many, many other things – should nuns take the Pill, is watching television bad for your heart, do hammocks aid sleep, and can a shed make a man healthy.

In 2011 Behind the Headlines has covered more than 500 health stories that made it into the mainstream media.

Just for fun, test your knowledge of the year with our month-by-month quiz. Answers are at the foot of the page.

January

Researchers in the US and Taiwan claimed faulty stem cells caused what?

a) Vitamin B deficiency

b) Baldness

c) Memory loss

February

A systematic review of studies with more than a million participants concluded that heart disease risk was reduced by moderate intake of what?

a) Aspirin

b) Vitamin D

c) Alcohol

March

Which newspaper, on a story about perfluorocarbons (PFCs), asked ‘Could your saucepans bring on the menopause?’

a) The Sun

b) The Daily Mail

c) The Express

April

What fruit was said to protect against heart attacks, diabetes and stroke, as well as staving off obesity?

a) Tangerines

b) Bananas

c) Prickly pears

May

After a study conducted by researchers in three English hospitals, men were warned of a possible side effect of taking Viagra. Was it

a) High blood pressure

b) Deafness

c) Impotence

June

After a study involving a small group of inactive, obese individuals in Canada, newspapers claimed you could get fit by doing what?

a) Fidgeting

b) Watching television

c) Eating meringue

July

The BBC and several newspapers reported on a study that said interrupted sleep may impair memory. Was this a study of

a) Post-menopausal women

b) Mice

c) Teenage boys

August

A British man was given an artificial plastic what?

a) Heart

b) Penis

c) Eye

September

Pollution from traffic fumes was said to be able to trigger what?

a) Diabetes

b) Eczema

c) Heart attacks

October

What was said to cut the risk of genetic bowel cancer?

a) Aspirin

b) Paracetamol

c) Regular exercise

November

A study of 1,600 allergy sufferers concluded that ‘millions’ were likely to be allergic to one thing. Was it

a) Their own home

b) Money

c) Tomatoes

December

A study from Argentina and the US claimed that wi-fi from laptops could damage what?

a) Eyesight

b) Sperm

c) Memory

Answers

January: b) Baldness; February: c) Alcohol; March: b) The Daily Mail; April: a) Tangerines; May: b) Deafness; June: a) Fidgeting; July: b) Mice; August: a) Heart; September: c) Heart attacks; October: a) Aspirin; November: a) Their own home; December: b) Sperm

Although Behind the Headlines often spends time explaining mistaken or misguided news reports, the joy of this service is when there are genuinely exciting medical advances to report.

Over the past year there have been many important and fascinating stories, and it is a credit to the national press that so many of them have been so well understood and so well reported. Here’s our pick of some of the best stories from the many brilliant health articles and impressive studies published in 2011.

 

Heartwarming gene therapy

By far the most heartwarming breakthrough in medical science involves the story of seven-year-old Jack Crick (presumably no relation to the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix). Jack was born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) – an inherited genetic mutation that causes an inability to fight off infection – severely limiting his chances of surviving more than a few years. The condition is often referred to as ‘bubble boy syndrome’ due the need to live in a germ-free plastic isolation bubble, as even a normally minor infection could prove fatal.

Some excellent reporting by both the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph explained how James and 13 other children with SCID are now able to live normal lives following stem cell gene therapy. After being treated by the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital the children have seen the function of their immune cells restored, meaning that risk of serious infection is massively reduced. The therapy also has implications for a variety of other genetic disorders of the blood, such as beta thalassaemia.

Gene therapy has also been a major topic in health news, including as a potential way to treat Parkinson’s disease. This news from March was also well reported and could provide a genuine breakthrough.

 

Synthetic pumps and pipes

Some people are said to have a heart of gold, others, a heart of stone. Now there’s someone with a heart of plastic. Thirty-year-old Matthew Green, who had end-stage heart failure, was given a ‘total artificial heart’ in June as a stop-gap measure while he waits for a suitable donor organ. This amazing story was one of the most widely covered in 2011, receiving some excellent explanations of both the medical and personal implications of the experimental treatment.

What’s more we could soon be seeing more of the circulatory system made artificially, after scientists successfully ran a trial using synthetic veins (made from human and dog muscle cells) transplanted into other animals. However, current experimental research does not support The Daily Telegraph’s report that the new veins can be “safely transplanted into any patient”.

 

The molecular scalpel

In July, the BBC heralded a potential new drug that could help significant numbers of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) a debilitating condition for which there is currently no cure. The drug, known as AVI-4658 in the lab, was instead given the much snappier title of the ‘molecular scalpel’ by the press, as it helps to ignore or ‘cut out’” genetic defects that prevent the body producing a protein (dystrophin) that causes DMD. The researchers reckon that around 83% of people with DMD could be helped by this molecular scalpel technique.

 

Simple baby heart defect test

At the more everyday, less cutting-edge end of medical science, we have confirmation that a simple, routine test is a great way of detecting heart defects in newborn babies before they leave hospital. An infrared sensor is used to detect the level of oxygen in the blood in the fingers or toes, with a low oxygen level suggesting a congenital heart problem. This widely reported and large study has now shown the test is superior to other safe and simple methods of detecting congenital heart defects.

 

A shot in the arm for vaccines

Some of the most exciting developments this year have happened in the world of vaccines. These have the potential to save thousands, if not millions, of lives worldwide and include:

• Steps towards a ‘universal flu vaccine’ as scientists find an antibody that fights the two main types of influenza
• a possible HIV vaccine (and the good news is that HIV rates are already dropping in the UK even without an effective vaccine)
• a meningitis B vaccine, which although only theoretical, would be a great advance because it would treat the most common strain of the disease. However, the Daily Mail’s assertion in June, that the vaccine “will be available within months” appears a little hasty.

 

Listening to The Cure?

If you’re sick of hearing Christmas carols and cheesy 70s seasonal pop anthems you may be perplexed by a finding from August. A small, but important study found that people with depression who had music therapy sessions alongside standard treatment showed improvements in measures of depression, anxiety and general functioning than those only receiving normal treatment. This research was generally well reported, although The Independent’s headline suggested that music therapy is a cure, which is not the case.

 

But the bad news is …

Not all health news reports exciting discoveries about new tests and treatments. Unfortunately, our increasing knowledge and use of healthcare often highlights new dangers. In July, doctors isolated a new strain of a sexually transmitted bacteria, H041, that they have dubbed "superbug gonorrhoea" because of its resistance to antibiotics. Fortunately, the Daily Mirror’s warning about an ‘epidemic’ of this superbug gonorrhoea has proved wide of the mark, so far, but serves as a good reminder to practise safer sex.

 

What does the future hold?

In 2012, we expect to see more of the same, with great advances made in these and other areas. We also predict better reporting of medical science in the mainstream media, and we hope that we helped in your understanding of health news.

The year 2011 has been an interesting one for medical science, with remarkable progress made in a wide range of fields, notably stem cell research. But for every great piece of research covered well by the media, there are examples that sensationalise more equivocal studies. We’ve rounded up some of the most interesting stories where the headlines told one story, but the research told quite another.

 

Just plain wrong

Analysing health news can be fascinating, giving us a better understanding of what’s good for us and what exciting developments are happening in medicine. However, sometimes people writing health news get it wrong. Here are just a few examples of the worst uses of health research this year:

• Chocolate is as good as exercise. It isn’t. Many newspapers went a bit giddy over research in 25 mice of a chemical found in cocoa that improved their muscular endurance. This finding is a million miles away from claiming that eating chocolate is exercise.
• Sweets are good for kids. Again, there were excited headlines about a 24-hour long study of children’s diets that found that kids who ate sweets (during a single day) were less likely to be overweight. There are huge problems with jumping to this conclusion from this flawed study, not least that it ignores all previous data on the effects of sweets on kids’ teeth.
• Pylons cause asthma. In August, papers linked pylons to babies’ asthma, based on limited research that looked at the health of the children of women who had been exposed to different magnetic fields during pregnancy.

 

Oddballs

Few of the studies that these stories are based on are ‘bad science’, but overeager reporting of findings can turn interesting, but minor, findings into overblown news. Thankfully, dangerous claims are rare. More often, the claims made in the media are just plain weird. Here’s a selection of the strangest:

• Saucepans can cause early menopause. This bizarre claim suggested that household objects may be a health risk. In fact, they based this inference on a limited study of chemicals called perfluorocarbons (PFCs) in drinking water. The research did not prove that PFCs can bring on the menopause.
• Bear bile may help the heart. Ursodeoxycholic acid can affect heart rhythm in heart cells extracted from rats – beyond that it’s unclear what this chemical that is produced synthetically (but can be extracted from bears’ bile) does for humans.
• Quilting keeps you happy and healthy. One paper hyped this survey of 29 women that did not objectively measure any aspect of their physical or mental health, or compare quilt-making to any other type of hobby.

 

Cancer cures

Cancer cures featured heavily in the news this year, as always. The media appear to be obsessed with possible cures, particularly dietary ones. Earlier this year Behind the Headlines analysed all the claims for ‘superfoods’ (not just cancer cures), but despite our advice to view such stories with caution, they keep coming. Added to the list of possible cancer-busting advice were:

• Tangerines. In this study, genetically engineered mice were fed a chemical produced from tangerines. No tangerines – or humans – were involved and the researchers simply found that mice fed the chemical produced and secreted less ‘bad fats’ from their livers.
• Beans and lentils. Although this claim used strong science that examined the effect of a vegetarian diet on bowel cancer, it did not directly link beans and lentils with bowel cancer. The study also drew its participants from Californian Seventh Day Adventists, who tend to avoid alcohol and smoking, and often limit their meat intake. This is likely to have contributed to their reduced risk compared to the general population.
• Crocuses. Hailed as a ‘smart bomb’ for cancer, these common-or-garden flowers were used to make a chemical that researchers hope could help to cut off the blood supply to tumours. Unfortunately, the media coverage stemmed from a press release about a study in mice that has yet to be published. Any human treatment is still a long way off, even if it makes it through rigorous testing and peer-review. View the news with a pinch of salt, not a pinch of saffron (made from crocus stamens).

 

Pills

It’s a common saying that there’s a pill for every ill. And if you read the papers regularly it may seem so. However, news stories about wonder drugs and magic pills are the ones that should be viewed with the most scepticism (more so if they’re on the front page of the paper). This year we’ve been told that there are new pills to:

• Help you lose weight. There is no pill yet. There is, however, a chemical called SRT1720 that, after testing in yeast and worms, was found to help mice fed an artificially high fat diet live longer. The research has very few implications for us humans – any potential treatment will be many years away.
• Halt ageing. Alas there’s no ‘fountain of youth’ discovery here. In reality the papers were reporting on some genuinely interesting research on a small study of a drug for use in progeria, a very rare premature ageing condition.
• Cure fear of heights. Not a new magic pill this time, just plain old cortisol, a steroid hormone used to treat many conditions. Unfortunately, the research the news was based on looked at its use to complement virtual reality exposure to heights (already an effective treatment) in a small number of people with a psychiatric diagnosis of acrophobia – the fear of heights. This is not much help to the larger number of people who simply get sweaty palms near balconies, drops, edges and ledges.

This year, Behind the Headlines has fact-checked and explained more than 500 health news stories such as these. Tomorrow we will present the most interesting and accurately reported health stories of the year. In 2012, we hope that health news remains interesting, insightful and exciting, without some of the problems Behind the Headlines has unearthed in the past 12 months.

Links To The Headlines

Links To Science

“Having a brain packed full of grey matter means you are less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease” the Daily Mirror has reported.

The news was based on research which found that healthy elderly people in whom certain areas of the brain were smaller were more likely to develop symptoms of mental decline in the next three years than those in whom these areas were larger. Specialists looking at potential ways to predict who is at risk of developing Alzheimer’s, particularly through MRI scans, will find this study of interest. This is a key area of research since much current research is geared towards slowing or blocking Alzheimer’s disease at its early stages. At present scientists know that possessing abnormal levels of proteins called amyloids in the brain is associated with the disease, but know less about the role of brain structure.

However the numbers involved in this study are too small for any firm conclusions to be drawn and its findings should be viewed with some caution.  For example, out of the 14 people classified as “high risk” for early Alzheimer’s only three of them went on to develop symptoms of mental decline. Also, symptoms of mental decline do not necessarily predict Alzheimer’s disease as many people get some loss of mental function as they age, without developing the condition.

 

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA. It was funded by several private and public institutions including the US National Institutes for Health, several pharmaceutical companies and the Alzheimer’s Association. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology.

The Daily Mirror’s report that brain size shows the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s overstated the study’s findings. However, the Mirror balanced this statement with comments from an independent expert who said more research was needed to see whether brain scans could predict Alzheimer’s.

 

What kind of research was this?

In this analysis researchers set out to test their hypothesis that thinning of nine specific areas of the brain’s cortex could predict, or ‘be a marker for’, cognitive decline in elderly adults. The regions of the brain were chosen based on previous studies showing that they tend to shrink in patients with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and in those with amyloid plaque deposits. The imaging biomarker they used is called the “AD signature”.

The researchers point out that it is recognised that changes in the brain which are associated with AD take place many years before symptoms of the disease develop, and that biological markers of these changes can be used to diagnose “preclinical” AD. At present the main brain change associated with AD is the presence of abnormal levels of proteins called amyloid plaques. However, they say abnormalities of the brain structure are also thought to be implicated.

 

What did the research involve?

The researchers recruited 159 participants who were cognitively normal – free of cognitive decline or dementia – from a national database set up to test neuroimaging. They used MRI brain scans to measure the thickness of nine brain regions within the cortex, the outer layer of the brain (also known as grey matter) that plays a key role in functions such as memory, attention, language and consciousness. Certain patterns in these measurements, called the “AD signature” are based on previous studies showing that these areas show cortical thinning in patients with AD, MCI or with amyloid deposits.

Depending on the measurements of cortical thickness, they classified participants as being at low, average or high risk of “preclinical” AD – that is, early-stage Alzheimer’s. They followed the participants for at least three years. At the start of the study and over the three years, participants were given tests to monitor any cognitive changes; these measured memory, problem solving and ability to plan and pay attention.

The researchers also measured levels of amyloid proteins associated with AD in the participants’ cerebrospinal fluid. They used standard statistical methods to analyse their data.

 

What were the basic results?

Of the 159 participants, at the start of the study 19 were classified as being at high risk of having early AD, 116 as average risk and 24 as low risk. Of these people, 125 went on to complete the study.

The researchers found that by the end of the study:

• In the high-risk group 21% (3 out of 14) developed symptoms of cognitive decline
• In the average-risk group 6.6% (6 out of 90) developed symptoms of cognitive decline
• In the low-risk group 0% (0/21) developed symptoms of cognitive decline

They also found that 60% of the high-risk group, 36% of the average-risk group and 19% of the low-risk groups had abnormal levels of proteins associated with the disease in their cerebrospinal fluid.

 

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers say that further research is needed on how using MRI scans to measure the size of different brain regions, in combination with other tests, may help identify people at risk of AD as early as possible.

 

Conclusion

The main limitations of this study are the relatively small numbers of participants and its short follow-up period.  Also, only 21% – or three out of 14 – of those classified as high risk by the MRI biomarker being tested went on to develop symptoms of cognitive decline. Although this is a higher proportion than those in the average or low risk groups, it seems to indicate that this particular biomarker is not a sensitive measure of the development of cognitive problems, although as the researchers point out, this may be related to the short follow-up period.

It should also be noted that symptoms of cognitive decline are not the same as, and do not necessarily predict, Alzheimer’s disease. Many people experience some decline in mental function as they get older but this does not mean they will develop dementia.

Developing accurate markers for AD is a key area of research since it is likely that in future early treatment for those at risk of Alzheimer’s may be able to slow down the disease progress or even block its development.  Further larger studies are required before it is known whether or in what way neuroimaging can predict risk of AD.

Links To The Headlines

Your brain size shows how likely you are to develop Alzheimer’s, research reveals. Daily Mirror, December 23 2011

Links To Science

Dickerson BC, Wolk DA. MRI cortical thickness biomarker predicts AD-like CSF and cognitive decline in normal adults. Neurology 78 January 10 2012 [Awaiting online publication]

Resnick SM and Scheltens P. MRI-based biomarkers of preclinical AD: An Alzheimer signature. Neurology; Published online before print December 2011