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A new blood test becomes positive earlier than current tests after a heart attack. It has the potential to reduce the pressure on A&E and hospital beds by increasing the early discharge of low-risk patients.

Cancer of the nasopharynx (that part of the throat between the back of the nose and the back of the mouth) is uncommon in the UK but is prevalent in Southeast Asia. Those at most risk are middle-aged men of Chinese descent, particularly smokers with a family history of the condition. Symptoms include a stuffy nose, nose bleeds, deafness or tinnitus...

MHRA seizes more than 100 unreliable HIV home-testing kits

A recent publication published in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that the lithium present naturally in small quantities in tap water may have a protective effect against dementia.

Cancer of the nasopharynx (that part of the throat between the back of the nose and the back of the mouth) is prevalent in Southeast Asia. It often causes no symptoms until locally advanced. In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on 10 August 2017, blood plasma samples from more than 20,000 men of Chinese descent aged 40 to 62 living in Hong Kong were tested for circulating DNA fragments of the Epstein-Barr virus. There were persistently positive results in 309 men who were then offered examination of their nasopharynx with an endoscope and by MRI scanning. Of the 300 men examined 34 (11%) were found to have nasopharyngeal cancer, and it was at an early and potentially curable stage in 16 of them.

The September edition of Which? member's magazine featured the article 'Help your GP to help you' providing the reader with an insight into GP appointments. The article features 'Useful websites recommended by GP's'. It includes Lab Tests Online-UK as one of only five recommended and trusted websites.

Lab Tests Online-UK was recently recommended in a report published on digital technology in the healthcare system by the Nuffield Trust. Entitled “The Digital Patient: Transforming Primary Care?”, the report highlights the current state of digital technology and how new advances within the healthcare setting may help improve the patient experience and other outcomes.

Premature coronary heart disease can result from the inheritance of a genetic defect from one parent that raises the blood plasma cholesterol concentration from birth. If the condition familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is detected early, treatment can prevent premature disease. At present all close relatives of an affected individual are offered screening tests. A UK study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on 27 October 2016 found that screening all toddlers during a routine vaccination visit to 92 general practice surgeries identified both children and parents at risk. Of 10,095 one year old children who were tested over three years, 28 (0.3%) were found to have FH; 28 parents also had FH of whom 25 started cholesterol-lowering treatment.

In a news item on 1 February 2016 we reported the recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee that non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) of mother’s blood in early pregnancy be offered to those with high risk results from current screening tests for Down’s syndrome. This would decrease the number of false positives and so reduce the number of potential miscarriages from invasive diagnostic procedures. The Department of Health has now approved the test for implementation. It is expected to be rolled out over the next three years once staff have been trained and the technology made available.

A new prenatal DNA blood test reliably determines the Rhesus-D (RhD) status of the baby being carried by a woman whose red blood cells are RhD negative. Currently all RhD negative women are offered an anti-D immunoglobulin injection during pregnancy to reduce the possibility of problems in future pregnancies. But those carrying an RhD negative baby do not need the injection. The new test was recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in draft guidance on 14 July 2016. NICE said research indicated that about 40,000 RhD negative women each year would be spared treatment with anti-D immunoglobulin; in addition there would be potential NHS cost-savings of more than £50,000 a year.