Medicine and Science from The BMJ

Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré is the executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. In this podcast, she updates us on recent successes in the global effort to control the disease. A second podcast examines the effect of the current ebola outbreak on the prevention and treatment of malaria, and other diseases, in affected regions.

A thrice failed antidepressant is at the centre of a new marketing campaign to win approval for what could become the world’s first blockbuster sex pill for women. Frustrated by the drug’s repeated rejection, proponents have orchestrated a fierce attack, accusing the regulator of unfairness, and enlisting support from several well connected women’s organisations in the US. Critics counter that the...

Our whole society views risk in medicine wrongly, argue Jerome Hoffman and Hemal Kanzaria from the University of California Los Angeles. In this podcast they slay some strongly held myths about medicine's ability to heal, and say that one of our big beliefs, that death is not inevitable, is leading to overtreatment. Read their full analysis of the situation: http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g570...

Allyson Pollock, professor of global health, and Peter Roderick, a barrister and senior research fellow, both at Queen Mary University of London, argue that, through various mechanisms in the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, the NHS in England could be turned into a small core service. For full healthcare coverage, will we have to turn to commercial medicine? Read their analysis article: http://ww...

Cerebral palsy is a clinical diagnosis, which describes a wide spectrum of neurological disability – all as a result of some sort of trauma to the developing brain, either pre or post natally. Neil Wimalasundera, a consultant in paediatric neurodisability at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and one of the authors of The BMJ clinical review discusses how to diagnose and manage cerebral palsy in childr...

Jocalyn Clarke, executive editor at icdd,b, argues the solutions proposed to improve global health are too focused on the medical, and fail to tackle the underlying socioeconomic factors which will undermine those efforts. Read her full analysis of the situation: http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5457

In April 2006 one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands hit the national headlines with the exposure of “scandalously” poor results for cardiac surgery. Melvin Samsom, CEO of the hospital, explains how the high death rates galvanised quality improvement and innovative change, transforming it into a model for patient participation. Read more about the transformation at: http://www.bmj.com/con...

Kawasaki Disease presents as fever and rash, which makes diagnosis difficult. In this podcast, Anthony Harnden, professor of primary care at the University of Oxford, describes what to watch out for to ensure you don’t miss the diagnosis. Read the full article: http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5336

Is medicine trying to learn too much from aviation? Kevin Fong, consultant anaesthetist at UCLH is currently working with Kent, Surrey and Sussex air ambulance. At Risky Business he talked to The BMJ about why he thinks medicine is trying to learn too much from aviation.

Screening tests were central to many of the discussions taking place at the Preventing Overdiagnosis conference (preventingoverdiagnosis.net) To sum up some of the problems with screening we’re joined by Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, and John Broderson, associate professor in the Research Unit and Section of General Practice at the U...

A recent clinical review in The BMJ discusses diagnosis and management of prolactinomas and non-functioning pituitary adenomas. One management option is surgery to remove the tumour, often this can done trans-sphenoidally. Though major complications of this type of surgery are low (~1%), there are still effects that can be distressing to patients, and should be discussed. In this interview the pat...

Stephen Martin, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, thinks we're overtreating otherwise healthy patients who have mild hypertension. In this podcast he sets out his argument, and explains why prescribing drugs to these people may actually be doing more harm than good. Read the full analysis article: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.g5432

Demand for better access to primary care is ever rising, but is email the answer? In this podcast, Elinor Gunning, a clinical teaching fellow in London says that patients want it and that careful planning can mitigate worries about safety and security. Emma Richards, trainee academic GP, is not so sure and thinks clearer guidance and resourcing are needed first. Read the head to head online: http:...

David Heymann, professor of infectious disease epidemiology, and head and senior fellow, at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security was sent to investigate the first outbreaks of Ebola in 1976. In this podcast he gives a longer term perspective on the disease, and talks about the importance and challenges of introducing novel treatments. For more information on ebola virus disease, incl...

A new rational testing article, published on thebmj.com, looks at how to diagnose an immediate food allergy. Mabel Chew, The BMJ's practice editor, is joined by Cathal Steele from the Belfast Trust Regional Immunology Service - they discuss which tests are appropriate, and the common pitfalls in diagnosis. Read the full article: http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g3695

Management of spasticity requires a balanced approach, weighing the benefits of treatment against the usefulness of the spasticity. Current interventions to treat spasticity lack a robust evidence base, and guidelines often depend on expert recommendations. A new clinical review published on thebmj.com discusses the assessment and treatment of spasticity in adults. In this podcast we're joined by...

Global endorsement as a WHO essential medicine is big step. But Corrado Barbui, from the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Verona, has found that the quality of applications for antidepressants and antipsychotics is poor and calls on applicants and WHO to raise standards. Read the analysis article: http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g4798

Pre-diabetes is an umbrella term and the most widely used phrase to describe a blood concentration of glucose or glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) that lies above normal but below that defined for diabetes. John S Yudkin, emeritus professor of diabetes at University College London, thinks this is over-medicalisation and will only increase the burden on individuals and the health system. Read the full a...

Research fraud, the deliberate falsification of research data, undermines science and can lead to horrible outcomes, as exemplified by Andrew Wakefield and the MMR/Autism scandal. A new Head to Head in The BMJ sets out the case for and against making research fraud a crime. Arguing yes is Prof. Zulfiqar Bhutta, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, who says that criminal sanctions are ne...

HIV testing is now being routinely offered in increasingly diverse health settings, including primary care. In this podcast we talk to HIV consultant Mike Rayment, from Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, and Paul, a patient diagnosed with HIV infection 4 years ago. They discuss how to go about offering testing, and what matters to patients when they receive the diagnosis. Read the clini...

Devi Sridhar, population health researcher and lecturer, joins us to discuss why an independent organisation to co-ordinate international health concerns is absolutely necessary. Read more in her analysis article, Global rules for global health: Why we need an independent, impartial WHO

Whichever country hoists aloft the World Cup trophy on 13 July, the real winner will be the alcohol industry. In this podcast Jonathan Gornall explains why FIFA promotes the interests of the alcohol industry, and the extraordinary demands countries comply with in order to host the World Cup. World Cup 2014: festival of football or alcohol? http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g3772

Drugs to encourage weight loss have a chequered past, with many of them having been withdrawn from the market due to increased morbidity and mortality. In this podcast Raj Padwal, associate professor of medicine at the University of Alberta, takes us through the remaining therapy Orlistat, and discusses the potential for two new therapies, Phentermine-ER topiramate, and Lorcaserin, which are being...

Two articles on bmj.com look at helicobacter pylori; a systematic review and meta-analysis examines if eradication treatment reduces rates of gastric cancer, and an uncertainties article asks who we should be testing and treating for the infection. Two of the authors of those articles, Alex Ford from the Leeds Gastroenterology Institute, and Paul Moayyedi from the Gastroenterology Division of McMa...

New NICE guidance says that smokers should be encouraged to cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoke, as well as trying to quit. In a head to head, published on bmj.com, Paul Aveyard, professor of behavioural medicine at the University of Oxford, says that reducing smoking is a worthwhile step towards cessation, but Gerard Hastings, professor of social marketing at Stirling and Open Univers...