HEALTH NOTES: Breath analysis kit that can detect Covid being developed
A type of breath analyzer device that can diagnose Covid infections is being developed.
When the user breathes into a tube, lasers analyze it, spotting the virus molecules by measuring how many light particles are absorbed.
The machine was created by a team at the University of Colorado Boulder, and a recent study of 170 people found it to be 85 percent accurate.
Now making a more portable version, the makers believe the technique could work in other early-diagnosed diseases, such as pancreatic cancer.
A type of breathalyzer machine that can diagnose Covid infections is being developed (stock photo)
Tomatoes may be the key to fertility
British doctors are investigating whether a nutrient in tomatoes can increase sperm quality.
Previous research has shown that lycopene, which gives tomatoes their red color, can increase the chances of conception. That is why scientists at the University of Sheffield are now going to give 40 men with fertility problems a daily concentrated supplement of the natural substance.
The vitamin pill that will be used is LactoLycopene, which is available at some drugstores. After 12 weeks, researchers will measure the men’s sperm count and compare it to a control group that received placebos.
Dr. Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, said the team wants to know if doses of LactoLycopene could help couples avoid invasive fertility treatments.
Research has shown that lycopene, which gives tomatoes their red color, can increase the chances of conception
Pausing breast cancer treatment during pregnancy does not increase the risk of the disease coming back, a study finds.
Most women who have had breast cancer go on to take drugs that lower their levels of sex hormones for up to ten years, as tumors grow in response to estrogen and progesterone. But this drug can cause birth defects, so women are usually told to wait before having a baby. For many, this makes it too late for a family.
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston now compared 516 women who interrupted treatment for three years to 1,500 women who did not. In both, nine percent developed a new or recurrent tumor.
Breast cancer surgeon Dr Mary Gemignani says: ‘In the short term it seems safe to take a break.’
GPs have been warned not to tell patients to call the NHS emergency hotline 111.
NHS England’s guideline is to refer patients to 111 only in ‘exceptional circumstances’. The helpline is a free 24-hour service that provides advice for urgent medical problems, but demand is so high that one in six callers give up before they reach an operator.
Now, as part of the plan to improve patient rapport, all GPs must keep a record of patients they refer to 111 and inform their local health trust when they do so.