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Infrared light therapy could potentially be used to help people living with dementia, scientists have said. A pilot study used a helmet to beam the light into healthy volunteers' brains and found improvements in their memory, motor function and processing skills. The researchers found a significant improvement in performance in motor function (finger tapping), memory performance (mathematical processing, a type of working memory), delayed memory and brain processing speed, in healthy people who had received PBM-T compared to those in the control placebo group.
The research team, led by Dr Paul Chazot of Durham University and GP Dr Gordon Dougal, say transcranial photobiomodulation therapy (PBM-T) could benefit people with dementia. In the study, published in the journal Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine And Laser Surgery, 14 healthy people aged 45 and over received six minutes of PBM-T at a wavelength of 2068 nanometres twice a day for a month. A control group of 13 people were given a dummy helmet to use. Tests on both groups revealed a significant improvement in performance in motor function, memory and brain processing speed in those who used the real helmet compared to those who were given the placebo.
Read more: Scientists say Infrared light therapy could help people living with dementia
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Men could benefit from faster diagnosis and quicker treatment of prostate cancer following the expansion of a pioneering trial of Artificial Intelligence to analyse biopsies. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. In the UK, nearly 100,000 men undergo a prostate biopsy every year - a number expected to double in the next ten years. More than 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in England every year.
The technology, which has been developed by health tech company Ibex Medical Analytics, is designed to help reduce diagnostic errors and speed up diagnosis. Clinicians will compare the results of the AI analysis to current diagnosis methods, where biopsies are meticulously reviewed by a pathologist.
Read more: New hospitals to join pioneering study to improve prostate cancer diagnosis using AI
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The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has launched a public consultation on proposed changes to the way it assesses health technology.
The consultation is open until 13 October and includes several changes which will ensure the institute (NICE) evolves alongside the technological advances being seen in medicines and data.
Several key opportunities for improvement have been identified and NICE is now seeking feedback on potential changes.
Read more: NICE launches consultation on health technology evaluation
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The NHS COVID Pass lets you share your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination records or test COVID-19 status in a secure way. It allows you to show others the details of your COVID-19 vaccine (or vaccines) when travelling abroad to some countries or territories. From Monday 19 July, you may be asked to demonstrate your COVID-19 status at places that use the service in England as a condition of entry to a venue or event. The NHS COVID Pass also allows individuals to demonstrate their COVID-19 status.
International travel - You can show the vaccination records contained within your NHS COVID Pass as proof of your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad. In addition to your NHS COVID Pass, you will need to follow additional rules when travelling abroad.
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England’s top doctor is sending out an army of volunteers to teach ‘Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation’ (CPR) and how to use defibrillators. This initiative comes after international footballer Christian Eriksen was saved by quick thinking medics during the Euro 2020 football match. At 5.43pm, 12th June, Eriksen had a heart attack after receiving a throw-in, and collapsed to the ground. Thankfully the defibrillator was produced quickly, and together with the heart massage, it revived Eriksen.
Speaking at the NHS Confederation Conference on the day Denmark returned to action in Euro 2020, England’s National Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis, is expected to say that ‘it is clear the footballer’s life was saved by urgent medical attention on the pitch – just like Fabrice Muamba nine years earlier’.
With only one in three people in England giving CPR when they witness someone going into cardiac arrest, Professor Powis says thousands more lives could be saved if more people knew what to do. He is announcing the launch of a new partnership with St John Ambulance to deliver an NHS programme encouraging everyone to learn CPR and how to use defibrillators. The health and first aid charity recently trained 27,000 vaccination volunteers in these lifesaving skills and will seek to train an additional 60,000 people as part of this new programme.
Read more: NHS kicks off 'CPR Army' following footballer’s collapse
