Category Archives: health

Stroke patients see signs of recovery in stem-cell trial

Trial patients will get progressively higher doses of stem cells

Foetal blood stem cells

Five seriously disabled stroke patients have shown small signs of recovery following the injection of stem cells into their brain.

Prof Keith Muir, of Glasgow University, who is treating them, says he is “surprised” by the mild to moderate improvements in the five patients.

He stresses it is too soon to tell whether the effect is due to the treatment they are receiving.

The results will be presented at the European Stroke Conference in London.

Complete paralysisBBC News has had the first exclusive interview with one of the patients involved.

They are taking part in a small clinical trial involving nine patients in their 60s, 70s and 80s at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital to assess the safety of the procedure which involves injecting stem cells into the damaged brain part.
It is one of the first trials in the world to test the use of stem cells in patients.

Which? is looking for people with long term illness to take part in some research

Which? is looking for people to take part in some research. We would like to talk to:

people who have been diagnosed with a long term, serious or life threatening illness;
the families and/or carers of people who have been diagnosed with a long term, serious or life threatening illness; and
people who have been bereaved in the past two years.

We want to understand the consumer issues and extra costs that people in this position may face (e.g. higher fuel bills and legal fees). We’d also like to know if people with a serious condition feel they have the support and the information they need to make the right choices  – for example when buying goods and services. We’re also interested in how well supported people feel when dealing with end of life issues like wills and probate.

Why don’t they listen to what carers have to say?

True integration involves the NHS, local councils and families

Families are the biggest providers of care, yet carers can find themselves cut out of decision-making and bounced between different bureaucracies

Norman Lamb and Heléna Herklots
Guardian Professional, Wednesday 15 May 2013 08.30 BST

The 6.5 million carers in the UK providing unpaid care to their loved ones outnumber all NHS and social care staff put together.

Caring is a fact of life. Whether a partner falls ill, or a parent needs support as they grow older, or a child is born with a disability – it will affect us all at some point.

At times like these, families pull together to support each other. But too often they find that the services there to support them don’t do the same.