Doctors’ archaic attitudes over sterilisation | Letter

Reading this article (Woman denied permanent birth control on NHS wins case with ombudsman, 1 May) reminded me of my husband’s and my experience of trying to obtain sterilisation on the NHS in the 1990s. At the time we were in our 30s and neither of us wanted to have children.Rather than for me to continue taking the pill, we decided that the best option for us was for my husband to have a vasectomy. At the hospital consultation, I was flabbergasted when the doctor said that he was not going to approve the procedure on the grounds that at some time in the future my husband could leave me and want to have children with another woman.Only when I threatened a complaint to the GMC did they change their mind and approve it

Lacunar strokes caused by widening of arteries in brain, study suggests

The cause of a type of stroke that affects about 35,000 people across the UK each year has been uncovered by researchers and may explain why some medications are ineffective as treatment.Lacunar strokes, which account for a quarter of all strokes in the UK, had been linked to the blockage of arteries in the brain by fatty deposits.However, a study published on Wednesday suggests they are not caused by blocked arteries but by the enlargement and widening of arteries in the brain.This would help to explain why aspirin and other blood thinners, commonly used to prevent ischaemic strokes, are not as effective in preventing lacunar stroke.The research by academics at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute analysed 229 patients who had experienced either a lacunar or mild non-lacunar stroke

MPs v the manosphere: ministers battle misogyny as they take a different message to men and boys across Australia

“Gender equality isn’t women versus men or a zero-sum game,” Ged Kearney says.“It delivers better outcomes for everyone. It’s important that, as we engage with men and boys, we make that really clear.”But as the assistant minister for the prevention of family violence sets off on a national listening tour with the special envoy for men’s health, Dan Repacholi, they are up against a pervasive and very different conception of how men and women relate, fostered by the loud voices of the manosphere and men’s rights activists.For decades, those activists have called for Australia to have a minister for men

Man produces sperm from testicular tissue frozen as a child in breakthrough trial

In a groundbreaking fertility trial, a man whose testicular tissue was frozen before he underwent chemotherapy as a child to be re-transplanted 16 years later has been able to produce sperm.It is the first time a transplant of cryopreserved prepubertal testicular tissue has been demonstrated to restore sperm production in an adult patient. The 27-year-old man had the sample frozen when he was 10, before undergoing potent chemotherapy as part of treatment for sickle cell disease.“This is a huge finding,” said Prof Ellen Goossens, of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who led the trial, in close collaboration with Brussels IVF at University Hospital Brussel. “Many more people will have hope that they can have biological children

London schools trialling VR to relieve pupils’ stress

Schools have begun deploying virtual reality to help pupils cope with stress caused by impending exams, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or difficult home lives.All 15 secondary schools in the London borough of Sutton are using VR headsets made by tech firm Phase Space in a pilot in conjunction with the local NHS mental health trust.Pupils access the seven-minute-long Phase Space VR programme either in a prearranged slot or when they need to leave a lesson because they have become beset by anxiety.Young people find that immersing themselves in VR, even for such a short period of time, helps them calm down, rebuild their confidence and feel ready to resume their studies. Phase Space has been designed to help “overwhelmed and anxious students”, said Zillah Watson, a co-creator of the programme, who is a former head of VR at the BBC

One in three HR leaders face opposition to inclusion schemes, study finds

More than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research.The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise.The findings raised concerns about the impact on people with convictions, who often rely on inclusive hiring practices to access work.Working Chance, which supports women with convictions into employment, warned that scaling back inclusive hiring risked entrenching social exclusion and undermining efforts to reduce reoffending.Evidence consistently shows that stable employment is one of the most effective ways of preventing people from returning to the criminal justice system, the charity said