Daily weight loss pill can help cut body weight by a fifth, trial shows

A daily pill for weight loss can help people reduce their body weight by as much as a fifth, according to a trial that could pave the way for millions more people to shed pounds.The drug, called orforglipron, is manufactured by Eli Lilly and targets the same GLP-1 receptors as weight loss injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy. In a trial of 3,127 adults, one in five people who took the once-a-day tablet for 72 weeks lost 20% or more of their body weight.Weight loss jabs have been transformative but pill versions are seen as a holy grail because they are easier to store, distribute and administer and are also expected to be cheaper, offering fresh hope for the millions of people trying to lose weight.Orforglipron is a GLP-1 agonist, a type of medication that helps lower blood sugar levels, slows the digestion of food and can reduce appetite

US health officials to revisit vaccine policies using anti-vax tactics, experts warn

US health officials are reportedly planning to release data on child deaths and serious side effects they would attribute to Covid-19 vaccines, raising alarm among public health experts who say the publicly available data does not support these claims and the report may lead to increased anti-vaccine sentiment.Independent advisers for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later this week plan to revisit recommendations for Covid shots as well as vaccines for measles and hepatitis B.The move is part of a larger effort to cast doubt on vaccines and reduce access to them, said David Gorski, a professor of surgery and oncology at Wayne State University who has tracked anti-vaccine activism for decades.Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a longtime anti-vaxxer who continues to make sweeping, controversial changes to the US vaccine program, Gorski said.“RFK Jr wants to take away your vaccines,” he said

Long Covid linked to heavier periods and risk of iron deficiency

Women with long Covid are prone to longer, heavier periods, which could put them at greater risk of iron deficiency that exacerbates common symptoms of the condition, doctors say.The findings emerged from a UK survey of more than 12,000 women, which also found that the severity of long Covid symptoms rose and fell across the menstrual cycle and became worse when women had their periods.Preliminary tests revealed hormonal changes and excessive inflammation of the womb lining in women with long Covid, but more work is needed to establish the knock-on effects. There was no evidence that long Covid harmed ovary function.The work points to a two-way effect, with long Covid affecting women’s periods and hormonal changes over the menstrual cycle affecting the severity of long Covid symptoms

Hospital league tables will harm, not heal, the NHS | Letters

Wes Streeting does not seem to understand the complexity of healthcare funding. League tables will exacerbate regional differences rather than abolish them (Norfolk hospital worst in country as NHS league tables reintroduced, 9 September). The problems are not unknown but, sadly for this government, will not be solved in the next four years. It should not be a surprise, especially for Mr Streeting, that the NHS cannot function efficiently until social care is fixed.There is a massive shortage of staff in all specialities, which take 10 to 15 years to get from university to skilled professional

Letter: Sir Kenneth Calman obituary

During his tenure as chief medical officer for England, Sir Kenneth Calman visited our medical careers research group, led by Michael Goldacre, in Oxford in the 1990s.This was at a time of long and arduous work demands on newly qualified doctors and many had written to us expressing their fears and concerns personally and for their patients. Ken sat down and read the carefully anonymised comments of the doctors for some time and was visibly moved.As he went on his way, we were hugely impressed by his evident compassion for the junior doctors and steadfast determination to improve working conditions and support for doctors at the beginning of their careers.

Mothers and babies at risk of harm in ‘toxic’ NHS cover-up culture, health leader to say

Mothers and babies being harmed in the NHS risks becoming normalised because of its toxic cover-up culture, a health leader will say, as it emerged that 14 trusts are the focus of a national maternity investigation in England.Charles Massey, the chief executive of the General Medical Council, will tell a conference on Monday that “something must have gone badly wrong” when trainee obstetrics and gynaecology doctors are fearful of speaking up.The “tribal” nature of medicine with doctors and other staff pitted against each other could be preventing people from raising their concerns or admitting when things go wrong, Massey will say.His stark warning came as the government named 14 NHS trusts that are being examined as part of its rapid inquiry into maternity and neonatal services in England.They are:Barking, Havering and Redbridge university hospitals NHS trust