Walking 3,000 or more steps a day may slow progression of Alzheimer’s, study says

Even modest amounts of daily exercise may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in older people who are at risk of developing the condition, researchers have said.People are often encouraged to clock up 10,000 steps a day as part of a healthy routine, but scientists found 3,000 steps or more appeared to delay the brain changes and cognitive decline that Alzheimer’s patients experience.Results from the 14-year-long study showed cognitive decline was delayed by an average of three years in people who walked 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day, and by seven years in those who managed 5,000 to 7,000 steps daily.“We’re encouraging older people who are at risk of Alzheimer’s to consider making small changes to their activity levels, to build sustained habits that protect or benefit their brain and cognitive health,” said Dr Wai-Ying Yau, the first author on the study at Mass General Brigham hospital in Boston.Dementia affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide, with Alzheimer’s disease the most common cause

UK’s unregulated pregnancy scan clinics putting lives in danger, say experts

High street clinics offering pregnancy scans could be putting unborn babies and their mothers in danger through a lack of properly trained staff, UK experts have warned.According to the Society for Radiographers (SoR), high street clinics have seen a huge growth in numbers. However, hospital specialists say they have seen cases of missed health problems, misdiagnosed conditions, and situations in which women were erroneously told their babies were malformed or had died.“I had a lady referred for a potential miscarriage from a clinic and when I scanned her they’d measured a bleed in the womb and they completely missed a very early pregnancy sac with a baby inside it,” said Katie Thompson, a hospital sonographer and president of the SoR.“Potentially, if they were at a private clinic that could offer a miscarriage service, then they could have been given some medication to bring on a miscarriage on a pregnancy that was actually not miscarrying,” she said

NHS hospitals to test AI tool that helps diagnose and treat prostate cancer

A tool that uses artificial intelligence to help diagnose men with prostate cancer and guide decisions about treatment is to be tested in NHS hospitals, researchers have announced.The £1.9m Vanguard Path study, funded by Prostate Cancer UK and led by researchers at the University of Oxford, is expected to last three years and will test an AI tool called the ArteraAI Prostate Biopsy Assay. In total, biopsies from more than 4,000 men will be used.The tool, which analyses digitised biopsy images to produce a personalised risk score, has already been shown in clinical trials to identify which men with high-risk prostate cancer would be most likely to benefit from the drug abiraterone

Why we must tackle the crisis in end-of-life care | Letters

Your editorial on hospices (29 October) was right to highlight the crisis in end-of-life care. As the National Audit Office’s report makes clear, unless urgent action is taken, the system will be overwhelmed. More than 5.75 million deaths are expected in the next decade, and over 5 million of those people will need palliative care. Too many face dying in avoidable pain, in poverty and alone

Why Reeves should gamble on tax hikes | Brief letters

Betfred has said it would close all 1,287 of its high street betting shops if Rachel Reeves raises taxes on the industry (Betfred says gambling tax rise in budget will force it to shut all its UK shops, 19 October). What further encouragement can she need?John SaxbeeHaverfordwest, Pembrokeshire As great as Prunella Scales’s character was, I never really cared for Fawlty Towers (Obituary, 28 October). But I did care that she was at the launch of the Anti‑Nazi League back in the day, which helped to sweep the fascist National Front off our streets. Pete HendyHigh Wycombe, Buckinghamshire If Trump changes the constitution to allow him to run for a third term, wouldn’t that also open the door for Barack Obama to run again (The US politics sketch, 2 November)?Hilary BirdKilndown, Kent Re Melanie White’s letter about dogs on sofas (Letters, 30 October), try telling that to our snuggle‑loving whippet. She’ll be saying they shouldn’t be allowed on the bed next

A fatal drop: what do we know about the drugs, 500 times stronger than heroin, taking Australian lives?

Only a few years after first being detected in Australia, nitazenes have been found in everything from vapes to fake heroin – and the death toll is risingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIn the middle of winter last year, in a unit in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Carly Morse, Thomas Vale, Michael Hodgkinson and Abdul El Sayed used a rolled-up bank note to inhale cocaine. About 3am on 24 June 2024, all four likely became unresponsive.El Sayed’s uncle, Cory Lewis, became concerned late the following night when his nephew, who had been living with him, did not return home.He banged on the door of the unit but there was no answer. A reflective tint on a side window meant he could not see inside, so Lewis jumped a fence and went to the back of the unit