Mental Health in the News

"Tamiflu maker accused of secrecy over trial data," reported The Independent today, while The Daily Telegraph said that scientists have challenged Roche, the manufacturer of the antiviral, to "prove Tamiflu works". While these are disturbing headlines, they do not necessarily mean that the drug is ineffective or even harmful, as some newspapers seem to imply.

"The Pill CAN ease the agony of period pain: scientists confirm what millions of women already know," the Daily Mail reported today. This headline is based on a study that found that use of the combined oral contraceptive pill (and, to a lesser extent, getting older and childbirth) was associated with slightly less severe period pain.

Several newspapers have today reported that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does not increase the risk of breast cancer. The reports said that the study that reported the link in 2002 was "fundamentally flawed".

"More vitamin D a day could keep glasses away," according to The Independent. The newspaper reported that "boosting vitamin D intake could help to prevent age-related diseases, in particular loss of vision and blindness". Unfortunately, this article and others have inferred too much from the results of a very small, short-term laboratory study of eye-ageing problems in animals.

"A throat spray has been developed to spot cancer of the oesophagus at an early stage," according to the Daily Mail. The paper says that the test "offers hope" to the 8,000 Britons diagnosed with the cancer each year.