Mental Health in the News

Patients with a common type of metal hip implant should have annual health checks for as long as they have the implant, according to the UK body for regulating medical devices. The all-metal devices have been found to wear down at an accelerated rate in some patients, potentially causing damage and deterioration in the bone and tissue around the hip. There are also concerns that they could leak traces of metal into the bloodstream, which the annual medical checks will monitor.

Sleeping pills are linked to a raised risk of death, according to several high-profile news reports in today's newspapers. Several front page stories have covered the link, reporting a four-fold increased risk of death among users of the drugs, medically known as 'hypnotics'.

Mentally ill people are four times more likely to be victims of violence, the BBC has today reported.

"It could be possible to reverse the muscle damage seen in children with a form of motor neurone disease," according to BBC News. The condition in question - spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - causes deterioration of specific nerves and muscles in the body, and is sometimes known as 'floppy baby syndrome' due to the weakness it creates in the limbs. The condition reportedly affects 1 in 6,000 babies, with around half of children with the most severe form of this disease dying before the age of two.