Inside Health

Why more than 1 in 10 people having emergency abdominal surgery die within 30 days of their operation. Which thermometers parents should use and which they should not. Vitamins and dementia - a controversy dividing scientists. Could taking B vitamins lower the levels of the amino acid homocysteine and slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease? Absolute risk v relative risk.

The Off-Patent Drugs Bill aims to prevent people missing out on life-saving treatments, but doctors can already prescribe drugs off-licence so why do we need a new law? Pre-diabetes - a new label that could apply to as many as 1 in 3 British adults, but is it a useful to know this? The importance of diagnosing sepsis early and how to recognise the key signs. Plus Dr Margaret McCartney and Dr Carl Heneghan explain the meaning of the phrase 'all cause mortality'. Presented by Dr Mark Porter.

Elite athletes are far more likely to use asthma inhalers than the general population. Do the stresses and strains of competition bring on asthma-type symptoms or does an inhaler give a performance advantage to individual sportsmen and women? Dr Mark Porter talks to sports physician Dr Babette Pluim about her review of the use of inhalers in sport.One hundred and fifty thousand knee arthroscopies are performed every year in the NHS with most of them involving surgery to smooth, remove or repair damaged cartilage, the meniscus. But there are concerns that we do too many arthroscopies in the light of evidence that intervention isn't always required. Andrew Price, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford, tells Mark when surgery is useful and Inside Health's Dr Margaret McCartney reviews the mounting body of evidence that has called into question some knee surgery. Dr Annabel Bentley, former Medical Director

What is the evidence that taxing sugary drinks will help to tackle obesity? Low libido in women - what is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and where did the diagnosis originally come from? Is it a label that will liberate millions of women or a construct to market new drugs? Plus Mark visits Europe's largest robotic pharmacy at a brand new hospital in Bristol.

Diabetes in pregnancy, gestational diabetes, is on the increase, and the risks to mother and baby if this condition is untreated, are very serious. Around one in fourteen pregnant women will develop GD, but the risk is much greater according to age and weight of the mother, whether there's a history of diabetes in the family and in certain ethnic groups. Dr Mark Porter visits The Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge, where Dr Helen Murphy introduces him to the specialist teams that enable 70% of the women diagnosed there to manage their diabetes through diet and exercise, rather than medication. The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, has introduced new guidelines for diagnosing gestational diabetes which differ from international thresholds backed by the World Health Organisation. Mark talks to researcher Dr Claire Meek from The Rosie, one of the authors of research published in the journal Diabetologia, which found that up to 4,000 women, at risk of serious birth complications,

Across England, selected GP surgeries are trialling 7-day working, but there are reports that take-up has been so low in some areas, particularly on Sundays, that pilots have been abandoned. Dr Margaret McCartney and Dr Mark Porter investigate where the pressure for extended opening hours is coming from. Mark visits Herefordshire where Taurus Healthcare, a federation of local GPs, is running a late night/weekend service. Managing Director Graeme Cleland describes the high take-up of the service after an initial slow start, and says new patients have been treated, showing previously latent demand in the system. Mike Dando is a wheelchair user with spina bifida and diabetes, and before the pilot started a year ago, he would have to wait in all day for a district nurse to dress his ulcerated legs. Now he just makes an appointment at a time convenient for him. But at the end of this year the seed money provided by the Prime Minister's Challenge Fund runs out, so what will happen to the Herefordshire pilot? Chair

Cervical screening in older women has hit the headlines, but reports have not explained whether these women being diagnosed after 65 have attended screening. Concerns about an outbreak of Hepatitis E in Nepal that could kill pregnant women; A new technique being trialled in the UK to treat enlarged prostate; and Dr Margaret McCartney on statistical significance.

Treating low sex drive in women. Expert panels in the USA have voted in favour of a drug that has been dubbed 'Pink Viagra', but there are serious reservations. Outdoor swimming is the new trend for 2015, but should you take the plunge or go in slowly? Strokes in the under 55's have recently been reported to be on the increase: Dr Margaret McCartney takes a closer look at the evidence. And unpicking tricky terms to understand your health - causation versus association. Presented by Dr Mark Porter.

In the last of the current series Mark Porter answers your feedback on sex education, off licence use of drugs and drinking smoothies instead of eating fruit.Plus hospital bed numbers have been halved over 25 years, while admissions have rocketed - up by 3 million in the last decade alone; Inside Health discusses how hospitals have been coping.Plus calls for frailty to be an official diagnosis rather than simply a general description - Mark Porter examines the implications.

Mark Porter visits a very smelly laboratory to find out how your gut bacteria could be influencing your weight - and more besides.Doctors have written to the authorities asking for permission to use the drug Avastin instead of the more expensive alternative, Lucentis, to treat patients with age related macular degeneration (AMD) - the commonest cause of blindness in older people. Inside Health investigates.And new research into peanut allergy, turning conventional wisdom on its head, that every parent should know.

The big news in public health this week with the parliamentary vote on the introduction of standardised cigarette packets. A move the tobacco industry has resisted fiercely. Inside Health discusses the evidence for the sort of impact the policy might have on the nation's smoking habits?The difficult issue of when and how to tell children about sex. Schools throughout England are to be offered new guidance to help them with sex education in PHSE classes for KS3 and KS4 pupils. But, the classes are still not going to be made a statutory part of the curriculum. Inside Health's Margaret McCartney examines the evidence.And a listener has asked about gallstones after a recent scan had shown debris or sludge in the gallbladder.Plus news from Las Vegas, New York and the UK on trends in plastic surgery.

Recent research was widely reported as concluding that 30 year old guidance to limit saturated fats had been overturned and should never have been introduced - and that we can now eat as much butter, cheese, sausages and pies as we like.But, as ever, the real story is a bit different. Inside Health debates the real evidence and hears from Sweden that rumours of change in its guidance have also been misreported.As big companies try to attract female employees by offering 'egg freezing' as a corporate carrot, Dr Mark Porter examines the success rates and implications for women wanting to start a family.And checking your moles - how to tell the difference between the sinister and the innocent.

New drug-driving legislation which comes into force next week applies to some medicines too. Particularly morphine based painkillers taken by hundreds of thousands of people in the UK, many of whom could inadvertently find themselves on the wrong side of the law.And planning for a good death - an Inside Health listener says he believes it's better to die earlier from heart disease than go on to develop cancer later in life. Is he right?Plus as many as 1 in 10 university students in the UK are now thought to be dabbling with smart drugs to help them revise and boost exam performance. Inside Health talks to leading experts about cognitive enhancers.

After recent headlines that running too much can be bad for your heart, Mark Porter talks to the Medical Director for the London Marathon to get an insider's perspective. A novel psychological approach to weight loss that asks why people are eating too much rather than just giving dietary advice. Plus new treatments for Hepatitis C and statistics showing a reduction in binge drinking in young adults.

With the NHS facing significant and enduring financial pressures, as people's need for services continues to grow faster than funding, what impact is all this having on NHS staff? New advice about flying if pregnant and new research that links drinking one can a day of a sugary drink to an earlier onset of puberty. Plus the sensitive issue of FGM.

Diagnosing Cancer - why does the UK still lag behind much of Europe and what is being done about it? The American dream - personalised medicine based on your genes. Plus do headphones damage hearing?

With widespread reports of a link between dementia and commonly used medicines, Inside Health assesses the risks.Why women are more likely to die from heart disease than men with cardiologist, Dr Laura Corr.With more and more people choosing to adopt a gluten free diet, Mark explores the possible health benefits for people who don't have coeliac disease. Is the real problem wheat intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, or too much hype?Boilers on prescription: a new idea being investigated by one Clinical Commissioning Group.And new research that links having a weekend lie-in with an increased risk of obesity-related diseases, like diabetes.

Mark investigates reports that the UK faces an epidemic of "mutant flu".Just a month after NICE calls for more weight loss operations to be done, there are proposals to slash the amount hospitals are paid to do the procedures - a move that could see many hospitals stop offering the operation.Six packs and big guns - there is growing concern about steroid abuse by young men on a quest for the perfect body.And Dry January - Mark looks at the science behind going on the wagon for a month.

Dr Mark Porter talks to leading experts about treating alcohol dependence with a pill and whether the required counselling services are available to make it work.And Mark finds out the state of his arteries when he has a new blood test to predict his risk of heart attack. Plus what does the evidence tell us about how often to visit the dentist?

Should fruit juice be dropped from the 5 a day fruit and vegetable recommendations?A&E in a mild winter - why has the NHS been stretched to near breaking point over the festive period?Dr Mark Porter visits a busy pain clinic to find out why prescribed opioid painkillers for long term non-cancer pain often do more harm than good.And resident sceptic and GP Dr Margaret McCartney outlines her New Year resolutions.