Maternity matters are at the heart of this week’s Health show. First, we meet the twin sisters behind Europe’s first ovarian transplant - after 15 years without falling pregnant, one French woman accepted her sister’s ovary. Next, we explore how doctors in the United States are helping cancer patients avoid infertility later in life. And finally, have scientists discovered the cause of sudden infant death syndrome? We head to Strasbourg to find out.
The Laquintinie Hospital in Douala, Cameroon, is short on resources but long on ideas. There are only two incubators for every 28 premature babies, so hospital staff are using an unusual solution. It's called kangaroo care. The technique of skin-to-skin contact helps save the lives of hundreds of infants every year.
This week, we'll be looking at the real risk of radiation. First, the level of control being taken to ensure that food from Japan is fit for consumption. A quarter of a century after the Chernobyl accident you'll also see how children born over a decade after the disaster are still suffering from the radioactive fallout and finally a look at the less dramatic scale radiations most of us are subjected to and why the French nuclear watchdog is sounding the alarm over x.rays in hospitals.
This week we're looking at health behind bars to the Penitentiary of Perpignan. First up, prisons deadliest inmate: Hepatitis C a viral blood borne infection over 5 times more prevalent in jails than elsewhere but could serving a sentence be the best time to cure this disease. Then, we'll be finding out before looking at lawbreaker lows with a visit to a psychiatric hospital behind bars. Finally, a report on puppies behind bars. In New York, inmates spend their time to train guide and work dogs.
As of Tuesday, some 160,000 Parisian adolescents can receive a “contraception chequebook” at school, which will entitle them to free contraception without having to involve their parents.
Japan's government has declared the 20-km evacuation zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant a “no-entry zone”, banning people from entering. People will only be allowed into the zone under government supervision.
This week we travel inside the Arctic Circle to Kautokeino, Norway, home of the Sami people. Once taboo, traditional Sami medicinal techniques have recently been gaining in popularity. We speak to helpers and their patients to see what these ancient healing methods have to offer the rest of the world. Staying in Norway, we look at a recent study conducted by the National Centre for Epilepsy which confirms the link between the disorder and other psychiatric problems, such as ADD and depression.
Cyril Vanier speaks to Marc Peschanski, Scientific Director at the Institute for Stem Cell Research (I-STEM, France). He is one of France's leading scientists on stem cells and tells us about the implications of the French Senate's recent decision to authorise research on embryonic stem cells.
Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was taken to a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday after suffering heart problems while being questioned over corruption and abuse charges, state television reported.
This week, we investigate the latest advances in stem cell technology. We bring you a breakthrough by Dr. Peschanski in France, who’s shone more light on Steinert’s disease, a rare muscle-wasting condition.
