Medicine and Science from The BMJ

In search of the Christmas spirit

Is the Christmas sprit divinely inspired, or does it reside within the body? Researchers from Denmark have tried to answer that age-old philosophical question with fMRI. Bryan Haddock, medical physicist at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen joins us to explain what they found.
Read the full research:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.h6266

The big (research) book of British teeth

Despite what hollywood says, science has proven that British teeth are actually better than American. Richard Watt, head of the Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL explains how they came to that conclusion.
Read the full research:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.h6543

Gunslingers gait

A lot of attention has been paid to Russian president Vladimir Putin recently, but a group of researchers from The Netherlands are more interested in his walk than his intervention in Syria. Bastiaan Bloem, medical director of the Parkinson's Centre in Nijmegen, joins us to explain more.
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6141

Diagnosing COPD in primary care

Francesca Conway, from the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London is co-author of an article on diagnosis of COPD. She joins us to discuss the major guideline recommendations, and highlights where they concur and where they differ.
Read the full article:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6171

The more you see, the more you eat

Larger portions of food increase consumption. Theresa Marteau, director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, joins us to discuss how government action to tackle portion size and packaging could help reset our appetites and make us thinner.
Read the full analysis:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5863

Sarah Wollaston - obesity, not a sugary drinks tax, is regressive

The UK Parliament's Health Select Committee's recent report on childhood obesity says 1 in 5 children are obese by the time they leave school. The committee calls for legislation to turn the tide by taxing sugary drinks, a pre-watershed ban on junk food advertising, and investment in public health.
We joined Sarah Wollaston, conservative MP for Totnes, and chair of the committee for lunch (thai chicken soup) to discuss their recommendations.

The diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder

PTSD may develop after exposure to exceptionally threatening or horrifying events. About 3% of the adult population has PTSD at any one time, and more than 50% in survivors of rape.
In this podcast Jonathan Bisson, professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine in Cardiff joins us to talk about the evidence for diagnosis and treatment, and Sarah Cosgrove, the patient author of the paper, discusses her experience of treatment.
Read the full clinical review:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6161

The evidence on doctors strikes and patient harm

Doctors considering strike action may worry about the effect on patients. David Metcalfe and colleagues examine the evidence and find that “patients do not come to serious harm during industrial action provided that provisions are made for emergency care.”
Read the full analysis:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6231

Revisiting the bridge

In the podcast, we’ll hear from Kevin Hines the survivor of such an attempt, and Alys Cole-King, a psychiatrist who wants to break down the stigma of suicide.
Originally broadcast in 2010
For more on suicide risk assessment and prevention, read our latest clinical review:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h4978

Unexpected findings, with uncertain implications, in research imaging

When healthy volunteers are scanned as part of a research project, unexpected findings, with uncertain implications, can be thrown up.
Joanna Wardlaw, professor of applied neuroimaging and honorary consultant neuroradiologist at the University of Edinburgh, joins us to discuss how her group deals with these incidental findings, and what volunteers and patients want to happen when they are found.
Read the full analysis:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5190