Medicine and Science from The BMJ

Death in Borsetshire

Vanessa Whitburn, editor of BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, talks morbidity and mortality in Ambridge. James Raftery, University of Southampton, updates the Forrest Report – whose evidence prompted the breast cancer screening programme in the UK.

2011

Somehow we've come to the end of another year. The Independent's health editor Jeremy Laurance talks us through the big health stories from 2011.And Greg Scott discusses his Christmas paper on the phrase "obs stable", and what it's revealed these two words have actually come to mean to hospital doctors.

Missing data

The problem of missing data is well known, especially in cases where drug companies conceal evidence. However pharmaceutical industry misconduct is not the only cause, and a cluster of papers in this week's BMJ show how aspects of the culture of medical science contribute to the problem.Elizabeth Loder, BMJ's clinical editor, talks to Harlan Krumholz (Harold H Hines Jr professor of medicine at Yale University) and Joseph Ross (assistant professor of medicine, also at Yale) about missing data from US publicly funded trials. Lisa Bero (professor at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California) describes how adding missing data to meta-analyses of drug trials can change the results, and Richard Riley (senior lecturer in medical statistics at Birmingham University) explains why individual participant meta-analyses aren't as balanced as we may think.

Surgical performance

Antoine Declos, Université de Lyon, explains the performance curve of surgeons as they become more experienced. Peter Wilmshurst, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, and veteran whistleblower explains why it may be harder to expose the truth in a lab, than on the ward.

Antidepressants and tamiflu

Simon Hatcher, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Aukland, sets out the use of newer antidepressants for the treatment of depression in adults. Deborah Cohen, BMJ's investigations editor, updates us on the Tamiflu saga, and how Roche is still holding onto its full patient data.

New antiepileptics and the drop in MI deaths

Mabel Chew talks to epileptologists Martin Brodie from the Western Infirmary Glasgow and Patrick Kwan from the University of Melbourne, about the newer drug treatments for the condition. Also, Kate Smolina from Oxford University's Department of Public Health explains what constitutes the drop in deaths from acute myocardial infarction.

Healthcare and corruption in Uttar Pradesh

The Indian government has invested £1.2bn to kick start rural healthcare in its most populous northern state, Uttar Pradesh. Much of that money has now disappeared, and the programme is blighted by corruption and murder. Harriet Vickers hears the details. Also this week, the UK's Department for International Development has to make decisions on sometimes scant evidence. We find out how DFID is trying to improve research into aid programmes.

Cannabis in cars

Journalist Karen McColl interviews Wendell Potter, US health industry lobbying guru turned critic. Mark Ashbridge, an associate professor at Dalhousie University, explains how cannabis intoxication is an increasingly important factor in motor vehicle collisions.

Menopause, HRT, and cancer

This week we look at older women's health, Gita Mishra from the School of Population Health, University of Queensland, explains the trajectories of perimenopausal symptoms. Martha Hickey, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne, and Jane Elliott a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide, give Mabel Chew practical tips on prescribing HRT. Finally Steinar Tretli, research director of the Cancer Registry of Norway, explains the results of their research into how HRT and mammography combine to increase apparent rates of breast cancer.

After the health bill - what next?

With the future of the Health and Social Care bill more certain, how will the health service react to the legislative changes? At this year's Nuffield Trust Health Policy Summit, the BMJ's editor Fiona Godlee hosted a round table to discuss this question.Taking part were:David Bennett, Chairman and CEO, MonitorPaul Corrigan, Management consultant, SouthsidePenny Dash, McKinseysNigel Edwards, Kings FundClare Gerada, RCGPGareth Goodier, CEO, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, CambridgeAlastair McLellan, Editor, Health Services JournalJames Morrow, GP, Sawston, CambridgeJudith Smith, Nuffield TrustSimon Stevens, CEO, Global Health, United Health Group, USAHelen Thomas, Medical Director, Sentinel Commissioning, PlymouthFor more from the summit, and to watch some of the keynote speeches, go to the Nuffield Trust site.