Researchers say they may have worked out why the obese are more prone to asthma than those of normal weight. The link between the two conditions is well-established, but the relationship is ill-understood.
A charity is financing an 84-year-old man's legal fight for NHS funding for a potentially sight-saving drug. The Royal National Institute of Blind People said Dennis Devier had an "exceptional" case for the drugs for wet age-related macular degeneration. Mr Devier, from Henley, who is the main carer for his disabled wife, is taking his case against Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust to the High Court. Oxfordshire PCT said the issues raised by the case were "under consideration".
Scientists have identified a gene that is strongly associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma. The team of international researchers hope their work, published in Nature, will lead to new treatments. Studying more than 2,000 children, they pinpointed a gene called ORMDL3, which was found at higher levels in the blood cells of children with asthma. Carrying a specific variant of this gene may increase the risk of developing asthma by up to 70%.
A charity claims regeneration work in Leicester is making it increasingly difficult for disabled people to find a parking space in the city centre. The group, Mosaic, said the work being carried out has severely reduced the number of parking spaces dedicated to those with disabilities. It claims disabled spaces on Church Gate have been cut from 16 to five. The city council has said it will look again at the balance of spaces which are available.
A severely disabled man has been told he must move his girlfriend out of his home in order to receive benefits, because of money she previously had. Stephen Hook, 50, from Barming in Kent, was left unable to work after injuring his back when he was a hospital porter, and has claimed benefits for 15 years. But the Department for Work and Pensions stopped them because his partner had money from her house sale. It said they would be restored if she moved out and he used a state carer.
A charity for deaf people is warning that loud music in pubs and clubs is leading to a hearing loss "time bomb". The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) found that the hearing of about 70% of people who visited nightclubs was affected. The group is now calling on the Scottish Executive to introduce recommended noise exposure levels for revellers to prevent future damage. The study also found loud music damaged the ears of nearly 50% of pub goers.
