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Inside Health

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Series that demystifies health issues, bringing clarity to conflicting advice.

Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.

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Inside Health: Epipens & Autoinjectors; Meningitis B Bedside Test; Age Related Macular Degeneration

Epipens & Autoinjectors; Meningitis B Bedside Test; Age Related Macular Degeneration

BBC Radio 4 - Inside Health, Epipens & Autoinjectors; Meningitis B Bedside Test; Age Related Macular Degeneration

Epipens are in short supply and under fire for their design. Dr Mark Porter investigates.

Dr Mark Porter investigates the shortage of adrenaline auto injectors, epipens, to treat life-threatening anaphylaxis and the very public criticism of the devices by a UK coroner.

Adrenaline auto injectors are used to treat life-threatening allergies, anaphylaxis, but there are severe supply issues with the brand leader, epipen, particularly with junior epipen and many parents are reporting problems when their children's devices need replacing. It's an anxious time for those caring for severely allergic children and Dr Margaret McCartney reviews the reasons for the shortage and the latest advice for worried parents. At the same time, epipen has come under fire from a UK coroner, who concluded during an inquest into the death of 15 year old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, that epipens aren't fit for purpose because they don't contain enough adrenaline or have a long enough needle to deliver it properly. Consultant paediatric allergist at St Mary's Hospital, London and a researcher in children's allergies at Imperial College, Dr Robert Boyle, tells Mark there is widespread belief that the companies behind adrenaline auto injectors need to innovate and better designs are needed.

Meningitis is every parent's nightmare. It can strike anyone at any age but around half of those with the most serious form, Meningitis B, are toddlers and young children. Two years ago, Ezra, who is now three and a half, contracted the disease. His parents, Cosmin and Serena from Carrick Fergus in Northern Ireland, tell Inside Health how this devastating illness spread so rapidly. Ezra's life was saved but septicaemia meant both of his legs, below the knee, were amputated, followed by the fingers on one of his hands. One of the paediatricians who looked after Ezra at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children was paediatrician Dr Thomas Waterfield. Inspired by Ezra, Tom worked with colleagues at Queen's University in Belfast to develop a rapid bedside test for Meningitis B. The LAMP test - Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification test - takes just an hour to identify the Meningococcal DNA and it doesn't need specialists to use it. The current lab test for the disease takes a minimum of 48 hours.

Age related macular degeneration, AMD, is the leading cause of blindness around the world, with at least half a million people living with this condition in the UK alone. Treatment has hugely improved in recent decades, with regular injections helping to prevent progressive loss of vision. But intensive monitoring is necessary with monthly trips to hospital for patients for vision tests. Researchers at the Centre for Public Health at Queen's University, Belfast, are trialling ways to avoid these regular hospital visits - saving patients the journey and saving the NHS money. The Monarch Study will assess different ways that patients can monitor their own vision at home, using paper tests or more sophisticated ipad-style eye tests. Mark meets Patricia, who has wet AMD in one eye and dry AMD in the other, who's agreed to be part of the trial and talks to research optometrist Lesley Doyle and Chief Investigator, Dr Ruth Hogg, about the study. 

Producer: Fiona Hill


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