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Health Check: Gene editing treatment approved for sickle cell

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2023/11/22 GMT

Gene editing treatment approved for sickle cell

BBC World Service - Health Check, Gene editing treatment approved for sickle cell

UK is the first country to approve Casgevy, but is the drug too expensive for most?

Gene editing treatment for Sickle Cell and Beta Thalassemia; Grieving when estranged; Delayed Cord Clamping; Why do we compare loneliness to smoking? Surfers and mental health

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a gene editing treatment for people with the genetic conditions sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The news has been hailed as revolutionary, unthinkable just a decade ago. But will the new treatment provide a realistic option for the millions of people living with these haemoglobin disorders worldwide? BBC health reporter Philippa Roxby joins Claudia to look at the latest. She also brings new evidence from Australia on the health benefits of delayed cord clamping to new born premature babies. And a study drawing attention to the impact of surfing on surfers’ mental health. Could it add billions of dollars to the world economy? 

Losing a family member is a difficult experience for everyone but for people who no longer have a connection to the person who has died, it can cause a mixture of grief, sadness, guilt, or relief. Claudia talks to broadcaster and author, Professor Alice Roberts, about her experience of losing her mother after being estranged for 5 years. 

In the week that the World Health Organisation announced a new focus on the health impacts of loneliness, we noticed a familiar comparison in the headlines; that the health risks from being lonely are equivalent to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. But what does that really mean? Claudia asks Professor Andrea Wigfield, Director of Centre for Loneliness Studies in the UK. 

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Clare Salisbury
Assistant Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

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