Daily digest August 26 2015

One in ten adults 'at risk of type 2 diabetes'

Five million people in England are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, new data suggests.

According to a report from Public Health England, in most parts of the country more than one in 10 adults are at risk of type 2 diabetes, with the risk rising to one in seven in some regions, ITV has reported.

The analysis is regarded as the most robust estimate yet of the number of over-16s with high blood sugar levels, known as non-diabetic hyperglycaemia, which could lead to type 2 diabetes.

Read more on the ITV website

Genetically low vitamin D could be linked to MS

People genetically prone to low levels of vitamin D are at increased risk of multiple sclerosis, a large study suggests.

The findings, based on the DNA profiles of tens of thousands of people of European descent, add weight to the theory that the vitamin plays a role in the disease, which affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, the BBC has reported.

Experts who doubt the evidence believe it is likely that environmental and genetic factors are involved in multiple sclerosis.

Read more on the BBC website

Experimental Ebola drug may have protected British team

A drug used to treat British healthcare workers who came into contact with Ebola-infected blood may have protected them from the disease.

The Japanese-developed drug favipiravir has the potential to help contain any future outbreaks, The Independent has reported.

The treatment team at London’s Royal Free Hospital, who cared for three British Ebola patients, as well as several healthcare workers suspected of having contracted the virus while in Sierra Leone, were the first in the world to use the experimental antiviral treatment in an attempt to protect themselves from the disease.

In a report on their work in The Lancet, the team have revealed that two healthcare workers whose skin was accidentally pricked with needles contaminated with fresh, Ebola-infected blood, did not go on to develop the disease, after being treated with the drug.

Read more on The Independent website