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18/01/2012

The first trials of a new vaccine for hepatitis C, the latest thoughts on testing men's testosterone levels and can thunder and lightning really cure a wart, as some people in Uganda believe?

HEPATITIS C
Hepatitis C is a virus which lives in the body silently for many years. Now scientists hope to mimic the way some people's bodies get rid of the virus naturally. In some people it can cause irreversible damage to the liver, even cancer. Early clinical trials have been carried out in Ghana using a new vaccine which could be used for those already infected with the virus as well as to prevent its spread. One hundred and seventy million people around the world are infected and Egypt has one of the highest rates of infection – around 1 in 5 people carries the virus.

HEALTH MYTH - WARTS
A listener to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in Uganda wants to know whether it's true that thunder and lightning can cure warts - and if it is a myth, what really works?

TESTOSTERONE
The male sex hormone testosterone does everything from making a foetus in the womb develop male characteristics to causing men to grow beards after puberty. But how does a man know if his testosterone levels are too low? Dr Max Pemberton goes along to a clinic to have his hormone levels checked out.

MALARIA AND SALMONELLA
It's long been known that children with the blood-borne malaria parasite are at a high risk of contracting infections such as salmonella which can be fatal. It was assumed that this was because malaria weakened the whole immune system. But now researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine working in London and in the Gambia have discovered that the susceptibility to salmonella results from a very specific response by part of the immune system, a problem which they hope to be able to correct.

Available now

18 minutes

Last on

Sun 22 Jan 2012 13:32GMT

Chapters

  • Vaccine hope for Hepatitis C

    Scientists hope that a vaccine will help to rid the body of Hepatitis C - a virus which can destroy the liver. 170 million people are infected around the world and an initial trial looks promising

    Duration: 04:59

  • Can thunder and lightning cure warts?

    A listener to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in Uganda asked if it’s true that thunder and lightning can cure warts. Skin expert Dr Tony Bewley explains the facts - and fiction - behind the virus that causes warts

    Duration: 01:42

  • How do men know when testosterone is low

    Testosterone is the male sex hormone that makes a foetus in the womb develop male characteristics. In later life levels can drop - but how can men tell? The answer lies in an early-morning blood test

    Duration: 05:38

  • How malaria limits the body’s immune response to infections like salmonella

    We used to think that malaria cut the body’s ability to fight all other infections. But it’s especially vulnerable to salmonella, a bacteria which impairs the immune system’s first line of defence

    Duration: 04:40

Broadcasts

  • Wed 18 Jan 2012 19:32GMT
  • Thu 19 Jan 2012 04:32GMT
  • Thu 19 Jan 2012 12:32GMT
  • Fri 20 Jan 2012 23:32GMT
  • Sun 22 Jan 2012 13:32GMT

Podcast