20180321

I had a transplant after my hairstyle made me go bald
Paigey Cakey, a rapper from north London, was 18 when she first started to notice her hair was falling out.

She used mascara to cover up an ever-growing bald patch on the right side of her head, caused by traction alopecia.
ever-growing【形】ますます増加する
traction alopecia《病理》けん引性脱毛症
At college, the 25-year-old wore particularly tight hairstyles and used strong gel which she says put undue pressure on the hair follicles.
hair follicle《解剖》毛嚢、毛包
undue pressure不当な圧力
Last November, after years of covering up the patch, she underwent a hair transplant.
"I felt vulnerable but now I feel empowered," she says.
empowered《be ～》社会的な力をつける、権利を与えられる
Paigey features in the latest Newsbeat documentary, Too Young To Go Bald, which is available on iPlayer.
She admits she was lying to herself about her hair loss and was "trying to fit into society" by hiding the bald bits.
"I was using really strong gels that were like concrete on my hair. I was in college so you want to look good."
Traction alopecia can be caused when the hair is pulled too tightly by hairstyles like corn rows, extensions, dreadlocks or even ponytails which are stretched.
corn rowコーンロー型(ヘアスタイル)
dreadlock頭皮から広がる、細長いたくさんの三つ編みの1つ
It can be made worse when used with hair straightening chemicals.
It is more often experienced by women of East Indian or Afro-Caribbean origin and the hair loss depends on the way the hair is being pulled.
Paigey had 3,400 hair follicles replaced in sections of her head
Initially, Paigey chose to ignore what was happening but then had to hide it every day when she realised it wasn't growing back.
No-one knew that she had bald patches as she'd use layers of mascara and gel to colour it in, reapplying at every opportunity.
"I always had to make sure I had at least two mascaras because if I lost one, I'd need another there and then."
In November, Paigey went through with a hair transplant, and revealed the extent of her hair loss on her YouTube channel.
She travelled to Turkey, where the procedure is generally cheaper than the UK, to have 3,400 hair follicles replaced in sections of her head.
Hair transplants aren't usually available on the NHS, and can cost anything between ￡1,000 and ￡30,000.
Paigey says the transplant itself was painless, but says the injections to numb parts of her head were the "worst pain" she's ever experienced.
Immediately following the procedure, she thought she'd made a huge mistake as she describes her head swelling to "twice the size" and being covered in "blood dots".
"I wondered what I'd done. But as the weeks progressed, I started to feel a lot better and I could see the hair coming through."
She says her hair loss has caused her to reassess how she perceives image, saying she had the stigma in her head that "hair is beauty".
stigma【名】〔社会的な〕烙印、汚名、不名誉のしるし
"Beauty is your inside, it's your personality and what shines from beneath."

20180320

Stem cell transplant 'game changer' for MS patients
中枢性脱髄疾患の一つで、神経のミエリン鞘が破壊され脳、脊髄、視神経などに病変が起こり、多様な神経症状が再発と寛解を繰り返す疾患 病名は、神経を包む組織（ミエリン鞘）が破壊されて生じる硬化が多数の領域で発生することに由来しているDoctors say a stem cell transplant could be a "game changer" for many patients with multiple sclerosis.
Results from an international trial show that it was able to stop the disease and improve symptoms.
It involves wiping out a patient's immune system using cancer drugs and then rebooting it with a stem cell transplant.
Louise Willetts, 36, from Rotherham, is now symptom-free and told me: "It feels like a miracle."
A total of 100,000 people in the UK have MS, which attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
Just over 100 patients took part in the trial, in hospitals in Chicago, Sheffield, Uppsala in Sweden and Sao Paulo in Brazil.
They all had relapsing remitting MS - where attacks or relapses are followed by periods of remission.
relapse【名】《医》〔病気の急な〕ぶり返し、再発
remission【名】〔病状の一時的な〕回復、〔痛みなどが〕和らぐこと、寛解
relapsing-remitting form of MS再発寛解型MS
The interim results were released at the annual meeting of the European Society for Bone and Marrow Transplantation in Lisbon.
interim result中間結果
The patients received either haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or drug treatment.
hematopoietic stem cell造血幹細胞
After one year, only one relapse occurred among the stem cell group compared with 39 in the drug group.
After an average follow-up of three years, the transplants had failed in three out of 52 patients (6%), compared with 30 of 50 (60%) in the control group.
Those in the transplant group experienced a reduction in disability, whereas symptoms worsened in the drug group.
Prof Richard Burt, lead investigator, Northwestern University Chicago, told me: "The data is stunningly in favour of transplant against the best available drugs - the neurological community has been sceptical about this treatment, but these results will change that."
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition which can affect the brain and/or spinal cord
It can cause problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance
Average life expectancy is slightly reduced
It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 people diagnosed with MS in the UK
The treatment uses chemotherapy to destroy the faulty immune system.
Stem cells taken from the patient's blood and bone marrow are then re-infused.
These are unaffected by MS and they rebuild the immune system.
Prof John Snowden, haematologist and director of blood and bone marrow transplantation at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital, told me: "We are thrilled with the results - they are a game changer for patients with drug resistant and disabling multiple sclerosis".
Prof Basil Sharrack, neurologist and director of MS research at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, told me: "This is interim analysis, but with that caveat, this is the best result I have seen in any trial for multiple sclerosis."
'Lived in fear'
Louise was diagnosed with MS in 2010 when she was only 28.
She told me: "MS ruled my life and I lived in fear of the next relapse.
"The worst time was not being able to get out of bed because I had no stability in my body - I struggled to walk and even spent time in a wheelchair.
"It also affected my cognition - it was like a brain fog and I misread words and struggled to keep up with conversations."
The BBC's Panorama filmed her undergoing her transplant in October 2015 and she is now back to full health.
She got married to her partner Steve, on the first anniversary of her transplant, and their baby daughter Joy is now a month old.
"I feel like my diagnosis was just a bad dream. I live every day as I want to, rather than planning my life around my MS."
The transplant costs around ￡30,000, about the same as the annual price of some MS drugs.
Doctors stress it is not suitable for all MS patients and the process can be gruelling, involving chemotherapy and a few weeks in isolation in hospital.
grueling【形】〔精神的・肉体的に〕つらい、過酷な、非常に骨の折れる
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, director of research at the MS Society, said the stem cell transplant HSCT "will soon be recognised as an established treatment in England - and when that happens our priority will be making sure those who could benefit can actually get it".
She added: "We've seen life-changing results for some people and having that opportunity can't depend on your postcode."[

20180319

More evidence essential oils 'make male breasts develop'
A suspected link between abnormal breast growth in young boys and the use of lavender and tea tree oils has been given new weight, after a study found eight chemicals contained in the oils interfere with hormones.
tea tree oil
ティーツリー油◆tea treeの葉から採れる精油で、殺菌作用、抗炎症作用がある。
give weight重きを置く、強調する、重要視する、重視する
Gynaecomastia is rare, and there is often no obvious cause.
gynecomastia【名】女性化乳房 gyne (see queen ) + mazos "breast," variant of mastos (see masto- ).
But there have been a number of cases linked to use of these essential oils.

The American study found that key chemicals in the oils boost oestrogen and inhibit testosterone.
estrogen【名】《生化学》エストロゲン、女性ホルモン物質、発情ホルモン物質
Not everyone will have the same reaction to an essential oil.
The plant-derived oils are found in a number of products such as soaps, lotions, shampoos and hair-styling products. They're also popular as alternative cleaning products and medical treatments.
Lead researcher J. Tyler Ramsey from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), in North Carolina, suggested caution when using the oils.
"Our society deems essential oils as safe. However, they possess a diverse amount of chemicals and should be used with caution because some of these chemicals are potential endocrine disruptors."
deem【自動】〈文〉考える【他動】〈文〉〔～を…と〕考える、見なす
endocrine disruptor環境ホルモン、外因性内分泌かく乱化学物質
A growing number of reported cases of male gynaecomastia have coincided with topical exposure to the oils.
After they stopped using the products, the symptoms subsided.
A previous study by Dr Kenneth Korach - who was also co-investigator for this study - found that lavender and tea tree oil had properties that competed with or hindered the hormones that control male characteristics, which could affect puberty and growth.
The new study looked at eight key chemicals from the hundreds that make up the oils. Four of the tested chemicals appear in both oils and the others were in either oil.
either【形】〔二者のうち〕どちらか一方の
They were tested on human cancer cells in the laboratory to measure the changes.
The researchers found all eight demonstrated varying degrees of promoting oestrogen and/or inhibiting testosterone properties.
"Lavender oil and tea tree oil pose potential environmental health concerns and should be investigated further," said Mr Ramsey.
Many of the chemicals tested appear in at least 65 other essential oils, which is of concern, he added.

Essential oil guidelines
Precautions should be observed when using essential oils since they are highly concentrated
Do not apply undiluted essential oils directly to the skin
undiluted【形】〔水などで〕薄められていない
Never use undiluted oils on children under the age of three
If you are pregnant you must seek the advice of your doctor, midwife or aromatherapist before using any essential oils
midwife【他動】～の誕生に一役買う［を手助けする］【名】助産師
When used appropriately, essential oils and aromatherapy products are safe for all the entire family
Source: Aromatherapy Trade Council
Prof Ieuan Hughes, emeritus professor of paediatrics at the University of Cambridge said the findings "have confirmed why an individual using such oils containing these chemicals may develop breast tissue".
"The anti-male hormone effects are rather unexpected and it is not possible to comment further without the data.
"Of course, not everyone exposing themselves to such oils has adverse effects, so it is possible there are particular individuals who may be more sensitive to the effects of the chemicals, or perhaps are using the products in excess.
He said attention should be given to better regulation of these products.
Prof Hughes added: "Clearly, the longer-term effects of such exposure are unknown."
Dr Rod Mitchell, honorary consultant paediatric endocrinologist at the Queens Medical Research Institute in Edinburgh said the study "is important in establishing a possible mechanism for the suggested link between gynaecomastia and exposure to lavender and tea tree oils".
honorary consultant名誉顧問
"However, there are important factors that must be taken into account when interpreting these results. The tests are conducted in cancer cells, which may not represent the situation in normal breast tissue.
"The concentration (dose) to which the cells are exposed may not be equivalent to exposure in humans. There is a complex relationship between oestrogen, testosterone and other hormones in the body, that cannot be replicated in these experiments."
He called for further larger studies.
"At present, there is insufficient evidence to support the concept that exposure to lavender and tea tree oil containing products cause gynaecomastia in children, and further epidemiological and experimental studies are required."
epidemiological【形】疫学の［に関する・的な］
The study results will be presented on 19 March at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Chicago.

20180317

First steps taken for vaccine pills
UK scientists have taken the first steps towards creating new vaccine treatments in pill form.
The Cardiff team has made a prototype oral flu vaccine, which unlike standard inoculations does not need to be stored in a fridge or freezer.
inoculation【名】〔考え方や思想などの〕植え付け、教え込み、感化
接種、予防接種
They hope it could pave the way for needle-free inoculations for lots of different diseases that would be easier to use in developing countries.
However, they said more work was needed before it could be tested in people.
Mimicking infection
Traditional biological vaccines work by introducing a safe form of a virus or bacteria - or a harmless part of it, such as a peptide - in order to provoke an immune response in the body.
This allows the body to recognise an illness, such as flu, and deal with it more effectively should it ever encounter it for real.
But the difficulty with these biological vaccines is that they need to be frozen or refrigerated throughout transport to keep them stable, making them costly and difficult to deliver in countries without a reliable electrical supply.
For this new influenza-A vaccine, scientists at Cardiff University created man-made peptides that mimic those in real viruses.
Unlike the biological peptides, these "mirror image" molecules cannot be digested, opening up the possibility for them to be administered in pill form.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found the prototype triggered a strong immune system response in human cells when tested in a culture dish.
And it was as effective as the standard biological influenza peptide when tested in mice.
It was also shown to generate cells that kill the influenza virus when it was given orally to the mice.
Prof Andrew Sewell, from Cardiff University's school of medicine, who led the study, said: "There are many benefits to oral vaccines.
"Not only would they be great news for people who have a fear of needles but they can also-be much easier to store and transport, making them far more suitable for use in remote locations where current vaccine delivery systems can be problematic."
However, researchers acknowledged that much more research was needed to develop these synthetic vaccinations for the entire population and for other diseases.
They added it was likely to take several years before such a vaccine could be tested in people.
'Novel approach'
There is another oral vaccine already in existence - oral polio vaccine - but that needs to be stored in a freezer.
Zania Stamataki, senior lecturer in viral immunology, at the University of Birmingham, said: "This important novel approach to vaccine design could change vaccine development against multiple diseases, particularly those infecting hard-to-reach populations affected by natural disasters or war."
Divya Shah, from the Wellcome Trust's infection and immunobiology team, said the "exciting" study provided "a potential route to make synthetic vaccines that are heat stable and could be taken orally".
"However, much more research is needed to translate the findings into real-world vaccines."
Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at Nottingham University, said: "It will be important to see if the peptides can still protect against infection when administered by mouth, and equally crucial to see if they work in humans, but it's an exciting first step nonetheless."
nonetheless【副】それにもかかわらず、それでもなお、とはいえ

​20180316

Platypus milk: How it could combat superbugs
Platypus milk could help combat one of humanity's looming problems, antibiotic resistance, scientists say.
The weird creatures have a duck's beak, venomous feet and are one of only two mammals able to lay eggs.
Australian scientists discovered in 2010 that the semi-aquatic animal's milk contains a potent protein able to fight superbugs.
They've now identified why, and say it could lead to the creation of a new type of antibiotic.
Platypus are monotremes - a tiny group of mammals able to both lay eggs and produce milk.
monotreme【名】単孔類（の）動物
They don't have teats, instead they concentrate milk to their belly and feed their young by sweating it out.
This feeding system is thought to be linked to its antibacterial properties, according to the scientists.

"Platypus are such weird animals that it would make sense for them to have weird biochemistry," Dr Janet Newman, from Australia's national science agency CSIRO, said.
make sense意味をなす、道理にかなう、うなずける、筋が通っている、当然である、つじつまが合う
It's believed mammals evolved teats or nipples because it was a sterile way to deliver milk to their young.
But platypus milk being exposed to the outside leaves their babies in danger of being in contact with harmful bacteria.
The unique antibacterial protein their milk contains might be the animal's defence against that, Deakin University's Dr Julie Sharp believes.
"We were interested to examine the protein's structure and characteristics to find out exactly what part of the protein was doing what," she said.
The researchers found a quirk they say has never been seen in more than 100,000 different protein structures known to biologists.
quirk【名】特異な行動、奇行、奇癖 思いがけない［予測のつかない］出来事
It was dubbed the "Shirley Temple" in reference to its ringlet formation, after the 1930s child star.
ringlet【名】〔長い〕巻き毛、カール
in reference to～に関して、～に関連して、～に準拠して、～を参照して
Dr Newman said the find will "go on to inform other drug discovery work".
The Shirley Temple protein is named after the 1930s American child actress who had ringlets
The World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report in 2014 urging action to be taken to prevent the "post-antibiotic era", where common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria build up a tolerance against antibiotics and pass that resistance on to the next generation of bacteria, producing superbugs.
Public Health England (PHE) says up to a fifth of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary as many illnesses get better on their own.
It's estimated that 5,000 people die in England each year as a result of drug-resistant infections.
Komodo dragon blood is another weird source being checked for potential new antibiotics.

20180313

Muscle loss in old age linked to fewer nerve signals
Researchers say they may have worked out why there is a natural loss of muscle in the legs as people age - and that it is due to a loss of nerves.
In tests on 168 men, they found that nerves controlling the legs decreased by around 30% by the age of 75.
This made muscles waste away, but in older fitter athletes there was a better chance of them being 'rescued' by nerves re-connecting.
The scientists published their research in the Journal of Physiology.
As people get older, their leg muscles become smaller and weaker, leading to problems with everyday movements such as walking up stairs or getting out of a chair.
It is something that affects everyone eventually, but why it happens is not fully understood.
Muscle loss: The femur bone is in the middle creating a black ring, muscles are shaded grey and fat is white.
Prof Jamie McPhee, from Manchester Metropolitan University, said young adults usually had 60-70,000 nerves controlling movement in the legs from the lumbar spine.
But his research showed this changed significantly in old age.
"There was a dramatic loss of nerves controlling the muscles - a 30-60% loss - which means they waste away," he said."The muscles need to receive a proper signal from the nervous system to tell them to contract, so we can move around."
The research team from Manchester Metropolitan University worked with researchers from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and the University of Manchester.
They looked at muscle tissue in detail using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and they recorded the electrical activity passing through the muscle to estimate the numbers and the size of surviving nerves.
The good news is that healthy muscles have a form of protection: surviving nerves can send out new branches to rescue muscles and stop them wasting away.
This is more likely to happen in fit people with large, healthy muscles, Prof McPhee said.
Although it is not known why connections between muscles and nerves break down with age, finding out more about muscle loss could help scientists find ways of reversing the condition in the future.

20180310

How exercise in old age prevents the immune system from declining
Doing lots of exercise in older age can prevent the immune system from declining and protect people against infections, scientists say.
They followed 125 long-distance cyclists, some now in their 80s, and found they had the immune systems of 20-year-olds.Prof Norman Lazarus, 82, of King's College London, who took part in and co-authored the research, said: "If exercise was a pill, everyone would be taking it.
"It has wide-ranging benefits for the body, the mind, for our muscles and our immune system."
The research was published in the journal Aging Cell.
Prof Janet Lord, director of the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, at the University of Birmingham, and co-author of the research, said: "The immune system declines by about 2-3% a year from our 20s, which is why older people are more susceptible to infections, conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and, potentially, cancer.
rheumatoid【形】《病理》リウマチ（様）の
自己の免疫が主に手足の関節を侵し、これにより関節痛、関節の変形が生じる代表的な膠原病の1つで、炎症性自己免疫疾患である。
"Because the cyclists have the immune system of a 20-year-old rather than a 70- or 80-year-old, it means they have added protection against all these issues."
The researchers looked at markers in the blood for T-cells, which help the immune system respond to new infections.
These are produced in the thymus, a gland in the chest, which normally shrinks in size in adulthood.
'Out of puff'
They found that the endurance cyclists were producing the same level of T-cells as adults in their 20s, whereas a group of inactive older adults were producing very few.
The researchers believe that being physically active in old age will help people respond better to vaccines, and so be better protected against infections such as flu.
Steve Harridge, co-author and professor of physiology at King's College London, said: "Being sedentary goes against evolution because humans are designed to be physically active.
sedentary【形】〔仕事などが〕座って行う、デスクワークの〔運動をしないで〕いつも座っている
"You don't need to be a competitive athlete to reap the benefits - or be an endurance cyclist - anything which gets you moving and a little bit out of puff will help."
reap the benefit成果を得る
out of puff息切れして
Prof Harridge and Prof Lazarus believe that highly physically active older people represent the perfect group in which to analyse the true effects of biological ageing.
A separate paper in Aging Cell found that the cyclists did not lose muscle mass or strength, and did not see an increase in body fat - which are usually associated with ageing.
I met a dozen of the cyclists, on a morning ride in Surrey. Despite the bitter cold, they were universally cheerful, and clearly used to riding in all weathers.
They are members of Audax, a long-distance cycling organisation that organises events ranging from 100km to 300km.
The older members - in their 80s - say they do only the "short" 100km (62-mile) rides, but this is still highly impressive.
So why do they do it?
Pam Jones, 79, told me: "I do it for my health, because it's sociable, and because I enjoy the freedom it gives you."
Brian Matkins, 82, said: "One of the first results I got from the medical study was I was told my body fat was comparable to that of a 19-year-old."
Aged just 64, Jim Woods, is a comparative youngster in the group. He averages 100 miles a week on his bike, with more during the summer.
He said: "I cycle for a sense of wellbeing and to enjoy our wonderful countryside."
Cycling 60 miles or more may not be your idea of fun, but these riders have found something that gives them pleasure, which is a key reason why they continue.

20180308

Russian spy: How do you find out whether poisoning has occurred?
A Russian man convicted of spying for Britain and his daughter are critically ill after apparently being exposed to a mystery substance in Wiltshire.
The incident has drawn comparisons to the case of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London after being poisoned by a radioactive substance.
So how will officials find out what Sergei and Yulia Skripal were exposed to and whether they were poisoned?
Alastair Hay, emeritus professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, said in a case like this hospitals and other agencies would be working together to find out what happened.
emeritus【名】名誉教授
Doctors will assess the pair's symptoms and carry out tests on them.
Blood tests will assess liver and kidney function, while urine may provide clues for substances excreted more rapidly, he said.
Some of these tests may be done in the hospital where they are being treated, but labs at Guy's Hospital, in London, and in Birmingham, could also be used because they are specially equipped to screen for a wide range of substances.
And there is also the government's chemical defence laboratory at Porton Down - coincidentally also in Wiltshire - which has state-of-the-art equipment to help detect trace amounts of chemicals.
But some of the tests could take several days to complete.
Prof Hay said at this stage it was too early to speculate on what the substance might be.
But he said the fact that Public Health England had said there was no wider risk to the public suggested there might have been "some very specific contact with the substance and limited spread".
Part of the investigation will look at where this contact may have taken place.
A number of city-centre locations in Salisbury have been cordoned off, including a nearby Zizzi restaurant that police said had been closed "as a precaution".
Teams in protective gear have also been hosing down the street.
hose down〈俗〉ホースで水をかける
Prof Hay said knowing what had been used to decontaminate the streets could give clues to what officials suspected the substance was.
An ex-radiation biologist, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was unlikely the substance was radioactive - as in the case of Mr Litvinenko - because the symptoms developed too quickly.
Instead, a chemical source was more likely, but a biological contamination of food or the environment was also possible.
But if it was chemical this would leave a wide range of possibilities: from drugs designed for chemical warfare to artificial highs.
"We could be looking at self-inflicted accidental overdoses or a targeted attack."
The fact police have declared the case a "major incident" also raises questions, Prof Hay said.
"Was it... because of who was affected or because of the rate of onset of symptoms?"
And the circumstances in which the pair were found could also shed light on what happened, he said.
Substance or infection?
"Ideally it would help to question someone about this, but if they have collapsed you have to test for substances.
"In the end it will be signs and symptoms and specific blood, saliva or sputum, urine, and possible faecal testing that will tell us what it was."
sputum【名】〔口から吐き出される〕唾、唾液
But could their condition have been caused by something other than a substance - perhaps a bacterial or viral infection?
Prof Hay said given the apparent speed of the symptoms, this seemed less likely. But it was still not known how the pair were feeling hours earlier.
"So a microbiology lab may well do a range of screening tests to check for a bacterial cause. But this will depend on what the clinical team feels is appropriate," he said.
The case has drawn comparisons with the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko
In the case of Mr Litvinenko it took weeks to establish that the cause of his death was deliberate poisoning, believed to have been administered in a cup of tea.
At first hospitals were unable to detect any radiation poisoning.
It was eventually scientists at Britain's top-secret nuclear research site at Aldermaston in Berkshire who discovered he was poisoned by polonium-210.
And it was close to a decade later that a public inquiry in 2016 concluded that his killing had probably been carried out with the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
close to～に近い、～の近くに
Russia has said it has "no information" about what Mr Skripal and his daughter were exposed to but says it is willing to co-operate in any investigation.
UK police are not yet saying a crime has been committed.
It is likely to be a while before we know what happened and why.
although it'll be a while before
～までにはまだしばらく時間がかかるが

20180306

Lassa fever: The killer disease with no vaccine
Since the beginning of the year, Nigeria has been gripped by an outbreak of a deadly disease. Lassa fever is one of a number of illnesses which can cause dangerous epidemics, but for which no vaccine currently exists.
for which no explanation has yet been givenこれに対してまだ何の説明もない
Lassa fever is not a new disease, but the current outbreak is unprecedented, spreading faster and further than ever before.
Lassa feverラッサ熱 出血熱のひとつ。アレナウイルス科ラッサウイルスによる。マストミス（Mastomys natalensis,en:Natal Multimammate Mouse）とよばれる齧歯類が自然宿主である。マストミスという齧歯類の動物が自然宿主。感染しているマストミスは症状を示さず、排泄物、唾液中に終生ウイルスを排出する。基本的に空気感染せず接触感染であるが、ヒトは咳などの飛沫感染により伝播し二次感染も起こるが、手肌の接触程度では感染しない。
Health workers are overstretched, and a number have themselves become infected and died.
The potentially fatal disease is a so-called "viral haemorrhagic fever", which can affect many organs, and damage the body's blood vessels.
But it is difficult to treat.
Most people who catch Lassa will have only mild symptoms such as fever, headache and general weakness. They may have none at all.
However, in severe cases, it can mimic another deadly haemorrhagic fever, Ebola, causing bleeding through the nose, mouth and other parts of the body.
Lassa fever normally has a fatality rate of about one per cent. But in the Nigerian outbreak it is thought to be more than 20% among confirmed and probable cases, according to the country's Centre for Disease Control.
About 90 people are thought to have died so far, but the true number may be much higher, because Lassa is so hard to diagnose.
Women who contract the disease late in pregnancy face an 80% chance of losing their child, or dying themselves.
In the early stages it's almost impossible to distinguish from other common diseases like malaria and dengue.
With no readily available test, the only way to confirm a diagnosis is to analyse a blood or tissue sample in one of small number of specialised laboratories.
The disease was first identified in the Nigerian town of Lassa in 1969, after an outbreak in a mission hospital.
It has since been seen in many West African countries including Ghana, Mali and Sierra Leone.
However, this outbreak is causing particular concern because the number of cases is unusually high for the time of year.
Health officials are working to understand why.
Outbreaks can be influenced by seasonal weather conditions, which affect the numbers of the virus's natural host - the multimammate rat.多乳房マウス
These small mammals are common across West Africa, where they easily find their way into homes.
Another possibility is that the high number of cases reflects heightened public awareness.
Or it's possible that something about the virus has changed.
Most people catch Lassa fever from anything contaminated with rat urine, faeces, blood or saliva - through eating, drinking or simply handling contaminated objects in the home.
Authorities have banned the consumption of raw garri, a popular Nigerian food, which it says can spread Lassa fever
It can also pass from person to person through bodily fluids, meaning healthcare workers and people taking care of sick relatives without protective equipment are particularly at risk.
The incubation period for Lassa is up to three weeks. Researchers are trying to work out whether - like Ebola - Lassa can stay in the body and be passed on through sexual contact even after illness subsides.
Nigeria has a strong public health system, and is used to dealing with epidemics like this.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Nigerian authorities to help coordinate the response and the UK government has deployed a team of experts from its Public Health Rapid Support Team.
Those living in affected areas are being advised to take basic precautions: blocking holes that may allow rats to enter their homes, disposing of rubbish in covered dustbins, and storing food and water in sealed containers.
People are advised to wear protective gloves when caring for anyone who may have Lassa fever, and to carry out safe burial practices.
Despite these measures, the fight against Lassa - and other infectious diseases - is hampered by a lack of effective medical tools like diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines.
It is likely that a vaccine could be found for Lassa - reducing the possibility of an outbreak becoming a global health emergency - but as with other epidemic diseases that mainly affect poorer countries, progress has stalled.
Vaccine development is a long, complex and costly process. This is especially true for emerging epidemic diseases, where a prototype vaccine can usually only be tested where there is an outbreak.
A new organisation called CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) - set up in 2017 with financial support from the Wellcome Trust, national governments and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - hopes to accelerate vaccine production.
Lassa is one of the diseases on its hit list and it's hoped one or more promising vaccines will be ready for large-scale testing in the next five years.
hit list《a ～》〈話〉殺害予定者リスト
The WHO has drawn up a list of other serious, but often poorly understood diseases, with the potential for devastating outbreaks, including MERS, Nipah, Rift Valley Fever and, of course, Ebola.
It plans to highlight gaps in our knowledge of these diseases and to begin further research.
But research alone isn't enough.
Stronger health systems are needed in the countries where epidemics are most likely to arise.
This could mean building better healthcare facilities and training staff to recognise and respond to outbreaks.
It will also mean working with communities to understand how to identify outbreaks at an early stage and prevent their spread.

20180305

​

20South Africa listeria: Source of 'world's worst outbreak' found
South Africa says it has finally traced the source of a listeria outbreak that has killed 180 people in the past year - said to make it the worst in history.
The source is a factory operated by Enterprise Foods in Polokwane in Limpopo.
More facilities are being tested to see if they contributed to the outbreak which infected almost 1,000 people.
The health minister warned cross-contamination of other processed meats could have occurred in shops.
"Avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready to eat" Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told journalists at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Sunday afternoon.
He told pregnant women to avoid any processed meat "like the plague", reported Times Live.
In some people the disease causes high temperatures, vomiting and diarrhoea, and the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and babies - both in the womb and newborn - are particularly vulnerable.
compromised【形】《医》易感染性のcompromise【自動】妥協する、譲歩する
Melon listeria kills three in Australia
More than 16 environmental samples from the Enterprise Polokwane factory tested positive for the Listeriosis monocytogenes strain ST 6 - a particularly virulent strain.
listeriosis【名】《病理》リステリア症、回旋病Listeria monocytogenes菌による脳炎症。グルグル回転して死に至る。元々は羊で発見。ソフト・チーズ、肉からも感染。発熱、筋肉痛、けん怠感、嘔吐がある。子ども、妊婦に危険。妊婦は胎児に血液感染させ、脳髄膜炎を起させる。大人では中枢神経合併症、心内膜炎、肺炎を起す。学名はげっ歯類での感染実験で単球増加が観察されたことにちなむ
Mr Motsoaledi said a ready-to-eat sausage known as polony, made by Enterprise Food and RCL Foods, would be recalled from stores.
ready-to-eat【形】インスタントの
A shortage of the solution used for testing for the listeria bacteria meant the results of the tests at the Polokwane factory were delayed by two weeks, NICD's Dr Juno Thomas told Times Live.
It is believed that the factory will be closed down.
The Listeria bacteria is hard to test for, as it is not homogenously distributed in food. It can also "hide away" in cracks or niches in factories.
homogenously【副】均一的に、均質的に、本質的に似て
Consumers who stored recalled products in their fridges should disinfect them with diluted bleach.
diluted solution of chlorine bleach《a ～》塩素系漂白剤の希釈液［を薄めた液］180302

How humans echolocate 'like bats'
A study has revealed secrets that help some blind people navigate their world by "seeing with sound".
People who use "echolocation" employ it in a very similar way to bats - producing clicks that bounce off objects and "sonify" them into a picture of the surroundings.
A study of experts in the technique has revealed how louder clicks allow "echolocators" to see behind them.
The insights are published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.
The key finding was that - just like bats - expert echolocators instinctively increase the intensity (or loudness) of their clicks, and click more frequently when an object is off to the side or behind them.
"Everyone's clicks are different," explained Daniel Kish, a co-author on this study, who is also a blind expert in echolocation and already teaches it to others.
"I click using my tongue against the roof of my mouth - it's an implosive, sharp sound. It can penetrate the background noise and bring information to you from dozens or hundreds of metres away."
implosive【名】《音声》内破音、入破音【形】《音声》内破の
Recent research has shown that echolocation can provide detail about objects in the environment, including shape, size, distance, and even the material they are made from.
Human sonar
Dr Lore Thaler, the neuroscientist from Durham University, who led the study, said that revealing how experts fine-tune their technique could help develop methods of teaching it to others.
Dr Thaler and her colleagues used a special sound-deadening room to put echolocating volunteers to the test. Eight participants stood in this soft, foam-lined room with their fingers in their ears humming a tune, while one of the scientists placed an echo-producing disc somewhere around them.
"We'd then retreat behind them and we would use a long stick to tap them gently on the back of their foot. Then, they would stop humming, unblock their ears and start making mouth clicks and using the echoes to tell us - was there a target present or not?"
This revealed that echolocators could spot the target in front of them after a click or two. But if it was off to the side or behind them, they needed about 10 or 12 clicks, and the clicks became much louder.
Lore Thaler: "Click energy is very much to the front of the person, with very little going to the back. So I think people are compensating, or double-checking by sending more sound behind them."
Daniel Kish described its impact of echolocation on the life of a blind person as "a bit like opening one's eyes".
"You can imagine it as the difference between going through the world with your eyes half-closed versus open," he told BBC News.
"And the more we understand it, the more we can develop effective methods for teaching and for learning it."
Super-senses?
The researchers also recorded the echoes that each object reflected back to each participant - using microphones placed by each volunteer's ear.
"They were able to detect echoes up to 95% softer than the initial click," said Dr Thaler. "So they adapt extraordinarily. The next question is - if we train people, how does their sensitivity develop?"
Dr Andrew Kolarik from the University of Cambridge has also studied echolocation extensively and said the study illustrated how people adapted their clicks to get the best information they could from their surroundings.
"Each echolocation click is like a single snapshot of the world," Dr Kolarik told BBC News.
"[The technique] can also be very useful at providing information at face or chest height, to avoid objects like low handing branches that might not get detected by the white cane or a guide dog.
"So teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places [through sound]."

20180301

Waist size bigger heart attack risk in women, report says
Women with bigger waists relative to their hips are at more risk of heart attacks than men of a similar "apple shape", research from the George Institute for Global Health says.
relative to～に関連して、～と相対的な、～に対して、～と比較して、～と比べて、～の割に
The study showed waist-to-hip ratio to be a better heart attack predictor than general obesity - 18% stronger than body mass index in women and 6% in men.
The report found a high BMI was linked to heart disease risk in both sexes.
The researchers interviewed nearly 500,000 UK adults aged 40 to 69.
The research has been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and used the UK Biobank resource.
Dr Sanne Peters, the report's lead author, from the institute, which is at the University of Oxford, said: "Our findings support the notion that having proportionally more fat around the abdomen (a characteristic of the apple shape) appears to be more hazardous than more visceral fat, which is generally stored around the hips (the pear shape)."
visceral【形】内臓の、〔病気が〕内臓を冒すOrigin of viscera  Latin: internal organs, plural of viscus flesh
She said that "looking at how fat tissue is distributed in the body - especially in women - can give us more insight into the risk of heart attack than measures of general obesity".
Dr Peters added: "Understanding the role sex differences in body fat distribution play in future health problems could lead to sex-specific public health interventions that could address the global obesity epidemic more effectively."
sexual specificity性差
The report said that body composition and fat distribution differed markedly between the sexes, with women having a predominance of fat mass and subcutaneous fat and men having lean mass and visceral fat.
It added: "Our study has several strengths, including the prospective design, large sample size, and direct measurement of general and central adiposity on all participants.
adiposity【名】脂肪症、肥満（症）
"However, the UK Biobank is a largely white population, and further analyses are needed to determine the generalisability to other populations."
generalisability一般化可能性
Heart attack symptoms
chest pain - a sensation of pressure, tightness or squeezing in the centre of your chest
pain in other parts of the body - it can feel as if the pain is travelling from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm is affected, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and abdomen
feeling lightheaded or dizzy
lightheaded【形】〔酒で〕頭がクラクラする、目まいがするような
sweating
shortness of breath
feeling or being sick
overwhelming sense of anxiety (similar to having a panic attack)
coughing or wheezing
Although the chest pain is often severe, some people may feel only minor pain, similar to indigestion. In some cases, there may not be any chest pain at all, especially in women, the elderly and people with diabetes.
indigestion【名】消化不良
Ashleigh Doggett, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Considering the large amount of UK participants, this is a very interesting study which highlights that obesity remains a risk factor for heart attacks in both men and women.
"Interestingly, it suggests that those of us who are 'apple' as opposed to 'pear' shape, especially women, may be at higher risk of a heart attack.
"We know from previous BHF research that women are often misdiagnosed initially when having a heart attack so how we store fat and our body shape may be an important factor for medical staff to consider when making a diagnosis.
"The study highlights the need for similar research amongst more diverse populations, and for further research into sex differences which could lead the way in treating patients on an individualised basis."

​20180228

Many adults 'don't know signs of eating disorders'
"I must have been in denial - I was in denial," says Lynda Kent, whose daughter developed an eating disorder 15 years ago at the age of 19.
in denial《be ～》現実を否定して［に目を背けて］いる、現実から目をそらしている
"I didn't want to see there was a problem, until her sister made it very clear that we had a problem."
Lynda says she knew nothing about eating disorders back then and was slow to pick up on the telltale signs.
back then その当時（は）、そのとき（は）、あのとき（は）
telltale sign明らかな［明確な］兆候、証拠となり得る兆し、〔病気などの〕警告兆候
Her story is not untypical, as a survey finds one in three adults could not name any signs of an eating disorder.
The YouGov survey of 2,108 adults in the UK - to mark Eating Disorders Awareness Week - also found 79% were unable to name psychological symptoms, such as low self-esteem or having a distorted perception of weight.
The eating disorder charity Beat says low awareness of the early signs of illnesses like anorexia and bulimia is linked to delayed treatment and increased risk of the illness becoming life-threatening.
bou- intensive prefix (derivative of bou-, stem of bous ox ) + l?m(os) hunger + -ia -ia
Lynda says the early warning signs are often subtle.
"In the early days, you don't see all the signs. Some of them can be mood swings - my daughter became very withdrawn and very quiet.
mood swing
《心理学》〔急激な〕気分変動◆双極性障害（bipolar disorder）や多動性障害（ADHD）に見られるものではなく、主に妊娠中、月経前、閉経期などにおけるホルモン・バランスの崩れが影響して起きると考えられている。
"She started to display signs of avoiding food, avoiding the truth of where she was eating that food, and lying - so she'd say 'I ate earlier' or 'I'm eating at a friend's'.
"But it was a very long time before dramatic signs were being shown. It was her sister who noticed it and spoke up and said: 'Can't you see what's happening, Mum?'."
What are the signs to watch out for?
The charity Beat says the main signs to watch out for are:
watch out for～に注意する［気を付ける・用心する］、～を監視［警戒］する、～の顔色をうかがう
becoming obsessive about food
obsessive【名】強迫観念に取り付かれた人、偏執狂【形】
強迫観念［妄想］に関する［を起こさせる］〔程度などが〕強迫的な、自制できないほどの
changes in behaviour
having distorted beliefs about their body size
often tired or struggling to concentrate
disappearing to the toilet after meals
starting to exercise excessively
Beat chief executive Andrew Radford says the survey findings are worrying because when early signs are picked up on and sufferers are treated early, they are more likely to make a sustained recovery.
"If you are worried about a family member, a friend or colleague, talk to them and encourage them to visit their GP or self-refer to an eating disorder service."
Lynda says parents and relatives need to be aware that people with eating disorders can become very secretive as they try to hide the extent of their problem.
"They become very clever about not wanting to be found out, a bit like alcoholics, so they become very clever at manipulating the situation they're in."She recalls how one time she had left her daughter some chicken in the fridge and, in an attempt to look like she had eaten it, the teenager carved the meat off the bone, but threw it over the fence so as not to be discovered.
"Until you understand eating disorders, you think it's all about getting them to eat, but it's the mind that needs attending to.

"If the mind isn't dealt with, the food won't change, because it all comes from a place of insecurity and control - food is the only thing they can control."

'Full of hope'
Lynda suggests that anyone who is concerned about a loved one should research the issues thoroughly and get help as soon as possible.
"You've got to get on to it fairly fast - the longer you have it, the worse it is to deal with.
"Early intervention is absolutely key. If you can get treatment early, you can nip it in the bud earlier.
"But they have got to be in a place where they want help," she adds.
Despite more than 10 years of battling anorexia, the story of Lynda and her daughter does have a happy ending.
After private treatment in the US, her daughter's health has been stable for the past five years and she is working as a producer for the BBC.
"I'm full of hope," says Lynda, "if I think back five-and-a-half years, I was very worried that I might not see my daughter alive again.
"If someone as poorly as she was can pull through, there's hope. But it takes a lot of love, care and devotion, but there is hope."

20180226

WHO warns of soaring rates of measles in Europe
Europe has seen a big surge in measles cases in 2017, which the World Health Organization says is a tragedy after a record low of 5,273 cases in 2016.
measles
【名】
《医》はしか、麻疹 麻疹ウイルスは麻疹の原因となるウイルスで、パラミクソウイルス科モルビリウイルス属に属するRNAウイルスである。はしかい　かゆいが語源
Cases increased four-fold, with more than 20,000 people affected and 35 deaths.
Fifteen European region countries, including the UK, had large outbreaks. Measles cases were highest in Romania, Italy and Ukraine.
People shunning vaccination is part of the problem, say experts.
shun【他動】避ける
Although research published 20 years ago about a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism has been discredited, the scare it created damaged some people's trust of the vaccine.
MMR vaccine【略】＝measles-mumps-rubella vaccine
MMRワクチン◆はしか、おたふく風邪、風疹の3種混合の予防接種
風疹（ふうしん、英: Rubella）とは、ウイルス感染症の一種で、風疹ウイルスによる急性熱性発疹性疾患。一般に日本では三日はしかとしても知られ、英語では「German measles（ドイツはしか）」とも呼ばれている。トガウイルス科ルビウイルス属
Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be deadly.
The MMR vaccine can prevent it.
The WHO says there have been declines in overall routine immunisation coverage, as well as consistently low coverage among some marginalised groups and interruptions in vaccine supply or underperforming disease surveillance systems.
Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, from the WHO, said: "Every new person affected by measles in Europe reminds us that unvaccinated children and adults, regardless of where they live, remain at risk of catching the disease and spreading it to others who may not be able to get vaccinated.
"This short-term setback cannot deter us from our commitment to be the generation that frees our children from these diseases once and for all."
The UK saw 282 cases in 2017, linked to the continuing outbreak in Europe.
The UK recently achieved WHO measles elimination status, meaning that for the past few years the number of cases has been low enough to stop the disease circulating around the country.
The overall risk of measles to the UK population is low, but due to ongoing measles outbreaks in Europe, cases in unimmunised individuals and limited onward spread can occur.
A few weeks ago, Public Health England warned about measles cases in several regions of England.
At the end of January 2018, there were 51 confirmed cases in the West Midlands.
The vaccine is given as two doses to very young children as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme.
Adults and older children can be vaccinated at any age if they have not been fully immunised before.
To prevent outbreaks, WHO says 95% of the population should be immunised. In the UK, coverage was 91.6% among young children in 2016-17.
Measles symptoms include a runny nose, sneezing and cough, sore, red eyes, a high temperature and, after a few days, a red-brown blotchy rash.
blotchy【形】できもののような、染みだらけの
Why are measles rates so high?
The main reason behind the sharp rise in measles cases is low immunisation coverage, the WHO says. They say a lack of coverage increases the risk of the virus spreading when it is brought in from abroad.
But some European countries have seen an exceptionally high increase in rates.
Romania is fighting its worst measles outbreak in decades. There were more than 5,500 cases last year, partly due to a shortage of the vaccine and poor healthcare facilities. It is also thought that the country's large Roma population, who often live in severe poverty, are at particular risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
Italy had the second highest number of measles cases in Europe last year.
In recent years, a loose group of campaigners against vaccinations, dubbed the anti-vax movement, has dissuaded Italians from opting in to immunisations by citing supposed risks. In response, the government ruled that children must be vaccinated against 12 common illnesses before they can enrol for state-run schools.
dissuade【他動】（人）に説得［忠告］して〔当初予定していた行動を〕やめさせる
This law is one of the key issues in the upcoming March 4 elections and some people are calling for it to be scrapped.
Ukraine is also struggling with a measles outbreak, with almost 5,000 cases recorded in 2017. The WHO says countries that are experiencing conflict are at an increased risk of measles due to damaged health services and infrastructure.

20180224

'Mini-tumours' created to battle cancer
Scientists have been able to predict how cancer patients will respond to therapy by growing miniature versions of their tumours in the laboratory.
They say the groundbreaking work could lead to "smarter, kinder and more effective treatments".
The study, in the journal Science, was 100% accurate at telling which drugs would fail and this could spare patients from unnecessary side-effects.
Mini-tumours could also be a powerful way of testing new drugs.
Tiny brains
Biopsies of 71 patients with advanced colorectal cancer were taken and then grown into miniature 3D cancerous organs in the laboratory.
Growing "organoids" is a relatively new scientific technique and even tiny brains have been made in the lab.
organoid【名】《化学》オルガノイド3次元的に試験管内 (in vitro) でつくられた臓器である。オルガノイドは、拡大しても本物そっくりの解剖学的構造を示し、実際の臓器よりも小型で、単純である。
Researchers treated each organoid with the same drug doctors gave to the patient in the clinic.
The results showed:
If the drug worked in the organoids, it worked 88% of the time in the patient
If the drug failed in the organoids, it failed 100% of the time in the patient
Just sparing patients the brutal side-effects of a drug that will not work would make a huge difference, the researchers said.
Dr Nicola Valeri, from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said: "For the first time we proved these organoids not only resembled the biology of metastatic cancer, but also mirror what we see in the clinic."
In one patient, conventional genetic testing had suggested their tumour would respond to a drug.
But the treatment failed in both the clinic and the organoid. The researchers think organoids might be combined with current tests.
Mouse models
Prof David Cunningham, from the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, where some of the patients were treated, said: "This promising research moves us forward in the field of personalised medicine, and should ultimately lead to smarter, kinder and more effective treatments for patients."
Previous attempts to predict how patients would respond to treatment included making "cancer avatars" - essentially mice with the patient's cancer growing in them.
But getting the answers quickly enough to inform treatment has always been the challenge.
Dr Valeri said: "This has been a huge issue in the past, when people were using mouse models it was taking six to eight months to get to the results.
"With this tool we can get results in a couple of months and I think we can get even faster."
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But if mini-tumours accurately reflect their "parent" cancer then they could be a powerful new tool for testing drugs and for understanding the biology of why cancers can resist treatment.
They could also be used to decide if patients should take part in clinical trials of new drugs.
Prof Charles Swanton, the chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, said: "Predicting how effective treatments such as chemotherapy will be for an individual patient can be difficult, with very few accurate tests available for doctors.
"This new approach could help us test future targeted therapies before trialling them in the clinic."

20180221

Cancer drugs could treat rare blood-vessel disorder
Researchers have found the genetic cause of a blood-vessel disorder that can cause deadly bleeds and stroke.
Scientists at University College London Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) who led the study, called it an "enormous step" towards understanding and treating arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
arteriovenous malformation
動静脈奇形「脳動静脈奇形」とは、脳の中で異常な動脈と静脈が毛細血管を介さず直接つながり、この部分がとぐろを巻いたような塊（ナイダスと呼ばれます）となっている状態の血管奇形です。
And they now believe targeted cancer drugs may be able to treat it.
AVM, which usually worsens over time, can cause swelling and disfigurement.
An AVM is an abnormal collection of blood vessels where high-pressure arterial blood feeds directly into low-pressure veins.
Teams in London, Edinburgh and Cambridge, collaborated on the research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The researchers took biopsies from 160 children with blood vessel disorders including AVMs and sequenced the DNA in the affected tissue.
They found four faulty genes that could trigger the condition, all involved in the signalling pathway between cell surface receptors and the nucleus.
The same gene mutations are also involved in the growth of many cancers.
There are several licensed cancer drugs that target the faulty RAS-MAPK pathway.
The discovery means doctors now have the potential to treat AVMs with cancer drugs.
Dr Veronica Kinsler, consultant paediatric dermatologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Wellcome Trust fellow at UCL, led the research.
She told me: "This is an enormous step for us. Discovering the genetic causes of AVMs in individual patients means we are now able to suggest treatments which could potentially slow, stop or perhaps even reverse the growth of this condition in the longer term."
One of the patients involved in the research is Nikki Christou, 13.
She has an AVM on the right side of her face and skull and can have a severe bleed at any time.
Nikki told me: "It can be very scary as the blood not only comes out of my nose but can flow down my throat and mouth and if it is really bad comes out of my tear ducts as well so I cry blood instead of water.
"I can become light-headed, and when the severe bleeds happen I need an ambulance."
lightheaded【形】〔酒で〕頭がクラクラする、目まいがするような
Nikki has had 30 operations and hundreds of outpatient appointments.
Her family set up the Butterfly AVM Charity and, along with the Wellcome Trust, were key funders for the research project.
As a result of the findings, Nikki is now one of two patients taking a cancer treatment that targets the gene mutation in her AVM.
Nikki has been taking the once-daily tablet for more than six months.
A recent MRI scan suggested that her AVM had not worsened, but it will be more than a year before doctors know whether the treatment is effective.
A clinical trial of the targeted cancer drugs is planned.
Nikki has her own YouTube channel - Nikki Lilly, with 300,000 subscribers, and won CBBC's Junior Bake Off in 2016.
She has also interviewed the prime minister.
She says her key message is "don't judge a book by its cover, it's what's on the inside that counts - people's personality and heart not the way they look".