Health

Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist. Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10. He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy... [Read more of this review]

Doctors in Cambridge believe they may soon have a cure for peanut allergies. The largest ever trial to find a treatment for potentially fatal peanut allergies is to give sufferers tiny amounts daily to build up tolerance. The Addenbrookes team will give increasing doses of peanut flour to 104 British children, up to the equivalent of five nuts a day. Twenty... [Read more of this review]

The NHS should stop funding homeopathy, MPs say. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee said using public money on the highly-diluted remedies could not be justified. The cross-party group said there was no evidence beyond a placebo effect, when a patient gets better because of their belief that the treatment works. But manufacturers... [Read more of this review]