Health News: 1 November 2026

The Happy Mums Foundation, which supports women with postpartum mental health challenges in Cumbria, has received £70,000 in grants to keep its in-person peer support groups running. The charity, set up in 2015, has helped more than 1,000 families and had considered moving groups online after funding pressures. Director Lucinda Bray said the money lifts the immediate risk and lets the foundation work toward sustainability.

The Royal College of Radiologists said NHS Wales has 88 fewer radiologists than it needs, a 28 percent shortfall, and for the first time reported some cancer patients deteriorating while waiting for diagnostic scans. North and west Wales face a 42 percent consultant radiologist shortfall, compared with 22 percent in south Wales. Betsi Cadwaladr health board said recruitment was ongoing and reporting times had improved despite higher scan demand.

Betsi Cadwaladr University health board may close urgent primary care centres at Holyhead, Tremadog and Bangor by April 2027, citing funding and recruitment problems. The centres, staffed by GPs, advanced nurse practitioners and physiotherapists, were created to ease pressure on GP practices and emergency departments. Local politicians warn closure could lengthen waiting times and strain the services the centres were meant to support.

In a Finnish experiment, 51 middle-aged men and women sat for 30 minutes in a traditional sauna at about 73 C, with a cold shower halfway through. Immediately afterward, their blood showed higher levels of white blood cells that help defend the body, including neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils. The increase had mostly faded 30 minutes later, leaving only some monocytes elevated, while cytokine levels barely shifted.

A JAMA Pediatrics trial found that young people who followed a gradually increasing aerobic exercise program with weekly video calls recovered from concussion symptoms faster than those assigned stretching. The study included 210 participants aged 11 to 18 in four US states; the exercise group used fitness trackers, began with 10 minutes at an age-based heart-rate target of about 120 beats per minute, and received coach reviews for six weeks.

A randomized trial in China found clot removal 24 to 72 hours after a major ischemic stroke improved functional recovery. Among 336 patients at 35 centers, 49 percent of those treated with thrombectomy lived independently at 90 days, compared with 35 percent on medication alone. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests patients arriving later may still benefit, though risks remain.

MD Anderson researchers found that METTL13 helps cancer cells selectively make growth-driving proteins, including KRAS. It adds a methylation tag that lets cells read certain codons more efficiently, boosting proteins linked to cancer growth and survival. In preclinical models, reducing METTL13 lowered KRAS levels, slowed tumors and, in KRAS-mutant lung cancers resistant to sotorasib, restored treatment sensitivity and extended survival.

Connect Outdoors was launched at an International Men's Day event at the Venture Centre in Maughold, where about 80 people were expected to take part in outdoor activities. The charity aims to improve men's mental health and reduce isolation through activities such as archery, ice baths, guided walks and breathwork.

The charity is built around green and blue health, and organisers hope surveys will identify which activities and approaches engage men.

Memory can worsen with age, but experts said recall can be improved by learning new things and doing cognitively stimulating activities such as chess, a new language or an instrument. Sania Alam suggested using memory techniques instead of relying on gadgets, while Barbara Sahakian said learning helps keep neural circuits functioning. Opening a book can be a simple way to start.

In a preliminary trial, Romanian researchers tested a two day group program called cognitive evolutionary therapy with 61 adults with depressive symptoms. Participants assigned to the program showed substantially greater improvement one week later than those on a waiting list. The approach builds on cognitive behavioral therapy by framing distress around ancestral needs for closeness and security.