Good night's sleep 'protects heart'

2 July 2013 Last updated at 20:34 ET By Helen Briggs BBC News

Seven or more hours' sleep a night boosts the benefits to the heart of a healthy lifestyle, research suggests.

According to a large study, traditional advice on exercise, diet, drinking and smoking reduced deaths from heart disease or stroke, but even more lives were saved by also having enough sleep.

Advice on getting enough sleep could have a substantial impact on public health, say European researchers.

In theory, many heart and stroke deaths could be prevented or postponed.

A team in the Netherlands tracked heart disease and strokes in more than 14,000 men and women for more than a decade.

By the end of the study, about 600 individuals had suffered heart disease or stroke, and 129 died.

The study found that deaths were less likely in people who followed all four positive lifestyle recommendations - taking exercise, eating a healthy diet, drinking alcohol in moderation, and not smoking.

Continue reading the main story

This research shows that combining a good night's sleep with other healthy lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of heart disease"

End Quote Doireann Maddock British Heart Foundation

Observing all four behaviours was associated with a 57% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 67% lower risk of dying from stroke or heart disease, they say.

But when sufficient sleep - seven or more hours a night - was added to the other four lifestyle factors, the beneficial effect was amplified - resulting in a 65% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and an 83% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

The researchers say other studies have shown a link between poor sleep and cardiovascular disease, but this is the first to look at whether sleep - added to the other four healthy lifestyle recommendations - can further reduce risk.

"If all participants adhered to all five healthy lifestyle factors, 36% of composite cardiovascular disease [heart disease or stroke] and 57% of fatal cardiovascular disease could theoretically be prevented or postponed," say the researchers, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, and Wageningen University.

"The public health impact of sufficient sleep duration, in addition to the traditional healthy lifestyle factors, could be substantial."

Commenting on the work, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Prof Grethe S Tell, of the University of Bergen, Norway, said the benefits of sleep should be considered by public health experts and parents alike.

"The main message of the study is that we need to consider sleep as an important factor for health," she told BBC News.

"From a public health point of view we should encourage people to get enough sleep and like all other healthy lifestyle factors this needs to be taught at home."

Sleepless nights

Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said people suffering sleepless nights should not be alarmed.

"This research shows that combining a good night's sleep with other healthy lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of heart disease," she said.

"But troubled sleepers should not be alarmed - this study doesn't mean sleepless nights cause heart disease."

She added that further research was needed to fully understand the link between sleeping habits and the heart.

"If you find it difficult to drift off, avoiding caffeine and heavy meals too close to the end of the day may help.

"But if lack of sleep is becoming a problem, make sure you have a chat to your doctor."

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Bone marrow 'frees men of HIV drugs'

3 July 2013 Last updated at 04:32 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Two patients have been taken off their HIV drugs after bone-marrow transplants seemed to clear the virus from their bodies, doctors report.

One of the patients has spent nearly four months without taking medication with no sign of the virus returning.

The team at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in the US, caution that it is far too soon to talk about a cure as the virus could return at any point.

The findings were presented at the International Aids Society Conference.

It is difficult to get rid of an HIV infection because it hides inside human DNA, forming untouchable "reservoirs" in body.

Anti-retroviral drugs keep the virus in check within the bloodstream - but when the drugs stop, the virus comes back.

HIV gone?

The two men, who have not been identified, had lived with HIV for about 30 years.

They both developed a cancer, lymphoma, which required a bone-marrow transplant.

Bone marrow is where new blood cells are made and it is thought to be a major reservoir for HIV.

After the transplant, there was no detectable HIV in the blood for two years in one patient and four in the other.

Continue reading the main story

It is far too early to call this a cure for HIV. And even if it was a cure, it wouldn't be a very good one.

It is very expensive and often leads to "graft-v-host" disease. There is a 15-20% mortality rate within the first few years after the transplant.

This occurs when new immune cells produced by the graft treat the rest of the body as foreign and attack it.

The two patients in this study have replaced their regimen of anti-retroviral drugs, with those to suppress the immune system.

The procedure was carried out in these patients only because they had cancer that needed to be treated.

The real value of this research for the majority of people with HIV will come from a deeper understanding of the virus and HIV reservoirs.

The pair came off their anti-retroviral drugs earlier this year.

One has gone 15 weeks, and the other seven, since stopping treatment, and no signs of the virus have been detected so far.

Dr Timothy Henrich told the BBC the results were exciting. But he added: "We have not demonstrated cure, we're going to need longer follow-up.

"What we can say is if the virus does stay away for a year or even two years after we stopped the treatment, that the chances of the virus rebounding are going to be extremely low.

"It's much too early at this point to use the C-word [cure]."

It is thought that the transplanted bone marrow was initially protected from infection by the course of anti-retrovirals. Meanwhile the transplant also attacked the remaining bone marrow, which was harbouring the virus.

However Dr Henrich cautioned that the virus could be still be hiding inside brain tissue or the gastrointestinal track.

"If [the] virus does return, it would suggest that these other sites are an important reservoir of infectious virus and new approaches to measuring the reservoir at relevant sites will be needed to guide the development of HIV curative strategies," he said.

Berlin patient

Timothy Brown, also known as the "Berlin patient" is thought to be the first person cured of Aids. He had a bone marrow transplant from a rare donor who was resistant to HIV.

The two US cases both received bone marrow from normal donors.

There was also a report of an HIV cure in a baby born in Mississippi, US. She was treated with anti-retroviral drugs at birth so it is thought the virus was cleared from the body before reservoirs were established.

Dr Michael Brady, the medical director of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "It is too early to know whether HIV has been eradicated from these men's bodies or whether it might return.

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Doctors say it is far too soon to talk about a cure for HIV, as James Gallagher reports

"However, the case suggests that what happened to Timothy Brown, the Berlin Patient was perhaps not a one-off.

"A bone marrow transplant is a complex and expensive procedure, which comes with significant risks.

"For most people with HIV, it would be more dangerous to undergo a transplant than to continue managing the virus with daily medication.

"So while this is by no means a workable cure, it does give researchers another signpost in the direction of one."

The head of the Foundation for AIDS Research, Kevin Frost, said: "These findings clearly provide important new information that might well alter the current thinking about HIV and gene therapy.

"While stem-cell transplantation is not a viable option for people with HIV on a broad scale because of its costs and complexity, these new cases could lead us to new approaches to treating, and ultimately even eradicating, HIV."

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CQC chiefs admit cover-up error

3 July 2013 Last updated at 07:52 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Bosses at England's health regulator have admitted they "got it wrong" when they blocked the release of the names of officials accused of a cover-up.

The admission by Care Quality Commission chief executive David Behan and chairman David Prior was made as they appeared before a group of MPs.

The names of those involved in the alleged cover-up over baby deaths were only released after a public outcry.

The House of Commons' Health Committee heard that this had been a mistake.

The CQC originally cited data protection rules for not releasing the names when it published a review last month by consultants Grant Thornton into how the organisation had investigated Furness General Hospital in Cumbria.

Continue reading the main story

I made the decision. I clearly got that wrong"

End Quote David Behan Care Quality Commission

But they came under immediate pressure from ministers and the information commissioner, who accused them of hiding behind the Data Protection Act.

Within a day the identities of the three - former chief executive Cynthia Bower, her deputy Jill Finney and media manager Anna Jefferson - had been revealed.

Mr Prior said he "regretted" the error, adding: "I got that call completely wrong. I accept that criticism."

Allegations

Meanwhile, Mr Behan said: "I made the decision. I clearly got that wrong."

Mr Behan, who has only been in post a year, went on to say that he was trying to reshape the organisation to make it more transparent and effective.

He pointed out that the way hospitals were now being inspected had been beefed up so inspections were longer and involved more experts in health care.

The controversy over the CQC's handling of Furness General Hospital emerged following the review by Grant Thornton, ordered by Mr Behan after he took over the regulator.

Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, was given a clean bill of health in 2010 despite problems emerging about the maternity unit - more than 30 families have now taken legal action against the hospital in relation to baby and maternal deaths and injuries from 2008.

In 2011 - with more concerns arising - the CQC ordered an internal review into how the problems had been missed.

But in 2012 when the report was finished, the author had allegedly been told to "delete" it, the Grant Thornton report said.

Ms Bower and Ms Jefferson are alleged to have "verbally agreed" to the cover-up under the instruction of Ms Finney because it was "potentially damaging to the CQC's reputation".

All three deny the allegations.

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'Don't ignore persistent cough'

1 July 2013 Last updated at 20:11 ET

Anyone with a cough that has lasted for three weeks or more should see a doctor, according to a campaign to reduce deaths from lung cancer.

England's biggest cancer killer, it claims 28,000 lives a year, partly because it is often diagnosed too late.

The main symptom is a chronic cough - although most instances of this will not be due to cancer.

The Be Clear on Cancer lung cancer campaign is aimed at people over the age of 50, as they are most at risk.

Other symptoms of lung cancer include:

• a cough that has got worse or changes
• repeated chest infections
• coughing up blood
• breathlessness
• feeling more tired than usual for some time
• losing weight for no obvious reason
• an ache or pain in your chest or shoulder that has lasted some time

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "More people die from lung cancer than any other cancer in England, but many people don't know the signs and symptoms that could save their lives.

"The message from this campaign is clear - if you have a persistent cough, go and see your doctor. The earlier lung cancer is diagnosed, the more likely that treatment will be successful."

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NHS 'must get tough on consultants'

1 July 2013 Last updated at 20:11 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Failings in care in England can be directly linked to the NHS's inability to properly manage hospital consultants, MPs say.

The warning was made by the Public Accounts Committee after it studied the impact of a new contract in 2003.

The MPs said problems with working hours and bonuses worked against the interests of patients - and urged the NHS to get tougher on doctors.

But the criticisms have been rejected by the British Medical Association.

The cross-party group found that since the contract was introduced a decade ago, pay had risen by between 24% and 28% for the 40,000 consultants working in the NHS.

'Barbed rhetoric'

It also noted the deal had allowed doctors to refuse to work during evenings and weekends, prompting trusts to fork out up to £200 an hour in overtime payments or rely on locums, which was not good for continuity of care.

And it highlighted the bonus system - known as clinical excellence awards - which was being given to 60% of consultants despite it being aimed at rewarding those who perform over and above what is expected.

The report was also critical of the way consultants were being managed - nearly half of trusts were not assessing if consultants were meeting their objectives.

Continue reading the main story

This nonsense highlights how badly consultants' performance is being managed"

End Quote Margaret Hodge Public Accounts Committee

It concluded the failure to implement a proper culture of performance management was a "crucial factor" in poor standards of care, such as that seen at Stafford Hospital.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge added: "This nonsense highlights how badly consultants' performance is being managed."

Gill Bellord, of NHS Employers, said: "The report raises some important issues about care for patients, which are of increasing concern."

She said the organisation had begun talks with the BMA about what changes needed to be made, adding: "It is time to refresh the contract."

But Dr Paul Flynn, the BMA's consultants leader, said: "The barbed rhetoric is particularly unhelpful at a time when we are trying to come up with some broad principles for potential negotiations.

"Doctors are crucial to innovation in the NHS, and their work not only improves quality, but also frequently saves taxpayers' money."

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Organ donor system change vote due

2 July 2013 Last updated at 09:12 ET By Carl Roberts BBC Wales political reporter

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Welsh government ministers want to increase the number of donors for transplant by a quarter

Wales could become the only UK country with an opt-out organ donation system if politicians vote to change the law.

The Welsh government wants to introduce a system where individuals will be presumed to have consented for their organs to be donated after death unless they have specifically objected.

But opponents want families to be able to stop a donation if their relative did not express an opinion either way.

Ministers want to increase the number of donors for transplant by a quarter.

There has been opposition to the changes from Christian churches and from within the Muslim and Jewish communities.

It would mean a change from the current opt-in system, where would-be donors have to sign a register.

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Martyn Griffiths: "There are days when I get fed up and don't want to go to dialysis"

A statement from faith leaders and health professionals - signed by the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan and others - calls for a so-called "soft opt-out scheme" in the Human Transplantation Bill.

They say it would give deceased patients' families a say on donation if their relative had neither opted in or out.

A joint statement says that failure to make changes to the bill would be "inhuman, unfeeling before the suffering of relatives, and a danger to the public trust and support which are necessary for the practice of organ donation to flourish".

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Even if assembly members vote in favour it will be two years before any changes come into force, while a big public awareness campaign takes place.

A total of 226 people are currently waiting for organ transplants in Wales.

And three patients a month die while waiting.

The Welsh government says the goal is simply to save lives.

Opponents insist the changes could undermine trust and add to the distress of bereaved families.

If passed by assembly members on Tuesday, the presumed consent system could come into force by 2015.

The Welsh government hopes legislation will lead to a rise in the numbers of donors.

As currently happens, organs could go to recipients anywhere in the UK, not just in Wales, although evidence from other countries with an opt-out system indicates that the rise is small with around 15 additional donors provided each year and approximately 45 extra organs.

According to the NHS Blood and Transplant service, fewer than 5,000 people die every year in the UK in circumstances that would allow them to donate successfully.

Added to that, when compatibility, organ suitability, location, time scales and consent are taken into account it means that not everyone who wants to donate actually does.

It is estimated there are around 250 people on a waiting list for a transplant at any one time - 33 people in Wales died in 2012/13 whilst waiting.

Health Minister Mark Drakeford told BBC Wales: "The legislation makes it absolutely clear that if you are uncomfortable with being an organ donor you have an absolute right in the simplest way possible to opt out of the system.

Publicise the system

"You put your name on the organ donor register saying you don't want to be a donor and that is the end of the matter.

"There is nothing to be scared of in this legislation."

The presumed consent law would apply to over-18s who die in Wales if they have lived in Wales for more than 12 months.

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Emma Harrison's five-year-old son Oliver needs a heart transplant

People will be able to sign up to the organ donor register so their wishes will be known if they die outside Wales.

Continue reading the main story

ORGAN DONATION FIGURES

• The aim of the Bill is to increase the number of organs available from Wales, potentially by 25%
• On latest figures this would see the number of donors rise from around 65 donors to 80.
• The average number of transplants anticipated from 15 additional donors would be approximately 26 kidneys, 10 livers, two hearts and four lungs
• Just over 30% of organs donated in Wales are transplanted into people living in Wales

If the law is changed, ministers will have a duty to publicise the system and almost £8m will be spent over 10 years.

The bill would involve transferring some powers from the UK government to Welsh ministers.

The Kidney Wales Foundation (KWF) has campaigned for a law change on organ donation and described the bill as "progressive law".

Roy Thomas, KWF chief executive, said: "The Welsh government has seen this bill scrutinised properly and several detailed consultations have been undertaken with the Welsh public.

"This law is further progress and evidence shows it will increase donation rates."

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland a public consultation is under way about adopting an opt-out system. In Scotland, ministers have said the option was "not completely off the agenda" but they have argued that progress has been made under the current system.

The Department of Health said a taskforce had recommended against moving to an opt-out system for England in 2008.

A spokesman added: "We are working closely with the Welsh government to ensure their policy does not negatively impact on our work to promote voluntary organ donations."

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WHO to recommend earlier HIV drugs

30 June 2013 Last updated at 00:03 ET By Jane Dreaper Health correspondent, BBC News

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Paul Ward, UK's Terrence Higgins Trust: "There is no reason now why anybody should die because of HIV"

New guidelines for HIV treatment could see millions more people in developing countries getting life-saving medicine.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that patients start taking medication at a much earlier stage of the disease.

The WHO says the guidelines, which are being launched at an international Aids conference in Kuala Lumpur, could help avert an extra 3m Aids deaths by 2025.

The charity MSF welcomed the move - but said extra investment would be needed.

A single pill combining three drugs will be given to people who are HIV positive much earlier, while their immune systems are still strong. Algeria, Argentina and Brazil are already doing this.

Not everybody who needs the medicine currently receives it, although big strides have been made in recent years in widening access to HIV treatment.

The WHO says these guidelines represent a "major shift" in policy, and will result in the number of people in developing countries who are eligible for drug treatment rising from 16m to 26m, or 80% of the total who are thought to have HIV.

It is thought the guidelines will add 10% to the $23bn (£15bn) overall cost of treating HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

WHO believes global donors and the affected countries themselves will be convinced that the idea is cost-effective.

It agreed the policy after a year-long consultation, in which evidence about the role earlier treatment can play in reducing transmission of the virus was considered.

'Safer, simpler medicines'

The WHO's HIV/Aids director, Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, said: "It will be very difficult to end Aids without a vaccine - but these new guidelines will take us a long way in reducing deaths.

Continue reading the main story

Our collective goal should now be to scale up without messing up"

End Quote Dr Gilles van Cutsem MSF

"We're recommending earlier treatment - and also safer, simpler medicines that are already widely available.

"We also want to see better monitoring of patients, so they can see how well they're doing on the treatment.

"This is not only about keeping people healthy and alive - the anti-retroviral drugs block transmission, so there is the potential for a major impact in preventing epidemics within different countries."

Five companies make the daily combination pill, which can cost about $127 for a year's individual treatment in countries where price reductions have been negotiated.

The WHO says there is an "encouraging trend" of countries using their own finances to fight the HIV/Aids epidemic such as Zimbabwe, which has successfully used a levy on mobile phones.

The new recommendations also include providing drugs to all children under five with the virus, all HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women and to people whose partner is uninfected.

In all of these cases, treatment would start regardless of how far the condition has damaged their immune system.

Dr Hirnschall added: "We are still seeing young children lagging behind in terms of access to treatment. Two-thirds of adults that need anti-retroviral drugs get them, but only a third of young children."

'Ambitious but feasible'

The Global Fund - set up to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria - welcomed the guidelines as "very timely".

Its executive director, Dr Mark Dybul, said: "This is an example of how the Global Fund and the WHO work together to support countries as we move towards removing HIV as a threat to public health."

MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders) warned extra political and financial support would be needed for implementing the recommendations, which it said were "ambitious but feasible".

MSF medical co-ordinator in South Africa Dr Gilles van Cutsem said: "With these new guidelines our collective goal should now be to scale up without messing up: to reach more people, retain them on treatment, and with an undetectable viral load.

"There's no greater motivating factor for people to stick to their HIV treatment than knowing the virus is 'undetectable' in their blood."

Paul Ward, deputy chief executive at the UK's Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "These guidelines have implications for the UK and would expand the number of people eligible for HIV treatment.

"Using treatment to reduce transmission is a key part of modern prevention efforts, including our own.

"In the UK, we have some of the best treatments in the world, and offering them earlier could be one way of slowing the spread of the epidemic. It could also improve the person's own long-term health."

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Brain tumour treatment 'lags behind'

30 June 2013 Last updated at 18:54 ET

Treatment for brain tumours is "seriously lagging behind" that for other cancers, campaigners warn.

Brain Tumour Research says the condition receives less than 1% of national funding for cancer research.

They warn 75% of those who die from the condition are under 75 and that brain tumours are one of the few conditions becoming much more prevalent.

Cancer Research UK said research into brain tumours was a "key priority", so more patients could survive the cancer.

Brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer deaths in young people.

While almost three quarters of brain tumour deaths occur in the under-75s, the comparable figure for cancer as a whole is 47%.

Prognosis after diagnosis is poor.

Over half (58%) of people diagnosed with brain cancer die within a year compared with 5% for breast cancer, 35% for leukaemia and 7% for prostate cancer.

Brain cancer is also the leading cause of cancer deaths in children.

'100 years to catch up'

Brain Tumour Research says that from 2002-12, total National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) spending was £4,515m - but of that, only £35m went to fund brain tumour research.

The charity says it wants the government, large cancer charities and the public to band together and significantly increase the investment into brain tumour research.

Continue reading the main story

Every day I hear from people whose lives are being devastated by this disease, whose treatment is falling short, who are living without hope for a cure"

End Quote Sue Farrington-Smith, Brain Tumour Research

Sue Farrington-Smith, director of Brain Tumour Research, said: "Our research shows that while in the past 10 years there have been huge strides forward in the treatments and therefore survival rates for some cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia, treatments for brain tumours lag seriously behind and, at current research spend levels, it could take another 100 years to catch up.

"There isn't enough awareness about brain tumours, in contrast with say breast cancer or leukaemias. GPs aren't necessarily aware and do not put people forward."

And she said that due to improvements in the management of other cancers, which enabled people to survive their primary tumours, secondary brain cancers had now become more common.

Ms Farrington-Smith added: "Every day I hear from people whose lives are being devastated by this disease, whose treatment is falling short, who are living without hope for a cure.

"Action needs to be taken now, by the government, the larger cancer charities and the general public, we can't afford to wait a year, let alone 10."

Dr Julie Sharp, of Cancer Research UK, said: "There's an urgent need for more research into brain tumours and we're determined to improve the outlook for patients and their loved ones.

"Our researchers developed the drug temozolomide, used worldwide to treat the most common type of brain tumour.

"And last year we spent more than £4m on brain tumour research, as well as £129m on research that underpins all types of cancer.

"But we need to ensure that more people survive, which is why brain tumour research is one of our key priorities and we continue to work closely with brain tumour charities and researchers to share resources and expertise to boost research efforts."

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Babies offered vomiting bug vaccine

30 June 2013 Last updated at 18:59 ET

An extra vaccination is to be offered to babies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to protect them against a vomiting and diarrhoea bug.

Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea) in children under five.

Nearly every child currently gets the condition by the time they are five.

But experts hope the oral vaccine, given to babies at two and three months old, will halve the number of cases seen annually.

The bug currently accounts for 130,000 visits to the GP and 13,000 hospital visits for dehydration every year.

Scotland introduced a rotavirus vaccine in May.

'Protect your baby'

Dr Paul Cosford, director for health protection and medical director at Public Health England, said: "Rotavirus is a highly infectious and unpleasant illness that affects thousands of young children each year.

Continue reading the main story

The best way to protect your baby from catching rotavirus is to get them vaccinated"

End Quote Dr Paul Cosford, Public Health England

"While most recover within a few days, nearly one-in-five will need to see their doctor, and one-in-10 will end up in hospital as a result."

He added: "Although good hygiene measures can help prevent spread of the disease, the best way to protect your baby from catching rotavirus is to get them vaccinated.

"The new vaccine will provide protection to those young babies who are most vulnerable to complications arising from rotavirus.

"From now on, parents will be offered this protection alongside their baby's other childhood vaccinations."

Further new vaccinations against shingles, meningococcal C and flu will be introduced later this year.

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UK government backs three-person IVF

27 June 2013 Last updated at 19:33 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

The UK looks set to become the first country to allow the creation of babies using DNA from three people, after the government backed the IVF technique.

It will produce draft regulations later this year and the procedure could be offered within two years.

Experts say three-person IVF could eliminate debilitating and potentially fatal mitochondrial diseases that are passed on from mother to child.

Opponents say it is unethical and could set the UK on a "slippery slope".

They also argue that affected couples could adopt or use egg donors instead.

Mitochondria are the tiny, biological "power stations" that give the body energy. They are passed from a mother, through the egg, to her child.

Defective mitochondria affect one in every 6,500 babies. This can leave them starved of energy, resulting in muscle weakness, blindness, heart failure and death in the most extreme cases.

Continue reading the main story

Every time Sharon Bernardi became pregnant, she hoped for a healthy child.

But all seven of her children died from a rare genetic disease that affects the central nervous system - three of them just hours after birth.

When her fourth child, Edward, was born, doctors discovered the disease was caused by a defect in Sharon's mitochondria.

Edward was given drugs and blood transfusions to prevent the lactic acidosis (a kind of blood poisoning) that had killed his siblings.

Five weeks later Sharon and her husband, Neil, were allowed to take Edward to their home in Sunderland for Christmas - but his health slowly began to deteriorate.

Edward survived into adulthood, dying in 2011 at the age of 21.

Now Sharon is supporting medical research that would allow defective mitochondria to be replaced by DNA from another woman.

Research suggests that using mitochondria from a donor egg can prevent the diseases.

It is envisaged that up to 10 couples a year would benefit from the treatment.

However, it would result in babies having DNA from two parents and a tiny amount from a third donor as the mitochondria themselves have their own DNA.

'Clearly sensitive'

Earlier this year, a public consultation by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) concluded there was "general support" for the idea and that there was no evidence that the advanced form of IVF was unsafe.

The chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said: "Scientists have developed ground-breaking new procedures which could stop these disease being passed on, bringing hope to many families seeking to prevent their future children inheriting them.

"It's only right that we look to introduce this life-saving treatment as soon as we can."

She said there were "clearly some sensitive issues here" but said she was "personally very comfortable" with altering mitochondria.

Scientists have devised two techniques that allow them to take the genetic information from the mother and place it into the egg of a donor with healthy mitochondria.

Continue reading the main story

The result is a baby with genetic information from three people.

They would have more than 20,000 genes from their parents and 37 mitochondrial genes from a donor.

It is a change that would have ramifications through the generations as scientists would be altering human genetic inheritance.

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Dr David King says the move crosses "a crucial ethical line"

Objections to the procedure have been raised ever since it was first mooted.

Dr David King, the director of Human Genetics Alert, said: "These techniques are unnecessary and unsafe and were in fact rejected by the majority of consultation responses.

'Designer baby'

"It is a disaster that the decision to cross the line that will eventually lead to a eugenic designer baby market should be taken on the basis of an utterly biased and inadequate consultation."

One of the main concerns raised in the HFEA's public consultation was of a "slippery slope" which could lead to other forms of genetic modification.

Draft regulations will be produced this year with a final version expected to be debated and voted on in Parliament during 2014.

Newcastle University is pioneering one of the techniques that could be used for three-person IVF.

Prof Doug Turnbull, the director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at the university, said he was "delighted".

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He said: "This is excellent news for families with mitochondrial disease.

"This will give women who carry these diseased genes more reproductive choice and the opportunity to have children free of mitochondrial disease. I am very grateful to all those who have supported this work."

The fine details of the regulations are still uncertain, yet it is expected to be for only the most severe cases.

It is also likely that children would have no right to know who the egg donor was and that any children resulting from the procedure would be monitored closely for the rest of their lives.

Sir John Tooke, the president of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: "Introducing regulations now will ensure that there is no avoidable delay in these treatments reaching affected families once there is sufficient evidence of safety and efficacy.

"It is also a positive step towards ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of cutting-edge research in this area."

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