Case Notes
Medical programme exploring a different topic each week, with reports and input from experts
Case Notes - 06/02/2007
Traumatic brain injuries are mainly the result of serious accidents on the roads or at work, assaults or falls. Dr Mark Porter discovers how these injuries are treated today.
Details
Case Notes - 19/02/2008
Dr Mark Porter looks at liver disease with Professor Humphrey Hodgson, who explains why liver problems are rife in the UK and what listeners can do to prevent them.
Details
Case Notes - 20/02/2007
Long-acting contraceptive implants like Mirena are safe and reliable, so why has the uptake been so poor? Mark Porter investigates.
Details
Case Notes - 27/02/2007
Mark Porter investigates the causes of high blood pressure and asks whether a patient's ethnic origin or gender may be a risk factor.
Details
Case Notes - A Night in ER
As an ageing population puts increasing strain on hospital emergency departments, Dr Mark Porter looks at how one in Southampton is evolving to meet those complex needs.
Details
Case Notes - Abortion
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He investigates the medical and psychological aspects of abortion. He talks to Dr John Spencer of Marie Stopes International.
Details
Case Notes - Alzheimer's Disease
Dr Mark Porter finds out about the latest research into Alzheimer's Disease and asks whether there will ever be a vaccine for dementia.
Details
Case Notes - Aneurysms
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He investigates aneurysms, swellings in blood vessels anywhere in the body.
Details
Case Notes - Antibiotics
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He studies the latest guidelines on antibiotic prescriptions for ear ache and discusses the criteria for a prescription.
Details
Case Notes - Appendicitis
Dr Mark Porter examines the diagnosis and treatment of appendicitis and talks to doctors to discover how they decide when it is time to remove the appendix.
Details
Case Notes - Aspirin
Aspirin is associated with preventing miscarriage, heart disease and cancer, but it's not for everyone. Mark Porter unpicks the confusing messages surrounding aspirin.
Details
Case Notes - Back Problems
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He has recently undergone an operation on his back to relieve his sciatica and reports on how the treatment has gone.
Details
Case Notes - Backs
Dr Mark Porter meets patients on the Active Back Programme at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who are learning to live with their condition and be physically active.
Details
Case Notes - Balance Disorders
Dr Mark Porter talks to patients, doctors and other clinical specialists about the various conditions which cause vertigo and disabling dizziness.
Details
Case Notes - Bariatric Surgery
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He talks to a patient and her surgeon about the gastric bypass surgery which has led to her losing almost ten stone.
Details
Case Notes - Barrett's Oesophagus
Dr Mark Porter explores the diagnosis and treatment of Barrett's oesophagus, a condition that affects some people who have had severe heartburn for a long time.
Details
Case Notes - Biomechanics
Dr Mark Porter investigates biomechanics and sports injuries at the University of Bath Sports Village. He gets tips on avoiding problems such as back pain and arthritis.
Details
Case Notes - Birmingham Children's Hospital
Dr Mark Porter visits a new unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital to find out about the latest developments in the treatment of childhood burns.
Details
Case Notes - Blood Clots
Blood clots kill up to 25,000 hospital patients every year - a figure doctors at London's King's College hospital hope to cut with screening and treatment. Dr Mark Porter reports.
Details
Case Notes - Bowel Cancer
Dr Mark Porter visits Yeovil District Hospital to explore a pilot scheme using keyhole surgery to improve the treatment and recovery of patients with colo-rectal cancer.
Details
Case Notes - Breast Health
Dr Mark Porter explores the latest treatments for breast problems. Mark finds out how the symptoms of often benign conditions are treated.
Details
Case Notes - Caesarian Sections
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. This programme investigates the reasons for Caesarian Section deliveries and the medical consequences for mothers and babies.
Details
Case Notes - Cancer
Dr Mark Porter investigates why 12,000 patients a year never find out what type of cancer they have, and hears how new guidance could improve their chances of beating the disease.
Details
Case Notes - Case Notes
Dr Mark Porter looks at current medical applications of radiology including filmless x-rays, upright MRI scanners and a new form of radiotherapy used to treat prostate cancer.
Details
Case Notes - Cerebral Palsy
Dr Mark Porter discusses the causes and treatments for cerebral palsy and visits the Bobath Centre in London to find out how their joined-up approach to treatment can help.
Details
Case Notes - Cervical Cancer
Dr Mark Porter explores the pros and cons of vaccines against some of the strains of human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer.
Details
Case Notes - Childhood Obesity
Dr Mark Porter reports on a study by researchers in Plymouth, who have been weighing a group of children since they were born 13 years ago to track when problems with obesity start.
Details
Case Notes - Childrens' Health At School
Dr Mark Porter finds out what the future holds for school nurses, who nowadays help children with complex diseases cope in the classroom and give advice about healthy lifestyles.
Details
Case Notes - Communication
Dr Mark Porter explores how to improve communication between the medical profession and patients. Can people be trained to communicate better?
Details
Case Notes - Consent for Blood Transfusion
Mark Porter discovers how the transfusion services ensure the safe and timely provision of blood and its components, and finds out how the process is becoming more efficient.
Details
Case Notes - Constipation
Dr Mark Porter investigates constipation, to discover the causes and treatments of this extremely common problem that is often suffered in silence due to embarrassment.
Details
Case Notes - Cystic Fibrosis
Dr Mark Porter looks at cystic fibrosis, the UK's most common life-threatening inherited disease. Current research into gene therapy offers hope of a potential cure.
Details
Case Notes - Diabetic Feet
Dr Mark Porter looks at the treatment of serious complications in the feet, arising from diabetes. Every week in the UK, diabetes is the cause of 100 amputations.
Details
Case Notes - Down's Syndrome
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at recent advances in the treatment of Down's Syndrome, visiting clinics that work with young sufferers.
Details
Case Notes - Eczema
Dr Mark Porter visits the Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology in Nottingham to find out about the latest treatments for eczema.
Details
Case Notes - Emergency Services
Dr Mark Porter joins ambulance crews as they go out to calls and finds out what treatment paramedics are now able to deliver to people with medical emergencies.
Details
Case Notes - End-of-Life Care
Dr Mark Porter explores the state of end-of-life care in the UK today, for patients with cancer, heart failure and other conditions, and their families and friends.
Details
Case Notes - Eye Conditions
Dr Mark Porter reports on the latest treatments for eye conditions, which become more common as we age. One in a hundred people over the age of 40 have some form of glaucoma.
Details
Case Notes - Fainting
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at fainting, why it happens, how we learn to cope with it, and when fainting can have serious medical consequences.
Details
Case Notes - Feet
Dr Mark Porter explores common foot ailments and reports on the latest treatments. Most people will have a problem with their feet at some point in their life.
Details
Case Notes - Food Intolerance
Dr Mark Porter reports on food intolerance. Many people think they have an intolerance or an allergy to certain foods, and Mark discovers the difference between these conditions.
Details
Case Notes - Gallstones
Dr Mark Porter examines the causes and treatment of gallbladder problems and visits Gloucester Royal Hospital to see a surgical removal.
Details
Case Notes - Gardening
Dr Mark Porter investigates what harm we can do to ourselves in the garden, from inhaling toxic spores from compost heaps to back and knee injuries.
Details
Case Notes - Glaucoma
Dr Mark Porter looks at a new test for the eye disease glaucoma which should lead to earlier diagnosis, and he finds out about new ways to treat the condition.
Details
Case Notes - Good Fats and Bad Fats
Dr Mark Porter investigates how the good and bad fats we eat can impact on our health, including the trans fats associated with heart disease which are found in many takeaway foods.
Details
Case Notes - GP Surgeries
Dr Mark Porter visits a GP surgery in Birmingham. He offers tips on how to get the best from your doctor and discusses the impact of the government's new NHS changes.
Details
Case Notes - Hair
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He looks at common problems of hair, from greying to dandruff and baldness.
Details
Case Notes - Head Injuries
Dr Mark Porter on how best to help people rebuild their lives after a head injury. At Bath Neuro Rehabiliation Services, Mark discovers how timely intervention can reduce problems.
Details
Case Notes - Headaches
Half a million people across the UK suffer from recurrent headaches caused by the very painkillers they are taking to ease them. Mark Porter investigates.
Details
Case Notes - Health Checks for the over 40s
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He leads a debate on the programme of health checks for the over 40s recently announced by the government.
Details
Case Notes - Heart Attacks
Dr Mark Porter examines emergency procedures for heart attacks. He visits the Heart Attack Centre at the Barts and The London NHS Trust.
Details
Case Notes - Hepatitis C
Experts at Europe's largest liver transplant unit, at King's College Hospital in London, explain how vague symptoms help to keep hepatitis C 'hidden' inside the body for years.
Details
Case Notes - How much water should we drink?
Messages about how much water we should drink for optimum health are often confusing and contradictory. Dr Mark Porter talks to the author of a new report to unpick the myths.
Details
Case Notes - HPV
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He is joined by Dr Anne Szarewski to discuss HPV, a family of viruses that cause verrucas, warts and cervical cancer.
Details
Case Notes - Insects
Dr Mark Porter finds out about how to avoid and treat diseases caused by insects. Some insects only leave itchy bites on the skin but others transmit serious diseases.
Details
Case Notes - Internet
Dr Mark Porter sorts out the good from the bad in terms of health advice online. As more people turn to self diagnosis on the internet, where we can find accurate information?
Details
Case Notes - Iron Deficient Anaemia
Iron deficient anaemia is common but so are the uncomfortable side effects from the tablets used to treat it. Dr Mark Porter hears about new forms of treatment.
Details
Case Notes - Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at Irritable Bowel Syndrome, exploring current understanding of this condition and how it is best treated.
Details
Case Notes - IVF
Dr Mark Porter visits the London Women's Clinic to learn about the latest developments in the field of IVF, and clarifies what the NHS now offers and to whom.
Details
Case Notes - Knees
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at knee injuries and how to treat them.
Details
Case Notes - Lens of the Eye
Dr Mark Porter investigates the latest treatments for problems with the lens of the eye and reports on how to treat various conditions, including cataracts.
Details
Case Notes - Leukaemia
Around 500 children are diagnosed with a form of leukaemia each year in the UK, and 4 out of 5 of them now survive. Dr Mark Porter reports on how treatments have improved.
Details
Case Notes - Lung Cancer and the Smoking Ban
Dr Mark Porter assesses the possible impact of the forthcoming ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, and asks how seriously we should take the threat of passive smoking.
Details
Case Notes - Maternity
Dr Mark Porter visits a midwife-led unit in south London to ask the mothers there why they have chosen this option. What happens if they need surgical intervention?
Details
Case Notes - ME
Many teenagers have ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. Mark Porter joins Dr Esther Crawley at her clinic in Bath for this age group.
Details
Case Notes - Me and My Operation
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He asks what a patient can do to prepare for an operation and the best way to speed up recovery.
Details
Case Notes - Meningitis
Dr Mark Porter reports on the latest advice on how to diagnose and treat meningitis, and finds out what happens to those who survive the disease but who are left with problems.
Details
Case Notes - Metabolic Syndrome
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at Metabolic Syndrome, which can be a precursor to diabetes and heart disease.
Details
Case Notes - Military Medicine
Dr Mark Porter visits Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where NHS and the military work side by side caring for the soldiers injured in battle in Afghanistan.
Details
Case Notes - Multiple Sclerosis
Dr Mark Porter investigates how Multiple Sclerosis is affecting people in the UK, what drugs are available and what new treatments are being trialled.
Details
Case Notes - Occupational Health
Dr Mark Porter explores men's health in the workplace and how even the threat of redundancy can make you ill.
Details
Case Notes - Organ Transplants
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He explores what life is like after having a transplant and talks to the medical teams who provide psychological support.
Details
Case Notes - Osteoporosis
Dr Mark Porter visits Sheffield to hear about the latest treatments for osteoporosis, where bones become brittle.
Details
Case Notes - Parasites
Dr Mark Porter visits the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in London, where Professor Peter Chiodini and his team treat diseases caused by parasites.
Details
Case Notes - Parkinson's Disease
Dr Mark Porter investigates the latest medical advances in understanding Parkinson's disease.
Details
Case Notes - Patient Safety
It is estimated that 10 per cent of patients in hospital experience something that could cause them medical harm. Mark Porter asks why, and explores how to improve patient safety.
Details
Case Notes - Physical Pain
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He reports on the latest findings about the experience of physical pain.
Details
Case Notes - Poisons
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He visits the Royal Victoria Infirmary Poisons Unit in Newcastle, which treats around 1,200 patients a year.
Details
Case Notes - Prostate Problems
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at diagnosis and treatment of prostate problems and asks whether screening for prostate cancer is successful.
Details
Case Notes - Radiology
Dr Mark Porter looks at current medical applications of radiology including filmless x-rays, upright MRI scanners and a new form of radiotherapy used to treat prostate cancer.
Details
Case Notes - Recreational Drugs
In the last year mephedrone has become one of the most popular 'party drugs' in the UK. Dr Mark Porter looks at what we know about its potential dangers.
Details
Case Notes - Regional Anaesthesia
Instead of putting patients to sleep, many major surgical procedures can be done under regional anaesthesia. Mark Porter visits Reading's Royal Berkshire Hospital to investigate.
Details
Case Notes - Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dr Mark Porter reports on the latest treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. Drugs were formerly used just to deal with the pain, but now there are some that can prevent the disease.
Details
Case Notes - Shoulder Problems
Dr Mark Porter investigates the latest treatments for shoulder problems, from frozen shoulder and muscular pain to dislocations and fractures.
Details
Case Notes - Side Effects
Dr Mark Porter and guests discuss the side effects of medication. All drugs can potentially produce dangerous side effects, and a number have been withdrawn as a result.
Details
Case Notes - Statins
Dr Mark Porter investigates statins, drugs that lower the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Many people take statins, but recent reports suggest that they may have side effects.
Details
Case Notes - Strokes
Dr Mark Porter visits Glasgow where doctors have pioneered a treatment for strokes and are calling the clot-busting therapy the Lazarus effect because it has such a dramatic result.
Details
Case Notes - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Dr Mark Porter explores the science behind the dramatic cut in the number of cot deaths and learns that infections, genetics and how you put your baby to bed, could all play a role.
Details
Case Notes - Sun and Skin
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He weighs up the health benefits of sunshine against the harm it can do to our skin.
Details
Case Notes - Superbugs
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at the problem of superbugs in hospitals and the Department of Health's strategy for eliminating them.
Details
Case Notes - Surgery
Mark Porter investigates the past and future of surgery. He meets surgeon Harold Ellis, who qualified in the summer the NHS was born, and hears about the latest surgical techniques.
Details
Case Notes - Swine Flu
Dr Mark Porter examines the outbreak of swine flu. He finds out what you should do if you think you have come into contact with the virus, and looks at the media coverage.
Details
Case Notes - Taste
Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He investigates the relationship between smell and taste, with tips on how to avoid children becoming fussy eaters.
Details
Case Notes - Telemedicine
Telemedicine means that doctors and patients no longer need to be in the same room to have a consultation. Mark Porter reports on the rise of telemedicine in Wales and Scotland.
Details
Case Notes - The Hip
In the UK alone, more than 80,000 hip operations are carried out each year. Dr Mark Porter investigates the mechanics of the joint and the latest developments in artificial hips.
Details
Case Notes - The Nose
Dr Mark Porter explores the aesthetic and practical importance of the nose and discusses new research that links nasal inflammation to asthma.
Details
Case Notes - The Ovary
Dr Mark Porter hears how doctors aim to manage the symptoms of polycystic ovaries and about research on discovering which women are most at risk of ovarian cancer.
Details
Case Notes - The Sex Lives of Us
The Sex Lives of Us: Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues. This programme looks at sexual dysfunction. Most people encounter sexual difficulties at some point in their life.
Details
Case Notes - The Vocal Chords
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at problems with the vocal cords, visiting the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital.
Details
Case Notes - Thyroid
Dr Mark Porter investigates health issues of the day. He looks at the latest treatments for the problems that occur with abnormal activity of the thyroid gland.
Details
Case Notes - Trauma
Dr Mark Porter visits the Trauma Centre at the Royal London Hospital. It has set up teams of experts to rapidly deliver treatments to those who are seriously injured.
Details
Case Notes - Tuberculosis
Dr Mark Porter visits TB experts in Leeds to find out how common the condition is and how it is being detected and treated in the community.
Details
Case Notes - Ultrasound
Dr Mark Porter visits Dr Kypros Nicolaides's foetal medicine clinic, where he finds out how state-of-the-art ultrasound is being used to check the development of pregnancies.
Details
Case Notes - Urology
Dr Mark Porter investigates problems in the urinary tract. He reports on the diagnosis and treatment of different conditions that can affect the kidneys and the bladder.
Details
Case Notes - Vitamin D
Vitamin D keeps our bones healthy, but new studies suggest deficiency may be linked to some cancers, diabetes and MS. Dr Mark Porter and guests look at the evidence.
Details