A premature baby born weighing less than nine ounces has survived in Germany – the lightest ever baby boy to live. The tiny tot, weighing in at just 8.8oz, or 275 grams, recorded the lowest weight for a living birth of a newborn boy, according to doctors at the University of Goettingen Hospital. He survived thanks to the latest developments in postnatal care. In most cases, doctors said, it was regarded as impossible for a child with a birth weight below 350 grams to survive. Read More…

Back pain may be all in the mind, according to researchers who recommend sufferers should seek psychological counselling. In a study, patients given the therapy showed double the improvement of those who received standard treatment. Researchers believe that the counselling, or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions, works because if you can help people to change their thoughts, it will help them to change the way they feel. CBT is already used to treat a range of problems from phobias and panic attacks to stress at work. Practitioners aim to help patients avoid dwelling on negative...

By Helen Briggs A mother has become the first in the world to give birth to a second child after an ovary transplant operation, doctors in Denmark have revealed. Baby Lucca and sister Aviaja are among just nine children born through the procedure, where ovarian tissue is removed, frozen and transplanted. Their mother was robbed of her fertility by cancer treatment. Experts say the technique could help others facing treatment that might damage their ovaries. Read More…

A Belgian man who stunned the world last year by apparently communicating after 23 years in a coma cannot in fact do so, researchers say. The doctor who believed that Rom Houben was communicating through a facilitator now says the method does not work. Dr Steven Laureys told the BBC: “The story of Rom is about the diagnosis of consciousness, not communication.” His conclusions follow a study to test the validity of so-called facilitated communication. Claims that Mr Houben – who was seriously injured in a car crash in 1983 – could communicate, swept around the world last...

The youngest victim to ever be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the U.K., is now in remission after coming to the U.S. to receive a ground-breaking new type of treatment, the Daily Mail Reported. When Ruddi Waterworth-Jones was diagnosed with prostate cancer a little over a year ago, he was only seven months old. His condition was potentially fatal. Surgeons in Britain removed his prostate and bladder, but there was a chance his cancer could come back and was still a threat to his life. Ruddi’s mother, Ali Waterworth, brought her infant son to America to have a cutting-edge cancer treatment...

A Sussex mother who suffered 18 miscarriages has spoken of her “little miracle” after giving birth following specialist treatment in Epsom. Angie Baker, 33, from Peacehaven, gave birth to daughter Raiya on 9 December. She received treatment for a high number of subtype white blood cells, which attacked the foetus believing it to be a foreign body. Ms Baker said: “I’m overwhelmed, it seems like a dream. She’s perfect in every way.” From the age of 20, Ms Baker’s miscarriages took place one after another, between five and eight weeks after conception....

By Emily Cook When little Xavier King took his first faltering steps, his parents were both thrilled and amazed – he was only six months old. The baby prodigy can now walk more than six feet without any support. It’s a feat most one-year-olds struggle with and that child development experts say is “extremely uncommon”. Read More…

A man has survived against the odds after a heart attack which caused his heart to stop beating for 18 minutes. Doctors say people can normally survive for up to four minutes after they stop breathing. They are likely to die or suffer serious brain damage after that. But Rob Waggett, 31, of Newport took a breath after paramedics used a defibrillator seven times to shock him. Doctors told his wife he survived because his heart kept on quivering four times longer than normal. Read More…

By Allison Martin A girl of three has stunned her parents and medics after fighting off an inoperable brain tumour – by herself. Twin Liberty Rose Finn had 18 months of gruelling chemo to shrink a growth which was sending her blind. But the treatment only halved the tumour wrapped around the optic nerve. Yet nine months after the chemo stopped, a brain scan last week showed the mass had practically disappeared. Read More…