Brits taking statins should be warned about a rare but serious side effect, health chiefs have said.

Seven types of the cholesterol-busting pills, including all five dished out in the UK, have been linked to myasthenia gravis — a long-term muscle-weakening condition that can be life-threatening in severe cases. 

Patients taking the once-a-day pill should watch out for symptoms including droopy eyelids, double vision and difficulty swallowing, the medicines watchdog warned.

Atorvastatin, sold under the brand name Lipitor, pravastatin (Lipostat) and lovastatin (Mevacor) — taken by millions and proven to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes— are among the varieties affected. 

Cases of myasthenia gravis were also detected among patients taking fluvastatin (Lescol), simvastatin (Zocor), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and pitavastatin (Livalo).

The fresh advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) states that a ‘very small number’ of myasthenia gravis cases have been linked to statin use.

Around 9.5million Brits take statins, which usually must be taken for life to keep cholesterol low. 

It is thought the complication is ‘very infrequent’, the MHRA said.

Just 10 cases have been reported to the MHRA in the last three decades. Sufferers were in their 60s, on average. 

Symptoms began between a few day and three months of taking statins. No cases were fatal.

Most patients who suffered the side effect recovered after they stopped taking the medication but a minority continued to suffer from symptoms.

Some of those who restarted their medication or tried a different type of statin reported that their symptoms came back.

The MHRA told medics to refer patients suffering new-onset myasthenia gravis after starting statins to a neurology specialist. 

And patients who already have the condition should monitor whether their symptoms worsen while taking the drugs, it said.

Patients may need to stop taking statins depending on their individual benefits and risks, the watchdog said.

The warning comes after the European Medicines Agency in January ordered drug makers behind the seven types of statins to amend their in-pack leaflet to include a warning about myasthenia gravis.

The MHRA said this review was considered by one of its sub-committees, which agreed with the recommendations.

It said statin drug makers will have to explain that there is a risk of myasthenia gravis but that it is ‘not known’ how common it is.

Statins work by lowering the levels of ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol produced by the liver. 

Too much LDL cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis — when the arteries harden and narrow — heart attacks, strokes and heart disease.

Brits diagnosed with a form of cardiovascular disease or those who have a family history of the condition may be recommended the medication.

Headaches, nausea and diarrhoea are well-known mild side effects from taking statins. But the MHRA warning adds myasthenia gravis to the list.

The condition weakens muscles, most commonly those that control the eyes, eyelids, facial expressions, chewing, swallowing and speaking. 

Difficulties making facial expressions, slurred speech weak shortness of breath are among the common symptoms.

Triggers, such as stress, tiredness and excess exercise, can worsen symptoms, as well as medicines, including antibiotics and beta-blockers. 

Medicine to boost muscle strength and surgery to remove a small gland in the chest that has been linked to myasthenia gravis may be offered to ease symptoms. 

While the condition doesn’t affect life expectancy for most people, it can be life-threatening if weakens the muscles needed for breathing.

EU health chiefs have warned studies on ultra-processed foods claiming they can be seriously damaging your health, should be ‘considered with caution’.

There are ‘uncertainties’ over the data in the studies and the ‘usefulness’ of the term ultra-processed foods, the EU-funded European Food Information Council said.

The warning was issued following two studies published this week linking ultra-processed foods, which are those containing preservatives, sweeteners and artificial colours, to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. 

But British dieticians said the term ultra-processed is being ‘demonised’, ‘overused’ and ‘not explained well’, causing unnecessary confusion and worry among members of the public.

They told MailOnline they want UK health chiefs to issue a similar clarification to soothe public fears.

One, Dr Duane Mellor, said the recent hyper-focus on ultra-processed food (UPFs) was unhelpful and British health authorities should step-in to clear the confusion.  

‘They need to explain carefully and clearly that the term Ultra Processed Foods, is getting a lot of attention at the minute, but it is possibly being overused, and not explained well,’ he said.

While he acknowledged the food industry needed to use processing methods that produced healthier food, the panic over UPFs wasn’t helping. 

‘We need a food system which supports our health, but by getting consumers to worry or not worry about UPF is not tackling that issue,’ he said. 

He added that avoiding ultra-processed foods is not helpful for some people, for example, those with poor appetite or illness who need to consume nutritional supplements while they recover.

Instead, he suggested providing advice on what we should be eating more of such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds which have been consistently shown to be associated with a decreased risk of heart disease.

Dr Mellor also stressed that we need to understand what we are eating so we ‘don’t falsely demonise all food ingredients’.

For example, although he admitted sweeteners may have ‘a modest effect on how are bodies work’, they can be used as a way of reducing sugar intake, which can help people avoid problems like obesity and diabetes. 

Other chemicals used in ultra-processed foods such as emulsifiers can change gut health.

Dr Mellor said: ‘Emulsifiers are a wide range of compounds from synthetic compounds such as polysorbate-80 which has been linked to alterations in gut health through to lecithin which contains choline which has been shown in some circumstances to be beneficial to health.

‘We need an open conversation about additives and understand that about these effects.’

Another expert, Professor Gunter Kuhnle, does not think we need a warning against ultra-processed foods, instead he wants to see more research.

The food scientist, based at Reading University, said there is currently no reason to worry people over ultra-processed food.

He explained that some ultra-processed foods such as soft drinks are associated with increased risks, but with other foods such as massed produced wholegrain bread, it shows a reduced risk for some diseases.

He said: ‘Such a warning would achieve little but create uncertainty among consumers – there is already confusion about the distinction between processed and ultra-processed foods.

‘The additives have been assessed by many different agencies and found to be safe in the amount consumed.

‘If there are data that suggest otherwise and have not been reviewed, they should be sent to EFSA and FSA so they can assess them.’

However, some doctors are calling for warning labels to be slapped on ultra-processed foods due to the dangers it poses to our health.

Dr Chris van Tulleken told MailOnline the new studies added weight to calls for a warning label system in the UK to ward people away from eating them. 

The NHS will help match patients with hospitals with shorter waits further from home in a bid to slash waiting lists and speed up access to care.

Patients will be given a profile detailing their symptoms or treatment needs and how far they are prepared to travel for a diagnosis or procedure.

These can then be reviewed by managers and medics at 650 private and NHS providers around the country who can take over their care if they have spare capacity.

Patients will given the opportunity to travel to the alternative hospital for their appointment, with the NHS covering the cost if it is provided by a private firm.

Some consultations may even be performed remotely by doctors hundreds of miles away from the patient.

It comes as waiting lists stand at a record 7.5million, with more than 835,000 appointments and operations cancelled as result of strikes by the likes of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.

The online matching platform was initially introduced for patients needing a hospital admission but is being expanded to include cancer, diagnostic checks, and outpatient appointments.

Since its launch in January, more than 1,700 offers of support have been made with thousands of patients set to benefit as the platform grows.

The system is mainly used for patients who have been waiting the longest, with health chiefs calling it a ‘key tool’ as part of the NHS’ ongoing ambitions to bring down the covid backlogs that built up during the pandemic.

But there no requirement for patients to have been waiting over a certain length of time before being added to the site.

Patient information is included to help organisations decide whether they can pick up the case including how far the patient is willing to travel, the severity of the illness, their BMI, and how long they have been waiting for care.

If more than one provider offers treatment, the options are put to the patient who can then choose based on factors including how far they would have to travel.

Gynaecology, colorectal and trauma and orthopaedics are the top three specialties to have benefited from this digital mutual aid so far, but hundreds of different treatments or appointments can be uploaded.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: ‘Despite significant pressure on services, NHS staff have already made incredible progress against our elective recovery plan, and this smart new tool will help us to continue to reduce long waits for patients.

‘It shows, once again, the benefits of having a national health service – NHS staff can now work even more closely with other hospitals across the country to identify capacity and conveniently match patients to available treatment and appointment slots.

‘Technology is already transforming the way we work in the NHS and we will continue to embrace the latest innovations, like this one, to deliver the best possible for care for patients.’

Health secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘We’re already giving patients greater choice over where they are treated and this will go even further by matching patients up to services based on their clinical needs and personal preferences.

‘This will help us to deliver thousands more diagnostic checks for major conditions and offer people treatment sooner – often without the need to go to hospital.

‘We are using all tools at our disposal to bring down waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities – while this platform will also help us to drive better collaboration across the NHS and the independent sector to treat patients more quickly.’

Research conducted last year by the Patients Association and the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, which represents independent providers, found almost three quarters of patients (73 per cent) said they would be happy to travel more than 30 minutes to get treatment more quickly.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: ‘We welcome the expansion of the hospital matching platform and think it will make it even easier for patients and the healthcare professional to make a decision together about where to have treatment or a test.

‘Patient choice has been a right for over decade but not all patients are aware they have the right, and it isn’t always offered to them.

‘Hopefully, making it easy for health professionals to easily see the choices of where patients can be treated will increase the number of patients who can take advantage of mutual aid within the NHS.

‘We’re very supportive of mutual aid. We’ve worked with the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme on a mutual aid programme in the East of England that gave patients the option to have surgery at a hospital other than their local one.

‘We know patients welcomed getting surgery earlier and together with them and GIRFT we’ve created information for other patients about the benefits of elective surgical hubs.’

David Furness, director of policy and delivery at the IHPN, said: ‘The hospital matching platform is a good example of the way that the NHS and independent sector can work together effectively for the benefit of patients to reduce waiting times and get them seen more quickly.’

Rory Deighton, director of NHS Confederation’s Acute Network, said: ‘This is a sensible, innovative initiative that could see longer term benefits for the NHS and will be good for patients, potentially speeding up care for those willing and able to travel.

‘However, some patients may be unable to travel as far and will prefer to wait slightly longer in order to attend their local hospital.

‘But in the current environment it is important that we explore every opportunity we can, and this will help better match demand with very limited capacity, prioritising those patients who have been waiting the longest.’

Another Covid variant is taking off in Britain — but experts have today insisted there is nothing to panic about.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses have raised the alarm about Eris, saying it already makes up one in eight new cases after reaching the UK towards the end of May.

Hospitalisation rates are also starting to shoot up, sparking concern that the nation may be on the brink of being hit by a fresh wave.

However, experts today claimed it shows no sign of being more dangerous than the other strains circulating, including its ancestor Omicron.

Officials also say they are ‘closely’ monitoring the spread of the virus.

Experts have speculated that the ‘Barbenheimer effect’ – referring to the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer – might have contributed to the rise in infections, as well as the recent bad weather and waning immunity.

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, told MailOnline: ‘Covid will continue to change and adapt.

‘So we shouldn’t be shocked or worried just because new variants appear and cause increasing numbers of infections.

‘The protection against serious illness provided by vaccination is still holding up well and while numbers of infections go up and down, hospitalisations and deaths remain reassuringly low.’

He added: ‘There’s no reason to be complacent.

‘But unless people are again admitted to hospital in large numbers and struggling to breathe, people should live their lives as normal.’

Professor Paul Hunter, a respected infectious disease specialist, said it was too early to say how Eris, scientifically known as EG.5.1, will affect Britain.

UKHSA chiefs say the variant already has a 20.5 per cent growth advantage and accounts for 14.6 per cent of cases, making it the second most prevalent in the UK.  

Growth rates were based on positive testing samples conducted in hospitals. 

The Omicron spin-off Arcturus — named XBB.1.16 — meanwhile was the most dominant variant, causing 39.4 per cent of all cases, according to the UKHSA data. 

Professor Hunter said that EG.5.1 was ‘likely to become dominant at some point and push up total infections but probably not that dramatically’.

He added: ‘One of the characteristics of immunity to new variants is that immunity to infection is reduced but immunity to severe disease remains strong. 

‘This is to do with the nature of the immune response to infections of the nose and throat — mucosal immunity — and infections of the lungs — systemic immunity.’ 

He said: ‘Unlike earlier in the pandemic, when the main driver of such waves was new escape variants, the main driver now is probably loss of immunity. 

‘But some impact from the holiday period may there as well. Since Omicron appeared travel and especially international travel became an important risk factor.’ 

Meanwhile, UKHSA epidemiologist Meaghan Kall yesterday tweeted: ‘In the past variants with similar growth advantage have not resulted in new waves. 

‘However, UKHSA will closely analyse countries with high EG.5.1 prevalence and laboratory neutralisation data. 

‘Growth estimates are likely to improve over the coming weeks.’ 

Professor Christina Pagel, professor of operational research at University College London, said: ‘We’ve not seen big waves in variants with growth advantage of around 20 per cent — previously needed 50 per cent growth advantage+ to get big wave…’ 

The government health body yesterday declared EG.5.1 a new Covid variant, after it was first raised as a signal in monitoring at the beginning of July. 

The World Health Organization also added EG.5 to the list of Omicron variants under monitoring in July.  

Globally, Eris — known in Greek mythology as the goddess of strife and discord — already accounts for around 20 per cent of Covid sequences in Asia, 10 per cent of sequences from Europe and seven per cent in North America. 

Japan has been hit by a spike in Covid infections in recent weeks, with experts predicting the trend will continue amid high heat, declining population-level immunity and the start of the holiday season. 

Latest data shows E.G.5.1 represents roughly 37.5 per cent of sequences. 

It comes as experts last month warned a spike in Covid cases may happen following the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer. 

The films, which earned the combined name Barbenheimer as they both opened on July 21, have captivated audiences and social media users, despite being wildly different. 

In the US, Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, tweeted: ‘Not to be a Debbie Downer…but anyone worried about a post-Barbie Box Office Covid bump? Or post-Oppie?’ 

Other experts today said the theory may have some merit.

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told MailOnline that ‘increased cinema attendance’ as well as ‘more indoor mixing’ due to bad weather may have contributed towards a rise in cases. 

He said: ‘The EG.5.1 variant does appear to be spreading more efficiently in various Asian countries and is accounting for more infections in the UK. 

‘There is no evidence that this variant is more dangerous in causing severe disease. 

‘The rise in cases in the UK is probably due to waning protective immunity — it’s some time since people received their last booster jabs and/or were previously infected — and to increased mixing in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces. 

‘Poor weather over the last month has meant more indoor mixing including during various events such as university degree congregations and increased cinema attendance.’

He added: ‘Overall levels of infection remain low but this is a wake up call stressing that we can’t be complacent when it comes to Covid. 

‘We need to keep an eye on the emergence of variants and be vigilant as we prepare for an inevitable increase in infections over the autumn/winter.’

UKHSA analysts estimate Covid positivity rates increased 5.4 per cent on the previous week, which itself saw a rise of 3.7 per cent. 

But the Government has insisted it will never revert back to pandemic-era measures unless a doomsday variant emerges.

Experts say fluctuations in case numbers will happen forevermore. 

Another round of the historic jab drive will also begin next month.

Information on who will be eligible for the autumn booster injections is expected in the coming weeks. 

The over-65s, care home residents and those aged five and over with a weakened immune system were previously eligible — the groups deemed most at risk of serious illness from the virus.

Last autumn, people over 50 were urged to have a booster, but uptake in England was just 40 per cent for people in their early 50s, and 52 per cent for those in their later 50s.

Those over 75 had a greater turnout for the boosters, with 80 per cent opting to receive another vaccine. 

Some 70 per cent of over-75s also opted for a spring booster earlier this year.  

UKHSA data also shows the Covid weekly hospital admission rate increased to 1.97 per 100,000, as of July 30 — rising from the 1.47 per 100,000 recorded in the previous week. 

The South West recorded the largest number of admissions for the virus, while those aged over 85 were the age group with the highest rate. 

Latest NHS hospital data also shows admissions increased by almost 50 per cent in a week rising from 127 — the day Barbie and Oppenheimer were both released — to 253, as of July 27. 

Hospitalizations had been freefalling nationally since March, from a peak of almost 1,200. 

The beginning of July however, saw these numbers begin an uptick, rising slightly.

But, current admission levels are nowhere near levels seen earlier in the pandemic, when a high of 4,134 admissions were logged per day. 

Infections climbed as high as 3.7million last winter during the spread of the original Omicron variant — but this was topped a few months later, when the number reached a record 4.1million. 

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: ‘We continue to see a rise in Covid cases in this week’s report. We have also seen a small rise in hospital admission rates in most age groups, particularly among the elderly. 

‘Overall levels of admission still remain extremely low and we are not currently seeing a similar increase in ICU admissions. We will continue to monitor these rates closely.

She added: ‘The NHS will be in contact in autumn 2023 when the seasonal vaccine is available for those who are eligible due to health conditions or age, and we urge everyone who is offered to take up the vaccine when offered.’ 

Urgent warning over FAKE oxygen supplied to dentists as health chiefs launch criminal probe

• Evidence found the oxygen supplied by Tricodent Limited had been ‘falsified’ 
• The regulator cautioned however the risk to patient safety remains ‘low’  

By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline

Updated: 07:47 EDT, 6 June 2023

President Biden holds moment of silence for ‘First Lady of Football’ Norma Hunt during the Chiefs’ White House visit after the Kansas City matriarch died aged 85

By Isabel Baldwin For Dailymail.Com

Published: 20:18 EDT, 5 June 2023 | Updated: 20:24 EDT, 5 June 2023

‘First Lady of Football’ Norma Hunt, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar and mother of owner Clark, dies – four months after attending her 57th and final Super Bowl to watch her beloved team win

• ‘First Lady of Football’ Norma Hunt was only woman to attend every Super Bowl
• The cause of death of the Kansas City Chiefs matriarch is currently unknown
• DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

By Isabel Baldwin For Dailymail.Com

Published: 19:59 EDT, 4 June 2023 | Updated: 20:16 EDT, 4 June 2023