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Blood pressure drug can lower Alzheimer’s risk, moody GPs provide poorer care, and why a big bottom is better than a big belly

By Gareth Iacobucci

Our roundup of news headlines on Wednesday 13 January.

The Guardian takes a sober look at the £12.7bn NHS IT programme – which has seen its funding cut by Labour and is under attack from the Tories – but the article claims a similar system of emergency care summary (ECS) records is saving lives in Scotland.

The newspapers also cover new research that shows angiotensin blockers can halve the risk of dementia. The new study – published in the BMJ – found patients taking ARBs had up to a 50% lesser risk of getting dementia.

In the Daily Mail, we hear of a potentially groundbreaking new drug that, it claims, could almost totally reverse paralysis caused by strokes.

Lose 2st and get £200 on the on the NHS, barks The Sun, which reports on controversial new pilots that could see patients paid up to £1,800 by NHS trusts to lose weight.

Moody GPs should carry health warnings, according to the Mail, who report on research which has apparently found that grumpy medics like TV's fictional Dr Gregory House give far poorer care than when they're happy.

The Mail also ‘goes big' on the news that having a large posterior is good for your health. Except it isn't really, it's just better than having a big belly, according to new research, which claims having big buttocks and thighs, rather than a pot belly, cuts levels of 'bad' cholesterol and raises levels of the 'good' cholesterol that protect against hardening of the arteries. So now we know.

Spotted a story we've missed? Let us know and we'll update the digest throughout the day...

Daily Digest