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Couple in their late twenties to marry, the Lord Darzi iPhone app and other news

By Gareth Iacobucci

Our roundup of health news headlines on Wednesday 17 November.

Not much health news today - apparently a couple in their late twenties who met at university and have dated for almost a decade are getting married, and the papers are rightfully focusing all their energies on this unusual and momentous event.

The Independent (controversially, the only paper to sidestep the couple in their late twenties getting married on its front page) brings us the significant news of a Glasgow man who has become the world's first person to receive injections of foetal stem cells into the brain to repair a damaged nerve caused by stroke.

The Guardian reports that leading doctors have accused drug companies of making exorbitant profits from the NHS by exploiting arrangements designed to encourage them to develop new drugs for rare diseases.

The Mail manages to tear itself away from the late twenties couple long enough to bring us the news that a couple of glasses of wine a day in mid-life could make women healthier in old age.

And whilst the royal couple can expect a life of uninterrupted intrusion following their anouncement, they can at least take comfort from the fact that being married apparently helps reduce the agony of arthitis. The Mail reports that rheumatoid arthritis patients who had the support of a ‘loving husband or wife' reported less joint pain and better mobility than those who were single or whose marriage was on the rocks. Cynics might suggest that this story's been waiting in the wings for a day like today…

And amid all this chaos, Lord Darzi hath risen! The Telegraph reports that the controversial former health minister has created an iPhone application (or ‘app' as the cool kids call it) that will allow patients to keep track of their NHS appointments and rate the services they use. When does he ever get time to see patients?!

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

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