Published2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Jess Warren BBC NewsThe Met Police has launched an investigation over concerns about stem cell injections being offered to children as a cure for autism.The Royal Borough of Greenwich told BBC London it was aware of concerns surrounding “experimental procedures” on autistic children. The Met said it was investigating “a reported fraud relating to the provision of medical services”.The National Autistic Society said there was no “cure” for autism.Greenwich Council said it issued a warning to schools and nurseries in the borough after it became aware of concerns.A spokesperson said the authority had recently been made aware of concerns that “an individual claiming to be a doctor plans to visit the UK to offer dangerous, experimental procedures on children with autism”.”We understand that this person is proposing the transfer of bone marrow and spinal fluid to the brain by injection,” the spokesperson said.”This unlicensed procedure poses a significant threat to life and there is no evidence of any benefits.”The safety and welfare of our children and young people is of the utmost importance.”The risks behind the hype of stem-cell treatmentsGreenwich Council has urged families not to engage with the medical service and to inform the authority if approached by someone offering it.Newham Council also issued a warning to health leaders and children’s services on 5 April regarding its concern about a “potential threat to children”.InvestigationA spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Inquiries are ongoing to establish the identity of the person(s) behind these adverts and to confirm where they are based.”There is no evidence to suggest that the person(s) behind these adverts has treated anybody in the UK.”The force added that it was working closely with local authority and NHS partners and no arrests have been made.’Very significant risks’Prof Declan Murphy, a leading figure in autism research at King’s College London, told the BBC any stem cell injection “should not be offered” as a cure for autism.”There is no good evidence that stem cell treatments are effective for autism,” he said.”Indeed the current evidence shows the opposite – it shows that they are ineffective and come with very significant risks.”ASA rules fake autism ‘cure’ ads must stopA spokesperson for National Autistic Society called the investigation “extremely worrying”.”Autism is not a disease or illness and therefore it cannot be ‘treated’ and there is no ‘cure’,” they said.”There is very little evidence about stem cells and autism. There are also concerns about the regulation of stem cell procedures, which could be painful or even hazardous depending on how they are administered.”We would encourage anyone looking for advice or guidance about autism to seek reliable and safe information from our charity, the NHS and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.”NHS London declined to comment.Additional reporting by Tolu AdeoyeListen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.ukMore on this storyThe risks behind the hype of stem-cell treatmentsPublished7 January 2020ASA rules fake autism ‘cure’ ads must stopPublished22 March 2019’Autism trainer’ filmed abusing clientPublished26 September 2016

The company reported results of clinical trials involving Zepbound, an obesity drug in the same class as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.The pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly announced on Wednesday that its obesity drug tirzepatide, or Zepbound, provided considerable relief to overweight or obese people who had obstructive sleep apnea, or episodes of stopped breathing during sleep.The results, from a pair of yearlong clinical trials, could offer a new treatment option for some 20 million Americans who have been diagnosed with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Most people with the condition do not realize they have it, according to the drug manufacturer. People with sleep apnea struggle to get enough sleep, and they face an increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, strokes and dementia.The study’s findings have not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Eli Lilly provided only a summary of its results — companies are required to announce such findings that can affect their stock price as soon as they get them. Dr. Daniel M. Skovronsky, Eli Lilly’s chief scientific officer, said the company was still analyzing the data and would provide detailed results at the American Diabetes Association’s 84th Scientific Sessions in June.But experts not affiliated with Eli Lilly or involved in its studies were encouraged by the summary.“That’s awesome,” said Dr. Henry Klar Yaggi, director of the Yale Centers for Sleep Medicine in New Haven, Conn.He added that the most common treatment, a CPAP machine that forces air into the airway, keeping it open during sleep, is effective. About 60 percent of patients who use continuous positive airway pressure continue to use it, he said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

“Have an abortion with me,” a single mother from Brooklyn named Sunni says as she twirls around her kitchen to light jazzy piano, before walking TikTok viewers through the steps she took to end her pregnancy at home.With states expanding restrictions on abortion and the issue likely to be at the forefront of the presidential election, women are creating videos on social media describing their own abortions and sharing practical information on how to obtain one.Sunni explained to viewers that she was craving information when she was planning her abortion. “This is the video I was looking for,” she said.The reaction to her video, which has been viewed more than 400,000 times and has drawn comments of both commiseration and condemnation, shows how deeply personal and divisive the issue remains in the run up to the November elections.“This is the video I was looking for,” Sunni said in her widely shared TikTok.Paola Chapdelaine for The New York TimesOne viewer, a campaigner with the group Protect Life Michigan, remixed the video on the group’s own TikTok account, criticizing Sunni for her lighthearted tone and for making the video at all.

@mikaelaattu Having an abortion was honestly such a peaceful experience for me, the staff were so kind and supportive. The whole procedure I didn’t feel any physical pain and after the medication wore off I felt completely fine other then feeling a little loopy. My husband and I went for a walk after to go get some food and just talked threw how we were feeling about the whole experience.(Highly recommend taking time to bond with your partner if your lucky to have that support) I ended up having the surgical abortion btw. You are not alone 🤍 time for the healing to begin #abortionawarenesss #abortion ♬ Get You The Moon – Kina We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Published5 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Katie WaldermanBBC North WestAn eight-year-old girl from Cheshire has become the first child in the world to have pioneering brain surgery aimed at easing her dystonic cerebral palsy.Dystonia is a lifelong neurological condition which can cause uncontrolled and painful muscle cramps and spasms.Surgeons at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool performed a new form of advanced deep brain stimulation (DBS) on Hayley in January.They hope it will reduce Hayley’s pain levels and help her to communicate.Her four-hour operation saw surgeons insert tiny electrodes – as small as a grain of rice – into the part of Hayley’s brain that is responsible for movement. They are connected by a wire under the skin to a battery implanted in Hayley’s stomach.Electrical pulses to modify the signals causing the symptoms of dystonia are sent back automatically.The electrodes can then send back signals from Hayley’s brain, which can be analysed in real-time, to see how the stimulation is working.What is dystonia?Dystonia is the name for uncontrolled and sometimes painful muscle spasms. It is usually a lifelong problem, but treatment can help relieve the symptoms.It can start at any age and can affect the whole body or only one part of it. Symptoms include:uncontrolled muscle cramps and spasmsparts of your body twisting into unusual positions – such as your neck being twisted to the side or your feet turning inwardsshaking (tremors)uncontrolled blinkingThe symptoms may be continuous or come and go. They may be triggered by stress or certain activities.Source: NHSConsultant neurosurgeon Jonathan Ellenbogen said: “The new BrainSense technology developed by Medtronic captures brain activity data direct from the leads implanted into the patient’s brain. “This helps us to accurately detect and analyse the brain signals that are causing the dystonia. We can access this data and adjust the deep brain stimulation settings -personalising the therapy for the best possible outcome. “This is a huge step forward and something we couldn’t do before. This is also particularly important in patients who are non-verbal, like Hayley.”Hayley, from Nantwich, was born at just 24 weeks old and her uncontrolled movements make communication all but impossible. “It’s hard when she can’t tell us what’s wrong with her,” her father Gareth said.”She can’t tell us when she’s in pain, when her dystonia’s really bad. Whether she’s got a tummy ache or an earache. So it’s really hard to help her.”She can’t do Makaton or sign language because of the erratic movements. So the only other real option is to do Eye Gaze. So your eyes look at a screen and form words. “But that’s difficult at the moment because of Hayley’s head control. So if we could get some really good head control for Hayley, we could use Eye Gaze. That’s what I really hope.”Mr Ellenbogen said: “DBS isn’t suitable for all patients with dystonia, but for some children and young people it can be life-changing.”The device is switched on a couple of weeks after the operation. Although results aren’t instantaneous, it’s hoped patients see an improvement within a few months.DBS technology is often used for patients with another neurological condition – Parkinson’s disease.But Hayley’s mother Emma said: “With Parkinson’s patients, typically they develop it in later in life, so when they turn their machine on, they already have the control and their brain already knows what to do. “Whereas Hayley has never had that control, to learn how to do something.”The initial signs for Hayley, though, are positive.Mr Ellenbogen said: “Hayley already looks more settled than she did when she came into clinic. So hopefully she’ll go from strength to strength. The start of a hopefully a brighter future for Hayley and other patients like her.”While many months of trial and error lie ahead to find the right level of stimulation for Hayley, Emma also noticed a marked improvement in her daughter.”Now we can sit on the sofa with her a lot better,” she said. “She can enjoy things a lot better. She’s easier to feed, she sleeps a lot better, she doesn’t get half as irritable. She’s a lot happier. “Why not follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

University of Toronto (U of T) scientists have developed a framework for measuring plastic pollution emissions akin to the global standard for measuring greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers say the approach will boost identification of the biggest contributors to plastic pollution from local to national levels and improve strategies in reducing emissions worldwide.
The framework arrives ahead of international discussions in Ottawa from April 23 to 29 led by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution towards a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution.
Using Toronto as a model, the researchers developed the first-of-its-kind framework and estimated that in one year alone, Toronto emitted nearly 4,000 tonnes of plastic pollution.
“That’s roughly 400 garbage trucks’ worth of plastic that leaks into the environment annually from across the city,” said Alice (Xia) Zhu, lead author of a study outlining the method published in Environmental Science & Technology and a PhD candidate working with Assistant Professor Chelsea Rochman in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of T. “Assigning responsibility for the pollution to a jurisdiction with the ability to enact laws means there is no hiding where the pollution came from. It presents an opportunity to identify major sources of plastic pollution within the area and inform measures to curb these emissions.”
Zhu and colleagues at U of T and the Rochester Institute of Technology took inspiration from guidelines for compiling emissions inventories of greenhouse gases established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Adapting for physical differences between greenhouse gases and solid pieces of plastic, the researchers used a similar methodology of identifying the major pollution-generating activities in a particular area, calculating the amount of pollution generated by each activity within a given period, and accounting for uncertainties associated with each source of pollution-generating activity.
“Our goal was to develop an accounting mechanism or tool for measuring plastic emissions that any level of government can adopt,” said Zhu, who is pursuing a PhD in environmental science in the Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. “But most importantly, we hope this tool we have introduced will allow the plastic field to follow in the footsteps of the climate field, where countries submit national emissions inventories to an international body such as the United Nations to track our progress towards reaching a globally defined target.” Currently, national emissions inventories of plastic pollution do not exist, nor does a globally defined target for reducing plastic pollution.
To demonstrate the utility of the framework, the researchers built an emissions inventory of plastic pollution for the City of Toronto for the year 2020 drawn from publicly available data gathered through municipal litter audits and other sources. From a list of nine types of sources — including littering, tire dust from airplanes and on-road vehicles, washing machines, and paint from road markings and the exteriors of houses — they estimated between 3,531 and 3,852 tonnes of plastic pollution were emitted from within the city’s boundaries during the period.

Littering made up the largest share at 3,099 tonnes while artificial turf was responsible for the most emissions of microplastics — particles less than five millimetres in diameter — at 237 tonnes.
“It is not surprising that larger materials — known as macroplastics, and in this case from mismanaged waste such as littering — made up the majority of the mass. But it overshadows the small stuff, microplastics,” said Rochman, a co-author of the study and Zhu’s PhD supervisor. “Microplastics tend to be the highest by count in terms of actual pieces. This suggests that policies relevant to microplastics, in addition to macroplastics, are critical to reduce plastic emissions in the City of Toronto.”
The researchers selected Toronto to test the framework as it is the largest city in Canada and the fourth-largest city in North America. “It’s an urban hub for various activities, and where you have lots of people and activity, you inevitably generate a lot of pollution,” said Zhu. “For a successful and informative case study, you want to look at a place with a lot of different sources of pollution. By doing so, you can identify which sources should be prioritized for the reduction of pollution out of all the others, and thereby demonstrate the utility of an emissions inventory for informing local policy.”
Zhu said emissions inventories of plastic pollution must be a foundational piece of a successful global treaty on plastic, and that the framework should be applied to other cities, provinces and states, and countries around the world to better understand what kinds of plastic pollution are being released into the environment.
“The guidelines can be applied to regions worldwide, regardless of what kinds of sources are there,” Zhu said. “Each geographic region will have different characteristics and the inventory will allow for the development of solutions tailored to that specific region.”

Researchers from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have created a urine-based test that detects pieces of DNA fragments released by head and neck tumors. The test could potentially facilitate early detection of this cancer type, which currently does not have a reliable screening method.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is widely recognized for causing cervical cancer, but is increasingly found to cause cancers in the mouth, throat and other head and neck regions.
Early detection is critical because detecting a cancer at an earlier stage can lead to better outcomes for patients.
Using whole genome sequencing, the Rogel group showed that cell-free DNA fragments released by tumor cells, which are passed on from the bloodstream into urine through the kidneys, are predominantly ultra-short, with fewer than 50 base pairs. Given their small size, these fragments are likely to be missed using conventional urine or blood-based liquid biopsy tests in detecting circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
The research was led by Muneesh Tewari, M.D., Ph.D., professor of hematology and oncology, J. Chad Brenner, Ph.D., associate professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, and Paul L. Swiecicki, M.D., associate medical director for the Oncology Clinical Trials Support Unit at Rogel. Initial results are published in JCI Insight.
“In this study we provide evidence to support the hypothesis that conventional assays do not detect ultrashort fragments found in urine, since they are designed to target longer DNA fragments. Our team used an unconventional approach to develop a urine test for HPV-positive head and neck cancer ctDNA detection,” said study co-first author and research specialist Chandan Bhambhani, Ph.D.
Still in the discovery phase, this mail-in test has already been distributed for research purposes to patients within a hundred-plus miles from Ann Arbor, allowing scientists to gather significant data on the efficacy of the at-home kit. Participants collect a urine sample and have it shipped back to the U-M laboratory, where the testing can be done to detect the presence or absence of head and neck cancer.

“One of the most remarkable outcomes of this study is that the test that has been developed has detected cancer recurrences far earlier than would typically happen based on clinical imaging. As such, these promising results have given us the confidence to broaden the scope of the study, seeking to expanding distribution even further,” said Brenner, co-senior author of the study.
While initial studies have focused on head and neck cancer, the paper also describes a new method that could be applied to expand the test to detect other cancers as well. For example, the authors show that the test can detect ctDNA in the urine of patients with breast cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. This suggests new opportunities to also study the application of urine-based testing for these additional cancers.
“Many people are not aware that urine carries information about many different cancer types, although it is made in the kidneys. Our findings about the difference in ctDNA fragment sizes and the test we developed for HPV-positive head and neck cancer detection provide crucial information on how urine-based diagnostic assays can be developed for different cancers,” Bhambhani said. “Further, these types of tests are likely to have a much higher compliance in patients requiring follow-up testing post treatment, due to the convenience of self-collection of samples, when compared to blood-based assays.”
Funding: NIH grants R33 CA229023, R21 CA225493; NIH/National Cancer Institute grants U01 CA183848, R01 CA184153, and P30CA046592; American Cancer Society RSG-18-062-01-TBG; American Cancer Society Mission Boost grant MBGI-22-056-01-MBG; and the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.
Authors: Chandan Bhambhani, Qing Kang, Daniel H. Hovelson, Erin Sandford, Mary Olesnavich, Sarah M. Dermody, Jenny Wolfgang, Kirsten L. Tuck, Collin Brummel, Apurva D. Bhangale, Kuang He, Marc G. Gutierrez, Ryan H. Lindstrom, Chia-Jen Liu, Melissa Tuck, Malathi Kandarpa, Michelle Mierzwa, Keith Casper, Mark E. Prince, John C. Krauss, Moshe Talpaz, N. Lynn Henry, Maria D. Giraldez, Nithya Ramnath, Scott A. Tomlins, Paul L. Swiecicki, J. Chad Brenner, and Muneesh Tewari

A recent breakthrough study from the lab of Tanya Kalin, MD, PhD, professor of Child Health and Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Phoenix, has shown potential to improve therapeutic outcomes for patients suffering from lung cancers.
“We have identified the novel protein FOXF1 that stabilizes blood vessels inside the lung tumors, decreases intertumoral hypoxia and prevents lung cancer metastases,” explained Dr. Kalin, the senior author on this study.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, according to the American Lung Association. In 2021 alone, the disease accounted for 22% of all cancer deaths. With less than a 20% five-year survival rate for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancers, a promising treatment approach like this is desperately needed.
In pursuit of more therapeutic approaches, the Dr. Kalin’s lab developed a nanoparticle delivery system to successfully deliver FZD4 to pulmonary endothelium, which decreased lung tumor growth and metastasis in pre-clinical models of lung cancer. Thus, increasing levels of FOXF1 or FZD4 — either genetically or via gene therapy — shows promise to improve therapeutic outcomes in lung cancer patients.
The studies from Dr. Kalin’s group support the use of FOXF1 — or FZD4-activating — therapies to enhance the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents or immune checkpoint inhibitors during lung cancer treatment.
“Since targeting the FOXF1/FZD4 signaling using gene therapy had efficiently decreased lung cancer progression and normalized tumor blood vessels, our next step will be to develop pharmacological approach to activate this signaling pathway and to move this therapy into clinical trials,” Dr. Kalin said.
Dr. Kalin, who also serves as vice chair of translational research for Phoenix Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, published the findings in EMBO Molecular Medicine.The manuscriptdemonstrated that FOXF1 is expressed in normal lung endothelial cells, but it is decreased in the tumor-associated vasculature of lung cancers. Using the Cancer Genome Atlas datasets, they showed that lung cancer patients with higher FOXF1 mRNA expression had increased survival compared to those with lower FOXF1 levels.
Dr. Kalin and her team then actively removed the FOXF1 gene from endothelial cells, using gene-editing technology. The effects of this were staggering. Removal of FOXF1 in their models promoted lung tumor growth and metastasis; caused functional and structural abnormalities in tumor vasculature; and led to a lack of frizzled-4 (FZD4) — a gene that participates in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, enacting a series of steps that affect the way cells and tissues develop.
Next, they increased FOXF1 gene expression in endothelial cells using a transgenic model of lung cancer. By increasing FOXF1 levels, they effectively inhibited lung tumor growth and metastasis, and stabilized tumor-associated blood vessels. They have also shown that FOXF1 directly activated FZD4, one of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling receptors.

A research team consisting of Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and Taeyoung Moon and Huitae Joo, PhD candidates, from the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has engineered “broadband nanogap gold spectroscopic sensor” using a flexible material capable of bending to create a controlled gap. With the developed technology, it is possible to rapidly test various types of materials, including infectious disease viruses, using only a single nano-spectroscopic sensor to find molecular fingerprints.
The emergence of pandemic epidemics like COVID-19 has emphasized the necessity for rapid and precise analytical methods to prepare for potential future virus outbreaks. Raman spectroscopy, using gold nanostructures, offers information about the internal structure and chemical properties of materials by analyzing the distinct vibrations of molecules known as “molecular fingerprints,” using light with remarkable sensitivity. Therefore, it could play a crucial role in determining the positivity of a virus.
However, conventional high-sensitivity Raman spectroscopy sensors detect only one type of virus with a single device, thus posing limitations in terms of productivity, detection speed, and cost when considering clinical applications.
The research team successfully fabricated a one-dimensional structure at the millimeter scale, featuring gold nanogaps accommodating only a single molecule with a tight fit. This advancement enables large-area, high-sensitivity Raman spectroscopic sensing. Furthermore, they effectively integrated flexible materials onto the substrate of the gold nanogap spectroscopic sensor. Finally, the team developed a source technology for a broadband active nano-spectral sensor, allowing tailored detection of specific substances using a single device, by widening the nanogap to the size of a virus and freely adjusting its width to suit the size and type of materials, including viruses.
Furthermore, they improved the sensitivity and controllability of the sensor by combining adaptive optics technology used in fields such as space optics, such as the James Webb Telescope. Additionally, they established a conceptual model for extending the fabricated one-dimensional structure into a two-dimensional spectroscopic sensor, theoretically confirming the ability to amplify Raman spectroscopic signals by up to several billion times. In other words, it becomes possible to confirm the positivity of viruses in real-time within seconds, a process that previously took days for verification.
The achievements of the research team, currently pending patent approval, are expected to be utilized for the rapid response through high-sensitivity real-time testing in the event of unexpected infectious diseases such as COVID-19, to prevent indiscriminate spread. Taeyoung Moon, lead author of the paper, emphasized the significance of their achievement by stating, “This not only advances basic scientific research in identifying unique properties of materials from molecules to viruses but also facilitates practical applications, enabling rapid detection of a broad spectrum of emerging viruses using a single, tailored sensor.”
The collaborative research was jointly conducted with Professor Dai-Sik Kim’s team from UNIST’s Department of Physics and a team led by Professor Yung Doug Suh from UNIST’s Department of Chemistry who is Deputy Director of Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). Additionally, Yeonjeong Koo, Mingu Kang, and Hyeongwoo Lee from POSTECH’s Department of Physics carried out measurements. The research findings have recently been published in the international journal Nano Letters.

“Break a leg!” is a welcome blessing of good luck, but who wants to hear that they have actually broken a bone? What’s worse, fractures that are displaced or complex require surgery and possibly lengthy recovery times while the patient remains partly or wholly immobilized.
Aiming to shorten recovery times, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group is focusing on plasma irradiation as a treatment method to speed up bone healing.
The Department of Orthopedic Surgery’s Kosuke Saito, a graduate student in the Graduate School of Medicine, Associate Professor Hiromitsu Toyoda, and Professor Hiroaki Nakamura, and Graduate School of Engineering Professor Jun-Seok Oh were among the researchers who used laboratory rats for their experiment.
The researchers broke the legs of the rats in two ways. One group of 24 rats had normal fractures that are generally easy to heal. The other group of 20 rats had fractures known as non-union ones where healing is usually prolonged or does not happen. Some were then irradiated with non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma, which didn’t offer the normal fracture group any significant advantages but boosted the healing and recovery time of the rats with non-union fractures. The strength of the healed areas of the irradiated non-union rats was also about 3.5 times stronger than that of the nonirradiated ones.
Furthermore, in vitro study of pre-osteoblastic cells irradiated with the plasma for 5 to 15 seconds showed that the activity of a protein that is an indicator of osteoblast differentiation increased, indicating that maturation of these bone-forming cells was progressing.
“Collaboration between the medical and engineering fields creates new medical technologies that have never before existed,” Professor Toyoda declared. “In the future, combining this treatment method with current fracture treatments is expected to contribute to more reliable bone fusion and shorter recovery times.”
Their findings are set for publication inPLOS ONEon April 16, 2024.

Published8 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Josh ShinnerBy Mark SavageMusic correspondent, BBC NewsShortly after giving birth to her first child, singer-songwriter Lucy Rose went to lift her son out of his cot when she collapsed.For what seemed like an eternity, she lay on the floor in agony with her back spasming.Over the coming weeks, the pain only got worse. “I couldn’t pick up my baby, I couldn’t push a pram, I couldn’t even wash my hair,” she tells the BBC. If she needed to breastfeed, her husband Will had to lift the baby to her. When her parents persuaded her to go for a walk, she made it 100 yards before stopping and “begging to go back home”.At her NCT baby group, she asked other mothers if they’d experienced similar back pains. None of them had. Her GP was no help, either. “Every time I’d go in and it was the same thing,” she says. “I’d be yelping in pain, then he’d prod my back and say, ‘There’s nothing wrong here – back pain is part and parcel of having a baby’.”It got to the point where I was crying, begging for an MRI and the doctor told me I needed to dial it down and I was being over the top. “It was really quite distressing.”Eventually, she went to a chiropractor. It was a big mistake.”They cracked my back and it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced,” she says. “I was immediately like, ‘That can’t have been right, I’m going to be sick immediately’.”Looking back, she thinks that might have been the point where several of her vertebrae broke. Image source, Getty ImagesRose is telling me this story over a Zoom call from Spain, where she’s taking a holiday to gather her strength before the release of her exquisite fifth album, This Ain’t The Way You Go Out, on Friday.She’s just polished off an ice cream, and sits cross-legged on the floor, using the arm of a sofa to support her back (which is, thankfully, doing much better).The 34-year-old entered the public eye as a backing vocalist for Bombay Bicycle Club, before striking out as a solo artist with albums like Work It Out and Like I Used To, straddling the worlds of acoustic folk and laid-back, adult pop.One of the first artists to take advantage of Spotify’s listener data, she noticed she was big in Latin America and, in 2016, travelled there alone, asking fans to book her gigs while staying in their spare rooms.Her 2019 album, No Words Left, got the best reviews of her career. But two years later, housebound with pain, the very thought of music was too much to bear.”I couldn’t listen to anything,” she says. “It wasn’t a comfort and it wasn’t going to help me. I was like, ‘Please turn it off’.”After three months of trying to convince doctors that something was wrong, Rose’s husband paid for a private MRI scan. The results showed she had broken her back in eight places.She assumed the health service would spring into action… and it did, just not in the way Rose had expected.”The NHS lawyers got in contact with me first,” she says. “They emailed me saying, ‘This has been raised as a potential negligence case, and we advise you to get a lawyer’.””And I replied, ‘Please, I don’t want to sue the NHS. I just want to get better.'”Eventually, they reached an agreement. Rose agreed not to pursue legal action, and the NHS reimbursed the cost of her MRI. Then treatment could begin.Image source, Josh ShinnerShe was diagnosed with a rare form of pregnancy-associated osteoporosis (PAO), a condition that weakens the bones and can lead to fractures.After a second scan, Rose was told her bone density was that of a 110-year-old. “It’s quite shocking, isn’t it?” she says.The condition, which is thought to affect just one in 100,000 women, was also severely isolating. “Every movement made me think of it. Even breathing would make me think of it. But you feel like a broken record when you talk about it all the time. “After a while you become more and more closed in.”Solace came from a Facebook support group and the Royal Osteoporosis Society, who put Rose in touch with a volunteer called Sarah Driver, who’d had the same condition.”As soon as I got her number I texted it, and she called me immediately,” Rose says. “She said, ‘I can’t talk now because I’m about to go out for dinner with my family but I promise you, you’re going to get better’.”Sarah became Rose’s lifeline, researching specialists and recommending treatment options. The pair still speak every day, and will meet for the first time at Rose’s upcoming gig at London’s Roundhouse.”She was so integral to me being better, but she didn’t even know me,” Rose says. “I need to hug this woman, desperately.”The other key to her recovery was her newborn son.”I felt very unlovable at the time because I was just so sad – but for Otis I could pull a stupid face or shake a rattle and he’d be happy and pleased I was there,” she recalls.”So that was a huge driving factor, having this baby that adores you. I was like, ‘This is not going to stop me. I am getting better’.”Image source, Lucy RoseInitially, mum and son just rolled around playing on the floor. Then, as Rose started a gruelling course of hydrotherapy, they’d spend hours floating together in the local pool.By the time he was seven months old, they could clumsily navigate the house together, and often ended up at the piano in her music room.”Otis is so joyful and his enthusiasm for life is addictive that, when I sat at the piano, I naturally looked for music that would make him feel more of those emotions,” she recalls.”And also, babies have such a small attention span that if I held a note for more than two seconds, he’d be like, ‘I’m officially bored!'”That combination of spontaneity and happiness flows through Rose’s new album. Inspired by the old school hip-hop and instrumental funk she listened to as her body healed, it’s full of brushed breakbeats and choppy chord sequences that allow her beguiling vocals to soar.The recent single Over When It’s Over bounces along with jazzy energy; while Could You Help Me is restless and bright, even as Rose sings: “Now I’m learning how terribly lonely illness is”.The music was developed over a series of jam sessions in her house, then recorded in a two-and-a-half-day blast – “all freeform, no click track” – at Paul Weller’s studio in Surrey.”Playing music with my drummer and bass player was the beginning of me having confidence again,” she says. “Finally, I wasn’t that broken version of myself any more.”This YouTube post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on YouTubeThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. YouTube content may contain adverts.Skip youtube video by Lucy RoseAllow YouTube content?This article contains content provided by Google YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Google’s cookie policy,