Inner city children from poor families are much more likely to seek emergency care for asthma than their more affluent peers, finds research published ahead of print in Thorax. But the reasons are not the expected culprits of damp housing, overcrowding, or living with a smoker, finds the study.

The Stroke Association urges the public to get their blood pressure tested and avoid being a statistic of the UK’s third biggest killer. The call comes as the charity reveals figures that show nearly a quarter of people in the UK are unknowingly suffering from undiagnosed high blood pressure.

A Class A drug epidemic has triggered a huge surge in the number of young people being treated for mental health disorders, according to a NHS study.

More patients will have to pay ‘top-up’ fees for private care because of budget cuts in the NHS and long waiting times, a group of doctors say in a report. Doctors for Reform says the idea that health care is free across the UK is now a “political mirage”.

Voters are worried about illegal immigrants who are “undermining” the jobs market and health and safety measures, John Reid has said. The home secretary said people were not opposed to incomers but were angered by a sense of “unfairness”.

An experimental drug may be able to compensate for the genetic error responsible for some cases of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, US scientists hope. In rodents, the drug PTC124 was able to restore the muscle function normally lost in this disease, Nature reports.

Plans to add a hormone which suppresses hunger to baby formula food is unlikely to work say experts. University of Buckingham researchers are looking at adding leptin to formula milk to curb future over-eating.