St. Olavs Hospital

C-sections by trained health officers a safe alternative

Sierra Leone has few doctors and even fewer surgeons to serve its seven million people. Since 2011, a non-profit group called CapaCare has been training community health officers to perform basic lifesaving surgeries. A new study shows the programme is working well when it comes to the most common surgery in the country — Caesarean sections.

Vitamin D deficiency affects many pregnant women

Only one in five women follows the recommendations for taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy. Vitamin D deficiency can have serious repercussions for the skeletal health of both mother and child.

Norwegian family’s medical mystery solved

Back in the 1970s, a Norwegian family was found to have abnormally high red blood cell counts. Thirty-five years later, researchers succeeded in solving the mystery, thanks to new analytical methods and the latest developments in genetic engineering – and a chance meeting with a Swiss scientist.

Not easy finding dust masks suitable for women

The smelting industry needs to promote the availability of dust masks of more than one size, according to the research scientists behind a recent working environment study at Norwegian smelting plants.

Simple measures cut sepsis deaths nearly in half

Sepsis, commonly called blood poisoning, is a common affliction that can affect people of all ages. A series of simple measures tested at a Norwegian hospital can make a difference in successfully treating sepsis.

Family’s hereditary cancer gene found

When almost a third of a hundred members of one family had cancer, or were cured of cancer, researchers began to look for a cancer-causing gene in the family. They found it after fifteen years of genetic testing.

Cycling helps ease arthritis pains

After ten weeks of hard workouts on a spinning bike twice a week, a group of women with arthritis found that their joints were less inflamed.