Societies are failing women, children and adolescents, particularly in the poorest communities around the world, and urgent action is needed to save lives and improve health, say global health experts. In a special supplement published today by The BMJ, public health experts from around the globe highlight the critical actions and investments that will have the greatest impact on the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents.

Eating a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil was associated with a relatively lower risk of breast cancer in a study of women in Spain, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Breast cancer is a frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of death in women.

Capsaicin, the compound responsible for chilis' heat, is used in creams sold to relieve pain, and recent research shows that in high doses, it kills prostate cancer cells. Now researchers are finding clues that help explain how the substance works. Their conclusions suggest that one day it could come in a new, therapeutic form.

Sticky resin from conifers contains substances that could relieve or cure epilepsy. Researchers at Linköping University have synthesized and tested 71 substances known as resin acids, of which twelve are prime candidates for new medicines.

Eight of 14 patients in the first trial of the University of Pennsylvania’s personalized cellular therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) responded to the therapy, with some complete remissions continuing past four and a half years. These results, published in Science Translational Medicine, represent the most mature data from clinical trials of an approach known as CTL019, developed by a team from Penn's Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine.

Midday naps are associated with reduced blood pressure levels and prescription of fewer antihypertensive medications, according to research presented at ESC Congress by Dr Manolis Kallistratos, a cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital in Athens, Greece. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the effect of midday sleep on blood pressure (BP) levels in hypertensive patients.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart disease and stroke, are the number 1 killer worldwide and in Europe, where they cause the death of over 10 000 people daily, i.e. more than all cancers combined (1). Recent scientific evidence shows that air and noise pollution are environmental health risks which have severe consequences on heart health (2-5).